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November 5, 2006: Bang
I read a lot of advance press about this action-packed sweeps episode, and let me tell you, all the hype did not let me down. I laughed, I cried, I was on the edge of my seat, and I screamed "Shut up!" so many times I lost count. Definitely one of the best episodes ever, so I must first give kudos to the writer — Joe Keenan (writer/executive producer of Frasier) — and the director, Larry Shaw. The entire cast did an outstanding job, but the three powerhouses were Felicity Huffman, Laurie Metcalf and Marcia Cross.
Several of my coworkers had given me the big spoiler a few weeks ago regarding who was going to die, so I was already prepared for Nora's demise. What I wasn't prepared for was the feeling of sadness after she got shot. I was one of those "Nora-haters," so hearing that she was gonna bite the dust made me happy. But here I was tonight crying during her death scene! I really lost it when Nora told Lynette to please watch over Kayla, since she was "the only good thing that I’ve ever done." So I must throw Kiersten Warren into that powerhouse-acting category. Sure, we loved to hate the character of Nora, but making us feel sad during her death? That's the accomplishment of a great actress. I also thought Nora was going to get shot by Carolyn randomly, perhaps by a gunshot that was intended for Harvey. But as soon as Lynette gave Carolyn the backstory on Nora, Nora was a goner. Carolyn: "She put the moves on your husband? Why didn't you say so?" Bang. How ironic was it that new neighbor Art Washburn (who just moved into the Young house) was the one who threw the can of peaches at Carolyn's head, knocking the gun out of her hand? Why was that ironic, you ask? Art was played by Matt Roth, the real-life husband of... Laurie Metcalf. Throwing a can at your wife's head on the first day on the job — all in a day's work.
I loved how the camera didn't reveal who it was who picked up the gun and shot Carolyn. Then, slowly, the camera panned left and then tilted up to reveal it was Maya, the woman whose son Jordan was in Carolyn's Sunday-school class. If that woman looked familiar to you 24 fans, it's because she was played by Kathleen Gati, who portrayed Anya Suvarov, the Russian first lady this past season. Side note on the subject of Sunday school — I really liked that Tom made Susan feel better about her daughter Julie's being one of the hostages by telling her that Carolyn was a Sunday-school teacher and "a Sunday-school teacher would never hurt a kid." So true.
I predict that this episode will be the one that gets Laurie Metcalf another Emmy (or at least a nomination), and the same goes for Felicity Huffman (although she could also submit last week's episode as well). Marcia Cross can pretty much submit any of the episodes, since Bree gets Emmy-worthy scenes every week.
But back to Felicity: that closing dream of Lynette's had me crying again. Such a beautifully touching scene between Lynette and Mary Alice. How many of us have thought about what we would have said to a loved one or friend before they passed away? As I've said before, it's always a treat to get to see Brenda Strong as Mary Alice, rather than just hear her.
Other highlights:
— The fact that it was Bree who told Carolyn about Harvey's affair with Monique, and that Bree, in a state of shock, couldn't concentrate on anything but cooking for her houseguests.
— The fact that all the neighbors came over to Bree's house to watch the live TV coverage, and that Ida Greenberg (Pat Crawford Brown, whom I've loved since Knots Landing) said, "I knew she'd have food."
— The fact that we still don't know the details behind Monique's death and Orson's exact connection to it.
— The fact that Lynette supported the idea of taking in Kayla as long as Nora was out of the picture. Tom: "I never thought you'd want a fifth kid." Lynette: "I don't. But I didn't want the first four, and they're starting to grow on me."
— The fact that Susan had no idea Carolyn was the woman holding people hostage: "There's a crazy woman in there." Carolyn (as she showed Susan her gun): "Yeah, I know."
— The fact that it was Edie who was trapped inside the locked office with Harvey, and that Carolyn accused her of being another one of Harvey's "whores."
— The fact that Ian returned to the scene after seeing the hostage crisis on TV at the airport, and that Susan offered (via megaphone) to switch places with Julie.
The only part that I thought was lame was the Gaby and Carlos story line. I just couldn't buy that Gabrielle would break all of those outrageously expensive household items and Carlos would put an ax through the walls. Thank goodness they ended all the destruction and made up afterward. What redeemed it for me was that Gaby could relate to Carolyn's rage and said to Carlos, "Let's stop being those people."
So what did you think? Did you feel that the episode lived up to all the hype? Or were your expectations shot down?
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Nov 6, 2006 5:25 AM
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ok......im glad im the first one to post this. i knew it, i knew it , i knew it that nora was the one who was going to die. i waited all week for this episode and it didnt let me down one bit. i was also happy knowing that nora was going to die, but during her death scene and telling lynette to take care of her daugher i didnt have any emotions towards it. i dont know why but i didnt have any emotions towards it. im upset that they had to kill off lauri metcalf's carolyn. she cracked me up. she cracked me up when she was talking to one of her friends over the phone about missing an appointment....and still talking over the phone about nothing while she was waving her gun around. felicity huffman was at her best once again. i just love her. lynette became my favorite housewives since the very first episode, and sunday's episode she still remains my favorite housewive(actually it was last weeks episode...but she still is the best) i can defianlty see another emmuy nomination to her. and the same goes for marcia cross. i also didnt care for gaby and carlos scenes.
one more thing...... i didnt realize how tall brenda strong was to felcity. felcity had to look up to her brenda.
but anyway great episode. im going to watch this one again.
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Nov 6, 2006 6:26 AM
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one more thing i knew that i saw matt roth before. but i coudlnt remember where. until i looked him up.....he played fisher one of jackie's(laurie metcalf) boyfriends on roseanne.
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Nov 6, 2006 6:33 AM
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I must say I've never been happier to be wrong. Thanks to spoilers and promos I was convinced Lynette was a goner. I'm so glad she only got wounded. I think it was too little too late trying to redeem Nora before her death. We all know if she had syrvived she would have reverted to form.
I was shocked how ever at Caroline's death st the end. I never saw it coming. Noe that is a character I will miss.
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Nov 6, 2006 6:39 AM
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The episode itself was great. The death of Nora was just cliched and stupid. They took the easy way out again. I think I'm done reading news and spoilers now because I'm tired of hearing "major" character only to have it not be.
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Nov 6, 2006 8:07 AM
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i knew that was Nora's blood on Lynette! I was screaming at my mother that I was right, it was fantastic. What a powerful episode. I'm a little surprised that no one mentioned Julie's interaction w/ Austin. Did anyone notice that little shove he gave her when Carylon started waving the gun around. Was this because he actually likes her, or is it just a manly thing to do, push the women out of the way? Well, if the previews for next week are what they seem...I also loved that Edie was in the back room w/ the husband, she got so angry w/ him after Carylon called her one of his whores. Like the rest of you- I sure will miss Carylon's character, she was fantastic. I wonder what Tom will say, however, when he finds out (if he finds out) that it was Lynette's comment that killed Nora...but that speech she gave at the end, while wiping her face- only to smear Nora's blood on it, was amazing. Props to Felicity (as always)
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Nov 6, 2006 8:10 AM
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After Carolyn shot Nora, she said something to Lynette like, "You can say Thank You". I said "Thank You" very loudly.
Nora was on my last nerves. The actress did do a great job being decent at the last minute, but I hope Tom or Kayla doesn't blame Lynette for what happened. Carolyn was a nutjob, waiting to go off.
By the way, Gabrielle and Carlos were way over the top. I thought I was watching "War of The Roses".
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Nov 6, 2006 8:17 AM
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One little aside: where was Penny? We saw the three Scavo boys but not their little sister. And was Kayla in the car all this time?
I was so angry at Susan for not trusting Julie. Julie is clearly the adult in the relationship, and I'm glad she stood up for herself. I do think the boy should have owned up to what he did, but, after all, he IS Edie's nephew.
I thought the Carlos/Gabrielle thing was WAY over the top. I can't believe either of them did that. (BTW I HATED the Wars of the Roses!)
I did shed a tear for Nora when she died, and I felt bad for Carolyn when I heard her husband hadn't wanted kids & she did. He was a real jerk.
All in all, a great episode. I admit to sneaking peeks at the Patriots/Colts game during the commercials, however. What a game!
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Nov 6, 2006 8:18 AM
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I didn't hear much hype, so I can't say it did or didn't live up to it. It was a pretty good episode, though, and I like how the show continues to not follow conventional storylines too much. You almost never know where the story is going, with one exception: they've never gotten rid of one of the core cast.
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Nov 6, 2006 8:34 AM
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I was happy it was Nora who was killed because that character was so over the top. She was so far across the line into Tom and Lynette's marriage she was almost like a Mother-in-law who should know better. But where is Kayla? Tom and Lynette thought she moved to Mexico and there was no sign of her at the grocery store. Maybe the mystery now will be where the heck is Kayla? Nora never said where she was, so maybe they have to find her. Laurie Metcalf was excellent in every scene in all her episodes and I wish she could have been around longer. I see an emmy for guest actress for her. Marcia and Felicity both are so good all the time, I wish they could share an emmy.
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Nov 6, 2006 8:41 AM
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Once the supermarket scene was set, I thought "they'll kill Nora", then immediately thought "no -- too easy". Well, they did, but what a great job! Really loved this show, especially how all the ladies were either at the store or fearfully watching the news. It's so much more fun than last year's separate story arcs.
Kudos for all the players. I'm glad Gaby/Carlos will give up the silliness; it's like their characters were in another show for a while.
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Nov 6, 2006 8:41 AM
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I can't belive I cryed so much. This show is so over the top. Even Nora's death had me in tears and I hated that person so much. I hate the thought that Tom will blame Lynette, or worse she will blame herself!!!
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Nov 6, 2006 8:46 AM
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One little aside: where was Penny? We saw the three Scavo boys but not their little sister. And was Kayla in the car all this time?
Actually, we saw Penny's baby carriage, but not Penny herself. Tom rolled it into Bree's house surrounded by the boys when Bree answered the door. We never saw Kayla again, so I have no idea where she was.
I haven't watched DH in weeks, because I'm just so disappointed in it this season, and truthfully, now that Grey's is on Thursday nights, I have no reason to tune in on Sundays. But I watched this ep because of all the hype, too. It was all right, I guess I'm just still too turned off. I can't stand Carlos and Gaby--can they be any more self-absorbed and ridiculous? The Tom/Nora/Lynette storyline is stupid. How much longer are Susan and Mike going to be kept apart? Except for his very English accent, Ian does nothing for me. Bree is too over the top, and I can't stand Orson, I think his addition to the cast just hasn't worked.
Can ya tell that I don't like this show anymore???
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Nov 6, 2006 8:47 AM
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Thank you Lizzybelle! I've been trying to figure out who Matt Roth was, he played Fischer on Roseanne- the one who beat up Jackie. I had no idea they were married in real life. I was sad to see Laurie Metcalf go, I love seeing her in anything. I'm excited Matt is joining the cast and to see how he fits in...
I didn't cry when Nora died but I defintely did when Lynette stood up and gave her speech. Felicity is amazing.
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Nov 6, 2006 9:14 AM
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Boy...if you are a bit late here you begin to become redundant. I absolutely LOVED this episode, but without a doubt for many of the same reasons already stated. So, to summarize, the acting was great, Nora was really working my last nerve (though it was a bit cliche, can't say I cried), Felicity was terrific, the set up for the future looks very promising including Bree (though the people at her house seemed a bit extraneous), and finally I also hated WOR and really, lets get over that story, either reconcile or quit, enough is enough. Looking forward to the rest of the season, it has brought me back from the disappointment of last year.
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Nov 6, 2006 9:16 AM
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