See Also: 'Ah, But Underneath' Episode Guide

Synopsis

Gabrielle and John are in the bath together when they are nearly caught by Carlos coming home early. Gabrielle sends John out the window naked and greets Carlos as though nothing is wrong. When Carlos asks if John is there to do the gardening, Gabrielle falters before John shows up in the window, trimming the hedges. What Carlos doesn’t see is that John isn’t wearing pants.

Gabrielle, Lynette, Susan and Bree all gather to discuss taking the note they found among Mary Alice's things to Paul. Not being able to come to an agreement, they decide to talk it over in the morning. Meanwhile, Paul has dug up a trunk from under the pool. After all the women go home, Bree stays up and has a talk with Rex. She insists on marriage counseling, rather than divorce. Susan talks with Julie who tries to convince her to ask Mike out. When Julie looks for the measuring cup, Susan suddenly remembers leaving it in the fire at Edie's. Gabrielle is in bed when Carlos comes home. He gives her a new piece of jewelry and then asks for sex. Gabrielle suggests talking. They fight and when Carlos asks what he needs to do to fix things she tells him to surprise her and take her breath away.

The next morning, Susan takes her trash out and runs into Mike. She asks him over for dinner but he ends up offering to have it at his place so he can cook. Over at Edie's burnt house, Mrs. Huber finds the measuring cup, which Edie insists is not hers.

Lynette is driving with the boys in the back seat when she gets pulled over by a cop. When the cop states that he pulled her over for not controlling the boys and not having them in seatbelts, Lynette gets angry. The cop lets her off with a warning. Gabrielle drops by John’s house to tell him they've got to be more discreet. Before she leaves he gives her a rose. Meanwhile, at counseling, after spending most of the hour engaging in small talk, it becomes apparent that Bree uses housework to disengage from her feelings.

Susan and Mike have a chat and while they talk, Edie drives up. After butting into the conversation, Edie then invites herself to the dinner. On her way back to her house, Susan decides to see Paul. As they speak, Paul puts the trunk in the back of his van and then tells Susan that he'll never forgive Mary Alice for abandoning her family. Paul takes the trunk and throws it in the lake.

When Mrs. Huber stops by the Mayer household, she discovers that they’ve bought a new measuring cup. At counseling, Bree discovers that Rex won’t make it to the session but she decides to stay and mend Dr. Goldfine's coat. While Lynette is driving with the boys they start acting up again. As a disciplinary measure, she decides to leave them on the side of the road and drive around the corner before coming back for them. However, when she comes back the boys are gone. A woman comes out of a nearby house and says she's got the boys but won't give them up until Lynette calms down. When things get physical between the woman and Lynette, the boys rush out and attack the woman. Lynette and the boys then rush for the van and leave.

Carlos comes home with a surprise for Gabrielle: a new car. Over at Mike's, Susan shows up early for the dinner in order to spend time alone with Mike but finds that Edie is already there. Back at counseling, Rex continues to blame Bree for the problems in the marriage but when Dr. Goldfine asks Rex if he's ever thanked Bree for performing her domestic duties, Rex is clearly taken aback.

During dinner at Mike's, both Susan and Edie attempt to take pot shots at each other. Finally Susan, angry that Mike’s dog likes Edie and that Edie is using that to her advantage, dabs gravy behind her ear to get Bongo's attention. When Bongo licks at her he accidentally swallows Susan's earring and has to be taken to the vet. Susan later shows up at the vet to see Mike and to apologize. As they talk, Susan realizes that Mike is still in love with his dead wife and that she can deal with being just friends.

Analysis

If there is any episode that is just as important as the "Pilot" in a new television series, it's the second episode. Here is where viewers get to enjoy the meat of the storylines that have been established without having to deal with the interruption of having new characters introduced or having background information explained. In short, the episode should be one that pushes forward and moves smoothly.

For the most part, Ah, But Underneath fulfills these expectations beautifully. There were several individual storylines that were touched upon in the pilot episode that are continued and furthered in this episode, as well as the occasional brief hint towards the main story arc which questions why Mary Alice killed herself.

This episode delves further into the affair of Gabrielle and John. Whereas I mentioned before the sympathetic qualities of Gabrielle, after seeing this episode I have to admit that Carlos is equally as sympathetic. During the scene where he and Gabrielle fight it's obvious that Carlos cares for her when he asks what he needs to do to fix things. However, when he later buys her a car as a surprise, it's just as obvious that Carlos and Gabrielle aren't on the same page regarding their marriage. It's hard, though, to fault Carlos for that since it doesn’t seem as though Gabrielle has given him much of an indication that her need of him has undergone a switch from material to emotional. Carlos is simply relying on her past behavior to steer him.

With the continuation of the Susan/Mike/Edie triangle, it's only natural to be rooting for Susan as she tries to garner Mike's full attention. It’s easy then to forget the image we were left with at the end of last week's episode…of Mike setting a gun on the table. Through this episode, Mike seems quite amiable and almost rather ignorant of the rivalry between Susan and Edie. However, considering some of the smirking grins he wears during the banter of the two ladies, one can only assume that he knows exactly what’s going on. This then brings us to wonder which woman he favors, the question of which is answered at the end when Susan realizes that he's still in love with his deceased wife. Of course, this realization comes right before the viewer is treated to a shot of the inside of Mike's kitchen cabinet, which has money, a map of the neighborhood, and a lists of names, including Susan's. Mike once again proves to be an enigma.

Although we were shown situations involving Lynette and her children, in essence, we weren't privy to anything major in her life. As was expected, Tom was conspicuously absent, leaving Lynette to handle four children by herself. She again was having trouble controlling the boys and, remembering the suggestion made my Mrs. Huber earlier in the episode, Lynette decides to leave the boys on the side of the road and come back moments later in order to scare them into behaving. At the end of the situation this seems to have worked, but the viewer can’t help but feel that this is a temporary fix. After all, the trials and tribulations of motherhood seem to be Lynette's corner and if her problems were solved in the second episode of the season where would the entertainment be? No, this situation seemed more about the fact that Lynette is at the point where she’ll try anything to discipline her boys.

If I recall correctly, I assigned the term "irritating" to Bree after viewing the pilot episode. While her mannerisms are a tad bit overbearing, the writers did an excellent job in this week's episode of turning the tables and giving viewers a chance to understand her. During the counseling session we begin to see that Bree strives for perfection as a way to avoid any type of conversation that might probe too deeply. However, again, it causes us to sit back and wonder why. By Rex's own admission, Bree wasn't always that way. What has happened to make her close off? There also seems to be a slight bit of vulnerability with Bree when we later learn of her desire for a simple 'thank you' for all she does. We also see that Rex, the seeming victim in the pilot episode, is a little bit irrational for blaming the entire trouble of their marriage on Bree. It will be interesting to see if there is any way for Rex to redeem himself in later episodes, as it seems that Bree is quite determined to make the marriage work. In fact, it's because of this determination that we see that Bree, while perhaps slightly quirky for unknown reasons, is actually a very strong and admirable woman.

I do have one bit of a question regarding this episode. It's quite obvious that the contents of the trunk that Paul Young dug up from underneath the pool are probably of a sordid nature. So, why dig it up and throw it in the lake? Come on, we've all seen the latest crime dramas on TV, we know that stuff in lakes gets found eventually while hiding something under a cement pool seems to be, well, rather ingenious. What was the purpose of digging it up, then, except as a rather weak attempt to further expose the mystery? Of course, I suppose that if the mystery stayed a mystery it wouldn’t be entertaining. We'll have to stay tuned for the next episode to see what happens regarding the trunk!

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