By Antony
May 29, 2005 - 10:32 PMHello World! So, I've seen the Desperate Housewives season finale. Here's what I thought...
It's a bit like 24 in a sense that I can enjoy it if I don't think about it. But as soon as I engage thought, I start to get disappointed. Probably the biggest letdown of this episode was how they finished the Mary-Alice storyline.
The writers built mystery so well at the beginning, but they almost didn't seem to be able to sustain it. So they sometimes dropped hints, but other times just left the storyline well alone. But the trouble is they'd dropped all the necessary clues by the season finale for there to be no surprises. The only new factor was that Mary Alice stabbed Zach's mother and, quite frankly, I could see that one coming a mile off. So the sad thing is we knew all there was to know about the Mary-Alice mystery that sparked so many our interests in the show; without even really knowing, the story had bled out over the course of the season.
It's not just Mary-Alice's story that suffered from this problem. Take Andrew for example: they bring him in, get a good story going, then realize they're burning through his story too fast and just remove him from the show for a while.
So stories stop and start, stop and start. All in all, there's too many fragmented stories that don't fit together, and rather than unfold multiple stories they just show many of them in blocks almost. That is aside from the usual predictable scenes which are in every episode, like Carlos/Gabrielle scenes:
Gabrielle: Carlos, I'm fed up with you.
Carlos: Why?
Gabrielle? I don't have enough shoes.
Carlos: But...
Gabrielle: Don't talk to me Carlos, I'd had enough. I can't live without my [insert brand to appeal to Gabrielle's fans].
Carlos: But I give you the money for the shoes.
Gabrielle: I'm going, goodbye.
Carlos: You'll miss me.
Gabrielle: No I won't.
Carlos: Okay you won't.
Gabrielle: Yes I will.
It's just so easy to write a scene between the two of them, and the actors' delivery every time just feels the same.
Of course not all of the characters and actors are like this. I find Marcia Cross is just wonderful as Bree, and Edie has actually become a real favorite of mine. Maybe I like these two because they can deliver something new into their dialogue each week, a bit of flair.
Anyway, I'm digressing. All in all the finale wasn't awful, but showing us what happened with Mary Alice felt just like a formality that they wanted to get out of the way. Hence it was largely done by the opening credits, and it didn't even fit with the story. It was just Mary Alice hijacking the show because it was the season finale, not because the story dictated it. Then there were the plot holes. Why even chop her up, why not just put her under the patio? Why on earth dig her up just to throw her in the river so anyone that could find her other than to provide a really cool-looking scene at the beginning of the season? And why was Martha supposedly "blackmailing" Mary-Alice? Did something go on before the final, fatal note?
Next season, I want to see more complication to the stories. Stories need to be unfolded slower over more episodes, and more stories need to run concurrently. And more intermixing would be good, as the show has felt more like a collection of short stories rather than a cohesive show. And no, Mary Alice's dialogue attempts to link the stories doesn't really do it for me (if only because I notice she's become like background noise, and I am not even listening to her at times).
I watched some One Tree Hill earlier (okay, I admit it), and to be honest I think they are much more capable of mixing stories together. But with 30m viewers for the finale, the Desperate Housewives writers should be able to do better. I think the honeymoon period is over now, and just introducing characters with "secrets" won't last forever. Season two will be a very interesting time, and the period where it'll be really decided if the show lasts a long time or burns out into obscurity. Talk Desperate! threads Below are some of the topics currently being discussed at Talk Desperate!:
- How did Felicia know?
- Tom's big Secret
More topics can be found at the Talk Desperate! Poll Results Below are the results of the most recent Get Desperate! poll:
What did you think of 'One Wonderful Day'?
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9-10 |
 60% - (122
Votes) |
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7-8 |
17.2% - (35
Votes) |
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Wasn't able to see it |
9.8% - (20
Votes) |
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5-6 |
6.8% - (14
Votes) |
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1-2 |
2.9% - (6
Votes) |
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Didn't want to see it |
2.4% - (5
Votes) |
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3-4 |
0.4% - (1
Votes) |
Total Votes: 203
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That's what you thought of the season finale "One Wonderful Day". This week's new poll is about the husbands of Desperate Housewives. [an error occurred while processing this directive]Today's Television Listings The "Pilot" episode is repeated on ABC tonight at 9pm. Here's the synopsis:
Looking down on her friends and family isn't a way of life for Mary Alice Young... it's a way of death. One day, in her perfect house, in the loveliest of suburbs, Mary Alice ended it all. Now she's taking us into the lives of her family, friends and neighbors, commenting from her elevated P.O.V.
Discuss this news item at Talk Desperate!
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