In the past few months, I’ve been rewatching Desperate Housewives. I only ever watched it during its original run on TV. Dutch TV, mind you, so I was a little behind on the American airings, but it ended almost seven years ago. I only remember vague snippets of what happens, but rewatching it now? Good grief does it still hold up.
For those who haven’t watched it, you might believe it’s something similar to Sex and the City. Let me tell you right now that it is not. It’s not just lighthearted comedy about middle-aged women who are ‘desperate’ to find happiness. The reason I remember Desperate Housewives fondly is because of its intricate murder mysteries and sudden, heartwrenching drama. It’s not just a comedy, it’s a wild ride of soap opera mixed with detective tales. The storytelling and the way its characters were all uniquely written continues to be superb. …Well, for now, anyway. I just finished episode 15 of season 3 and I’m sure that at some point, the series will jump the shark. For now, however, I’m baffled and I wanted to ramble a bit about the genius misdirection leading up to this.
You are viewing: Why Did Orson Run Over Mike
Episode 15 is the one where Orson falls of the hospital roof (thanks to Mike) and at last we find out what happened to Monique Polier. Gloria Hodge, Orson’s mother, was the one who killed her and she guilt-tripped Orson into helping her dispose of the body. While most of the cast is present at the opening of Scavo Pizzeria, Gloria Hodge attempts to kill Bree and make it look like suicide. Orson barges into the house just in time and, with Andrew as a bit of a witness, fends Gloria off. As a result, Gloria suffers a stroke. Meanwhile, Alma (Orson’s first wife) fell off the roof of her own house and died.
Read more : Why Did Monkey Joe’s Close
Now, let’s backtrack right back to season 2. Orson was originally introduced as a likable character: someone who helped Susan several times and who went to the mental hospital to pay visits to a ‘friend’ who was so far gone that she probably didn’t even know he was there. However, at the end of season 2, things take an ominous turn. With absolutely no context given to us, the viewers, Orson purposely hits Mike Delfino with his car and leaves him lying on the road. A few scenes later, we see him bringing flowers to Bree. Now, seeds of doubt have been sown. Season 2 had a heavy focus on Bree dating a dangerous psychopath who was willing to harm- even kill to get his way. Even on my second watch of this series, knowing that Orson would be with Bree for a long time, I began to question whether he’s a good man or just another crazy person for Bree to date. That’s wonderful storytelling in that it was a bit of trickery.
Season 3 hits it right of the park as soon as the first episode begins. The narrative explains that Alma Hodge felt ‘trapped’ in her marriage and wanted to run. The narrative also states that Orson doesn’t like to be contradicted, so the panic that Alma was showing along with the ominous smirk on Orson’s face when he finds out about her plans insinuate something very bad is about to happen. Orson killed his wife, that is the belief thrust onto us. This notion is further enforced by a few other things, such as the old neighbor Carolyn Bigsby who swears that Orson must’ve done it, and the second murder narrative that’s playing out: Monique. Orson pretends not to know the Jane Doe’s body and in that very same scene, right at the end, it’s revealed that he knows damn well who that dead woman is. Shortly after, the narrative attempts to shift the blame for Monique’s death to Mike Delfino, but no viewer would be fooled by that. Mike would never kill anyone, we all firmly believe that. Heck, he had Paul Young at his mercy and didn’t pull the trigger. Paul Young, for crying out loud!
Around episode 7, Bang, something begins to change. We learn that Carolyn, the woman who we were supposed to believe when she said that Orson killed Alma, is unhinged. Paranoid, dangerous… She outright shoots a woman in cold blood and shows no remorse, then attempts to shoot another. Why should we still put our faith in her words? The very next episode introduces Gloria, the manipulative and secretive mother who is clearly more than she seems. Two episodes later, it’s revealed that Alma faked her death and she waltzes right back into Orson’s life like it’s nothing. She shows her true obsessive colors soon enough. We learn that Orson never loved Alma, that he’d wanted out of his marriage and that his heart belonged to Monique when his wife was threatening to walk out on him. But at roughly the same time, we learn through Mike’s hypnotherapy that Orson was there the night Monique died. That’s where we truly begin to ask ourselves just who was responsible for Monique’s death. Was it Orson, was it Alma, was it Gloria? Was there an accident? By this point, there’s been so much misdirection that we just don’t know. It’s clear that Orson loves Bree and is willing to open up to her when she demands him to, therefore he must be a good person, right? But at the same time, it’s obvious he’s still hiding things, so maybe he’s not kosher after all? Even in the end, he’s not really a good person. He uses Alma’s dead body as a convenient cover for why his mother had a stroke, then makes sure to rub Gloria’s situation in her (paralyzed) face before walking out the door forever.
Read more : Why Is Everyone Getting Sick 2023
And I love the narrative for that. I love that there’s a span of 16 episodes, each lasting about 45 minutes, where you just don’t know what to make of a character.
On that note, I wanted to draw attention to Alma. For most of the time she’s around, she’s portrayed as someone who schemes to get her way. Someone who will resort to underhanded trickery with an innocent smile on her face. But by the end of it, the series begins to show just why she’s so determined not to give up on Orson. It’s Gloria. Gloria is the one who kept telling her to keep trying and that ‘she’s meant to be with Orson because they made a vow before God’. However, Alma begins to show second thoughts onscreen- perhaps they’ve been there offscreen as well- and as a result, Gloria locks her away. In the final half hour of her life, she attempts to escape in order to save Bree. She didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt or die, she genuinely wants to stop Gloria from carrying out her plan. There was a redemption arc that could’ve played out. But as Mary Alice might say, “not everyone gets their happy ending”. Alma dies before she could ever prove to anyone that she was more than just a manipulative villain. Isn’t that just heartbreaking?
Don’t even get me started on the pedophile plotline that was going for a few episodes. A plotline that wasn’t resolved- or rather… The resolution was that ‘the pedophile is now free to do whatever he wants thanks to Lynette’s interference and nobody can stop him’. Harsh.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
