Karl: If he had tried to strangle him, he'd be dead. Look, Orson had the upper hand in this divorce. We needed to regain it.

Bree: Not byresorting to physical violence. I would never have given my permission for that.

upper hand：优势,有利地位。影片中Karl为自己的行为辩解道：“现在Orson占上风 我们要夺回主动权。”

Our team gained the upper hand in the second half of the match.
我们队在下半场控制了场上局势.

The plice claim they have the upper hand in their fight against the drug dealers.
警方称他们在于毒贩的争斗中占了上风.