A Humiliating Business

"A Humiliating Business" is the 141st episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the seventh episode of the show's seventh season and was broadcast on November 7, 2010.

Plot

Lynette and Renee start a business in interior design, after a little persuasion from Renee. Renee suggests hiring Susan as Lynette's nanny. Lynette is reluctant, but eventually agrees. She ends up comforting Susan when she feels bad about not being as financially stable as her friends. Mike has left town after taking the job in Alaska, and Susan accepts Lynette's offer to be baby Paige's nanny, even though she originally thought she was being hired to work in Lynette and Renee's new business. The next day, Susan overhears a new client of Lynette and Renee's, and she suggests that she ask her daughter for her favorite characters to paint on her wall. The woman likes Susan's idea. Renee gets mad at Susan for her meddling, while Lynette wonders why her friend is acting strange. Susan eventually reveals that she feels the nanny job is beneath her, and is ashamed to be the poor person in her group of friends. Lynette comforts her, saying that money can't change the way she looks in their eyes.

Bree is rollerskating with Keith when she gets hot and dizzy out of nowhere and falls off her skates. She is examined by a medic who tells her that it is a hot flash and she is starting menopause. Bree is horrified. She goes to her OB/GYN, but there is a substitute working as her regular OB/GYN is out on maternity leave. She and the sub hit it off, and Bree reveals that she is in a relationship with a man 17 years her junior, and asks for ways to hide the symptoms. Later, Bree meets Keith's parents for dinner at a local restaurant; Keith's mother just happens to be the substitute OB/GYN. Throughout dinner, Keith's mom drops hints about Bree's visit to her until Bree finally admits to being menopausal. Ashamed, Bree leaves the restaurant. Keith finds her later, and tells her that he doesn't care about her being menopausal or having children with his DNA. They can always adopt. Bree sadly tells him that she does not want to have children again. Keith is upset, but asks Bree to forget the conversation for a while so that they can be happy. Bree agrees.

Gaby fears that Bob might be trying to seduce Carlos after they become friends and Lee warns her that Bob has "flipped" straight men before. Gaby confronts Carlos with her worries when she finds out that he and Bob plan to go away for a weekend and plan to share a hotel room. Carlos thinks she's wrong, but agrees, nevertheless. Bob reveals to Gaby later that he is hurt that she thinks he would try to steal Carlos from her. She listens in guilt as he explains that all he does is work and come home to an empty house. He is lonely and wants some time to hang out with guys just for companionship and nothing more. Gaby says that Bob and Carlos can go out, but later revokes the statement as she says that Lee is who Bob should really go with, as they still love each other. Bob and Lee share their first on-screen kiss.

Paul and Beth have sex finally, after Beth's initial reluctance. Afterwords, Beth begins to question Paul's motives for returning to Wisteria Lane when she finds out that he is letting his old cellmate move into his old house. He refuses to tell her why. The next day when Paul is out, Beth goes over to his old house and confronts his cellmate. She shows more of her disturbed and personality when she threatens to tell the police that he attempted to rape her if the guy does not comply with her wishes (to tell her what Paul's up to). Later, Beth confronts Paul about what his former cellmate told her (it is not revealed to the viewers at what the guy told Beth). Paul tries to defend himself, but finds there is no need, as Beth tells him as before that she supports her husband in all his endeavors. He calls her the "perfect wife", but it is proved she is not when it is revealed at the end that Beth's mother, to whom she is always whispering on the phone, is none other than Paul's equally demented and sworn enemy: the imprisoned Felicia Tilman.

Reception

On its original broadcast on ABC, the episode scored 12.716 million of viewers and achieved a 4.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic.^[1] With the DVR Rating, this episode is up 2.0 in million of viewers (rising to a total of 14.7 million of viewers) and it's up 0.9 in the adults 18-49 demographic (rising to a total of a 5.0 rating).^[2]

Notes

• Although credited, James Denton (Mike Delfino) does not appear in this episode.
• Charlie Carver (Porter Scavo), Joshua Logan Moore (Parker Scavo), and Madison De La Garza (Juanita Solis) do not appear and are not credited.
• It is revealed in this episode that Felicia Tilman (Harriet Sansom Harris) is Beth Young's mother.
• In Mary Alice's opening narration, it is revealed that Roy Bender and Karen McCluskey are now married.
• The episode title comes from the song "Every Day a Little Death" from Sondheim's A Little Night Music.
• This is the first episode to show Bob and Lee kiss.

International titles

• Arabic: إذلال (Humiliation)
• French : L'humiliation (Humiliation)
• Finnish: Nöyryytyksiä (Humiliations)
• German: Eine demütigende Geschichte (A Humiliating Story)
• Italian: Umiliazioni (Humiliations)
• Japanese:昨日の友 (Friend of yore)

References