"Desperate Housewives" turned Wisteria Lane into pop culture's twistiest neighborhood. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most surprising, heartstopping, and yes, desperate moments from over the show’s eight seasons.
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00:00 "What does this mean?"
00:05 Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 20 Shocking Desperate
00:09 Housewives Moments.
00:10 "Did you miss me?"
00:11 "No idea."
00:12 For this list, we'll be looking at the most surprising, heart-stopping, and yes, desperate
00:22 moments from over the show's eight seasons.
00:25 Having said that, spoiler alert.
00:27 Did your favourite shocker make the cut?
00:29 Sound off in the comments below.
00:32 20.
00:33 Beth Dies
00:34 "I don't want to mess this up.
00:38 It's the most important thing I've ever done."
00:41 Introduced in the show's seventh season, Beth Young was later revealed to be the daughter
00:45 of the vengeful Felicia Tillman.
00:48 Beth was only a pawn in her mother's plot against the villainous Paul Young.
00:52 A sequence of events finds her out of a husband, out of a home, and with seemingly nothing
00:57 to live for.
00:59 Desperate and searching for some meaning, Beth goes to the hospital where Susan Delfino
01:03 is in need of a kidney.
01:05 She signs a few forms and then takes her life in front of the nurses' station.
01:09 Beth's last desperate act is as tragic as it is shocking.
01:14 19.
01:16 Plane Crash
01:19 Affairs, shootings, fires, tornadoes.
01:22 A lot of things have happened on Mysterio Lane, but a plane crash wasn't on our bingo
01:27 card.
01:28 "Somebody help!
01:29 I don't know how to fly!"
01:32 This season six episode is pretty standard stuff until the last few minutes.
01:37 One couple reveals their secret affair, another couple is expecting twins, someone is about
01:42 to be blackmailed over a horrible secret from their past.
01:45 Then a small aircraft plunges out of the sky and crashes right into the neighbourhood's
01:50 annual Christmas gathering.
01:52 In just a matter of seconds, whole storylines are completely upended.
01:57 Clips are torn apart, a few characters even die.
02:00 It's completely random in the way that some of the best Desperate Housewives moments are.
02:06 "You can run, but you can't hide!"
02:12 18.
02:13 Lynette Breaks Down
02:14 When it first premiered, Desperate Housewives promised to bring the drama.
02:17 But early on, it won many viewers over with its frank depictions of how difficult parenthood
02:22 can be.
02:23 "I love my kids so much.
02:24 I'm so sorry.
02:25 They have me as a mother."
02:28 Lynette Scarvo spends most of the early run adjusting to being a full-time housewife.
02:33 At first, her newfound dependence on her son's ADHD medication just seems like a satirical
02:38 joke on middle-class moms who can somehow find time to do it all.
02:42 But this storyline goes from darkly funny to just dark, when Lynette crashes and ends
02:47 up a crying heap on a soccer field.
02:49 "I used to get so upset when Andrew and Danielle were little.
02:52 I used their nap times to cry.
02:56 Why didn't you ever tell me this?"
03:00 The heart-to-heart she shares with her friends probably made a lot of people feel seen.
03:05 17.
03:06 The Bomb in The Detonator
03:08 Angie Boland's past as a reformed bomb expert and eco-terrorist on the run from the FBI
03:14 unfolded over the show's sixth season.
03:16 In the season finale, she's finally tracked down by Patrick, her ex and the leader of
03:21 her former eco-terrorist organization.
03:23 "You got what you wanted?
03:24 You gonna let us go now?"
03:27 "Not yet."
03:29 Patrick holds her hostage and compels her to make him one last bomb.
03:33 With the detonator in his hand, Patrick reveals that he planted that bomb in the house with
03:37 their son.
03:38 "Tell me where the bomb is now."
03:40 "It's in your house.
03:42 And if you want to save our son, I suggest you get moving."
03:45 But the crafty Angie turns the tables on him.
03:47 Her real bomb is in the detonator in his hand.
03:51 Bye bye, Patrick.
03:52 With this kind of spunk and ingenuity, it's sad Angie didn't stick around for another
03:57 season.
03:58 16.
03:59 Lynette Confronts Art Shepard
04:01 "Now, kid, who's been good this year?"
04:08 Wisteria Lane resident Art Shepard is hailed as a hero, but Lynette soon comes to suspect
04:13 the unassuming man living with his sister, who uses a wheelchair, might be a secret predator.
04:19 Although the storyline doesn't last long, it leaves a lot open to interpretation.
04:23 When Art's sister dies, and Lynette begins to be sorry for casting so much suspicion
04:28 on him, his last conversation with her chills her to the bone.
04:31 He all but comes out and says she was right about him.
04:34 "See, I always knew that I had to take care of Rebecca, so I could never let myself slip
04:42 and do something that would hurt her."
04:44 The most horrifying thing is, we're not actually sure if he's being honest, or if he's just
04:49 taunting her to get back at her for inadvertently causing his sister's death.
04:54 15.
04:55 McCluskey Confesses
04:56 "Your Honor, I'm not sure what we're getting from this."
05:00 "Well, you will in a minute, honey."
05:01 When viewers first met Karen McCluskey, she was the archetypal nasty old neighbor.
05:07 But by the end of the series, she and the other housewives had become like family.
05:11 Terminally ill with lung cancer, Karen decided to do some good with the time she had left.
05:16 When Bree ended up on trial for the murder of Gabby's violent stepfather, Karen threw
05:21 herself under the bus for her by confessing to the crime on the witness stand.
05:25 "I followed him in, I picked up the candlestick, and I killed that son of a bitch."
05:32 Like the best of plot twists, this one shocked us just as much as it did the characters.
05:36 It was also a fitting end for a fantastic character.
05:40 14.
05:41 Lily is Taken Away
05:43 "Mrs. Solis?"
05:44 "Yes?"
05:45 "We have a court order to take the Collins baby into custody."
05:48 Gabby and Carlos Solis were not always the perfect pair, but they went through a lot
05:52 together over the first two seasons.
05:55 What they wanted more than anything was to complete their family with a baby.
05:59 Viewers watched as the couple struggled to conceive.
06:01 When they were finally able to adopt a baby girl named Lily, their happiness was short-lived.
06:06 Lily's mother reneged on their adoption agreement and took the baby back.
06:10 Gabby's heartbroken pleading with the cops as they return the infant to her mother is
06:14 something viewers aren't likely to forget any time soon.
06:18 "And my husband, my husband, he sings to her.
06:23 He sings.
06:24 So you can't take her away.
06:25 It's too late.
06:26 We've already fallen in love with her."
06:29 13.
06:30 Andrew Runs Over Carlos' Mother
06:31 Juanita Solis never liked her daughter-in-law, and their feeling was mutual.
06:36 When she caught Gabby in a compromising position with her gardener, she raced out of the house
06:41 with proof, only to be run down by difficult teenager Andrew Vanderkamp.
06:51 Nothing brings a family together like vehicular manslaughter.
06:55 Even more shocking is how quickly and efficiently his parents take action.
06:59 "Mama?
07:00 Andrew?"
07:01 A strange couple, Bree and Rex, continued their run of great parenting and hid the evidence
07:10 from the police, saving their son the burden of having to be accountable for his actions.
07:14 The whole storyline was peak privileged middle-class nonsense, and we couldn't look away.
07:21 12.
07:22 Catherine Tells The Truth
07:23 Like most of the new arrivals on Wisteria Lane, Catherine Mayfair came to town with
07:27 a metaphorical closet full of skeletons.
07:30 But her secret was one of the more heartbreaking and tragic ones.
07:34 "Dylan, I'm sorry.
07:37 Dylan!"
07:38 All is revealed in the Season 4 finale, when her vengeful and abusive ex-husband holds
07:46 her at gunpoint.
07:47 The girl she's raising as Dylan is not their daughter.
07:51 Years ago, their biological child was killed in a horrible accident.
07:55 Catherine has been raising the new Dylan in her place ever since.
07:58 "As I looked into those big blue eyes, I knew right then, she needed me as much as
08:04 I needed her."
08:06 It was a devastating revelation, especially given how plausible it is compared to some
08:11 of the other stuff on this list.
08:13 11.
08:14 Rex Dies
08:15 Is there such a thing as tragedy of errors?
08:18 George, an obsessive pharmacist, poisons Rex Vanderkamp so he can have Bree to himself.
08:24 Rex finds out he's being poisoned and assumes it's Bree's revenge for his infidelity.
08:29 "Who prepares your meals?"
08:32 "Bree."
08:39 Many viewers were shocked that the storyline didn't end with George being found out and
08:43 Bree and Rex continuing to mend their marriage.
08:46 Instead, it ends with Rex accepting his fate, and writing Bree a note saying he forgives
08:51 her.
08:52 Watching actress Marcia Cross process the news of his death as she completes her daily
08:57 chores is truly something to behold.
09:03 10.
09:05 Felicia's Revenge
09:08 The first season's mystery involved a mysterious, threatening letter, which led to Mary Alice
09:14 taking her own life.
09:16 After discovering that his neighbour Martha was responsible for his wife's tragedy, Paul
09:20 fatally took matters into his own hands.
09:23 "Her sister figured out what my husband had done.
09:29 So she decided to frame him for murder."
09:33 As if the web of revenge wasn't enough, Martha's sister Felicia cooked up a sinister plot to
09:38 fake her own death and frame Paul for her murder.
09:41 After sneaking into his house, she faked a grisly murder by spilling blood all over the
09:46 house and placing two of her severed fingers in his car.
09:50 Paul would ultimately be arrested as Felicia went into hiding under her sister's identity,
09:55 not to resurface for another five seasons.
09:59 "What is it?
10:00 Put your hands where I can see them."
10:04 9.
10:05 The Tornado
10:06 As if the drama plaguing the residents of Wisteria Lane weren't enough, our protagonists
10:10 had to endure a tornado in the middle of the fourth season.
10:17 Just as several storylines were coming to a climactic head, the disaster shook up everything.
10:23 The tornado would cause the deaths of Victor and Sylvia, while also rendering Carlos blind,
10:29 destroying Bree's house, and indirectly causing Catherine to learn of her husband's affair.
10:37 The episode's ending left the fates of Lynette's entire family and Ida up in the air, resulting
10:42 in a torturous month-long cliffhanger.
10:45 It's episodes like these, where the show wears its soap opera influences on its sleeve,
10:50 that allows us to eat up every dramatic moment.
10:59 8.
11:12 Bree Abandons Andrew
11:24 As much as Bree has always wanted the perfect domestic life, her misbehaving son Andrew
11:29 was always a thorn in her side.
11:31 Though on the exterior she seems like one of the sweetest housewives, her dark side
11:35 really came out in this moment.
11:44 After Andrew hooks up with the man she's seeing, she decides to take him on a college
11:48 road trip.
11:49 Thing is, she stops at a gas station and abandons her son there.
12:04 This brutal moment may be one of the series' darkest, and Bree seeing Andrew disappear
12:09 in her rear window is absolutely heartbreaking.
12:12 Fortunately, they would later patch things up, but it would be a long road to forgiveness
12:16 for Bree.
12:18 7.
12:19 Lynette's Diagnosis
12:21 Though Lynette and Tom have one of the show's most consistently stable relationships, one
12:25 of its most major tests came when Lynette began to have feelings for an employee, Rick.
12:34 When this escalates into an explosive argument, the two visit the doctor, and just as they're
12:44 about to start a major fight, the doctor drops a bomb on them.
12:48 Lynette likely has lymphoma.
12:55 It's a fleeting but beautiful moment as Tom decides to let go of their petty arguments
12:59 and support his wife in her diagnosis.
13:02 This also sets off one of Lynette's most dramatic storylines as she examines the true value
13:06 of life while fighting to keep her own.
13:12 6.
13:14 Carlos Kills Alejandro
13:22 In the show's seventh season, Gabby faced her most personal storyline yet.
13:27 After revealing that her stepfather had been abusive, the menacing figure returns to her
13:30 life.
13:33 Just as he approached her at a vulnerable moment, Carlos sneaks up and gives him a good
13:38 whack with a candlestick.
13:39 Though he didn't intend to kill the villain, he drops dead.
13:47 As it turns out, he never actually had a gun, meaning Carlos killed an unarmed man.
13:52 Along with the rest of the housewives, Gabby agrees to help Carlos cover up the killing,
13:57 an event that sets in motion the main plot for the final season, sending each of these
14:01 characters to a very dark place.
14:07 5.
14:10 The Shooting
14:17 After Carolyn Bigsby discovered that her husband was having an affair, she made a decision
14:21 that rocked Wisteria Lane.
14:28 Upon shooting her husband at his grocery store, she proceeds to hold the rest of the store,
14:33 including Lynette, Edie, Nora, and Julie hostage.
14:37 The terrifying situation occupies the second half of the episode and is highlighted by
14:42 impeccable performances from Laurie Metcalf and Felicity Huffman.
14:51 In the end, Nora and Carolyn end up dead, and each of the housewives are left with hefty
14:56 baggage to grapple with in the wake of the harrowing encounter.
15:00 As an all-too-real situation, the comedy takes a back seat, resulting in a disturbingly effective
15:05 episode.
15:06 "Kill was the only good thing that I've ever done in my whole life.
15:07 I need you to really be really really scared.
15:08 Okay?"
15:22 4.
15:23 Time Jump
15:24 Just as the show was hitting a narrative "lul" in its fourth season, the writers made the
15:28 bold choice to jump five years into the future.
15:35 This breathed new life into the storylines by putting the characters in unfamiliar territory,
15:39 while also resulting in the show's best season finale cliffhanger.
15:43 Gabby has two kids now, Porter and Preston are troublemaking teens, Brie is semi-famous,
16:03 and where the hell is Mike?
16:08 And we had to wait all summer to get these questions answered.
16:12 This moment was Desperate Housewives at its best, teasing us with future storylines and
16:16 leaving us with burning questions.
16:22 3.
16:29 Mary Alice Takes Her Own Life
16:37 This was the moment that started it all.
16:39 In the very first scene of the pilot episode, Mary Alice narrates her average day up until
16:44 the moment that she picks up a gun and shoots herself in the head, seemingly for no reason.
16:49 This kicked off the intriguing and dark mystery that carried the show through its first season,
16:54 and made it clear from the get-go that the perfect little street of Wisteria Lane was
16:58 all a facade.
17:02 It was soapy, dramatic, and everything we would come to expect from a show filled with
17:07 crazy twists and turns.
17:10 2.
17:12 Mike Dies
17:13 Mike had always been one of the show's more complicated characters, struggling to smother
17:17 some of his darker tendencies.
17:27 This makes it fitting that his anti-heroic qualities are what led to his ultimate demise.
17:32 When it was teased that a major character would die in one of the series' final episodes,
17:37 there was a grave feeling that Mike would go down after violently confronting a lone
17:41 shark.
17:47 In the end, he shares one final poignant moment with Susan before being shot in the chest
17:51 and dying in her arms.
17:53 After years of will-they-won't-they, the end of their love ended up being more tragic
17:58 than we ever could have imagined.
18:23 1.
18:25 Edie Dies
18:26 This moment may not have been shocking if you were following the series' production
18:29 drama, as Nicolette Sheridan didn't have the greatest relationship with showrunner
18:34 Mark Cherry.
18:38 Still, the killing off of one of the main housewives remains one of the biggest TV deaths
18:45 in the early 21st century.
18:47 After discovering the truth about her new husband and frantically escaping the house,
18:52 a perfect storm of events causes Edie to crash into a pole and electrocute herself as she
18:58 steps into the puddle below her car.
19:06 As the other residents look back on her life, they realise as pesky as she could be, she
19:10 had a lot of heart and made all of their lives richer.
19:36 -Edie-