Next (Desperate Housewives)

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"Next" is the 24th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. The episode was also the season premiere for the show's second season. The episode was written by Jenna Bans and Kevin Murphy and was directed by Larry Shaw. It originally aired on Sunday September 25, 2005.

[edit] Guest Starring

• Jesse Metcalfe as John Rowland
• Joely Fisher as Nina Fletcher
• Currie Graham as Ed Ferrara
• Andy Umberger as Officer Romslo
• Dakin Matthews as Reverend Sikes
• Shirley Knight as Phyllis Van De Kamp

[edit] Co-Starring

• Charlie Babcock as Stu
• Nikki Braendlin as Receptionist
• Pat Crawford Brown as Ida Greenberg
• Stacy Solodkin as Haggard Woman

[edit] Plot

Minutes after Mike parks his car in the driveway, Susan is still in Mike's house with Zach who is holding her hostage at gunpoint. He is waiting to kill Mike because he thinks he killed his father, Paul. When Mike comes home, Susan tackles Zach. In the resulting confusion, Susan trips and falls, the gun goes off harmlessly and Zach runs off. At the hospital, where Susan is being treated for the lip she accidentally bit, Julie hears Mike giving police a different version of events, one that downplays Zach's murderous intentions. Julie tells Susan and she confronts Mike about it. He admits he doesn't want to press charges. He tells her about how Mary Alice and Paul killed Deirdre because of Zach. He's interrupted by a call from the police -- they've just found Zach. He's dead. Since Paul is missing, Mike and Susan go to the morgue to identify his body. Only it's not Zach. When Susan sees Mike's reaction, she realizes what he was about to tell her - Zach is his son. She freaks out and leaves him there. She shows up at his house later to tell him that she's so happy he has a son since he always wanted children. But she can't let Zach near Julie and so she decides they can't move in together. She runs off in tears.

John shows up at Gabrielle's house with a suitcase -- he's ready to move in and start a life with her and the baby now that Carlos is in jail and knows about their affair. But she's still mad at him for spilling the beans and throws him out. Gabrielle visits Carlos in jail and tells him she's sorry and she wants to start over. He tells her he wants a paternity test. She fakes a test that says he's the father and is surprised when he isn't happy. He says all he asked for was for her to be faithful and she says his meddling with her birth control was worse than her affair. "We're not very nice people are we?" Carlos asks. "At least we're still rich," she says and they both nod sadly.

Bree tells her friends she can't fall apart after Rex's death. She has to stay calm to deal with his emotional mother, Phyllis. The women see an example of this when Phyllis yells "BREEEEEEEE" out the window of a speeding taxi cab. When she starts emphasizing how happy Rex's life was pre-marriage, including asking he be buried in a hideous prep school tie, Bree tells her to say what she really means. Phyllis tells Bree that she ruined Rex's life when she married him. Bree snaps and bans her from the funeral, until Andrew and Danielle beg her to reconsider. Bree relents and Phyllis apologizes to her and all is well. Bree introduces herself to new neighbor Betty Applewhite and her son Matthew, asking Betty if she can play the organ at Rex's funeral since their organist is on vacation. Betty agrees and tells Bree "Us widows have to stick together." At the funeral, Bree sees that Rex is wearing the hated prep school tie and not the Ralph Lauren tie she picked out. "Don't close that coffin!" she orders and in full view of the entire church, demands Tom's tie and props up Rex's body so she can put it on instead.

At her job interview, Lynette tries to make a good impression on Nina, who doesn't approve of anyone who takes time off to be with their kids. Lynette assures her it won't be a problem. But then the day of her follow-up interview, Tom throws out his back and can't take care of the baby, so she's forced to take her to the interview. She manages to wow Nina's boss with her multitasking skills, changing the baby while pitching them ideas on how to take their agency to the next level. She's hired, although Nina is less than thrilled.

[edit] Quotes

• Bree: (calmly) I have some news. Rex died.
• Betty: (to Bree) We widows have to stick together.
• Matthew: I was just trying to cover up.
  Betty: I know you were but next time leave the cleverness to me.
• Carlos: I can't believe you had an affair.
  Gabrielle: Well you tampering with my birth control pills was a lot worse than that.
  Carlos: We're not very nice people are we?
  Gabrielle: No.
  Carlos: When we got married I thought we were gonna be so happy.
  Gabrielle: Me too.
  (pause)
  Gabrielle: But look on the bright side. At least we're still rich.
  Carlos: Thank God for that.
• (Susan, Lynette, & Gabrielle are wondering why Bree is acting so calm about Rex's death)
  Bree: I can't afford to break down right now.
  Gabrielle: Why?
  (Rex's mother, Phyllis, comes around in a taxi sobbing)
  Bree: You're about to find out.
• (Phyllis has been rude to Bree)
  Bree: You are no longer invited to the funeral.
  Phyllis Van De Kamp: What?!?
  Bree: I will have security guards at the door of the church with sticks and they will be assigned to beat you with those sticks if you do so much as enter.
  Reverend Sikes: Bree, this is your grief talking.
  Bree: Reverend, if you don't back me up on this, I will take the funeral away from your church.
  Reverend Sikes: Bree!
  Bree: I'm not kidding. I will get non-denominational so fast it will make your head spin.
• Andrew: Mom, Grandma's leaving.
  Bree: I know. She's been uninvited to the funeral.
  Andrew: Why?
  Bree: If only you heard all the nasty things she said to me.
  Andrew: Look, I'm sure she was a real bitch, but she's family, so that's makes her our bitch. Let her say goodbye to Dad.
  Danielle: (crying) Mom, if you don't invite Grandma to the funeral I'll never forgive you!
  Andrew: (to Danielle) Did I ask for your help?
  Andrew: (back to Bree) I'm sure Dad would've wanted her there.
• Bree: (to Rex's corpse) You look magnificent.

[edit] Notes

• As of this episode, Alfre Woodard (Betty Applewhite) is elevated from Special Guest Star to a Starring Role.

• Doug Savant (Tom Scavo), Shawn Pyfrom (Andrew Van De Kamp), Joy Lauren (Danielle Van De Kamp), Richard Burgi (Karl Mayer), Mehcad Brooks (Matthew Applewhite), Roger Bart (George Williams), Brent Kinsman (Preston Scavo), Shane Kinsman (Porter Scavo), and Zane Huett (Parker Scavo) have all been elevated from Guest Starring to Series Regulars, but only Alfre Woodard, Doug Savant and Richard Burgi's names are seen in the opening credits. In addition, Page Kennedy (Caleb Applewhite) also joins the main cast.

• Steven Culp who played Rex Van De Kamp and Jesse Metcalfe who played John Rowland last season are no longer credited. Jesse Metcalfe will remain on the series but in a Guest Starring capacity.

• Although credited, Paul Young (Mark Moses), Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi), and George Williams (Roger Bart) do not appear in this episode.

• Originally, when Mike (James Denton) arrvied home and found Zach (Cody Kasch) holding Susan hostage, the scene was written to have Mike get shot, but he'd already been shot in an episode of the first season so it was altered so that Susan (Teri Hatcher) shot Ida Greenberg's bottle of alcohol through the window after a struggle erupted in Mike's home. This added a sip of comedy to the dramatic scene.

• The scene in which Betty (Alfre Woodard) and Matthew (Mehcad Brooks) bring the tray down to the unknown man (Caleb Applewhite) in the basement was originally intended to be included in the season one finale. When Marc Cherry decided it would be best not to introduce the central mystery of season two in the finale of season one, the scene was shelved and later edited back into the season premiere of the second season. Which is why, Betty and Matthew are wearing the same clothes that they wore in the season finale when Edie talks to them. Also, the scene was originally filmed at night, with Betty closing the blinds, making sure that no one was looking in and giving the gun to Matthew. The scene was re-shot in the daytime to make it look like it happened after Rex's (Steven Culp) funeral.

[edit] Title reference

The episode title Next is the closing song of the Stephen Sondheim musical, Pacific Overtures.

[edit] International Titles

• French: Nouvelles fleurs, nouvelles maisons et... nouveaux voisins (New flowers, new houses and... new neighbours)
• German: Das Leben geht weiter (Life Goes On)
• Italian: Dopo (After)
• Spanish: La historia continua (The Story Goes On)
• Hungarian: Legközelebb (Next time)