After eight years of seeing four women and many more,
who came and left, leading quiet and not so quiet lives of desperation, things
seemed to come a full circle with the end of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. It was a
perfect sendoff for the women of Wisteria Lane, as they all found new meaning
in their lives, embarking upon new chapters, bidding farewell to the lane that they
loved.

THE FINAL STORY
WINDS UP
Before that, we saw end of the story that was season
eight. It was promised to us that the final season of the show would go back to
the roots of the show. In view of the crime that the ladies had helped cover,
the season premiere ended with Bree getting a blackmail note, just like the one
that Mary-Alice had received. It was a shocking turn of events that began to
take Bree through a downward spiral, as she slipped into panic, depression and
desperation. While the minor story arcs continued to complement this central storyline,
throughout, the writers stayed consistent with what this season was about, with
chilling developments like Bree assuring Chuck that she would do anything to
protect her friends, Susan’s art raising eyebrows, the hidden body going
missing, the cops closing in on the mystery, Bree taking to drinking again and entering
a life of promiscuity, Orson turning out to be the blackmailer, Bree attempting
suicide, and so on. Meanwhile, Susan’s guilt, Carlos’ alcoholism, the downfall
of Lynette and Tom’s marriage—all of it ended up connecting to the central
story, in some way or the other.

CONCLUSIONS TO MATTERS
AT HAND
And then there was Karen McKluskey. The episode’s
prologue was about her, which hadn’t been common throughout the series. Her
insecurities about what her neighbors thought of her ended when they all
volunteered to take care of her during her last days, which made her eventually decide
to step up and protect them. Her heartwarming speech about how Wisteria Lane
was a community of people who cared for each other and not just a ‘bunch of
houses in the same place’ ended with dramatic flair when she said, “I entered
the house, picked up the candlestick and killed the son of a bitch!” It was
rather intense as she went on to explain how fear and adrenaline can drive
someone to do much more than they’re capable of, using the same words that she
had overheard Gaby speak, the previous night. That turned things around for the
case, and all charges were dropped against Bree.
Part one of the finale ended with Tom professing his
undying love for Lynette, in a perfect scene, in the middle of the street on a Wisteria Lane lit by streetlamps. Lynette eventually walking up to him,
repeating the word ‘you’ to stress on who she was in love with all along, was beautifully
written, as the moment everyone had been waiting for, since they’d decided to separate,
finally came. Of course, in classic Lynette-and-Tom style, they had to have one
final fight in part two of the finale before their happily-ever-after. And that
happened at Renée and Ben’s wedding—the big event that formed the backdrop of part two.
THE FINAL
COUNTDOWN
The rollercoaster countdown to the end began with
Susan revealing her decision to leave the street to help Julie raise her baby,
after she’d earlier revealed, heartbreakingly, that memories of Mike in her
house were making it too painful to live there. And enter: Katherine Mayfair,
as dramatically as she first did when season four began. Loose ends began being
tied up smoothly, as Lynette got a job offer from Katherine, Gaby got a huge promotion,
and Susan began to put her plans to move into action. Elements from the first
season being revisited, like Lynette facing snide comments by a former
co-worker, who commented on Lynette’s complacency in the life she was leading,
made for a real treat to watch. The funniest bit was the complete role-reversal
between Gaby and Carlos—how she became the successful working woman, and he,
the unsatisfied husband, who got gifts from her to make up for her absence. The
highest point with that was when Carlos hired a hot female gardener, infuriating
Gaby. All of it came together without any abrupt developments that didn’t make
sense.
The humor continued with the events around Renée’s
wedding. From Gaby stealing a wedding dress from her own store, to Susan
stealing Renée’s limo to get Julie to a hospital on time, it was all priceless
and classic DH! Finally at the wedding reception, Tom and Lynette discussed the
future, deciding to move to New York, and Bree let herself have the happy
ending she deserved with Tripp.
THE END
Then the heartbreaking last few moments of Mrs
McKluskey’s life unfolded as Johnny Mathis’ ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ played. Porter
came to fetch Lynette and Tom from the reception, as Julie was in labor to
deliver his baby; Bree went running into Karen’s house as Karen breathed her
last. Renée and Ben left the reception for their honeymoon, Susan and Lynette
became proud grandmothers, Gaby and Carlos danced along with their daughters, Bree stood beside Karen’s deathbed, and that was it.
And just as it had to be done, the final scene before the
epilogue was of the women playing poker, sadly, one last time. Everything about
that scene captured the essence of the friendships they shared—the very thing
that made the show so special. And finally, as we saw where how their lives
would take them away from Wisteria Lane, Susan’s final drive around the block
showed us Mike, and all those who had died on the show, watching on. It was
nice to see even minor characters like Mona Clarke and Carlos’ former boss who
was murdered, among more significant characters like Rex Van de Kamp, George
Williams, Juanita Solis, Karl Mayer, Beth Young, and then the most significant—Mary-Alice. Edie Britt was missed, definitely, as she had been such an integral part of the show for six years. It was just unfortunate that Nicolette Sheridan couldn't be there. The apt conclusion of even desperate lives being wonderful was followed by a
fun eye-brow raiser, that almost spoofed the mystery and intrigue that had
gripped us for eight years, ending it all in a seamless manner, with complete
justice done, for everyone who loved the show.
Lines that I loved:
Gaby: ...So how do these other couples just waltz through life?
Carlos: That, honey, is because we're doing the tango!
Susan (to Julie): You know you've hit middle age when your memories become more important than your dreams.
The saddest part about the end of Desperate Housewives is that Mrs McClusky died for real.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I liked how everything fits together in the end - seamlessly, conveniently. Just like the DH we've loved for eight years (in my case, 2).
Besides, they've left scope for a Volume II of Desperate Housewives and that was, in true DH style, the fun cliffhanger that may-may never get resolved.
The best part of the finale was seeing how much these women have grown. How much they've changed. And how much they haven't. The characters are the same essentially, but they've all learned more along the way and this reflects in the way they say goodbye.