document_title: 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens

question_text: where did the top of mt st helens land

question_tokens: where did the top of mt st helens land

root

text: 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens

text: Build-up to the eruption[edit]

text: Mount St. Helens remained dormant from its last period of activity in the 1840s and 1850s until March 1980.[7] Several small earthquakes, apparently beginning on March 15, indicated that magma may have begun moving below the volcano.[8] On March 20, at 3:45 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (all times will be in PST or PDT), a shallow magnitude 4.2 earthquake (the initial reading was 4.1), centered below the volcano's north flank,[8] signaled the volcano's violent return from 123 years of hibernation.[9] A gradually building earthquake swarm saturated area seismographs and started to climax at about noon on March 25, reaching peak levels in the next two days, including an earthquake registering 5.1 on the Richter scale.[10] A total of 174 shocks of magnitude 2.6 or greater were recorded during those two days.[11]

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text: Shocks of magnitude 3.2 or greater occurred at a slightly increasing rate during April and May with five earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above per day in early April, and eight per day the week before May 18.[9] Initially there was no direct sign of eruption, but small earthquake-induced avalanches of snow and ice were reported from aerial observations.

text: At 12:36 p.m. on March 27, phreatic eruptions (explosions of steam caused by magma suddenly heating groundwater) ejected and smashed rock from within the old summit crater, excavating a new crater 250 feet (75 m) wide[9] and sending an ash column about 7,000 feet (2.1 km) into the air.[11] By this date a 16,000-foot-long (3.0 mi; 4.9 km) eastward-trending fracture system had also developed across the summit area.[12] This was followed by more earthquake swarms and a series of steam explosions that sent ash 10,000 to 11,000 feet (3,000 to 3,400 m) above their vent.[9] Most of this ash fell between 3 and 12 miles (5 and 19 km) from its vent, but some was carried 150 miles (240 km) south to Bend, Oregon, or 285 miles (460 km) east to Spokane, Washington.[13]

text: A second, new crater and a blue flame were observed on March 29.[13][14] The flame was visibly emitted from both craters and was probably created by burning gases. Static electricity generated from ash clouds rolling down the volcano sent out lightning bolts that were up to 2 miles (3 km) long.[13] Ninety-three separate outbursts were reported on March 30,[13] and increasingly strong harmonic tremors were first detected on April 1, alarming geologists and prompting Governor Dixy Lee Ray to declare a state of emergency on April 3.[14] Governor Ray issued an executive order on April 30 creating a "red zone" around the volcano; anyone caught in this zone without a pass faced a $500 fine or six months in jail.[15][16] This precluded many cabin owners from visiting their property.[17]

text: By April 7, the combined crater was 1,700 by 1,200 feet (520 by 370 m) and 500 feet (150 m) deep.[18] A USGS team determined in the last week of April that a 1.5-mile-diameter (2.4 km) section of St. Helens' north face was displaced outward by at least 270 feet (82 m).[12] For the rest of April and early May this bulge grew by 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) per day, and by mid-May it extended more than 400 feet (120 m) north.[12] As the bulge moved northward, the summit area behind it progressively sank, forming a complex, down-dropped block called a graben. Geologists announced on April 30 that sliding of the bulge area was the greatest immediate danger and that such a landslide might spark an eruption.[16][19] These changes in the volcano's shape were related to the overall deformation that increased the volume of the volcano by 0.03 cubic miles (0.13 km3) by mid-May.[20] This volume increase presumably corresponded to the volume of magma that pushed into the volcano and deformed its surface. Because the intruded magma remained below ground and was not directly visible, it was called a cryptodome, in contrast to a true lava dome exposed at the surface.

text: On May 7, eruptions similar to those in March and April resumed, and over the next days the bulge approached its maximum size.[21] All activity had been confined to the 350-year-old summit dome and did not involve any new magma. A total of about 10,000 earthquakes were recorded prior to the May 18 event, with most concentrated in a small zone less than 1.6 miles (2.6 km) directly below the bulge.[20] Visible eruptions ceased on May 16, reducing public interest and consequently the number of spectators in the area.[22] Mounting public pressure then forced officials to allow 50 carloads of property owners to enter the danger zone on Saturday, May 17, to gather whatever property they could carry.[22][23] Another trip was scheduled for 10 a.m. the next day,[22][23] and because that was Sunday, more than 300 loggers were not working in the area. By the time of the climactic eruption, dacite magma intruding into the volcano had forced the north flank outward nearly 500 feet (150 m) and heated the volcano's groundwater system, causing many steam-driven explosions (phreatic eruptions).

text: Landslide and eruption[edit]

text: As May 18 dawned, Mount St. Helens' activity did not show any change from the pattern of the preceding month. The rate of bulge movement, sulfur dioxide emission, and ground temperature readings did not reveal any changes indicating a catastrophic eruption. USGS volcanologist David A. Johnston was on duty at an observation post approximately 6 miles (10 km) north of the volcano: as of 6 a.m., Johnston's measurements did not indicate any unusual activity.[6]

text:
Sound of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, as heard from 140 miles away

Amateur recording of a series of booms produced by the eruption, as heard from the town of Newport, Oregon (audio filtered and amplified).

Problems playing this file? See media help.

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text: Suddenly, at 8:32 a.m., a magnitude 5.1 earthquake centered directly below the north slope triggered that part of the volcano to slide,[24] approximately 7–20 seconds (about 10 seconds seems most reasonable) after the shock.[6] The landslide, the largest in recorded history, travelled at 110 to 155 miles per hour (177 to 249 km/h) and moved across Spirit Lake's west arm. Part of it hit a 1,150-foot-high (350 m) ridge about 6 miles (10 km) north.[6] Some of the slide spilled over the ridge, but most of it moved 13 miles (21 km) down the North Fork Toutle River, filling its valley up to 600 feet (180 m) deep with avalanche debris.[24] An area of about 24 square miles (62 km2) was covered, and the total volume of the deposit was about 0.7 cubic miles (2.9 km3).[6]

text: Scientists were able to reconstruct the motion of the landslide from a series of rapid photographs by Gary Rosenquist, who was camping 11 miles (18 km) away from the blast.[6] Rosenquist, his party and his photographs survived because the blast was deflected by local topography 1 mile (1.6 km) short of his location.[25]

text: Most of St. Helens' former north side became a rubble deposit 17 miles (27 km) long, averaging 150 feet (46 m) thick; the slide was thickest at 1 mile (1.6 km) below Spirit Lake and thinnest at its western margin.[6] The landslide temporarily displaced the waters of Spirit lake to the ridge north of the lake, in a giant wave approximately 600 feet (180 m) high.[26] This in turn created a 295 feet (90 m) avalanche of debris consisting of the returning waters and thousands of uprooted trees and stumps, some of which remained intact with roots but most of which had been sheared off at the stump seconds earlier by the blast of super-heated volcanic gas and ash that had immediately followed and overtook the initial landslide. The debris transported as the water returned to its basin raised the surface level of Spirit Lake by about 200 feet.[6] More than three decades after the eruption, floating log mats persist on Spirit Lake and nearby St. Helens Lake, changing position with the wind. The rest of the trees, especially those that were not completely detached from their roots, turned upright by their own weight and became waterlogged, sinking into the muddy sediments at the bottom where they have become petrified in the anaerobic and mineral-rich waters. This provides insight into other sites with a similar fossil record.[27]

text: Pyroclastic flows[edit]

text: Initial lateral blast[edit]

text: The landslide exposed the dacite magma in St. Helens' neck to much lower pressure, causing the gas-charged, partially molten rock and high-pressure steam above it to explode a few seconds after the landslide started. Explosions burst through the trailing part of the landslide, blasting rock debris northward. The resulting blast laterally directed the pyroclastic flow of very hot volcanic gases, ash and pumice formed from new lava, while the pulverized old rock hugged the ground, initially moving at 220 miles per hour (350 km/h) but quickly accelerating to 670 mph (1,080 km/h), and it might have briefly passed the speed of sound.[6][24]

text: Pyroclastic flow material passed over the moving avalanche and spread outward, devastating a fan-shaped area 23 miles across by 19 miles long (37 km × 31 km).[24] In total about 230 square miles (600 km2) of forest was knocked down,[24] and extreme heat killed trees miles beyond the blow-down zone. At its vent the lateral blast probably did not last longer than about 30 seconds, but the northward-radiating and expanding blast cloud continued for about another minute.

text: Superheated flow material flashed water in Spirit Lake and North Fork Toutle River to steam, creating a larger, secondary explosion that was heard as far away as British Columbia,[28] Montana, Idaho, and Northern California. Yet many areas closer to the eruption (Portland, Oregon, for example) did not hear the blast. This so-called "quiet zone" extended radially a few tens of miles from the volcano and was created by the complex response of the eruption's sound waves to differences in temperature and air motion of the atmospheric layers and, to a lesser extent, local topography.[6]

text: Later studies indicated that one-third of the 0.045 cubic miles (0.19 km3) of material in the flow was new lava, and the rest was fragmented, older rock.[28]

text: Lateral blast result[edit]

text: The huge ensuing ash cloud sent skyward from St. Helens' northern foot was visible throughout the quiet zone. The near-supersonic lateral blast, loaded with volcanic debris, caused devastation as far as 19 miles (31 km) from the volcano. The area affected by the blast can be subdivided into three roughly concentric zones:[6]

text:
Direct blast zone, the innermost zone, averaged about 8 miles (13 km) in radius, an area in which virtually everything, natural or artificial, was obliterated or carried away.[6] For this reason, this zone also has been called the "tree-removal zone". The flow of the material carried by the blast was not deflected by topographic features in this zone. The blast released energy equal to 24 Megatons of TNT.
Channelized blast zone, an intermediate zone, extended out to distances as far as 19 miles (31 km) from the volcano, an area in which the flow flattened everything in its path and was channeled to some extent by topography.[6] In this zone, the force and direction of the blast are strikingly demonstrated by the parallel alignment of toppled large trees, broken off at the base of the trunk as if they were blades of grass mown by a scythe. This zone was also known as the "tree-down zone". Channeling and deflection of the blast caused strikingly varied local effects that still remained conspicuous after some decades. Where the blast struck open land directly, it scoured it, breaking trees off short and stripping vegetation and even topsoil, thereby delaying revegetation for many years. Where the blast was deflected so as to pass overhead by several metres, it left the topsoil and the seeds it contained, permitting faster revegetation with scrub and herbaceous plants, and later with saplings. Trees in the path of such higher-level blasts were broken off wholesale at various heights, whereas nearby stands in more sheltered positions recovered comparatively rapidly without conspicuous long-term harm.
Seared zone, also called the "standing dead" zone, the outermost fringe of the impacted area, a zone in which trees remained standing but were singed brown by the hot gases of the blast.[6]

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text: By the time this pyroclastic flow hit its first human victims, it was still as hot as 360 °C (680 °F) and filled with suffocating gas and flying debris.[28] Most of the 57 people known to have died in that day's eruption succumbed to asphyxiation while several died from burns.[6] Lodge owner Harry R. Truman was buried under hundreds of feet of avalanche material. Volcanologist David A. Johnston was one of those killed, as was Reid Blackburn, a National Geographic photographer. Robert Landsburg, another photographer, was killed by the ash cloud. He was able to protect his film with his body, and the surviving photos provided geologists with valuable documentation of the historic eruption.[29]

text: Later flows[edit]

text: Subsequent outpourings of pyroclastic material from the breach left by the landslide consisted mainly of new magmatic debris rather than fragments of preexisting volcanic rocks. The resulting deposits formed a fan-like pattern of overlapping sheets, tongues and lobes. At least 17 separate pyroclastic flows occurred during the May 18 eruption, and their aggregate volume was about 0.05 cubic miles (210,000,000 m3).[6]

text: The flow deposits were still at about 300 to 420 °C (572 to 788 °F) two weeks after they erupted.[6] Secondary steam-blast eruptions fed by this heat created pits on the northern margin of the pyroclastic-flow deposits, at the south shore of Spirit Lake, and along the upper part of the North Fork Toutle River. These steam-blast explosions continued sporadically for weeks or months after the emplacement of pyroclastic flows, and at least one occurred a year later, on May 16, 1981.[6]

text: Ash column[edit]

text: As the avalanche and initial pyroclastic flow were still advancing, a huge ash column grew to a height of 12 miles (19 km) above the expanding crater in less than 10 minutes and spread tephra into the stratosphere for 10 straight hours.[28] Near the volcano, the swirling ash particles in the atmosphere generated lightning, which in turn started many forest fires. During this time, parts of the mushroom-shaped ash-cloud column collapsed, and fell back upon the earth. This fallout, mixed with magma, mud and steam, sent additional pyroclastic flows speeding down St. Helens' flanks. Later, slower flows came directly from the new north-facing crater and consisted of glowing pumice bombs and very hot pumiceous ash. Some of these hot flows covered ice or water which flashed to steam, creating craters up to 65 feet (20 m) in diameter and sending ash as much as 6,500 feet (2,000 m) into the air.[30]

text: Strong high-altitude wind carried much of this material east-northeasterly from the volcano at an average speed of about 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). By 9:45 a.m. it had reached Yakima, Washington, 90 miles (140 km) away, and by 11:45 a.m. it was over Spokane, Washington.[6] A total of 4 to 5 inches (100 to 130 mm) of ash fell on Yakima, and areas as far east as Spokane were plunged into darkness by noon where visibility was reduced to 10 feet (3.0 m) and 0.5 inches (13 mm) of ash fell.[28] Continuing eastward, St. Helens' ash fell in the western part of Yellowstone National Park by 10:15 p.m. and was seen on the ground in Denver, Colorado, the next day.[28] In time, ash fall from this eruption was reported as far away as Minnesota and Oklahoma, and some of the ash drifted around the globe within about 2 weeks.

text: During the nine hours of vigorous eruptive activity, about 540,000,000 tons of ash fell over an area of more than 22,000 square miles (57,000 km2).[6] The total volume of the ash before its compaction by rainfall was about 0.3 cubic miles (1.3 km3).[6] The volume of the uncompacted ash is equivalent to about 0.05 cubic miles (210,000,000 m3) of solid rock, or about 7% of the amount of material that slid off in the debris avalanche.[6] By around 5:30 p.m. on May 18, the vertical ash column declined in stature, but less severe outbursts continued through the next several days.[31]

text: Ash properties[edit]

text: Generally, given that the way airborne ash is deposited after an eruption is strongly influenced by the meteorological conditions, a certain variation of the ash type will occur, as a function of distance to the volcano or time elapsed from eruption. The ash from Mount St. Helens is no exception, and hence the ash properties have large variations.[32]

text: Chemical composition[edit]

text: The bulk chemical composition of the ash has been found to be approximately 65% silicon dioxide, 18% aluminium oxide, 5% ferric oxide, 4% each calcium oxide and sodium oxide and 2% magnesium oxide. Trace chemicals were also detected, their concentrations varying as shown: 0.05–0.09% chlorine, 0.02–0.03% fluorine, and 0.09–0.3% sulfur.[32]

text: Index of refraction[edit]

text: The index of refraction, a number used in physics to describe how light propagates through a particular substance, is an important property of volcanic ash. This number is complex having both real and imaginary parts, the real part indicating how light disperses and the imaginary part indicating how light is absorbed by the substance.

text: It is known that the silicate particles have a real index of refraction ranging between 1.5 and 1.6 for visible light. However, there is a spectrum of colors associated with samples of volcanic ash, from very light to dark gray. This makes for variations in the measured imaginary refractive index under visible light.[33]

text: In the case of Mount St. Helens, the ash settled in three main layers on the ground:[32]

text:
the bottom layer was dark gray and was found to be abundant in older rocks and crystal fragments
the middle layer consisted of a mixture of glass shards and pumice
the top layer was ash consisting of very fine particles

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text: For example, when comparing the imaginary part of the refractive index k of stratospheric ash from 15 km and 18 km from the volcano it has been discovered that they have similar values around 700 nm (around 0.009), while they differ significantly around 300 nm. Here, the 18 km (k was found to be around 0.009) sample was much more absorbent than the 15 km sample (k was found to be around 0.002).[33]

text: Mudslides flow downstream[edit]

text: The hot, exploding material also broke apart and melted nearly all of the mountain's glaciers along with most of the overlying snow. As in many previous St. Helens' eruptions, this created huge lahars (volcanic mudflows) and muddy floods that affected three of the four stream drainage systems on the mountain,[30] and which started to move as early as 8:50 a.m.[26] Lahars travelled as fast as 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) while still high on the volcano but progressively slowed to about 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h) on the flatter and wider parts of rivers.[6] Mudflows from the southern and eastern flanks had the consistency of wet concrete as they raced down Muddy River, Pine Creek and Smith Creek to their confluence at the Lewis River. Bridges were taken out at the mouth of Pine Creek and the head of Swift Reservoir, which rose 2.6 feet (0.79 m)[30] by noon to accommodate the nearly 18,000,000 cubic yards (14,000,000 m3) of additional water, mud and debris.[6]

text: Glacier and snow melt mixed with tephra on the volcano's northeast slope to create much larger lahars. These mudflows traveled down the north and south forks of the Toutle River and joined at the confluence of the Toutle forks and the Cowlitz River near Castle Rock, Washington, at 1:00 p.m. Ninety minutes after the eruption, the first mudflow had moved 27 miles (43 km) upstream where observers at Weyerhaeuser's Camp Baker saw a 12-foot-high (4 m) wall of muddy water and debris pass.[26] Near the confluence of the Toutle's north and south forks at Silver Lake, a record flood stage of 23.5 feet (7.2 m) was recorded.[26]

text: A large but slower-moving mudflow with a mortar-like consistency was mobilized in early afternoon at the head of the Toutle River north fork. By 2:30 p.m. the massive mudflow had destroyed Camp Baker,[26] and in the following hours seven bridges were carried away. Part of the flow backed up for 2.5 miles (4.0 km) soon after entering the Cowlitz River, but most continued downstream. After traveling 17 miles (27 km) further, an estimated 3,900,000 cubic yards (3,000,000 m3) of material were injected into the Columbia River, reducing the river's depth by 25 feet (8 m) for a 4-mile (6 km) stretch.[26] The resulting 13-foot (4.0 m) river depth temporarily closed the busy channel to ocean-going freighters, costing Portland, Oregon an estimated five million US dollars.[31] Ultimately more than 65 million cubic yards (50 million cubic metres) of sediment were dumped along the lower Cowlitz and Columbia Rivers.[6]

text: Aftermath[edit]

text: Direct results[edit]

text: The May 18, 1980, event was the most deadly and economically destructive volcanic eruption in the history of the contiguous United States.[6] Approximately fifty-seven people were killed directly from the blast and 200 houses, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed; two people were killed indirectly in accidents that resulted from poor visibility, and two more suffered fatal heart attacks from shoveling ash.[34] U.S. President Jimmy Carter surveyed the damage and said it looked more desolate than a moonscape.[35][36] A film crew was dropped by helicopter on Mount St. Helens on May 23 to document the destruction. However, their compasses spun in circles and they quickly became lost.[37] A second eruption occurred the next day (see below), but the crew survived and were rescued two days after that. The eruption ejected more than 1 cubic mile (4.2 km3) of material.[38] A quarter of that volume was fresh lava in the form of ash, pumice and volcanic bombs while the rest was fragmented, older rock.[38] The removal of the north side of the mountain (13% of the cone's volume) reduced Mount St. Helens' height by about 1,280 feet (390 m) and left a crater 1 to 2 miles (2 to 3 km) wide and 2,100 feet (640 m) deep with its north end open in a huge breach.[38]

text: More than 4,000,000,000 board feet (9,400,000 m3) of timber was damaged or destroyed, mainly by the lateral blast.[6] At least 25% of the destroyed timber was salvaged after September 1980. Downwind of the volcano, in areas of thick ash accumulation, many agricultural crops, such as wheat, apples, potatoes and alfalfa, were destroyed. As many as 1,500 elk and 5,000 deer were killed, and an estimated 12 million[6] Chinook and Coho salmon fingerlings died when their hatcheries were destroyed. Another estimated 40,000 young salmon were lost when they swam through turbine blades of hydroelectric generators after reservoir levels were lowered along the Lewis River to accommodate possible mudflows and flood waters.[6]

text: In total Mount St. Helens released 24 megatons of thermal energy, 7 of which were a direct result of the blast. This is equivalent to 1,600 times the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.[39]

text: Disputed death toll[edit]

text: There is a minor controversy in regard to the exact death toll. The figure most commonly cited is fifty-seven. However, there are two points of dispute.

text: The first point regards two officially listed victims, Paul Hiatt and Dale Thayer. They were reported missing after the explosion. In the aftermath, investigators were able to locate individuals named Paul Hiatt and Dale Thayer who were alive and well. However, they were unable to determine who reported Hiatt missing, and the person who was listed as reporting Thayer missing claimed she wasn't the one who had done so. Since the investigators could not thus verify that they were the same Hiatt and Thayer who were reported missing, the names remain listed among the presumed dead.[40][41]

text: The second point regards three missing people who are not officially listed as victims: Robert Ruffle, Steven Whitsett and Mark Melanson. Cowlitz County Emergency Services Management lists them as "Possibly Missing — Not on [the official] List". According to Melanson's brother, in October 1983, Cowlitz County officials told his family that Melanson "is believed [...] a victim of the May 18, 1980, eruption" and that after years of searching, the family eventually decided "he's buried in the ash".[41]

text: Taking these two points of dispute into consideration, the direct death toll could be as low as fifty-five or as high as sixty. When combined with the four indirect victims mentioned earlier, those numbers range from fifty-nine to sixty-four.

text: Ash damage and removal[edit]

text: The ash fall created some temporary major problems with transportation, sewage disposal, and water treatment systems. Visibility was greatly decreased during the ash fall, closing many highways and roads. Interstate 90 from Seattle to Spokane was closed for a week and a half.[6] Air travel was disrupted for between a few days and two weeks, as several airports in eastern Washington shut down because of ash accumulation and poor visibility. Over a thousand commercial flights were cancelled following airport closures.[6] Fine-grained, gritty ash caused substantial problems for internal-combustion engines and other mechanical and electrical equipment. The ash contaminated oil systems and clogged air filters, and scratched moving surfaces. Fine ash caused short circuits in electrical transformers, which in turn caused power blackouts.

text: Removing and disposing of the ash was a monumental task for some Eastern Washington communities. State and federal agencies estimated that over 2,400,000 cubic yards (1,800,000 m3) of ash, equivalent to about 900,000 tons in weight, were removed from highways and airports in Washington.[6] The ash removal cost $2.2 million and took 10 weeks in Yakima.[6] The need to remove ash quickly from transport routes and civil works dictated the selection of some disposal sites. Some cities used old quarries and existing sanitary landfills; others created dump sites wherever expedient. To minimize wind reworking of ash dumps, the surfaces of some disposal sites were covered with topsoil and seeded with grass. In Portland, the mayor eventually threatened businesses with fines if they failed to remove the ash from their parking lots.[42]

text: Cost[edit]

text: A refined estimate of $1.1 billion ($2.74 billion in 2007 dollars[43]) was determined in a study by the International Trade Commission at the request of the United States Congress.[6] A supplemental appropriation of $951 million for disaster relief was voted by Congress, of which the largest share went to the Small Business Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.[6]

text: There were also indirect and intangible costs of the eruption. Unemployment in the immediate region of Mount St. Helens rose tenfold in the weeks immediately following the eruption, and then returned to near-normal levels once timber-salvaging and ash-cleanup operations were underway. Only a small percentage of residents left the region because of lost jobs owing to the eruption.[6] Several months after May 18, a few residents reported suffering stress and emotional problems, even though they had coped successfully during the crisis. Counties in the region requested funding for mental health programs to assist such people.[6]

text: Initial public reaction to the May 18 eruption dealt a nearly crippling blow to tourism, an important industry in Washington. Not only was tourism down in the Mount St. Helens–Gifford Pinchot National Forest area, but conventions, meetings and social gatherings also were cancelled or postponed at cities and resorts elsewhere in Washington and neighboring Oregon not affected by the eruption. The adverse effect on tourism and conventioneering, however, proved only temporary. Mount St. Helens, perhaps because of its reawakening, has regained its appeal for tourists. The United States Forest Service and the State of Washington opened visitor centers and provided access for people to view the volcano's devastation.[6]

text: Later eruptions[edit]

text: St. Helens produced an additional five explosive eruptions between May and October 1980. Through early 1990 at least 21 periods of eruptive activity had occurred. The volcano remains active, with smaller, dome-building eruptions continuing into 2008.

text: An eruption occurred on May 25, 1980, at 2:30 a.m. that sent an ash column 9 miles (14 km) into the atmosphere.[38] The eruption was preceded by a sudden increase in earthquake activity and occurred during a rainstorm. Erratic wind from the storm carried ash from the eruption to the south and west, lightly dusting large parts of western Washington and Oregon. Pyroclastic flows exited the northern breach and covered avalanche debris, lahars and other pyroclastic flows deposited by the May 18 eruption.[38]

text: At 7:05 p.m. on June 12, a plume of ash billowed 2.5 miles (4.0 km) above the volcano. At 9:09 p.m. a much stronger explosion sent an ash column about 10 miles (16 km) skyward.[44] This event caused the Portland area, previously spared by wind direction, to be thinly coated with ash in the middle of the annual Rose Festival.[45] A dacite dome then oozed into existence on the crater floor, growing to a height of 200 feet (61 m) and a width of 1,200 feet (370 m) within a week.[44]

text: A series of large explosions on July 22 broke more than a month of relative quiet. The July eruptive episode was preceded by several days of measurable expansion of the summit area, heightened earthquake activity, and changed emission rates of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. The first hit at 5:14 p.m. as an ash column shot 10 miles (16 km) and was followed by a faster blast at 6:25 p.m. that pushed the ash column above its previous maximum height in just 7.5 minutes.[44] The final explosion started at 7:01 p.m. and continued for over two hours.[44] When the relatively small amount of ash settled over eastern Washington, the dome built in June was gone.[46]

text: Seismic activity and gas emission steadily increased in early August, and on August 7 at 4:26 p.m., an ash cloud slowly expanded 8 miles (13 km) into the sky.[46] Small pyroclastic flows came through the northern breach and a weaker outpouring of ash rose from the crater. This continued until 10:32 p.m. when a second large blast sent ash high into the air, proceeding due north.[46] A second dacite dome filled this vent a few days later.

text: Two months of repose were ended by an eruption lasting from October 16 to 18. This event obliterated the second dome, sent ash 10 miles (16 km) in the air and created small, red-hot pyroclastic flows.[46] A third dome began to form within 30 minutes after the final explosion on October 18, and within a few days, it was about 900 feet (270 m) wide and 130 feet (40 m) high. In spite of the dome growth next to it, a new glacier formed rapidly inside the crater.

text: All of the post-1980 eruptions were quiet dome-building events, beginning with the December 27, 1980, to January 3, 1981, episode. By 1987 the third dome had grown to be more than 3,000 feet (910 m) wide and 800 feet (240 m) high.[46]

text: Further eruptions occurred over a few months between 1989 and 1991.

text: The 2004–08 volcanic activity of Mount St. Helens has been documented as a continuous eruption with a gradual extrusion of magma at the Mount St. Helens volcano. Starting in October 2004, there was a gradual building of a new lava dome. The new dome did not rise above the caldera created by the 1980 eruption. This activity lasted until January 2008.

text: Summary table[edit]

text:
Eruption summary
May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens

Elevation of summit:
Before eruption: 9,677 ft (2,950 m)
After eruption: 8,363 ft (2,549 m)
Total removed: 1,314 ft (401 m)

Crater dimensions:
East-West: 1.2 mi (1.9 km)
North-South: 1.8 mi (2.9 km)
Depth: 2,084 ft (635 m)

Crater floor elevation:
6,279 ft (1,914 m)

Eruption
Date:
May 18, 1980

Time of initial blast:
8:32 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−7)

Eruption trigger:
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake about 1 mi (1.6 km) beneath the volcano

Landslide and
debris avalanche
Area covered:
23 sq mi (60 km2)

Volume:
(uncompacted deposits)
0.67 cu mi (2.8 km3)

Depth of deposit:
Buried North Fork Toutle River to average depth of 150 ft (46 m) with a maximum depth of 600 ft (183 m)

Velocity:
70 to 150 mph (113 to 241 km/h)

Lateral blast
Area covered:
230 sq mi (596 km2); reached 17 mi (27 km) northwest of the crater

Volume of deposit:
(uncompacted deposits)
0.046 cu mi (0.19 km3)

Depth of deposit:
From about 3 ft (1 m) at volcano to less than 1 in (2.5 cm) at blast edge

Velocity:
At least 300 mph (483 km/h)

Temperature:
As high as 660 °F (349 °C)

Energy release:
24 megatons thermal energy (7 by blast, rest through release of heat)

Trees blown down:
4,000,000,000 board feet (9,400,000 m3) of timber (enough to build about 300,000 two-bedroom homes)

Human fatalities:
55-60 (direct); 4 (indirect); 59-64 (total)

Lahars
Velocity:
About 10 to 25 mph (16 to 40 km/h) and over 50 mph (80 km/h) on steep flanks of volcano

Damaged:
27 bridges, nearly 200 homes. Blast and lahars destroyed more than 185 mi (298 km) of highways and roads and 15 mi (24 km) of railways.

Effects on Cowlitz River:
Reduced carrying capacity at flood stage at Castle Rock from 76,000 cu ft (2,200 m3) per second to less than 15,000 cu ft (420 m3) per second.

Effects on Columbia River:
Reduced channel depth from 40 to 14 ft (12 to 4 m); stranded 31 ships in upstream ports

Eruption column
and cloud
Height:
Reached about 80,000 ft (24,400 m) in less than 15 minutes

Downwind extent:
Spread across U.S. in 3 days; circled Earth in 15 days

Volume of ash:
(based on uncompacted deposits)
0.26 cu mi (1.1 km3)

Ash fall area:
Detectable amounts of ash covered 22,000 sq mi (57,000 km2)

Ash fall depth:
10 in (25 cm) at 10 mi (16 km) downwind (ash and pumice)
1 in (2.5 cm) at 60 mi (97 km) downwind
0.5 in (1.3 cm) at 300 mi (482.8 km) downwind

Pyroclastic flows
Area covered:
6 sq mi (16 km2); reached as far as 5 mi (8 km) north of crater

Volume and depth:
(volume based on uncompacted deposits)
0.029 cu mi (0.12 km3); multiple flows 3 to 30 ft (1 to 9 m) thick; cumulative depth of deposits reached 120 ft (37 m) in places

Velocity:
Estimated at 50 to 80 mph (80 to 130 km/h)

Temperature:
At least 1,300 °F (700 °C)

Other
Wildlife:
The Washington State Department of Game estimated nearly 7,000 big game animals (deer, elk and bear) perished as well as all birds and most small mammals. Many burrowing rodents, frogs, salamanders and crawfish managed to survive because they were below ground level or water surface when the disaster struck.

Fisheries:
The Washington Department of Fisheries estimated that 12 million Chinook and Coho salmon fingerlings were killed when hatcheries were destroyed. Another estimated 40,000 young salmon were lost when forced to swim through turbine blades of hydroelectric generators as reservoir levels along the Lewis River were kept low to accommodate possible mudflows and flooding.

Brantley and Myers, 1997, Mount St. Helens – From the 1980 Eruption to 1996: USGS Fact Sheet 070–97, accessed 2007-06-05; and Tilling, Topinka, and Swanson, 1990, Eruption of Mount St. Helens – Past, Present, and Future: USGS General Interest Publication, accessed 2007-06-05.

Table compiled by Lyn Topinka, USGS/CVO, 1997


document_title: Crossed fingers

question_text: where did keep your fingers crossed come from

text: Crossed fingers

text: Origin[edit]

text: The origin of the gesture traces back to the biblical Kingdom of Israel. Courts of Mosaic law would often render verdicts with the phrase "May God have mercy upon your soul" in order to reaffirm God's supreme authority over the law. Most judges felt that while they could pass a sentence of death upon a person, they personally did not have the authority to destroy souls and that only God had the authority to do that.[4][5][6][7][8] As a result, some judges would cross their fingers whenever they said the phrase as a result of concern for the criminal's soul as they said it as a prayer.[9][10][4][5]

text: Common usage of the gesture traces back to the early centuries of the Catholic Church. Common use of crossed fingers is found in the Christians who would cross their fingers in order to invoke the power associated with Christ's cross for protection, when faced with evil.[1] Moreover, Christians, when persecuted by the Romans, used the symbol of crossed fingers in order to recognize one another and assemble for Holy Mass. "When they were persecuted in Rome, Christians would secretly come together with the sign of the fish, and they would hold up their crossed fingers, as a Sign of the crossed emblem that had once been on the vestments of the army of Barabbas. It became a custom everywhere, for Christians when meeting, to make the sign of a cross by crossing their fingers." In 16th century England, people continued to cross fingers or make the sign of the cross in order to ward off evil, as well as when people coughed or sneezed.[11][12]

text: This superstition thus became popular among many early European Christian cultures. In some places, a comrade or well-wisher placed his index finger over the index finger of the person making the wish, the two fingers forming a cross. The one person makes the wish, the other empathizes and supports. Over centuries, the custom was simplified, so that a person could wish on his own, by crossing his index and middle fingers to form an X. But traces remain—two people hooking index fingers as a sign of greeting or agreement is still common in some circles today.

text: Charles Panati believes that the act of crossing one's fingers as a sign of luck or making a wish traces back to pre-Christian times, speculating that the cross was a symbol of unity and benign spirits dwelt at the intersection point.[13] A wish made on a cross was a way of "anchoring" the wish at the intersection of the cross until the wish was fulfilled.

text: Anecdotal use[edit]

text: The 1787 A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Proverbs, and Popular Superstitions by Francis Grose records the recommendation to keep one's fingers crossed until one sees a dog to avert the bad luck attracted by walking under a ladder.

text: Exception[edit]

text: In Vietnam the gesture is considered rude,[14][15] especially to another person. Referring to female genitals, it is comparable to the finger in western culture.

text: In German-speaking countries the gesture is only known for vitiating oaths. Wishing for luck is gestured by pressing thumbs. The same gesture is used in many Slavic countries such as Poland,[16] the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and ex-Yugoslav[17] republics. The same goes for Sweden.


document_title: List of Grey's Anatomy episodes

question_text: when does the next greys anatomy episode air

text: List of Grey's Anatomy episodes

text: Series overview[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally aired

First aired
Last aired

1
9
March 27, 2005 (2005-03-27)
May 22, 2005 (2005-05-22)

2
27
September 25, 2005 (2005-09-25)
May 15, 2006 (2006-05-15)

3
25
September 21, 2006 (2006-09-21)
May 17, 2007 (2007-05-17)

4
17
September 27, 2007 (2007-09-27)
May 22, 2008 (2008-05-22)

5
24
September 25, 2008 (2008-09-25)
May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)

6
24
September 24, 2009 (2009-09-24)
May 20, 2010 (2010-05-20)

7
22
September 23, 2010 (2010-09-23)
May 19, 2011 (2011-05-19)

8
24
September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)
May 17, 2012 (2012-05-17)

9
24
September 27, 2012 (2012-09-27)
May 16, 2013 (2013-05-16)

10
24
September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)
May 15, 2014 (2014-05-15)

11
25
September 25, 2014 (2014-09-25)
May 14, 2015 (2015-05-14)

12
24
September 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)
May 19, 2016 (2016-05-19)

13
24
September 22, 2016 (2016-09-22)
May 18, 2017 (2017-05-18)

14
24
September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28)
TBA

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Season 1 (2005)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

1
1
"A Hard Day's Night"
Peter Horton
Shonda Rhimes
March 27, 2005 (2005-03-27)
16.25[16]

2
2
"The First Cut Is the Deepest"
Peter Horton
Shonda Rhimes
April 3, 2005 (2005-04-03)
17.71[17]

3
3
"Winning a Battle, Losing the War"
Tony Goldwyn
Shonda Rhimes
April 10, 2005 (2005-04-10)
17.99[18]

4
4
"No Man's Land"
Adam Davidson
James D. Parriott
April 17, 2005 (2005-04-17)
19.18[19]

5
5
"Shake Your Groove Thing"
John David Coles
Ann Hamilton
April 24, 2005 (2005-04-24)
17.90[20]

6
6
"If Tomorrow Never Comes"
Scott Brazil
Krista Vernoff
May 1, 2005 (2005-05-01)
18.54[21]

7
7
"The Self-Destruct Button"
Darnell Martin
Kip Koenig
May 8, 2005 (2005-05-08)
18.86[22]

8
8
"Save Me"
Sarah Pia Anderson
Mimi Schmir
May 15, 2005 (2005-05-15)
18.33[23]

9
9
"Who's Zoomin' Who?"
Wendey Stanzler
Gabrielle Stanton & Harry Werksman, Jr.
May 22, 2005 (2005-05-22)
22.22[24]

text: Season 2 (2005–06)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

10
1
"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"
Peter Horton
Stacy McKee
September 25, 2005 (2005-09-25)
18.98[25]

11
2
"Enough Is Enough"
Peter Horton
James D. Parriott
October 2, 2005 (2005-10-02)
17.57[26]

12
3
"Make Me Lose Control"
Adam Davidson
Krista Vernoff
October 9, 2005 (2005-10-09)
18.12[27]

13
4
"Deny, Deny, Deny"
Wendey Stanzler
Zoanne Clack
October 16, 2005 (2005-10-16)
18.28[28]

14
5
"Bring the Pain"
Mark Tinker
Shonda Rhimes
October 23, 2005 (2005-10-23)
18.00[29]

15
6
"Into You Like a Train"
Jeff Melman
Krista Vernoff
October 30, 2005 (2005-10-30)
16.67[30]

16
7
"Something to Talk About"
Adam Davidson
Stacy McKee
November 6, 2005 (2005-11-06)
18.13[31]

17
8
"Let It Be"
Lesli Linka Glatter
Mimi Schmir
November 13, 2005 (2005-11-13)
19.74[32]

18
9
"Thanks for the Memories"
Michael Dinner
Shonda Rhimes
November 20, 2005 (2005-11-20)
20.33[33]

19
10
"Much too Much"
Wendey Stanzler
Gabrielle Stanton & Harry Werksman, Jr.
November 27, 2005 (2005-11-27)
19.59[34]

20
11
"Owner of a Lonely Heart"
Daniel Minahan
Mark Wilding
December 4, 2005 (2005-12-04)
20.59[35]

21
12
"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"
Peter Horton
Krista Vernoff
December 11, 2005 (2005-12-11)
15.70[36]

22
13
"Begin the Begin"
Jessica Yu
Kip Koenig
January 15, 2006 (2006-01-15)
18.97[37]

23
14
"Tell Me Sweet Little Lies"
Adam Davidson
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
January 22, 2006 (2006-01-22)
21.04[38]

24
15
"Break on Through"
David Paymer
Zoanne Clack
January 29, 2006 (2006-01-29)
18.44[39]

25
16
"It's the End of the World"
Peter Horton
Shonda Rhimes
February 5, 2006 (2006-02-05)
37.88[40]

26
17
"As We Know It"
Peter Horton
Shonda Rhimes
February 12, 2006 (2006-02-12)
25.42[41]

27
18
"Yesterday"
Rob Corn
Story by : Mimi Schmir
Teleplay by : Krista Vernoff
February 19, 2006 (2006-02-19)
24.36[42]

28
19
"What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
Wendey Stanzler
Stacy McKee
February 26, 2006 (2006-02-26)
24.76[43]

29
20
"Band-Aid Covers the Bullet Hole"
Julie Anne Robinson
Gabrielle Stanton & Harry Werksman, Jr.
March 12, 2006 (2006-03-12)
22.51[44]

30
21
"Superstition"
Tricia Brock
James D. Parriott
March 19, 2006 (2006-03-19)
21.13[45]

31
22
"The Name of the Game"
Seith Mann
Blythe Robe
April 2, 2006 (2006-04-02)
22.35[46]

32
23
"Blues for Sister Someone"
Jeff Melman
Elizabeth Klaviter
April 30, 2006 (2006-04-30)
20.76[47]

33
24
"Damage Case"
Tony Goldwyn
Mimi Schmir
May 7, 2006 (2006-05-07)
21.99[48]

34
25
"17 Seconds"
Daniel Minahan
Mark Wilding
May 14, 2006 (2006-05-14)
22.60[49]

35
26
"Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response"
Rob Corn
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
May 15, 2006 (2006-05-15)
22.50[50]

36
27
"Losing My Religion"
Mark Tinker
Shonda Rhimes
May 15, 2006 (2006-05-15)
22.50[50]

text: Season 3 (2006–07)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

37
1
"Time Has Come Today"
Daniel Minahan
Shonda Rhimes
September 21, 2006 (2006-09-21)
25.41[51]

38
2
"I Am a Tree"
Jeff Melman
Krista Vernoff
September 28, 2006 (2006-09-28)
23.48[52]

39
3
"Sometimes a Fantasy"
Adam Arkin
Debora Cahn
October 5, 2006 (2006-10-05)
22.80[53]

40
4
"What I Am"
Dan Lerner
Allan Heinberg
October 12, 2006 (2006-10-12)
22.88[54]

41
5
"Oh, the Guilt"
Jeff Melman
Zoanne Clack & Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
October 19, 2006 (2006-10-19)
22.05[55]

42
6
"Let the Angels Commit"
Jessica Yu
Stacy McKee
November 2, 2006 (2006-11-02)
21.02[56]

43
7
"Where the Boys Are"
Daniel Minahan
Mark Wilding
November 9, 2006 (2006-11-09)
20.65[57]

44
8
"Staring at the Sun"
Jeff Melman
Gabrielle Stanton & Harry Werksman, Jr.
November 16, 2006 (2006-11-16)
20.92[58]

45
9
"From a Whisper to a Scream"
Julie Anne Robinson
Kip Koenig
November 23, 2006 (2006-11-23)
18.51[59]

46
10
"Don't Stand So Close to Me"
Seith Mann
Carolina Paiz
November 30, 2006 (2006-11-30)
24.01[60]

47
11
"Six Days (Part 1)"
Greg Yaitanes
Krista Vernoff
January 11, 2007 (2007-01-11)
23.03[61]

48
12
"Six Days (Part 2)"
Greg Yaitanes
Krista Vernoff
January 18, 2007 (2007-01-18)
21.94[62]

49
13
"Great Expectations"
Michael Grossman
Eric Buchman
January 25, 2007 (2007-01-25)
21.50[63]

50
14
"Wishin' and Hopin'"
Julie Anne Robinson
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
February 1, 2007 (2007-02-01)
24.18[64]

51
15
"Walk on Water"
Rob Corn
Shonda Rhimes
February 8, 2007 (2007-02-08)
25.20[65]

52
16
"Drowning on Dry Land"
Rob Corn
Shonda Rhimes
February 15, 2007 (2007-02-15)
25.76[66]

53
17
"Some Kind of Miracle"
Adam Arkin
Shonda Rhimes & Marti Noxon
February 22, 2007 (2007-02-22)
27.39[67]

54
18
"Scars and Souvenirs"
James Frawley
Debora Cahn
March 15, 2007 (2007-03-15)
22.68[68]

55
19
"My Favorite Mistake"
Tamra Davis
Chris Van Dusen
March 22, 2007 (2007-03-22)
22.30[69]

56
20
"Time After Time"
Christopher Misiano
Stacy McKee
April 19, 2007 (2007-04-19)
21.12[70]

57
21
"Desire"
Tom Verica
Mark Wilding
April 26, 2007 (2007-04-26)
20.08[71]

58

59
22

23
"The Other Side of This Life"
Michael Grossman
Shonda Rhimes
May 3, 2007 (2007-05-03)
21.23[72]

60
24
"Testing 1-2-3"
Christopher Misiano
Allan Heinberg
May 10, 2007 (2007-05-10)
19.58[73]

61
25
"Didn't We Almost Have It All?"
Rob Corn
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
May 17, 2007 (2007-05-17)
22.57[74]

text: Season 4 (2007–08)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

62
1
"A Change Is Gonna Come"
Rob Corn
Shonda Rhimes
September 27, 2007 (2007-09-27)
20.93[75]

63
2
"Love/Addiction"
James Frawley
Debora Cahn
October 4, 2007 (2007-10-04)
18.51[76]

64
3
"Let the Truth Sting"
Daniel Minahan
Mark Wilding
October 11, 2007 (2007-10-11)
19.04[77]

65
4
"The Heart of the Matter"
Randall Zisk
Allan Heinberg
October 18, 2007 (2007-10-18)
18.04[78]

66
5
"Haunt You Every Day"
Bethany Rooney
Krista Vernoff
October 25, 2007 (2007-10-25)
18.17[79]

67
6
"Kung Fu Fighting"
Tom Verica
Stacy McKee
November 1, 2007 (2007-11-01)
19.31[80]

68
7
"Physical Attraction, Chemical Reaction"
Jeff Melman
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
November 8, 2007 (2007-11-08)
19.50[81]

69
8
"Forever Young"
Rob Corn
Mark Wilding
November 15, 2007 (2007-11-15)
19.61[82]

70
9
"Crash Into Me (Part 1)"
Michael Grossman
Shonda Rhimes & Krista Vernoff
November 22, 2007 (2007-11-22)
14.11[83]

71
10
"Crash Into Me (Part 2)"
Jessica Yu
Shonda Rhimes & Krista Vernoff
December 6, 2007 (2007-12-06)
17.78[84]

72
11
"Lay Your Hands on Me"
John Terlesky
Allan Heinberg
January 10, 2008 (2008-01-10)
17.68[85]

73
12
"Where the Wild Things Are"
Rob Corn
Zoanne Clack
April 24, 2008 (2008-04-24)
16.37[86]

74
13
"Piece of My Heart"
Mark Tinker
Stacy McKee
May 1, 2008 (2008-05-01)
15.31[87]

75
14
"The Becoming"
Julie Anne Robinson
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
May 8, 2008 (2008-05-08)
16.03[88]

76
15
"Losing My Mind"
James Frawley
Debora Cahn
May 15, 2008 (2008-05-15)
15.55[89]

77

78
16

17
"Freedom"
Rob Corn
Shonda Rhimes
May 22, 2008 (2008-05-22)
18.09[90]

text: Season 5 (2008–09)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

79

80
1

2
"Dream a Little Dream of Me"
Rob Corn

Michael Pressman
Shonda Rhimes
September 25, 2008 (2008-09-25)
18.30[91]

81
3
"Here Comes the Flood"
Michael Pressman
Krista Vernoff
October 9, 2008 (2008-10-09)
14.54[92]

82
4
"Brave New World"
Eric Stoltz
Debora Cahn
October 16, 2008 (2008-10-16)
14.57[93]

83
5
"There's No 'I' in Team"
Randy Zisk
Jenna Bans
October 23, 2008 (2008-10-23)
14.21[94]

84
6
"Life During Wartime"
James Frawley
Mark Wilding
October 30, 2008 (2008-10-30)
15.05[95]

85
7
"Rise Up"
Joanna Kerns
William Harper
November 6, 2008 (2008-11-06)
15.63[96]

86
8
"These Ties That Bind"
Eric Stoltz
Stacy McKee
November 13, 2008 (2008-11-13)
15.59[97]

87
9
"In the Midnight Hour"
Tom Verica
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
November 20, 2008 (2008-11-20)
15.74[98]

88
10
"All By Myself"
Arlene Sanford
Peter Nowalk
December 4, 2008 (2008-12-04)
15.15[99]

89
11
"Wish You Were Here"
Rob Corn
Debora Cahn
January 8, 2009 (2009-01-08)
13.71[100]

90
12
"Sympathy for the Devil"
Jeannot Szwarc
Jenna Bans
January 15, 2009 (2009-01-15)
12.95[101]

91
13
"Stairway to Heaven"
Allison Liddi-Brown
Mark Wilding
January 22, 2009 (2009-01-22)
14.25[102]

92
14
"Beat Your Heart Out"
Julie Anne Robinson
William Harper
February 5, 2009 (2009-02-05)
15.20[103]

93
15
"Before and After"
Dan Attias
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
February 12, 2009 (2009-02-12)
15.70[104]

94
16
"An Honest Mistake"
Randy Zisk
Peter Nowalk
February 19, 2009 (2009-02-19)
15.39[105]

95
17
"I Will Follow You Into the Dark"
James Frawley
Jenna Bans
March 12, 2009 (2009-03-12)
13.54[106]

96
18
"Stand By Me"
Jessica Yu
Zoanne Clack
March 19, 2009 (2009-03-19)
14.36[107]

97
19
"Elevator Love Letter"
Edward Ornelas
Stacy McKee
March 26, 2009 (2009-03-26)
15.81[108]

98
20
"Sweet Surrender"
Tony Phelan
Sonay Washington
April 23, 2009 (2009-04-23)
13.22[109]

99
21
"No Good at Saying Sorry (One More Chance)"
Tom Verica
Krista Vernoff
April 30, 2009 (2009-04-30)
13.94[110]

100
22
"What a Difference a Day Makes"
Rob Corn
Shonda Rhimes
May 7, 2009 (2009-05-07)
15.33[111]

101
23
"Here's to Future Days"
Bill D'Elia
Allan Heinberg
May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)
15.58[112]

102
24
"Now or Never"
Rob Corn
Debora Cahn
May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)
17.12[112]

text: Season 6 (2009–10)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

103
1
"Good Mourning"
Edward Ornelas
Krista Vernoff
September 24, 2009 (2009-09-24)
17.03[113]

104
2
"Goodbye"
Bill D'Elia
Krista Vernoff
September 24, 2009 (2009-09-24)
17.03[113]

105
3
"I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watchin' Me"
Michael Pressman
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
October 1, 2009 (2009-10-01)
15.69[114]

106
4
"Tainted Obligation"
Tom Verica
Jenna Bans
October 8, 2009 (2009-10-08)
14.13[115]

107
5
"Invasion"
Tony Phelan
Mark Wilding
October 15, 2009 (2009-10-15)
13.79[116]

108
6
"I Saw What I Saw"
Allison Liddi-Brown
William Harper
October 22, 2009 (2009-10-22)
14.67[117]

109
7
"Give Peace a Chance"
Chandra Wilson
Peter Nowalk
October 29, 2009 (2009-10-29)
13.74[110]

110
8
"Invest in Love"
Jessica Yu
Stacy McKee
November 5, 2009 (2009-11-05)
13.95[118]

111
9
"New History"
Rob Corn
Allan Heinberg
November 12, 2009 (2009-11-12)
14.87[119]

112
10
"Holidaze"
Robert Berlinger
Krista Vernoff
November 19, 2009 (2009-11-19)
14.07[120]

113
11
"Blink"
Randy Zisk
Debora Cahn
January 14, 2010 (2010-01-14)
12.73[121]

114
12
"I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked"
Donna Deitch
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
January 21, 2010 (2010-01-21)
12.65[122]

115
13
"State of Love and Trust"
Jeannot Szwarc
Stacy McKee
February 4, 2010 (2010-02-04)
12.55[123]

116
14
"Valentine's Day Massacre"
Stephen Cragg
William Harper
February 11, 2010 (2010-02-11)
12.74[124]

117
15
"The Time Warp"
Rob Corn
Zoanne Clack
February 18, 2010 (2010-02-18)
10.21[125]

118
16
"Perfect Little Accident"
Bill D'Elia
Peter Nowalk
March 4, 2010 (2010-03-04)
11.83[126]

119
17
"Push"
Chandra Wilson
Debora Cahn
March 11, 2010 (2010-03-11)
10.96[127]

120
18
"Suicide is Painless"
Jeannot Szwarc
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
March 25, 2010 (2010-03-25)
11.57[128]

121
19
"Sympathy for the Parents"
Debbie Allen
Allan Heinberg
April 1, 2010 (2010-04-01)
9.87[129]

122
20
"Hook, Line and Sinner"
Tony Phelan
Meg Marinis
April 29, 2010 (2010-04-29)
10.47[130]

123
21
"How Insensitive"
Tom Verica
William Harper
May 6, 2010 (2010-05-06)
11.03[131]

124
22
"Shiny Happy People"
Edward Ornelas
Zoanne Clack & Peter Nowalk
May 13, 2010 (2010-05-13)
11.05[132]

125
23
"Sanctuary"
Stephen Cragg
Shonda Rhimes
May 20, 2010 (2010-05-20)
13.93[133]

126
24
"Death and All His Friends"
Rob Corn
Shonda Rhimes
May 20, 2010 (2010-05-20)
16.13[133]

text: Season 7 (2010–11)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

127
1
"With You I'm Born Again"
Rob Corn
Krista Vernoff
September 23, 2010 (2010-09-23)
14.32[134]

128
2
"Shock to the System"
Tom Verica
William Harper
September 30, 2010 (2010-09-30)
12.53[135]

129
3
"Superfreak"
Michael Pressman
Mark Wilding
October 7, 2010 (2010-10-07)
12.75[136]

130
4
"Can't Fight Biology"
Edward Ornelas
Peter Nowalk
October 14, 2010 (2010-10-14)
12.11[137]

131
5
"Almost Grown"
Chandra Wilson
Brian Tanen
October 21, 2010 (2010-10-21)
10.97[138]

132
6
"These Arms of Mine"
Stephen Cragg
Stacy McKee
October 28, 2010 (2010-10-28)
10.79[139]

133
7
"That's Me Trying"
Tony Phelan
Austin Guzman
November 4, 2010 (2010-11-04)
11.92[140]

134
8
"Something's Gotta Give"
Jeannot Szwarc
William Harper
November 11, 2010 (2010-11-11)
11.13[141]

135
9
"Slow Night, So Long"
Rob Bailey
Zoanne Clack
November 18, 2010 (2010-11-18)
11.46[142]

136
10
"Adrift and at Peace"
Allison Liddi-Brown
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
December 2, 2010 (2010-12-02)
11.02[143]

137
11
"Disarm"
Debbie Allen
Krista Vernoff
January 6, 2011 (2011-01-06)
11.64[144]

138
12
"Start Me Up"
Mark Jackson
Natalie Krinsky
January 13, 2011 (2011-01-13)
12.15[145]

139
13
"Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)"
Kevin McKidd
Mark Wilding
February 3, 2011 (2011-02-03)
11.18[146]

140
14
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"
Steve Robin
Austin Guzman
February 10, 2011 (2011-02-10)
10.47[147]

141
15
"Golden Hour"
Rob Corn
Stacy McKee
February 17, 2011 (2011-02-17)
10.24[148]

142
16
"Not Responsible"
Debbie Allen
Debora Cahn
February 24, 2011 (2011-02-24)
9.13[149]

143
17
"This Is How We Do It"
Edward Ornelas
Peter Nowalk
March 24, 2011 (2011-03-24)
10.28[150]

144
18
"Song Beneath the Song"
Tony Phelan
Shonda Rhimes
March 31, 2011 (2011-03-31)
13.09[151]

145
19
"It's a Long Way Back"
Steve Robin
William Harper
April 28, 2011 (2011-04-28)
10.67[152]

146
20
"White Wedding"
Chandra Wilson
Stacy McKee
May 5, 2011 (2011-05-05)
10.11[153]

147
21
"I Will Survive"
Tom Verica
Zoanne Clack
May 12, 2011 (2011-05-12)
9.63[154]

148
22
"Unaccompanied Minor"
Rob Corn
Debora Cahn
May 19, 2011 (2011-05-19)
9.89[155]

text: Season 8 (2011–12)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

149
1
"Free Falling"
Rob Corn
Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)
10.38[156]

150
2
"She's Gone"
Tony Phelan
Debora Cahn
September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)
10.38[156]

151
3
"Take the Lead"
Chandra Wilson
William Harper
September 29, 2011 (2011-09-29)
10.20[157]

152
4
"What Is It About Men"
Tom Verica
Stacy McKee
October 6, 2011 (2011-10-06)
8.70[158]

153
5
"Love, Loss and Legacy"
Stephen Cragg
Denise Hahn
October 13, 2011 (2011-10-13)
9.97[159]

154
6
"Poker Face"
Kevin McKidd
Peter Nowalk
October 20, 2011 (2011-10-20)
9.54[160]

155
7
"Put Me In, Coach"
Debbie Allen
Jeannine Renshaw
October 27, 2011 (2011-10-27)
9.93[161]

156
8
"Heart-Shaped Box"
Jessica Yu
Austin Guzman
November 3, 2011 (2011-11-03)
9.52[162]

157
9
"Dark Was the Night"
Allison Liddi-Brown
Debora Cahn
November 10, 2011 (2011-11-10)
11.29[163]

158
10
"Suddenly"
Ron Underwood
Stacy McKee
January 5, 2012 (2012-01-05)
12.12[164]

159
11
"This Magic Moment"
Steve Robin
Zoanne Clack
January 12, 2012 (2012-01-12)
10.71[165]

160
12
"Hope for the Hopeless"
Mark Jackson
Peter Nowalk
January 19, 2012 (2012-01-19)
9.42[166]

161
13
"If/Then"
Jeannot Szwarc
William Harper
February 2, 2012 (2012-02-02)
9.71[167]

162
14
"All You Need Is Love"
Rob Corn
Jeannine Renshaw
February 9, 2012 (2012-02-09)
10.27[168]

163
15
"Have You Seen Me Lately?"
Tony Phelan
Austin Guzman
February 16, 2012 (2012-02-16)
8.31[169]

164
16
"If Only You Were Lonely"
Susan Vaill
Matt Byrne
February 23, 2012 (2012-02-23)
9.06[170]

165
17
"One Step Too Far"
Edward Ornelas
William Harper
March 15, 2012 (2012-03-15)
9.62[171]

166
18
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
Mark Jackson
Stacy McKee
April 5, 2012 (2012-04-05)
8.19[172]

167
19
"Support System"
Allison Liddi-Brown
Heather Mitchell
April 12, 2012 (2012-04-12)
8.85[173]

168
20
"The Girl With No Name"
Ron Underwood
Peter Nowalk
April 19, 2012 (2012-04-19)
9.82[174]

169
21
"Moment of Truth"
Chandra Wilson
Zakiyyah Alexander
April 26, 2012 (2012-04-26)
9.45[175]

170
22
"Let the Bad Times Roll"
Kevin McKidd
Matt Byrne
May 3, 2012 (2012-05-03)
9.24[176]

171
23
"Migration"
Stephen Cragg
Mark Wilding & Jenna Bans
May 10, 2012 (2012-05-10)
9.82[177]

172
24
"Flight"
Rob Corn
Shonda Rhimes
May 17, 2012 (2012-05-17)
11.44[178]

text: Season 9 (2012–13)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

173
1
"Going, Going, Gone"
Rob Corn
Stacy McKee
September 27, 2012 (2012-09-27)
11.73[179]

174
2
"Remember the Time"
Tony Phelan
William Harper
October 4, 2012 (2012-10-04)
10.84[180]

175
3
"Love the One You're With"
Debbie Allen
Zoanne Clack
October 18, 2012 (2012-10-18)
9.69[181]

176
4
"I Saw Her Standing There"
Kevin McKidd
Austin Guzman
October 25, 2012 (2012-10-25)
8.76[182]

177
5
"Beautiful Doom"
Stephen Cragg
Jeannine Renshaw
November 8, 2012 (2012-11-08)
9.26[183]

178
6
"Second Opinion"
Chandra Wilson
William Harper
November 15, 2012 (2012-11-15)
8.84[184]

179
7
"I Was Made for Lovin' You"
Laura Innes
Peter Nowalk
November 29, 2012 (2012-11-29)
8.95[185]

180
8
"Love Turns You Upside Down"
Mark Jackson
Stacy McKee
December 6, 2012 (2012-12-06)
9.10[186]

181
9
"Run, Baby, Run"
Rob Corn
Debora Cahn
December 13, 2012 (2012-12-13)
8.17[187]

182
10
"Things We Said Today"
Ron Underwood
Austin Guzman
January 10, 2013 (2013-01-10)
9.34[188]

183
11
"The End is the Beginning is the End"
Cherie Nowlan
Joan Rater
January 17, 2013 (2013-01-17)
8.80[189]

184
12
"Walking on a Dream"
Rob Hardy
Tia Napolitano
January 24, 2013 (2013-01-24)
9.01[190]

185
13
"Bad Blood"
Steve Robin
Jeannine Renshaw
January 31, 2013 (2013-01-31)
8.93[191]

186
14
"The Face of Change"
Rob Greenlea
Stacy McKee
February 7, 2013 (2013-02-07)
8.91[192]

187
15
"Hard Bargain"
Tony Phelan
William Harper
February 14, 2013 (2013-02-14)
8.57[193]

188
16
"This Is Why We Fight"
Jeannot Szwarc
Austin Guzman
February 21, 2013 (2013-02-21)
8.75[194]

189
17
"Transplant Wasteland"
Chandra Wilson
Zoanne Clack
March 14, 2013 (2013-03-14)
8.20[195]

190
18
"Idle Hands"
David Greenspan
Gabriel Llanas
March 21, 2013 (2013-03-21)
9.39[196]

191
19
"Can't Fight This Feeling"
Mark Jackson
Meg Marinis
March 28, 2013 (2013-03-28)
9.02[197]

192
20
"She's Killing Me"
Nicole Rubio
Debora Cahn
April 4, 2013 (2013-04-04)
8.58[198]

193
21
"Sleeping Monster"
Bobby Roth
Bronwyn Garrity
April 25, 2013 (2013-04-25)
8.24[199]

194
22
"Do You Believe in Magic?"
Kevin McKidd
Dan Bucatinsky
May 2, 2013 (2013-05-02)
8.87[200]

195
23
"Readiness is All"
Tony Phelan
William Harper
May 9, 2013 (2013-05-09)
8.97[201]

196
24
"Perfect Storm"
Rob Corn
Stacy McKee
May 16, 2013 (2013-05-16)
8.99[202]

text: Season 10 (2013–14)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

197
1
"Seal Our Fate"
Rob Corn
Joan Rater
September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)
9.27[203]

198
2
"I Want You with Me"
Chandra Wilson
Debora Cahn
September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)
9.27[203]

199
3
"Everybody's Crying Mercy"
Tony Phelan
Tia Napolitano
October 3, 2013 (2013-10-03)
9.60[204]

200
4
"Puttin' On the Ritz"
Rob Corn
Austin Guzman
October 10, 2013 (2013-10-10)
8.79[205]

201
5
"I Bet It Stung"
Mark Jackson
Jeannine Renshaw
October 17, 2013 (2013-10-17)
8.78[206]

202
6
"Map of You"
David Greenspan
William Harper
October 24, 2013 (2013-10-24)
8.73[207]

203
7
"Thriller"
Cherie Nowlan
Gabriel Llanas
October 31, 2013 (2013-10-31)
8.94[208]

204
8
"Two Against One"
Kevin McKidd
Meg Marinis
November 7, 2013 (2013-11-07)
8.68[209]

205
9
"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"
Jeannot Szwarc
Stacy McKee
November 14, 2013 (2013-11-14)
8.56[210]

206
10
"Somebody That I Used to Know"
Debbie Allen
Debora Cahn
November 21, 2013 (2013-11-21)
8.61[211]

207
11
"Man on the Moon"
Bobby Roth
Elizabeth J. B. Klaviter
December 5, 2013 (2013-12-05)
7.02[212]

208
12
"Get Up, Stand Up"
Tony Phelan
William Harper
December 12, 2013 (2013-12-12)
8.36[213]

209
13
"Take It Back"
Rob Corn
Austin Guzman
February 27, 2014 (2014-02-27)
9.42[214]

210
14
"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away"
Ron Underwood
Tia Napolitano
March 6, 2014 (2014-03-06)
8.21[215]

211
15
"Throwing It All Away"
Chris Hayde
William Harper
March 13, 2014 (2014-03-13)
7.36[216]

212
16
"We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
Susan Vaill
Jeannine Renshaw
March 20, 2014 (2014-03-20)
8.09[217]

213
17
"Do You Know?"
Chandra Wilson
Stacy McKee
March 27, 2014 (2014-03-27)
8.42[218]

214
18
"You Be Illin'"
Nicole Rubio
Zoanne Clack
April 3, 2014 (2014-04-03)
8.28[219]

215
19
"I'm Winning"
Kevin McKidd
Joan Rater
April 10, 2014 (2014-04-10)
8.18[220]

216
20
"Go It Alone"
Mark Jackson
Lauren Barnett
April 17, 2014 (2014-04-17)
8.45[221]

217
21
"Change of Heart"
Rob Greenlea
Meg Marinis
April 24, 2014 (2014-04-24)
7.99[222]

218
22
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
Rob Corn
Joan Rater
May 1, 2014 (2014-05-01)
8.81[223]

219
23
"Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right"
Bill D'Elia
Austin Guzman
May 8, 2014 (2014-05-08)
7.95[224]

220
24
"Fear (Of the Unknown)"
Tony Phelan
William Harper
May 15, 2014 (2014-05-15)
8.92[225]

text: Season 11 (2014–15)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

221
1
"I Must Have Lost it on the Wind"
Kevin McKidd
Stacy McKee
September 25, 2014 (2014-09-25)
9.81[226]

222
2
"Puzzle With a Piece Missing"
Rob Corn
William Harper
October 2, 2014 (2014-10-02)
9.15[227]

223
3
"Got to Be Real"
Rob Corn
Zoanne Clack
October 9, 2014 (2014-10-09)
8.48[228]

224
4
"Only Mama Knows"
Nicole Rubio
Mark Driscoll
October 16, 2014 (2014-10-16)
8.43[229]

225
5
"Bend & Break"
Jesse Bochco
Meg Marinis
October 23, 2014 (2014-10-23)
8.62[230]

226
6
"Don't Let's Start"
Rob Greenlea
Austin Guzman
November 6, 2014 (2014-11-06)
8.08[231]

227
7
"Could We Start Again, Please?"
Bobby Roth
Andy Reaser
November 13, 2014 (2014-11-13)
8.36[232]

228
8
"Risk"
Rob Corn
William Harper
November 20, 2014 (2014-11-20)
8.33[233]

229
9
"Where Do We Go From Here"
Debbie Allen
Meg Marinis
January 29, 2015 (2015-01-29)
8.71[234]

230
10
"The Bed's Too Big Without You"
Chandra Wilson
Tia Napolitano
February 5, 2015 (2015-02-05)
7.98[235]

231
11
"All I Could Do Was Cry"
Ron Underwood
Elizabeth J.B. Klaviter
February 12, 2015 (2015-02-12)
7.81[236]

232
12
"The Great Pretender"
Jeannot Szwarc
Mark Driscoll
February 19, 2015 (2015-02-19)
8.13[237]

233
13
"Staring at the End"
Mark Jackson
Stacy McKee
February 26, 2015 (2015-02-26)
7.56[238]

234
14
"The Distance"
Eric Laneuville
Austin Guzman
March 5, 2015 (2015-03-05)
8.09[239]

235
15
"I Feel the Earth Move"
Thomas J. Wright
Jen Klein
March 12, 2015 (2015-03-12)
7.40[240]

236
16
"Don't Dream It's Over"
Susan Vaill
Andy Reaser
March 19, 2015 (2015-03-19)
7.73[241]

237
17
"With or Without You"
Chandra Wilson
Elisabeth R. Finch
March 26, 2015 (2015-03-26)
8.18[242]

238
18
"When I Grow Up"
Zetna Fuentes
Tia Napolitano
April 2, 2015 (2015-04-02)
6.64[243]

239
19
"Crazy Love"
Paul McCrane
Elizabeth J.B. Klaviter
April 9, 2015 (2015-04-09)
7.42[244]

240
20
"One Flight Down"
David Greenspan
Austin Guzman
April 16, 2015 (2015-04-16)
7.60[245]

241
21
"How to Save a Life"
Rob Hardy
Shonda Rhimes
April 23, 2015 (2015-04-23)
9.55[246]

242

243
22

23
"She's Leaving Home"
Chris Hayden
Stacy McKee
April 30, 2015 (2015-04-30)
8.74[247]

244
24
"Time Stops"
Kevin McKidd
Meg Marinis
May 7, 2015 (2015-05-07)
7.74[248]

245
25
"You're My Home"
Rob Corn
William Harper
May 14, 2015 (2015-05-14)
8.33[249]

text: Season 12 (2015–16)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

246
1
"Sledgehammer"
Kevin McKidd
Stacy McKee
September 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)
9.55[250]

247
2
"Walking Tall"
Debbie Allen
Meg Marinis
October 1, 2015 (2015-10-01)
8.58[251]

248
3
"I Choose You"
Rob Corn
William Harper
October 8, 2015 (2015-10-08)
8.12[252]

249
4
"Old Time Rock and Roll"
Nicole Rubio
Austin Guzman
October 15, 2015 (2015-10-15)
8.25[253]

250
5
"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
Debbie Allen
Mark Driscoll
October 22, 2015 (2015-10-22)
8.96[254]

251
6
"The Me Nobody Knows"
Jeannot Szwarc
Karin Gist
November 5, 2015 (2015-11-05)
8.50[255]

252
7
"Something Against You"
Geary McLeod
Andy Reaser
November 12, 2015 (2015-11-12)
8.02[256]

253
8
"Things We Lost in the Fire"
Rob Corn
Tia Napolitano
November 19, 2015 (2015-11-19)
8.50[257]

254
9
"The Sound of Silence"
Denzel Washington
Stacy McKee
February 11, 2016 (2016-02-11)
8.28[258]

255
10
"All I Want Is You"
Kevin Sullivan
Elisabeth R. Finch
February 18, 2016 (2016-02-18)
7.82[259]

256
11
"Unbreak My Heart"
Rob Corn
Elizabeth J.B. Klaviter
February 25, 2016 (2016-02-25)
7.23[260]

257
12
"My Next Life"
Chandra Wilson
William Harper
March 3, 2016 (2016-03-03)
7.67[261]

258
13
"All Eyez on Me"
Charlotte Brandström
Austin Guzman
March 10, 2016 (2016-03-10)
7.53[262]

259
14
"Odd Man Out"
Kevin McKidd
Meg Marinis
March 17, 2016 (2016-03-17)
7.83[263]

260
15
"I Am Not Waiting Anymore"
Nicole Rubio
Mark Driscoll
March 24, 2016 (2016-03-24)
7.91[264]

261
16
"When It Hurts So Bad"
Eric Laneuville
Andy Reaser
March 31, 2016 (2016-03-31)
7.77[265]

262
17
"I Wear the Face"
Chandra Wilson
Karin Gist
April 7, 2016 (2016-04-07)
7.35[266]

263
18
"There's a Fine, Fine Line"
Jeannot Szwarc
Jen Klein
April 14, 2016 (2016-04-14)
7.97[267]

264
19
"It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"
Chris Hayden
Austin Guzman
April 14, 2016 (2016-04-14)
7.97[267]

265
20
"Trigger Happy"
Zetna Fuentes
Zoanne Clack
April 21, 2016 (2016-04-21)
7.65[268]

266
21
"You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side"
Debbie Allen
Lauren Barnett
April 28, 2016 (2016-04-28)
7.91[269]

267
22
"Mama Tried"
Kevin McKidd
Tia Napolitano
May 5, 2016 (2016-05-05)
7.66[270]

268
23
"At Last"
Rob Corn
Stacy McKee
May 12, 2016 (2016-05-12)
7.77[271]

269
24
"Family Affair"
Debbie Allen
William Harper
May 19, 2016 (2016-05-19)
8.19[272]

text: Season 13 (2016–17)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

270
1
"Undo"
Debbie Allen
William Harper
September 22, 2016 (2016-09-22)
8.75[273]

271
2
"Catastrophe and the Cure"
Kevin McKidd
Karin Gist
September 29, 2016 (2016-09-29)
8.41[274]

272
3
"I Ain't No Miracle Worker"
Rob Corn
Andy Reaser
October 6, 2016 (2016-10-06)
8.08[275]

273
4
"Falling Slowly"
Victoria Mahoney
Jen Klein
October 13, 2016 (2016-10-13)
7.80[276]

274
5
"Both Sides Now"
Chandra Wilson
Mark Driscoll
October 20, 2016 (2016-10-20)
8.17[277]

275
6
"Roar"
Nicole Rubio
Elizabeth J.B. Klaviter
October 27, 2016 (2016-10-27)
8.17[278]

276
7
"Why Try to Change Me Now"
Jeannot Szwarc
Austin Guzman
November 3, 2016 (2016-11-03)
7.60[279]

277
8
"The Room Where It Happens"
Debbie Allen
Meg Marinis
November 10, 2016 (2016-11-10)
7.25[280]

278
9
"You Haven't Done Nothin'"
Rob Corn
Karin Gist
November 17, 2016 (2016-11-17)
8.04[281]

279
10
"You Can Look (But You'd Better Not Touch)"
Jann Turner
Tia Napolitano
January 26, 2017 (2017-01-26)
9.59[282]

280
11
"Jukebox Hero"
Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Zoanne Clack
February 2, 2017 (2017-02-02)
8.49[283]

281
12
"None of Your Business"
Geary McLeod
Andy Reaser
February 9, 2017 (2017-02-09)
8.46[284]

282
13
"It Only Gets Much Worse"
Jeannot Szwarc
Lauren Barnett
February 16, 2017 (2017-02-16)
7.68[285]

283
14
"Back Where You Belong"
Oliver Bokelberg
Jen Klein
February 23, 2017 (2017-02-23)
7.71[286]

284
15
"Civil War"
Nicole Rubio
Elizabeth J.B. Klaviter
March 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)
7.31[287]

285
16
"Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?"
Kevin McKidd
Elisabeth R. Finch
March 16, 2017 (2017-03-16)
7.90[288]

286
17
"'Til I Hear It From You"
Kevin McKidd
Austin Guzman
March 23, 2017 (2017-03-23)
7.80[289]

287
18
"Be Still, My Soul"
Ellen Pompeo
Meg Marinis
March 30, 2017 (2017-03-30)
7.62[290]

288
19
"What's Inside"
Nzingha Stewart
Tia Napolitano
April 6, 2017 (2017-04-06)
7.23[291]

289
20
"In the Air Tonight"
Chandra Wilson
Stacy McKee
April 13, 2017 (2017-04-13)
7.06[292]

290
21
"Don't Stop Me Now"
Louis Venosta
Andy Reaser
April 27, 2017 (2017-04-27)
7.02[293]

291
22
"Leave It Inside"
Zetna Fuentes
Elisabeth R. Finch
May 4, 2017 (2017-05-04)
7.09[294]

292
23
"True Colors"
Kevin McKidd
William Harper
May 11, 2017 (2017-05-11)
7.02[295]

293
24
"Ring of Fire"
Debbie Allen
Stacy McKee
May 18, 2017 (2017-05-18)
7.92[296]

text: Season 14 (2017–18)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

294
1
"Break Down the House"
Debbie Allen
Krista Vernoff
September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28)
8.07[297]

295
2
"Get Off on the Pain"
Kevin McKidd
Krista Vernoff
September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28)
8.07[297]

296
3
"Go Big or Go Home"
Chandra Wilson
Meg Marinis
October 5, 2017 (2017-10-05)
8.06[298]

297
4
"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"
Geary McLeod
Marlana Hope
October 12, 2017 (2017-10-12)
8.08[299]

298
5
"Danger Zone"
Cecilie Mosli
Jalysa Conway
October 26, 2017 (2017-10-26)
7.67[300]

299
6
"Come On Down to My Boat, Baby"
Lisa Leone
Kiley Donovan
November 2, 2017 (2017-11-02)
7.38[301]

300
7
"Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story"
Debbie Allen
Krista Vernoff
November 9, 2017 (2017-11-09)
8.13[302]

301
8
"Out of Nowhere"
Kevin McKidd
William Harper
November 16, 2017 (2017-11-16)
7.52[303]

302
9
"1-800-799-7233"
Bill D'Elia
Andy Reaser
January 18, 2018 (2018-01-18)
8.27[304]

303
10
"Personal Jesus"
Kevin Sullivan
Zoanne Clack
January 25, 2018 (2018-01-25)
8.62[305]

304
11
"(Don't Fear) the Reaper"
Nicole Rubio
Elisabeth R. Finch
February 1, 2018 (2018-02-01)
8.93[306]

305
12
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"
Jeannot Szwarc
Kiley Donovan
February 8, 2018 (2018-02-08)
7.32[307]

306
13
"You Really Got a Hold on Me"
Nzingha Stewart
Stacy McKee
March 1, 2018 (2018-03-01)
7.52[308]

307
14
"Games People Play"
Chandra Wilson
Jason Ganzel & Julie Wong
March 8, 2018 (2018-03-08)
7.07[309]

308
15
"Old Scars, Future Hearts"
Ellen Pompeo
Tameson Duffy
March 15, 2018 (2018-03-15)
7.18[310]

309
16
"Caught Somewhere in Time"
Nicole Rubio
Jalysa Conway
March 22, 2018 (2018-03-22)
7.61[311]

310
17
"One Day Like This"
Kevin McKidd
Elisabeth R. Finch
March 29, 2018 (2018-03-29)
TBD

311
18
"Hold Back the River"[312]
Geary McLeod
Alex Manugian
April 5, 2018 (2018-04-05)
TBD

312
19
"Beautiful Dreamer"[313]
Jeannot Szwarc
Meg Marinis
April 12, 2018 (2018-04-12)
TBD

313
20
TBA
TBA
TBA
April 19, 2018 (2018-04-19)
TBD

314
21
TBA
Kevin McKidd[314]
TBA
April 26, 2018 (2018-04-26)
TBD

315
22
"Fight For Your Mind"[315]
Jesse Williams
Andy Reaser
May 3, 2018 (2018-05-03)
TBD

text: Specials[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Narrated by
Aired between
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

1
"Straight to the Heart"[316]
Steven W. Bailey as Joe, the Bartender
"Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer"
"Begin the Begin"
January 8, 2006 (2006-01-08)
16.3[317]

2
"Under Pressure"[318]
Steven W. Bailey as Joe, the Bartender
"The Name of the Game"
"Blues for Sister Someone"
April 23, 2006 (2006-04-23)
14.6[319]

3
"Complications of the Heart"[320]
Steven W. Bailey as Joe, the Bartender
"Losing My Religion"
"Time Has Come Today"
September 21, 2006 (2006-09-21)
13.7[321]

4
"Every Moment Counts"[322]
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Denny Duquette
"My Favorite Mistake"
"Time After Time"
April 12, 2007 (2007-04-12)
12.6[323]

5
"Come Rain or Shine"[324]
Editors of People
"Didn't We Almost Have It All?"
"A Change is Gonna Come"
September 19, 2007 (2007-09-19)
7.1[325]

text: Webisodes[edit]

text: Seattle Grace: On Call[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date

1
1
"Seattle Grace: On Call Part 1"
David Greenspan
Chris Van Dusen
October 29, 2009 (2009-10-29)

2
2
"Seattle Grace: On Call Part 2"
David Greenspan
Chris Van Dusen
November 5, 2009 (2009-11-05)

3
3
"Seattle Grace: On Call Part 3"
David Greenspan
Austin Guzman
November 26, 2009 (2009-11-26)

4
4
"Seattle Grace: On Call Part 4"
Susan Vaill
Chris Van Dusen
December 3, 2009 (2009-12-03)

5
5
"Seattle Grace: On Call Part 5"
Susan Vaill
Austin Guzman
December 10, 2009 (2009-12-10)

6
6
"Seattle Grace: On Call Part 6"
Susan Vaill
Chris Van Dusen
December 17, 2009 (2009-12-17)

text: Seattle Grace: Message of Hope[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date

7
1
"No Comment"
Kevin McKidd
Chris Van Dusen
October 14, 2010 (2010-10-14)

8
2
"Take One"
Kevin McKidd
Chris Van Dusen
October 21, 2010 (2010-10-21)

9
3
"The Face"
David Greenspan
Chris Van Dusen
October 28, 2010 (2010-10-28)

10
4
"Nerves"
David Greenspan
Miguel Nolla
November 11, 2010 (2010-11-11)

11
5
"Award-Winning"
Kevin McKidd
Chris Van Dusen
November 18, 2010 (2010-11-18)

12
6
"The Sizzle"
Kevin McKidd
Tim Day
November 25, 2010 (2010-11-25)

text: Grey's Anatomy: B-Team[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date

1
1
"Episode One"
Sarah Drew
Barbara Kaye Friend
January 11, 2018 (2018-01-11)

2
2
"Episode Two"
Sarah Drew
Barbara Kaye Friend
January 11, 2018 (2018-01-11)

3
3
"Episode Three"
Sarah Drew
Barbara Kaye Friend
January 11, 2018 (2018-01-11)

4
4
"Episode Four"
Sarah Drew
Barbara Kaye Friend
January 11, 2018 (2018-01-11)

5
5
"Episode Five"
Sarah Drew
Barbara Kaye Friend
January 11, 2018 (2018-01-11)

6
6
"Episode Six"
Sarah Drew
Barbara Kaye Friend
January 11, 2018 (2018-01-11)

text: Home video releases[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
DVD release dates

Region 1
Region 2
Region 4
Discs

1
9
February 14, 2006 (2006-02-14)[326]
July 10, 2006 (2006-07-10)[327]
April 26, 2006 (2006-04-26)[328]
2

2
27
September 12, 2006 (2006-09-12)[329]
May 28, 2007 (2007-05-28)[330]
January 10, 2007 (2007-01-10)[331]
6

3
25
September 11, 2007 (2007-09-11)[332]
September 15, 2008 (2008-09-15)[333]
October 31, 2007 (2007-10-31)[334]
7

4
17
September 9, 2008 (2008-09-09)[335]
November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)[336]
November 5, 2008 (2008-11-05)[337]
5

5
24
September 15, 2009 (2009-09-15)[338]
August 23, 2010 (2010-08-23)[339]
November 4, 2009 (2009-11-04)[340]
7

6
24
September 14, 2010 (2010-09-14)[341]
December 5, 2011 (2011-12-05)[342]
November 3, 2010 (2010-11-03)[343]
6

7
22
September 13, 2011 (2011-09-13)[344]
May 28, 2012 (2012-05-28)[345]
November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02)[346]
6

8
24
September 4, 2012 (2012-09-04)[347]
December 3, 2012 (2012-12-03)[348]
October 17, 2012 (2012-10-17)[349]
6

9
24
August 27, 2013 (2013-08-27)[350]
November 4, 2013 (2013-11-04)[351]
October 2, 2013 (2013-10-02)[352]
6

10
24
September 2, 2014 (2014-09-02)[353]
November 3, 2014 (2014-11-03)[354]
October 8, 2014 (2014-10-08)[355]
6

11
25
August 18, 2015 (2015-08-18)[356]
October 5, 2015 (2015-10-05)[357]
October 7, 2015 (2015-10-07)[355]
6

12
24
August 30, 2016 (2016-08-30)[358]
October 3, 2016 (2016-10-03)[359]
November 2, 2016 (2016-11-02)[360]
6

13
24
August 29, 2017 (2017-08-29)[361]
October 23, 2017 (2017-10-23)[362]
November 8, 2017 (2017-11-08)[363]
6


document_title: Mary Alice Young

question_text: who wrote the letter to mary alice in desperate housewives

text: Mary Alice Young

text: Casting and development[edit]

text: In Marc Cherry's first script for the pilot of Desperate Housewives, the character was originally named Mary Alice Scott, but he was later forced to change the character's surname when the series was picked up by ABC. In the book Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors, a companion to the first season of the series, he explained: "We changed Mary Alice Scott to Mary Alice Young because we couldn't get the name cleared with our lawyers. If over three people in the country have that name you're fine but with anything less than that, they make you use a different name. Apparently there was one Mary Alice Scott in the country."[3] The role of Mary Alice was originally given to Sheryl Lee, who portrayed the character in the original pilot that was filmed for ABC, but Lee was soon replaced by Strong after Cherry and the producers decided that Lee was not right for the part.[4][5][6] Marcia Cross, who would later be cast as Bree Van de Kamp, also expressed interest in Mary Alice, but after reading for the part Cherry insisted that she read for Bree instead.[7]

text: Strong explained in Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors that she believed there to be a "conceptual shift" after the filming of the original pilot with Lee, and "they realized they needed something different", stating: "There certainly wasn't something wrong with what [Lee] did. It was just that instead of vanilla they wanted chocolate, and I happened to be chocolate. When I walked in to audition, Marc Cherry was so sweet. He said, 'I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to close my eyes, because I really want to hear how you sound.' When I was done with the audition, he opened his eyes and this angelic smile crept across his face, and I thought, 'Oh, good. Something went right.'"[8] The actress also explained that she watched the pilot filmed with Lee and while that was helpful for her own portrayal, she saw that what she had to offer for the role was different, saying: "It's a little strange when you watch someone else in a role you're auditioning for because his or her performance lives in your mind. It can be hard to distinguish yourself sometimes, but I had fun with it."[9] Scenes featuring Lee were refilmed with Strong as her replacement.[10] Strong stated years later that her role and narration as Mary Alice led to her voice becoming significantly recognizable, explaining in a 2012 interview with Entertainment Weekly that fans of the series would recognize her in coffee shops solely by her voice.[11] The actress served as the narrator of almost every episode of the series, with the exceptions of the third season episode "My Husband, the Pig" (in which Steven Culp narrates the episode as the deceased Rex Van de Kamp) and the fifth season episode "Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know" (in which Nicollette Sheridan narrates the episode as the deceased Edie Britt).[12][13]

text:
"It’s kind of like when you knit a sweater and you pull one thread and the entire thing unravels. I think Mary Alice was the thread that started to unravel the rest of them and it continues to unravel. I think really it’s about getting to the very tapestry of everyone’s story, everyone’s shadow, everyone’s deepest fear and I think in some ways, dealing with the world and what we’re up against, it’s not that dissimilar to how people are feeling about their own lives."[14]

—Strong, describing the way Mary Alice's storyline influenced the remainder of the series (2011)

tag: div

text: The mystery surrounding Mary Alice and her family was the main storyline in the first season of the series, and it is resolved in the first season finale. Cherry had wanted there to be a "definite end" to the mystery, hoping to avoid similar viewer fatigue that Twin Peaks suffered after drawing out its central mystery past its first season.[15] ABC executives initially protested the writers' decision to have Mary Alice purposefully kill Deirdre Taylor (Jolie Jenkins), the woman whose child she had illegally purchased, prompting the writers to make Deirdre violent in order to justify Mary Alice's actions.[15] Although Mary Alice and her family do not have much of a leading storyline thereafter, the mystery surrounding the character's suicide in the inaugural season is said to have informed and influenced every other season of the series.[14] In 2006, when asked during an interview what viewers could expect from Mary Alice for the series' third season, Strong said that the character was "going to be back with an attitude", stating: "She will be a little less surreal, ethereal and a little more sassy, which means the show is going to be sassier."[16] During the series' final season in 2011, the actress appears as Mary Alice's ghost to her suicidal friend Bree (Marcia Cross). Strong enjoyed filming that particular scene, as it was the only scene during the entire series that featured solely Mary Alice and Bree. She described the scene as one of her personal favorites and called it an "extraordinary opportunity", saying: "In a way, Mary Alice becomes [Bree's] conscious and her guide and her muse in knowing what to do with her life. And it was an exquisitely written scene and it was really, I think in my experience on the show, one of my favorite scenes I have ever shot."[14]

text: Storyline[edit]

text: First season[edit]

text: In the pilot episode, Mary Alice introduces herself as the stereotypical American housewife to husband Paul Young (Mark Moses) and son Zach (Cody Kasch). On one Thursday, she proceeds to go to her hall closet to retrieve a revolver, and shoot herself in the head with it.[17]

text: Paul asks Mary Alice’s neighbors and friends, Susan (Teri Hatcher), Lynette (Felicity Huffman), Bree (Marcia Cross) and Gabrielle (Eva Longoria), to go through her clothes and other belongings and then pack them up, as he thinks it will be too hard for him. The women end up finding a letter addressed to Mary Alice, a blackmail note reading, "I know what you did, it makes me sick, I’m going to tell."[17] Thereafter, the women make a series of discoveries concerning Mary Alice’s past and her possible motives for ending her life; she was being treated by Dr. Albert Goldfine (Sam Lloyd) where she revealed that she once went by the name Angela, and she may have had something to do with a baby that went missing.[18][19] Paul soon discovers who sent Mary Alice the note, their next-door neighbor struggling with financial difficulty, Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook), whom he ends up strangling to death out of pure rage and burying her body in the nearby forest.[20] Meanwhile, her son Zach begins having flashbacks and is under the impression he killed a baby named Dana, who he believed to be his younger sister and reveals this to Julie Mayer (Andrea Bowen), Susan’s daughter. Paul worries over what Susan is spreading about their family, so he tells Susan in private that Zach accidentally killed his younger sister, Dana, and that he and Mary Alice covered it up to protect him. However, it becomes evident that this is not the case when Paul tells Zach that Dana is still very much alive.[21]

text: Felicia Tilman (Harriet Sansom Harris), Martha’s sister, soon arrives on Wisteria Lane to find out what happened to her sister. While inside Paul and Mary Alice’s house, she recognizes a picture of Mary Alice and claims her to be Angela, a nurse she worked with years prior in Utah, but Paul is adamant that she is mistaken.[22] Felicia, however, knows that Mary Alice was in fact Angela and later tells Zach that she knew him when he was a baby, and that his original name was so lovely: Dana.[23] In the first season finale, the mystery behind Mary Alice’s suicide is revealed in full. In March 1990, Todd and Angela Forrest could not conceive and one night a woman named Deirdre Taylor (Jolie Jenkins), a heroin addict whom Angela had treated at the rehabilitation hospital where she worked as a nurse, came to their house looking for money and offered to sell her son to them, to which they eventually agreed. When Deirdre returned to the hospital as a patient soon after and suspicion arose as to where her child was, Angela knew they had to leave town. They moved to Fairview and bought a house on Wisteria Lane, changing their names to Paul, Mary Alice and Zach Young. In 1993, however, Deirdre came to their home, seemingly sober, demanding that she reclaim her son. After a verbal fight, Deirdre went to take her child, when Mary Alice stabbed and killed her. Zach woke up and saw the body, which led to years of his parents brushing off his memories of that night as nothing. Paul and Mary Alice dismembered Deirdre’s body, put it in a toy chest and buried it under their pool.[24] Years later, Martha recognized Mary Alice in a group photo in Felicia’s house, leading to Felicia to tell Martha about how Angela and Todd possibly disappeared with Deirdre’s child and hopefully gave Dana a proper home. Martha then blackmailed Mary Alice and she, in desperation, committed suicide.[23]

text: Later seasons[edit]

text: Mary Alice appears in flashbacks and dream sequences in the remainder of the series, during which several previously unknown details about the day she committed suicide are revealed. In season two, Mary Alice was the first of the housewives to move onto Wisteria Lane, to which she recounts how she met each of them and how they all became friends.[25] In season three, Lynette has a recurring nightmare of the last time she spoke to Mary Alice; while she was reading her blackmail note for the first time on her front lawn, the day she committed suicide. Lynette asks if she is okay, to which Mary Alice says she is and while Lynette knew otherwise, she had groceries that needed refrigeration, so she simply told Mary Alice she would see her later. After a hostage situation at the local grocery store, Lynette has one final dream in which she speaks to Mary Alice and asks how she can help her; she tells her that we can’t prevent what we can’t predict, and to enjoy the beautiful day, as we get so few of them. Afterward, Mary Alice states that this was the last time Lynette would ever dream of her, and for her sake, she is grateful.[26] In season four, Mary Alice appears in two separate flashbacks to when Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany) was first living on Wisteria Lane; in "Now You Know", she and Susan knock on Katherine’s door wondering why there is a moving truck outside her house, to which a rattled Katherine says she got a new job in Chicago.[27] In "Free", Mary Alice is shown to have been babysitting Katherine's daughter Dylan (Hailee Denham) the night the child's father returned, to which Katherine looks immediately panicked and Mary Alice apologizes for any wrongdoing.[28]

text: In season five, Mary Alice appears in multiple flashbacks in "The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened", including when handyman Eli Scruggs (Beau Bridges) was first starting out and approached Mary Alice on the street, asking her if she had any work for him. After initially declining, she notices a hole in his shoe and says she has a broken vase that he can glue back together for her. Years later, on the day Mary Alice committed suicide, Eli was at her house dropping something off. He asks if she is alright, to which she says she is, and just as he is about to leave she picks up the vase he glued for her and says she wants him to have it. Eli asks again if she is alright, and she politely asks him to leave. Later that day, after Mary Alice had shot herself, Eli watches police cars and neighbors gossiping from afar, regretting that he did nothing to save her. He then makes a vow to God to not only fix people's belongings but their lives as much as he can as well.[29] In season six, Mary Alice again appears in a flashback in "Epiphany", when she notices four-year-old Eddie Orlofsky (Davin Ransom) witnessing his father leave their family. Mary Alice continues to check on Eddie and his mother Barbara (Diane Farr), bringing them a hot meal and later to bring a teddy bear for Eddie, where she finds the young child left home alone. Mary Alice finds Barbara in a bar, brings her home and scolds her for her poor parenting skills.[30]

text: In season eight, Mary Alice appears in several flashbacks and as a ghost. In "Making the Connection", it is revealed that she contemplated calling her friends for advice and support after receiving the blackmail note, but ultimately chose not to and then committed suicide.[31] In "Putting It Together", Mary Alice appears as a ghost to a suicidal Bree, who asks her if she remembers how happy their lives were on Wisteria Lane when she was alive and if she is happy now, to which Mary Alice says she is not unhappy.[32] The series finale opens with the day Mary Alice arrived on Wisteria Lane. Martha is the first to greet her, and when Mary Alice seems unwilling to talk about where she is from, Martha guesses she has a secret and makes it her mission from that day forward to figure out what it is. At the end of the episode, Mary Alice's spirit is seen with the ghosts of those who have died over the years on Wisteria Lane, explaining her presence all this time has been in the hopes that they can give a message to those left behind that while their lives may be desperate, they are still worth living.[33]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Both the character and her role as narrator were generally well received by critics throughout the series, and for which Strong received nominations for multiple accolades. In his review of the pilot, Tom Shales of The Washington Post complimented Mary Alice character's narrations, writing: "Even though narration has become the most overused technique in prime-time television (needed, perhaps, to help move the narrative along quickly now that hour-length shows have shrunk to as little as 41 minutes plus commercials), the producers of Desperate Housewives use it well, and Strong's uncomplaining perkiness adds yet another layer of irony to the enterprise."[34] Peter Schorn of IGN commended Strong's narrations as well as the mystery surrounding Mary Alice's suicide, calling the character's "dark secret" the "McGuffin that powers this first season".[35] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe described Mary Alice's suicide scene as "mysterious and somber but mostly funny", pointing out that the soundtrack music remains "light and happy" throughout and likened the character's narration to that of Glenn Close in Reversal of Fortune (1990).[36] Celia Wren, also writing for The Washington Post, confirmed that the "idyllic small-town" setting of Desperate Housewives as well as Mary Alice's narration style as a deceased and omniscient narrator were influenced by Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology (1915), for which she complimented the series, writing: "There's a lot of material to work with: Masters's poetic portrait gallery from 1915 gets its oomph from blowtorching the concept of idyllic small-town America. Its largely embittered personalities speak from beyond the grave of murders, seductions, suicides, hypocrisies, political corruption—enough scandalous behavior to make Desperate Housewives look like Little Women."[1]

text: While reviewing the first season finale, Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly praised the resolution to the mystery surrounding Mary Alice's death, calling it "both shocking and satisfying."[37] On the other hand, Ann Hodgman of Entertainment Weekly was negative in her review and criticized the writers' decision to devoting too much of the episode to the Mary Alice storyline rather than focusing on the other characters.[38] Tanner Stransky, also writing for the magazine, wrote that the producers "artfully blended" the mystery surrounding Mary Alice's suicide with "hot-button and often titillating plotlines" throughout the series' first season.[11] In an article celebrating the tenth anniversary of the airing of the series' pilot episode, Matthew Jacobs of The Huffington Post complimented the "many layers of Mary Alice and her family's mystery" and likened it as "just as captivating" as the first season of Lost.[39]

text: In 2009, Stransky was favorable of both Strong's narration and performance in the fifth season episode "The Best Thing That Could Have Ever Happened", describing Mary Alice's role in the episode as "heartbreaking" and writing: "I know we hear Brenda Strong nearly every week in her voiceovers, but it was so nice to see her on screen again! That lady can act."[40] Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic was bored by Mary Alice's flashback scenes in the sixth season episode "Epiphany", believing them to be unrealistic.[41] Daniel Goldberg of Slant Magazine praised Mary Alice's narration in the series finale in 2012, writing: "There was one resolution that truly resonated. When the ladies all move out of [Wisteria] Lane and politely promise to keep in touch and visit, Mary Alice (Brenda Strong) takes the opportunity to unearth one last lie. With one of her most somber voiceovers ever, she lets us in on a secret that the housewives already know: They won’t keep in touch, and they won’t visit. The moment is far more unsettling and existential than the overblown sequence of the desperately deceased gathering to wave Susan goodbye. Deep friendships and passing acquaintances can never be replicated, and these are the endings we experience every day, even as we try to deny their finality."[42] Writing for Backstage magazine in 2012, Jeffery Self wrote that Strong's narration as Mary Alice led to her voice becoming "one of the most familiar on television".[43] As a result of her popularity as the series' narrator, Anna Silman of Vulture magazine described Strong as "everybody's favorite deceased housewife/omniscient narrator" in 2014.[44]

text: For her narration as Mary Alice, Strong was twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 2011 and 2012.[45][46] Additionally, as a cast member of Desperate Housewives, she twice received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, among five consecutive nominations for the award between 2005 and 2009.[47]