See Also: 'The Ladies Who Lunch' Episode Guide

Synopsis:

Scandal arrives on Wisteria Lane is a salacious way when Maisy Gibbons is arrested for prostitution. Word spreads quickly in the neighborhood. Word of another kind is getting around at the school the Scavo boys attend: someone has spread lice to the school's population. When Lynnette sees twins Preston and Porter itching their heads and notices other mothers whispering, she fears the worst: her boys will be blamed for the outbreak. Bree and Rex, who is feeling sluggish and out of sorts, are upset when they learn that Maisy had a little black book with all of her client's names in them. If the contents of the book get out, people will learn Rex visited Maisy. Gabrielle and Carlos are dismayed when they discover that their septic system is backed up. They call in Mike Delfino who takes a look and

Lynette and Tom are de-licing their boys when Lynette receives a call from Tammy Brennan, claiming her son Topher's birthday party has been cancelled. Lynette isn't buying it--she thinks the boys are going to be ostracized. She's certain they didn't start the lice epidemic. Paul Young escorts Edie out of his house; he's changed his mind about selling. The run into Felicia Tilman who gives Edie back a necklace she found among Martha Huber's things. When Paul asks about Mike Delfino's possible involvement in Martha's murder, Felicia dismisses the notion and turns a critical eye on Paul, asking if he's ever been to Salt Lake City before. He says no but eyes Felicia suspiciously.

At the ladies' poker game, Gabrielle uses the opportunity to freshen up. Edie tells the ladies that Maisy is going to turn over her little black book in exchange for a deal with the DA, much to Bree's consternation. After the other ladies leave, Lynette suggests Edie check in on Susan, who is devastated over her break-up with Mike, and try to cheer her up. Paul Young retrieves a tape with "Utah, Angela Award Party" written on it. He watches it and discovers a younger Felicia congratulating Angela aka Mary Alice on her honor.

Lynette approaches Nurse Abagail to find out how her boys got lice. She's relieved to learn neither boy was "patient zero," but the nurse doesn't want to reveal who actually was. Lynette finally worms it out of her when she tells about how the boys were de-invited from Topher Brennan's birthday party. The nurse's eyes narrow--Topher is the one who brought the infestation into the school! Bree pays Maisy a visit in the hopes of convincing her to remove Rex's name from her little black book, but Maisy stands firm, even when Bree offers her money. She chides Bree for not being a good friend to her when Maisy was having financial difficulties. Bree repeats her offer, but when Maisy stands firm, she leaves in a huff.

Edie drags a moping Susan out of her house for a girl's night out in the hopes of cheering her up. The two start talking about Martha's death and Susan decides they should break into Paul Young's house to snoop around. Bree and Rex are enjoying an outing of a different kind--eating dinner at the country club. Rex is complaining about his new medicine not working when Bree notices people staring at them. They assume it's because of Maisy's little black book and Rex wants to leave, but Bree insists they stand their ground. At Paul Young's house, Susan and Edie find the videotape Paul was watching and they put it in for a minute, but Paul comes home unexpectedly, so Edie flirts with him while Susan crawls out, leaving the tape behind. Mike spots Susan on her way back to her house and confronts her about not returning his calls. When she insists she wants nothing to do with him, Mike kisses her passionately.

Gabrielle is visiting Bree, ostensibly to look at her bathroom tiles. When Bree asks her about her financial troubles, Gabrielle mentions Rex's involvement with Maisy and comments that good friends avoid personal problems while great ones pretend they don't exist at all. Bree and Gabrielle part company, overlooking each other's troubles. Lynette confronts Mrs. Brennan at Topher's party and forces her to tell everyone that the Scavo boys were not the ones who spread the lice. Bree pays a visit to Gabrielle and gives her a check, saying she wants Gabrielle to have the money she would have put to her country club membership. Gabrielle is shocked and grateful; Bree tells her that good friends offer to help and great ones don't take no for an answer.

Analysis:

Despite its light tone, "The Ladies Who Lunch" touches on some deeper issues, such as friendship and loyalty. The most moving scene comes at the end of the episode, when Bree decides to give Gabrielle the money she needs to fix her plumbing problems. Gabrielle thinks great friends overlook each others problems, but Bree's encounter with Maisy Gibbons in jail made her realize that's not true. Mean-spirited Maisy might not be worthy of Bree's compassion, but Gabrielle is, and the fact that she reaches out to her friend despite Gabrielle's touchiness about her money problems proves what a good friend Bree is. It's a sweet moment that proves there's a good amount of heart behind the show's ironic, clever tone.

The other friendship spotlighted in the episode is the unlikely pairing of Edie and Susan. Edie's gotten her wish to be included in the housewives' poker game, and while she's fitting in nicely, it was a smart decision to have Lynette push Edie to visit Susan. The other housewives were consumed by their own problems at the moment--Lynette with the boy's lice and status as social pariahs, Gabrielle with her plumbing and money problems, Bree with the Maisy Gibbons scandal and Rex's involvement--so sending Edie to check in on Susan was a good move. Sometimes someone who is not as close a friend is actually a better choice for a 'cheer-up' mission. Lynette, Gabrielle, and Bree might not have felt comfortable dragging Susan out of her house knowing how down she was, and Susan might have resisted their attempts to drag her out. But Edie, who is not as close with her, didn't have the same inhibitions, and was able to get Susan out of house.

The Susan/Edie friendship is an interesting development. The fact that it has its roots in an incident that could have made them bitter enemies (Susan accidentally starting a fire in Edie's house) is an interesting, unexpected twist on its own. There's still an underlying rivalry, given that they're the two single women in their set and have a history of competing for men (and that's not in the past, given the preview for next week's episode). But Edie forcing Susan to stop moping and get out for an evening can only be interpreted as an act of kindness, making her a deeper and more interesting character.

On top of that Edie helps Susan escape Paul Young's house by coming on to him, which has unexpected consequences when he responds with interest. What happened with the pair after Susan snuck out? I guess we'll have to wait for the next episode to find out. Paul's behavior grows shadier as the weeks go by--Felicia certainly seems to be on to him. And with good reason--she's caught him in a lie. It was refreshing to see her dismiss the obviously false evidence against Mike Delfino; the smarter the characters are, the more interesting they become.

Poor Mike Delfino--maybe now that Bree gave Gabrielle some money she'll be able to hire him to fix her septic system. Things aren't going so well for him on Wisteria Lane since his arrest. Susan, despite the fact that she obviously still loves him, is standing firm. Will she be able to remain staunch after that steamy, steamy kiss he gave her? Time will tell.

They say scandal brings out the best and worst in people. In "The Ladies Who Lunch," it brings out the best in the Housewives. Lynette stands up to Tammy Brennan for the sake of her sons. Edie pulls Susan out of her depression, allowing Susan to focus on something other than Mike: Paul Young's shadiness. Gabrielle manages to keep her head up through her money troubles (and even get creative: she steals a Port-a-Potty at one point and brings it to her backyard!) but also knows when to accept help from a generous friend. Bree takes Maisy's words to heart and makes a gesture to help her friend, despite the fact that it takes both her and Gabrielle beyond the polite veneer of many of the relationships on Wisteria Lane. Real friendships run far beneath that surface.

Next week: Susan and Edie compete for the attention of a handsome guy!

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