May 6, 2007: Into the Woods
I just knew that Victor Lang (
John Slattery) was going to turn out to be a bad guy. He seemed too perfect. But didn't you think his mean streak came out of nowhere? He acted as though Gabrielle had never done a stupid thing before with the way he yelled at her. Yes, Gaby jumped in his arms like a child when it looked as though he was going to win the mayoral race. Yes, Gaby can be a "high maintenance nightmare," as brilliantly described by Vern (
Alec Mapa). And yes, Gaby got arrested for her shenanigans with the cop (Brendan Patrick Connor), ripping up the parking tickets since she thought it was acceptable behavior for the new "First Lady of Fairview." But did Victor have to yell at her like an abusive father to a daughter? You knew as soon as he saw the bruise on her wrist caused by the cop that Victor was going to have
something done to the guy. Enter the two thugs, beating up the cop. But Gaby's going ahead with the wedding. Let's see if she indeed says "I do" in two weeks.
Kudos to the casting department once again for bringing back a TV actor that hasn't been seen in a while:
Greg Evigan! What a perfect choice to play Edie's ex-husband and father of Travers. Greg is mostly remembered for
BJ and the Bear and
My Two Dads, but let's talk irony with the fact that he also played Dr. Dan Hathaway on
Melrose Place. Why is this ironic? Because Dr. Dan was the eventual lover of Matt Fielding, played by
Doug Savant. I'll get to Doug as Tom in just a bit. I was glad Carlos talked Edie out of her request for joint custody. You could tell Carlos was getting too attached to Travers - he was more excited to spend time with his video-game pal Travers than with Edie. But then Carlos surprisingly told Edie: "I'm going to make you happy." Edie: "Don't say that if you don't mean it." But
does he mean it? Hmm...
I always like when they give Tom cojones. His meeting with Rick (
Jason Gedrick) was a highlight of the episode: "Are you sleeping with my wife?" It was about time Tom spoke up - it had to be the surveillance footage that included Lynette and Rick sitting comfortably alone together at the dinner table after the restaurant had closed. But it was what Lynette
didn't do that was an even bigger highlight for me. She
didn't fool around or even kiss Rick when they were trapped together inside the walk-in refrigerator (by the way, how many times is Lynette going to be held at gunpoint?). Yes, she slept in Rick's arms, but it was cold in there. Then later, when Rick admitted to Lynette that he had feelings for her, she cut him off at the quick and fired him, telling him it was just flirting between them, nothing more. I would've been really peeved if she returned his compliment by saying: "Oh, Rick. I feel the same way," followed by one of those soap opera makeout sessions. Thankfully, they didn't go
there. But it was pretty apparent that she does have feelings for Rick, as evidenced by her weeping by the bathtub after Tom told her he was coming back to work. No more nightly half hours of bliss sipping wine with Rick.
I was kind of dreading the "Susan searches for Mike in the woods" part of this episode, since I've never been a fan of the klutziness of Susan and I figured this scenario would be chock-full of pratfalls. Luckily, Susan only fell once. What made her woodsy adventures so much fun was the hilarious
Rusty Schwimmer as Toni, the hiking guide assigned to escort the very talkative Susan through her two-day hike for Mike. Toni to Susan: "You need to rest a second? You
sound winded." Then, after a bug flew in Susan's mouth: "The bugs can't get in if you
keep your mouth shut." Then she chastised Susan for wanting to put lotion on her face that contained honey, calling it "bear food." The very observant Toni totally summed up us viewers when she told Susan: "You're a drama junkie. When there is no drama, you create it. You sleep with your ex-husband. You cheat on a coma victim. And now you're hiking up a mountain after a guy who has no idea you're coming." She followed that with: "You don't know how to just be happy." That honest speech caused Susan to sneak out the next morning to seek Mike on her own. But it gave
Teri Hatcher a rare chance to show she's actually a terrific dramatic actress. That scene with Susan tearfully leaving Mike the voicemail message that she loves him and has always loved him was one of Teri's best. It's not that often when an episode ends so happily, with Mike showing up after desperately seeking Susan and lifting her up and kissing her. Fade to black, with no cliff-hanger. With only two episodes left this season, I didn't mind it: I welcomed it.
Two final tidbits (the
second one contains a possible
SPOILER, so do not read past the first one if you hate to be spoiled):
1) I was sorry there was no Mrs. McCluskey in this episode, but at least we got
Kathryn Joosten's V8 commercial during one of the breaks.
2) ***
Possible SPOILER ALERT***
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Last week I mentioned
Marcia Cross guesting on
Letterman. Did you see it Thursday night? Marcia confirmed she'll be back for the season finale (on May 20, as previously announced), and she hinted that Bree will return with a
noticeable difference. David asked if she'd be pregnant - Marcia did not say yes or no, but it was obvious her
face was saying yes. Who knows? She could've just been playing around with David, but I still wanted to mention it.
