Give Me the Blame

"Give Me the Blame" is the 179th episode and the first part of the two-hour series finale of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the twenty-second episode of the show's eighth season and was broadcast on May 13, 2012.

Plot

Karen is leaving her home, so she can die at the hospital because Roy is unable to take of her. So the ladies decide they will take care of her in order for her to die at home with dignity. At this moment Mrs. McCluskey realizes the girls have always considered her as a friend. Susan is still planning to sell her house, but she doesn't want to tell her friends about it because of Bree's trial. But Lee tells her she has to because there was an offer for her house. Tom decides to reconcile with Lynette, but when he sees another man undressing her, he decides to walk away. However, this was a misunderstanding: the unknown man was Lee, who was just helping Lynette with the dress for Renee's wedding. Gabrielle decides to confess that she killed Alejandro so Bree could not be convicted. While having a discussion with Carlos about it, Karen listens to everything and makes her think. Carlos tells Gaby he is going to take the fall, but Gaby had a plan to stop him.

At Bree's trial, everything is going badly when Ben refuses to testify and is sent to jail. When Renee goes to see him, she tells him what she saw the night of the murder. After that, the D.A. warns Renee that if she doesn't say what she saw, she would send Ben back to Australia. Then, after giving her testimony, everything for Bree goes down and the ladies confront Renee asking her why she did that if they were supposed to be friends. But Renee said that they're not friends because they've kept a secret all this time and she preferred to choose the man she loved before them. Trip begs Bree to tell him the truth about that night, but she refuses. Trip kisses her, confessing his love for her, which leads her to confess Carlos was responsible for Alejandro's murder; however, she tells him not to put Gaby on the stand. But Trip puts Gaby on the stand anyway and asks her if she knew Ramon by another name; she answered he was her stepfather. Immediately, Bree asks for a recess, which is denied by the judge, so she pretends to faint in order to get it.

Karen talks to Trip and tells him she can discredit Renee by saying she was drunk. Trip tells him he could put her for next Monday, but Karen tells him she may not be alive. So he accepts as Gaby is not there yet. So when Karen is on the stand, she says she's lived on the Lane for 35 years and knows all the ladies pretty well. Then, she gives a "speech" about what a community is, which moves the jury and the judge. When the D.A. asks what's her point, Karen confess she killed Alejandro because he was after Gaby again. The D.A. doesn't believe because she doesn't have the strength, but she quotes Gaby by telling: "Adrenaline, fear... you'd be surprised what people can do." After having talked to the judge, Bree is declared innocent and charges against Karen are not presented due to her age and health.

The ladies organize a small celebration for Bree, where she forgives Renee, but refuses to talk to Trip. The episode ends with Tom and Lynette getting back together after admitting they've always loved each other.

Reception

The first part of the finale was watched by 11.12 million American viewers, earning a 3.2/8 rating/share with adults 18-49.^[1] The episode was competing against the finale of Survivor: One World on CBS, which was watched by 10.34 million viewers and held a 2.9/8 rating, Celebrity Apprentice on NBC, which averaged 5.48 million viewers and held a 1.8/5 rating in the 18-49 demographic and the combination of Family Guy and American Dad! on Fox which averaged 4.54 million viewers for the hour, and had a 2.2/6 rating. The episode gained an additional 2.1 million viewers and 0.9 rating in the week following the original broadcast due to DVR recordings.^[2]

International titles

• Polish: Obwiń Mnie (Accuse Me)
• German: Ich war's (It was me!)
• Hebrew: הווידוי האחרון שלי (My last confession)

Title Reference

• The title of this episode comes from a lyric in the song "Last Midnight", taken from the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods.

References