They Asked Me Why I Believe in You
"They Asked Me Why I Believe In You" is the 28th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. The episode was the fifth episode for the show's second season. The episode was written by Alan Cross and was directed by David Grossman. It originally aired on Sunday, October 23, 2005. Wallace Shawn guest stars as Lonny Moon.
| "They Asked Me Why I Believe in You" | |
|---|---|
| Desperate Housewives episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 5 |
| Directed by | David Grossman |
| Written by | Alan Cross |
| Production code | 205 |
| Original air date | October 23, 2005 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| |
Plot
Lynette tries a variety of ways to make working for her boss, Nina, more tolerable, but nothing works until she takes Nina out for a drink. Lynette finds that the only time Nina is ever shy is when it comes to meeting men, which is not a problem for Lynette. So Lynette introduces Nina to a man in the bar, and finds Nina's mood markedly improved the next morning when Nina shows up to the office wearing the same clothes from the night before. Later in the episode, though, Lynette discovers that Nina wants her to go out drinking every night to help her find men. Lynette encourages Nina to find another drinking partner, but Nina complains that the other women in the office are competition; Lynette isn't because she's married. Lynette endures five nights of this, missing valuable time with her family, before she realizes that the only way out of this situation is to become Nina's competition. Lynette goes wild in the bar, finds herself doing shots with a group of men and dances on the bar. Nina sits miserably in the corner and presumably never invites Lynette out drinking again.
Susan has a meeting with her book agent and longtime friend Lonny, but is shocked when she finds out that Lonny has been fired for improperly handling his clients’ money. She asks him if he has stolen any of her money and he denies it. She decides, temporarily, to remain loyal to Lonny and his new agency, because she considers him “family.” However, when she discusses the matter with Mike, she discovers he is less willing to forgive and trust people. This makes Susan nervous because she hasn't told Mike that she paid Zach to leave town to find his father, and she's afraid of what will happen if he finds out. Susan then goes to visit Lonny, but discovers when she arrives that Lonny is broke and his family has left him. He also reveals that he illegally used some of her money too, contrary to what he had told her previously. Susan tells him that she can't trust him any more, but says that they will always be friends. He interprets her words as something more and tries to kiss her, and she runs out of the house.
Gabrielle introduces her attractive new lawyer, David Bradley, to Carlos, but Carlos is immediately jealous of Bradley and refuses to let Bradley represent him. Gabrielle and Carlos later have a heated exchange at the prison's couples’ counseling meeting about her choice of a lawyer. Gabrielle tells Bradley, who continues to be flirtatious with her, that he must go back and deny to Carlos that he's interested in her, but he does something different: he tells Carlos that he does want to sleep with Gabrielle, but the only way that that won't happen is if Carlos keeps him on as his lawyer, since Bradley could be disbarred for sleeping with his client's wife. This tactic works and Carlos insists that Bradley be his lawyer.
After Bree threatens to sue the police, Detective Barton decides to release Rex's body to her so she can reinter him. However, as Bree is waiting for Rex's body to be put in the hearse, Barton comes up to her and tries to get her to confess to poisoning Rex. He shows her the note that Rex wrote before he died that says "Bree, I understand and I forgive you." Bree is shocked that Rex believed that she had poisoned him. Bree had previously invited her friends to a small reburial service for Rex, but when they show up they find that Bree has moved Rex's grave away from the family's plot, saying "If you think I’m going to lay next to someone for eternity who thinks I’m a murderer, you’re crazy." She then proceeds to throw her wedding ring into Rex's grave.
Betty is over at Edie's house retrieving some of her mail that was accidentally delivered to Edie, when she sees on the news that the police arrested a man in Chicago for the death of a "Melanie Foster." She goes home and begins writing an anonymous letter to the Chicago police saying that they've arrested the wrong person. When she goes down to the basement to talk to Caleb about the recent developments, Matthew sees the letter on the kitchen table and tells his mother not to send it. She says that Caleb didn't know what he was doing, that it wasn't his fault. Matthew says that they won't care that Caleb is "slow"; they'll execute him anyway. Caleb, who has escaped from his cell, is listening to them talk in the kitchen, but when he hears this, he returns to the basement.
Betty delivers the mail that was addressed to the Young family to their house. The mailbox has much mail in it although no one is living there. When the mailman delivers a package to the Young's the mailbox was empty; Paul Young is back and he took the mail.
Cast
Although credited, Zach Young (Cody Kasch), Andrew Van De Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom), Danielle Van De Kamp (Joy Lauren), George Williams (Roger Bart), Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi), Preston Scavo (Brent Kinsman), Porter Scavo (Shane Kinsman), and Parker Scavo (Zane Huett) do not appear in this episode.
Title reference
The episode title They Asked Me Why I Believe in You is a song written by Stephen Sondheim for Elaine Sterne Carrington's unproduced television play, I Believe in You.
International titles
- French: On n'enterre que deux fois (We only bury twice)
- German: Treue Gefährten (Stench Fellows)
- Italian: Mi hanno chiesto perchè credo in te (They asked me why i believe in you)
- Hungarian: Miért is hittem benned?! (Why did I believe in you?!)
- Polish: Dlaczego w ciebie wierzyłam? (Why did I believe in you?)
Trivia
- Lynette dances on a bar to the song "Boogie Shoes". When Felicity Huffman starred on the series Sports Night, it was said that if her character, Dana Whitaker, "gets like half a margarita in her, there's a better than even chance that she'll get up on a table and start dancing to 'My Boogie Shoes'". Later, she does just that.
- Right as Lonny walks up to Susan's house, Susan is in her kitchen watching TV and doing the dishes. She sets down the dish to go and greet him, but not before the camera focuses on the television for a few seconds. The reporter states that there is a "new development in the Melanie Foster case." This is a hint as to the seasons main mystery.
- In one point in the episode, Susan asks "Who in this room hasn't committed a felony?", referencing the fact that nearly all of the main characters of the show have broken the law at some point or another (although when Susan says it, Mike and Julie are the only ones in the room).