Free (Desperate Housewives)

"Free" is the 87th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the seventeenth episode of the show's fourth season, and the second half of the two-hour season finale. It is also the last episode to take place in "present time" following the five year jump at the end of this episode.

Plot

Katherine goes to the police station to report Adam as missing. She has a flashback to the last time she was in a station, 14 years earlier, when she tried to report Wayne's spousal abuse. At that time, the police officer taking her report told her to run away because Wayne has connections and her reports of Wayne abusing her will not be processed. So Katherine packed her bags and took Dylan to move in with Aunt Lillian. In the present, she tries to tell the police that Wayne kidnapped Adam and that she is in danger, but they do not listen. She comes home and starts to pack hastily but her daughter stops her, and questions her. She tells her daughter the truth, leaving Dylan running out of the house angrily.

Katherine later comes to a poker game involving Bree, Lynnette, Gabrielle, and Susan to cancel her catering of the commitment ceremony of Bob and Lee, leaving Bree to do all the work by herself. Bree forces Lynette, Susan and Gabrielle to help her with the catering. Bree struggles to make the ceremony a success, but refuses Orson's help. Later the ice sculptors tell her that they cannot deliver the sculpture on time, forcing Bree to retrieve the sculpture herself. On her way back, her car's tire punctures, because the ice sculpture is melting, she uses a stroller to transport the sculpture and is picked up by Orson. Bree and Orson later reconcile during the ceremony.

Julie will be leaving for an internship in the summer, but Susan refuses to let her go. She lies about the family's financial problems, causing Julie to be upset. Later Susan tells Julie that she is not prepared to let her go and feels that she still needs Julie's support. Julie replies that Susan is a much stronger woman now and does not need her support as much as she used to.

Carlos tells Gabrielle that she needs to stop overspending as their financial problems persist. Later, Gabrielle is asked by Ellie to retrieve a teddy bear from the closet. Gabrielle finds that the teddy bear holds $118,000 inside it. When Ellie calls again to ask about the teddy bear, Gaby lies that she did not find it. Ellie threatens Gabrielle before going to the Solis house to get the money. They call the police as they worry Ellie might harm them. When Carlos goes upstairs to get his coat, he realizes that Ellie is already in the house. He warns Gabrielle, who rushes upstairs to get the money. Ellie and Gabrielle fight over the money and Roxy the dog breaks up the fight by biting Ellie. Ellie then runs away from the police and blends into the crowd at the commitment ceremony.

Meanwhile, Bob and Lee have differing opinions about which ice sculpture to use at the wedding reception. Bob wants a cherub, but Lee wants an enchanted castle. Initially Lee gives in to Bob's wishes, but Tom advises him to stand up for himself or else he will be ruled over for the rest of his life. As a result, Lee demands a castle sculpture, and when he finds out that his wish is not granted, he confronts Bob. This leads to a huge argument between them and they decide to call off the ceremony. When Lynette and Tom overhear their argument, they decide to take action so that the efforts of Bree and everybody else are not wasted and they don't lose their money. Tom tells them that if they cannot decide over small decisions they might as well not marry at all. He also tells them that they should ask themselves whether they love each other so much that no problems can possibly tear them apart. Bob and Lee reconcile and the ceremony continues. That causes Lynette to realize that her marriage with Tom is strong, and they kiss.

Later at Susan's house Katherine asks if they have seen Dylan. When she returns home she is confronted by Wayne, and runs to get the gun but fails and is kept hostage. He wants her to tell him what really happened to Dylan, but she refuses, saying Wayne won't have an alibi when and if she turns up dead. Just then Ellie comes in and, not able to see Katherine or the gun, she threatens Wayne with a kitchen knife to allow her hide in Katherine's house. He shoots Ellie and she drops dead. Realizing he can use her as an alibi, he prepares to shoot Katherine. He is interrupted by a knock on the door by Bree, who is also taken hostage. He threatens to torture Bree, which forces Katherine to tell Wayne the truth about Dylan and what happened 14 years earlier.

Katherine moved to Wisteria Lane in 1994 to hide but, one year later, she was found out by Wayne. Wayne dropped by to give Dylan a doll and a bicycle while Mary Alice was babysitting her. She gets angry and takes the doll from Dylan as she sleeps and places it on top of a cabinet as a sign that Wayne is not welcome there. Wayne and Katherine get into an argument, which ends with Katherine hitting Wayne with a candlestick. He leaves to get medical treatment as Aunt Lillian tried to comfort Katherine. Later, Katherine is awakened by a scream. Aunt Lillian points to the lifeless hand of Dylan sticking out from under a fallen cabinet, where Katherine had placed the doll. Katherine cries and they both later decide to bury the body in the woods. If they had reported the death Wayne would use it against her to claim that Katherine was trying to keep Wayne from taking Dylan. Katherine goes to a Romanian orphanage and adopts a girl with a striking resemblance to Dylan.

Wayne is outraged about the truth and is about to shoot Katherine, when Adam enters the house. The two fight out of view, but Adam manages to wound Wayne. Katherine holds Wayne at gunpoint while Bree treats Adam's wounds. Wayne taunts Katherine, saying his friends on the force will ensure he will get out, and that he will never leave her alone. Katherine, realizing the truth of this, shoots Wayne in the chest, killing him. Bree rushes out of the house and asks her three friends to provide an alibi for Katherine. When the police question the four women, Katherine is in a trance-like state. The police conclude the shooting was in self-defense and release Katherine. As she walks out of her house free she looks over the police line and sees her friends (Susan Delfino, Bree Hodge, Gabrielle Solis and Lynette Scavo) looking at her smiling. Katherine's daughter, Dylan, comes out of the crowd to confront her, in a loving way.

Five years later, the housewives still gather to play their weekly poker game, with Katherine joining the other housewives. After the game, they all return to their homes. Gaby, still caring for a blind Carlos, has let herself go, and is now the mother of two young girls who are named Juanita and Celia. Bree, reunited with Orson, is now a successful cookbook author, and her son Andrew is her assistant. Lynette is still married to Tom, and their children are out of control: Preston has just been arrested for breaking into a car and taking it for a "joyride," while Porter has already served time in a juvenile detention center. Katherine is elated to hear that Dylan has just gotten engaged, but there is no sign of Adam. Finally, Susan arrives home and kisses an unidentified man who is not Mike (the character, named Jackson Braddock, is portrayed by Gale Harold).

Reception

The Futon Critic selected "Free" as the 49th best television episode of 2008.^[1]

Notes

• Although credited, Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), Danielle Van de Kamp (Joy Lauren), Preston Scavo (Brent Kinsman), Porter Scavo (Shane Kinsman), Parker Scavo (Zane Huett), and Kayla Scavo (Rachel Fox) do not appear in this episode.
• The title comes from a song from Stephen Sondheim's musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
• This episode got 17.44 million viewers in its original US airing.
• Mary Alice is seen in this episode, her second appearance this season.
• This is the final episode of the series to credit Lyndsy Fonseca (Dylan Mayfair), Joy Lauren (Danielle Van De Kamp), Brent Kinsman (Preston Scavo), Shane Kinsman (Porter Scavo), Zane Huett (Parker Scavo) and Rachel Fox (Kayla Scavo) as regular cast members.^[2] All of the actors, excluding Lauren and Fox, make their last appearances as a series regular in this episode. Danielle made her last appearance in episode 4.06, "Now I Know, Don't Be Scared", while Kayla last appeared in the previous episode, "The Gun Song". The other characters' plot continues in the next season, although the characters are played by different actors. Andrea Bowen (Julie Mayer) also leaves the show after this episode as a regular, but comes back for season six as an "Also Starring" character.
• This is the last episode featuring Nathan Fillion as Adam Mayfair.

International titles

• Czech: Zase volná (Free Again)
• French: Une amitié qui dure (A strong friendship)
• French Canadian: Un Rituel (A Ritual)
• German: Befreiung (Liberation)
• Hebrew: חופשייה (Hofshiya; Free)
• Hungarian: Szabadon (Free)
• Italian: Liberi (Free)
• Polish: Wolna (She's Free)
• Spanish: Al Fin Libre (Free at Last)
• Greek: Ελεύθερη (Free)

References