‘Desperate Housewives’ Series Finale: Death Strikes Wisteria Lane

‘Desperate Housewives’ Series Finale: Death Strikes Wisteria Lane
‘Desperate Housewives’ Series Finale: Death Strikes Wisteria Lane

Ghosts of Fairview past — and I mean that literally — returned to send off the women of Wisteria Lane. Were you satisfied with the ending?

The two-hour series finale of Desperate Housewives somehow managed to feature every last-episode cliché in the book — a wedding, a delivery, a trial, a death, etc. — but in true Housewives fashion, it all worked together perfectly. Not only were we given closure with each of the women we’ve grown to love, but we were also reminded that there will always be drama on Wisteria Lane. We just won’t see it.

Karen (Kathryn Joosten) ”confessed” to killing Ramon in the first hour, and considering she’s about to die of cancer, the prosecution chose not to press charges. So Bree (Marcia Cross) got off scott-free, and no one got hurt — well, except for the American justice system. That one got screwed pretty badly.

And now that she was a free woman, Bree was also free to be with her knight-in-legal-armor Tripp — which means he’ll either be dead or paralyzed within the next few years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned during the past eight seasons, it’s that no good comes from marrying Bree.

Tom (Doug Savant) and Lynette (Felicity Huffman) also finally arrived on the same page and decided to get back together. “You’re the love of my life,” he told her, cuing up an epic kiss — the kind that required a 360-degree camera to truly capture. But because Tom and Lynette are contractually obligated to always be miserable, a newly de-lesbian’d Katherine (Dana Delaney) returned to the lane with a proposition for Lynette to help launch her new business in New York.

And then there was the whole birth-death montage during Renee’s (Vanessa Williams) wedding, which is worthy of its own graf. The birth of Julie’s (Andrea Bowen) child was coupled with Karen’s death in a heart-wrenching sequence set to an olden-time ditty from Karen’s youth. The whole thing was done so beautifully, though I have to wonder which is the bigger tragedy: Karen dying or Porter Scavo (Charlie Carver) becoming a father.

Mary Alice’s (Brenda Strong) final voiceover treated viewers to a look into the ladies’ futures: Tom and Lynette moved to New York, where she and Tom eventually raised their six grandchildren; Bree married Tripp, moved to Kentucky and was eventually elected to the state legislature; Carlos (Ricardo Chavira) helped Gaby (Eva Longoria) create a website called “Gabrielle’s Closet,” which eventually led to a show on the Home Shopping Network and a new life in California.

But it was Susan’s (Teri Hatcher) one-last-drive around the block that truly left the audience haunted — literally. As she rolled down Wisteria Lane, Susan was met by the ghost of each and every person who died on the show, from Mike (James Denton) and Karl (Richard Burgi) to Paul Young (Mark Moses) and Tom’s crazy ex who got shot in the supermarket.

A brief meeting between Susan and the new owner of her house — who just so happens to be harboring a dark secret of her own — served to remind us that even though we won’t get to visit Wisteria Lane on a weekly basis anymore, the drama will carry on forever.

What did YOU think of the ending? After eight years, were you hoping for more, or was it everything you expected it to be? Which housewife will you miss the most? Share your thoughts about the finale in the comments section below! It’s been fun, friends.

— Andy Swift

More Desperate Housewives:

  1. Recap: Will Bree Betray Gaby To Save Herself?

  2. Recap: Did Lynette Lose Tom Forever?

  3. First Look: Renee’s Wedding Dress Revealed

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