'Tis The Season to be Desperate

by Turtlemama
PTR Staff Writer

Last night’s ‘Housewives’ episode was intriguing, at the least, wasn’t it? Wisteria Lane had a huge holiday block party, where the ‘predator’, or new neighbor depending on your point-of-view, showed up as Santa with toys for all the kids. Only he wasn’t met with merriment, he was met with shame and shunning. Lynnette’s plan from last week seemed to be working well, she had shunned the predator of the neighborhood and everyone was aware of who and what he was…problem solved, or so she thought.

Next Gabby met a love interest! One of her pagent student’s father (well that’s confusing…) although the student had other plans for her father, so Gabby had to put her thinking tiara on and come up with a way to thwart the little girl’s plans. So, instead of the little girl’s father marrying her best friend’s mother, Gabby pitted the girls against one another, hopefully getting her way. I have a feeling that this storyline will turn out like the Edie/Carl/Susan one...Carlos will see Gabby with Bill and want her back, like Susan did when she saw Carl with Edie.

On to Bree, desperate, manipulative Bree…Orson moved out and his mother stayed behind, trying to convince Bree to divorce Orson, to no avail. While Orson was moved out and Bree was contemplating her next move she discovers that Mike was arrested for Monique murder. Thinking that the recent arrest clears her husband of any wrong doing, Bree decides to confront Orson and get the whole story. BUT, Susan steals the keys to Orson office, after she and Bree had a fight about Mike being innocent and Orson being guilty. Susan is hiding in Orson’s records closet when Bree comes in and begins her chat with Orson. Meanwhile, Susan begins digging into Orson’s personal files and finds out that Orson was in a mental institution for over a year. This gives Susan enough evidence, in her own mind, to clear Mike and prove that Orson is capable of murder. Orson, on the other hand tells Bree the truth about his mother and the Monique, Alma situation. Bree believes her husband and they return home to clear out Mama Hodge.

Lynnette is off to a meeting with some of the residents of Wisteria Lane when she happens upon the disabled sister of the new neighbor. The sister explains what she and her brother have had to wrought because of Lynnette’s gossping. Lynnette tries to blow the sister off, but then realizes that maybe the sister is right; what if ‘Protector Man’ isn’t really ‘Pedophile Man’? Lynnette then makes her way to the meeting and walks in on what looks like a protest in the making. Picket signs read “Get Our Pedophile!” and “No Child Molesters in our Neighborhood!” Lynnette then realizes that her gossiping has created a monster and she tries to explain that maybe they’ve taken this a little too far. No one hears her cries and she leaves. Finally a few hours later there is a mob on the street in front of the new neighbor’s house and they are telling him to leave. As Lynnette is watching, Tom comes out and proves that maybe he was right, maybe Lynnette should have left well enough alone. Just as he’s done comparing Lynnette’s gossiping to a Mary Shelley novel, an ambulance pulls up onto Wisteria Lane with sirens blaring. Invalid sister is wheeled onto the ambulance and new neighbor dude is trying to lock up the house to go with his sister when a picketer throws a rock at his head. Lynnette tries, in vain, to clear the crowd and then catches neighbor dude and apologizes.

Susan was supposed to be hosting a home-cooked dinner for Ian’s parents when she returns home 40 minutes late to find Ian alone. Ian’s parents were snowed in at O’Hare and wouldn’t be coming to dinner. Susan explains that she out trying to clear Mike’s name. Ian asks why Edie wasn’t doing the legwork for Mike when Susan drops the bomb that Edie dumped Mike (who else asked WTF when Edie dumped Mike AT THE JAILHOUSE!?) Ian then becomes jealous (duh!) and then promises Susan that he’ll pay for the best attorney in town for Mike; providing Susan never sees Mike again. Susan agrees; shows Ian her ‘proof’ and they move on.

Meanwhile back at Casa Hodge; Mama Hodge makes a phone call to a mystery caller and declares that unfortunately Bree is taking Orson back. The two parties agree to meet at the corner in a few minutes.

Lynnette sees neighbor dude packing up his car and walks over to giver her condolences to him for the loss of his sister. The creepy exchange makes you wonder; was he really a predator or did he say those things just to mess with Lynnette? Either way, he’s moving out and this storyline was prematurely ended and honestly, I don’t think many people care whether he was a predator or not.

As the show comes to a close we see Mama Hodge walking towards the corner to meet with her mystery caller. The window goes down on a dark sedan and who do we see; none other than Mrs. Alma Hodge, alive and well and in the flesh.

I’m a little disappointed that they cut the pedophile storyline short, but then again I didn’t think they’d actually have a storyline where one of the child characters were harmed. But I do think they went a little fast with this particular plotline.

The Hodges’ story is quite interesting and my prediction is that Alma and Mama Hodge will kill Bree, trying to get Orson thrown in jail. I believe that Mama Hodge and Alma were the killers of Monique also, only they used Mike’s wrench and tried to implicate Orson in the crime. It’s a good way to get Mike out of jail; have Mama H. and Alma try to kill Bree, Bree thwarts their plan and uncovers the truth; Mike is out of jail; Orson is under a cloud of suspicion no more and we’re on to the next crazy plotline. However any of this turns out will be interesting, it is Wisteria Lane after all!