Televisionista: "Desperate Housewives" #4.03 Recap "The Game"

A game of charades turns into the best disaster Susan has ever hosted as Lynette, the Charades Ninja gets all jazzed up; a jealous Katherine comes up with better lies; Susan makes it more difficult for Bree to keep her secret; and Gaby can see clearly now why Victor will never be Carlos. As far as I'm concerned, the magic of season 1 is back on Wisteria Lane.

I love these neighborhood evening parties that turn into disasters. They always remind me of the infamous dinner party Bree threw exactly 3 years ago (episode #3, season #1) when she uttered the unforgettable line: "Rex cries when he ejaculates." Classic. But, I digress.

Susan decides to organize one of her charades parties that, as we learn, is an annual event that everyone tries to stay away from. But as the ladies share Bree's gossip about Katherine hitting her daughter and talking about 'coming up with better lies' it appears this may be a perfect opportunity to get Katherine drunk and talking.

Meanwhile, Lynette's nutty mom wants to make her daughter's pain go away and suggests taking pot. Needless to say, Lynnette finds the suggestion repulsive, especially given her childhood memories of a drunk and high mother. But, Stella is a determined woman and finds a partner in crime in Andrew (what a brilliant an unexpected alliance).

Feeling awkward about seeing Adam, Susan asks Bree for the name of her obstetrician. Under pressure, Bree finds a random name in the Yellow Pages. Of course, Susan ends up in one of the poorest parts of Fairview in a scary practice with dubious customer service and hygienic standards.

At the party, Edie "accidentally" reveals her engagement ring sending a furious Gaby into a flirting frenzy. Unfortunately, she makes the wrong move by messing with Katherine's husband Adam. And boy, did that unleash a dragon or what.

I always knew Katherine was going to cause trouble, but I never knew the woman was going to be so much fun. She fights a different housewife each week. Of course, as much as I love Dana Delany, I'm still playing on the Van De Kamp-Solis team.

Now, don't even get me started on Ninja Lynette. That must have been the funniest moment on "Desperate Housewives" in a long time. At least it seemed that way when I saw it. Having had some spiked brownies, a Sponge Bob-loving Lynette crashes the party, kicks a lamp and uses an inappropriate association for "Hang 'em High." And Felicity Huffman sure knows how to play high.

Meanwhile, a distraught Bree learns her bored daughter Danielle may have had complications in her pregnancy courtesy of an ill-advised roller-blade stunt. It was very heartbreaking to see Bree on her knees trying to detach her DVD player that Danielle wanted. She may be a flawed mother, but she certainly loves her children.

Of course, I never thought Carlos would do anything to hurt Edie. He may have had flaws in the past, but underneath that rough skin he is a gentle man and Gaby can finally see that. But as Carlos himself realizes, her husband Victor is not only selfish, but possibly dangerous, too.

Great to see Gaby and Carlos in love again, though. Is it the actors' chemistry or the fact that they are one of the original couples on Wisteria Lane? In any event, they may be the Ross and Rachel of "Desperate Housewives." Who would have known?

At the Mayfair residence, Julie helps a desperate Dylan break into the secret room. I loved it when Julie referred to a season 1 storyline (also in episode #3, by the way) by saying she had to learn how to break and enter with her mother's history of locking herself out of her house. All too often new writers forget to touch upon the great moments of the past.

Katherine of course comes home early, sends Julie away and bans Dylan from seeing her again. More importantly, it appears that - contrary to Katherine's new lie that may imply Dylan's father is a child molester - something awful happened in the secret room and there is still a crack in the floor to prove it.

In the closing moments of the episode, Katherine breaks down on the floor, touching the crack. Since this episode has depicted her as a jealous woman, I guess we are now led to believe Katherine or someone else may have hurt her husband after he had done something that upset her and she regrets that. Of course, with all the twists and turns, I expect new clues to take us into a completely different direction and confuse us.

Nevertheless, I love the new mystery, as well as the new characters, and I'm glad Marc Cherry and the gang have finally shown grass is still greener on Wisteria Lane.