- Susan convinces Mike to go to the police when she discovers that Ben's loanshark is out to get him; Gaby is justifiably concerned when Carlos exhibits some strange behavior on his first day back to work; Tom's girlfriend, Jane, drops a bombshell on Lynette during Penny's birthday party; and Mrs. McCluskey, who is suffering from terminal cancer, asks Bree to help put an end to her life.—ABC Publicity
- "Desperate Housewives" - "You Take For Granted" - March 11, 2012
We get a montage of folks on the street either politely waving or missing each other completely-- Mike, Juanita, Bree, Karen, Jane, and Tom-- Mary Alice tells us of how we take each other for granted and in a few days one of these people will be dead.
Bree joins the girls for coffee and explains the whole Orson story. They are of course, shocked. But since they think Orson is dead of a suicide, they mistakenly believe they are in the clear. We cut to a shot of the envelope he mailed landing on a detective's desk.
Karen has been given the "put your affairs in order" speech. Roy is angry about the poor bedside manners of the doctors. Bree offers Karen help with anything she may need. Karen returns later and asks if Bree really meant it - if she needs anything, Bree would help. Bree says she does. Karen wants Bree to help her kill herself. She wants to beat cancer at its own game. Bree is hesitant. Karen asks her to help her go the way she wants. Bree agrees.
Renee and Bree return from shopping. Bree gets a call from Karen. She says she's open tomorrow to euthanize her in the morning. Renee overhears. Bree explains about the plan to help her die with dignity. Bree says she's going to string her along until Karen is thinking clearly again.
The next day, Karen lies behind Bree's car hoping she'd run her over. Karen asks if she's going to kill her today or what. Bree says she has pilates. She says they can go for tomorrow. Karen says she's serious about doing it with or without her.
Bree speaks to Roy as Karen naps. They dig into her rhubarb pie, which is the only kind Roy doesn't like. So of course, the pie is poisoned. She comes in and says it's her suicide pie. Bree ate two pieces. They take her to the hospital, very slowly. Bree makes her stop so she can drive. They bicker about the selfishness of suicide. Roy agrees. They convince her to stick around for as long as she can. Roy and Karen make out. Bree takes off for the emergency room in their car.
Lynette is going all out for Penny's birthday. Tom drops off a gift and some champagne for Lynette. She wants to know what the catch is. He asks her if he can bring Jane to Penny's party. She doesn't want to and then they're interrupted by Penny.
Penny's party is a big success. She is thrilled. Jane and Tom arrive. Jane brings her niece who is a photographer so Jane can make a memory book. Lynette keeps getting in all the pics with Jane and Penny. Jane pulls her aside and asks her to stop. Lynette says Jane is just some woman Tom is seeing. Jane admits Tom has asked her to move in with him. Ouch. Lynette confronts Tom. He apologizes. Lynette points out they've only known each other three months. He and Lynette aren't even divorced. Tom thinks they should talk to a lawyer. Lynette is upset, saying it was just supposed to be a trial separation to see if they could be happy. He says he is and he's sorry she's not.
Jane comes to visit Lynette. She apologizes for breaking the news. Lynette points out she was married to Tom for 23 years. Jane says she gets it. Lynette says finding Jane makes Tom stop finding his way back to her. Jane reiterates her apology. Lynette says she sounds sincere but doesn't believe her. Lynette dresses her down. Jane starts choking. Lynette almost lets her die. Jane leaves.
Carlos has gotten Juanita and Celia a cat named Rufus, even though Gaby is allergic. He just wants the girls to be happy. Gaby got a tie for Carlos' first day back at work. He has trepidations about returning. He explains he's nervous about going to work.
Carlos' secretary calls Gaby and asks her to come down to the office. A large line of men who are former steelworkers who were laid off from a company Carlos acquired are in the office. He's writing them all a check for $50,000 and the CFO is freaked out, who says they'll be bankrupt in a few weeks if Carlos keeps this up. He says he's taking her advice and shaking things up. So much he's using money from their personal account. She asks if he's drunk. He's not. She's wondering why he's acting crazy. He says it's crazy to make a fortune off of others and money buys happiness. He takes off his tie and stalks out.
Juanita says the cat is lost. Gaby sends her out to look for him. Carlos comes home and tells Gaby a story a counselor told him about his dad dropping bombs during the war. It wasn't until he saw a Life magazine that he realized the damage he'd done. Carlos also feels like he's finally seeing he's dropping bombs that destroy lives to enhance his bottom line. Juanita sees the cat on the roof. Carlos says he's thinking about quitting his job and going into counseling. Gaby worries about the "downsizing" they'll have to do. Gaby doesn't like this non-consumerist approach. They hear Juanita screaming for help. She's on the roof. Carlos runs up to pull her in from one of the upstairs windows. He climbs out to her and gets her in. Carlos and Gaby count their blessings. She thinks this means he won't quit his job now. He says it's the exact opposite, he's all about giving back. She says he's not giving, he's taking, from his family. He says she's selfish. She agrees and says she always has been and he knew that when they got married. He says he is miserable and says he can't do it anymore. She says she's been miserable too. She held the family together and now it's his turn.
The cops finally open the envelope from Orson. It includes all the evidence and the letter. They wonder if the info is on the level. They decide to dig up Ben's construction site.
Mike is keeping an eye on Renee's house with binoculars when Susan tries to distract him in some sexy lingerie. He claims to be beat. She wonders if he has a gun in his pocket or he's happy to see her. It's a gun. She freaks. He explains about the loan shark. Susan makes him go to the police to get protection. They explain to the police what happened. The police don't offer much help. Mike wants to go. The cop says he'll have the police patrol the neighborhood and to call them if the guy comes back.
Susan goes to visit Renee to find out where the loan shark lives and says she can't sleep. Renee tells her to calm down and also apologizes for getting Mike in this mess and says Mike is a good man. She calms Susan down.
Susan and Mike sit on the stoop. She says she's not mad anymore and explains how he flipped her switch when she met him. She points out he doesn't get scared and he always takes care of people. She asks why he's like that. He explains his dad beat the crap out of his mom when he was young and he'd hear it happening. There was nothing a kid could do about it so maybe that's it, his whole life when he's seen someone in trouble he can't walk away. He says he does get scared since he's not the most expressive guy in the world maybe he never made it clear how much he loves her. She kisses him and says she got that. She says she should start dinner and goes in. She tells him to fix the fence post. He says tomorrow. And then the loan shark drives up and shoots him. We then we get a montage of Mike's moments throughout the years with Susan. She cries over his body.
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