'DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES' 6.21 – "A Little Night Music"

Guest reviewer Chris Howard continues his weekly reviews of Desperate Housewives' sixth season on Channel 4...

[SPOILERS] Subsequent to this episode there are only two remaining in this uneven season of Desperate Housewives. Overall I have really enjoyed watching the multitude of over-the-top dramas unfold between the quirky and enigmatic residences of Fairview, but while some plot arcs have been dragged along for great chunks of the season, other mysteries have been solved almost instantly, before we've scarcely had a chance to comprehend what's going on. After last week's flashback necessity, I was expecting the pace to really pick up in this episode as the divergent plot strands draw ever closer to their grand conclusions. Unfortunately, "A Little Night Music" seemed to crawl along, offering little surprises in its three sinister storylines and relying on trivial domestic japery for any excitement. Progress, then, but hardly befitting an episode so close to the finish line.

After three weeks of "novel writing", Patrick Logan (John Barrowman) finally made his first move in his two-decade long game of chess with former lover and murder accomplice Angie Bolen (Drea De Matteo). Hospitalising Angie's "husband", undercover officer Nick (Jeffrey Nordling), by running him down with his car, Patrick then demanded to spend the night on Wisteria Lane... with Angie. This psychological warfare wasn't quite the violent showdown I was expecting from Patrick Logan, but John Barrowman delivered his subtly depraved demands with wicked charisma. I look forward to seeing how this pans out...

Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman) discovered the downside to inviting the victim of a broken home into her life this week, as Eddie Orlofsky (Josh Zuckerman) failed to keep his temper in order whenever a member of the outspoken Scavo clan dared raise their voice at his saviour. A murderer with morals -- who would have thought?! Lynette decides the best cure for Eddie is counselling, but after one session, Dr. McCarthy (Matt Riedy) is certain that progress can only be made if the root of Eddie's issues -- his mother -- is present. Lynette promises to persuade Barbara, although we all know how unlikely that is, what with her being stuffed in the back of her car with no pulse...

Having borrowed $50,000 dollars from Carlos Solis (Ricardo Chavira) to pay off his business debts without involving his wife, stubbornly principled Mike Delfino (James Denton) this week found his secret was out when Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria Parker) did a little digging into her husband's accounts. Which is obviously what any wife would do when her husband -- the breadwinner -- shoots down her suggestion to buy a holiday chalet. When Gaby reveals this goodwill loan to an uninformed Susan (Teri Hatcher), the two housewives plot to wind-up their guarded other halves for freezing them out. How mature...

While I found this farcical exercise to be quite humorous, with Mike and Carlos getting more and more frustrated by the elaborately fabricated scenario their wives were creating, I felt it was far too frivolous this close to the end of the season. I can appreciate what writer Matt Berry was aiming for: a lightweight comedy strand amongst the darkness of the episode's other plotlines, but it felt out of place to me, and would have been more successful in an earlier and less murky episode.

Having wormed his way into Bree Hodge's (Marcia Cross) affections and business, snide Sam Allen (Sam Page) was perturbed this week when he spotted his mother -- whom he had told the Hodge's was dead -- stacking shelves at a convenience store. Bree investigated by having coffee with the woman, Lillian Allen (Linda Purl), who revealed that her son blamed her for not allowing him to live with his father (and Bree's deceased former husband, Rex) when he was younger. Lillian admits that Sam disowned her, believing her "selfish" decision hampered his chance to live a life of luxury. When Bree confronts Sam about his dishonesty, he snaps and turns violent, leading Bree to turn to Orson (Kyle MacLachlan) and Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom) and hatch a plan to cut this insidious intruder out of their lives...

Since his introduction some weeks ago, Sam Allen has obviously been hiding something. The show's writers have not even attempted to hide his questionable intentions, meaning none of his exposed deceptions have been at all shocking, regardless of how well he covered up his trickery. Watching this predictable plot play out, I have been slowly waiting for the penny to drop for Bree, as it did for Andrew and Orson some time ago, but I cannot shake the feeling that it is the weakest of the three "big plots" heading for conclusion in a fortnight's time.

WRITER: Matt Berry
DIRECTOR: David Warren
GUEST CAST: John Barrowman, Sam Page, Josh Zuckerman, Shawn Pyfrom, Linda Purl, David Berman, Matt Riedy & Susan Grace
TRANSMISSION: 23 JUNE 2010 - CHANNEL 4/HD, 9PM