See Also: 'You Could Drive a Person Crazy' Episode Guide

Synopsis

While picking up her morning paper, Susan sees her ex-husband, Carl, coming out of Edie Britt's house in his robe. She attempts to forbid him to see Edie. At the Scavo household, dirt is piling up and Lynette is not happy. Meanwhile, Phyllis van de Kamp is garnering attention wherever she can in order to talk about Rex. Gabrielle is forced to visit Carlos in prison everyday so that he can sign their checks. Later, Matthew and Betty Applewhite discuss the disruptive nature of the person in the basement.

The next time Gabrielle visits Carlos, he informs her that he'll be beaten up unless he gets $7000 to his cellmate's girlfriend. Mike comes over to Susan's house and, after discussion, they decide to keep their relationship "casual". Bree comes downstairs to find Phyllis on the phone, yet again sobbing about Rex. Bree informs her that she, too, needs consoling after which Phyllis accuses Bree of being cold. Gabrielle gets the $7000 and takes it to the girlfriend's house. The girlfriend gets angry, stating that her boyfriend wants her to use it for a breast augmentation. Gabrielle talks her into standing up for herself and takes back the money.

Lynette comes home to a dirty kitchen and cleans it before heading upstairs. She and Tom argue again about the housework. The next day she decides to buy a rat and sets it loose in the house. Susan questions Betty about strange noises she hears coming from the Applewhite house. Betty blames it on Matthew and, after Matthew walks up from the opposite direction of the house, bids Susan farewell. At dinner with Phyllis, Bree leaves a phone message for the insurance company responisble for paying Rex's life insurance policy. They've been dragging their heels on paying. Lynette chooses that moment to talk to Bree and, once again, Phyllis begins to cry. Finally, Bree slaps her. In the next scene, Rex's doctor and the an insurance representative are speaking together. The doctor hands the rep the note that Rex wrote to Bree before he died, where he stated that he forgave her.

Bree is tending her yard when George drives up. He tries to convince her to get out of the house and she ends up finally crying. Phyllis looks out the window in time to see Bree in George's arms. Gabrielle goes to visit Carlos again and he has a black eye. Realizing that she is in the position of power, Gabrielle insists that she will be writing the checks from then on. As Susan is getting into her car, Edie comes up to talk to her about Carl. After arguing, Edie storms off and Susan accidentally runs over her.

When Lynette arrives home later, the house is spotless...and Tom has killed the rat. Betty speaks with a psychiatrist about nightmares, telling him they are caused by her husband's abuse and, consequently, his murder of their son. The doctor writes her a prescription for sleep medication which we later see her chopping up and putting in the soup on the tray to be taken to the basement. At the van de Kamp household, Bree apologizes to Phyllis for slapping her. After Bree leaves, Phyllis calls the insurance company and informs them that Bree has a boyfriend.

Analysis

Has anyone else had the song by Sondheim running through their heads everytime they see the title of this episode? Just me? Ok.

Upon first glance, "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" seems to be quite a tame episode, after all, there are no deaths or even any major life-or-death situations. But this doesn't mean that it was any less dramatic...only more subtle.

The situation with Carl and Edie seems to have blown up out of nowhere. And it also seems to have surfaced just in time for Susan and Mike to...well, let's just say they've "cooled off" since even they don't know where the relationship is headed. It's obvious what Mike still wants from the relationship, though. He may not have put it into words but his body language towards Susan was telling enough, as was the kiss near the end of their scene together. It was interesting to see Susan push him away at this point since much of the first season was focused on her head over heels feelings for him. However, it was nice to see Susan take that sort of a stand for herself, especially since she's often portrayed as somewhat of a push over. It's indicative, perhaps, of just how deeply the situation with Zach affected her.

It's not always easy to see Gabrielle as a sympathetic character, mostly because she's often so preoccupied with being materialistic. That's not to say, however, that she never has been, nor never will be, in a situation that moves her to consider emotions over materials, but this episode certainly wasn't one of them. There seemed to be a slight bit of hope that perhaps Gabrielle can care for the plight of a fellow woman when she visited the girlfriend of Carlos' cellmate, but that idea was crushed when she snatched back the envelope of money so quickly. It's a wonder the other woman didn't get a paper cut. In the end, though, it's hard for any viewer to not appreciate the way she turned Carlos' abusive cellmate situation to her advantage. She's smooth and calculating and, one has to admit, it's part of her charm.

Also smooth and calculating was Lynette who bought a rat to set loose in her house simply to get Tom to do the housework on a regular basis. As Tom stated early on in the episode, Lynette has issues with control. Going through such lengths to make sure things get done her own way is indeed quite controlling. In a way it was almost surprising to see her take such measures with so little remorse but, after a whole season of watching her get pushed around and broken by her children, it was certainly satisfying to see a more confident side of Lynette.

As far as side plots go, Bree's is currently the most interesting. One can only assume at this point that Bree will be investigated in Rex's death. It doesn't seem likely, however, that the findings will ultimately be against her as it could be possible that putting one of the main housewives in jail for murder would lead to a dead end. In the meantime, the possibility of such a thing happening will certainly be titillating and I expect the writers to milk the storyline for all it's worth.

Interesting, too, is the fact that George the pharmacist has made an appearance again. As he expressed that he still has an interest in Bree, and since Bree obviously felt comfortable enough to cry in his arms, it's hopeful (from an entertainment perspective, that is) that the truth of George's involvement in Rex's death will stay unknown for quite some time. This part of the plotline would be best if left on the backburner until it finally culminates into high drama.

The only truly interesting part of the Applewhite mystery in this episode was the story that Betty told the psychiatrist. The first instinct is to disregard what she says, as it seems to be an obvious ploy to get the sleeping medication. However, once thought through, it's definitely possible that the story she told was the truth, or as close as she could get to it without bald-face lying. Does this mean, then, that Matthew had a brother? Also, supposing the story she told is true and the person in the basement is her husband, how is it that Betty came to punish him instead of letting the law take action?

Hopefully this mystery will prove to be as captivating as it has the potential to be, and won't lose it's fizzle before the finale, the way the Mary Alice mystery did last season. Time will tell.

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