Desperate Housewives - Season 5, Episode 14 - Mama Spent Money When She Had None

The Scavo’s are broke. Tom’s sports car has to be sold and as Bree glides by in her new Lexus, gushing about all of its fabulous features, there’s no doubt that there will be trouble. Word quickly spreads through the women of Lynette’s dire situation and taking matters into her own hands as only Bree does best, the stressed out mother and pizzeria owner soon finds a cheque for $20,000 thrust upon her. Aghast by her friends generosity Lynette quickly determines that though the money would save her financial situation she cannot accept it as a gift and Bree quickly becomes a 15% shareholder in the Scavo’s food outlet.

Bree’s generosity quickly comes between friends

Elsewhere the other housewives also have financial matters on their minds – Susan finally gets a place for MJ into the private school she’s been bugging for months only to discover that the fee’s are far more than she and Mike can afford. Finding Katherine wearing a brand new and beautiful pearl necklace gift from Mike, Susan becomes angry and attempts to steal the necklace back. Confronting Mike over the situation he embarrassingly reveals that he couldn’t afford a real pearl necklace and so bought Katherine a fake, and that he is working all the hours that god sends to try and put money by for his son. Humbly Susan repents and realises that it is she who must work harder and grovelling at the school’s office convinces the head to give her an art assistant post at the school, thus affording her the discount needed for MJ’s school fee’s to be met.

Money is not a problem however for the newly wealthy Solices and as a celebration Carlos arranges to take Gabrielle out to an expensive restaurant. Seeing the need to make it extra special Gabrielle takes it upon herself to try and fit back into the gown she wore when Carlos first proposed, it however no longer fits as well as it did and managing to get an invite to Edie’s extreme workout class she sets about losing the weight. However, after reading the work out class’s contract and discovering that words such as “can’t”, “donut” and “cake” are banned and partaking in the first session with the angry and fierce ex Israeli army instructor Gabby decides to quit. That is until the class arrive on her lawn at 6am, the instructor blowing his whistle and forcing her out of the house. After refusing to take part Edie gives Gabby a few home truths telling her that they as a group had decided to come over because they knew how important getting into the dress was for the latino. That Gabby was fast turning into the self conceited bitch she used to be, and that Edie much preferred the dumpy, poor housewife of the last few months. Realising that Edie was actually speaking truth Gabby returned to the group, a smile from the instructor and the other women, and realised there was more to the training group than pain, lactic acid and shouting – there was friendship.

Gabby’s back to being trim but needs to do some re-evaluating

At the pizzeria Lynette threw a party to celebrate Bree’s becoming a shareholder but things got off to a bad start when the red headed regimented queen of food discovered the Scavo’s were dishing up pizza from her best selling book without using the correct ingredients. Taking matters into her own hands Bree threw out the old pizza’s and started over, much to the anger of Lynette who drove off from the party, bumping Bree’s new Lexus in the meantime, and leaving the foodie alone at her own book signing. Things became worse when Lynette later angrily gave Bree a cheque for the damage to the car and stated that money had truly come between them.

With our current economic crisis it is nice to see it being portrayed, though with some delusion, through Desperate Housewives. How Susan ever managed on her book illustration I’ll never know so it’s with some relief that she finally gets a job and equally its nice to see Gabby, though richer than of late, not reverting to the money grabbing, shallow minded bitch she was originally. With the undertones of Dave still ever present – Tom Scavo discovers that it was Dave that put Preston into the firing line for arson – there are still rumblings of a big explosive final but it is refreshing to see this season return to some of the more common, but by no means lesser, suburban storylines rather than relying on big, complicated and unrealistic plots to thrill the viewer.