What does it say about an show when a supporting character, not even a semi-regular but a very rarely recurring character, gets all the best lines and more development in one episode than any of the regulars get over the course of a season?
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this episode of Desperate Housewives, because there was a lot of humor to be had, but as our ladies of Wisteria Land begin to unravel because of the weight of their secret, it makes me wonder what their fates will be come the end of the series.
Gaby is coping very well, focusing her attention on being able to drop Juanita off at school instead of having to park miles away and walk. Are there really restrictions like this at schools where you have to have a special pass just to drop off at the door? I can understand parking, but dropping off? This whole situation, though, turned out to give Beth Littleford a chance to shine in the role of Dana, the very strict PTA president who was given the power, found out it basically cost her her life, but couldn’t give it up even when her position was challenged. Nope, she just bribed some other mothers with drop off passes to drop out of Gaby’s coup (and the joke was on Gaby by the end when she inadvertantly got what she wanted). I don’t know if Dana will be making a return any time soon, but anyone who can find a role for Littleford should be calling her right now!
I’m not even going to beat the dead horse that is Tom and Lynette. I thought after last week’s show when Lynette’s sister opened her eyes to how awful of a person she can be that she might go a little easier on Tom as they work through their issues, but the minute she suspected him of already seeing someone (thanks to Renee’s intuition), she went right back into Lynette mode. I will miss Lynette and Tom the least come May.
Meanwhile, Bree juggled the return of Daniele and her grandson, Daniele’s new start-up business selling “exercise equipment” (for a very particular exercise [wink wink]), and is still reeling from Chuck’s meltdown after his aborted proposal last week. We certainly saw a different side of Chuck and now that he’s got that missing persons report sitting in his In box, how long before he starts snooping around Wisteria Lane for answers? (And, by the way, what happened to the new guy? He’s been absent for the last two weeks.)
And poor Susan, the most fragile of them all, hasn’t felt the least bit better after unburdening herself to Mike (who has taken the news surprisingly well). After being rejected for a spot in an art class and showing the teacher her dark side, she was admitted … to the class, not the psyche ward! Will this new outlet give her some peace, or will she be the one to not live happily ever after by the finale?
“Well who died and made you boss?” — Gaby
“Margaret Frye, cancer.” — Dana
“Oh … right … I still owe for those flowers.” — Gaby
“Explain something to me … if you’re trying to win back your husband, why are you dressed like you sell oranges by the freeway?” — Renee to Lynette
“Let me get this straight, Jill. For Back To School Night appetizers, you’re suggesting pretzels? [Jill nods] What are we, a public school?” — Dana
“Sex swing in my test kitchen? Do you realize I used to make people wear hair nets in here?” — Bree to Daniele after discovering what her exercise equipment business really is.
“Let me tell you what I was like before I took this job. I was fun. I drank at school functions, my boob fell out at the holiday party … I still had a husband.” — Dana giving Gaby a glimpse into her life before she was PTA president.
Clacked by Chuck Duncan 
on Oct 17, 2011 @ 05:02 EST5EDT
