Desperate Housewives - Season 1eps23 -

: After a season of marital strife, Bree receives a devastating phone call while cleaning silverware, informing her that Rex has died following heart complications.

: Susan is held hostage by Zach Young, who is armed with a gun and waiting for Mike Delfino to return so he can kill him.

: After Tom loses his promotion due to Lynette’s interference, he decides he wants to be a stay-at-home dad and tells a stunned Lynette that she must return to the corporate workforce. Key Cliffhangers Desperate Housewives - Season 1Eps23

The first season finale, which aired on May 22, 2005, serves as the dramatic culmination of the Mary Alice Young suicide mystery while radically shifting the lives of the four main protagonists.

: It is revealed that Mary Alice (then Angela Forrest) and Paul bought a baby from a drug-addicted woman named Deirdre Taylor in Utah. They renamed the baby Zach and fled to Fairview to start a new life. : After a season of marital strife, Bree

: The blackmail note ("I know what you did") from Martha Huber threatened to expose this secret, leading Mary Alice to take her own life to protect her family. Protagonist Status Reports

: When Deirdre returned years later to reclaim her son, Mary Alice accidentally killed her during a struggle. She and Paul dismembered the body and buried it in a toy chest beneath their pool. Key Cliffhangers The first season finale, which aired

Flashbacks provide the final pieces of the puzzle regarding Mary Alice and Paul Young: