The Game

"The Game" is the 73rd episode of Desperate Housewives.

Summary
Bree informs the housewives of what she overheard in the Mayfair house. Susan is throwing one of her charade parties, and although reluctant at first, the girls all decide to go when they make sure Katherine is going to be there. Stella makes marijuana-laced brownies to help Lynette through chemotherapy. Susan is uncomfortable having Adam as her gynecologist so she asks Bree for the number of hers. At the party, both Carlos and Katherine get upset when they see Gabrielle and Adam flirting.

Plot
Lynette, Gabrielle, and Bree agree to attend Susan’s charades party, as they’re hoping to question Katherine about what Bree overheard. They’re not the only ones with questions, as Dylan wants answers; when left alone at home with Julie, Julie suggests they break into a locked room and look for answers. At Susan’s party, Katherine explains she is not willing to discuss her first husband. She reacts badly upon seeing Gabrielle with her hands on Adam, and Edie’s all too eager to fill Katherine in on Gabrielle’s past. When Katherine tells Gabrielle she knows about her history with her teenage gardener, Gabrielle turns the situation around by revealing what Bree heard at Katherine’s. Katherine tells the people there that what her first husband did to Dylan was the worst thing they could imagine and then she walks out. Meanwhile, Dylan’s got into the locked room, which she doesn’t remember, even as Julie says that was her bedroom. Katherine catches them in the attic, and kindly asks Julie to leave. Then Katherine orders Dylan to stay away from Julie.

Lynette turns down Stella’s offer of pot, even as her anti-nausea medication isn’t working. Stella then purchases some pot from Andrew. After Andrew makes the delivery, Stella makes some special brownies and has Parker deliver them to Lynette. Lynette’s mood is cheerier thanks to the weed, and she shows up at the charades party, with brownies to share. Completely high, Lynette makes a fool of herself while playing charades. Stella admits to Tom that there’s pot in the brownies, and he manages to get the brownies back before anyone can eat them. Later, Lynette confronts her mother over what she did, but Lynette can’t deny the brownies worked. Lynette and Stella bond, even as Stella promises to never try something like that again.

Susan asks Bree for the name of her ob-gyn and when Susan won’t take no for an answer, Bree gives Susan a random number from the phone book. Bree’s upset to learn Danielle fell while rollerblading and via phone tells Danielle to stay in her room. At the ob-gyn, Susan’s horrified to see it’s a sleazy clinic in a bad neighborhood. Later, Susan gets mad at Bree for sending her there, and Bree cannot come up with a plausible excuse for recommending the place. Orson informs Bree that the fall may have complicated Danielle’s pregnancy. She wants to go to Danielle immediately, but before she and Orson can get out the door, another call reveals that Danielle’s baby is fine. Bree cries in Orson’s arms. Later, Susan asks Bree if something’s wrong with their friendship, and Bree covers by saying she had a problem with her pregnancy that’s since been resolved. Bree and Susan bond over their pregnancies.

Gabrielle wants to be together with Carlos for good, and he agrees to do so -- in 2 weeks. Carlos doesn’t want Edie to reveal their engagement, and although Edie agrees, she puts a ring on her finger and makes sure the women see it at the party, so the news gets out. Gabrielle’s mad at Carlos for the engagement and says she can find herself a new guy. Carlos breaks a glass upon seeing Gabrielle with her hands on Adam. But when Victor overhears the truth about what Gabrielle and John did, he’s only concerned about how it could affect him politically. Gabrielle tells Carlos that his reaction compared to Victor’s proves Carlos is the man for her. Carlos urges the man he hired in the previous episode to hurry with Edie, and we learn the man’s an accountant. As Gabrielle is freshening up in the washroom, Victor wonders how Carlos could have stayed with her after her affair with John, and admits that if another man were to come into the picture he would be dead.

The episodes ends the next morning, where Katherine is seen weeping in the attic. Underneath the rug she's lifted, there's a large crack in the hardwood floor, but the crack is not what's causing Katherine such grief.

Reception and ratings
The Game scored an 11.8/18 in overnight Nielsen ratings with a total of 18.892m viewers, slightly up from the previous episode's ("Smiles of a Summer Night") 11.2/17.