What I’m Watching: Desperate Housewives (Series Finale)

Desperate Housewives: Season 8, Episodes 22 & 23 “Give Me the Blame” & “Finishing the Hat” (B-)

After eight years, it’s hard to go out on a high note. There’s nothing objectively wrong with this double-decker finale, but there’s also not much terribly surprising or ultimately fulfilling about it. These episodes contained the three things all but required for a series closer: a death, a birth, and a wedding. All three happened right around the same time, as Mrs. McCluskey died following her excessively predictable and unoriginal decision to take all the blame for Alejandro’s murder and exonerate everyone else in the process. As tends to be the case with series finales, a guest character that has only been present and important in the recent past becomes a crucial part of a regular character’s future, as Tripp marries Bree and moves away with her to conservative Kentucky. Tom and Lynette’s reconciliation was inevitable, and Katherine’s return just meant a new step of their lives, as they moved to Manhattan, something entirely different from their lives in Fairview. Gaby preventing Carlos from entering the courthouse by getting him stopped at security and Carlos hiring a hot young gardener to make Gaby jealous were considerably less dramatic developments than those involving the other housewives, and Gaby creating a home shopping network is a mediocre resolution for the least compelling of the ladies. Julie going into labor on the way to Renee’s wedding was entertaining, and it’s notable that Susan was the first one to leave the lane. What I liked much more about this finale was the flashback to Mary Alice and Martha Huber, and the somewhat eerie return of so many guest stars wearing white as Susan drove away from Wisteria Lane for the last time. Giving the new owner of Susan’s home a secret of her own was a fun way of ending the show on a mysterious, open-ended note. This show was excellent in its first season, and never really returned to that same quality after that. I’m not too disappointed that I stuck with all it all these years, but it wasn’t terribly well worth it. To remember the best (and worst) times, check out my piece on Shockya.

Season grade: B-
Season MVP: Marcia Cross
Series grade: B
Series MVP: Marcia Cross
Best season: Season 1
Best episode: Pilot