You're Gonna Love Tomorrow

Desperate Housewives focuses on the lives of several residents living on Wisteria Lane. In recent episodes, Susan (Teri Hatcher) and Mike Delfino (James Denton) celebrate the birth of their son.[1] Bree Hodge (Marcia Cross) chooses to raise her grandson while her daughter, Danielle (Joy Lauren), attends college.[2] She also issues an ultimatum, telling her husband, Orson (Kyle MacLachlan), that she will leave him if he does not turn himself into the police after committing a hit-and-run.[1] Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) struggles with Carlos' (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) permanent blindness.[3] Also, Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) leaves Wisteria Lane after the other residents shun her for her malice.[4]

"You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" takes place five years after the aforementioned events. Important plot information that takes place during the time jump is revealed in flashbacks. Orson has completed his prison sentence and the success of Bree's catering company has provided her the opportunity to write her own cookbook. Her business partner, Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany), resents how Bree's success has changed her and intentionally sabotages Bree's television interview, further straining their friendship. A flashback reveals that Danielle married a lawyer and coldly took her son away from Bree. Meanwhile, Lynette is frustrated with Tom's (Doug Savant) relaxed approach to parenting their rebellious teenage sons, Porter and Preston (Charlie Carver and Max Carver, respectively). She encourages him to employ more disciplinary actions.

During the time jump, Susan and Mike were involved in a car crash that killed a mother and her child. As a result, the couple divorced and now share custody of their son, M.J. (Mason Vale Cotton). Susan engages in a sexual relationship with her house painter, Jackson Braddock (Gale Harold), but keeps their romance a secret from her friends and family. Jackson seeks a more substantial relationship, but Susan is weary of such a commitment following her divorce. Elsewhere, Gabrielle has been raising two overweight daughters, Juanita (Madison De La Garza) and Celia (Daniella Baltodano), and has also lost her own figure as well. Gabrielle tricks Juanita into exercising by driving away and making Juanita chase after her car.

After five years of absence, Edie returns to Wisteria Lane with her mysterious husband, Dave (Neal McDonough), who seems to have a calming effect on his ill-tempered wife. Later, Dave receives a phone call from Dr. Samuel Heller (Stephen Spinella), who reminds him that monthly check-ins are a condition of his release. After the conversation, Dr. Heller reviews a taped therapy session in which Dave threatens to get revenge on the man who destroyed his life.

According to Nielsen ratings, "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" was watched by 18.684 million viewers and held an 11.4 rating/17 share on its original American broadcast on September 28, 2008. The episode was watched in 13.105 million total households.[25] It was number one in its timeslot, beating Sunday Night Football on NBC, Cold Case on CBS, and Family Guy and American Dad! on Fox.[26] The episode was the most-watched program of the night in both total viewers and the young adult demographic.[27] It was the second-most watched program of the week across all networks by viewers 18 to 49 years old, behind Grey's Anatomy, and the second-most watched program in total viewership, behind Dancing with the Stars.[25] The episode also performed better than any original broadcast of the series since January 2008. It outperformed the fourth season finale by two million total viewers and showed a 17 percent increase in viewers 18 to 49 years old.[27] At the time, the episode was the least-watched season premiere of the series, falling half a million viewers from the fourth season premiere, "Now You Know", a year earlier.[28] However, "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" outperformed "Now You Know" in the demographic of women between 18 and 34 years of age with an 8.3 rating/20 share in that demographic.[27] In the United Kingdom, the episode premiered on Channel 4 on October 22, 2008. It was watched by 2.39 million viewers, becoming the sixth most-watched program of the week on the channel.[29]

The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly called the five-year jump "a stroke of genius, effectively increasing our insight into these ladies' world by twofold."[31] He called the Gabrielle storyline a true depiction of motherhood and applauded the scene in which Carlos and Gabrielle discuss her low self-esteem. He complimented the Bree storyline, particularly the argument scene between Bree and Katherine. He enjoyed the Dave storyline, but expressed disappointment that Edie's reappearance was the only scene that involved all of the leading women. Additionally, Stransky was not intrigued by Lynette's storyline and deemed it "more of the same" for the character.[31] He criticized Susan's storyline, calling it annoying. He also dismissed the writers' ploy to give viewers the impression that Mike had died for almost the entire episode.[31] TV Guide's Matt Roush gave the episode an 'A', stating, "Moving the story ahead five years didn't so much reinvent the show as it recharged and refreshed the scintillating mix of domestic comedy and sudsy intrigue that we've always enjoyed." He highlighted the comedic Gabrielle storyline while approving the additions of McDonough and Harold to the cast.[32]

In his review of the first two episodes of the season, Brian Lowry of Variety said that while "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" is satisfactory and establishes the five-year jump effectively, the second episode is better, calling it "a knock-out."[30] Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker commended the time jump as a reflection of both the characters' and series' ambitions, rating the episode a 'B+'.[33] Joanna Weiss of The Boston Globe gave the episode a mixed review. She said that the time leap proved to be successful, as the show had been "flailing" for several seasons and concluded that, "so far, at least, this season promises to be less about plot than personality. That doesn't mean the show is perfect - it never was - but it's better, and that's a big relief."[34] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Rob Owen was positive in his review, noting that the writers handled the five-year leap well, especially in regards to Lynette's storyline. He complimented the episode's comedy and expressed his hope that the time jump would allow the writers to focus on humor rather than overly-dramatic storylines.[35]