Best still is Rebecca Wisocky’s Evelyn Powell, the Bree Van de Kamp of the Maids-verse, all long, flowy dresses as casual Sunday attire and pantries full of rare Belgian Chocolates. She’s gotten some of the most interesting arcs in seasons past, and this year her and husband Adrian (Tom Irwin) are trying to make things work again after the somewhat tempestuous shenanigans the two have gotten in over the past two years. Their search for a reason behind Adrian’s lack of sexual drive towards Evelyn is the premiere’s best running gag, and culminates in its most zig-zaggy plot twist. “Oh my god, I had sex with another woman’s erection?” Evelyn bemoans after discovering Adrian used the certain “talents” of another woman to pre-game for his wife. “Yes,” he responds bluntly, “But the orgasm was all yours.”
Maybe most interesting of all in the season opener is the introduction of new maid Blanca (Glee‘s Naya Rivera), who begins working at Taylor and Michael Stappord’s house and generates a storyline that oozes the show’s telenovela origins. The Stappords have adopted a little girl, Katie, and brought her into the neighborhood, not soon after which Evelyn begins witnessing little Katie tearing up the flowers in her garden – an event that’s innocuous compared to the straight-up Omen-level insanity the premiere descends into surrounding Katie and her mysterious “emotional problems.”
And that’s the hook of Devious Maids: it knows what it is and it does everything in its power to show it. Be it in the acting, the sets, or the dialogue, Cherry has created a show that may be less meaty than his mid-aughts ABC juggernaut, but sure as hell is just as drama-filled and, maybe, even crazier (e.g. a final shot reminiscent of a scene out of some Kevin Williamson drama). It’s bold and brassy and features (for the most part) a strong female ensemble all perfectly at home in the cheese. If you’re looking for high art, probably start somewhere other than the network that airs Dance Moms. But if you just want some breezy, casually scandalous summer fun to act as a Shondaland replacement over the next thirteen weeks, the Maids have got you covered.
