Felicia Tilman

Felicia Tilman was Martha Huber's sister who came to Wisteria Lane to find out who murdered her. When she found out it was Paul Young, she cut off two of her fingers and framed him for her murder. However, after ten years of hiding, she was eventually found and imprisoned. When she was given humanitarian release after her daughter committed suicide, she tried to kill Paul but failed. She then fled again with her daughter's ashes, but she drove into an oncoming truck and died.

Early Years
Felicia was born to Millicent Tilman and an unnamed father. She had one sister Martha Tilman (later Huber) and, out of the two, was often referred to as the "more popular sister". Her mother also favored her over her sister, especially before her death, where Felicia was given charge of her estate. In adult life, Felicia went on to become a nurse at Dorothy Drake Rehabilitation Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. ("The Ladies Who Lunch") Whilst there, she met and befriended Angela Forrest, who would later flee to Wisteria Lane and change her name to Mary Alice Young. Along with Angela, Felicia assisted a young girl, Deirdre Taylor, a frequent patient being treated who possessed a drug addiction, and who had just given birth to a baby boy. One day, Deirdre overdosed and the baby had disappeared. Felicia realized that Angela had also disappeared, and she quickly made the link between the two - Angela had taken the child and fled. ("One Wonderful Day") Years later, Felicia would tell her sister Martha, that she was secretly grateful for Angela's actions, because she knew that Angela could protect the baby from Deirdre, and give him a much better life than his real mother ever could. ("Fear No More")

Felicia also raised her only child, Beth Tilman, alone as Beth's father left Felicia while Beth was very young. Since then, contrary to tradition on Thanksgiving, Felicia and Beth never shared a meal with anyone, let alone each other. The reason being that Felicia felt there was nothing to be thankful for remains unclear, but it can be assumed that Felicia felt that since her husband left her, there's no hope for anything else. One year, she refused to allow a male classmate of Beth's into the house and the two ate in silence as the boy kept knocking, until he eventually left. According to Beth, Felicia also engaged in brief relationships with several men that disrupted her childhood. ("You Must Meet My Wife")

Years later, Felicia would recap the events of Dierdre's missing baby to her sister, who concluded that Mary Alice was Angela. Despite Felicia telling Martha that Angela's actions were justified, this still led Martha to blackmail Angela; the contents of the blackmail letter were "I know what you did. It makes me sick. I'm going to tell."

Season 1
Felicia travels to Fairview from Utah and arrives on Wisteria Lane to aid with the search for Martha, who has disappeared. Felicia believes Martha is already dead as she informs Edie Britt, she wants to discover who is behind her murder. Felicia becomes suspicious of Paul Young. ("Move On")

Later, Felicia learns that Martha is indeed dead, and the police have located her body. Felicia addresses a crowd of Wisteria Lane residents gathered outside her home and informs them of her sister's violent demise. Felicia plans to read Martha's journals, which will provide some insightful information, surely. ("Every Day a Little Death")

While stopping by the Young home, Felicia spots a photo of Mary Alice, whom she instantly recognizes as someone she used to know called Angela. Paul tells her that she's mistaken. Felicia becomes increasingly suspicious. ("Love is in the Air") After finding and reading Martha's journals, Felicia discovered that Martha was blackmailing Paul and Mary Alice Young because they had bought a baby named Dana from drug addict Deirdre Taylor and then moved to Fairview and changed the baby's name to Zach. Felicia then realized that it was Paul who had murdered her sister as he had obviously found out that Martha was blackmailing Mary Alice and wanted to avenge his wife's suicide.

Felicia decides to reveal everything she knows to Paul, but before that discovers that he has drugged Zach and plans to disappear from Fairview, with Zach in tow. Felicia takes Zach back to her house and leaves a note for Paul asking him to see her. When Paul comes to take Zach home, Felicia warns him to leave Wisteria Lane without Zach, saying if he choses not to she will expose their identities. Paul argees, but asks if he can say goodbye to Zach; Felicia denies him and Paul leaves. When he does, Felicia pulls a knife she has been hiding from under the table in case an attack were to ensue.

The next day Felicia is visited by Mike Delfino. After revealing that she knows everything, Felicia tells Paul to get out of town for good or she will expose both Zach's true identity and the fact that he murdered Martha. Paul agrees to go but Felicia then informs him that Zach shall be staying with her from now on. Felicia then informs Zach that his father is not planning on coming back and that he shall be living with her. This then results in Zach attacking Felicia with a hockey stick which causes Felicia to fall down a flight of stairs, causing severe injury to her neck.

Season 2
In season two, Felicia has been discharged from the hospital, but is still badly bruised and wearing a neck brace. Mike goes to visit Felicia to see if she knows where Zach is, as he has recently disappeared after failing to murder Mike. Felicia informs Mike that she does not know where Zach is and that she herself is going back to Utah for a few months to recuperate. Felicia then returns to Wisteria Lane a few months later as the nurse to Noah Taylor (father of Deirdre, and Zach's legitimate grandfather.) Both Felicia and Mike comfort Zach after hearing the news that Paul has been killed, as Noah instructed Paul to be arrested and then killed in the back of an armored truck. However, Paul is revealed to be alive.

Felicia begins to get annoyed as people have seemed to forgotten that Paul killed Martha Huber, despite her constant rants about it. She confronts Mike about the promise he made to her but Mike states he will not kill Paul as things have changed. Angry, Felicia decides to take matters into her own hands. Later, at Edie's engagement party, Felicia presents Edie and Karl with a gift; her sister Martha's teeth in the hope of reminding everyone that Paul killed her sister and buried her alive. Paul is then humiliated and forced to leave the party, rendering her plan successful.

Felicia decides to annoy Paul. Firstly, when leaving his house to go to a drug store, Paul trips on his front steps. It turns out his front steps have been greased with shortening. A cheerful Felicia, who's baking cookies, pops out to check on him. Next, Paul and Zach are having a cookout. When Paul lights the grill to find the lighter fluid has been replaced with gasoline, resulting in a fire that shoots up in Paul's face. Later, Paul wakes up to find his house has been covered in an exterminator's tent. Angrily, he goes out, only to find Felicia merrily apologizing for giving the wrong address to the exterminator. Then she asks Paul if he is going to shoot himself like Mary Alice if she continues. Paul grabs her by the throat, but Felicia tells everyone to look at how unstable Paul Young is.

Felicia then begins planning her final act of revenge against Paul. After sneaking into his home through the backdoor, Felicia searches, locates, and steals the spare key to Paul's house. Upon discovering her in his kitchen, Paul instructs Zach to throw out all of their food, as Felicia may have tried to poison them both. Felicia then calls the police from her home and reports that Paul has been threatening her. Whilst phoning the police, she is in the process of pumping large quantities of her own blood from her body. The police inform Felicia that no action can be taken against Paul by just making threats, to which she replies that she will just have to deal with the problem herself.

That following evening, Paul walks into his kitchen only to slip and discover blood on the floor and on the kitchen walls. The police quickly come upon the scene and place Paul in handcuffs when they discover two of Felicia's fingers in the trunk of his car. While Paul is escorted to prison, Felicia escapes to the mountains and retreats to a log cabin where she (with her hand heavily bandaged and missing two fingers) checks in under the alias of her dead sister "Mrs. Martha Huber". Years later, during her escape, it is revealed that Felicia ran into Karen McCluskey, who quickly figures out what Felicia has done. Felicia convinces Karen to keep quiet and Karen lets Felicia run to her house to get away before the police catch on.

Season 7
It emerges that Felicia was pulled over for speeding and was arrested for having no identification, prompting Paul to be freed. Felicia is sent to prison for eighteen months. Felicia has another plan to avenge the death of her sister, as she tells her cell-mate that she has "friends" on Wisteria Lane. ("Remember Paul?")

Felicia's daughter, Beth, has since married Paul and moves in with him on the lane, to spy on him, thus aiding her mother's plot for ultimate revenge. ("You Must Meet My Wife") Beth regularly visits her mother in prison and keeps her updated on what Paul has been up to. ("A Humiliating Business") However, Felicia is horrified to learn that Beth has since slept with Paul, but suggests that they could use this to their advantage. She orders her daughter to continue sexually pleasing Paul, in order to extract some information about Martha's death - as Felicia puts it, "Sex makes men stupid." During one visit, Beth lets it slip that she no longer believes Paul is responsible for Martha's death and is beginning to develop feelings for him. This makes Felicia furious. She flies into an uncontrollable fit of rage and screams, "I will not allow you to fall in love with a monster!" ("Sorry Grateful")

After Paul is gunned down by an unknown assassin, Felicia is suspected by her daughter, who accuses her of hiring someone to do it. Felicia denies this, but once Beth has left, secretly calls Mike, assuming he accepted an offer she previously made about killing Paul. Meeting her at the prison, Mike tells Felicia he had nothing to do with it, making her wonder who could have been the shooter. ("Assassins")

Paul finally confesses to murdering Martha in the presence of Beth, who alerts her mother. However, Felicia points out that she doesn't have any proof of his confession and says she has no use for Beth now. Beth sobs that she has nowhere to go, but Felicia doesn't care - she tells her daughter that she will live a lonely life in a grotty apartment with time to think about all the people she disappointed. Felicia orders the prison guards to remove Beth from the visitors list. Shortly after, Beth attempts to commit suicide by shooting herself in the head. ("Searching") Following the reveal that Beth is alive, but on life support, Felicia goes to the prison chapel to pray. While there, Paul visits her and Felicia announces that she is planning to have the life support turned off. Paul refuses before Felicia points out that they are responsible for Beth's attempted suicide because of the "sick game" they are playing. Felicia informs Paul that she is praying for forgiveness and pleads with him to let Beth rest. Later, Felicia is visited by the prison warden who tells her the parole board has granted her a humanitarian release. ("Everything's Different, Nothing's Changed")

Felicia returns to Wisteria Lane following her release. She moves into the old Mayfair house, which she inherited off Beth. She makes plans with Paul to scatter Beth's ashes together, although, Paul is reluctant. They arrive at a lake Beth used to like, and begin to bicker. Felicia pulls a gun out on Paul, which had previously been in his possession, and threatens to shoot him, explaining that she could claim it was self-defense. She doesn't, however, and instead throws the gun into the lake. The two scatter Beth's ashes. However, it transpires that Felicia replaced Beth's ashes with sweepings from the fireplace. She schemes to finally avenge the death of her sister but refuses to shoot Paul, as that'd be too easy. ("Moments in the Woods")

Felicia converses with Karen McCluskey about the night she framed Paul for murder and thanks her for keeping the secret. Felicia turns Karen into an ally - she agrees to keep an eye on Paul for her. ("The Lies Ill-Concealed")

As part of her plan for revenge, Felicia and Paul seemingly put aside their differences. Later, Felicia visits Susan and, while the latter is distracted, Felicia adds antifreeze to a pie intended for Paul. For weeks, Felicia sneakily poisons Paul's food, which Susan brings to him - his health begins to deteriorate. ("I'll Swallow Poison on Sunday")

Paul's health begins to fail, to Felicia's pleasure. Susan, unknowingly, keeps Felicia updated on how her scheme is playing out. When Susan suggests that Paul should have tests done, Felicia suggests plenty of rest and good food is a better option. Felicia continues adding antifreeze to Paul's food. ("Then I Really Got Scared") Susan is given the blame for poisoning Paul, however, the police begin to question Felicia's motives, after interviewing Susan. After learning that the police are closing in, Felicia packs up her belongings and leaves Wisteria Lane. However, Felicia returns, and she knocks Paul unconscious and holds him hostage. She gags him, ties him to a chair with duct tape, with a container of poison attached to his arm - the liquid pouring into his veins. Felicia tries to force a confession and/or an apology out of Paul for killing her sister but he refuses. Instead, he reminisces about the night he killed Martha and explains that she got exactly what she deserved. Felicia reveals that she has recorded everything, including his confession. Susan arrives and plans to free Paul from Felicia's clutches. She uses one of MJ's toys, a remote controlled police car, to distract Felicia, who, thinking the police have arrived, dashes away. With no cops present, Felicia returns, where she finds Susan rescuing Paul. Felicia beats Susan violently over the head and tries to stab her with a poison filled syringe. Paul rips the duct tape apart and throws Felicia against a nearby wall and proceeds to strangle her. The life begins to drain from her eyes, but after being convinced by Susan, Paul stops and releases Felicia. Realizing all is lost, Felicia makes a run for it. She leaves Fairview and while driving on a mountain road, Felicia accidentally spills Beth's ashes. The ashes cloud her view and Felicia loses control of the vehicle. She spins into the other lane with a huge truck heading directly at her. Felicia looks at the truck in shock and a mere second later, the truck collides with her car, killing her instantly. Felicia is never spoken of again. ("And Lots of Security...")

Personality
Felicia shares a striking character trait with her sister, Martha Huber, in that they both possess the ability to say the nastiest things about other people with the most cheerful smile.

On playing the character Harris commented: "People do find Felicia evil. I think she's just determined. She's a zealot pursuing an objective that no one wants her to pursue. And it makes her really eccentric. And even though a man she's pursuing is the one who committed murder, he's only considered creepy by people and Felicia is always considered evil. I think that's so interesting because he's really the bad person. She's just trying to get him caught. But she is extreme. I think she doesn't stop when others would. She keeps on, she keeps pursuing and I think that is a scary thing. She just keeps scraping away until she eventually gets what she wants. And if she doesn't get it one way, she'll go around and do it another way. She's completely unapologetic about it. She doesn't care what anybody else thinks."

Behind Closed Doors
TBA

Reception
The character of Felicia has received an overwhelming positive reaction from critics and fans alike. Although, critics have noted a change in character since her return to the series in Season 7, which has divided opinions.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character.

Trivia

 * Before her relationship history was revealed Zach and Mike addressed her several times as Mrs. Tilman. It is not until Season 7 when we learn she had a husband that walked out on her.