The Lies Ill-Concealed

"The Lies Ill-Concealed" is the 153rd episode of Desperate Housewives.

Summary
Gaby covertly meets Bree when Carlos forbids them from being friends after learning the truth about his mother's death. Meanwhile, saved by the late Beth Young's kidney donation, Susan begins to have some inappropriate dreams about Paul; Lynette is reluctant to be the "plus one" when she accompanies Tom to a weekend conference featuring the nation's top executives; and Felicia tries to regain Mrs. McCluskey's trust in her campaign to bring down Paul Young.

Previously on Desperate Housewives
"Paul was shocked to find Felicia was back on the lane. Tom's new job came with perks. A relationship was forced to end. And Susan got her transplant thanks to Paul."

- Mary Alice Young


 * Paul finds Felicia living in 4356 Wisteria Lane. ("Moments in the Woods")
 * Lynette attempts to seduce Tom on his private jet. ("Moments in the Woods")
 * Carlos tells Bree that she is no longer friends with him or Gaby, against Gaby's wishes. ("Moments in the Woods")
 * Paul allows Susan the kidney of Beth Young. ("Everything's Different, Nothing's Changed")

Teaser
"After Susan Delfino's kidney transplant, her doctor ordered her to obstain from sex... for six weeks."

Susan is told by her doctor that she cannot have sex for six weeks and Susan is shocked and annoyed.

"But what the doctor couldn't prevent Susan from doing... was dreaming about it."

Susan is shown in bed next to Mike, moaning in her sleep, dreaming of sex.

"These dreams were filled with torred caresses..."

In Susan's dream, a hand gebtly slides down her naked back as she makes love.

"With passionate kisses..."

Susan is circling her hand around her lovers back she sits him up and passionately kisses his neck.

"And with soft cries of ecstacy."

Susan moans in pleasure at the climax of her sexual encounter and lies down next to her lover.

"The only thing missing from these dreams... was her husband."

Susan's lover rolls over to face her and he is revealed to be Paul Young!

Susan gasps as she wakes up, shocked that she was dreaming about sex with Paul, she calms down and turns around to see Mike watching her in the same position Paul was in when her dream ceased, she gasps again and Mike asks her if she's okay. "Uh, yeah, just... had a dream." Susan tells him, he says he knows, Susan asks what he knows and asks if she was talking. "More like moaning." he tells her, Susan is embarrassed and sits up, burying her face in her palms, "Oh, moaning, oh, oh, God." she says, "Yeah, you mentioned him too." Mike tells her. Susan sqeaks, Mike tells her not to be embarrassed for having a sex dream as it isn't surprising due to how long they've been without sex. "Tell me, what were we doing?" Mike asks her. Susan is speechless and Mike suggests that they can recreate it when they end their drout in exactly two days, seventeen hours and thirty-five minutes. "Well, uh, needless to say, it was some pretty kinky stuff." Susan says, still in shock, "Do we do that thing, that thing we talked about?" Mike asks, "Mike, it was my dream, not your's." Susan tells him. He asks for details, "Or... I could show you in two days, seventeen hours and thrity-four minutes." Susan says as she lies back down in bed. "That'll work. I can't wait. We can send MJ to Mrs. McCluskey's and have the whole night together." Mike says, excited.

"Yes, Susan was having dreams about sex..."

"Just the two of us." Mike tells her, continuing, Susan agrees. "Just me and... you." she says, still uncomforted by her dream.

"And they were becoming... a nightmare."

- Mary Alice Young

Act I
"The residents of Wisteria Lane are nothing if not loyal..."

We see an overview of Wisteria Lane.

"They loved their country..."

Karen McCluskey hangs and American flag off of her porch.

"They root for the home team..."

Parker Scavo is sitting on the couch and reaches for more popcorn as he cheers for his football team, wearing the uniform with a large, foam finger on his hand.

"They support their favorite brand..."

Renee is sorting through her wines and places them one-by-one into her refrigerator.

"But the fiercest loyalty on Wisteria Lane... is the one between friends."

- Mary Alice Young

Gaby walsk into her kitchen and she tells Carlos that she's going to go and meet the girls for coffee, she begins to walk away but Carlos tells her to stop. "Which girls, will Bree be there?" Carlos asks, "She better be, she's buying." Gaby tells him, Carlos tells her that she isn't going. Gaby asks if he was serious about them never speaking to Bree again, "That woman sat at our table, spent the holidays with us, all the while knowing her son ran over my mother, yeah, I'm serious." Carlos tells her. Gaby suggests that he stop talking to her and tells him that he cannot control her because she has the "secret weapon". "You mean with hold sex, please, you always fall before I do." Carlos says, Gaby assures him that that isn't true, "The last time you tried it, you got so tunred on telling me what you weren't gonna do to me, you wound up doing it right then." he reminds her. Gaby tells him that he still won't stop her from seeing Bree. "Yes I am. Our relationship with that woman is over and I forbid you to see her again." Gaby becomes worried.

Outside, on the lawn of 4349 Wisteria Lane, Gaby is talking on her phone via bluetooth, "He forbid me! Who is he to forbid me?! I mean, what is this, 19... whenever it was that husbands got to forbid their wives?!" Gaby says. Over on Bree's lawn, Bree is on the phone to Gaby, "Gaby, he has every reason to be upset, I hate to say this but... I think we should keep our distance for a while." Bree states, looking at Gaby across the street, "What?! I'm not giving into this!" Gaby says firmly, Bree points out that she's already caused Carlos so much pain and thinks it's the only thing they can do. Gaby asks her what she's saying, "No more poker? No more lunches? No more shopping?" Gaby asks. Bree says that she'll miss it as much as Gaby does. "Oh, really? Doesn't sound like it.I think this is easy for you." Gaby says, practically tearfully. "Easy?! I wanna come over there right now so you can drag me to the mall kicking and screaming, but we can't!" Bree explains. Bree says that she has to go as she has scones in the oven, Gaby says that she loves Bree's scones but Bree tells her to stop. Bree says goodbye and Gaby points out that she's not hanging up, Bree tells her that she has to. Bree hangs up and runs inside. Gaby looks deeply sad.

Tom walks into the house and tells Lynette that she won't believe something but Lynette quietens him down before he can tell her, shocing a teddy bear into his mouth, saying that she had to walk Paige around the block eight times to get her down. She gestures the sleeping baby, "Nothing is so important that you need to raise your voice." Lynette whispers, pulling the teddy bear from out of Tom's mouth. "Not even this?" Tom asks, lifting a piece of paper to Lynette who takes it and reads it, she sees that Tom has been invited to a good leadership conference and is happily shocked. Tom whispers to her that she's invited too, Lynette puts the teddy to her mouth a yells, "Oh, my God!" in a happy manor. Lynette goes on to say that people such as Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Oprah go to the conference. Lynette walks on into the kitchen, flicking through the leaflet Tom gave her and taking in all the great speakers that will appear. Tom tells her that they also have a spa and no kids, this excites Lynette even further. "Yes! yes!" she screeches, at this, Paige begins to cry. Lynette tells Tom to take her as she has to figure out what to wear, Lynette rushes upstairs.

MJ runs out of Karen's house and Susan thanks Karen for watching him. Susan asks her to watch him again another night and Karen reveals she knows it's the night Susan and Mike will be having sex again, Susan is shocked that Mike told Karen, "Didn't have to, I caught him staring at my clevage." McCluskey explains. "So, post-transplant sex, huh? If it's as good as my post-cancer sex then you're in for a treat." Karen says. "Fingers crossed." Susan says, uncomfortable.Karen asks Susan if she's looked at her old house recently as it's kind of a wreck. Susan turns around to see her house in despair and notes that it does look a little neglected. Karen tells Susan to go and talk to Paul and agrees to watch MJ. "Oh, I... can't do that, um, I mean, he might be in the middle of something." Susan says, still uncomforetd by her dream, "Or he might be hanging from the shower head." Karen suggests. Susan turna around again and Karen tells him to check as if he's dead in there, she'll be down-wind.

Soon, Susan is knoking on the door of 4353 Wisteria Lane and waiting for a reply, none comes so she bends down to collect the mail that is on the ground among the many trash bags and packages, she gathers it all up and the door opens, and, as she os crouching, she is eye-level with Paul's crotch, reminding her of her dreams. He is wearing nothing but an open robe and boxers. Susan fights to look up and greet him, she finishes gathering the mail and explains that she was in the neighborhood, she asks him to close the robe and he obliges, he apologizes for the mess and explains that he hasn't been getting out of the house much. Susan stands up and hands Paul his mail, "You look thin. Are you eating?" Susan asks, Paul confirms it, saying he's a little behind in his chores. "Paul, are you sure you're okay?" Susan asks, he tells her he is and walks inside with his mail, closing the door. Susan turns around and seems concerned for Paul.

Act II
Over at the leadership convention, Tom and Lynette are stanbding amongst the crowd, Lynette being very excited about the experience. Tom tells her that everybody there is definitely A-list as he's spotted six famous people already. Lynette turns to see Bob and Lee at the convention and she calls for them, they walk up to them. Tom tells Bob that he's glad he's done the conference before as he'll definitely need someone to show him the ropes, Bob tells Tom not to talk politics and not to push Warren Buffet in the pool. "I didn't push him, he got between me and the margarita bar!" Lee exclaims. Bob asks Tom to allow him to introduce him to Barry Wiseman and tells him to prepare to endure the single most bone-crushing handshake of his life. Bob and Tom leave Lynette and Lee on their own, they smile excitedly and go to join a queue. Lynette says that with the line there is it'll be hard to get drunk. Lee ventures off to find them some martinis and Lynette tries to read the program of the woman in front of her, the woman sees her and lynette apologizes, saying that it was a little trick she learned when she was too cheap to buy her own. Lynette mentions how great it is that Chris Cavinaugh is speaking, "I've heard him speak before, he's even better in person." the woman tells her before introducing herself as Meg Butler and flashing her name tag. Lynette takes out her own name tag and puts it on, introducing herself and saying that her husband is the CFO of a major company. "Oh, you're a plus-one." Meg says, judgmentally. Lynette asks her what that means, "Unfortunately it means you won't be seeing Chris Cavinaugh. The seminar is only for participants." Meg explains, Lee returns with two martinis in his hands and Lynette wonders what she will be doing, Lee informs her that she will be doing Japanese flower arranging and goes on to say how amazing his design was. "I don't wanna arrange flowers, why are they dividing us up like this?" Lynette asks, Meg, coniscendingly, tells Lynette that "some of us" have been spendning their whole lives climbing the corporate ladder, and others just married someone who did. She leaves, leaving Lynette insulted, and Lynette then drags Lee away to tell him that it's ridiculous that she doesn't get to attend the seminars. Lee assures her that she will love what they have planned for them. A whistle is blown and a woman begins talking, "Attention, can all the plus-ones find a buddy, we're going to get to know each other with a scavanger hunt." she announces, the rest of the plus-ones, including Lee, seem incredibly excited, but Lynette seems much less than happy with the idea.

Over at 4355 Wisteria Lane, Bree is watering Lynette's plants for her whilst she is away and turns around to be greeted by Gaby. Bree asks what she's doing here and Gaby tells her that she just came by to talk to Lynette, Bree reminds Gaby that Lynette is out of town and asked her to water the plants and collect the mail, Gaby pretends to be shocked and closes the door. "You look good." Gaby says, Bree reciprocates and asks if Gaby's coat is new, Gaby is touched that Bree noticed as she walks closer towards her. "I should go." Bree says, trying to leave, Gaby stops her, asking if she could just stay and talk and maybe have a cup of coffee, Bree reminds her that they shouldn't but Gaby professes that it's only coffee and that Carlos would never look for them at Lynette's place. "Oh, come on, it's been really hard for me not seeing you." Gaby says, Bree says that it's been hard for her too, especially with Lynette out of town, "And then there's Susan, of course, but lately, whatever topic you bring up she seems to steer it right back to kidneys." Bree points out, Gaby agrees and they laugh together. Gaby then stares at Bree sadly and Bree caves, saying that she supposes she could have one cup of coffee. "I like mine with cream." Gaby tells her, "I know how you like it." Bree says. She walks over to the window and whips the curtains shut.

Felicia Tilman knocks on the door of 4358 Wisteria Lane and Mrs. McCluskey answers, Karen is a little taken aback, Felicia greets her and Karen reciprocates before asking when they let her out of jail. "About a week ago, I just stopped by so that I could give you this." Felicia says, unwrapping the brooch from the napkin in her hand, "It belonged to my sister and she was always so fond of you." Felicia explains as she hands over the brooch, Karen thanks her and Felicia says, "It's my way of saying thank you for keeping my secret all those years." Karen tells her that it's not much of a secret anymore, Felicia laughs in agreement, "But I've kept your secret, I never told a soul about your role that night and I never will." Felicia tells her. Karen, uncomfortable, closes teh door and steps on the porch to talk to Felicia, telling her in a hushed tone that now isn't a good time to talk about it. Felicia understands but requests that Karen stops by her place sometime as they have so much catching up to do. Karen agrees and as Felicia walks down the porch Karen asks her where she's staying, Felicia explains that she's moving in next door and they're going to be neighbors. She leaves.

Karen walks inside and Roy, who's reading the newspaper, asks who was at the door, Karen sits down adn says that it was just an old friend. Roy points out that she looks like she's just seen a ghost. Karen asks him to make her a drink and Roy gets up, obliging to her request. Karen thinks back...

In Karen's flashback, it's the night that Felicia frames Paul (see "No One is Alone") and Karen is searching for Toby, who is presumably lost, on the lawn of 4350 Wisteria Lane, Felicia's current address. "Toby! Where are you?! Here, kitty, kitty!" Karen calls, sqeaking a cat toy near the ground. Some way down the lane, Felicia Tilman runs throgh a picket fence's gate, seeming frantic, with a bandage around her left hand. Felicia stops at the picket fence next to Karen, "Oh, Felicia, you can help, Ida Greenberg's lost her stupid cat again." Karen explains. Felicia walks through the gate and Karen asks what happened to her, noting her bloody bandage. Felicia tells Karen that she never saw her and that she was never here." Karen wonders what happened to Felicia's hand and offers to call her an ambulance. Felicia begins to go inside but Felicia, still panicked, turns around to Karen, "You loved my sister, right?" Felicia asks, "Martha? Yeah." Karen says, "And you know Paul Young murdered her?" Felicia asks, (see "Guilty") Karen tells her that there's no doubt in her mind. Karen becomes shocked and asks Felicia if she killed Paul, Felicia denies it, "He killed me." she says, Karen is confused at this and asks Felicia what she means. "They'll find my blood in his house and my fingers in his car and he'll spend the rest of his life in prison, if... you say you never saw me." Felicia explains some more. Karen asks Felicia not to ask her to do this but Felicia begs her not to tell. "Paul got away with Martha's murder, but... he won't get away with mine." Felicia says. Karen contemplates with this for a short while as felicia hopefully stares at her, soon, Karen turns away from her and continues searching for Toby. Felicia runs into her house. The flashback ceases.

Act III
TBA

Act IV
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Act V
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Act VI
TBA

Production
"The Lies Ill-Concealed" was written by David Schladweiler, who joined the show during Season 5, and was directed by Larry Shaw.

Reception
Despite airing on Easter Sunday, the ratings were actually up from last week, with a 3.1 rating in the key demographic and 10.15 million viewers, making it the night's #1 scripted TV show. The episode received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, and universal acclaim from fans of the show.

Trivia

 * The title of this episode comes from lyrics in the song "Could I Leave You?", taken from the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies.
 * Charlie Carver (Porter Scavo) and Darcy Rose Byrnes (Penny Scavo) do not appear and are not credited in this episode.
 * Felicia's missing fingers aren't seen in this episode. They are constantly hidden in every scene.
 * It is revealed that Karen and Martha Huber were good friends before her death.
 * Ida Greenberg is mentioned in a flashback - the first time she has been mentioned in the series since Season 4.
 * Gabrielle only just finds out that Bree had an affair with Karl Mayer in this episode.
 * This is the first and only episode in season 7 that doesn't bill at least one "special guest star". It ends a streak of 21 episodes that did so.
 * The way Bree and Gaby were acting, it's like they're having an affair with each other.

Bloopers and continuity errors

 * In the flashback recapping on the events of "No One Is Alone", Felicia's hairstyle is different to that of in the actual episode.
 * Felicia said she had been out of prison for one week, but in the previous episode Andrew had been sober for 1 month. Andrew stopped drinking and Felicia was released in the same episode. However, this could be explained by Felicia's humanitarian release being finalized 3 weeks after she was granted it.