Bang

"Bang" is the 54th episode of Desperate Housewives.

Summary
Everyone's lives on Wisteria Lane are forever changed when Carolyn Bigsby holds shoppers hostage at a local supermarket. Meanwhile, Gabrielle and Carlos finish dividing their assets: Gabrielle gets the house, and Carlos gets everything in it. Susan is preparing to go to Paris with Ian.

Previously on Desperate Housewives
"''Nora looked for trouble and found it. Julie got to know Edie's nephew. Susan and Ian made plans. Gabrielle and Carlos reunited. And dinner with the Bigsbys was full of surprises."

- Mary Alice Young


 * Nora kisses Tom. When Lynette finds out she threatens her. ("Sweetheart, I Have to Confess")
 * Julie meets Austin, and later Austin brags about how Julie kept looking at him. ("It Takes Two")
 * Susan and Ian make plans to go to France. ("Sweetheart, I Have to Confess")
 * Carlos and Gabrielle have sex. ("Sweetheart, I Have to Confess")
 * During dinner with Carolyn, Bree finds out that Orson beat up his ex-wife and Harvey tells Orson he cheated on Carolyn. ("Sweetheart, I Have to Confess")

Teaser
"''It was supposed to be an ordinary day for Carolyn Bigsby. She had planned to bake her husband a strudel, give her dog a bath, and water her African violets. Yes, Carolyn had planned to do all sorts of things she thought mattered. But, earlier that day a woman who wasn’t her friend told Carolyn something she wasn’t supposed to hear. From that moment on Carolyn felt nothing really mattered anymore."

- Mary Alice Young

Friday

We see Carolyn Bigsby sat in a parked car in the parking lot of a supermarket. We then see flashes of all the things she had planned to do that day: baking her husband a strudel, washing her dog, and watering her flowers. We then see a flashback to when Bree told Carolyn that Harvey was having an affair. We then go back to Carolyn being sat in her car again; she suddenly gets out and walks into the supermarket, holding a bag. As she walks in, Susan says hello to her and Carolyn coldly says hello back. She then looks around the aisles and eventually finds her husband; he asks her what she’s doing and Carolyn tells him that she thinks if he loves Monique then he should be with her. Harvey reminds Carolyn that Monique is dead and Carolyn says “I know” and she pulls out a gun from her purse and takes a shot at Harvey. Harvey runs away and hides in a staff room; Carolyn takes one more shot at him but misses again. When she realises the door is locked, she turns around and points her gun at a group of customers, telling them that they aren’t going anywhere - they’re now her hostages.

"''Yes, Carolyn Bigsby had planned on it being an ordinary day. But as every housewife knows, plans change."

- Mary Alice Young

Act I
"Lynette Scavo had a dream last night. It was one she’d had many times before. She dreamt of the last time she saw me and of the last time we spoke. It was still hard for Lynette to accept that this unremarkable exchange had been our last. With it moments later, I would enter my house and put a bullet through my brain."

- Mary Alice Young

The Night Before

It's night time on Wisteria Lane. In the Scavo house, Tom and Lynette are both sleeping, and Lynette is having a dream that she's had many times before; she's dreaming of the last time she and Mary Alice spoke. Lynette is taking the groceries out of her car when she notices Mary Alice across the street, looking worried. She asks if Mary Alice is okay, to which Mary Alice replies “Yes, I’m fine”. Lynette knows Mary Alice is lying, but she notices something in her bag is leaking, so she just ignores it and says that she’ll see Mary Alice later. Lynette then walks to her house and sees Mary Alice walk into her house. Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot makes Lynette jump and wake up. She’s shaken and upset by the dream she just had.

Friday Morning

The next morning Lynette tells Gabrielle and Susan about the dream she had. She mentions that she hadn’t had it for months so she doesn’t understand why it came back. Susan suggests the fact that someone just bought Mary Alice’s old house may have triggered it. Lynette feels guilty that she saw Mary Alice in pain and just walked away, but Susan says there was nothing she could have done. Lynette grimaces and says that’s exactly what she did - nothing. Suddenly, a man walks out of 4352 Wisteria Lane unpacking boxes. Susan asks if he’s the new neighbor and Gabrielle says he’s cute. Lynette mentions he’s a bachelor that lives with his indolent sister. The three then go to welcome the man to the lane, but when Lynette asks if they think he knows that Mary Alice shot herself in his living room, they stop to allow him time to unpack.

At Bree’s house, Bree asks for Orson’s thoughts on something. Orson asks what and Bree says a police report from the night he beat his wife. Orson assures Bree that he did not beat his wife and he says she suffered the injuries in a fall. Bree asks how she fell and Orson says he pushed her in self-defense because she attacked him. Bree asks why she would attack him and he explains that he pointed out her mistake when she cleaned up some spilled wine. Orson then points out that the police dropped the charges. Orson asks who gave Bree the file and Bree tells him Carolyn did. Orson then says that if Carolyn spent this much attention to her own marriage Harvey wouldn’t have cheated on her. Bree is shocked to hear that Harvey cheated. Orson says that he could never strike a woman and asks Bree if she believes him. After slight reluctance, she accepts his explanation but she wishes that there were fewer things for Orson to explain. When Bree walks away she tells Orson that to remove a red wine stain you must sprinkle salt to absorb it, Orson says that what he told Alma when she “clocked” him.

At the Scavo house, Tom is watering plants and Lynette is moving a plant pot onto the porch. Suddenly, Nora pulls up outside the house, gets out of the car and calls for Tom. Lynette stops Nora, telling her she’s broken two rules, talking to Tom and stepping onto her property. Nora steps back and asks Tom, who’s standing right next to Lynette, to tell Lynette that she’s not talking to her. Lynette snaps at Nora but Tom tells Nora to just drop Kayla off. Nora explains Kayla won’t be visiting anymore as they’re moving. Nora then gives Tom the address to which he can send the child support. It's in Mexico. Nora explains a friend got her a job dancing in a Tijuana nightclub and that Tom can thank Lynette for getting rid of them. She says she finally got her way and goes back to her car. Nora tells Kayla, who’s sitting in the front seat, to wave goodbye to Tom. Tom asks if they can talk about it, but Nora says that they’re not allowed to talk. Lynette then says that Kayla is Tom’s daughter and she can’t just take her away, to which Nora replies, “watch me”. As the car drives away, Kayla gives her father a sad look.

In a divorce office, Gabrielle and Carlos both sit with their lawyers in front of a judge. The judge asks if either of the parties have anything to add before he rules on the division of assets and alimony. Gabrielle’s lawyer just hopes his decision will reflect the pain and suffering caused to his client. Carlos’s lawyer then asks if the definition of suffering encompasses the seduction of Carlos four days earlier. The judge, Gabby and Gabby’s lawyer are all shocked. Carlos’s lawyer points out that Gabby knew Carlos was coming into some money so she hoped to stall the divorce in order for her to get it. Gabrielle insists it’s a vicious lie. However, Carlos plays a recording of him and Gabrielle having sex. Gabrielle is shocked that Carlos recorded such a thing, but Carlos doesn’t care. The judge asks Gabrielle if she’d like to respond, which she does, however her response leads to her being restrained and taken out the room as she yells at Carlos. Carlos then reveals that she will get to keep the house; just not anything in it, Gabrielle continues to yell at him as she’s taken away.

At Susan’s house, Susan is cleaning out her kitchen when Julie approaches her, telling her they’re out of toothpaste and she asks if she wants her to go to the store to get some. However, Susan finds an empty beer can; she asks Julie what it is. Julie tells her that it’s Austin’s. Susan realizes he’s Edie’s nephew and she asks Julie how long they’ve been friends. Julie insists they’re not friends and she explains she was tutoring him and he brought beer, so she told him to get rid of it, which he did. Susan asks Julie if she had any, Julie gets offended and walks away. Susan can’t believe Julie’s timing as she’s leaving for France and Julie is inviting boys around. Julie snaps and tells her mother to go to her room and continue packing. Susan reminds Julie that she’s the mother in this relationship but Julie says that last time she checked she was the daughter that didn’t give Susan a reason to doubt her. She then tells her not to play the parent card with her as she’s the one who just finished packing her mother’s suitcase, doing her laundry and balancing her chequebook, and now she’s going to buy her some toothpaste. As Julie leaves, Susan says a simple “No I didn’t drink any beer” would’ve sufficed.

Meanwhile, Bree is walking down Wisteria Lane carrying a basket of flowers. Carolyn, who’s in a car, pulls up beside her and tells her she hasn’t returned any of her calls and that she had been worried. She then asks her if she’d told Orson she’s leaving him yet. Bree apologizes and says no as he has an explanation. Carolyn explains there’s never a good explanation for hitting a woman, Bree says she thought that too until she met Carolyn. Carolyn says she’s only trying to help as she’s living in a fool’s paradise. Bree says then they must be neighbours. Confused, Carolyn asks what she meant by that, Bree says it means she should stop worrying about her marriage and start worrying about her own. Bree then walks away, but shocked, Carolyn pulls the car onto the path, stopping Bree. She then gets out and says if Bree knows something, then she should say. Bree asks Carolyn if the name Monique means anything to her.

Act II
At Lynette’s house, Lynette walks into her kitchen and Tom, who is on a laptop in the living room, says that he found some really cheap tickets to Tijuana, but he questions if he should even be considering this. Lynette says it’s fine as long as he leaves his genitals at home. Tom yells and asks if he’s not allowed to see his daughter then, Lynette then says that this is exactly what Nora wants - Lynette getting blamed for Kayla leaving. Lynette then comes up with the idea to get custody of Kayla. Tom asks if Lynette would go for full custody and she says she would as Kayla would do much better without “crazy “ in her life, and Tom agrees but he didn’t think Lynette would want a fifth kid, Lynette says she doesn’t, but she didn’t want the first four but they’re starting to grow on her.

Later on, at Gabrielle’s house, Gabrielle walks in to find Carlos sat reading a newspaper. He jokes about what happened at the divorce office, but she isn’t in the mood to reciprocate. Carlos understands she must be upset about the settlement, but he asks her to understand as he bought most of the stuff in the house. Suddenly, there is a smash of glass from the other room... and then another... and another. Carlos walks into the kitchen to find Gabrielle smashing cups. She then throws an expensive jug and Carlos yells at her, but she just throws another at him. Gabrielle then explains how much she gave up for Carlos and she got nothing in return. Carlos then threatens that if Gabrielle breaks one more thing he’ll, but Gabby interrupts him asking what he’d do. He then walks away and Gabby is about to throw another jug when she hears a loud thud and bricks crumbling. She drops the jug and runs into the living room to find Carlos smashing the walls with a sledgehammer. She yells at him, saying he’s lost his mind but Carlos just says he’s helping her remodel the house and he continues to break the walls. Carlos says they can stop right now, or keep on “playing”, but Gabrielle just knocks a vase onto the floor and the two stare each other out.

At the supermarket, Julie is buying her mother’s toothpaste, Austin walks up to her and mocks her, but she mocks him back. She then tells him to go away as he nearly got her into trouble because of the beer can. Austin asks if he can make it up for her and he offers to carry her basket. Julie hands him the basket and when she starts looking through the aisles again, Austin slips a bottle of alcohol into her backpack.

At Carolyn’s home, Carolyn is sat drinking a glass of wine. She then picks up her house phone, dials a number and waits while it rings. At the supermarket, Harvey, who’s going through some paperwork with an employee, answers his mobile. Carolyn says it’s her quietly and Harvey says in the middle of something at the moment, but before he can finish, Carolyn says she knows about Monique. Harvey is shocked and he excuses himself from his employee and he walks to a quieter place. Meanwhile, Julie and Austin are going through the checkout. Harvey says he doesn’t know who Carolyn has been talking too but Carolyn just asks if he loved her. Harvey says she was just a friend and that she disappeared eight months ago and that she was found dead. Carolyn remembers that eight months ago Harvey went through a stage of depression and she realizes it was about Monique’s death. Harvey insists that it’s over and she’s dead. Carolyn asks if she weren’t dead who he’d be with, but Harvey just says that she’s dead. As Julie is paying for her items, she collects her wallet from her backpack, and as she does a bottle of alcohol drops out. Julie is shocked and Austin is annoyed. The cashier calls over to Harvey, who’s still on the phone to his wife to tell him about the shop lifting. Harvey tells Carolyn he has to go and then he hangs up on his wife, who is left sat at home in silence. As Harvey goes over to investigate the shop lifting, Carolyn walks over to a drawer and she retrieves a revolver from it.

At Lynette’s house, Lynette is about to drive off to the supermarket when Porter, Parker and Preston call over to her to show her their human pyramid. Lynette says she’ll look as soon as she gets back from the store and then she drives away. Meanwhile, Edie is having a run around the block when she gets a call on her mobile from Harvey Bigsby, she answers it and she acknowledges that she is Austin’s aunt. She is then shocked to hear that he shop lifted alcohol. She then heads to the supermarket to meet up. Also, as Edie leaves, Ian arrives at Susan’s house from his limousine. He goes into her house and then into Susan’s bedroom to find her still packing. He tells her they’re going to be late, but Susan says they can’t leave until Julie gets back with her toothpaste. Ian says they won’t need it as he packed a large tube of it and some dental floss. Susan then asks Ian to help her zip her bag up, but it is very full. Ian asks if she’d need everything in it, Susan says yes, if she wants it to be magical. Ian says he’d buy Susan new things so she immediately starts throwing everything out her bag to make room. As she does so, she gets a call on her mobile from Harvey Bigsby, she answers it and horrified to find out Julie was shop lifting.

A while later, Susan arrives at the supermarket and she heads towards the staff office. Meanwhile, Lynette is also at the supermarket talking to the new neighbour, Arthur. She says he’ll love the neighbourhood and asks if he’s all moved in. He says he is but he’s waiting for some medical occlude for his sister. Lynette says she heard his sister isn’t well and she asks what’s wrong with her. However, as Arthur starts to explain what is wrong with his sister, Lynette sees Nora come through the supermarkets doors, on the prowl. Lynette excuses herself and he she hurries away to avoid Nora.

In the office of the supermarket, Susan starts to lecture Julie saying that she said they weren’t friends, but now they’re shop lifting together. Julie says she wouldn’t steal. Susan says she knows, but then she points out that lately she’s been having boys over and drinking beer. Austin then jokingly says she’ll be listening to rock and roll, but Edie flicks him in the head. Harvey asks how they’re going to settle this but Susan asks for a moment as she has to go talk to someone who’s late for a plane. As she leaves, Susan says she’s disappointed in Julie.

As Susan leaves the supermarket she walks past Carolyn and she says hello to her, and Carolyn coldly says hi back. She then starts to look around for her husband, Harvey. The four then also leave the office and Edie says Austin will work for free for a month; Austin is shocked by this as it was only a ten dollar bottle of whisky, Edie says exactly, he wasn’t even smart enough to steal the good stuff. Harvey then walks into one of the aisles and Edie says they need to sort it out.

Meanwhile, Lynette is still swerving through the aisles to avoid Nora, but as she comes down the aisle Harvey is at, she runs out of luck and he trolley crashes into Nora. Nora says she knew it was her car she saw parked outside and then she calls Lynette a conniving bitch. Lynette cheerfully says she must have heard from her lawyer. Nora then says it’s not enough to drive Nora out of town, but she has to steal her kid too. As they talk, Carolyn walks past them and finds Harvey. As Carolyn confronts Harvey, Lynette starts to walk to another aisle and Nora follows her. Lynette says she has to admit that Kayla would be better off with her and Tom than in Mexico over a strip club. Nora says that Lynette does not want to screw with her. Lynette then says that Nora went after Tom, so if anyone should be afraid, it’s her. However, suddenly, a gunshot is fired. Lynette and Nora freeze. Carolyn chases after Harvey, who runs away, grabs a scared Edie and takes her into the office to protect her. All the other customers look around in shock as Carolyn runs at the door. When she shoots it, they all scream in fear. Julie runs to Austin in fear and Carolyn starts yelling at Harvey to open the door. However, when he doesn’t she turns around and takes the nearby customers hostage, including Austin and Julie.

Act III
Carolyn still has the customers held at gunpoint, she tells them not to move. Meanwhile, outside the supermarket, Susan is in the limousine with Ian, she’s just told him that she can’t go to France and he’s not happy. Susan apologizes and says that Julie picked a bad time to rebel and she can’t just ignore it. Ian says that Susan is overreacting but Susan just says that he has a lot of meetings anyway, so they could go another time. Ian then suggests that they take Julie with her, but Susan says that taking a girl to Paris after she shoplifted is irresponsible parenting. Susan then apologizes again to Ian and she gives him a kiss, as they kiss, people in the car park of the supermarket rush about in fear as the hostage situation continues.

Inside the supermarket, Lynette and Nora sneak around the aisles until they find a shop assistant hiding. They ask him what’s going on and he explains that Mrs. Bigsby has a gun. The three then watch from a distance as she points a gun at the people she has hostage. The shop assistant says they he can make it out the front doors, as he runs for the front doors Carolyn sees him and, in anger, shoots him in the shoulder. The doors then open and the man escapes, seriously injured. Nora and Lynette panic and quickly hide in the aisles quietly. Realising there are still people in the shop, Carolyn walks around and gathers them all up. She eventually finds an elderly woman and a middle aged woman hiding behind a shelf. She gets them to stand up and she herds them to the back of the store. She asks if she knows the middle aged woman, which she does because of her son, Carolyn realises who she is and then tells her not to do anything to make her son, Jordan, wake up without a mother in the morning. Once she’s gathered the hostages all together Carolyn apologizes for putting a “crimp” in their day and she asks them to help her keep the police out while she and Harvey have a “chat”. She then notices a security camera so she looks at it and calls for Harvey, knowing he can see her. She tells him he’s inconveniencing his customers so he should get out the office.

Meanwhile, in the office, Harvey is on the phone to the police. He tells them that she has hostages, and suddenly, Edie notices that Austin and Julie are amongst the hostages. She then orders Harvey to get out before someone is hurt, but Harvey knows she’ll shoot him. Edie reminds him that she has ten innocent people and sometimes “you’ve got to take one for the team”.

At another part of the store, Lynette and Nora are both huddled together. Lynette is on her phone waiting as it rings. At her house, Parker picks up the phone. Lynette quietly tells Parker that he needs to get Tom but he tells her that Porter is hogging all the Lego. Lynette, knowing she’s running out of time, tells him that she said to share. Parker says he already said that but Porter insisted he needed them for his robot. Lynette then says if he puts Tom on the phone she’d buy him a real robot. As he goes to find his father, a gun slides down the side of Lynette’s head and she and Nora freeze with fear as Carolyn kneels down to them. Carolyn says she’s having a bad day so “is a little cooperation too much to ask?” Nora shakes her head and Lynette hangs up the phone just as Tom gets to the other line.

Outside the store, Susan waves goodbye to Ian, who leaves in his limousine. When he’s gone, he sees a man hidden behind a car on the phone. Susan gets confused and looks around, seeing an ambulance pull up to the store. Two women run past her and she asks them what’s going on, they yell that there’s a crazy woman inside with a gun as they run away. Susan realizes that Julie is still in the store so she sprints to the doors to get in, ignoring warnings to stay away. When she reaches the doors, Carolyn is on the other side, locking them. Susan, unaware Carolyn is the crazy woman, asks Carolyn to open the doors as Julie is inside, but she says the store is shut. Susan says that there’s a crazy woman inside and Carolyn says she knows as she raises her hand, revealing the gun. She then walks back to her hostages, leaving Susan in horror.

Act IV
A while later, at Gabrielle’s house, Karen McCluskey rings her doorbell and Gabrielle answers. Gabrielle’s holding a baseball bat and panting from breaking objects in the house. Karen tells Gabrielle to turn on the TV, knowing she broke it, Gabrielle says it’s on the fritz. She then tells her to turn on the radio, but Gabrielle says she should’ve come ten minutes earlier. Karen then tells Gabby about Carolyn at the supermarket and says she has hostages. Gabby is shocked and then Karen announces that everyone is watching it at Bree’s house. However, as she’s talking Karen notices the destruction in Gabby’s house. The furniture and objects are smashed, the walls have holes in them, and glass is smashed. Karen asks if everything’s okay, but when a smash comes from the other room, Gabby blocks her view and says everything’s fine. However, Carlos then walks behind Gabrielle and he starts to rev a chainsaw. Gabrielle then excuses herself and then chases after Carlos; Karen watches through the window in the door.

Meanwhile, at Bree’s house lots of neighbours are gathered around watching the live news report on the hostage situation at the supermarket. Bree, as she’s handing out snacks, says if anyone prefers to watch the coverage on Channel 9, then they should go to the den. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. She goes to answer it and its Ida and another woman. Ida asks if Bree’s heard about the hostage situation and Bree says it’s just awful. She then offers them a devilled egg, they both take some and as they come into the house, Ida tells the other woman that she knew Bree would have food.

At the supermarket, all Carolyn’s hostages have now been collected. They’re all sat in silence, waiting in anticipation for something to happen, except for Austin, who is calm. Carolyn tells them they must think that this situation is her fault and that she’s the bad guy, but she explains that Harvey is. Someone then calls Carolyn, but she just hangs up on them, telling them they’re in the middle of something. Carolyn then explains that Harvey cheated on her with a stewardess named Monique; she then tells them that everyone will now know of the affair. Lynette and Art both look at each other in awe. Carolyn then stands in front of the security camera and tells him that everyone is laughing at him. Meanwhile inside the office, Harvey tells Edie he only told one person. Edie says it was clearly the wrong one. Suddenly, Carolyn’s phone rings again, she answers it and tells them to stop calling her, but then she realises that it is her friend, Tish. She then starts to talk to Tish about something she missed today. Julie asks Austin how he can be so calm and asks if he’s scared. He says he isn’t because he isn’t going to die today, and neither is Julie. Austin then sees how scared Julie is and he hugs her. As Carolyn starts to get frustrated with Tish, she tells her she’s in the middle of something and then she tells her to turn on her TV.

In the supermarket’s parking lot, Susan steps through the barricade blocking off an area. She then approaches a policeman and says she wants to switch places with one of the hostages. The police man mocks her saying “Oh, you mean our hostage exchange programme”. Susan tells him he doesn’t need to be mean as her daughter is being held hostage. The police officer then assures her that they’re doing everything they can to get her out safely before asking her to go back behind the barricade. As Susan heads back, she sees an unattended megaphone. She sneaks towards it and quietly takes it. She then hides behind a lorry near the shop and starts to speak. She gets Carolyn’s attention and tells her it’s Susan. As she talks to Carolyn, the police start to search for Susan to stop her. Susan then says she has a proposition; let Julie go and take her instead. Susan begs her to do so as she’d be a model hostage. However, Susan is found and then the megaphone is taken off her and she’s escorted out the restricted area.

Back at Bree’s house, most of the residents of Wisteria Lane are now start around watching the news report. Gabrielle, Carlos and Karen have now joined them. When the phone rings Bree asks Andrew to go and answer it. While he’s gone the female news reporter announces the name of the hostage taker has been revealed to be Carolyn Bigsby. Gabrielle is shocked as she realises Bree knows her. Bree, who is starting to feel very anxious, says she ran into her this morning. Orson then looks at Bree, realising she told her about the affair. Andrew suddenly returns from the phone and says it was Edie Britt, and she told him that she’s at the store being held hostage. He then reveals that she said Julie and Lynette are also down at the store, people start to panic. Suddenly, Tom bursts through the front door with his four children; he is unaware of the hostage situation. He asks Bree if she can look after them as he has a doctor’s appointment and Lynette is taking her time at the supermarket. He then notices that all of Wisteria Lane are in Bree’s living room, so he asks if she’s having a party.

Act V
A while later, everyone in Bree’s living room continues to watch the news report. The reporter says that the hostage situation has entered its third hour. She says that no further contact has been made with the hostage taker. While she speaks, Orson looks around the living room for Bree, but he can’t find her. He then walks into the kitchen, and Gabrielle watches him. Orson enters the kitchen and finds Bree quietly cutting a stale baguette. He asks her if she’s alright but she insists she’s fine and that she’s running out of food. Orson realises she’s feeling guilty, so he goes to comfort her, but she interrupts him, saying she’s going to make ....... Orson then says it is not her fault. Bree continues to move around her food and she says that she had to tell Carolyn, as she hurt her so she wanted to hurt her back. She then says if anything was to happen to Julie or Lynette, but she doesn’t finish her sentence. Orson asks if there’s anything he can do and Bree asks him to peel a clove of garlic.

At the supermarket, the police are trying to control worried civilians. Tom and Susan are both stood together outside the supermarket waiting with anticipation. Meanwhile, inside the store, all the hostages are still sat on the floor. Carolyn is waiting near the office holding her gun and eating cookies. She tells the hostages that she wanted kids badly, but Harvey already had 2 from his first wife. She says that he said it made her fat and that Harvey likes them lean. She then yells at Harvey telling her he’s breaking her diet as she hasn’t had a cookie in six years. Inside the office, Harvey is watching Carolyn from the security camera with astonishment. He’s on the phone to the police outside, telling them she’s losing it. The police man tells him to keep her calm, tell her he’s sorry and try to get her to release the kids and elderly. Harvey then picks up a store speaker system and he tells Carolyn that he’s really sorry and what he did was wrong and that he still loves her. Carolyn has none of it and tells him to cut the crap. She says she had her hair done this morning and he didn’t even notice. Harvey says he was distracted as she was shooting at him. Edie then tells him to tell her to let the kids go, but her voice is picked up by the speaker and Carolyn hears it. She’s horrified to know he’s with a woman. She asks if he has a woman in there, but Harvey says it’s a customer. Carolyn yells saying she’s one of his whores. Edie hears Carolyn and yells “Oh, fantastic” as she realises she's got it in for her now. Carolyn says she hopes Edie’s having a nice time in there as she has an extra bullet for her too. Edie then glares at Harvey evilly.

Back at Bree’s house, in her garden, Gabrielle is sat quietly to herself. Carlos walks up quietly behind her and says this situation is a nightmare. Gabrielle says that she understands Carolyn and that she could be her. Carlos tries to convince her otherwise, but she says she means it. She says because of the rage she had in the past six months and if she had a gun, but Carlos says she could never shoot him. Gabrielle starts to get upset, saying she doesn’t know what she’s capable of anymore and that she’s turning into a bitter, hateful person. She says she doesn’t like what she and him have become; Carlos says they should stop being those people. Gabrielle says “okay” and the two hug.

Back outside the store, Tom approaches Susan and says that the woman holding the hostages teaches Sunday school. Susan, not knowing how to react, says “Oh”. Tom says that a Sunday school teacher would never hurt a kid. Susan thanks Tom and he hugs her. Susan tells Tom she’s sure Lynette will be fine too; Tom says that he’s not worried about Lynette. Tom says there’s no need for the negotiator because with Lynette in there, she’ll get a woman wanting to shoot her husband renewing their vows. Susan says that Lynette is very persuasive. Tom says that he’ll give it an hour and they’ll all be back home eating their hamburgers. Tom says that Lynette was gonna go to the store tomorrow but they were out of hamburgers, and he wanted hamburgers. Susan puts her arm around Tom to comfort him, and even after their comforting words, their fear is still present.

Back inside the store, Nora looks over at Carolyn and sees she isn’t looking. She then turns to Lynette and says she hope it put a little perspective into their situation. Lynette shushes Nora, but Nora asks Lynette if she’s thinking about her kids and how awful it would be to never see them again, she then tells Lynette that that’s what she’s asking her to feel but for the rest of her life. Lynette shushes Nora again, but Carolyn hears them. Lynette apologizes and Carolyn tells Lynette that she and her friend are starting to bug her. Lynette says Nora isn’t her friend. Nora glares at Lynette and then tells Carolyn that Lynette’s trying to steal her kid. Lynette snaps and tells Nora to shut up. Carolyn, shocked, asks Lynette if this is true. Lynette says no, they’re sharing custody and that Nora tried to seduce her husband. Carolyn says “she put the moves on your husband, why didn’t you say so?” and then she aims the gun at Nora and shoots her in the chest. Nora falls back and Lynette and all the other hostages jump back with fear. Nora, in great pain, tries to move. In the office, Edie and Harvey watch in shock from the security cameras. Outside, a news reporter reveals that a shot has been fired in the building, Susan and Tom watch in fear as police close in. Inside, Lynette tries to look at the bullet wound, but Nora stops her because of the pain. Lynette then looks up at Carolyn in disgust, but Carolyn says “I believe the phrase you’re looking for is ‘thank you’”.

Act VI
Outside the store, the female news reporter is saying that a shot has been confirmed from inside the market and that police are taking this very seriously. Susan gets a sick feeling inside and she turns around, as she does she sees a limousine pull up. Ian Hainsworth gets out and rushes over to Susan to hug her. He tells her that it was on the television at the airport and that he came as soon as he could. Susan breaks down and says the last thing she said to Julie was that she disappointed her. At Bree’s house, the residents hear that police have confirmed that a hostage has been shocked. Ida, Karen, Danielle, Andrew, Bree, Orson, Carlos, Gabrielle and many others are all shocked and terrified. The reporter reveals that the hostage that was shot is female. Suddenly, Parker, Preston and Porter all come down Bree’s stairs and ask Bree when their mum is returning. Not knowing what to say, Bree says she’s sure she’ll be back soon and then she offers them some cookies. The kids say they’re not supposed too, but Bree says she’s sure she won’t mind.

In the store, Nora is laid on the floor with blood pouring from her wound. Art is pulling off rolls of kitchen roll and passing them to Lynette, who uses it to apply pressure to the bleeding. Lynette tries to stop herself from crying as she does so. Nora tells Lynette the good news is that she won’t need a lawyer now, but Lynette assures Nora that she’ll get through it just fine. Lynette begs Carolyn to let them take her to an ambulance, but Carolyn won’t allow it. Nora, realising she’s dying, tells Lynette to listen. She wants to talk about Kayla, but Lynette says they’ll talk about it later. Nora weakly says she doesn’t have later. She then orders Lynette to listen; Lynette says she’s listening. Nora says Kayla is the only good thing she’s ever done and that she wants Lynette to take really good care of her. Lynette doesn’t answer, she just sits crying. Nora hurries her up saying she doesn’t have all day, and then Lynette says she will. Knowing this slowly drops down until it hits the floor; she’s dead. Lynette cries and tries to get Nora to wake up, but she doesn’t. Everyone is silent when they realize she is dead.

However, Lynette, covered in Nora’s blood, looks at Carolyn with a vicious glare. Carolyn tells her not to look at her like that as she knows she wanted her dead. Disgusted, Lynette asks how she can say that. Carolyn explains because she told her about her and her husband, after she knows where Carolyn stands on whores. Lynette says that she didn’t want her to die and that she shouldn’t dare say she wanted her dead. Carolyn tells Lynette to shut up, but Lynette says she won’t. Carolyn reminds Lynette that Harvey cheated on her, but Lynette tells them that nobody cares. She explains that everyone in this room has pain but they deal with it, they swallow it and get going on with their lives, and what they don’t do is go around shooting strangers. Carolyn says Nora deserved it, so Lynette says that Carolyn maybe deserved to be cheated on. The second she says that, she regrets it. Carolyn looks at Lynette with hatred. Anticipating what will happen next, Art slowly reaches into a basket for a can to throw at Carolyn. Lynette starts to apologize, saying she shouldn’t have said that, Carolyn agrees and points the gun at Lynette. Just as she’s about to pull the trigger, Art throws the can at Carolyn, knocking her off her balance and making her only shoot Lynette in the arm. Carolyn drops the gun and falls over herself, just as Lynette falls into Art’s arms. When Austin sees Carolyn crawling back for the gun, he pounces on her and restrains her. The two struggle, and when Carolyn starts to get the upper hand, someone picks up the gun, points it at Carolyn’s head and pulls the trigger. Carolyn falls onto the floor motionlessly with blood pouring from her head. All the hostages then sit back and watch Carolyn’s dead body. They then look over to see the person who shot Carolyn was Jordan’s mother. A little while later, the news reporters, police and people standing by see some of the hostages walking out the store. The news crews rush over to the hostages as they come out one-by-one. Susan and Tom both look around to find their loved ones. The elderly woman comes out the store next and is greeted by her family, then Jordan’s mother walks out and is soon followed by Art. There is no sign of Julie or Lynette yet. However, suddenly, Julie walks through the doors. Susan sees her and rushes over to her and Julie sees her mother and she runs to her too. They then both hug. At Bree’s house, they see on the camera that Julie has been freed, they all cheer with excitement. But Bree waits until she sees Lynette is fine. Back at the store, Tom is still waiting for Lynette to exit, but she doesn’t. Edie and Austin then leave the store together, when Julie sees Austin she rushes over to him and hugs him, but Susan stands by and lets her. Finally, Lynette exits the store, but she’s on a stretcher. Tom rushes to her and the two hug. At Bree’s house, everyone sees Lynette has been injured, Bree closes her eyes sadly, and she blames herself.

Epilogue
"Lynette Scavo had a dream that night, it was one she'd had many times before. But, this night something changed..."

In the hospital Lynette has a final dream of Mary Alice; she sees Mary Alice with the note she just took out of the mail. Lynette asks Mary Alice if she is okay; Mary Alice says she’s fine but Lynette knows she is lying. Lynette puts down her shopping bag, walks over to Mary Alice and asks if she can save her. When Lynette asks if there is anything she can do, Mary Alice tells her she can’t, because “we can’t prevent what we can’t predict.” Mary Alice says she has to “enjoy this beautiful day, as we get so few of them.” Lynette nods and breathes in the fresh air, now feeling relieved knowing that Mary Alice doesn't blame her for her death. As she turns around, Mary Alice has disappeared.

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

- Mary Alice Young

Trivia

 * This is the first special disaster episode of the series.
 * Although credited, James Denton (Mike Delfino) does not appear in this episode.
 * Lynette Scavo is held at gunpoint again later on during this season (in "Into the Woods").
 * Mary Alice Young is seen in this episode, marking her only on-screen appearance in season 3. She was meant to appear in a scene with Gabrielle in "Not While I'm Around", but for reasons unknown that scene was never aired nor included as part of the DVD extras.
 * Due to time constraints, the opening credits were completely cut from the episode. It is said that they were completely cut also because that's a tradition for TV series when they air episodes that could be considered too violent and gory.
 * Felicity Huffman (Lynette Scavo) submitted this episode for consideration on her behalf in the category of "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series" at the 2007 Emmy Awards, and was nominated.
 * Matt Roth (Art Shephard) chose this episode for consideration in the category of "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series".
 * Brenda Strong (Mary Alice Young) also submitted this episode for consideration of her work in the category of "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" for the 2007 Emmy Awards.
 * This was the last episode to feature Carolyn Bigsby and the first with Art Shepard. Characters portrayers Laurie Metcalf and Matt Roth were married at the time of the filming of the episode.
 * The title of the episode, "Bang", is also the title of a song cut from Stephen Sondheim's musical A Little Night Music.

Quotes

 * Carolyn: (to the shoppers she is holding hostage) Attention, shoppers, we're having a special today on not getting shot, but it's only available at the back of the store.


 * Susan: Carolyn, open up, my daughter's inside!
 * Carolyn: Sorry, store's closed.
 * Susan: But there's a crazy woman in there!
 * Carolyn: Yeah, I know. (waves the gun in front of Susan)


 * Nora (while whispering to Lynette): I hope all this is giving you a little perspective on our situation.
 * Lynette: Shh! She told us not to talk.
 * Nora: You're thinking about your kids, right? How awful it'd be to never see them again. Well, that's what you're asking me to feel, but for the rest of my life!
 * Lynette: Nora, please!
 * Carolyn: Hey, what'd I say?
 * Lynette: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We'll... we'll be quiet.
 * Carolyn: You and your friend are really starting to bug me.
 * Lynette: She's not my friend.
 * Nora: She's trying to steal my kid.
 * Lynette: Nora, shut up!
 * Carolyn: Is that true?
 * Lynette: No! I, we're, we have, we're sharing custody and then she tried to seduce my husband, so...
 * Carolyn: She put the moves on your husband? Why didn't you say so? (turns the gun on Nora and shoots her coldly; the other customers gasp and shriek)


 * Lynette: (about Carolyn killing Nora) Everyone in here has pain, but we deal with it. We swallow it and get going with our lives, but what we don't do is go around shooting strangers!
 * Carolyn: She deserved it!
 * Lynette: Well, maybe you deserved to be cheated on!


 * (When Susan confronts Julie with a can of beer)
 * Julie: Oh, it was Austin's, okay? I was tutoring him, he brought beer, I told him to throw it out and he did, end of story.
 * Susan: Did you have any? (Julie doesn't answer and turns around) I cannot believe this.
 * Julie: That's it! Go to your room and finish packing. This conversation is over!
 * Susan: The last time I checked, I was the parent.
 * Julie: The last time I checked, I was the daughter who never gave you any reason to doubt her and don't play the parent card with me! I just finished packing your suitcase, doing your laundry and balancing your checkbook! And now I'm going to the store to buy your toothpaste.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.

Bloopers and continuity errors

 * In the supermarket shootout, Carolyn Bigsby was yielding a gun that could only carry five bullets, although six shots were fired from it during the episode.
 * When Susan is trying to make an announcement to Carolyn Bigsby via megaphone, she runs past numerous cars in the parking lot. It is clear that the same two cars are used multiple times. The same bronze and navy blue Nissan Altimas are shown three times each.
 * In addition to being used several times, the cars feature California license plates, despite the show being set in the fictitious Eagle State.



Peng 3x07 3.07 Bang! Sezonul 3/Episodul 07