What I’m Watching: Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives: Season 8, Episode 7 “Always in Control” (C+)

Though it’s hardly an excellent hour, this episode did have some definite strong moments. I enjoyed the introduction, which explained why Bree was always in control, though she might prefer to be a passenger, and Marcia Cross did a superb job of playing both the dramatic and comedic scenes, making Susan think that she was hallucinating things she said. Asking Ben for help was a big deal, and though he initially declined, I’m glad that he came to her rescue and “made a big mistake” by telling Chuck to get lost and stop harassing her. Tasking Mike with disposing of the body is a good use of his talents, and this network of people that know what happened seems to be widening with every episode. The girls talked a lot about not being able to trust Susan, and they were right, since in her rage-laced reaction to not being entrusted with helping to dig up the body, she did something incredibly stupid and painted herself and the other housewives standing over the grave. Impressing Andre won’t save her from going to jail, and she’s going to seriously regret that. Gaby and Carlos trying to find adoptive parents for their children, should they be sent to jail, was overly comic to start with and then extremely dramatic, in a typical aggressive change of tone from the beginning of the episode to the end. Lynette turning her daughter against her father and his new girlfriend was not an honorable move, and I’m glad that she rectified it by clarifying that her problems with Tom were between the two of them, and Penny shouldn’t feel betrayed.