Following the events of Season 7's finale, where Gaby's (Eva Longoria) stepfather surprised and attacked her in her home, causing Carlos (Ricardo Chavira) to kill him with a candlestick, the girls are left with the problem of disposing the body and covering up the crime to keep Carlos out of prison. Bree (Marcia Cross) takes charge and she, Gaby, Lynette (Felicity Huffman), and Susan (Teri Hatcher) bury the body in the woods, vowing never to mention it again.
Despite the murder, the exciting news on Wisteria is that someone new has moved in. Ben Faulkner (Charles Mesure) is handsome, Australian and single, and Renee (Vanessa Williams) calls dibs on him. Ben's a real estate developer who happens to be developing a subdivision smack dab where the girls buried the body, causing them to have to think fast. Eventually, they have to involve Ben, and even Susan's husband, Mike Delfino (James Denton), in the cover-up, since he works for Ben. Meanwhile, Bree's relationship with Detective Chuck Vance (Jonathan Cake) is heating up, but he could throw a kink in the works as he begins an investigation into Alejandro (Tony Plana), Gaby's missing stepfather.
When Bree receives an anonymous note that reads exactly like the one that caused Mary Alice (Brenda Strong) to commit suicide at the inception of the show, she is terrified but doesn't share this development with the others. After she breaks up with Vance and he is subsequently killed by a hit and run, suspicion turns to Bree and she is eventually arrested when Alejandro's body turns up. You'll never guess who sent the note! Fans of previous seasons will definitely recognize this person. It will take a miracle, Wisteria Lane style, and an amazing defense attorney named Trip Weston (Scott Bakula) to keep Bree out of prison.
In other happenings, Susan joins an art class taught by famed artist Andre Zeller (Miguel Ferrer) and although he picks on her mercilessly, she eventually garners great artistic acclaim, although her paintings tell the story of that fateful night with the dead body, something she never meant to share with others.
Lynette and Tom (Doug Savant) are on a trial separation and when Tom moves into his own apartment, he starts dating Jane Carlson (Andrea Parker), a pretty doctor. Throughout the months, Lynette sees the error of her ways and realizes she loves Tom dearly, but will he realize the same in time to save their marriage?
Renee and Ben do eventually get together, although their relationship is a bit tumultous. Ben has financial difficulties because of the issues with the dead body found on his construction site and turns to a mobster to borrow money, which ends disastrously and sadly with the death of someone on the Lane. On a happier note, Ben and Renee tie the knot in the season finale.
Mike and Susan get a surprise when Susan's daughter, Julie (Andrea Bowen) returns to the Lane and she is pregnant! The father is well known to Wisteria folks and although Julie initially wants to give the child up for adoption, Susan, Mike and the baby's father convince her they can all pitch in to raise the child.
The tables turn for Gaby and Carlos when the guilt from killing Alejandro drives Carlos to alcohol and he eventually has to go to rehab. When he gets out, he realizes he wants to help people instead of making the big bucks and decides to become a counselor for addicts. When Gaby doesn't want to change her lifestyle, she decides to get a job, but her skill set is slim and the prospects aren't good - until an exclusive shop snaps her up as a personal shopper. When Gaby starts to neglect her family because she is becoming so successful and uses Carlos' old moves on him to ply him with expensive gifts, Carlos hires a very unusual garderner to help Gaby see the error of her ways.
Even Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany) makes a reappearance as she rolls into town having made a fortune in frozen French cuisine while she was away. She offers Lynette a huge job opportunity in New York, but will Lynette choose Tom and her family life or her career?
This season is absolutely crazy, as it well should be, and features lots of callbacks from the early parts of the series thrown in for long-time fans. You will laugh and cry as the series comes to a close, as Wisteria Lane loses two long-time residents to death. I liked that they wrapped everything up, telling you where everyone ends up in their lives and they even show scenes that hearken back to the first time Mary Alice showed up on Wisteria Lane. It's all really well done.
Special features include Bloopers, Deleted Scenes, a wonderful featurette with cast and crew as they say goodbye and commentary by Marc Cherry on the season finale. While I am typically not a fan of commentary, I really enjoyed hearing his final thoughts on the show as the finale was quite moving.
Although I didn't get into Desperate Housewives until the Fourth Season, I've loved it for years and I'm sorry to see it go. Marc Cherry is a brilliant writer and Desperate Housewives: The Complete Eighth and Final Season is the icing on the 8-year-long cake of this fantastic show. If you've been a fan, you'll definitely want to own Desperate Housewives: The Complete Eighth and Final Season.
