Devious Maids - Grime and Punishment (Season Finale) - Review: "The Killer Revealed!" + Season 4 Review

4.10 - "GRIME AND PUNISHMENT"

Directed by Victor Nelli, Jr.

Written by Brian Tanen

Reviewed by Gavin Hetherington

In the Season Finale, Zoila discovers a huge secret that finally helps Rosie get to the truth about Peri’s murder. Carmen and Dani find themselves in a dangerous situation. Genevieve makes a new friend and Marisol attempts to get closure with Peter. Adrian has big news to share, bringing Evelyn one step closer to finalizing the divorce she’s always wanted.

EPISODE GUIDE

Season 4 Episode Guide

Click on an episode title to be taken to that review. Episodes 4-5 were reviewed by Lindsey Salazar.

4.01 - "Once More Unto the Bleach" (June 6, 2016) - Advance Preview
4.02 - "Another One Wipes the Dust" (June 13, 2016)
4.03 - "War and Grease" (June 20, 2016)
4.04 - "Sweeping With the Enemy" (June 27, 2016)
4.05 - "A Time to Spill" (July 4, 2016)
4.06 - "The Maid Who Knew Too Much" (July 11, 2016)
4.07 - "Blood, Sweat, and Smears" (July 18, 2016)
4.08 - "I Saw the Shine" (July 25, 2016)
4.09 - "Much Ado About Buffing" (August 1, 2016)
4.10 - "Grime and Punishment" (August 8, 2016)

Check out my other Devious Maids reviews:

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  Season 3 Episode Guide
  3.01 - "Awakenings" (Advance Preview)
  3.02 - "From Here to Eternity" (Advance Preview)
  3.11 - "Terms of Endearment"
  3.12 - "Suspicion"
  3.13 - "Anatomy of a Murder"

'GRIME AND PUNISHMENT' REVIEW

THE BUILD-UP

WHEN MARISOL MET PETER: First touching on the storylines that didn't have the biggest impact on this season (series?) finale - at least until the very final moments - I want to start with the Marisol and Peter romance. I'm not entirely sure they wrapped up his character the way I really wanted to, but again I don't know what I was expecting. While I think this romance is going a little fast, it is a nice thing for Marisol to have a guy in her life who could do her the world of good (and in the future, give her a great storyline to work with). But he still weirded me out a few episodes ago with the way he reacted to the affair, and again it's understandable that he acted like a big baby, like he said, but something still rubbed me up the wrong way. I hope I'm wrong, because it would be great for Marisol to be happy, and the scene where he proposes to her was extremely sweet. It was also grand of Genevieve to be the push that Peter needed to not make the same mistake he made with her. Pretty nice way of bringing Marisol's and Peter's romance full circle in this finale.

WHAT HAVE I BEEN MISSING: Genevieve had her big moments throughout the season that involved the bigger storyline, especially with the reveal in the last episode that she was raped by Hugh Metzger herself. So within the finale, she took a bit of a step back and decided to see a therapist, only she ended up talking to the woman she meets in the waiting room - Lori. I love the actress, first and foremost, so I was thrilled to see the amazing chemistry she shared with Susan Lucci. It took Genevieve by surprise that her new confidant is a lesbian, but it also opens her eyes to this whole new world. By the end, it seems Genevieve has exhausted all her options with men, so her decision to go on a "date" with Lori was rather surprising, funny, yet genuinely thoughtful at the same time. The look on Zoila's face - she didn't know how to react! Speaking of, I absolutely love that Zoila is back to working for Genevieve. I've missed their scenes the most this season, so should we get a season 5, I'm sure we will get way more interaction between these two characters.

PLAYING CHICKEN: As they have been most of the season, the Powells played yet another filler role in season 4. While I can't complain because they're still my favourite, I still enjoyed that they kind of were involved, yet kind of not. The desperation to make Evelyn jealous by marrying Gail has Adrian do all sorts of crazy things in this finale, but of course, Evelyn has caught on. It was very entertaining to see how Adrian tried to make her jealous, yet Evelyn (being two steps ahead) played him at his own game by rushing his wedding with Gail. The entire elaborate scheme of making the engagement party an impromptu wedding was genius, and it appeared like Adrian kept playing to the bait, right up to the very end. I loved the bizarre divorce signing that ended with them 'consummating' their divorce... but after a whole season of chasing the divorce, now it's finally here, neither of them want it. It was great to see them realise how much they despised yet loved each other, and it took an entire season of nastiness towards each other to realise that. That said, I hope Evelyn makes Adrian pay for basically putting her through poverty. Those were very dark Evelyn days.

THE PLOT THICKENS

The best moments of the finale are when the mystery begins to unravel, and it happens rather constantly throughout. From the moment Marisol tells the girls that Hugh has drugged and raped girls, including Peri, Carmen springs into action to warn Dani. I loved that this helped bring both Carmen and Dani together, especially after the bratty behaviour Dani has been showing this season. This should wake her up. Anyway, Carmen comes to her rescue and finds Hugh knocked out by his own drug. It really shows how much a daughter really needs her mother, and the lengths a mother would go to to protect her, or in this case, how "Carmen Lu-una" would do it. And by George, she kicks ass. Involving Carmen with this part of the mystery was great on the writers' part and it was executed brilliantly.

I loved the entire scene with Carmen, Rosie and Dani - they kind of reminded me of three scorned witches about to rain down Hell upon a good-for-nothing man. We got the next best thing, and it highlighted every single reason why we love these girls - they know who they are, and they're damn proud of it, and God help anybody who comes between them and their loved ones. Using Oven Cleaner as a weapon was genius, and it helped to get the truth out of Hugh, who lets his mouth run with the truths we've been longing to hear - he is the rapist, and he raped Peri years ago and is the father of Tucker. It was great to finally get some answers and make sense of things, especially with what Peri saw in the room before she was murdered. It seemed like a little insignificant thing, but it's been on my mind since.

A flashback revealed Hugh was about to rape another girl - at Peri's own house party, of all places! It's like he wanted to be caught, like seriously Hugh, is he that sex-obsessed he would risk getting caught?! It also humanised Peri so much too, despite how evil she has been in the past, she still had some very sound morals. After realising she wasn't the only person Hugh raped, she vowed to expose him for the scumbag he is. For the first time, I can actually say "bravo Peri, you're doing the right thing" for once. It makes it all the more tragic of what happened, but it was a nice moment to include during the questioning of Hugh. Turns out the Circle was blackmailing him all that time since finding out, but still it does not help us answer all the questions we have about the Circle. Like seriously, that's the end of that?

THE KILLER REVEALED

Once we understood that Hugh was only Peri's rapist, not killer, we had to turn elsewhere to find out who it could be. Fortunately, Kyle sent Zoila Peri's hard drive revealing all her secrets (I knew he had a heart after all), which reveals Hugh has a daughter who would protect him at all costs. That daughter? Gail Fleming! I loved the way it was slowly revealed, firstly with Marisol searching it on the internet, then at the hospital with Hugh after his heart attack. Gail Fleming. While a theory by someone in the comments of one of my previous reviews said Gail could be the killer, it still took me by surprise that she actually took that trophy and stabbed Peri through the neck with it. Brutal. It was a nice way of making a background character in season 3 more relevant in season 4, and by revealing her to be the killer, it didn't feel like a predictable cop-out. It was actually well done and I applaud the writers for handling this the way they did.

I am always a fan of a good flashback, especially to a pivotal moment as this. Hugh asking for his daughter to help him led to a great argument between Peri and Gail, and then to the bedroom scene in which Peri finally bites the dust. How sad, and awful. I especially loved that it was Rosie who got her to confess, and I knew when Rosie started asking questions that she was either wired or there'd be a detective right outside the door. And I was right. Again, the perception of being a Maid was challenged and really demonstrated the strength these characters have. I guess it's great that they are always looked down on, because it made our Maids look up and see the truth, and thus unmask Peri's real killer. I am honestly behind Maid Power, and after this finale, it's clear they can do absolutely anything. "Enjoy jail, Gail!"

Now the real killer was revealed, it was time to clear Spence's name - but that dipstick ended up committing a whole other crime in breaking out of jail. It tied in with Zoila as Spence took refuge in the house abandoned by Frances and Kyle, and she also got to meet Killface. I kind of wished they had a bit more together, but Fiona's interference caused them to rush things a little. It ends up with Killface shooting Spence in a shuffle, though it was anti-climactic because it was obvious he was going to be fine. It did, however, tie everything up in a neat little bow, and the new story is that Killface forced Spence to escape jail with him as a "hostage". How very convenient this all came to be, but I can't complain, because I was ready for Spence to just be out of jail and for this whole nightmare to be over. Doesn't matter if it became a little rushed in the end, I'm just glad it's over.

ONE YEAR LATER

Should the worst come to worst, this little flash-forward at the end of the episode could be ignored, and the way the finale wrapped up before this would be great if the show was cancelled. However, we now have another mystery to deal with, so if the show does get cancelled and we are left on this cliffhanger, the people at Lifetime are going to die. Yes, I'm still going to bitch about the cancellation of Witches of East End, so if we don't get a fifth and final season renewal, heads will roll. I liked how it took Peter and Marisol a year to get married after, literally, a couple of weeks before getting engaged. I also loved the side glance between Adrian and Zoila - that relationship never really got resolution, so I'm interested to see what that was all about. Rosie also gave birth - which is awesome, so now Spence has a legitimate child now of his own blood, and the secret of Tucker is still hidden. Also, Dani's father is still believed to be dead, so he needs to show up too. Gah, so many questions, but the biggest one now - where is Marisol? What happened to her? Was she kidnapped. Did she leave and make it look like she was kidnapped? Lifetime, renew, and give us season 5 ASAP.

EPISODE VERDICT

This was a fantastic season finale with a killer twist. All answers to Peri's murder was nicely wrapped up (though the entire Circle storyline now appears extremely redundant) and several scenes stood out as true Devious Maids gold. A finale that could have worked as a series finale without the flash-forward, and oh my, what a delicious flash-forward that was. I loved it, and it showed me that this show still has a lot more to give, as do our kick-ass maids.

EPISODE AWARDS

Best Maid: All of them - it was a joint effort to take down Peri's killer.

Best Rich Bitch: Evelyn Powell.

Best Line: "Who the hell are you people?" - Hugh. "We're Maids, and we're not messing around." - Carmen.

Funniest Line: "Do you want to be fired?" - Fiona. "...... Yes." - Zoila.

Best Moment: Gail is revealed as the killer.
Runner-up: The girls interrogate Hugh.

Funniest Moment: Evelyn and Adrian's divorce paper signing.

Shadiest Moment: The side-eye between Adrian and Zoila at Marisol's wedding.

Best Storyline: The unmasking of Peri's killer.
Runner-up: Marisol is missing!

Biggest Reveal: Gail is Hugh's daughter / the killer.
Runner-up: Genevieve is going on a date - with Lori!

LOOKING BACK AT SEASON 4

I loved season 4. It began with a great premiere and ended with a great finale. Some of the episodes in between kind of wavered a bit, but most of them were truly great. Even in the episodes that weren't exactly amazing, they always entertained me and kept me laughing. I don't know if I could quite say that season 4 is my favourite season, but it certainly is one of the best. It only makes me crave a season 5, which is what I knew would happen should they not wrap everything up. Only they did wrap everything up, and then opened us up to a whole new mystery. I'm either going to love them or hate them for that.

Some of my highlights this season are several character dynamic changes, such as Rosie working for Genevieve, Zoila becoming "rich" thus catapulting her into the elite, and her scenes with Adrian were just divine. I liked that Carmen's child returned and was the bitch she was, until the end, when they came together in a very sweet way (though nine times out of ten Dani annoyed me). Evelyn becoming poor was another great storyline. And I can't forget the big mystery - though now, the biggest mystery to me is what the hell happened to Cinnamon?! I liked that the mystery involved familiar faces with Peri's murder, leading to the killer being someone we knew from last season and not some stranger. A very well-written season.

My biggest disappointment? The Circle. I still don't understand why it even existed and what it was they really did. That needed to be explained big time, but they missed that opportunity here. I can't dwell on that though, knowing it probably won't be resolved. So that aside, I still love the season.

What did you guys think about the season (and possibly series) finale? Let me know your thoughts of the episode in the comments, and what you thought of season four as a whole.

About the Author - Gavin Hetherington

Award-winning author of the 'Abyssal Sanctuary' series. As Senior Staff, Gavin joined SpoilerTV in August 2014 and reviews Dead of Summer, Devious Maids, Mistresses, Pretty Little Liars and Salem. Gavin will write previews for Empire and Shadowhunters, and backs-up Once Upon a Time, Reign and Scandal. Gavin also writes special anniversary articles, most recently Charmed. You can contact him at [email protected].

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