Mary Alice Young

Mary Alice Young
File:Brenda Strong as Mary Alice Young in Desperate Housewives.jpg Brenda Strong as Mary Alice Young
First appearance	Pilot (episode 1.01)
Created by	Marc Cherry
Portrayed by	Brenda Strong Sheryl Lee (unaired pilot)
In-universe information
Alias	Angela Forrest (former name)
Gender	Female
Occupation	Housewife former nurse
Spouse	Paul Young (husband)
Children	Zach Young (adopted son)

Mary Alice Young (formerly Angela Forrest) is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actress Brenda Strong who narrates the series from beyond the grave; the character's suicide in the pilot episode served as the catalyst of the series. The narration provided by Mary Alice is essential to the tale of Wisteria Lane, as the show revolves around her sharing the secrets of her friends and neighbours. Her narration technique is akin in style to Edgar Lee Masters Spoon River Anthology. She is the matriarch of Wisteria Lane and is the most important character to the show's development.

My name is Mary Alice Young. When you read this morning's paper, you may come across an article about the unusual day I had last week. Normally there's never anything newsworthy about my life. But that all changed last Thursday. Of course, everything seemed quite normal at first. I performed my chores. I completed my projects. I ran my errands. In truth, I spent the day as I spent every 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 that had never been used.

— Mary Alice Young

Mary Alice is the most mysterious of the housewives because only bits and pieces of her story are known. 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. She was born on November 18, 1965 and died on September 26, 2004.

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.

Although deceased since the first episode, Mary Alice continued to have a leading storyline throughout the first and second seasons of the show, with the story being led by her husband and son, Paul and Zach Young respectively.

Season 1

In the first scene of the pilot episode, Mary Alice introduces herself, then proceeds to go inside her house, reach for a gun, and shoot herself in the head.

After finding a blackmail note in Mary Alice's clothes, the leading 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. Her son, Zach, begins to have flashbacks and is under the impression that he killed a baby named Dana, when he was younger. 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 the child, originally named Dana and renamed Zach, watched. Mary Alice and Paul chopped up the body and buried it under their pool. 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.

Season 2

Mary Alice was the first housewife to move to Wisteria Lane, fifteen years before the show's initial setting (the day Mary Alice shot herself in the head, killing herself) . 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 apologize 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 was completely okay 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.

Season 3

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, "This was the last time Lynette would dream of me, and for her sake, I am grateful."

Season 4

Mary Alice was not a prominent part of this season, but she was seen on various occasions nonetheless. She was seen in a flashback on the second episode of the fourth season called Smiles of a Summer Night in a flashback of Susan’s about the day on which Katherine Mayfair abrubtly left Wisteria Lane, former neighbor Mary Alice Young and Susan walk up to Katherine’s house questioning a younger looking Katherine as to why there is a moving van outside her house. Katherine tells them that she got a job in Chicago and she refuses to let Susan get Julie to say goodbye to Dylan. A crashing noise is heard upstairs and Katherine has been nervous and evasive. When Susan asks if everything is OK Katherine makes her excuses and tells them she is really going to miss them, shutting the door.

It was mentioned that Mary Alice held the position of President of Wisteria Lane's homeowners' association, a position actually left vacant for four years (after her death) until Katherine Mayfair returned and insisted a new one (herself) be elected.

Mary Alice makes her second and last onscreen fourth season appearance in the finale called Free in a flashback to the night before Katherine left Wisteria Lane. Whilst Katherine and Lillian had been out, Mary Alice had been babysitting Dylan and revealled that Katherine's ex-husband Wayne Davis had turned up and given Dylan a toy doll and a tri-cycle as gifts. Having no idea that Katherine had been running away from her abusive ex, Mary Alice apologizes for any wrong doing as Katherine rushes inside the house with her Aunt Lillian to check on Dylan.

Appearances

Despite being deceased, Mary Alice's voice has appeared in every episode except one; Rex Van de Kamp (played by Steven Culp) narrated the sixteenth episode of season three, My Husband, the Pig.

In addition to this, she has appeared in person in nine episodes. Besides the pilot episode, where she commits suicide, she's appeared in flashbacks and dream sequences in episodes 1.03, 1.08, 1.23, 2.16, 2.23, 3.07, 4.02, and episode 4.17.