Desperate Housewives - A Spark to Pierce the Dark

Last night's episode ended with a cliffhanger that appears will be dragged out over the next couple of weeks.

Yeah, looks like we won't find out if Edie makes it until April. Given that Nicollette Sheridan isn't coming back next season, chances are she won't make it. So is Edie going out with a bang--electrocuted by a downed telephone line--or will she manage to whimper out Dave's secret plan to punish Mike?

In the revolving door of characters, a blast from the past reared its ugly head with the return of Karl, Susan's ex. Actually, I like Karl--he cracks me up. And anyone who annoys and exasperates the annoying and exasperating Susan is okay in my book. Karl is sending his son, Evan, to the school that Susan is teaching at. When Susan sees him she tells Evan to go on to class. "I need to talk to your Daddy and I may need to use some grown-up words."

But Susan and Karl's detente turns into a full-out war over a disturbing drawing of Evan's. In a class assignment that featured kittens and rainbows, Evan features two figures and a lot of blood. "He's stabbing him in the guts with a sword," he blithely tells the horrified Susan. Susan tells him the assignment was to draw something that made him happy. "It does make me happy. Where's my gold star?" replies Evan.

The drawing raises issues with the school psychologist and principal. Karl brushes it aside, but Susan insists, "Your son drew intestines on the end of a stick!"

Chill, Susan. It wasn't a stick, it was a sword and the level of detail didn't include specific organs.

Karl goes off on a tear on Susan and she responds by tossing a jar of paint in his face. When Evan draws yet another violent picture, however, Susan shows it to Karl privately. This time he recognizes the woman being stabbed with the sword as Evan's mother, Marisa. Marisa left Karl and Evan and Karl realizes this is the same thing he did to Susan.

Karl's back (temporarily), but another character's out the door: Carlos' number two Lucy beat a hasty retreat after unwittingly yelling at his kids. The writers decided to set Lucy up as a royal bitch whose workaholic demands put a strain on both Lynette's and Carlos' home lives. For Gaby, the real problem was the strain on her and Carlos' sex lives. Carlos, tired from late nights and early morning meetings, resorts to tying Gaby up so he can sleep in peace.

Not appeased by Carlos' gift of Jimmy Choos, Gaby confronts Carlos at work telling him "We made these these mistakes before..." Lynette, in charge of watching Juanita and Celia, gets the bright idea to let them amuse themselves with Lucy's precious figurine collection. That's when Lucy loses it and Carlos witnesses her behavior.

Bye, bye Lucy!

Orson reveals to Bree, "I steal to hurt you." He tells her "Each day for the past year--inch by inch, slice by slice, brought me closer to being a eunuch." He convinces Bree to sell her business, but Andrew makes her question that decision when he asks, "If he loves you, why would he want you to stop doing something that makes you happy?" Bree calls off the sale and Orson warns her "I might start stealing again."

Lame.

Meanwhile, Dave's plan to kill Katherine and make it look like a hunting accident is thwarted at the last minute when Edie finally receives the fax that completes the missing piece of the puzzle. Her call on his cellphone makes him miss his shot at Katherine, and Mike and Katherine, rattled by the near miss, decide to return home.

Edie confronts Dave who tries to spin her, but eventually admits that he is determined to punish Mike. Edie, sickened by his admission, attempts to call Mike to warn him. But Dave stops her and starts to strangle her. He stops and Edie races out of the house and drives off while trying to make a call on her cellphone. She nearly runs over the masked Orson, who had just made a hasty exit from a botched robbery attempt, and swerves and hits the telephone pole.

Which is yet another reason that the hands-free law in California is so important, people!

Right now she's still alive--but barely. Will she have a chance to warn Mike before Nicollette's contract expires?

Looks like we'll have to wait until April 19th to find out.