Always in Control

"Always in Control" is the 164th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the seventh episode of the show's eighth season and was broadcast on November 6, 2011.

Plot

Susan uses her art improvement to impress Andre, but he tells her that she is a failure. Susan, feeling betrayed by the girls for not telling her about the dug-up body, creates a painting that shows them all burying Alejandro's body.

Bree continues to try to solve the mystery of who dug up the body of Alejandro. Meanwhile, Chuck becomes more persistent in revealing Bree's secret.

Lynette convinces Penny that Jane has destroyed their family. As a result, Penny becomes angry with Tom, and chooses not to see him. Lynette realizes that she is the one tearing the family apart by creating tensions between father and daughter. Finally, she drives Penny to meet her dad, and admits that Jane is not the reason for her separation, rather that she and Tom do not make one another happy any longer.

Gabrielle and Carlos continue to worry that someone will uncover the body and that they will both go to jail. Susan is to become the legal guardian of Juanita and Celia if something should happen to their parents, but Gabrielle realizes if she and Carlos go to jail for killing and burying her stepfather, Susan likely will as well. They ask Bob and Lee to become the children's legal guardians if something happens to them, but they refuse, stating that the children are 'monsters'. Gabrielle invites them over for a dinner party to show that the girls have changed. Everything goes according to plan, until Bob and Lee are leaving and see that Juanita has scrawled "Gays R Stupid" on the garage doors in chalk.

Reception

According to Nielsen ratings, "Always in Control" was watched by 8.78  million viewers and held 2.8 rating between 18 and 49 years of age.^[1] The episode was competing against Sunday Night Football on NBC, which averaged 22.12 million viewers and a 13.3 rating/21 share, The Good Wife on CBS, which was watched by 9.07 million viewers but held a 2.0 rating, and Family Guy on Fox which was watched by 5.82 million viewers and held 3.1/7 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The episode's ratings decreased from the previous week's episode, "Witch's Lament" both in total viewers and in the 18-49 demographic. The episode gained an additional 2.1 million viewers and 1.0 rating in the week following the original broadcast due to DVR recordings.^[2][3]

Notes

The title of this episode comes from a lyric in the song "Marry Me a Little", taken from the Stephen Sondheim musical Company.

International titles

• Italian:Inquietanti Segreti (creepy secrets)
• German: Die Leiche (The Corpse)
• Polish: Zawsze pod kontrolą (Always under control)

References