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Ron Tom / ABC
The ladies of Wisteria Lane play cards together one last time on the series finale of "Desperate Housewives."
"Desperate Housewives" had several loose ends to wrap up as it went into Sunday’s two-hour series finale. As these things go, there were births, deaths, mended fences and then departures.
(Note: Spoilers if you didn’t watch Sunday’s series finale.)
The first hour found the resolution of Bree’s (Marcia Cross) trial and ended the back and forth of Lynette (Felicity Huffman) and Tom’s (Doug Savant) marriage... for the time being.
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In the second hour, Renee (Vanessa Williams) and Ben (Charles Mesure) married, Julie (Andrea Bowen) and Porter’s (Charlie Carver) baby was born, and the women’s futures beyond Wisteria Lane were revealed. All the while, Mrs. McCluskey’s (Kathryn Joosten) final actions gave weight to the drama during both hours.
The trial: With the tide shifting against Bree, her attorney, Trip (Scott Bakula), had no choice but to place Gaby (Eva Longoria) on the stand by using their attraction to get Bree to confess to what really happened. Gaby, already feeling the guilt of Bree taking the fall for Carlos (Ricardo Chavira), admitted that the dead man was her sexually abusive stepfather. Later, Mrs. McCluskey overheard Gaby and Carlos arguing about who would confess to the crime the next day. The dying, but still crafty, old lady tricked Trip into letting her testify and she ended up confessing to the crime. That led to Bree’s acquittal. The prosecutor decided not to charge Mrs. McCluskey, because of her advanced illness and the likelihood that she would lose the case in the end if they continued to delve into the victim’s sexual abuse of Gaby.
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Lynette: Upon hearing that Tom broke up with Jane (Andrea Parker), Lynette believes that he’s coming over to reconcile with her. Instead, Tom – under the impression that she was in love with someone else – tells her that he’s finally filing the divorce papers. Later at Mrs. McCluskey’s house, Roy (Orson Bean) tells Tom that he should let the people he loves know it before it’s too late. So in an emotional scene, Tom stops Lynette on the street and tells her she’s the love of his life. Prepared to walk away from her after that, she tells him that the other man she’s in love with is him. Grab a tissue, folks.
On the second hour, Katherine (Dana Delany) returns from France where she has made millions off a microwave French food business. And she wants Lynette to head the US division in New York City. Of course, it’s a tantalizing offer for the housewife who has a history of struggling with the draw of her career versus her family. At first, it causes strife with Tom. But later at Renee’s wedding, she makes a speech about remembering when one has true love, they really have everything they want. That old softie Tom is not only moved by her words, but decides they can weather a move to NYC as well.
Gaby: After the trial is finally resolved, Gaby gets a promotion to head the VIP sales department at her store. After struggling with the new role he must play at home, Carlos sees the change in his typically spoiled wife and comes around. Later, he helps her develop her own personal shopping company and the two leave Wisteria Lane.
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Bree: In one of her last crafty acts of neighborly love, Mrs. McCluskey senses Bree’s attraction to Trip -- though Bree won’t speak to him after he placed Gaby on the stand during her trial. Mrs. McCluskey gets the attorney to track down a rare record for her, Johnny Mathis’ “Wonderful, Wonderful” – one of her last dying wishes. When Bree finds out what he did, she forgives Trip. Later, we find out that they’re married and move away from Fairview to Louisville. Bree goes on to become a conservative politician and a member of the Kentucky state legislature.
Susan: The new grandmother finally tells the other housewives that she’s selling her house and moving to help Julie while she finishes up her PhD. She runs into the new homeowner on the way out. The young wife is worried that the suburbs will be too boring for her husband, but Susan knows that is far from the truth. Before she leaves the neighborhood, Susan and her kids decide to take one last spin around Wisteria Lane and we see the ghosts of those who had lost their lives on the Lane watch her as she drives off.
The series ends, but not without first showing the new housewife storing a mysterious box in one of the cupboards, which suggests that the cycle of secrets behind the façade of the picturesque residential community continues beyond Susan, Gaby, Lynette and Bree.
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