No spoilers, just speculation. Go!

Bumped.

Not to come across as morose, but does anyone else believe that there could be the remains of an infant or toddler in that toy box? Mary Alice's son looks very creepy and psychotic. Could he have killed his younger sibling years ago and his parents covered it up? I think the guilt from her baby's death could be the reason why she committed suicide.

I also think that Mike's undercover work has nothing to do with the Young family and their buried secrets. He's on that street for something else.

Geez. Where to start? Unspoiled thusfar, here's a few wild guesses.

A.) Does the note refer a secret of Mary Alice's, her husband or son's secret, or someone else entirely?

For me, the most likely is the son. He's the one we've seen the least about, and yet he's talked about with the husband in one breath. The son did something, Mary Alice couldn't live with it, and the father has been covering it up.

B.) What's in the chest formerly cemented under the pool and now bobbing down the river?

No firm ideas, but we are bound to find out soon. My guess is that whatever it is it will NOT give us that many answers, but probably cause more questions. It won't be body parts or anything like that. We've seen the chest was heavy, but was the weight due to the contents or was it just a bulky chest?

C.) Onto another mystery: our friend the cop. Why is he there?

One guess... it has nothing to do with Mary Alice's death, or even her secret. Somebody or multiple somebodies are hiding things in that 'hood. One wonders though why he has information on EVERY neighbor.

D.) A smaller mystery: Margret Huber, the nosey neighbor, will straight up try and blackmail Susan. For what is the mystery.

I'm thinking it's for some neighborhood status nonsense, and not money. Does a children's book illustrator make a lot?

E.) Straight speculation time, minus any real mystery.
-Susan's conclusion that neither she nor Edie will have any effect on Plumber Cop won't stop Edie from continuing to try, or a continuing storyline with her worrying about this.
-Lynette is headed for a major meltdown--even more obviously than the more overtly scary Bree.
-Bree's Stepford phase will end within a half a season, but maybe something worse (for Rex, at least) will follow.
-Gabrielle and the Gardener will be outed. Not just to the husband but to the whole neighborhood.

I'm betting Gabrielle and the gardener will be outed to everyone in the neighborhood BUT the husband. Gaby's already slipping here and there, what with her telling Susan that John gave her that rose.

Yeah, I'm actually hoping that's the case. It'd be a nice (unexpected) twist for MA's death to be a red herring for what Mike's agenda is.

Does the late Mrs. Delfino have anything to do with the reason why he's there. It seems unlikely that an FBI agent would have a dog as part of his undercover role. Except walking the dog does give him a very good reason to be walking the neighbourhood at any given time of the day, or night to a lesser degree.

I don't think he is in law enforcement because if he were a cop or FBI I think he would be doing phonetaps and listening in. I posted this in the Mike thread as well that I think he is a private investigator who's there to find out which of them committed a particular crime that someone wants solved who may have a connection to the cul-de-sac.

He could be making that story up and the dog is not a pet but a working dog.

True, but I don't know how well I could continue to like a man who lies so well. I mean, if he is lying because it's his job to, then I suppose I can understand but damn, I'd feel sorry for Susan.

And seriously, making up a dead wife? Damn...that would suck.

Of course the dead wife could be real and related in some way to why he's in the 'hood. Maybe he's only lying about HOW she died.

Based on some screencaps of his freakish map in the 1-2 episode thread, I think that what he's after could involve a child. In the screencaps, he seems to have highlighted the names of all the teens and almost-teens in the neighborhood.

Between that and the chest which looked like a toy chest, maybe Mary Alice and her husband stole their son from someone? Maybe even from Mike Delfino and his wife (who then died from grief)?

Okay, he highlighted the teens/tweens names, true, but wouldn't he know exactly how old a stolen child of his would be, if not the sex as well? I mean, there's a lot of bandwidth between a 16 year old boy and a 12 year old girl that should make it easy to disregard one or the other if searching for a stolen child (or one given up for adoption, or whatever), right?

But maybe he thinks he can get at the info he needs (on the families) through the kids - if he's trying to decipher a mystery that's 6-10 years old, someone who was a kid at the time might remember something and let it slip more easily than an adult, especially a guilty one.

I'm still not getting the mixed-up street numbers thing. Seems like a weird continuity error to have. I'm also not sure why Mike would have had the street numbers on post-its instead of just written in, so they could be something different - except that the ordering of them makes a lot of sense other than with the repeat from Bree's & Debby's houses. (As far as I can tell, anyway.)

Mary Alice's son gives me the creeps. I call dead babysitter in the box. That may be why the Mike would have the names of all the kids who would have been of babysitter-needing age x amount of years ago. And explain the weight of the box.

What if Mike's investigating something involving Susan's ex? That would explain why he's trying to get closer to her in particular.

Also, I found it interesting that he had circled Rex's (Bri's husband) name. It really seems as though he's in town for something other than Mary Alice's mystery (which I agree, has something to do with the son)

Regarding the screencap of Delino's chart: all the last names were highlighted in yellow. (Susan) Mayer was also circled and written in bolder type. (Lynette) Scavo was circled as well. Solis was not circled. I can buy that Susan is up to something shifty because the dog hates her. But why is he so interested in Lynette, who does nothing but stay at home with the terrible hellspawn? Maybe it has something to do with her former workplace? Maybe Susan's ex worked there too or was somehow involved with that company? And that's why he has both of them circled?

Is Wisteria Lane a cul-de-sac? 'Cause I grew up on a cul-de-sac, and the house numbers were all kindsa wonky. We lived in 125 until I was 8, when we moved next door. Literally the next house over. It was 132.

Anyone think that the GPS system in Gabi's new car will end up getting her busted with John?
I mean Carlos made a point of mentioning the GPS...I think that he may follow her or something...
Cars with the system can be tracked....

So because I'm 12, and I really suck at speculation (seriously, none of my predictions are ever right), I thought of an alternative reason for Scruffy Mike's dog. He's gay, and the dog is his cover for late night prowls. It would also explain his lack of romantic interest in both Susan and Edie. Plus Gay Matt lives right down the street. HoYAY!

As much as that idea appeals to me, I think the constant presence of Edie is probably just scaring the living hell out of his penis and making it impossible for him to show sexual interest in anyone.

Seemed fairly avilicious to me, too! We shall see, no?

Backtracking to the note: I wonder if it will turn out to be related to something inconsequential, e.g., she bought cookies at the store and heated them in the microwave, then passed them off as home-cooked for her kids' class or that ilk. I also wonder if the note was written by Mrs. Huber...

I'm beginning to think too that Mrs. Kravitz wrote that "I know what you did last summer" note.

Not quite sure what to think of Plumber/FBI?/Bounty Hunter?/PI?Mike. Maybe his "Wife" has something to do with MA's secret

I'm pretty sure that Family Services will be giving Lynette a call at some point because of the car incident.

I think that it has to have something to do with a dead babysitter or a dead child - why else would Mike have marked all the teens/tweens + Mary Alice? And what else would Mary Alice be so desperate to hide that she would commit suicide if it ever got out?

Perhaps her son killed the babysitter by accident and they tried to cover it up? That would at least explain why he's so fucking creepy.

I am thinking that FauxPlumber Mike is looking for someone, but is not sure who he is looking for - like a witness to a crime or a drug dealer -- he has evidence pointing to Wisteria Lane but nothing else. And, I don't think he is going to be connected to Mary Alice's secret because that would end up being rather limiting for the writers to have several major plot elements all revolving around one idea. A soap opera-ish shows needs numerous "stories" to keep going.

The Note:

I'm leaning toward MsLark's theory but I think Bree sent it. I think Bree knew Mary Alice used a mix for her award winning bundt cake and not her mother's from scratch receipe like she claimed.

I think Mr. MA never saw the note, but knew that her suicide had something to do with their long hidden secret. Maybe they covered up their infant's mysterious death, maybe they kidnapped or 'bought' Zack?

The FauxPlummer:

Since he moved in before supposedly before Mary Alice's death, I think there is something else fishy going on. My first guess was that Carlos was connected to the mob (lots of money, sleezy business partners). But since Mike wants to get to know the kids; that theory kind of falls apart.

Bree:

What is her story? Rex claims she's changed. When? Why? How did she ever make friends with Susan and Gabby and Lynette if she is so artificial all the time? Seems like she would be closer to Mrs. Kravitz?

Hah! That would work if Mike were Kevin Spacey. But I think there definitely needs to be some gayness on this show. Maybe Mike is gay and his dead wife was just his beard. Or something.

I defintely believe that Mike is looking for someone. To take someone else's spec--what if a child was switched at birth or something--hence the specification of the kid's ages?


Or he could still be an agent of some sort.

Maybe he just highlights them when he meets them, and has had a chance to meet more of the moms / older kids who are hanging around the neighborhood more often.

Zack knows that his dad was digging up the pool, no? So Zack is aware of the hole and the toychest. Word to the other person who brought up the point that Mrs. Kravitz would so know about the pool being dug up.

I just can't wrap my brain around its being a babysitter from yore. There would have been a search so many yrs ago for a missing babysitter, etc, etc.

Stealing a kid? Suppose that could have worked if all the old newspapers about a stolen baby were in that toychest, but that begs the question of why not burn them.

As you can tell, I have no clue and am a terrible speculator also.

I don't think Mike has anything to do with Mary Alice. It's too convenient. If he moved in after she killed herself, then I could see it.

I'm wondering if her problem was actually Zack. Because of how Mr. MA reacted, including his speech about abandoning her husband and her son. If Zack did something when he was very young, and the coverup for it is in that box, hubby might see her killing herself as leaving him alone to deal with Zack. They didn't really show much about either of them to compare how much of their demeanor is mourning and how much is natural, but the kid just seems a little off.

If it was Mary Alice's decision to bury the box, and hubby wanted to get rid of it from the start, that would explain why he'd feel safer digging it up and getting rid of it now that she's not there to stop him, especially if he's mad at her for sticking him with the whole burden of whatever the Zack did (might still do).

My bf said "what if there's a baby's body in the box?" and we both looked at each other and went "ewww." But? I wonder. That might be a little too heavy of a story for ABC. Then again.... Just speccing here.

I really have no clue about the secrets and stuff but they did make a point of doing a few closeups of the chest to show that there were baby designs on it...that must mean something.

In a lot of ways, I don't, either - I think it's just concurrence. BUT, couldn't he have been the letter-writer? He knew there was something going on in the 'hood, moved himself in to investigate, got to know her & sent the letter to see what would happen - and look what happened. He could even have sent similar letters (or be planning to) to the other women - it's an oft-used litererary device for getting people to act strangely about their own hidden skeletons / buried babysitters.

His handwriting on the map didn't match that on the letter, but the letter was odd in that aspect, too - thick block letters on the note itself, thin scrawly loopy letters on the envelope.

Did they ever mention where the letter was postmarked? Was it from their anytown, USA post office, or some big far off city, or what?

I would really doubt that Mike is FBI or police, for several reasons.

1.) He wouldn't need to ask who was living in which house, or have to do a hand-drawn map, as any law enforcement or federal agent would be have that information well before moving in.

2.) He wouldn't be sloppy enough to keep his gun, the map, and the money where it could be found that easily. Edie could have stumbled upon it way by accident. Any law enforcement person would have an innocuous-looking locked filing cabinet at least to keep those items inside.

3.) His phone conversation in the Pilot with the unknown person didn't sound at all official-souding.

Perhaps I've been watching "The Wire" way too much lately, but I don't see anything police or FBI-looking in Mike's behavior.

I've missed just the first very few minutes of both epis, so bear with me on this wild speculation: could Carlos have hired Mike due to some suspicion he (Carlos) has about Gabi?

As crazy as some of Carlos's ideas are ("I made $200,000 doing business with him. If he wants to grab your ass, you let him!"), I don't think he'd go as far as getting a PI to follow Gabby and then perhaps kill her secret lover. Mike packs heat (dirty!) so I don't think he's a PI, or maybe he is but isn't the kind who busts adulterous spouses.

I doubt this. I really don't think Carlos would hire some armed man to follow his wife and take it as far as having the guy move in on the same block. That makes no sense and if this was true, then the show would just lose all credibility...

Whatever is in the trunk it created enough gases to make it float instead of sink. The only thing I can think of that would do that is a body. Which is indeed creepy as many of the actors have been saying.

Now I have to go back and look at the screen caps in the episode thread again---dammit!--but I thought Mike had highlighted all the kids' names.

And that seemed odd.

I checked again, and for sure Lynette's kids are unhighlighted. Julie & all the teens are highlighted. Last names are highlighted, and Mary Alice's is, too. Maybe he highlights them when he can eliminate them from suspicion?

I don't know... Surely Mike can't suspect pre-kinder-aged children of whatever he's investigating, no matter how crazed and evil they are.

You know, if I didn't like Julie so much and if this were some depressing, crime show like CSI, I'd speculate that the teens were all in on some evil secret. (ie. They killed someone and Mr. MA hid the body for them because he's creepy like that.) But I like Julie and this isn't CSI, so I'm gonna go ahead and kick that speculation out of my mind.

Na if Bree's kids had killed anyone it would have been Bree, and she seems to still be alive. In a Stepford sort of way.

I really don't think MA Jr. is creepy. He looks lost. Like maybe someone who's perfect mom just blew her brains out, and once stable dad is now going semi-psychotic. I think he is vaguely aware that something odd happened when he was younger and now suspects that that something is rearing its ugly head and blowing his life to hell.

I wish one of the mom's would take him under her wing, not Gabi though, because, ew, he's a little to close to her prefered age bracket.


eta: how many more episodes before Gabi is pregnant and starts playing who's the daddy?

I totally thought about that when her husband said she'd changed over the last month. Anytime on TV I hear about a woman acting differently for a few months, I wonder if she's going to have a baby.

They can only be tracked with the cooperation of the manufacturer and a warrant. So that's not it.

There's another substance that would make something float called "air". The trunk was watertight. What's inconsistant to me is that it sunk in the first place (for more than a few seconds I mean).

He doesn't really seem to be going out of his way to socialize or meet people though. All the people who HAVE (at least the ones we've seen) done so have come to him--not the other way around.

I'm agreed now that he's definitely not a fed and probably not a cop. Leaving the slut neighbor woman behind to potentially find his hidden maps--even while in a panic over his pooch--was too amatuerish. And he'd have to be a rogue of some type no matter what. He's got no backup. Even with that person on the other end of his phone call, he's really been shown as a one-man investigation.

I hadn't really noticed his highlighting of the teens. My initial take had been that Mike and Mary Alice's mysteries had nothing to do with each other (especially since he apparently arrived before she killed herself). But if you reverse things--that his arrival was a CATALYST for her killing herself, it explains that. So yeah... maybe he arrives because of some incident in the past with some teenager who belonged to him or is related. He sends a note (although who says the note was to MARY ALICE--it could have just as easily been to the husband or the son), and Mary Alice is so despondant over whatever led to this that she kills herself.

But there's a big wrench in that theory. Dead Mary Alice seems to like Mike, in my opinion. Maybe being dead she's left her grief behind, but her tone doesn't have the dire warning in it that we've heard with other subplots.

I don't know. Another item on the ledger against the mysteries being related is that it's too limiting, and too quick. That trunk will be discovered and opened pretty soon, whereas I don't think we are going to get the scoop on Mike for some time yet.

They do show the neighbors finding it in her stuff, in an envelope of matching blue stationery, addressed to MA. The handwriting on the envelope is very different from the handwriting in the note, but I can explain that away.

Was the envelope addressed to her personally or just generally to her family? There is always the chance that the letter and the envelope came at different times and that MA just put the note into some envelope she had lying around. (after all, she bothered long enough to stuff it away because shooting herself)

I believe the note came in the same envelope that the friends found it in. It was addressed and mailed to MA.

I actually took that to mean that Gabi's affair started about a month ago with John and ever since then Carlos has notcied that she has been a little off.
I don't know, I do know that I luv Gabi!

Where are these screen caps that people keep saying that they have seen? The ones of the map/list by Undercover Plumber and others?