Desperate Housewives/YMMV

Character Tropes

• Creator's Pet: Susan, Susan, Susan. Marc Cherry has made it clear that she's his favorite character.
• Cry for the Devil: Eddie Orlofsky in the entire "Epiphany" episode.
• Ensemble Darkhorse:
  • Orson Hodge, who went from being a one-off character, to a short-term villain, to one of the main characters on the show.
  • Edie Britt's role was increased when she proved popular with the fans.
• Harsher in Hindsight: A Season 5 episode deals with Juanita wearing make up to school in order to look more like her mother Gabby. On being asked why she did it, Juanita claims that a couple of girls at school told her she couldn't possibly be related to Gabby as she wasn't pretty enough. Two seasons later, and it's revealed that Juanita isn't related to Gabby or Carlos; she was accidentally switched at birth.
  • Mrs. McCluskey dying of cancer in the finale is even sadder now that Kathryn Joosten herself died of cancer shortly after the show ended.
• Hollywood Homely: Gabrielle supposedly loses her beauty after becoming a mom, but c'mon--this is Eva Longoria Parker we're talking about. Not even sweats can make her look bad. It gets even more ridiculous when other characters comment that she's out of shape.
• Magnificent Bastard:
  • Paul Young, as of Season 7.
  • Orson is definitively this in Season 8.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic:
  • Paul Young. Granted he killed the woman who drove his wife to suicide but it is difficult not to feel at least a little sorry for him given the estrangement of his son, his long stay in prison and the constant hostility and distrust of the people who were supposedly his friends and neighbors. In fact, read that back. His most unsympathetic trait is that he killed the woman who blackmailed his wife into shooting herself.
  • During Season 8, we discover that Karen is suffering from cancer, and that it was the reason she kicked Roy out, in order to protect him, since his wife died from cancer. The poor Cool Old Lady never was shown so vulnerable.
• What the Hell, Casting Agency?: Eva Longoria playing a former catwalk model. She is an extremely beautiful woman, yes, but she is also 5' 2".

Episode-Specific Tropes

• Angst? What Angst?: So the sweet Woobie everyone's known for years turns out to be the town serial killer, who holds Lynette hostage, delivers her baby, and turns himself in. Meanwhile, the new neighbor blows up a guy in a car right in front of your house and takes off. Yet the next day, all anyone cares to talk about is that Susan is moving ten blocks away. Just another week on Wisteria Lane...
• Fridge Brilliance: Season 6 finale: Why did Angie spill one of her precious seconds by throwing the car door shut? To keep Patrick in the car.
• Nightmare Fuel: The riot against the ex-convicts home which Paul Young set up. Including having Susan trampled, Lee and Bob trapped in a car which is being beat up, Juanita, a child screaming in terror whilst in the car, and the good old fashioned claustrophobia of being pushed along by masses of people. For parents, there is also Juanita being lost in the mob. This was surprisingly scary stuff for a normally comedy and drama driven show.
• Wangst: The first half of Season 8. Oh so much. Especially considering how they handled everything else they've been through for the past seven seasons.

Show-Wide Tropes

• Fan-Preferred Couple: Mike and Susan to the point where in the opening of Season 6, the writers changed the story so that Mike marries Susan solely because of fan backlash.
• Romantic Plot Tumor: Mike and Susan in the fifth season.
• Seasonal Rot: Some fans have noted a decline in quality in Season Five.
• Testosterone Brigade: Just read the first sentence on the main page. At the height of its popularity, ABC even ran an ad with a guy admitting he watched it... and (unconvincingly) claiming that it was for the story. Riiiiiight.