"Making the Connection" is the 159th episode of the ABC television series. Desperate Housewives. It is the second episode of the show's eighth season and was broadcast on October 2, 2011.
Plot
Desperately trying to get Carlos to forget about the Alejandro murder, Gaby seeks advice from a stripper to teach her how to dance on a pole, but is dreadfully unsuccessful. She then hires the stripper to dance for Carlos as he experiences an erectile dysfunction, though Carlos tells Gaby that none of this will make him forget and move on. Bree is frightened as she realizes the letter she received has exactly the same wording as the letter Mary Alice Young received years earlier, prompting her to commit suicide. Bree then seeks advice from Paul Young, who is now in prison after confessing murder, though at first he does not remember anything. Susan, still riddled with guilt, tries to get her herself punished in public which starts by forgetting to pay for a pack of soda, and is followed by eating all the free samples at a bakery, and others. Eventually she is pulled over by a cop for parking in front of a fire hydrant, though at first is let off with a warning because the cop wants to get home to his newborn daughter. Susan eventually kicks down his motorcycle and is arrested. Afraid to call Mike, she calls Carlos who comes to pick her up at the police station. Carlos then takes her out for coffee to discuss. Lynette and Tom face their separation, with Tom staying in a fancy hotel. Lynette says that Tom cannot say no to the kids, as he gave Penny a large slushy, which evidently gave her a sugar rush. In the following days, Parker asks to go a party hosted by an irresponsible friend, where there will be no adult supervision. Wanting to test out Tom, Lynette leaves the decision up to him, where his response is "it's not a no." Parker then goes to the party, which turns out to be a house party where everyone is drinking alcoholillegally. Lynette soon shows up looking for Parker and soon finds Tom, and finds out that Parker called him to come get him because he drank too much. Tom blames Lynette for the entire situation. Tom then reveals that he misses his kids and that's why he can't say no. Renee finally wins the affection of new neighbor Ben Faulkner, and he asks her out. Little does she know the date is feeding the elderly at a retirement home. Later in the evening, Renee reveals that she dislikes charity because when her mother died years ago, Renee shifted from relative to relative, most of them dirt poor, and she would receive clothing and food from charity. Thus, it brings back bad memories for her. Ben listens and accepts Renee for who she is. Bree finally decides to tell someone about the letter, and tells Gaby. Gaby demands that Bree break up with Chuck to hide the possibility of him finding out. Bree agrees to do so. When she arrives home, she finds Chuck in the shower. She soon receives a collect phone call from Paul, saying that when he confessed to Martha Huber's murder, the letter was taken by a cop with a short name, and he suggests Hans and Vince, leading Bree to realize that he means Chuck Vance, and abruptly hangs up. Bree then acts as if everything is okay. The episode ends with Bree and Chuck lying in bed that night, as Bree stares at his gun.
Reception
According to Nielsen ratings, "Making the Connection" was watched by 9.16 million viewers and held 3.0 rating/7 share among viewers between 18 and 49 years of age. The episode was outperformed by Sunday Night Football on NBC, which averaged 18.90 million viewers and an 11.5 rating/18 share, and The Good Wife on CBS, which was watched by 11.08 million viewers but held a 2.2 rating/5 share, The episode gained an additional 2.7 million viewers and 1.1 rating in the week following the original broadcast due to DVR recordings. TV Fanatic's Christina Tran gave the episode a positive review, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
