Mary Alice Young

Mary-Alice Young
File:Dh 800x600 strong 03.jpg Brenda Strong as Mary Alice Young
First appearance	Pilot (episode 1.01)
Created by	Marc Cherry
Portrayed by	Brenda Strong
In-universe information
Alias	Angela Forrest (former name)
Gender	Female
Occupation	Housewife nurse (former)
Spouse	Paul Young (husband)
Children	Zach Young (adopted son)

Mary Alice Young (previously Angela Forrest) is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actress Brenda Strong, who also serves as narrator of the series.

History

In truth, I spent the day as I had any other day, quietly polishing the routine of my life until it gleamed with perfection. That's why it was so astonishing when I decided to go to my hallway closet and retrieve a revolver which had never been used.

— Mary Alice Young

Template:Spoiler Mary Alice is the most mysterious of the housewives because we only know bits and pieces of her story. A loving, doting wife and mother who was generous to her family and neighbours, she was the last person any of them expected to shoot herself in the head.

In death, Mary Alice sees things she would not have seen in life: her friends' vulnerabilities, lies and secrets. She doesn't judge them so much as love them more because of their foibles, pitying them for the ways they manipulate and hurt those they care about most.

Perhaps because Mary Alice represents a part of them, the women decide to get to the bottom of her suicide. They can't quite make sense of why her husband and son are so odd, or why this vivacious woman had married a man who seems to be withholding and cold.

After finding a blackmail note in Mary Alice's clothes, the women make a series of discoveries: She was being treated by Dr. Goldfine; she once went by another name, Angela; and she may have had something to do with a baby that disappeared. When Felicia Tilman comes to town and realizes she knew Mary Alice by her former identity, it's only a matter of time before the women learn just how much Mary Alice may have been hiding.

In the first season's finale, the mystery of Mary Alice's death is revealed. Years ago, Mary-Alice (whose real name is Angela) couldn't conceive. She bought a baby illegally from a heroin addict, Dierdre, and moved to Wisteria Lane with her husband and the new baby to start a new life. The Young family's beautiful, happy life on Wisteria Lane was nearly destroyed when the woman returned, seemingly sober, wanting her baby back. After a verbal fight, as the woman went to reclaim her baby, Mary-Alice stabbed her, killing her, as Dana/Zack watched on. Mary Alice and Paul chopped up the body and buried it under their pool. As fate would have it, Zack's father turned out to be Mike Delfino. Years later, when Mrs. Huber discovered Mary Alice's secret via her sister, Felicia, who worked with "Angela," she blackmailed Mary Alice. In desperation, Mary Alice committed suicide.

In the second season finale, Mary-Alice appeared in the episodes in various flash backs, describing her meeting with all the major housewives, the first character she met was Susan, Mary Alice rescued Susan after she locked herself in her moving van, the second character she encountered was Bree, who arrived at the Youngs house, with Andrew and Rex in tow, she was there to make Andrew apologise for stealing a garden ornamental frog. She met Lynette several years later, Lynette and Tom were arguing over how Lynette was pregnant with twins, and that it is completely ok for Lynette to punish Tom for neglecting to tell her that his family had eight sets of twins over three generations. Gabrielle was the final housewives to be greeted by the group, she was dressed in her underwear, after just having sex with Carlos, when Mary Alice, Susan, Lynette and Bree walked in.

In Bang, episode 7 of the third season, Lynette Scavo has a series of dreams about the last time she talked to Mary Alice, which happened to be moments before she shot herself. Lynette tormented herself over not trying to save Mary Alice. After a hostage situation in which two people were killed and Lynette was injured, she had one final dream of Mary Alice. This time, however, Lynette tried to prevent something bad from happening by asking to help Mary Alice. To which Mary Alice replied that she couldn't, but she could do something. She could enjoy the lovely evening that was at hand. Mary Alice, as the narrator, says that was the last time Lynette would ever dream of her, and for her sake, that was a good thing.

Appearances

During the first three seasons of the show, Mary Alice's voice has appeared in every episode of the show, although the main narrator in the sixteenth episode of season three, My Husband, the Pig, is Rex Van De Kamp (played by Steven Culp).

In addition to this, she has appeared in person in eight episodes. Besides the pilot episode, where she commits suicide, she's appeared in flashbacks and dream sequences in episodes 1.01,1.03, 1.08, 1.23, 2.16, 2.23 and 3.07.

Trivia

• Mary Alice was originally planned to be named Mary Alice Scott.
• In the original pilot, Mary Alice was played by Sheryl Lee.