Desperate Housewives: Tom Didn't Start the Fire

As hard of a time as I give the character of Mike Delfino (and actor James Denton), I have to say — they both stepped up last night.

Don't get me wrong — I'm not shoving an Emmy in Denton's hands, but the handling of the "Mike Got Run Over by an Orson" subplot was very well done in an episode that actually did a lot of things right.

We'd seen from the previews that Mike was going to confront Orson about running him over, and it was a pleasant surprise for me to see this happen relatively early in the episode (as opposed to having it serve as a cliffhanger). We found out that Orson admitted everything to Mike, seemed contrite and Mike wanted to forgive him. At first, this seemed like a huge letdown when you consider that Mike almost died (and when you consider that we're watching "Desperate Housewives"), but if you think about it, it actually makes sense. Mike's had to atone for his own criminal and questionable behavior in the past, so it was unexpected (but right in line with the character) to forgive Orson.

Of course, Susan wasn't so quick to forgive Orson, and part of that may have been Mike's slightly blasé attitude/Denton's lax acting about the whole situation (my only critique about his performance last night). After storming into Bree and Orson's house (and running through the streets of Wisteria Lane while busting out of her bed clothes for the umpteenth time), she eventually decided to forgive Orson in a nice little scene with Bree.

The only problem was that Bree herself wasn't ready to forgive Orson, and he packed his bags and left the house. Again, for a character who is obsessed with appearances (how could she have a guy who ran over her friend's husband around — it's so humiliating?), this seemed like another move consistent with the character — which we don't always get on this show. I'm guessing she's going to be visiting that closet with all her bottled-up feelings pretty soon.

I wish we could get a little of that in the Gabby/Carlos storyline. I can see where the writers are trying to show how blindness affects more than the person suffering from the affliction in a comedic way, but instead of sympathizing with each person, I just alternate who I'm annoyed with more from week to week.

Actually, last night, I was annoyed with both Gabby AND Carlos. I get that Gabby is a princess (expecting the dog to do household chores was amusing), but actually stooping to engage in a battle of wits with Roxy and trying to get rid of her was a bit too much and made her come off like too much of a shrew. I wasn't this annoyed with her when she faced off against that bitchy wheelchair guy last week (probably because Roxy was a LOT more adorable). Carlos, on the other hand, was just being an idiot, putting his wife (who he knows requires a lot of attention) on the backburner, and choosing her over a dog in bed. Things aren't great when Edie shows up as the voice of reason.

Still, Gabby and Carlos' problems (stop yelling at and hitting the blind guy) are nothing compared to what Tom and Lynette have ahead of them. After a great little montage of Lynette seeing through Tom's lies (LOVED his high pitched denial about checking out the jogger), Lynette became convinced Tom had set fire to Lynette's place. The fact that Rick (but not the police?) found a "Scavo's" matchbook outside his torched restaurant didn't help. Then again, we all knew it wasn't Tom, because they were SO obviously making it look like it was him, that he couldn't possibly have done it. The two men eventually became engaged in a fight that rivaled the Hugh Grant/Colin Firth throwdown in "Bridget Jones' Diary" for sheer girliness.

Afterward, Lynette "lied" to the police to protect Tom (after Rick made another slimy pass at her) leading to another strong scene in which Lynette revealed that she didn't believe Tom about starting the fire, and Tom revealed he didn't believe Lynette about her non-affair with Rick ("see, I can speak slowly too"). In the end, it turned out that Lynette's twins/junior arsonists had torched the place leading to — not much of anything out of Lynette. Sorry, but I get annoyed at this when it comes to relationships in general. If Tom had been the one who messed up and then distrusted his wife, he'd have to go out and buy a Kobe diamond. Lynette shows little faith in her husband (who, to her credit, HAD lied about throwing the brick), and gets away with some half-hearted mea culpa.

It was almost as annoying as Dylan's relentless stupidity. Why in the heck did she get out of her car after being pulled over when she knew she wasn't speeding and was having her chest eyeballed ("nice necklace") by a creepy cop. Don't young women go to classes to prevent this kind of thing? Anyway, I have to give props to Gary Cole (Lumberg himself!) for an effective and creepy guest spot last night (almost as good as Roxy the dog). I buy that he's Katherine's ex, but I'm not buying for a second that he's Dylan's father — not with the way he looks at her. And the creepy music that accompanied him whenever he showed up (which I'm guessing Dylan can't hear, otherwise she'd know better).

So what'd you think of this episode? Have we seen the last of Rick? Where the hell are Tom and Lee? (You remember those gay bundles of joy, right?) Would you have Katherind and Bree cater your event? Do you buy Mike forgiving Orson so easily? Finally, a seeing eye dog and Eva Longoria Parker — who are you kicking out of bed?