Greetings, reader!
Yeah, this is a niche one, but let me explain. I recently watched Desperate Housewives for the first time, right after re-watching Lost. I noticed that these two shows have one thing in common: there's a fuck-bunch of car-related incidents. In Desperate Housewives, any given storyline has the chance to either escalate or be wrapped up via a car crash, hit-and-run or drive-by, and the same is weirdly true for Lost (yeah, they're stranded on an island, but pretty much everyone's backstory features at least one car accident flashback). So, I gathered all of the car-related incidents from both shows, and ranked them based on how memorable, impactful for the plot, creative and iconic they are!
A major spoiler alert is in order, as some of these incidents have to do with major character deaths and other big plot events in both shows!
As today's list is limited to cars, here are some honorable mentions for the most iconic incidents from the two shows that have to do with other vehicles:
- The original plane crash from Lost (Pilot, Season 1 Episode 1)
- The OTHER plane crash from Lost (316, Season 5 Episode 6)
- The goddamn plane crash from Desperate Housewives because that happened (Boom Crunch, Season 6 Episode 10)
- The shipwreck flashback from Lost (Ab Aeterno, Season 6 Episode 9)
- The time Orson crashed Andrew's scooter (If There's Anything I Can't Stand, Season 4 Episode 4)
36. Kate's flashback plot is resolved by a car crash for the third goddamn time (Lost: What Kate Did, Season 2 Episode 9)
For the most part, the car crash lore on Lost got better and better, as the viewer starts to realize that they aren't just random incidents but rather a part of the show's mysterious supernatural mythos with some deeper purpose. But I'm making an exception when it comes to Kate's storyline, because HOW F**KING LAZY is it to always resolve her flashback storylines with a conventient car crash? Seriously, no matter how you look at it, three times for the same character is too damn many.
35. Ralph is run over by a truck (Desperate Housewives: Remember, Part 1, Season 2 Episode 23)
Low points for memorability, as I had no recollection of this happening until I did some background research for this list. But, yeah, that was apparently the end of the short-lived gardener of the Solis household in season 2 (not to be confused by their original gardener John Rowland - that storyline was less "car crash" and more "trainwreck").
34. Gabby and Bree's lucky carjacking (Desperate Housewives: Secrets That I Never Want to Know, Season 8 Episode 1)
Barely counting as a "car incident" for the purposes of today's list, this is the time when Gabby and Bree while trying to get rid of a car as a part of the final season's How to Get Away with Murder plot and it got conveniently carjacked. A bit of a deus ex machina perhaps, but it was definitely entertaining to follow.
33. Rose's automobile is stuck in the snow (Lost: S.O.S., Season 2 Episode 19)
This one barely qualifies, as it's probably the least dramatic/consequential car 'incident' out of all thirty-three on this list. But still - as we see in a season 2 flashback, Rose once got her old-timey car stuck in the snow, and Bernard was there to help. No major inconvenience or dramatic twist, but still a cute moment that helped flesh out their love story.
32. Al Kaminsky's car bursts into flames mid-tornado (Desperate Housewives: Something's Coming, Season 4 Episode 9)
This one feels like it should be higher - but, the thing is, I didn't remember it at all when I stumbled upon it when researching this list. The tornado episode Something's Coming is obviously the stuff of legends and one of the show's finest hours, but there are so many more memorable moments in the episode that this moment somehow became a bit forgettable. Still, I'm sure it adds to the ramp-up of the episode's chaotic nature as a whole!
31. Anthony Cooper's off-screen car crash (Lost: The Brig, Season 3 Episode 19)
I know that an off-screen car incident seems inherently less interesting than the ones we see, but I'm still ranking this higher than the very worst ones. You see, this one furthers the show's lore in an interesting way, fleshing out the mystery that so much in everyone's backstory has to do with similar patterns. Out of all the possible explanations for John Locke's father suddenly being on the island, "I was in a car crash and then I just woke up here" was the absolute Lost-iest one they could've gone with.
30. MJ Delfino's soapbox car is run over by a real car (Desperate Housewives: Lost My Power, Season 8 Episode 20)
Yeah, this one counts - it may be one of the lower-stakes ones, but still. The moment in itself might be a bit inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but bonus points for leading up to one of the most touching moments in the entire series.
29. Locke's getaway on wheels comes with some bruises (Lost: Meet Jeremy Bentham, Season 5 Episode 7)
This one barely qualifies as an 'incident', - nothing all that major actually happens as Locke does end up getting away. But, while being a car chase sequence above all else, I'm still counting it here because Locke's car does hit (and get hit by) several cars in the process. Damage is caused, but Locke isn't stopped, so while I do count it as an 'incident', it's a very small-scale one.
28. I didn't even remember that Kate and Sawyer crashed into each other because that's how convoluted the plot of Lost is (Lost: Recon, Season 6 Episode 8)
You'd think that "the two major characters whose will-they-won't-they dynamic colors the entire series actually existed in a parallel timeline or whatever the f**k the flash-sideways storyline of the final season is, and they ran into each other in that timeline, via a car crash" would be, like, one of the biggest moments in the series. Turns out, it's such a minor plot point that you kind of forget about it until someone reminds you. That's season 6 of Lost for you. Still, cool stuff, albeit a bit run-of-the-mill.
27. Bree's mom's off-screen death (Desperate Housewives: Come in, Stranger, Season 1 Episode 5)
This one feels like it shouldn't be ranked so high, but it's actually a very interesting one - just for very different reasons than most of today's list. Yes, we don't see the crash as it happened years before the show's events, so there's no real shock/entertainment value. But, the way that Bree tells the story to Zach Young is utterly fascinating, and this piece of lore is crucial for Bree's character development and the viewer's understanding of her as a character.
26. Claire was also in a car crash! (Lost: Par Avion, Season 3 Episode 12)
Pretty run-of-the-mill "Oh, this person also has a car accident in their backstory, how spooky!" stuff for Lost. Bonus points for directing: the episode opens with a flashback to the moment just after the crash has happened, and the atmosphere is very intriguing and thriller-like.
25. Bree acidentally hits Juanita with her car (Desperate Housewives: You Must Meet My Wife, Season 7 Episode 2)
Yeah, this one is pretty funny (I mean, as funny as hitting a kid with your car can be). It's all about the underlying context, and the fact that Juanita thankfully survives the incident without any major damage.
24. Felicia Tilman dies...maybe...I think? (Desperate Housewives: And Lots of Security..., Season 7 Episode 22)
Yeah, we never got a confirmation for Felicia's fate - but it doesn't look great for her. It's hard to pinpoint how I feel about this one: from a writer's perspective, it does feel like a bit of a "Oh shit, how do we tie up this loose end? F**k it, let's do the thing we always do", but on the other hand - if it ain't broke, don't fix it. It was quite a memorable twist.
23. Michael is randomly hit by a car (Lost: Special, Season 1 Episode 14)
While it isn't quite the first car incident in Lost, it is the OG in terms of the classic formula where a mysterious car-out-of-nowhere incident dramatically changes the course of a major character's backstory. In that sense, it does hold quite a special place (y'know...'cause the episode's name is Special) in the show's lore.
22. We find out that Martha Toomey lost her leg in a car accident (Lost: Numbers, Season 1 Episode 18)
One of the most obscure and niche instances on today's list, but I gotta rank it high because the Lost numbers are my favorite TV mystery of all time, and every detail in its convoluted lore is a building block into something perfect.
21. Michael drives full speed into a cargo container; lives (Lost: Meet Kevin Johnson, Season 4 Episode 8)
This one is pretty interesting, because it escalates the supernatural curse element of season 4's Kevin Johnson storyline into further madness. What won't that poor tortured soul survive?
20. Bob and Lee's car is stuck amidst a riot (Desperate Housewives: Down the Block There's a Riot, Season 7 Episode 10)
This one would be ranked much higher if they were ranked as overall moments and plot turns, as it's a dramatic addition into the big moment of one of the show's best episodes. But, the thing is, it just doesn't feel like a "car incident", so I can't rank it too highly on this specific list. Still, it's an emotionally charged moment and it objectively does qualify for the list.
19. Kate drives through a police barricade (Lost: Born to Run, Season 1 Episode 22)
Ah, the second time Kate's flashback storyline culminates in a car incident! Points for dramatically killing off the love interest, minus points for the trope starting to feel a bit repetitive in Kate's flashback storyline specifically.
18. Locke isn't hit by a car (Lost: Deus Ex Machina, Season 1 Episode 19)
This one might feel like it's ranked too high - but it's just such a fun misdirect! Back in late season 1, the reasons for why John Locke is in a wheelchair was still a big mystery, so when an intense moment in a flashback sequence sees him frantically running without noticing the car that's headed his way, it gives a sense of "ah, of course, this is it". But it's a goddamn red herring, as he swerves to avoid damage at the last second.
17. Nadia is fatally struck by a car (Lost: The Incident, Season 5 Episode 16)
We already knew she'd die, due to the convoluted jumping narrative of the fourth and fifth seasons. But the exact manner of Nadia's death was left open, until it hits us, just like that particular vehicle hit her - of course it's a hit-and-run.
16. Susan Mayer drives her car into a lake because of course she does (Desperate Housewives: Liaisons, Season 3 Episode 18)
When I was researching every possible incident for this list and trying to make sure that I won't forget anything, I had just finished watching Desperate Housewives. I wrote down all the most obvious car incidents, sent them to my fiancée to ask if there's something I'm forgetting...and before she had time to answer, I added: "Wait...did Susan, like, drive her car into a lake at some point or did I just have a really strange dream?". That tells you all about what a beautifully convoluted series Desperate Housewives is, as well as the amount of chaotic messes that Susan gets herself into.
15. The writers throw Juliet's ex-husband under the bus - literally (Lost: Not In Portland, Season 3 Episode 7)
This one feels extra-magical when compared to many otherwise similar incidents in the Lost lore. I mean, earlier in the episode's flashback storyline, Juliet's antagonistic husband Edmund actually says "I will never let you go, and short of being hit by a bus, you are bound to me" - now, that foreshadowing should immediately ring some alarm bells, but as a first-time viewer, I hadn't yet fully realized the connection between the interspersed car incidents in different backstories, so I didn't make much of the line. However, it leaves a subliminal trace, because the instant that it happens, you remember the line and suddenly the moment feels profound. Some larger forces were at work there.
14. Kate and Ray swerve off the road (Lost: Tabula Rasa, Season 1 Episode 3)
Yeah, they ended up going to the car incident well a bit too much with Kate's storyline - but the first time rocks. It's the first car incident in the series (according to the viewing order, that is - figuring out the chronologically first one might get messy), and thus sets the stage for what would be a grand tradition throughout Lost. It's a good moment, not just in a thrilling car incident fashion, but from a character development standpoint as well: Kate would have the chance to get away, but gets caught because she stays behind to save Ray, and this shows to Marshal Jennings that no matter how much of a monster he considers Kate to be, there clearly is some good in her.
13. Rest in Hell, Chuck Vance (Desperate Housewives: Putting It Together, Season 8 Episode 9)
I could've ranked this one even higher due to its dramatic nature, but honestly - at this point in the show, the car incidents had become such a commonplace narrative item that they just couldn't catch you off guard and shock you in the same way, so you kinda see the moment coming. Despite that, it's still ranked high for a variety of reasons: it's kind of a payoff to see such a heinous villain killed off, the death leaves implications that blow the main storyline of the final season wide open for its second half, and the identity of the person who ran him over remains a delightful mystery for several episodes and the eventual reveal is pretty neat.
12. The drive-by shooting that pierced the heart of every viewer (Desperate Housewives: You Take for Granted, Season 8 Episode 16)
Yeah, I'm still too emotional to talk about this one. Rest in peace, Mike.
11. Hurley's car chase ends in mayhem (Lost: The Beginning of the End, Season 4 Episode 1)
This sequence is well-directed, whimsically chaotic, and a narratively brilliant way to open the fourth season. "I'm one of the Oceanic Six!" in the flash-forward context went so f**king hard.
10. Desmond runs over Locke because of course he does (Lost: Everybody Loves Hugo, Season 6 Episode 12)
I'd imagine that showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse had a bucket list of everything they need to accomplish with the final season, and one of the item was "once more for the road" in terms of completely unhinged car incident storylines. In the notorious flash-sideways narrative of the final season (that was a whole thing), shit really hits the fan when Desmond enacts his chaotic-good plan of setting forth a chain of events in order to reunite everyone and help them remember, in the most Lost way imaginable. You just have to see it to believe it.
9. Edie crashes into a utility pole and f**king dies (Desperate Housewives: A Spark. To Pierce the Dark., Season 5 Episode 18)
Among other things, this one is definitely one of the most consequential ones from both shows combined. The chain of events leading up to this moment is chaotic as all hell, and the fact that it actually leads to the death of one of the show's most important characters is pretty bonkers. RIP legend.
8. Two characters from different storylines run into each other - with their cars (Lost: Abandoned, Season 2 Episode 6)
This one is pretty neat - as a part of slowly building towards the big "they were all connected" lore that would escalate into a whole thing with the candidates and other Jacob stuff in the final season, this season 2 episode treated us to one of the first (and coolest) connections between the backstories of different Oceanic 815 survivors. We knew that Shannon had been in a car crash, and we knew that Jack had met his wife Sarah by having to operate on her after her spine after some near-fatal incident. But when it's subtly revealed that these two incidents were the same, as the car with Shannon and her dad in it crashed into Sarah's car, it's a wild and eyebrow-raising twist.
7. Jack's life-changing moment (Lost: Through the Looking Glass, Season 3 Episode 22)
The all-time best episode of Lost opens in a profound manner (only to get much better yet from thereon out). In a flashback (that we would later find out to be, SPOILER ALERT, very much not a flashback at all), we see Jack Shephard on a bridge, contemplating suicide, when he sees a car crash take place right behind him. This makes him change his mind, as he rushes to help the victims. Powerful imagery, and highly intriguing stuff.
6. Dave Williams orchestrates a dramatic car crash recreation (Desperate Housewives: If It's Only in Your Head, Season 5 Episode 24)
In the climax of the show's fifth (and arguably best) season, the unforgettable villain Dave Williams attempts to recreate the tragedy that radicalized him (more on that later), but with Susan's family being the victims this time. In the end, he does the right thing at the last minute, showing mercy to little MJ and getting hit himself. It's all pretty exhilarating.
5. Andrew runs over Mama Solis (Desperate Housewives: Anything You Can Do, Season 1 Episode 7)
Ah, the OG Desperate Housewives hit-and-run. In a true showcase of how crazy the series can get in the early days, an argument in the Solis households ends with Carlos' mother storming out, into the street - and getting hit by a car...being driven by Bree's son Andrew. Needless to say, the secrets involved in this shocking incident became a fountain of drama for years and years to come.
4. The DHARMA van saves the day (Lost: Through the Looking Glass, Season 3 Episode 22)
For once, the car incident is a fun one, as it's the bad guys being the situation's victim! Things look dire in the season 3 finale, as the terrifying Others are holding many of the main characters hostage at the beach camp and are about to kill them.
But, as fate would have it, the day is saved by the only car incident out the show's tens and tens of car incidents that takes place on the island instead of people's pre-island backstories / post-island flash-forwards / whatever the f**k the flash-sideways in season 6 were. Earlier in season 3, there was a fun little subplot of Hurley and company finding and repairing the old DHARMA Initiative van, and here, it becomes an ultimate deus ex machina as Hurley drives it right into the camp to the Others' great surprise. Fantastic stuff.
3. Of course the origin story of the best Lost character is a f**king car crash (Lost: Cabin Fever, Season 4 Episode 11)
This one is downright profound, and hits so hard especially when re-watching the whole series. The penultimate episode of season 4 opens with a flashback to a mysterious woman, who gets into a car crash that triggers premature labor. She gives birth right there, on the side of the road, and the exact context of why we're seeing this is a mystery - until she utters the name John. Learning how the life of the show's most complex and engaging character was dramatically complicated from the very beginning was powerful as hell, in a specific way that is hard to put to words. But, yeah, of course it's a fucking car crash that starts it all.
2. Mike is hit by a car DRIVEN BY GODDAMN ORSON (Desperate Housewives: Remember: Part 2, Season 2 Episode 24)
This one is as classic as it gets. In the season 2 finale of Desperate Housewives, Mike Delfino is on his way to a romantic dinner with Susan (with a potential marriage proposal in the works) - and just then, when you least expect it, a car runs over the poor guy. That moment is enough to have the first-time viewer absolutely reeling, but it only gets better than there: we see that it was the new character Orson Hodge, played by national treasure Kyle MacLachlan, who very purposefully ran him over. Just why the hell he would do such a thing is a damn good question, and one that would ignite many fantastic storylines to come in the following season.
1. Of course the origin story for Desperate Housewives' best villain is a f**king car crash (Desperate Housewives: You're Gonna Love Tomorrow, Season 5 Episode 1 / A Vision's Just a Vision, Season 5 Episode 10)
I was going to put the Mike-Orson case at #1 due to its sheer insanity, but I eventually realized that I do like this one even more, due to its, well, different sort of insanity. In the impressively well-written catalyst for the show's acclaimed fifth season, a fuck-bunch of context comes together to create the perfect season-long villain arch - and it's all centered around a life-changing car crash.
To fully understand how hard the previously mentioned recreation in the season 5 finale hits, you have to understand how hard the big reveal in the midseason finale hits. And to fully grasp how that plot twist goes harder than any other in the show, you have to understand the context of the fifth season's opening scene contrasted to the sheer mystery around Dave Williams and his motives throughout the season's first half. And to understand that, we really have to go all the way back to the infamous time-jump at the end of the season 4 finale.
Only with all of this context put together, the genius plotline can be fully appreciated: we jump ahead five years in time, we learn that Susan and Mike are shockingly not together anymore and that their guilt over a dramatic car crash was a big reason for this, we sort of forget about that while getting to know the new mystery villain of the fifth season - and then, at the very end of the midseason finale, it's revealed that it was Dave's family in the other car, so he blames Susan and Mike for the death of his wife and child. Bone-chilling stuff, and easily the world record for how much character drama, psychological warfare and intense storytelling can stem from one car crash.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for a post that - well, I don't want to give too much away.
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