There Is No Other Way (Desperate Housewives)

Paul Young is visited by Detective Sullivan and is asked to accompany him to the police station for suspicious credit card behavior. Paul denies this but is forced to go anyway. When they arrive at the police station, the registering officer informs Sullivan there is no room left for Paul and to take him out of the city. Paul is then put into a prison transfer bus and is surprised when one of the prisoners tells him that Dierdre's father knows and that he is angry. Off camera there is sounds of a struggle and a fight ensues when one of the prisoners takes out a knife. Zach begins to worry about his father when he fails to arrive home. Felicia Tilman arrives back on Wisteria Lane and wants to help Zach as does Mike Delfino. Just as Mike breaks the news that Paul is missing from police custody, Paul walks out of a police car. Apparently, Paul fought off the two prisoners and is freed when the police find him and believe his arrest was an error. Mike then warns Paul that he must be careful with Noah since he is still very powerful and has connections. Zach then agrees to meet Noah so that they can settle the matter once and for all. Mike and Zach go to visit a frail Noah and immediately Zach tells Noah that the only reason they are meeting is that he wants him to promise to not hurt his dad. Noah reminds Zach that he has two fathers but Zach says he does not want him to hurt the dad that raised him. Mike is hurt at Zach's answer and leaves the room.

On Wisteria Lane, Bree's trouble with alcohol is becoming known to the other neighbors due to her negligence after watching the Scavo children. When she talks to her friends they know she is lying because they smell alcohol on her breath. When Andrew's ride to school moves out of town, he asks his mother if she can withdraw money from his trust fund so that he can buy a car. She refuses which leads to Andrew calling her a mean, old drunk. Bree disciplines Andrew by slapping him in the face. Later, Andrew gives Justin a ring so that he can punch him in the face where his mother had hit him. The following day, Andrew hires a lawyer because he wants to be emancipated due to her abusive behavior. Andrew then arrives in the living room with a black eye and bruised face. Bree looks at Andrew in horror when he reminds her that he was hit by her. At the table, Andrew's lawyer warns Bree if they cannot settle the matter out of court they will have no problems making a court case. Bree sees this as a threat and in order to make herself appear sober she reluctantly joins Alcoholics Anonymous and so Andrew can't use her drinking against her in court. However, after her first meeting, she takes out a bottle of wine from her bathroom cabinet and begins to drink.

Susan is admitted to the hospital for her splenectomy and is soon showered with flowers by Dr. Ron who wants to move further in their relationship. Susan is happy about this but remembers that she is still married to Karl. When Karl comes to visit Susan at the hospital, he teases her about the romantic card Dr. Ron sent. After Karl leaves, he tells the nurse to keep an eye on his "wife". The nurse, who in the past has had feelings for Dr. Ron, is upset that Susan is cheating. She then goes into Susan's bedroom and tells her that she knows Susan is married. Susan then runs after her and asks her not to tell Dr. Ron since the marriage is fake. The nurse agrees only to be sure she is not "two-timing" him. As Susan goes into surgery, she sees Mike in the waiting room and her feelings for him come back. On the operating table, Susan expresses her love for Mike which leads to awkwardness with Dr. Ron. Nurse Hizel then lets out that Susan is married and is upset that he always has such poor taste in women.

Tom begins to show great resentment towards Lynette since she is always "the boss" both at home and at the workplace. During sex, Tom whines that Lynette has to be on top and be in control. Lynette is resentful at this but Tom is tired of it. The following morning while they are on the elevator, Tom stops it and tells Lynette that they were not finished from the night before. In order to save the marriage, Tom asks Lynette if he can be in control for once and they proceed to have sex in the elevator.

Gabrielle and Carlos visit an adoption clinic where they are told to provide a packet of photos to ensure they are qualified parents. They do so by asking Lynette if they can pretend to be the children's godparents. Gabrielle and Carlos manage to win over the adoption clerk but when Helen Rowland walks in, she informs the clerk that Gabrielle "raped" her son and that Carlos was incarcerated last year on slave labor charges. The clerk dismisses the case and Gabrielle & Carlos are out of luck. They are then forced to turn to an adoption lawyer who will happily find them a baby for a large sum of money.

• This episode was seen by 22.2 million viewers on its original American viewing.
• Although credited, Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), Julie Mayer (Andrea Bowen), Danielle Van De Kamp (Joy Lauren), Betty Applewhite (Alfre Woodard), Matthew Applewhite (Mehcad Brooks), and Caleb Applewhite (NaShawn Kearse) do not appear in this episode.
• Due to time constraints, it was originally titled "When It's Done."
• Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) is seen for the first time in season 2 in this episode.

The episode title is that of the song "There Is No Other Way", which is sung by the First Observer and Second Observer, and danced by Tamate in the Stephen Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures.