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"Where Do I Belong?" is the 146th episode of Desperate Housewives.
Summary[]
While Susan continues to undergo dialysis, she is stunned when her flighty mother, Sophie, along with her aunt Claire, pays a visit but won't agree to get tested to see if she would be a potential kidney donor candidate. Meanwhile, not knowing where biological daughter Grace is causes Gabrielle to turn her feelings of loss into an obsession, and Lynette exacts revenge on Tom after she learns about his past with Renee. Bree tries to befriend a friendless Beth Young.
Synopsis[]
Susan[]
Susan is visited by her daughter Julie, who comes with the intention of finding out whether she is a possible donor. However, Susan rejects the idea of getting one of her daughter's kidneys. Mike suggests her mother, Sophie, as a possible candidate, and Susan isn't keen on that idea either, because she realizes her mother is an attention hog, and if after the procedure Susan were to ever ignore her in some way, she wouldn't hear the end of it. She plans on not telling her mother a single thing, but soon enough finds out that Julie already has warned her grandmother. Susan isn't too thrilled with this news. The following day, Sophie arrives at the hospital, accompanied by Susan's aunt Claire, and they are both touched by her case. Mike suggests that Sophie could be a possible donor, and the latter seems less than happy with the idea, explaining she plans on going on a three-month cruise with her husband Morty. Susan slowly realizes her mother doesn't want to help her out, and becomes frustrated. Claire tries to salvage the moment by getting Sophie out of the room before something messy goes down. When Susan is finally discharged, Julie stops by to help her with her stuff, and her mother notices she got tested, even though she had told her not. Julie says she wasn't a match, but she had to know, otherwise she couldn't live with herself from then on. Susan is more than proud of her, and lets her know just that, that she has turned into a wonderful woman, meaning she herself must have something right raising her. Sophie and Claire make another appearance, and Susan lets them know how hurt she is that her mother wouldn't even consider helping her. Claire tries to take the opportunity to explain what's going on, but Sophie refuses to let her, and apologizes to her daughter for disappointing her. Claire visits Susan at her apartment, and explains everything: her mother has breast cancer. It was caught early on, and she'll start chemotherapy soon, so the cruise story is actually a cover. Susan doesn't seem to buy it, because she knows her mother has never missed out on an opportunity to become the center of attention, she wouldn't keep something like this from her. Claire explains that she's trying to change her ways, and Susan should respect her decision to keep her situation a secret, so she shouldn't let her mother become aware of the fact that she knows the truth now. Susan visits her mother at the hotel, and apologizes for overreacting earlier. She asks her why they never tell each other how they truly feel about one another, and Sophie claims they don't need to. Susan tells her she's right, she doesn't need to tell her how much she loves her, and that whenever something good happens to her she always feels the urge to call her mother and let her know because she loves making her proud, and that even though she drives her crazy sometimes she kinda loves it because it reminds her that no one else has a mother like Sophie. Sophie says that she also doesn't need to tell Susan that her life began the day her daughter was born, and it's been a happy one. The two part on a good note, planning on someday going on a nice trip to a hot place, just the two of them.
Lynette & Renee[]
The Scavo clan gets together to enjoy a nice meal.
Lynette has been getting her revenge lately, as she has been pulling pranks and tricks on her Tom for having slept with Renee twenty years before. Her tricks include getting his pants to rip, smearing the steps with peanut butter so that he trips on them, filling his coffee mug with salt, etc. Renee realizes what Lynette is up to, and finds it rather childish and immature, suggesting that she simply come clean to Tom. Lynette says she's not ready to do just that yet, because she knows how it'd work out, Tom would apologize sincerely, leading to a tear fest, and ending with her eventually forgiving him, and she's not ready to forgive him, she has a lot of anger to work through before sweeping this mess under the rug and moving on, and it's better to play seldom harmful little tricks on her husband than murdering him as a crime of passion. Lynette asks her friend not to tell her husband, but Renee doesn't budge, warning Tom one day when he's driving off to work, telling him that Lynette knows what happened between them, which is why he's been so accident prone lately. Back at home, Lynette prepares a batch of brownies for her husband, filled with laxatives in them. He comes home from work and is offered one, but refuses to eat it, out of fear he might be poisoned by something. Penny shows up and asks to eat one. Lynette doesn't let her, saying she doesn't want her dinner to be spoiled and she made those brownies for her daddy anyway, but Tom insists that Penny have one. Lynette saves her daughter, who is unaware of what is going on, and leaves them to handle their own situation, and Tom catches on to the fact that Lynette was gonna pull another prank on him. She realizes Renee told him what she's been up to, and Tom tells her what happened between the two of them never meant anything because they were separated at the time, and everything worked out fine between them afterwards. Lynette says that they were engaged, and they only took a break because they were arguing a lot and they needed to take a time out and clear their heads and think about whether they really wanted to be with one another. At her mother's home, Lynette says she saw Stella cooking a frittata, and thought she should make that for Tom, and instantly realized there might be no more Tom, so she knew then she didn't want to spend another day not being with him. So basically what irritates her is that when she was out there realizing she wanted to be with the love of her life, he was busy having sex with her best friend. Later, Tom apologizes yet again, saying he wanted to tell her, but the opportunity never came up because they have shared so many wonderful moments as a married couple and parents of several children, and he didn't want to spoil any single one of them. Lynette doesn't respond, and he leaves her to think about whether she wants to throw away the handful of years they spent together and the beautiful life they created with each other's company. The following day, while the family is all assembled in the kitchen to have a meal and Penny tries to convince her older brothers to attend her soccer game, the friendly back-and-forth between the kids makes it so that Lynette realizes how right her husband was and forgives him on the spot, without having to say a word.
Bree[]
After a sermon at her church, Bree greets Reverend Sikes, complementing him on a fine speech, and the latter asks her to reach out to one of the paritioners who has been going through a personal crisis. Bree is flattered that he would think of her as a proper helping gentle soul, and the Reverend lets on that he is referring to Beth Young, thus instantly causing her to change her mind, explaining that Beth is married to the biggest lunatic living on Wisteria Lane, a man who tried to destroy their neighborhood, and whom Beth didn't even try to stop. Reverend Sikes tells her that only that without sin can cast the first stone, and Beth shouldn't be judged or isolated from others because of her husband's actions. Bree tries to work her way out of this, by engaging in a back-and-forth war of Bible quotations, ending with the Reverend pointing out that Bree is shacking up with her boyfriend. Bree claims it's some sort of spiritual blackmail that he's got going for him, and the Reverend explains himself, stating that he's a man of the lord and he must do what needs to be done to fulfill His wish. Bree pays Beth a visit, and the latter isn't too moved by her seeming kindness, but Bree explains that Reverend Sikes told her she is going through something, and she hopes to help. Beth invites her to come inside and serves some tea, explaining that she never had many friends growing up, but she never had anyone hating her either. Bree says no one hates her, but when Beth tells her she realizes they hate her husband nonetheless, Bree can't exactly tell her otherwise. Beth tells her she wishes people realized Paul was not a bad person, he's just someone who's been through a hard life, having been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, having lost his first wife to suicide, and having a son who hates him. Bree is moved by this, and asks Beth to come over one night, when she is entertaining for her friends. Beth is reluctant, saying the girls would probably not enjoy her company, but Bree promptly tells her that won't be the case, and if it is, she'll turn it around. When all the girls - Susan, Gabrielle, Lynette, Renee and Bree - get together at the latter's house, she surprises them by saying Beth is coming over. The women are not satisfied, considering that Beth is married to the man who brought on the riot that cost Susan her good kidney. Bree tries to justify her actions by saying that Beth shouldn't be blamed for husband's sins and they shouldn't just ignore her. Renee sides with her, being the new face on the block too she realizes it's not easy coming into such a tight-knit community like the one the girls have formed throughout the years, they're like the pretty mean girls who won't let anyone from the outside sit at their table. There's is a doorbell ring, and Bree thinks it's Beth, but it's actually a delivery boy who's brought flowers with him. They don't have a card, so Bree figures they must have been sent by her boyfriend Keith. She heads to the kitchen to get a tip for the delivery boy, and just as he is leaving, Beth shows up, so the party can get started. However, it's not much of a party, as the women can't find a topic to discuss with their newest guest. The situation becomes unbearably uncomfortable, and Beth realizes that she should go, but Bree tells her not to, then asking for a sidebar with the other gals. In the kitchen, Bree brings up Mary Alice's story, a woman whose pain they neglected to notice and they all can recall her story didn't have a happy ending. She asks them whether they want the same thing to happen to Beth. The girls decide to give it another go, and become friendlier, with Susan asking Beth to switch seats and stay next to her. However, once she is seated, Beth notices something behind the cushion: a .38 caliber gun. One that matches the gun the cops say Paul was shot with. Beth realizes she's made a mistake coming to the party, as the girls clearly expected her to find the gun and thus get her fingerprints all over it, so that she could be framed for the attempted murder of her husband. However, her neighbors point their fingers back at her, saying she had a great amount of time to plant the gun herself when she was left alone in the room during the sidebar, which adds up, because Gabrielle was seating there before and she never noticed anything behind her. Beth tells them she is calling the police, and leaves. Later that night, when Keith is trying to get it on with Bree, she is much too upset over what transpired, beating herself up for trying to reach out to Beth, who is apparently as twisted as her husband. Keith understands Bree is too kind, which is why he loves her so much. He suggests that they make love, since they don't have to get up early in the morning, and Bree decides to give in to his wish, considering he did send her flowers. However, Keith states he didn't send them, leaving her to wonder about it. The delivery boy is then seen walking around the town and entering a room. He heads into the bathroom and starts removing his wig and fake beard and mustache. It is Zach Young, Paul and Mary Alice's son.
Gabrielle[]
Gabrielle and Carlos have invited Bob and Lee over for brunch, and the latter couple shares with them the news that they have adopted a young girl, whom they plan on naming Liza Hunter-McDermott (apparently, Lee won a coin-tossing game that allowed to the decision of the child's name). Carlos is happy for them, but Gabrielle is simply reminded of her biological daughter Grace. Bob and Lee apologize for bringing her sad memories, as they had forgotten about her situation, but Carlos insists that she is fine, they have agreed to never talk about Grace anymore because it's too painful. Gaby goes to get some bubbly to celebrate the adoption, but takes the opportunity to head to her room and vent out her frustration by holding her adopted doll, Princess Valerie. After a shopping spree with her friend Bree, the latter notices several tiny clothes spattered all over the stairs inside the Solis house, and Gabrielle freaks out, realizing that her daughters must have messed with Princess Valerie. She rushes upstairs and notices Juanita playing with the undressed doll, going so far as throwing her from off the bed. Her arm has been ripped off, and Celia appears to be sucking on it. Gaby lashes out at them, forbidding them from ever playing with her doll again. It's hers, and no one can take it away from her. Bree is rather alarmed by her friend's outburst, and asks her whether the doll is hers, and Gaby promptly lies, telling her it's a doll she got for Bob and Lee's foster child.
Gabrielle visits Miss Charlotte at the doll emporium so that she can get her doll fixed, and asks her if she finds it strange that she has become so attached to a doll, so much that even leaving her at the store to get fixed breaks her heart. Miss Charlotte says it's perfectly natural, although most people will probably never understand it. She asks Gaby to follow her, which she does. In the back of the store, Miss Charlotte introduces a doll named Mrs. Humphries to Gaby, one that has been her companion for many years, since she was a child.
Miss Charlotte introduces her best friend, Mrs. Humphries, to Gabrielle.
Miss Charlotte states that the doll has an interesting backstory, having opened a business around the same time she did. Gaby finds this odd, asking her whether the doll has told her this, to which the store owner replies that dolls can't talk, but they make great friends nonetheless, mostly because they never leave you. Mrs. Humphries lost a sister around the same time Miss Charlotte did, and they have made each other happy ever since. The doll serves as a coping mechanism for the middle aged lady, as much as it is starting to do the same for Gaby. Miss Charlotte asks her what her doll's backstory is, and Gaby, hesitant at first, says she is a princess, but she wasn't always one, mainly because she was switched at birth, but now that she had come back home to the castle, her mommy was never gonna let her go, and she was going to remain a princess forever. At home, Gaby hides the doll in a box and puts it on the top shelf of her closet.
Trivia[]
- Although credited, Mark Moses (Paul Young) is absent from this episode. Kathryn Joosten (Karen McCluskey) and Mason Vale Cotton (MJ Delfino) are too absent, and therefore are not credited.
- In its original broadcast, this episode was watched by approximately 12.69 million viewers.
Reception[]
TV Fanatic gave the episode a positive review, praising Bree's surprising storyline and Gabrielle trying to avoid going to therapy. The show was watched by 12.69 million viewers, a small jump up from last week's episode and was the most-watched scripted show of the evening, followed by The Simpsons. According to ABC, this was Desperate Housewives' biggest audience in 3 months.
Gallery[]
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.
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