This week's episode of
Desperate Housewives focused on the new kids on the block, with MJ Meyer, Juanita Solis and Benjamin Katz (formerly Hodge) being put front and center. Those aren't the only kids around, as the adults start acting like kids themselves, joining garage bands and getting into petty fights.
Also, Dave Williams keeps insinuating himself in the lives of the other residents of Wisteria Lane, which is possibly the smartest thing
Desperate Housewives has ever done. Past mysteries with Katherine's family and the Applewhites, struggled because they were isolated, but this season, the big mystery is quickly encompassing everyone on the show.
In the episode's funniest storyline, Susan's son MJ is getting bullied by Gabi's husky daughter Juanita. Mike (
James Denton) is against hitting girls, but Susan's odd interpretation of feminism thinks it's OK if the girl is bigger than the boy. This is great news for any guy who wants to beat up a WNBA player.
After seeing Juanita push MJ, Susan (
Teri Hatcher) turns into a child herself and pushes the little girl down. Gabi (
Eva Longoria Parker) sees it, resulting in a childish catfight. In true
Desperate Housewives fashion, they make up over booze, toasting what good mothers they are. This is immediately followed by Gabi neglecting her children.
As for Bree (
Marcia Cross), Danielle returns with her new husband and cute little Benjamin. Bree is horrified to learn that not only are they vegetarians, but Danielle is homeschooling Benjamin and they've converted to Judaism. It's impossible to figure out which is most awful for Bree. Rather than respond like an adult, Bree resorts to her inner child and uses bribery to get Benjamin to eat a hot dog, which I guess counts as meat. Danielle (
Joy Lauren) makes a hasty exit, however, when Benjamin vomits chunks of hot dog all over the carpet during a fancy dinner party.
Not only does Dave Williams fix Katherine's sprinkler system, but he also forms a garage band with Tom (
Doug Savant). Tom's mid-life crisis keeps him acting like a child, but Lynette responds in kind, “accidentally” leaving Tom's bass on the floor of the garage so Tom runs over it. As if last week's
Desperate Housewives, when Lynette (
Felicity Huffman) flirted with her teenage son online, wasn't bad enough, Lynette blames their daughter Penny for leaving the bass on the ground. I'm pretty sure Lynette is the absolute worst mother ever depicted on television.
However, Lynette redeems herself by not falling for Dave's chicanery. When he tries to threaten her into letting Tom play by purchasing a new bass, Lynette has the same look on her face that Mrs. McCluskey did when her cat went missing last week. If there's anything this show has taught us, it's that you don't cross Lynette Scavo, because as awful a mother as she is, she's survived cancer and a tornado, so some slimy motivational speaker is no match for her.
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)