i hate some of the attempted rationalizations on this sub

i feel like there's this constant tug of war on this sub about which character has committed the most heinous/despicable/unforgivable actions and how that equates to how enjoyable they are as a character. for example (phrased in the most strawman way possible on my part but just to get the point across), "i can't believe the susan hate!!! gaby is a child molester, bree is a homophobe and carlos is a coercive birth control tamperer, there is so much worse than susan!!!"

this show's main appeal to me is its dramatic flair and ability to both suspend disbelief and satirize the era in which it was airing. it exists as both a product of its time and a parody of it. and the characters' actions are almost entirely influenced by it, in the same way that characters in a fable are not true identities but rather vessels for some moral message. attempting to transpose these characters into real life simply doesn't work, because desperate housewives is not a slice-of-life show, it's essentially a soap opera.

and the reason (in my opinion) why susan is so unenjoyable as a character is because she stays mostly stagnant throughout the show, while bree and gabby (and to a lesser extent, lynette), undergo numerous transformations, fundamentally have their worldviews changed permanently, and, most importantly, manage to still retain what made them entertaining in the first place. susan's morality doesn't save her from the fact that she is generally more boring than her counterparts.

tldr these characters are not meant to be morally forgivable or debatable because the most interesting and enjoyable storylines in this show 100% rely on them being absolute weirdos <3

edit: seems as though someone got upset enough about this that they’ve now blocked me hahaha