 = You 're Gonna Love Tomorrow = 
 
 " You 're Gonna Love Tomorrow " is the fifth season premiere episode of the American comedy @-@ drama series Desperate Housewives , and the 88th episode overall . It originally aired on September 28 , 2008 , in the United States on ABC ( American Broadcasting Company ) . The episode was written by series creator Marc Cherry and directed by Larry Shaw . " You 're Gonna Love Tomorrow " , as well as all subsequent episodes , takes place five years after the events of the fourth season finale following Cherry 's decision to revamp the series with a time jump . 
 In the episode , Edie ( Nicollette Sheridan ) returns to Wisteria Lane after a five @-@ year absence with her new husband , Dave ( Neal McDonough ) . While Susan ( Teri Hatcher ) hesitates to make a romantic commitment to Jackson ( Gale Harold ) , Lynette ( <unk> <unk> ) struggles with her <unk> teenage children and her husband 's <unk> crisis . Gabrielle ( Eva Longoria ) deals with her daughters ' weight problems and Bree ( Marcia Cross ) faces the ramifications of her success . 
 " You 're Gonna Love Tomorrow " received mostly positive reviews from television critics , most of whom agreed that the time jump refreshed the show . According to Nielsen ratings , the episode drew over 18 million viewers , making it the most @-@ watched show of the night and the second most @-@ watched program of the week across all networks . 
 
 = = Plot = = 
 
 
 = = = Background = = = 
 
 Desperate Housewives focuses on the lives of several residents living on Wisteria Lane . In recent episodes , Susan ( Teri Hatcher ) and Mike <unk> ( James Denton ) celebrate the birth of their son . Bree <unk> ( Marcia Cross ) chooses to raise her grandson while her daughter , Danielle ( Joy Lauren ) , attends college . She also issues an ultimatum , telling her husband , Orson ( Kyle <unk> ) , that she will leave him if he does not turn himself into the police after committing a hit @-@ and @-@ run . Gabrielle Solis ( Eva Longoria ) struggles with Carlos ' ( Ricardo Antonio <unk> ) permanent blindness . Also , Edie <unk> ( Nicollette Sheridan ) leaves Wisteria Lane after the other residents <unk> her for her <unk> . 
 
 = = = Episode = = = 
 
 " 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 ) , <unk> how Bree 's success has changed her and intentionally <unk> Bree 's television interview , further straining their friendship . A flashback reveals that Danielle married a lawyer and <unk> took her son away from Bree . Meanwhile , Lynette is frustrated with Tom 's ( Doug <unk> ) 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 , <unk> ( Mason Vale Cotton ) . Susan engages in a sexual relationship with her house painter , Jackson <unk> ( 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 ( <unk> 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 <unk> ) , 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 . 
 
 = = Production = = 
 
 " You 're Gonna Love Tomorrow " was written by series creator and executive producer Marc Cherry and directed by Larry Shaw . Filming for the episode was scheduled to begin on July 7 , 2008 . The episode is the first to fully employ the five @-@ year jump , which was introduced in the final two minutes of the fourth season finale . While developing the fifth season , Cherry began <unk> ways to revamp the series . He stated : " The soap tends to build up , and I wanted to get back to where we were that very first season , where it 's just the problems of some ordinary women and they were small and relatable . " Cherry credits the producers of Lost for the idea of the time jump . The writers hoped the time jump would also help them avoid repeating mistakes they made during the show 's poorly received second season , during which they relied heavily on storylines from the previous season . Cherry said that the time jump would be permanent , with executive producer Bob Daily clarifying that some brief flashback scenes would be used to enhance the storytelling and provide context for current plot lines . Cherry had originally wanted to do a ten @-@ year jump , mostly to age the young characters into their teenage years in order to open up more storyline possibilities . 
 The writers ensured that although they were changing the storyline circumstances , the characters remained the same with minimal changes to their personalities . According to series writer Matt Berry , the time jump allowed the writers to work with the characters " without most of the baggage they ’ d accumulated in the earlier years , and put them into starting places so we could move them forward and build in new story arcs . " For this reason , the writers treated the season premiere as a pilot , in which , according to Daily , they " could give the women a new drive . " Daily identified the Susan character as having undergone the greatest change , stating that she has given up on looking for a " fairy @-@ tale romance " and is emotionally distant in her new relationship . He also stated that the character of Gabrielle has dealt with the biggest change in terms of her circumstances , as she continues to deal with her husband 's blindness and their financial problems . Actress Eva Longoria had to gain weight and wear additional body padding for her character 's new storyline . Dana Delany stated that her character , Katherine , who was portrayed as an <unk> in the previous season , is more relaxed following the time jump . However , Delany clarified that while Katherine is now friends with the other characters , she and Bree would become <unk> as a result of their business partnership . Nicollette Sheridan , commented that Edie , who played an integral role in the season 's mystery story arch , is " a lot more conscientious about things [ this season ] , without losing her comedic edge . " 
 Several casting changes were made as a result of the five @-@ year jump . Neal McDonough 's involvement was announced in July 2008 . McDonough did not audition for the role of Dave Williams , but was offered it after meeting with Cherry . Gale Harold continued appearing as Jackson , Susan 's new love interest , after appearing briefly in the <unk> segment at the end of the fourth season . The roles of the <unk> children were recast in order to reflect their new ages following the time jump . Charlie and Max Carver replaced Brent and Shane <unk> as Preston and Porter , respectively . The <unk> twins appeared in a flashback in this episode . Joshua Logan Moore was cast as Parker , a role previously played by <unk> <unk> , and Kendall Applegate joined the cast as Penny , who had previously been portrayed by several <unk> actresses . Despite their casting announcements alongside the Carver twins , Moore and Applegate did not appear in " You 're Gonna Love Tomorrow " . The <unk> segment at the end of the fourth season also introduced <unk> Say and <unk> Baltodano as Gabrielle 's daughters , Juanita and Celia , respectively . Only Baltodano continued portraying her role for the fifth season ; Say was replaced by Madison De La Garza during the summer hiatus . 
 Andrea Bowen , who starred as Susan 's daughter , Julie , departed from the cast , as her character left for college at the end of the fourth season . Teri Hatcher expressed disappointment in the producers ' decision , but Cherry stated that Bowen would return in the future . Joy Lauren , who portrayed Bree 's daughter , Danielle , and <unk> <unk> , who played Katherine 's daughter , Dylan , also left the main cast , although the former appeared in the season premiere as a guest star . Because the fourth season ended leaving Mike 's whereabouts unknown , James Denton 's return to the series was questioned during hiatus . Denton stated in May 2008 that producers would not make a decision on his character until mid @-@ June and that he was preparing to find work in case his contract was terminated . It was later confirmed that he would return to the series . 
 The Wisteria Lane set , which is located on the Colonial Street <unk> set at Universal Studios , underwent changes for the time jump . Production designer P. Erik Carlson explained , " [ former production designer Thomas A. Walsh ] had already created a fairly <unk> world , and we wanted to <unk> and enhance it a little bit more , mostly through the use of color . We didn ’ t want it to feel ridiculously futuristic or viewers would be jarred by the contrast . " Bree 's garage was remodeled into a testing kitchen as result of the character 's catering business . Additionally , all houses were <unk> with bolder colors , with the exception of Gabrielle 's home , in order to reflect the Solis ' financial situation . 
 
 = = Reception = = 
 
 
 = = = Ratings = = = 
 
 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 . 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 . The episode was the most @-@ watched program of the night in both total viewers and the young adult demographic . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 
 
 = = = Critical reception = = = 
 
 The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics . <unk> <unk> of Entertainment Weekly called the five @-@ year jump " a stroke of genius , effectively increasing our insight into these ladies ' world by <unk> . " 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 , <unk> was not intrigued by Lynette 's storyline and deemed it " more of the same " for the character . 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 . 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 <unk> and refreshed the <unk> mix of domestic comedy and <unk> intrigue that we 've always enjoyed . " He highlighted the comedic Gabrielle storyline while <unk> the additions of McDonough and Harold to the cast . 
 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 . " Entertainment Weekly 's Ken Tucker commended the time jump as a reflection of both the characters ' and series ' ambitions , rating the episode a ' B + ' . 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 " <unk> " 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 . " 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 . 
 
 