User blog comment:Sebastian.0315/Best Desperate Mistery/@comment-392210-20110208212342

I think the best mystery is definitely Mary Alice's, it's the best backstory ever and it is a very juicy portrayal of desperation, which is what the show's about. Every other mystery in seasons 2-4 was good too, dark and interesting. Season 5's was the weakest. It started off great, but was resolved to us viewers by episode 10, and it took 14 episodes afterwards for Dave to do something when it came to his original plans. That is, after his plans were revealed, so it was actually 24 episodes, the whole season. Sure, he had an interesting time on the lane, co-starring with the other castmembers, and got imbroiled in other juicy stuff. Who cares? Not to mention that Neal McDonough's acting was sub-par, at times it just seemed like he was reading off cue cards, and the fact that he totally ruined the climax because he's religious... seriously? He was supposed to kill MJ! That would had been awful, but at least it would had been juicy. But no, McDonough wouldn't budge, so the producers changed the script. And we were left with a sappy, predictable ending. Nonetheless, Teri Hatcher was phenomenal, she should always be the damsel in distress, she nails that part. :)

Angie's mystery was awesome in the first 10 episodes, sounded really original, what with the housewife actually being guilty of murder and the terrorism stuff... oh, but it turns out she was only an eco-terrorist and the big twist was that she was running from someone who was psycho just for the sake of being psycho, who only popped up in the last 6 episodes (so it seems like the previous 17 episodes were a waste), and whose lines and actions were nothing short of cheesy. I love the bomb-in-the-detonator twist, but it still seemed anti-climatic. And that was the only twist in the mystery. We were given explanatory flashbacks that didn't tell us anything we didn't already know or suspect in the teaser for the two pre-finale episodes, and not a single flashback in the finale showing at least the original explosion that killed Sean. I suspected that Nick was actually responsible for the guy's death, which is why he ran off with Angie, and not because he loved her. In the end, she'd find that out and make him pay for allowing her to live with the burden of thinking she'd murdered someone for 18 years. But no. They were just a happy family in the end. Like Danny wasn't peculiar and brooding before, or like Nick didn't sleep with Julie at all. Where was the aftermath for that in their regular non-mystery storyline? Sweeping things under the rug and calling it okay isn't what DH used to do in the early seasons. Something always lead to something else. The only mysterious twist I liked in season 6 (aside from the bomb thing) was Eddie wanting to strangle Susan instead of her daughter. But even that story came to such a lame, sappy, cheesy, predictable ending. Sure, it's heart-warming, and sends a sweet little message. But it's boring.

Now, this season, there's a complete lack of an ongoing mystery. But there are some pretty interesting mini-mysteries along the way, which I think was a great move on the writers' part. Instead of making us ponder about some shady story, they've simply got us waiting for a big showdown between two of the greatest baddies, and we enjoy some nice bit mysteries (Paul buying the houses, Beth's reasons for marrying him, Paul getting shot, Zach framing the 'wives...) during the ride. I'm pleased. And I'm also pleased that the new housewife isn't the mystery star this year.

But no mystery will ever be as good as the first season's. Or have a better featured cast than season 3's (Dixie Carter, Valerie Mahaffey and Laurie Metcalf rocked!).