| Andrew Van de Kamp | |
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| General Information | |
| Gender: | Male
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|---|---|
| Age: | 20s
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| Hair Color: | Blonde
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| Occupation(s): | Personal Assistant
Former Waiter & Rentboy |
| Relationships | |
| Marital status: | Engaged
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| Relationships: | Bree Van de Kamp – Mother
Rex Van de Kamp – Father (Deceased) Alex Cominis – Fiancé Phyllis Van de Kamp – Grandmother |
| Series Information | |
| Season(s): | |
| First appearance: | "Pilot"
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| Portrayer: | |
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Your father was a friend of mine and if he were around to see what a nasty little turd you've turned into, he'd knock the hell out of you.
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| Karl Mayer | ||
Biography[]
Andrew takes after his mother, Bree in every way; he's smart, conniving and determined to get his way. With two such clever schemers under one roof, it's no surprise they nearly brought about each other's downfall so many times.
Season One[]
Andrew first appears in the "Pilot" of season one. His first speaking role is arguing with his mother, Bree, over her desire for perfection. He is attached to his father, Rex, and is upset when Bree tries to cover up their impending divorce. When he confronts her about her lies after she discovers he lied to her, she says, "Just because I chose not to share my marital problems with you does not give you the right to be rude!": and Andrew replies, "How about driving my father away? Do I get to be rude then?", and shuts the door in her face. Andrew repeatedly breaks the rules during Season 1, infuriating Bree, who eventually humiliates him by turning up at the strip club he is visiting with his friends while grounded. Bree does later apologise to Andrew (who also admits how much he misses his father) for lying to him, but removes the door to his room in punishment for him smoking marijuana.
His parents' acrimonious divorce results in Rex buying Andrew a car. Bree tries to get him to give it back but Andrew refuses. Later that episode, in his most serious crime, he knocked down Mama Solis with his car while drunk. Juanita survived this but was in a coma in hospital. His parents help him cover it up but Andrew doesn't feel any remorse for his crime. He continues to misbehave and Bree gets him dropped from the school swim team for smoking marijuana in an attempt to make him regret his actions. Further angered by her refusal to allow Rex to convalesce from heart surgery at home, Andrew threatens, "You wanna see how long I can hold a grudge? Go ahead and abandon my father because I promise you will be sorry." When he finds out about his father's adultery, however, he apologizes to Bree and is angry with Rex.
When Bree tells Andrew that if he gets his friend Lisa pregnant, he will marry her. Andrew merely laughs as he is actually developing a relationship with Justin, who confesses to Gabrielle that he and Andrew have been "fooling around" for some time. Andrew later crashes Zach's pool party with Justin and some friends and creates mayhem. However, after everyone else has gone home, Susan catches them naked in the swimming pool kissing; Andrew anxiously shouts, "I'm not, I'm not gay!" After, he is expelled from school for drug abuse and his continuing rudeness to Bree, Andrew is sent to a juvenile delinquent boot camp. Andrew stares resentfully at his mother from Camp Hennessey.Some time later, Bree and Rex visit Andrew at the camp. Andrew asks to see his father alone; Bree thinks this is because he blames her for sending him to the camp and storms into the meeting room to tell him she did the right thing. There, Rex reveals that Andrew wanted to see him alone because he fears he is gay. Bree is horrified, and despite Rex's misgivings, insists Andrew come home with them immediately, saying "Our son just told us that he might be gay. There are two hundred other boys in this camp. Now, I could explain to you what might happen if we left him here, but I'm a lady and I don't use that kind of language." Rex reminds her that he is still her son and Bree tries to comfort Andrew by telling him "I would love you even if you were a murderer".
Bree then invites Reverend Sikes to dinner, who tries to convince Andrew to enrol in Christian counselling. He refuses, saying "I'm not confused. I know exactly who I am." This deeply upsets Bree, who tells him he has to change or he will not be with her in heaven; Andrew is shocked and agrees to meet the reverend. In his final scene of the season, after swearing the reverend to secrecy, Andrew states that, not only that he does not believe in God and lied to his parents about being gay to get out of the camp. This confuses the reverend, who asks him whether he is heterosexual or not: Andrew replies, "Look, I love vanilla ice cream, okay? But every now and then I’m probably gonna be in the mood for chocolate." He then says he will get revenge on Bree for rejecting him by pretending to be a model son and then doing something so awful it is "going to really destroy her".
Season Two[]
Set just weeks after Rex's death, Andrew's first opening shot in Season Two is to claim Bree is incapable of having murdered his father because "it takes guts to kill somebody". He resents George Williams for dating Bree while Rex was still alive, and is very rude to him when he sees him with Bree. Andrew shaved his head after the 1st season. Bree blackmails Andrew with swim club subs into attending dinner with George. In response, Andrew imitates Bree's pleasure moan to provoke George, who tries to send him to his room but will not tell Bree why, and she refuses to punish Andrew without a reason. George decides to get rid of Andrew by kissing his mother during his swim meet, which angers him so much that he jumps out of the pool and attacks George. That evening, Andrew packs his bags for Camp Hennessey a second time. Andrew tries to provoke Bree as far as possible - including exhibiting his sexuality in front of her.After George dies, Bree brings Andrew back from the camp, telling him that George killed Rex in order to marry her; Andrew is disgusted that his father is dead because of her.
He also confides his wish for his mother to slip up so that he can "take her down". Later, when Bree confesses to Andrew that George didn't commit suicide, he overdosed and asked her to call an ambulance but she sat and watched him die. Andrew is provided with the "slip up" that he was waiting for.
When Bree sees Andrew kissing Justin outside her window, she forbids him to bring his boyfriend round again. Andrew mocks her and ensures Bree later walks in them in bed together. Bree threatens to call the police and have Justin forcibly removed, but Andrew replies that he will tell them about what happened to George. This backfires, however, when Bree hires Karl Mayer, a lawyer/friend of the family, who not only explains that Bree has not committed a crime but slams Andrew against a wall and orders him to leave her alone.
Along with his sister, Andrew notices Bree's increasing alcohol consumption, and uses it against her. When Bree refuses to let Andrew access his trust fund to buy a car, he calls her a "mean old drunk", and she slaps him. Andrew emotionally blackmails Justin into punching him in the same place Bree slapped him. He then hires a lawyer to file for emancipation from his mother, whom he accuses of hitting him while drunk. Andrew tries to persuade her in "There Is No Other Way" to just let him go, but she refuses saying she hasn't "set him right" yet. Andrew, after consultation with his lawyer, tells Bree in "Could I Leave You?" that he will accuse her of sexual molestation if he does not get his way.
Bree's father and stepmother arrive, and convince the judge to drop the case. They try to reconcile the two, but Andrew persuades them to let him live with them. Justin is heartbroken when he finds out.
Bree persuades Justin to supply her with gay magazines and videos, which she plants among Andrew's things for his grandparents to find; they then leave Andrew behind, and revoke his trust fund. In an attempt to make peace, Bree invites Justin to dinner. Andrew, at this point in time, has attempted to cause pain to his mother multiple times for sinister and unjust causes.
Andrew, however, doesn't give up hating his mother or trying to hurt her. He discovers that Peter McMillian, Bree's boyfriend, is a sex addict, and tries to persuade Danielle to seduce him. After she refuses, he lures Peter into bed himself, where Bree finds them. Bree finally gives up and leaves him with a bag of clothes and some money by an abandoned gas station because she can no longer love him unconditionally. In his final scene for the season, Andrew, realizing he really is about to lose his mom, tells her that the only good thing is that he has won, Bree - who had already been hurt and betrayed by Andrew multiple times - decides not to argue with him and simply slips him a "Good for you."
Season Three[]
Orson persuades Andrew to come home. He succeeds where Bree does not.Eight months after the end of Season 2, Bree is about to leave for her honeymoon with Orson when she sees a news report on television about homeless teenagers, in which Andrew is interviewed. Horrified at what has happened to him, she cancels her honeymoon and sets out to retrieve Andrew, eventually finding him in a soup kitchen; she asks him to come back but he refuses. When she shouts "I'm your mother, for god's sakes, you're my son!", Andrew replies "No, you dumped your son at a gas station seven months ago. I'm somebody else now", and runs. When Orson sees how guilty Bree feels, he finds Andrew himself and buys him lunch. During their conversation, Andrew admits he worked the streets as a rent boy whenever he was desperate for money, and asks Orson not to tell his mother, before realizing what he's said and correcting himself. Orson does not try to force Andrew to come home but instead points out that the reason he is living on the streets is to punish his mother, and ultimately he will only destroy himself. Andrew does not initially appear to heed this, but returns home the next day at the end of "A Weekend In the Country".
Bree is delighted, but insists on concocting a reason for Andrew's long absence. Returning to normal social activities, he is disconcerted to see one of his former clients at a school science fair. Orson is worried for Andrew, which Bree notices and asks him about later that night. Wanting no secrets, Orson confesses that Andrew sold himself for money, and that the man he had been talking to was a previous client. Bree, shocked, and a friend of the man's wife, confesses all to her. She takes it badly, and tells Bree in return that Danielle is sleeping with her history teacher. Later, Andrew watches the tail end of her argument with Danielle and, concerned, he tries to comfort Bree, explaining that she did instill moral values, "I mean, we know the difference between right and wrong, we just chose wrong", but also that she pushed them so hard they had to rebel. Bree tries to subtly get him to talk about his prostitution, but he gently brushes her off. Andrew has since got a job working at Tom's pizzeria, though he takes a fairly lax attitude to his work.
When Andrew overhears the conversation between Bree and Orson about the death of Monique Polier, he believes that it is Orson's fault when his mother suffers a fall from a rigged ladder. Warning Orson that he has never met "bad Andrew", but he will if he harms Bree further, Andrew then tells the nurse that Orson is dangerous and should not be left alone with Bree. Later, Andrew leaves Bree under the care of Danielle who is upset she can not go to the Scavos pizzeria. Danielle than decides to leave Bree with Gloria who unexpectedly shows up with soup. At the pizzeria Andrew sees Danielle and she confesses she left Bree with Gloria and he then rushes home. However in "The Little Things You Do Together", when , he is knocked out by Gloria Hodge, who actually harmed Bree and intends to kill her. When Andrew comes round, he discovers that Orson has actually been trying to protect Bree, and their relationship returns to normal.
Andrew had no romance this season, though he reveals to Danielle and Julie that he has tried to seduce Austin McCann, Edie's nephew. It is Andrew who convinces Austin to leave Fairview after he impregnates Danielle. In the episode "Liaisons" Andrew reveals he is only working at the Scavo's Pizzeria for $8.50 an hour because he is "doing the beer delivery guy."
Season Four[]
Andrew accidentally leads his grandmother to discover that Bree is not really pregnant. He is there when his sister, Danielle, gives birth to her son.
After Andrew hears his mother talking about how she looks forward to this new chance to finally raise a child correctly, he becomes upset. He decides to move out of his mother's house and get his own apartment. Bree feels guilty and brings food to his house. Andrew tells his mother that he is not angry anymore and has forgiven her, he's moved out in order to try and turn his life around and stand on his own. Bree and Andrew are finally able to reach a full reconciliation. Andrew then makes Bree use a coaster for her drink, providing a humorous moment between the two as she thinks he is becoming more like her.
The Missing Years[]
In the season finale, in a scene set five years in the future, Andrew is in business with Bree, who is now a successful author.
Season Five[]
Five years later, Andrew is now the personal assistant of his mother, Bree, who, with her new cookbook, is a rising public figure similar to Martha Stewart. He has appeared to have matured and is usually seen alongside his mother wearing a suit. He apparently makes a decent living as he owns a sports car. Andrew has also grown to become somewhat of a "jerk" once again, only this time towards others (as seen when he rips off Gabby Solis during a car sale).
Orson's plastic surgeon, Alex Cominis, is Andrew's fiancé. When Bree discovers that Alex was once in gay porn, she tells Andrew and is surprised to learn that Andrew already knew and did not judge Alex for his past mistakes as he himself has a "sordid past" (referring to the feud between himself and his mother following the death of his father, Rex Van de Kamp, and his work as a rent boy seven years earlier).
Andrew accuses Bree of being too protective by investigating Alex. She admits to this, and Andrew - to her surprise - is glad. It is then insinuated that Bree has come to accept her son's sexuality and plans on handling the wedding. When Andrew's soon-to-be mother in-law comes to town, in order to out-do her Bree decides to buy Andrew and Alex the former home of Martha Huber and Felicia Tilman, which is only two houses down and on Wisteria Lane.
Season Six[]
He first returns to visit Julie while she is in the hospital. There he reveals to her mother, Susan Delfino, that she dropped out of Medical School and has been a waitress while figuring out what to do with her life. He also reveals that she has been involved with a married man who turns out to be Angie's husband, Nick.
In episode 6.16, Bree's new employee Sam Allen suggests that Andrew has been sleeping with incompetent employee Tad. Andrew admits to Sam and his Mother that he had a one-time affair with Tad, and defends his actions by stating he had been drinking when Tad came on to him. Bree mentions that Andrew still lives together with Alex, insinuating he is practically committing adultery. Andrew takes this as an opportunity to throw his knowledge of Bree's own affair with Karl Mayer in her face. It becomes clear that Andrew and Sam do not like each other, and that Sam's place with the company will be a source of conflict between Andrew and Bree. Sam soon reveals that he is Rex's son and Bree welcomes him into the family. Andrew isn't happy with his presence and he and Orson are both suspicious of Sam's true intentions and decide to investigate. Bree soon realizes Sam is emotionally unstable and tries to fire him. However, Sam has discovered (via a drunken Danielle) how Andrew killed Carlos' mother and blackmails her into signing over the company to him. Orson, who had been unaware of Andrew's crime, is upset at Bree covering for her son while demanding Orson turn himself in for his hit-and-run of Mike and leaves Bree. Realizing Orson is right, Bree tells Andrew she has to tell the truth to Gabrielle.
Trivia[]
- Andrew is partially based on Desperate Housewives creator, Marc Cherry, who copied much of Bree's dialogue from his own mothers reaction when he came out.
- As one of the few LGBT characters on prime time television secure with their sexuality, Andrew's storylines have been well-received by gay groups. However, his early attitude toward his mother and various crimes have also garnered negative criticism.