You Could Drive a Person Crazy (Desperate Housewives episode)
Encyclopedia
"You Could Drive a Person Crazy" is the 25th episode of the ABC
television series, Desperate Housewives
. The episode was the second episode for the show's second season. The episode was written by Chris Black
and Alexandra Cunningham
and was directed by David Grossman
. It originally aired on Sunday October 2, 2005.
Rex's mother Phyllis publicly embarrasses Bree when she starts crying over Rex's death. So Bree slaps her. She apologizes later, but with Bree's uncanny composure and her eagerness to settle Rex's will, Phyllis starts to suspect Bree isn't sorry Rex is dead. The doctor treating Rex finds the note he wrote before he died, forgiving Bree, although it doesn't say why. The suspicious doctor hands it to the lead insurance investigator. The same investigator Phyllis calls when she sees Bree being comforted by the ever opportunistic George.
Gabrielle's outburst last time she visited Carlos - about him being a rich man - means unless he pays a violent inmate off, there'll be hell to pay. She agrees to deliver $7,000 to the guy's girlfriend, but it's for breast implants she doesn't want. Gabrielle quickly agrees she doesn't need them and takes the cash back. The next time she sees Carlos, he's been badly beaten and he orders her to convince the girlfriend to take the money. She refuses, unless he gives her control of their bank account.
Lynette is dismayed to come back from a long day at the office to find the house is a pigsty and Tom already in bed. The final straw is when she realizes he didn't change the bed after the baby threw up in it. She starts changing the bed around him and he tells her she has control issues. She leaves him the bed and goes to sleep on the couch. While flipping channels she comes across a horror film
about rat
s and has a brainstorm. The next day she lets loose a rat in the house and waits for it to have the desired effect. When she comes home, the house is spotless. Tom admits he let the house go too far but that the rat inspired him to clean. And that he killed it with a shovel. She's both pleased and horrified by the news. She goes to take out the trash and apologizes to the dead rat, but also thanks it for saving her marriage.
Susan asks Betty about the strange clanging noises she's been hearing coming from her house in the middle of the night. Betty pretends not to know what she's talking about but then the noise comes again. She explains that it's just her son, Matthew, but then he walks up behind them, having just gotten home. Betty says a quick goodbye, leaving Susan more suspicious than ever. Betty complains to her psychiatrist that she can't sleep, telling him how her husband used to beat her and how she still has nightmares because she wasn't able to prevent him from killing their son. The doctor prescribes a sleeping pill, which she grinds up and puts in the food she brings to the chain-rattling captive in her basement.
musical, Company
.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series, Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
. The episode was the second episode for the show's second season. The episode was written by Chris Black
Chris Black (screenwriter)
Chris Black is a screenwriter and television producer, from Toledo, Ohio, notable for writing and producing mainly science fiction and action series, although he also was a part of the production team of the dramedy Desperate Housewives during its first two seasons.Black has produced and wrote...
and Alexandra Cunningham
Alexandra Cunningham
Alexandra Cunningham is an American screenwriter and television producer, most known as a writer and producer for ABC Studios' dramedy Desperate Housewives, having written more episodes of the show than any other writer besides showrunner Marc Cherry....
and was directed by David Grossman
David Grossman (director)
David Grossman is an American film and television director known most notably for his work on the ABC series, Desperate Housewives which he also serves as co-executive producer, his first series as a producer....
. It originally aired on Sunday October 2, 2005.
Plot
Susan is dismayed to see her ex-husband, Karl, emerge from Edie's house one morning. She runs over to confront him and he admits he's sleeping with Edie and may move in with her. When Edie comes by—on rollerskates—to apologize for not telling her, Susan pretends not to care and gets in her car to drive away. Edie brags that Karl told her that sex with her was the best of his life. Susan snaps back that Karl told her he's still in love with her and recently asked her to come back to him. She drives off, Edie still in pursuit, and after their ensuing argument, accidentally backs up into her. Meanwhile, Mike wants to know where their relationship stands now that they're not moving in together. Susan says she wants to keep it "casual," but he doesn't know what that means. "We can still go see a movie," she explains, as he comes closer. "Anything else?" he asks and as he starts to kiss her, she says, "Brunch. We can go to brunch!" and runs away.Rex's mother Phyllis publicly embarrasses Bree when she starts crying over Rex's death. So Bree slaps her. She apologizes later, but with Bree's uncanny composure and her eagerness to settle Rex's will, Phyllis starts to suspect Bree isn't sorry Rex is dead. The doctor treating Rex finds the note he wrote before he died, forgiving Bree, although it doesn't say why. The suspicious doctor hands it to the lead insurance investigator. The same investigator Phyllis calls when she sees Bree being comforted by the ever opportunistic George.
Gabrielle's outburst last time she visited Carlos - about him being a rich man - means unless he pays a violent inmate off, there'll be hell to pay. She agrees to deliver $7,000 to the guy's girlfriend, but it's for breast implants she doesn't want. Gabrielle quickly agrees she doesn't need them and takes the cash back. The next time she sees Carlos, he's been badly beaten and he orders her to convince the girlfriend to take the money. She refuses, unless he gives her control of their bank account.
Lynette is dismayed to come back from a long day at the office to find the house is a pigsty and Tom already in bed. The final straw is when she realizes he didn't change the bed after the baby threw up in it. She starts changing the bed around him and he tells her she has control issues. She leaves him the bed and goes to sleep on the couch. While flipping channels she comes across a horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
about rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s and has a brainstorm. The next day she lets loose a rat in the house and waits for it to have the desired effect. When she comes home, the house is spotless. Tom admits he let the house go too far but that the rat inspired him to clean. And that he killed it with a shovel. She's both pleased and horrified by the news. She goes to take out the trash and apologizes to the dead rat, but also thanks it for saving her marriage.
Susan asks Betty about the strange clanging noises she's been hearing coming from her house in the middle of the night. Betty pretends not to know what she's talking about but then the noise comes again. She explains that it's just her son, Matthew, but then he walks up behind them, having just gotten home. Betty says a quick goodbye, leaving Susan more suspicious than ever. Betty complains to her psychiatrist that she can't sleep, telling him how her husband used to beat her and how she still has nightmares because she wasn't able to prevent him from killing their son. The doctor prescribes a sleeping pill, which she grinds up and puts in the food she brings to the chain-rattling captive in her basement.
Title reference
The episode title, You Could Drive a Person Crazy is a song from the Stephen SondheimStephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
musical, Company
Company (musical)
Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six....
.
International titles
- French: Donne l'oseille et tire-toi (Give cash and move !)
- German: Kontrolle ist alles (Control Is Everything)
- Hungarian: Az őrületbe kergetsz! (You drive me crazy)
- Polish: Kątrola jest wszystkim (Control is Everything)