The Ladies Who Lunch

"The Ladies Who Lunch" is the 16th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. The episode was the 16th episode for the show's first season. The episode was written by Alexandra Cunningham and was directed by Arlene Sanford. It originally aired on Sunday, March 27, 2005.

Plot

After Maisy Gibbons is arrested for solication, word gets out about her humiliating escapades. As the neighborhood shares in her embarrassment, rumors are revealed that Maisy kept a "little black book" of all of her former clients which includes of course, Rex Van De Kamp. When Bree finds out about this she tries to get Rex cleared from the list by visiting Maisy in jail. Maisy asks after all the years of supposedly being friends that Bree would not help her and did not give her the support when Harold lost his job. Maisy refuses to cross Rex's name off the list and Bree is seen as a target while out with Rex. Meanwhile, Lynette tries to get re-invited to a very posh party thrown by a friend of the twins. But when a lice outbreak occurs, the other parents point fingers at Lynette that her children have lice. Lynette then receives word from the school nurse that the party host's child is the original spreader of the lice. Gabrielle's plumbing breaks and the two are forced to use their backyard and a port-a-john for bathroom use. Edie tries to get Susan to get over her break-up with Mike by taking her to a bar to pick up a man. Instead, Susan tells Edie about the Mary Alice/Dana mystery. Edie then tells Susan she has a key to Paul's house which they could use to find some evidence. When they arrive there, they find a video which is titled "Angela". Susan decides to watch it and sees a congratulations party for Angela (Mary Alice) with Felicia in attendance. Edie and Susan are forced to leave when Paul surprisingly arrives home. Edie quickly devises a plan and kisses Paul in order for Susan to escape. The following day, instead of renewing her membership to her country club, Bree decides to give the money to Gabrielle to get her plumbing fixed.

Notes

• After a three week absence, Nicollette Sheridan returns as Edie Britt and has the most screen time for this episode among the entire cast.
• Although credited, John Rowland (Jesse Metcalfe) and Zach Young (Cody Kasch) do not appear in this episode.
• It was Mark Moses who suggested to the writers of Desperate Housewives that he thought Paul and Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) should be intimately linked, which is shown in this particular episode. But a relationship never blossomed between the pair.

Title reference

The episode title The Ladies Who Lunch comes from the Stephen Sondheim musical, Company.