What's to Discuss, Old Friend

"What's to Discuss, Old Friend" is the 167th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the tenth episode of the show's eighth season and was broadcast on January 8, 2012.

Plot[]

Just as Bree is about to kill herself, Renee turns up and is furiously looking for Ben, thinking that Ben and Bree are having an affair. Bree asks her to leave and starts crying, after which Renee notices the gun on the table. After realizing what is happening, she consoles Bree and decides to move in, in order to keep an eye on her, which Bree isn't happy about. While talking, Bree comments that they are not really good friends that she can confide her problems to Renee, but Renee insists on staying as she would not let someone else commit suicide. They attend Chuck's funeral together and Renee opens up about her mother's death and Bree thanks her for saving her life. It is seen that Bree is still drinking, but Renee is unaware of her problem. Bree also speaks to Lynette about Chuck's accident, believing it to be a murder and adding her belief that whoever did it was also responsible for the anonymous letter she received. At the end of the episode this suspicion is confirmed as she gets another note which reads 'You're welcome'.

Gabrielle searches for Carlos who checked himself out of rehab. She returns home to discover him passed out in bed and tries to see if he can remember the previous night as she is concerned he may have run over Chuck. Not only can he not remember but they cannot find his car. During Chuck's funeral a policeman recognizes Carlos because he came into the station and said he had to make a confession about beating someone with a candlestick, but Gaby covers for him by saying they had a domestic dispute but that neither wishes to press charges. After realizing that Carlos was not responsible, he promises to check back into rehab.

Tom is angry with Lynette for letting herself get involved but promises to help her. He confides in Bob in case she should need a lawyer, but they both think they are in the clear when they find out about Chuck's death. Tom spends the night with Lynette and the kids and they seem to grow closer but, after a discussion about Jane, Lynette encourages him to go to Paris and see if she can make him happy as that was the reason behind their separation.

Just as Susan is about to leave for New York the housewives inform her of Chuck's death. Although Mike is relieved Susan still feels depressed and promises him she will work out why. After talking to Chuck's aunt at his funeral Susan realizes she needs to visit Alejandro's family before she can let go of her guilt to which Mike agrees to. However, when Susan sees Gaby as she leaves, she lies and tells her she is visiting family. Bree receives a second note saying "you're welcome" from mysterious blackmailer.

Reception[]

According to Nielsen ratings, "What's to Discuss, Old Friend" was watched by 8.84  million viewers and held 3.0 rating between 18 and 49 years of age.^[1] The episode was competing against The Good Wife on CBS, which was watched by 11.65 million viewers and held a 2.7 rating, Family Guy and American Dad!' on Fox which were watched by 6.23 million viewers and held 3.1/7 rating in the 18-49 demographic and by 4.79 million viewers and had a 2.2/5 and The Firm on NBC, which averaged 6.32 million viewers and a 1.4/3 rating in the 18-49 demographic. CBS had larger than expected numbers, due to the large lead-in from an NFL Playoff game. The episode gained an additional 2.0 million viewers and 1.0 rating in the week following the original broadcast due to DVR recordings.^[2]

Notes[]

• The title of this episode is taken from the song "Old Friends" from the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along.
• Madison de la Garza (Juanita Solis) does not appear in this episode and is not credited.
• The room in which Bree wanted to take her own life was the same where she had a love affair with Karl. Both rooms had number "217." It could be compared with scene when Karl gave Bree a key with that number in "Being Alive".

International titles[]

• German: Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Gold (Talk is silver, silence is golden)
• Polish: O czym dyskutować ze starymi przyjaciółmi? (About what to have a discussion with old friends?)

References[]