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Desperate Housewives

Never Judge a Lady by Her Lover

Season 6, Episode 3, Aired Oct 11, 2009

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After a chance encounter with John Rowland (former main castmember Jesse Metcalfe), Carlos begins to suspect that his wife still has the hots for him, and allows his niece Ana to be hired by John to test Gabrielle. In the meantime, the Scavos tell their kids they are expecting twins, and Lynette hides her pregnancy from Carlos in order to get a big promotion. Bree realizes Karl is more serious about their affair, but she doesn't want to put much effort into something she does with a man she does not love... or does she? The intensity between Susan and Angie grows as the latter tries to defend her son, but Susan is determined to warn everyone that Danny Bolen is a dangerous kid.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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GUEST STAR
Brooke Lyons

Candace
GUEST STAR
Michael Guarnera

Toby
GUEST STAR
Jordana Capra

Delores Mason

Teri Hatcher

Susan Mayer
Felicity Huffman

Lynette Scavo
Marcia Cross

Bree Hodge
Eva Longoria

Gabrielle Solis
Dana Delany

Katherine Mayfair
Drea de Matteo

Angie Bolen

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Fan Episode Reviews (9)

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This episode was maybe a little bit too Desperate.

6.5

"Fair"

By thefanof, Oct 05, 2011

Forgettable episode here, despite the fact that the show brought just about every zany trick they had in the book out. There was not one remotely normal or believable storyline on display in tonight's episode. You had Susan trying to crush a teenager with a car, Tom fooling Carlos and his business partner that Lynette was drinking wine, Bree trying to murder Karl's new fling and Ms. Solis being more impressed with some photos from one of those machines at a carnival than her husband.

I just did not think anything in tonight's episode was believable at all and the main storylines were not really progressed in any extensive matter to make up for this insanity.

Sorry Desperate Housewives, but you are better than this.moreless
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Patently contrived and about as believable as your average L. Ron Hubbard novel, 'Never Judge a Lady by her Lover' tries oh so desperately to impress but sadly, falls flat on its sorry behind. Repeatedly. And with increasing kerfuffle.moreless

5.0

"Mediocre"

By screenagedkicks, Oct 05, 2011

Patently contrived and about as believable as your average L. Ron Hubbard novel, 'Never Judge a Lady by her Lover' tries oh so desperately (hah! What a pun!) to impress but sadly, falls flat on its sorry behind. Repeatedly. And with increasing kerfuffle. Yet again, Jesse Metcalfe is rolled out of cold storage to 'spice things up in', nee 'drive a stake right through' Gabrielle and Carlos's story, making his apparently obligatory once-a-season appearance as the owner of a fabtabulous new restaurant that's just opened in town. Naturally, this leads to a consideration of all the 'possibilities' down the road not taken, Gabrielle spending half the episode in some sort of wistful trance, reminiscing longingly about the time he banged her in her husband's bed, or perhaps the incident with his naked touche in the bushes (well, we all remember that one well... some of us have yet to get over it. Ahem.) We've seen it all before, endured the 'what if' pontification far too many times to be even remotely interested, and even the pay-off, her realisation that she prefers what she has with Carlos, threatens to bore you to tears, it's that unnecessary and down right obvious.

Elsewhere, Bree's narrative continues to feel like it's being played for shock value, trying so hard to do something that hasn't been tried before that it sacrifices all that's enjoyable about her character. Felicty Huffman does her best with a truckload of bad material for poor Lynette, who decides to hide the truth about her pregnancy from her boss, in spite of the fact that she should know far better than to conceal absolutely anything whatsoever, given her history, and as for Susan, well, words really don't do justice to the absurdity of this one. Yes, sure, she'd be distraught over the attempted murder of her daughter and okay, maybe this would lead her to jump to some hasty conclusions. We can all cope with her unwarranted suspicions of super hot, uber sexy, looks-far-too-good-in-a-pair-of-jogging-bottoms-for-it-to-be-legal Danny Bolan, but attempting to crush him with his friend's car? Um, sometimes you really do go far too far, Desperate Housewives. It's all played for laughs, obviously, but it just isn't funny; in fact, it reads as a plot device, not a naturally arising development, which makes it difficult to engage with the story. Disappointing, really; with a little more attention, this show could be a whole hell of a lot better. Still, at least we got that scene with the Scavo kids, eh? Now that was a scream.moreless
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"Oh look one of the Pointer Sisters! Oh sorry, it was only a nun!"

10

"Perfect"

By mobbs456, Feb 11, 2010

Another fine episode of season six with a rather high level of comedy instead of all the drama.

Firstly, it was nice to see Jesse Metcalf again. Seeing how John has grown up during the time leap was a nice idea by the writers and all the continuity helped us remind ourselves of how great the Gabrielle and John Rowland thing worked. But still, her marraige to Carlos is forever strong.

Bree's naughtyness is fun to watch. Its nice to see Marcia Cross being dirty for a change, however she still maintains her dignity. Her little sabotage attempt on Karl's little woman was rather amusing.

Lynette and Tom were byfar the funniest. Lynette is desperate to hide her pregnancy from uncaring Carlos, and Tom's wine-drinking was very funny (see the comment above). I could not stop laughing.

But its Teri Hatcher who shines the most. Never upset Susan Mayer by hurting her daugther, because she will hurt you back. Nice to see Hatcher acting strong and powerful instead of clutsy and ditzy.moreless
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"John Rowland" is the "D.H." version of Ian Somerhalder.

7.0

"Good"

By TV-Tome-Vits, Nov 26, 2009

Just like I.S. in "Lost",Jesse Metcalfe became very famous for his role,but left after season 1.Since then,nothin',except for the movie "John Tucker Must Die",which did O.K.,but wasn't that huge.The best he's had in this past years are his appearances in the show.This time,I didn't like it.Why?It was pointless."Carlos" was jealous of "Gabrielle",and "Ana" got a job.That's it.The episode was still good,showin'"Susan"'s dark side(which occurs to any worried parent),and then I liked how she and "Angie" bonded at the end."Lynette"'s plot was the comic relief,and "Bree" also showed a dark side,but also that she has feelings for "Karl".Not cool.Why?"Karl" is just a guest.He'll leave soon.It's pointless.They just don't know what to do with her now that her marriage is practically over,she barely see her children,and she recovered from her alcoholism.moreless
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Susan confronts Danny about Julie's attack; Carlos offers a Lynette a promotion, unaware of her pregnancy; Gabby runs into an old flame; Bree becomes jealous when she sees Karl with another woman; the Bolens deal with the backlash of Susan's rage.moreless

8.0

"Great"

By ivalice1980, Oct 13, 2009

I'd like to begin this review by getting a few nitpicks out of the way.

John's return. Really? Come on, writers. I KNOW you can do better than that. Given the way this year's big mystery is unfolding, I know there's plenty of creativity at your disposal. Most of us already know where this is going - or, at least, where it's LIKELY to be going - but, I could be wrong. I'll see where this goes, but if it's headed for a love triangle, color me disappointed. Gabby and Carlos deserve better than that. But, as I said, we'll see what happens.

Bree. As much as I'm loving this Bree/Karl fling, I think it was a tad over the top that Karl would just "happen" to be at the same event as she. Even for Desperate Housewives, that was a bit too much. (Although the scene where Bree tosses oil on the dance floor was priceless.)

Orson. Man, I liked Orson. But now, I'm not really sure what to think. Is he really that clueless as to Bree's extracurricular activities? I'm not sure what the writers are doing with him, but I hope they fix this soon.

Alright, I'm done nitpicking.

I have to admit to becoming a big fan of the "Bolens." I'm actually starting to care about these people, although I'm still unsure of Nick, as he's been mostly hiding in the background. But Angie is a character I'm really beginning to get into. She's tough, but she's a genuinely loving mother and wife who will do anything to protect her family. What are they running from? And what happened to Angie? Why does she blame herself? Many questions here, and I look forward to seeing where this goes.

Lynette finally comes clean to her kids about her pregnancy, and the result was hilarious, particularly Penny's response: "If they're boys, I'm outta here!" I am a *tad* skeptical about Lynette's promotion, but we'll see where that goes. I did also love the dinner scene, with Tom and Lynette playing "musical wine glasses" and Tom getting a little tipsy!

Susan has been a big focal point of the season, and I'm really glad. I've always loved her as a character, and it's nice to see her get a little more edge. I think her rage is understandable, but it was a little shocking to see her almost crush Danny with his car. Wow. And the "silent apology" at the end - perfect.

Despite a few rocky plots, and the abscence of Katherine (very odd), this was still a great piece of television and a terrific addition to a fun season thus far.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- Featured Music:
  
  "The Ballad of Millicent Marmer" by The Muddy Reds
  
  "Lady Is A Tramp" by Studio Musicians
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- Goof: In the scene where Susan confronts Danny and he is under the car to repair it, you notice grease smudges on his right wrist. On the next cut to him, the marks aren't there. On the following cut, they're back again.
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QUOTES (2)
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- Tom: Remember last time you were pregnant with twins? Every part of you swelled up. It was like sleeping next to a body they dragged out of the river. Lynette: You said I was beautiful. Tom: I had to. You were twice my size.
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- Tom: (Tom has been drinking Lynette's glasses of wine all night) You know, what dog I'd really like is the reima-waner. Lynette: Weimaraner. Tom: A window-hammer. Lynette: Weimaraner. Tom: Rammerjammer. Carlos: Lynette, make him stop!
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NOTES (3)
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- International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Nesuď dámu podle milence (Do Not Judge a Lady by Her Lover)
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- International Airdates: Finland: November 16, 2009 on Nelonen Latin America: November 25, 2009 on Sony Entertainment Television Turkey: December 8, 2009 on CNBC-e The Netherlands: January 12, 2010 on Net5 Germany: January 20, 2010 on ProSieben Australia: February 15, 2010 on Channel 7 Norway: February 16, 2010 on TV2
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- Although credited, Mason Vale Cotton (MJ Delfino) is absent from this episode. Andrea Bowen (Julie Mayer) and Kathryn Joosten (Karen McCluskey) are absent from this episode and therefore are not credited.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Episode Title: The title of this episode comes from a lyric in the song "Ah, But Underneath", from Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies.
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