‘Desperate Housewives Season 8’: A Last Visit To Wisteria Lane

The climactic season finale of Desperate Housewives came along with the sad goodbyes of desperation from fans everywhere. The astute and crafty women of Wisteria Lane have been in our lives as a guilty pleasure for so long, leaving us wondering if there will be anything to ever replace them. Much like their urban counterpart Sex and the City we can only anticipate an ideal follow up movie featuring the progression of the women who have vastly redefined suburban life forever. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. The eighth and final season of ABC’s hit show is now available on DVD for viewers to relive the beloved series. We can now have the ladies of the Lane in our home once again along with added bonus scenes and additional special features to enhance the Housewives experience.

As the previous season ended with a murder, this one begins with the plot of concealment. Similar to seasons past, much of the finale centers around mystery and cover-up. With plot twists and hidden revelations of juicy Wisteria Lane gossip, who can resist? The close bond, the love and friendship that each share seems to be the glue that kept this show intact and like a moth to flame, the appeal kept us coming back for more each Sunday night. Despite the various spats and squabbles which quite often arise, most assuredly these women maintain their loyalty to one another through thick and thin. One of the bonus features given, “I Guess This Is Goodbye” provides viewers with the Desperate Housewives cast reflecting on the beautiful individual personalities of each character and what made their roles successfully appealing.

The head of the pack in this suburban group of ladies shall always be deemed to Bree (Marcia Cross): The stubborn yet classy ginger who remains cool under pressure — which is certainly needed if the body of Gaby’s (Eva Longoria) pedophile step-father Alejandro (Tony Plana) is to be discretely disposed of. While Susan (Terri Hatcher) is the self-expressed skeptic, Lynette (Felicity Hoffman) remains the voice of reason in the entire fiasco and on the fateful night over the grave in the woods, each drudgingly agrees to withhold the secret from others. But, of course in true Housewife fashion, whether situational or as a result of sheer uncontrollable desperation each begins to tell someone outside the circle and so begins the web of deceitful lies.

It’s to be questioned why Vanessa William’s character, Renee was previously incorporated into the cast as she remained oblivious to the truth throughout the season. In addition, some expected the similar viciousness of her former Ugly Betty character Wilhelmina Slater to be maintained. Instead, producers took her character a different route for the finale by showing a softer side as her heart began to show. She develops a promising relationship with the hot new Aussie neighbor and becomes Bree’s compassionate savior though the others turn away. Meanwhile, Gaby struggles to hold her family together midst her husband’s stint in rehab, Susan deals with the death of her husband all the while having to prepare for the birth of a new granddaughter and poor Bree later becomes the sacrificial lamb for everyone as she is undergoes a scandalous trial for Alejandro’s murder. Stubborn as always, she is prepared to take the fall, but it’s Karen (Kathryn Joosten) who comes to the rescue of everyone. Facing aggressive cancer as her diagnosis, she decides to claim all responsibility for the murder.

As we watch, we can’t help but wonder with all this going on what other prospects do these women have? Is there more to them than social upheaval and questionable morals? Yet in the last episode we soon discover just how successful these women can truly become. Commentary from producer Marc Cherry is made available through the DVD as he shares insightful details on the final showing. He decides to allow his girls to move on with their lives, making each of them progress into a better variation of themselves. Midst the life changing experiences they share in Wisteria Lane, we see these are more than just desperate aging women who are idling by. These are women who we live with or dare it be said we may even see some characters within ourselves. With each highlighted generation of womanhood, every possible relevant lifestyle, and the dynamics between their male counterparts, these women became more relevant and emotionally tangible with each passing episode.

The closing of this landmark series brings beautiful changes, along with new beginnings highlighting the quintessential nuances of life such as birth, death, marriage and relationship reconciliation. With the five disc set out on DVD the full Wisteria Lane experience is at our viewing pleasure. Included in the bundle are juicy “Behind the Camera” featurettes and deleted scenes along with hilarious bloopers, fascinating commentary and the screening of “The End of the Lane: The Last Days on Set.” All 23 episodes are a must watch for those trying to catch up with the series and a great recap for the fans already up to speed. Get lost again and take a trip down Wisteria Lane. Surely, this is a series to be placed in our personal archives of best TV drama.