Sunday April 16, 2006
219
Lynette is called in to her kids' school as Parker has gone from being obsessed with Dinosaurs to being obsessed with nudity. Carlos and Gabrielle must go to court to get custody of their baby, Lily, after they find out she was legally someone else's child. Bree's father Henry and stepmother Eleanor (special guest star Carol Burnett) come to town to mediate between Andrew and her. Susan is convinced that Karl doesn't really love Edie. Later, she goes to a movie theatre, and spots Mike with a date.
Read Full Recap » (warning: possible spoilers!)Es dificil mantenerse sano cuando se tienen familias tan complicadas. hide show
Sigo creyendo que Bree es de los mejores personajes, y de los que mejor se desenvuelven en la trama, la forma en que logró evitar que Andrew se mudara y que además se quedara sin su platica fue genial. Lynette tiene que manejar un pequeño problema con su hijo, pero esto es apenas el inicio, al fin y al cabo tiene 3 hijos varones. Gabrielle se da cuenta de lo importante y dificil que es ser madre, pero creo que empezara a estar a la altura de la situacion. Susan sigue siendo demasiado ingenua, y entra en escena por primera vez Orson, un persona que nos dará mucho de que hablar.
Good episode, but not like the episodes as before... hide show
***This may contain spoilers***
Well, I'm not saying that Desperate Housewives is a bad show, but I think everybody noticed that several episodes of Season 2 were really "Painful to watch."
This episode was OK, but definitely not as the ones in Season 1. I actually laughed at those episodes. Well, sure, there were some funny scenes in this episode. Like the one when Susan tries to kick Karl from house and then she tells him everything, like "Our marriage sucked, it was really, really bad..." and then she turns to Julie and tells her :"Except you honey, you're my rock!"
And Bree was also good in this episode.
Well, just hope the season 3 will not be less good as this one was.
little parker may need a trip to the physc ward, how to do you explain to a little about the birds and the bees? curiousity is a powerful thing! hide show
the courtroom drama with bree and her parents was crazy, then andrew ( the little devil) palying the grandson card, whao is there no way of stopping that greedy kid? poor justine being thrown over for a trust fund. but bree never disappoints, i love the way she brings down andrews gay property was hillarious oh my goodness it was a wonderful episode. really karl should get over it already with the pretend obessesion with susan for crying out, and she's lapping it upp like feather brain seriously how many times will sometime happen to you before you do something about it. gabby's just gabby.someone should martha huber's sister already, she should pull the trigger and kill paul young instead of messing with his floor and house.
Lynette is called in to her kids' school as Parker has gone obsessed with nudity. Carlos and Gabrielle must go to court to get custody of their baby, Lily, after they find out she was legally someone else's child. hide show
Iloved this episode cause it was so true.My younger brother is seven and will ask or the same questions that parker asked and it makes me think why it is such a difficult subject to talk bout and that.It also funny the crazy ideas that parents think of it makes me laugh.And Bree thing was so heart breaking she is finally thinking that she should give up and do the mother thing keep fighting but should she !
I loved the Gabby part where she felt really bad about leaving Lilly alone it was sweet and really brought her out of we all thought was a cold hearted Gabby i loved her caracter now more than ever .And the fact she is fighting for Lily!!Keep it up Eva !!
Shame And Redemption
Written by Josh Senter
Directed by David Grossman
hide
show
Dear Josh Senter
Your second contribution to Season Two of Desperate Housewives plays on seriously overused themes. On a positive note, you’ve seriously produced an hour devoid of making me switch the channel for even a brief second, so I’ll have to wait until the weekend to see every single part of Sleeper Cell.
Yours sincerely
Shawn Lunn
Okay sarcasm over. Being serious now, just like the previous four episodes here was another high quality hour that proves the use of clichéd themes can actually work a real treat and make for riveting and the whole shame/redemption was used to amazing effect here.
Look at Lynette whose children bring her no end of embarrassment and pandemonium and yet she still holds her head up high like anyone else. However even Lynette can’t be prepared for what mischief her kids put her through and the more quiet (in comparison to the twins) one out of the boys, Parker lands her a date with teacher Louisa Pates when she informs Lynette that Parker offered a female classmate a cookie if he could take a peek at her private area.
It seems that Parker’s curiosity in regards towards sex and the origins of babies has come a little too early for Lynette but to be honest, given how self-aware kids are increasingly becoming nowadays at young ages, it’s not exactly the shock of the century that Parker would start asking these questions.
Lynette may not have wanted to do the uncomfortable talk about sex and babies with him but true to this show’s style, the twist of Parker then asking Karen McClusky about her private area only proved that it’s going to take more than some drawings and a sunflower seed analogy to silence this curiosity.
Parker’s only a child and kids want to know stuff, there’s no way of getting away from that but with modern culture being the way it is at times, Lynette did need to take some of Karen’s advice to heart, even when it comes to dealing with uncomfortable subject matter like this.
The reason why I chose to discuss this plot is because Lynette’s dilemma with explaining the facts of life to Parker is dealt in a way you don’t normally see on network US television and while this kind of thing would be a problem for HBO or Showtime, it feels like an audacious move for ABC and in my opinion, one that actually pays off, although it’s nice to know that Lynette’s attempts of replacing Parker’s obsession with learning about sex with a puppy doesn’t actually work. It’s also proof that this show is interesting when it tries to be confrontational about things like this.
Speaking of confrontation, the ongoing and savage battle between Andrew and Bree grinds to something of what I can assume is a temporary halt, thanks to the intervention of three delightful (one you already know, two who are new to us viewers).
Does that mean that hell has frozen over? Well kind of! Basically Bree’s father Henry and stepmother Eleanor (played by Carol Burnett – Miss Hannigan from Annie) arrive in town and not only do they get Andrew’s court case postponed but they also try to play mediators between the warring duo as well with hysterical results. Let’s just say Henry’s method of getting his daughter and grandson to look each other in the eye and say “I forgive you” pretty much fails on sight as Bree and Andrew resort to making each other look bad instead, which makes for sheer entertainment value. I kind of wished I had popcorn beside when watching that scene.
Then Eleanor thought that taking Andrew to Rhode Island with her and Henry would be a good solution after openly criticising Bree’s parenting skills. I’m beginning to think that Susan is the only one who sort of gets along with her mother, even if weirdly enough I prefer Eleanor than Sophie.
However thanks (or maybe not) to Justin, this was another doomed plan from the start when Andrew’s “stash” of gay porn is discovered by his grandparents and horrified by the thought of their only grandson being gay, they skip town and take away his trust fund. I know Henry and Eleanor are homophobic morons but anyone who makes Andrew’s life a little harder is okay in my book. I’m sorry but Andrew still hasn’t endeared himself to me even if Shawn Pyfrom is a good actor.
I suppose what really works about this plot though is Bree’s discovery of what Justin loves about Andrew (her “why” question is after all, one that even I was curious about). A couple of minutes before he told her that Andrew told him to be proud of himself for being gay after being disowned by his own family for coming out, Bree couldn’t even refer to Justin as Andrew’s boyfriend. After hearing that she then used Justin’s help to keep Andrew and invited him over for a nice meal.
Bree may have trouble accepting Andrew’s sexuality but this small act (even if a motive is behind) should show Andrew that she’s at least willing to make an effort understand. Surely this alone should be enough incentive for Andrew to stop behaving like a jerk and give his mother a break.
Breaks also come in the form of temporary custody for Gabrielle and Carlos as they get to keep baby Lily until the Judge can get a hold of the tot’s gymslip father and mainly because he views the Solis’ as the lesser of two evils. I would’ve gone for the lesser of two dim-witted evils but I get where he’s coming from.
Of course, now that Gabrielle has her child, even if only for a temporary basis, you’d hope that parental responsibility would kick in given how excellently she strapped in that car seat last week but it seems that she has to be pushed into being responsible.
She clearly likes Lily and that’s fairly established but given the fact she doesn’t work and has Xiao-Mei to do most of the housework, her demanding for a nanny and a nurse made me retch. Carlos was right to put his foot down on that one. You want a child Gabby, be a parent to the child.
But Gabby being her selfish self dumps Lily on Xiao-Mei and upon realising that Lily is left home alone after her maid is given a well deserved day off and is pampering herself, Gabby has to hightail it home and only here do we see her actually being a parent to Lily in a surprisingly affecting scene. I also admit I laughed at Gabby having Lily in that baby sack around her arms while doing yoga but when it comes to kids, we need to see her selfless a little more often.
Elsewhere and keeping up with the good plots, Miss Love Disaster herself, Susan has a strange pickle to deal with. On one side she’s developing feelings for Karl who keeps hounding her for sex (much to Julie’s annoyance and she isn’t the only one annoyed), she’s also found a potential new beau in dentist Orson (played by Twin Peaks/Sex And The City’s Kyle McLachlan) and Mike’s feelings are also more obviously apparent as well as he looks unsatisfied with his new date.
Mike is a little underused in this plot and in the episode as a whole to be honest but funnily, Susan’s plot is still strong. As much as I didn’t mind Dr Ron, I like Orson a hell of a lot. The guy listened to all of Susan’s woes (she really knows how to lays it on) and dispensed the most naturalistic and non-judgemental advice, even when he alluded to her being a glutton for punishment.
Susan sadly chose to ignore this advice, managed to be duped into sleeping with Karl before learning that he didn’t dump Edie and throw quite a funny hissy fit. As good as Richard Burgi looks in only a towel, Karl is behaving too much like stereotypical Neanderthal that I seriously want Edie to kick his butt big time.
Last but not least and certainly not dull, the vendetta between Paul and Felicia just gets better and better and if there was an award for all time spite, then based on her antics in this episode, Felicia would win hands because let’s be honest, she’s a nasty piece of work when put to the test.
First she used shortening to make sure that Paul would trip on his porch, then she almost got him roasted while he barbequed and then had his house tented up for termite. It’s not wonder Paul was this close to smacking her in the face. You’d think Zach bashing her with a baseball bat last year would teach her to thread carefully where the Young family are concerned but evidently not.
I would really like to feel sorry for Felicia in a way that I would’ve done last year but given how much she hated her sister as much as most people on Wisteria Lane did and that vindictive comment in regards to Mary Alice shooting herself, I think she’s simply just be a **** for no reason. I actually sided with Paul here.
Also in “Don’t Look At Me”
Housewife of the week: This time its Lynette as Louisa Pates not tells her about Parker’s escapades but shames other by telling them of their children who kill hamsters, bully for milk money and bring in Nazi memorabilia. Lynette really did get off lightly in comparison.
Judge: “In the meantime, try not to steal any more babies”
Gabrielle: “We just needed the one”.
For a court hearing, isn’t it a little weird that Libby wasn’t there to back up the Solis’?
Henry (to Bree): “You were drinking?”
Eleanor: “She’s in AA. Her sponsor has long hair”.
Karl got to be Bree’s lawyer in this episode and I also think that Henry is in the legal profession as well.
Zach (re Felicia): “She’s trying to kill you”
Paul: “She’s trying to piss me off”.
Carlos: “My Mama worked her fingers to the bone”
Gabrielle: “That’s what put her in an early grave. Well that and the hit and run thing”.
I notice that Xiao-Mei now has an official work uniform and her English has improved since we’ve last seen her. Also Gabby called the baby after her grandmother and Carlos is applying for a job.
Justin (re Andrew): “I love him”
Bree: “Oh, why?”
The full credits are back again. For crying out loud, ABC make up your minds already!
Orson: “Hmm”
Susan: “Edie’s not a slut. She’s just popular with indiscriminate men”.
No Danielle, Tom, Porter, or the Applewhites this week. Do the writers even care about the Applewhites because I get the feeling they don’t.
Henry: “Is Andrew gay?”
Bree: “Oh Dad. Andrew hates labels. I’m sure it’s just a phase”.
Chronology: Six weeks since “There Is No Other Way” has passed.
Susan (to Karl): “Our marriage was garbage! Just a disgusting pile of garbage and I regret everything that came out of it (then to Julie). Except you honey, you’re my rock”.
Standout Music: Who was the band who Karl tried to use to seduce Susan? They were kind of cool.
Oh God, this was actually mind-blowing! Not hugely dramatic but this is the third most unmissable episode this season for sure. “Don’t Look At Me” was on form from start to finish, that it was virtually flawless. The performances were right, the characterisation excellent and the dialogue, simply delicious. In other words, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to cast this series aside with quality episodes like this.
RenatoB
Editor
Daniel777C
Retired
TM56
Retired
grace87
vukcevic
dragonbulldog
