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Desperate Housewives Season 1 Episode 20

Fear No More

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 5/1/05

Gabrielle plans a big party to bid farewell to Carlos, who is about to head off to jail for eight months. Meanwhile George Williams (guest star Roger Bart) resurfaces in Bree's life, much to Rex's displeasure as he knows George wants to steal her away from him. Also, Lynette is shocked to learn that Tom's old girlfriend Annabel Foster (guest star Melinda McGraw) who he dumped for Lynette has been hired at his firm again. A desperate Lynette turns to Edie for advice on how to deal with the situation. Susan and Julie encounter less-than-neighborly behavior from the Young family as Zach continues to stalk Julie. Paul interrogates Edie about breaking into his house, and she ends up telling him that Susan was behind it. Paul decides to lie to Susan again in order to cover.
Mike tries to separate Susan from Mary Alice's past secrets. Lastly, housewife Gabrielle is suspecting that she's pregnant. She's also looking to buy a new car, which doesn't go so well while at the dealership which begins her suspicions. When finding out that Carlos tampered with her birth control pills Gabrielle retaliates in rage.moreless

FAN RECAP

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Fan Episode Reviews (5)

great

9.5

By danny7277, Oct 28, 2011

loved this episode from desperate housewives there were so many great moments and unexpected suprise's

susan's kitchen blowing up was a complete shock, gaby finding out she was pregant was also very suprising i wonder how carlous is going to get out of this one, i loved the storyline with bree and her falling in the pool was also bery shocking and funny of course although that george is pretty scary

overall great episode although not unexpected as every episode the season has been fantastic housewives is an amazing show which justs gets better and bettermoreless
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Para los que buscábamos respuestas, este capitulo es espectacular.

10

By chupisfunky, Mar 08, 2008

Primero: La conversación entre George y Rex en la feria de flores está genial y nos da una idea de lo que se viene para el final de temporada. El embarazo de Gabrielle, la forma de hablar sobre eso con un cura, y de luego decirselo a Carlos es casi ideal, o bueno acorde al personaje. Paul y Susan crean mas tension en la trama y la verdad sea dicha, Bree parece un poco ingenua al darse cuenta de lo peligroso que puede ser George, deberían darle más conciencia. Zach es un muchacho perturbado que hará lo imposible por su amor platónico, así como también lo hara George, de eso no hay duda, la toma en la piscina que los muestra a ambos por un instante es tan perturbadora como el detective al cual acude Susan. Tantas cosas en un solo episodio.moreless
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So funny!

9.6

By super_friend21, Mar 22, 2007

This episode rocked the most, one of the better Season 1 episodes it had everything.

Gabrielle's reaction when she found out that she was pregnant was soooo funny and then at the party, where she accused Carlos of tampering with her birth control pills and the smile on his face. The pharmacy scene when she shouts 'Son of a b***h' was so hilarious especially when she storms past Bree and says I'll talk to you later. Bree is so blind to the fact that George loves her, let alone obssessed with her, evenRex knows. I wanted to grab her and point it out because it is so obvious. Susan had her troubles as well when Crazy Zach keeps harassing Julie and even throws gravel at Susan, accidentally then her kitchen blows up after a confrontation with Paul Young and Lynette becomes paranoid about Tom's ex-girlfriend returning to his company

Overall, an episode I will no forget.moreless
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So many surprises in this episode, which were unpleasant for our adored desperate housewives, but exciting for us =)

9.5

By Jacky17, Sep 22, 2005

Absolutely loved this episode this episode. So many surprises, so many mysteries...

Tom should have told Lynette that he hired his old girlfriend, but instead she caught him and I think Tom was out of place, because if it was the other way around, I bet he would react like Lynette did. I was surprised to see that Lynette went to talk to Edie about the issue, that was a “fresh” scene and I liked the “interaction” with one another.

The party scene was a pretty funny one. When Rex pushed George into the pool and he grabbed Bree before falling, was hilarious. George should get a life and move on. We know that he loves, no, not love, is obsessed with Bree but he has to leave her alone and stop tampering with Georges medication. I know that without this “small details” it wouldn’t be the “Desperate Housewives” we all know and love, but what can I say, I don’t like it when people try to break up a relationship. Lol

I loved Gabrilles reaction when she found out that she was pregnant. The sceam in the farmacy was so funny. And then at the party, where she accused Carlos of tampering with her birth control pills, was pretty funny. Lol

We know that Edie is mad at Susan for going out with whats-his-name, but she shouldn’t of told Paul that it was Susan idea, although it did “make” Mike talk to Susan about staying out of Paul’s way because he’s not a good person. And the scene at the coffee shop, where just before they talked, Susan tried to run away for him, was priceless. I loved it. That’s what I love about this show.

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Terror Starts At Home Written by Adam Barr Directed by Jeff Melman

9.0

By shawnlunn2002, Jul 19, 2005

After not so subtly dropping the hint in "Children Will Listen" that she may be pregnant, Gabrielle's worlds turns upside down when she learns she's with child and where better a place to get your first indication than to hurl into a beautiful sports car at a car dealership. Naturally enough she's far from pleased and her various reactions to the bombshell with various people are nothing short of hilarious as Eva Longoria gets to flex her comedy skills to great effect. Before even being told, the fairly conservative Father Crowley had a brilliant look of dread and his attempts of morality talk were brilliantly wavered by the flippant mommy to be.

Better yet though was her telling Carlos during his "Going To Jail" (they'll celebrate anything in this crazy ass street) party when she finally copped on to him tampering with her birth control pills. For someone as wily as our Gabby it's always amazed me how it's taken her so long to deduce the obvious altering of her 99.9% effective sin and Carlos' obvious glee at his handiwork couldn't have been more present, even if Ricardo Antonio Chavira stretched his facial features even more than he did here. Now, the flip side is we're saddled with a whole "who's the daddy" thread as Gabby only fell preggers shortly after re-romping with John and my God, I really hope the writers don't stretch this thread out too long. Although the pregnancy plot is a hoot, especially with Gabby's barbs about her and Carlos making terrible parents, I did wonder if given her determination not to be with kid, would an abortion thread be inevitable. Probably not because 1: this show is on a network and 2: Gabby will definitely be double O screwed if she did. This plot also sees a nice supportive turn for Susan too.

After being bogged down in so many "woe is me" and other cringe worthy plots just of late, the dry spell of yawn worthy storylines may have lifted as I've finally started to care for Susan's plots yet again. Yes, the selfless, compassionate and determined woman we all cared for in the opening episodes has finally returned. Thanks to Edie, Paul cautions her out of snooping into his house while spinning obvious bullshit about Mary Alice when he's not telling Zach "he's not that special" (that's just as bad as Bree's "You're not getting into heaven because you're gay" spiel with Andrew last week). Then there's also Susan's hostility towards Zach, which I'm struggling to really seeing as she keeps harping on about Mary Alice being her best friend and all.

Zach himself is also going off the deep end too as his unstable behaviour gets cranked up a bit further and even though I don't blame her for wanting to break things off, I kind of wished Julie had handled Zach better than she did but no matter how brutal she was, Zach has now transformed into crazy stalker guy and is still outcreeping Daddy Darkest at the minute. As for Susan's kitchen catching fire, I think it's him even if the lighter thing could be a throw off.

Oh and there's some nice scenes with Susan and Mike as the former lovers sort of compare note on how dangerous Paul is. I was actually surprised with Mike's reaction to Susan investigating Paul, he really does care for her and I'm wondering if he knows more about the Young's than he's letting on. Of course Susan decides to continue snooping and enlists none other than PI Shaw to do the dirty work. As I've said before selfless Susan is more fun than the sickening heartbroken one we've been relegated to watch in recent weeks.

Some nasty surprises this week as creepy pharmacist George returns and guess what? He's pushing up the Bree devotion even more (him and Zach should really set up an Obsessive 101 club in Stalking) and rubbing Rex up the wrong way to stratospheric heights in the process. In the mostly oddly interesting ménage a trios, I found myself siding more with Rex here more than anyone else. I don't blame him for being territorial over his wife and I certainly enjoyed him pushing George into the pool at the Solis' party. Seven episodes ago, I felt a little sorry for George but he too has migrated into a jerk with his abysmal treatment of Ginger and easy manipulation of Bree. Her and Rex are back into old familiar shoes too which is a bummer and George having Bree see him without Rex's knowledge does equate to the same thing he did with Maisy, even if sex isn't involved. As for the situation with Andrew? I'm not entirely shocked it's been put on the backseat but with so few episodes left, let's hope it's not for long.

With all the brilliant plots for the housewives this week, it's Lynette's that is weakest one again. Tom's glamorous ex-girlfriend (who Lynette stole him from) has been working side by side with him for the past three months without her knowing. Given the history with Lynette/Tom/Annabel, it's not shocking Lynette feels threatened and while I've admired her knack for taking things head on, I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who felt she handled the situation badly. Sure, she only threatened to call into work everyday if Tom didn't transfer his ex and arranged a dinner complete with civilised hellions in order a happy home environment but just like with Rex, I felt embarrassed for Tom. Out of all the husbands, she's definitely been the luckiest of the bunch and while I'm not dismissing the possibility of Annabel being a threat, Lynette's constant paranoia and mistrust of him seems to be the thing she should worry for, though I do wonder if Annabel's reappearance is a factor in Tom's big, dark secret. Lighten up, woman. Oh and her "predator" conversation with Edie? Loved it. I've said it before and I'll say it again – more interactions with Edie and the other housewives please?

Also in "Fear No More"

Opening sequence – Susan with younger versions of Julie proving she is an accident prone with babies and Julie will probably end up brain damaged or similar to Sophie (who wasn't so annoying here, mainly because she didn't feature that much) in later life.

Father Crowley: "Gabrielle what brings you here? Oh sweet mother of God, what have you done now?"

Bree: "Honey do your hands still tremble when they touch me?"

Rex: "Ha, ha. No, but come on, we've been married eighteen years"

Bree: "Yes we have and you still don't know when I need you to lie to me".

Martha (re Mary Alice): "Are you saying she stole the baby?"

Felicia: "Don't look shocked, Martha. It makes your face look fat".

Mystery update – In the Martha/Felicia flashback it appears that Zach/Dana is drug addled Deirdre's child who Mary Alice/Angela and Paul swiped as a baby. So we now know why and how Martha was able to blackmail her but not if she knew anything regarding Deirdre. I also wonder if Mike could be Zach's real father?

Zach throwing pebbles at Susan was a bit hilarious.

Edie (re Susan): "She thinks you're evil"

Paul: "Thank you".

I see Edie has also rehired Mike as her contractor again. His arrest was really the least talked about event on Wisteria Lane (bar Susan's whinging).

Edie: "When I feel threatened by a woman, I pull her in. I make her my best friend"

Lynette: "I thought you said you didn't have any female friends?"

Lynette's maiden name was Lindquist, Susan's was Bremmer, Bree's was Mason so now all we have to do is find out Gabrielle's. I'm assuming Edie's just is Britt.

The teaser I'm using for this episode is the title of one of my favourite Six Feet Under episodes which I found appropriate for the episode.

Paul (to Zach): "I think you're a wonderful kid, I do but you're not that special Zach, not really". And the Father Of The Year award doesn't go to …

Bree (after her and George are pushed into the pool): "Rex have you lost your mind?"

Rex: "To be fair, I only pushed him".

Gabrielle: "Carlos you son of a bitch! I am pregnant and it's all your fault".

Eva Longoria looked very pale during parts of the episode. I wonder if she was actually sick while filming. If so, she proved to be a trooper by pulling such a blinding performance.

What a blinder. A hell of a knuckle cracker filled with plenty of shock and horror moments, "Fear No More" was filled with delight through and through. There are way too many excellent moments to really describe but overall, Adam Barr made an impressive debut and with all the set ups for the final three intact, things are getting hotter than a heatwave in hell. Wonderful.

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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Teri Hatcher	Susan Mayer
Felicity Huffman	Lynette Scavo
Marcia Cross	Bree Van De Kamp
Eva Longoria	Gabrielle Solis
Nicollette Sheridan	Edie Britt
Brenda Strong	Mary Alice Young

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Lauren Cohn	Ginger	Guest Star
Nikki Snelson	Maserati Saleswoman	Guest Star
Melinda McGraw	Annabel Foster	Guest Star
Harriet Sansom Harris	Felicia Tilman	Recurring Role
Richard Roundtree	Mr. Shaw	Recurring Role
Jeff Doucette	Father Crowley	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (5)
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- When Susan first arrives to ask Gabrielle if she is ok after she finds out that she is pregnant, we can clearly see that her hair is pulled back with a clip. After they cut to Gabrielle, Susan's hair is down for the rest of the conversation.
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- Just before Gabrielle pukes in the car she says that Carlos is going on a government sponsered sabbatical, she's looking at the steering wheel while saying that he's going for 8 months. It then moves over to the woman and you see Gabrielle's head but when she says "6 with good behavior" she's still looking near the wheel.
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- Gabrielle does not pay for her pregnancy test, that is, we don't see her buying it.
  
  Response: Gabrielle could have easily purchased the pregnancy test before or after using the in-store restroom. Actually showing her making the purchase wasn't necessary to make the assumption that she did. It's comparable to someone who pays for a can of soda after already drinking part of it, that's all.
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- When Carlos is giving his speech the camera changes into Susan and Julie. Then Carlos can barely be seen on the left and he is just standing there, not even moving his mouth. Then the camera changes again to focus on him and he's speaking again.
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- The gravel that Zach throws on Julie's window during the night comes from beneath the lamppost but later in the day when Zach leaves Susan the flowers you can clearly see that the gravel is gone.
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QUOTES (15)
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- Father Crowley: You're pregnant?
  Gabrielle: Yes and it's impossible. I'm on the pill which I know you probably think is a sin but it's a 99.9 per cent effective sin.
  Father Crowley: Maybe it's in the 1 per cent that God resides.
  Gabrielle: You just couldn't wait to throw that in, could you?
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- Paul (to Zach): I think you're a wonderful kid, I do but...you're not that special Zach, not really.
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- Edie: When I feel threatened by a woman, I pull her in, I make her my best friend.
  Lynette: I thought you said you didn't have any female friends.
  Edie: I don't. And I've never felt threatened by a woman either. But the point is, keep your friends close...
  Lynette: ...Keep your enemies closer.
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- Father Crowley: Gabrielle, what brings you down here? (she looks concerned) Oh, sweet mother of God what have you done this time?
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- Annabel: Yes, Tom and I were in love, but he married you. I'm not looking to break up a happy couple... anyway, that's certainly more your speed, isn't it?
  Lynette: Watch your step. Tom and I are a team. Our marriage is rock solid. Nothing you ever do will ever break that up.
  Annabel: Then why are you down here right now warning me?
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- Martha (about Mary Alice): Are you saying she stole the baby?
  Felicia: Don't look shocked, Martha. It makes your face look fat. The biological mother was a drug addict. If Angela is your neighbor, which I doubt, then that child was very lucky.
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- Mary Alice: (narrating) If there was one person Lynette never expected to see again, it was Annabel Foster. Eight years earlier Annabel had begged Tom to marry her but he told her he wasn't the marrying kind.(shot of an opening elevator showing Tom and Annabel kissing) then one day, Tom happened to meet a rising young executive by the name of Lynette Lindquist.(shot of an opening elevator showing the intimate Tom and Annabel, then Lynette walks in, and Annabel leaves, Lynette and Tom exchange a look) and after a few torrid weeks Tom decided he was the marrying kind… after all. (shot of an opening elevator showing Tom and Lynette kissing) causing an embittered Annabel to move back to Chicago… permanently. (shot of an opening elevator gets in it Annabel holding an opened box with her things and a rose in the middle) or so Lynette had hoped. (facing with Annabel in Tom's office).
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- Gabrielle: (to father Crowley) I'd be an awful mother, I'm selfish and I'm self-centered, and only person more self-centered than me is Carlos, I mean, he's so self-centered that he doesn't even know how self-centered I am.
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- Mary Alice: Since she was a little girl, Susan Mayer wanted to be a mother in the worst way. And from the first day she brought Julie home from the hospital, she was.
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- Zach: Ms. Mayer, I am so sorry. It's just, one pebble wasn't working, so I tried a whole handful.
  Susan: Ow, ow.
  Zach: Look, I'll make it up to you.
  Susan: Oh, how? Are you gonna give me your corneas?
  Julie: Mom, lay back.
  Zach: I just wanted to talk to Julie. She hasn't been returning my phone calls.
  Julie: Well, I'm here now. What do you want?
  Zach: Come on, Julie. I just want to see you again. You know, talk, hang out.
  Julie: Maybe it would be better if we just cooled it for a while, okay?
  Zach: Why?
  Susan: Well, you just threw rocks in her mother's face. How's that for a start?
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- Rex: A whole evening of bonsai trees? Wouldn't it just be easier to shoot me?
  George: Probably.
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- Gabrielle: Carlos, you son of a bitch! I am pregnant and it's all your fault! (she slaps him)
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- Mary Alice: Spring comes every year to Wisteria Lane, but not everyone remembers to stop and smell the flowers. Some are too busy worrying about the future (shot of Tom kissing Lynette as he leaves for work, and Lynette has a worried expression on her face as he leaves), or mistakes they've made in the past (shot of Gabrielle worriedly rubbing her stomach). Others are preoccupied with not getting caught (shot of Bree sneaking off to meet George), or thinking of ways to catch someone else (shot of Susan and Paul staring down at each other across the street). Still, there will always be a few who remember to take a moment and appreciate what spring has given them (shot of Felicia gardening). Just as there will always be those who prefer to sit in the dark, brooding over everything they've lost (shot of Zach looking at a photo montage of Julie).
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- Bree: Honey, do your hands still tremble when they touch me?
  Rex: (laughs) No. But come on, we've been married eighteen years.
  Bree: Yes we have. And you still don't know when I need you to lie.
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- Bree: Rex! I think you owe George a little something...
  (Rex pauses)
  Rex: Okay, you're right. (Rex pushes George, who grabs Bree before they both topple into the fountain)
  Bree: Rex, have you lost your mind?!
  Rex: To be fair, I only pushed him.
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NOTES (2)
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- Although credited, Jesse Metcalfe (John Rowland) is absent from this episode.
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- It is revealed that Lynette's maiden name is Lindquist.
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ALLUSIONS (3)
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- The name of the episode is the same name of a song from a Stephen Sondheim play, The Frogs, in which Roger Bart had a starring role.
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- Episode Title: This episodes title comes from yet another Sondheim song. Fear No More is from the early Sondheim work The Frogs
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- "Haft's Detective Agency"
  Susan Mayer's seen in a final scene looking up Private Investigators in the Yellow Pages. She happens to stop on a listing for a "Haft's" Detective Agency which coincedentally is the agency run by Richard Roundtree's character. The same actor that played "Shaft" in the popular movies of the seventies. The name of the agency is very likely a pun on the name "Shaft".
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