Bang (Desperate Housewives)

"**Bang**"
"Bang"
Desperate Housewives episode
	File:CarolynBigsby.jpg Carolyn Bigsby, holding a gun as she holds the supermarket hostage.
Episode no.	Season 3; Episode 7
Directed by	Larry Shaw
Written by	Joe Keenan
Production code	307
Original air date	November 5, 2006
Guest appearances
	Dougray Scott as Ian Hainsworth; Brenda Strong as Mary Alice Young; Kathryn Joosten as Karen McCluskey; Laurie Metcalf as Carolyn Bigsby; Kiersten Warren as Nora Huntington; Brian Kerwin as Harvey Bigsby; Matt Roth as Art Shepherd; Rachel Fox as Kayla Huntington Scavo; Michael Bofshever as Kenny Stevens; Michael Durrell as Myron Katzburg; Pat Crawford Brown as Ida Greenberg; Kathleen Gati as Maya; Matt Casper as Stockboy; Christine Clayburg as Reporter; Maile Flanagan as Cashier; John C. Moskoff as Judge; Joe Sabatino as Police Captain; Anne Bellamy as Female Hostage;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Sweetheart, I Have to Confess"	Next →; "Children and Art"
	Desperate Housewives (season 3)
	List of episodes

"Bang" is the 54th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It was also the seventh episode of the show's third season. The episode was written by Joe Keenan and directed by Larry Shaw. It was broadcast on November 5, 2006, and is widely considered among the show's best episodes.

Due to time constraints, the opening credits were completely cut from the episode.

Episode Description

The episode begins with Carolyn Bigsby shooting at her husband Harvey in the grocery store he owns because he has been having an affair. He locks himself in his office, and she holds the supermarket shoppers hostage.

Earlier that morning, Lynette Scavo discusses her nightmare from the previous night about Mary Alice Young with Susan and Gabrielle.

Bree Van de Kamp confronts her husband Orson Hodge about the police report from the night he supposedly beat his first wife Alma. He convinces her that she suffered her injuries due to a fall after attacking him. Bree reveals that Carolyn gave her the report, and Orson mentions that Carolyn's husband is cheating on her.

Nora Huntington tells Lynette and her husband Tom that she is moving to Mexico with Kayla, her daughter with Tom, despite their opposition.

Gabrielle and her husband Carlos are settling the final terms of their separation. Carlos reveals that Gabrielle seduced him in order to stall the divorce as she believed he was coming into some money. The judge decides Carlos gets everything in the house and Gabrielle only gets the house. When they arrive home, each tries to destroy the property left to the other in the settlement.

Bree tells Carolyn that Harvey has been cheating on her. She rings Harvey at the supermarket, and tells him she knows about Monique. He tries to tell her that Monique is dead. Carolyn then goes to a drawer and takes out a gun. Harvey calls Susan about what happened.

Nora begins threatening Lynette to not apply for custody of Kayla. The two begin fighting when a gunshot is heard. This brings the story to the point at which the episode began. After Carolyn finds she can’t get into Harvey's office, in which Edie Britt has also taken refuge, she turns around and takes the horrified shoppers hostage, including Lynette, Nora, Julie Mayer, Edie's nephew Austin McCann and new resident Art Shepherd.

Gabrielle tells Carlos she hates the people they’ve become and that she could easily be in Carolyn’s place at the supermarket. He agrees that they should stop being “those people”.

In the supermarket, Nora tells Carolyn that Lynette is trying to steal her child. Lynette then says that Nora tried to seduce her husband. That hits too close to home for Carolyn, and she immediately shoots Nora in the chest. As Nora is dying, she asks Lynette to take care of Kayla for her. Lynette says she will raise Kayla as her daughter.

Carolyn quarrels with Lynette about Nora and about Harvey. Carolyn eventually tries to shoot Lynette, but Art throws a can at Carolyn, knocking her off her balance and making her only shoot Lynette in her left arm. After dropping the gun, Carolyn and Austin struggle for it and one of the hostages picks it up and shoots Carolyn in the head. The hostages are released, and reunited with their loved ones waiting outside.

In the hospital Lynette has a final dream of Mary Alice. Lynette asks Mary Alice if she is okay; Mary Alice says she’s fine but Lynette knows she is lying. Mary Alice says she has to “enjoy this beautiful day, as we get so few of them.” As Lynette turns around, Mary Alice has disappeared. In a voiceover, she says that it is the last time Lynette would ever dream of her and for her sake she is grateful.

Notes

This is the first special disaster episode of the series.
Laurie Metcalf was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her part in this episode.
Although credited, Mike Delfino (James Denton) does not appear in this episode.
Lynette (Felicity Huffman) is held at gunpoint again, later on during this season. (in episode 3.21 "Into the Woods")
Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) is seen in this episode, her only appearance in season 3.
This episode marks the final appearance by Kiersten Warren (Until the series finale) and Laurie Metcalf.
This episode was the 2nd most watched episode of season 3 and the most watched episode of its premiere week.

Reception

"Bang" received critical acclaim. The Futon Critic listed "Bang" as the 40th best television episode of 2006.^[1] In 2015, Gavin Hetherington of SpoilerTV reviewed the episode as one of the best episodes of the series, as well as the best disaster episode of the show.^[2] He also claimed that Felicity Huffman deserved an Emmy win for her performances in this episode and "Something's Coming".

Title Reference

The title of the episode, "Bang", is also the title of a song cut from A Little Night Music.

International titles

Croatian: Beng! (Bang)
French: La mort aux courses (Death at the grocery store)
French: Un jour comme les autres (A Day Like Others)
French (Canada): Bang
German: Peng (Bang)
Hebrew: ‏בנג!‏ (Bang!)
Hungarian: Bumm! (Bang)
Italian: Bang
Polish: Strzał (Shot)
Spanish: Adiós (Goodbye)

Awards notes

Felicity Huffman submitted this episode for consideration on her behalf in the category of “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series” at the 2007 Emmy Awards.^[3]
Matt Roth also chose this episode for consideration in the category of “Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series”.^[3]
Brenda Strong also submitted this episode for consideration of her work in the category of “Outstanding Voice-Over Performance” for the 2007 Emmy Awards.^[3]

References

^ Sullivan, Brian Ford (January 2, 2007). "The Best Episodes of 2006: #40-31". The Futon Critic. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
^ Hetherington, Gavin (March 12, 2015). "Throwback Thursday - Desperate Housewives - The Disaster Episodes - Review". SpoilerTV. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "2007 Emmys CONFIRMED Episode Submissions". The Envelope Forum, Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-18.

[1] Sullivan, Brian Ford (January 2, 2007). "The Best Episodes of 2006: #40-31". The Futon Critic. Retrieved June 28, 2012.

[2] Hetherington, Gavin (March 12, 2015). "Throwback Thursday - Desperate Housewives - The Disaster Episodes - Review". SpoilerTV. Retrieved March 12, 2015.

[EMMY07-3] "2007 Emmys CONFIRMED Episode Submissions". The Envelope Forum, Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-18.

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