Why hello there desperate viewers and welcome to my first review of the sixth season premiere of Desperate Housewives. Before every review I will begin with a spoiler free zone so anyone who still wants to see the episode can just have a general idea without knowing too much.
Spoiler-free zone:
To begin with, this very strong, in my opinion, premiere managed to include everything that a desperate viewer might want from this show. There were funny moments, there were tears and most of all there was despair. This episode managed not only to balance the comedic and dramatic elements that the show always has, but also managed to balance the extreme elements and the relatable elements by making some stories more real and grounded (for example Lynette’s storyline) and others more entertaining and over the top (for example tension between a very scared Susan and a very hurt Katherine).
Spoiler zone:
So, let’s dig in! The episode opens in the wedding chapel and thus quickly answering the “Who did Mike marry?” question which was the only thing left open by the season 5 finale. To be honest, when season 5 ended I was almost certain that Susan was the bride but when I heard Susan’s daughter, Julie, was returning I wondered “Why would she come back? Is there something wrong with Mama Susan? Nope, she was just attending the wedding because Susan was indeed the woman in white, while Katherine was the woman scorned (and boy was she scorned!). The opening scene ends with Katherine standing and interrupting the ceremony. After that, the episode goes eight weeks back and slowly builds up to that moment.
During that time Katherine is seen being dumped by Mike who decided then that Susan is the right one for him. Poor Katherine left all alone (and desperately awaiting for an apology from Susan) decided to have a little fun time and wear Susan’s dress (when it was delivered to her house due to Susan being absent) while being very close to some hot tomato sauce. Even though this was Susan’s storyline the episode focused more on Katherine (and Susan avoiding her) since she was the emotionally charged one. We see a more Season 4 side of Katherine here, since her character is stuck between wanting revenge yet keeping her cool and that resulted to some great acting bits by Dana Delany.
Moving on, to the probably heaviest storyline of the episode, we see Lynette facing pregnancy with twins, again! This storyline had me really confused in the end of season 5 since it just seemed too soap opera-ish to me. This story however, and especially the final scene of that storyline, was the one that probably affected me the most. The reason for this is that it touches and questions something that is for most of us granted, which is a mothers blind love for her children. Some great dramatic (and comedic in the beginning) acting by Felicity Huffman is seen here and we get to see a Lynette that resembles herself all the way back to season 1 where Lynette is flustered and on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Moving forward, to the lighter stuff, Bree finally shows her hot and bothered side, since middle-aged pimp Karl is showing her that sometimes being happy is better than being good. Her marriage with Orson seems to be getting worse and worse and Bree’s only escape from her husband is “a little Karl time”. However the old Bree you’ve come to know and love is not dead. Only Bree would shop for “Egyptian cotton” sheets because the sheets in the motel, she will have her affair in, are dirty. I guess Bree can get dirty as long as the room is clean and the beds are made. It’s very interesting, however, seeing Bree being torn between her happiness and doing the proper thing (or in this case not doing the wrong thing).
For our last housewife storyline, we have Gabriel dealing with young (and very, VERY, hot) niece Ana who seems to be a younger version of her. This leaves poor Ana unable to go to school with the sexy little shirt she chose since aunt Gaby spots it right away. The storyline reaches its peak when Gaby fishes her out of a crowd of people in a dance party she wasn’t allowed to go to. After that we get some insight on how Gaby feels about her own childhood when she says to Ana that she is lucky to have someone discipline her whereas she had no one. Eva Longoria-Parker proves (like in season 5) that playing a mother is not out of her league.
And last but not least, there is a new family moving in and surprise, surprise! They have a secret! The new family includes Italian mother, Angie Bolen (played by Drea deMatteo, an excellent casting choice in my opinion) and her son and husband. Even though she is the only female in the family, she seems to have just as big balls as the rest. After all, she didn’t even care that a woman shot herself in the house she was buying. She is greeted by the rest of the women, later on, and it looks like she will have quite an interesting part in the group since her raw, non-suburban behaviour adds a contrast to the other women’s characters. One of the regulars getting involved with the new family is Julie Mayer, who after being a brunette and a blonde, decided to go with red this season. She started giving private lessons to the Bolen son and sparks where flying all over the place. However, we saw a little fight happening between the two in the end, for unknown reasons. The episode ends with a cliff-hanger (and a big one) when Julie is suddenly, out of nowhere, strangled. Is she strangled to death? I guess we will find out next week. Even though it is unlikely for the writers to kill so suddenly such a main character, I can’t help to think of Edie and her tragic ending.
To sum up, this premiere offered more than what I expected. It seems the writers gave attention to every scene and nothing seems to disappoint! It is amazing how after six years the show still manages to remain fresh and exciting. This season looks very promising!
