First off we have the newest housewife that moved to Wisteria Lane at the end of the first season in Betty Applewhite played by Alfre Woodard. We saw there was something or someone mysterious in her basement, it was one of the major cliffhangers leading to season two. This actually turned out to be the biggest let down of the season and the reason I say the show wasn't crazy enough. I am not going to ruin the story for you, but it just wasn't what I expected and it was far from a worthy "secret" considering all the things that occur on this show.
In other news we learn what happens with Gabrielle's pregnancy, Susan's little "at gun-point" situation, Lynette's work status, Bree's home life following her husband's death and the rest of the stories surrounding the housewives. There are several ups and downs, but the secrets don't seem to be as bountiful, a lot more is already on the surface and there isn't so much hiding. The hiding is what makes this show so much fun, the knowing what the others don't know. Throwing one final thought out there this season also didn't leave much of a major cliffhanger to look forward to. There is that bit with Lynette and her husband and of course Gabrielle and her "family" situation, but aside from that all we are looking forward to is another episode. Not a major problem, and while I am not a huge fan of senseless cliffhangers I do think seasons should have major cliffhangers to keep the audience in suspense as we look forward to the guiding storyline for the next 24 episodes.
As for this DVD set of six discs you get five discs with all 24 episodes of the second season. The one thing these five discs are missing that the first season had are audio commentaries on any of the episodes, anything special is saved for the sixth disc. Disc six holds all your special features as show creator Marc Cherry introduces us to his mother, a featurette with such popular television housewives as Maggie Seaver from "Growing Pains", Vivian Banks from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air", Kitty Forman from "That '70s Show" and Jill Taylor from "Home Improvement" as they talk about the housewives of DHW.
Finally you get a mini preview of the "Desperate Housewives" video game, a series of unaired scenes and storylines with Marc Cherry commentary, deleted scenes, costume design featurette and a series of "juicy" moments from the show as decided by the Housewives.
This second season is not as great as the first but it is the stepping stone to what will hopefully be a better third. "Desperate Housewives" walks a fine balance between all-out soap opera and a worthy late night drama with instances of comedy, drama and a fair bit of soapiness. I only hope the writers and Marc Cherry can continue to walk that line and bring the show back to the greatness we remember from season one.