Season 7, Episode 1: “Remember Paul?”
I don’t watch all that much TV, but there is one dramedy that I watch religiously every week, a show that unfortunately is rumored to end this year after seven seasons. “Desperate Housewives” premiered Sunday, Sept. 26, and I’m delighted to say that it has even more drama and scandal than last year.
Vanessa Williams joins the cast as Renee Perry, the soon to be the ex-wife of a Yankees baseball player and Lynette’s old college roommate.
Though I find her stuck-up behavior rather annoying, I often find myself laughing out loud at her biting comments. She’s almost like the reincarnation of Edie, and my feelings toward both characters are similar. I can already tell that I’m going to love hating her this season.
Renee’s elitist attitude will bring petty but totally necessary drama to Wisteria Lane this season. She’s already spilled some secrets from Lynette’s past—several which have shocked and intrigued Tom in particular—and I’m wondering what else we’ll find out about Lynette.
Meanwhile, Lynette has a quick tongue and can fire back equally biting remarks with each backhanded compliment that Renee says. Their banter is fun for now, but I have a feeling it might get old fast if it doesn’t build up to a better plotline.
I’ve got to give Lynette some credit for being able to deal with her obnoxious houseguest. She already has enough drama to handle with her five children and a husband who is basically just another kid (side note—is it just me, or does Penny look like she’s being played by a new actress?).
Renee’s not the only unexpected new arrival to Wisteria Lane. In the weeks leading up to the season premiere, ABC hinted that a former character was returning to the neighborhood. Unfortunately, I completely forgot about him, so his return wasn’t as dramatic or exciting for me as I had hoped.
Paul Young, narrator Mary Alice’s husband, is fresh out of prison for the murder of Felicia Tillman. It turns out that Felicia is still alive, and she herself framed him because she knew that he killed her sister.
As Paul walks through the neighborhood for the first time in several years, Mary Alice says that his neighbors had forgotten about him while he was away, “but he had thought about them and he was going to make sure they’d never forget him again.” Good foreshadowing, Mary Alice. I NEVER would have expected him to be involved in the major dramatic plotline of the season.
The neighborhood gossip Karen McCluskey runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, warning everyone about Paul’s return while Bree tells Gaby that she has horrible news of her own: Andrew was the one who ran over Carlos’ mother. Yet another plotline I forgot about.
Meanwhile, Carlos has a secret of his own: apparently Juanita was switched at birth (as for whose daughter she is, we’ll have to see). It figures that the one and only time I’ve ever really seen Gaby and Juanita share an adorable bonding moment is after I find out that they’re not actually related. When Gaby tells her daughter that “you are my whole world,” I literally wanted to cry—and I’m not one to ever cry during TV shows.
For now, it looks like Carlos is going to keep the secret hidden, and he’s going to try to finalize her adoption before Gaby finds out. Good luck with that one!
Then there’s the drama between Bree and Orson. I’m so sick of it, mainly because it’s been going on for way too long. Now that they’re getting divorced, they actually seem to be getting along well—until Bree finds out that Orson and his therapist, Judy, are suddenly in a relationship. I also have to wonder why Bree is still wearing her wedding ring.
Moving away from Wisteria Lane, we’re brought to the Delfinos’ new apartment. M.J., who used to be the most adorable kid on the show, is sort of a brat now. It might just be because he’s not old enough to understand the concept of financial problems. Mike hasn’t been getting much business lately, and Susan wants to find a second job. It figures that she’d end up in a job that’s just as scandalous as the business she owned last year (remember the gentlemen’s club?). Of course, she doesn’t tell Mike about it, instead lying that her jewelry business is starting to profit. Like that’s believable. Hesitant at first, she joins a website where she is filmed doing housework in lingerie. Way to stay classy, Susan.
At the end of the episode, the drama of what appears to be the main plotline of the season picks up again. Psychotic Felicia, who framed Paul, is now in jail. She’s dying to avenge her sister’s death, and she tells her cellmate, “Paul Young will be dead in six months.” Her cellmate kind of laughs off the idea, as did I (I mean, she is locked up and everything) but then she leaves viewers hanging by saying, “Paul Young doesn’t have friends on that street. I do.”
I was nervous that this season of “Desperate Housewives” was going to be dull, especially since characters like Angie and Katherine have left the neighborhood. However, Mark Cherry and his team of creative writers have hooked me yet again into what looks like a promising season of comedy and mystery.
Jenny Hottle can be reached for comment at [email protected].