Get Out of My Life

"Get Out of My Life" is the 171st episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the fourteenth episode of the show's eighth season and was broadcast on February 19, 2012.

Plot

Orson has moved back in to take care of Bree and she reveals everything about the murder and how it destroyed her relationships with Gaby, Susan and Lynette. Later, Orson refuses to let the other women in and lies to Bree about them visiting. He suggests taking a vacation to Maine since he has recently inherited a property from his late aunt, she agrees to go but first tells him she thinks it's time to make amends with the girls because in a way they saved her by sending him to her. Worried, Orson tells Bree that the girls did visit but said cruel things about her and so she agrees to go without seeing them. It is later revealed that after re-learning to drive he began stalking Bree and was not only aware of the cover up but was also behind the notes Bree had been receiving, all in an attempt to get her back.

Gaby is having trouble taking care of the girls, running the house and helping out with his business whilst Carlos is away in rehab. To make matters worse Roy invites himself to stay because Karen has kicked him out although he can't figure out why. Although at first Gaby is uneasy about this, when she sees how much the girls listen to him she is keen to have him stay. So much so that she thwarts any attempts by him or Karen to reconcile. It is later revealed that Karen's cancer has returned and she broke up with Roy so he wouldn't have to go through watching her become ill and die as he did with his first wife.

Susan is still trying to convince Julie to keep her baby and suggests to Mike that she try and contact the father. When she finds out the father is, in fact, Porter Scavo she is shocked, but later agrees to support him when he decides he would rather raise his daughter alone than have her adopted. Susan divulges this information to Lynette who is furious and tells Susan that her son is not ready to be a father and that the baby would be better off adopted. She also tries to convince Porter of the same thing but he tells her that he is already in love with his baby and will do everything to take care of her, Lynette is left unconvinced. Julie, meanwhile, tells her mother she cannot forgive her for supporting Porter and taking the decision about her daughter out of her hands.

Ben tries to set his property development on fire in order to claim the insurance, but is caught by Mike. The stress of the situation puts Ben in the hospital so Mike goes to Renee and tells her about Ben's troubles with the loan shark. She visits him in the hospital and offers to pay off his debt, but he refuses, telling her he wants to fix everything and be a man she deserves. Renee instead pays off the loan shark without telling Ben in the hopes of ending the situation, but after the loan shark comments on how wealthy she is, it appears that she becomes worried.

Reception

Critical reception

This episode was met with mixed reviews from critics. Most commented on the lack of storyline for Gabrielle's character as her being unable to discipline her children had been covered in the past. The revelation that Orson was behind the notes to Bree throughout the season however, was universally praised as it was unexpected and opens up possibilities to exciting episodes for the remaining few episodes.^[1][2]

Ratings

According to Nielsen ratings, "Get Out Of My Life" was watched by 7.65 million viewers and held 2.2 rating between 18 and 49 years of age.^[3] The episode was competing against The Good Wife on CBS, which was watched by 9.73 million viewers and held a 2.1 rating, the combination of Family Guy and American Dad! on Fox which averaged 4.95 million viewers for the hour, and had a 2.5/6 rating, and Celebrity Apprentice on NBC, which averaged 7.42 million viewers and a 2.6/6 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The episode had a 20% improvement in total viewers and 22% in adults 18-49 from the previous week's episode, Is This What You Call Love?, which aired against the Grammy Awards. The episode gained an additional 2.2 million viewers and 1.0 rating in the week following the original broadcast due to DVR recordings.^[4]

Notes

• Although credited, Doug Savant (Tom Scavo) does not appear in this episode.
• This was the third time, after the episodes "My Husband, the Pig" and "Look into Their Eyes and You See What They Know", that Mary Alice didn't narrate the end of the episode. It was done so by Orson Hodge. However, those episodes were narrated by Rex Van de Kamp and Edie Britt, respectively.

International titles

• Polish: Wynoś się z mojego życia! (Get Out of My Life!)
• German: Verschwinde aus meinem Leben

References