Directed by David Warren Written by Ric Swartzlander Reviewed by Gavin Hetherington
'TERMS OF ENDEARMENT' REVIEW
Well this episode packed quite a few emotional punches - Evelyn's heart-felt story about her deceased son, Carmen's secret baby, Genevieve letting Zoila go, Jesse leaving Marisol... just one thing after the other and there's only 2 episodes before the finale! I don't think the stakes have ever been higher on the show and we are gradually moving towards finding out what happened in Taylor's house with all that blood, who Katie really is and who murdered Louie Becker. It's bizarre that I'm really invested in learning the answers to these as I mainly watch Devious Maids for the humourous lines and its whacky situations. The characters are an absolute hoot but it's always nice to see a more three-dimentional, human side to them and we got to see quite the range of emotion from all of our characters in this episode.
Carmen is always there for the comical storylines and, like clockwork, she was again in this episode as she was the butt of Dion's jokes. Since I haven't been reviewing Devious Maids previously (only for 2 previews of the premiere and second episode), I haven't mentioned my thoughts on the kid. I find Dion pretty wonderful as part of the cast, the young actor is really good and Dion is a perfect fit for the Powells. I can actually see them becoming a happy little family - but if they decide to go the Desperate Housewives route, they might have Dion get taken away from them leaving Evelyn traumatised. Having Evelyn and Carmen share more scenes together was one of the best ideas the writers have ever had as both are arguably the funniest characters in the show. It's why it was also amazing to me when they shared that emotional scene together where Evelyn tells Carmen of an argument she had with her son before he died. It highlighted perfectly the emotional depth of both as Evelyn confessed to her true feelings and Carmen gave her some really amazing advice.
And let's just talk about that reveal of Carmen having a kid. I knew as soon as Evelyn said she has a heart for children, and then Carmen began to walk to the drawer, that she was going to pull out a photo of a baby. Her baby. I actually predicted a lot that happened in this episode would happen. I do quite like the idea of Carmen having an offspring out there somewhere - it opens up some possibilities for her storylines in the future. It also makes her a little more real and I always love finding out new things about characters I've known for years. Keeps them a little fresh. At the same time, this came a little out of nowhere. And I was slightly upset that we didn't get to see what happened next with
Jacklyn saying she owned Carmen, but it will be interesting to see where
that goes too.
I really do feel for Zoila. She has pretty much had everybody abandon her - Pablo (not his fault but still), Javier, Valentina, and now Genevieve. Zoila's relationship with Genevieve is one of my favourites on this show, if not my favourite, so this new development of Zoila being fired shakes things up a bit between them. I doubt that it will be permanent but for the time being, it looks like Dr. Christopher Neff has won. And I am so disappointed in Joy for letting him set Zoila up knowing full well she would look out for Genevieve and tell her that his ass is broke. It shows just how bad a person he is and Genevieve should not be with him. I hope by season's end she will come to realise this and bring Zoila back into the fold. I loved Zoila's false labour to interrupt the proposal as well. Zoila hasn't been the most interesting to me lately though I did enjoy her little storyline of trying to one-up Joy in the last episode, but now things might be moving in a more interesting direction for her now she seems to be completely alone.
Rosie sure does confuse me a lot of the time. She always has a problem with staying in love with one guy (remember Reggie last season?) and the saga continues with Spence and Ernesto. I like that Spence is going to fit to get her back, but Rosie shouldn't have just up and left him in the first place after the trouble they both got in to be together. Rosie is so indecisive and that can be a charming quality about her, but I do feel sorry for Spence. She has no idea what she's let herself in for with Ernesto but my guess is he will probably die heroically in the finale, letting Rosie reunite with Spence. That's of course if Spence survived his attack at the end of the episode. I hope he did but it will also make Rosie distrust Ernesto - and it looks like that might happen when she argues with him in the promo of the next episode. I found it very romantic when Spence said he would stop fighting for her when they're back together. It's remarkable how put together he is despite what Rosie's put him through recently. Rosie's "I think something terrible happened in this room" was very dramatic and it sure ended the episode on a high (well just before Spence's attack).
And it's been pretty good to have Alma Hodge, I mean, Olivia back on the show. She's so interesting and totally bonkers. Having her fake cancer was a very manipulative thing for her to do, but it shows just how low she'd stoop to get Michael back. I didn't for a minute think she actually had cancer. I could see her scheme coming a mile off and I'm surprised at Michael's stupidity for not realising that sooner. I do feel extremely sorry for Olivia. She obviously loves Michael with every fibre of her being and she would do anything to get him back. She only ever seemed to be truly happy when Michael was around so part of me doesn't blame her for trying everything she could to get him back, including make him think she was dying. He did have a soft spot for her when she's in need, and she really went all out to make it look like she needed him.
And I like how that tied into Marisol this week. I was actually expecting Jesse to be an undercover cop or something trying to find out who murdered Blanca so he became Olivia's maid to find out. Him not being a cop was something I didn't predict, but I thought the gun was more than just for protection. I quite liked his and Marisol's snooping in this episode and they seemed perfect for one another. Finding out Olivia didn't have cancer was great as it led to an intense, albiet short, scene between Marisol and Olivia. "I have a name in here somewhere. Here it is." Pulling the knife out was so Olivia, I should have seen that coming. I probably would have liked a little more with this scene before Jesse came to the rescue, but it was good nonetheless. We found out that Olivia set Taylor up to have the affair and manipulated Michael to returning to her. She was honestly crazy and fortunately she is now getting the help she needs. But I still feel pretty sorry for her. "You're the only man I've ever loved and I don't want to die alone." That says it all really. Love can make people do crazy things. Not that I would know!
EPISODE VERDICT
I always enjoy Devious Maids and this episode was no exception. It didn't blow me out of the water (I'm expecting that to happen with the last 2 episodes) but it kept me entertained for the entire 45 minutes. All the girls had their own little goings-on and I liked each of them. Marisol's consisted mainly of finding out Olivia's secret, which led to some good scenes. Carmen and Evelyn simply made the episode and I couldn't imagine the show without either of them. Zoila's continuation to look out for Genevieve backfired and saw her fired which will be so interesting to watch moving forward, and Rosie looks like she may be getting so close to cracking the case of what happened in the Stappord household. There were plenty of laughs here, but also serious moments that brought a tear to my eye. Very good episode.
EPISODE AWARDS
Best Maid: Carmen Luna.
Best Man: Jesse.
Best Rich Bitch: Evelyn Powell.
Funniest Line: "I can't exactly punish him then send him to Disneyland, it would send a mixed message." - Evelyn Powell.
Best Moment: Evelyn and Carmen talk about her deceased son.
Craziest Moment: Olivia pulls the knife out on Marisol.
Funniest Moment: Zoila fakes labour to interrupt the proposal.
Best Storyline: Olivia fakes cancer to manipulate Michael.
Biggest Reveal: Carmen has a baby!
Biggest Disappointment: No Jacklyn storyline continuation.
Did you guys enjoy 'Terms of Endearment'? Let me know your thoughts of the episode in the comments and be sure to watch the next new episode of Devious Maids, airing August 17th on Lifetime!
About the Author - Gavin Hetherington
Award-winning author of 'Abyssal Sanctuary: Remnants of the Damned'. Gavin joined SpoilerTV in August 2014 and reviews 2 Broke Girls, Mistresses, Pretty Little Liars, Salem, Scream Queens and Sleepy Hollow. Gavin will write previews for Devious Maids and Shadowhunters, and backs-up Empire, The Flash, iZombie, Once Upon a Time, Reign, Scandal and Supergirl. You can contact him at gavin@spoilertv.com.
