Everything's Different, Nothing's Changed - Recap

Paul is eating dinner and Susan is relaxing when they find out about
Beth's attempted suicide. Beth's doctor tells Paul she is on life
support, sans brain activity while Susan's doctor celebrates the
incoming kidney. Paul asks why Beth is on life support, and when he's
informed that she's an organ donor, he stops the doctor mid-sentence and
orders him not to touch her until he gets there. Susan and Mike
celebrate as Paul heads for the hospital.

The women of Wisteria Lane are celebrating. Lynette and Tom have
champagne in honor of a well-mannered (negative) pregnancy stick, Renee
buys herself a dress for her annual 39th birthday, and Gabby bakes a
triple-fudge cake for her baby girl's awesome C+ report card. So of
course they're all lined up outside the elevator when Susan arrives for
her transplant. Renee just wants to make sure that Susan will be at her
party, and Mike asks if she can move it into ICU.

Susan's doctor arrives. He realizes they don't know about Beth handing
over the donor papers before shooting herself, so he fills them in. The
surgery is being delayed while Paul says his goodbyes. Bree beats
herself up for having seen Beth yesterday and not realized what
condition she was in. Susan sends the women home as it looks like
nothing will happen tonight.

Karen calls Bree, thoroughly exasperated. She woke her up to tell her
that Andrew is drunk, and crashed on her couch. Bree and Andrew's
husband get him home, and Andrew insists he's fine. No big. All these
houses kind of look the same. Bree agrees. When you're DRUNK! She's an
alcoholic. Genetically, Andrew is at high risk. He thinks he just had a
little fun last night, that's all.

Bree asks Alex how long this has been going on. He's worried - it's been
awhile. He went from drunken weekends to drunk daily. She wishes he'd
told her. Alex pretends he has to work late so he doesn't have to come
home and see that. He loves Andrew, but he wants to leave. He can't go
on like this. She wants him to give her a chance to work on Andrew.

Renee talks the party people through where everything goes, ending with
"And eyes off the boobs, but thanks for noticing." Gabby is surprised
that we're still flinging for spring, given Beth's suicide. She's not
actually dead. Besides, Renee sees her as a clinger. She'll probably
stick around for months. This isn't a party, it's an event. Invitations
have been sent, the caterer is hired, and live is for the living. So
let's live. Gabby sees her point, since she did buy a Versace. In a
sense, this could be a tribute for Beth. Only, you know. With no mention
of Beth. A moment of silence would sound great to music.

Susan approaches Paul, extending her sympathies. He doesn't answer. She
thanks him for the gift of live, and Paul twists it completely, like he
usually does. Congratulations, his wife is dead, and Susan is the
consolation prize. Besides. In his estimation, Beth is alive, and he
intends to keep her that way as long as possible. He's not going to
allow Susan to strip her for parts like some abandoned car. Susan says
that's not what is happening here. This was Beth's idea. Paul claims
Beth was not in her right mind when she signed the forms.

Paul tears Susan up over how Beth was never welcomed into the inner
circle of the Wisteria Lane community. She gave Beth nothing in life,
and that's exactly what she's going to get in death.

Mike doesn't get it. Beth not only signed the donation forms, but she
has a living will. Aren't those binding? The attorney says yes and no.
Paul has the final say, and he's saying no. Mike wants to fight, but
Susan refuses. Mike doesn't want to let him win. "Win? His wife shot
herself." Susan just wants to go home.

Andrew helps Bree with catering, but she's actually delivering donuts to
AA. He's not amused, but doesn't leave. Just one meeting, that's all she
asks. Andrew claims his mother named him Elvis when one of the members
greets him. Just another reason for him to be mad at his mother.

Tom introduces Lynette to a golf buddy. Carlos invites them over for a
beer, but Glenn needs to get moving. He asks to use the bathroom before
he hits the road, and Lynette waves him in. He tells her that's not
actually why they stepped inside. His CFO took a job in London, and
there's only one name on his list. Tom Scavo. Lynette is astonished, and
the offer is incredibly lucrative, but Tom says no out of loyalty to
Carlos. Lynette can't believe what she's hearing. Glenn shakes Tom's
hand, but tells him this conversation isn't over. Glenn hopes that
Lynette will talk some sense into her husband. "Talk, beat; whatever
gets the job done."

The minute the door is closed, Lynette tries to get through to Tom, but
he's not hearing it, and accuses her of trying to run his life. The
answer is no.

At the AA meeting, "Elvis" tries to pass on sharing, but Bree insists.
Bad idea. He takes all manner of shots at Bree, calling her Attila the
mom. Bree asks them not to laugh, because we're trying to heal here.
Andrew continues, and it turns into a major squabble with Bree that
Tommy finally calls Bree on. She won't back down, so he ends the
meeting. They recite the Serenity Prayer, and as Bree glares daggers at
Andrew, he walks out. Her face softens as she realizes her temper and
defensiveness drove him away.

Karen can't believe Gabby and Renee are going ahead with their party,
when Beth is on life support. "Exactly! She's not dead. It's like you're
making my argument for me." Karen retorts that they should put her down
for a no, but feel free to call her when they have their Hurricane
Katrina pool party. Gabby doesn't have better luck with anybody else she
talks to, either. Bree can't believe that Gabby didn't make the
connection with Beth choosing the same means of death as Mary Alice did.

Gabby returns to Renee with the news that she got seven no's and a
maybe. They need to cancel. They should have canceled the minute they
heard about Beth. Renee doesn't get it. Nobody liked Beth anyway, what's
the big deal? Gabby says it's in horrible taste. At least change the
date. Renee refuses. For ten years, she's had her spring fling the first
Sunday in April. Not the 2nd, not the 3rd; the first. And not when a
bunch of wimps decided they were ready to stop moping. Gabby tells her
nobody will be in attendance, but Renee says they will see. Her social
life is not going to grind to a halt just because some cuckoo bird
decided to clean her ears with a handgun. Gabby thanks Renee for making
her the compassionate one.

Mike tries to reopen the discussion about the kidney. He needs to know
why Susan won't let him fight for her kidney. She says it feels wrong.
Beth killed herself so Susan could have her kidney. Why? It doesn't make
any sense. Susan can't take the kidney, knowing that maybe she's the
reason Beth is lying in that hospital.

Lynette starts sex games with Tom. He's happy. Once she finds out he's
not taking the job, she tells him he'll be handling his own bags from
now on. Tom claims they already talked about this, but they didn't. He
said no without consulting her. He says he'll talk to Carlos, see if
he'll match the number. Lynette announces that a seat just opened up,
and picks up where she left off.

Paul visits Felicia at the prison because she tried to have Beth
declared dead and her life support turned off. He's angry, and refuses
to admit she's dead. Felicia reiterates. Her daughter is dead. His wife
is dead. Paul thinks Felicia is trying to use Beth to hurt him. Nobody
can use her anymore. She's dead. Felicia says this sick game they're
playing has finally found a victim, and it was the only innocent person
in the game.

Paul denies any wrongdoing, so Felicia fills him in. He refused to
believe she loved him. Felicia turned her away, because she did. He
believes she can recover. Felicia must believe it too, or he wouldn't be
in the chapel, praying for her. Felicia says she's praying for
forgiveness. This has to stop, and they have to let Beth rest. Paul
walks out without another word.

Bree arrives to speak with Andrew. No second chances, he won't be going
to anymore AA meetings. He has plenty of problems, he says; but drinking
isn't one of them. Alex is working 18-hour shifts at the hospital. He
works out, he does laundry - he actually dusted, and felt proud. How
pathetic is that? Bree doesn't think it's pathetic at all. The one thing
that gets him through is knowing that when night comes, he can have a
few drinks, and kick back. He thinks he's allowed. He wants Bree to
trust that he'll be okay. She smiles and says "If you say so" before
walking out. She goes back in and confronts him.

She saw Beth was in rough shape yesterday, yet she walked away and did
nothing. She'll never forgive herself, nor will she let it happen again.
Certainly not with her son. Andrew tells her that Alex left him. He
wrecked his marriage. Bree promises it will get better, but he needs to
go to a meeting. If he doesn't want to talk in front of a bunch of
strangers, they'll have their own meeting.

Tom fills Carlos in, and asks for a raise. Carlos says if he could
afford to, he'd step up. He made an offer, which was a bunch of crap
according to Lynette. She totally sees it for what it is, but Tom clings
to his loyalty to Carlos. "You're walking away from real money and real
power for pretend profits and a made-up title." He asks why she keeps
pushing like this, and she retorts that if she doesn't, he goes nowhere.
They look at each other in shock, but she won't take it back. He's 46
and still trying to establish himself. Opportunities like this don't
fall from trees.

Tom refers to this as stabbing Carlos in the back, but Lynette knows
that Carlos wouldn't hesitate for a second if the roles were reversed.
He's ruthless. If Lynette wants to see Tom get ruthless, she can watch
what happens if he doesn't drop this. Silence.

Gabby's taking out the garbage when she sees the party in full swing at
Renee's. She walks in, and Renee tries to shoo her right back out again.
She claims that these are people she's met through the years in the
Caribbean. Gabby's pool guy hails her and asks if he can clean her pool
on Thursday instead of Wednesday, giving lie to Renee's claim.

Gabby follows Renee to the food table and asks why she still had the
party when all the people she wanted there were too sad to come? Renee
says she's not sad, and she's not going to pretend to be. Renee doesn't
back down, because her mother committed suicide. Gabby empathizes, she
was young when her dad died. She's not making comparisons, but she knows
how it feels to lose a parent when you're just a kid. Renee refuses to
let her mom's decision affect who she is today. Gabby joins the party.

Lynette is looking at a Lotus. The dealer asks her if it's for her or
her husband, and she says actually no. It's for their neighbor. She
parks it in Carlos' driveway. Tom gets home, and he's livid. Lynette is
right. He's a pushover. He has half a mind to call Glenn and take the
offer. Lynette hands him the phone. He should use his whole mind, and
make the call. Lunch tomorrow, they can hash out the details. Feels
good, yes. And Tom knows it will feel even better to go tell Carlos to
screw himself. Lynette trails after, trying to stop him.

She tells the truth, and Tom feels manipulated. He's enraged. They're
taking the car back, then he's calling Glenn to cancel the meeting. They
get in, and Lynette tells him this could be his car. He could be that
guy, but he hasn't even asked himself if this is what he wants. He tells
her it would be better if she didn't talk right now. He starts the car
and falls in love with it. Lynette keeps her mouth shut, because she
knows the car is making the argument for her. Tom asks when the car has
to be back. They're going on a little road trip.

Paul arrives at Susan's. After some small talk, he tells her he's going
to the hospital to say goodbye to Beth, and as soon as he signs off, the
transplant office will be calling her. She's getting her kidney. He asks
her to forget the things he said. Susan still feels bad about how she
treated Beth. Why did Beth do this for her when she did nothing to
deserve it? Paul says Beth didn't love people because they deserved it.
She just did. Paul tells her to take the kidney, for everybody who loves
her. Susan agrees, and extends her sympathies again. Paul accepts, and
cries. Susan holds him.

Bree and Andrew talk their way through the meeting. Tom rises to the
challenge of his new job, and Susan is wheeled into surgery after a
goodbye kiss from Mike. Paul lets Beth go, and Felicia prays. The warden
arrives and lets Felicia go on humanitarian release. Her daughter had to
die so she could go free. After he leaves, she smiles through her tears.

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