I believe Marc Cherry has stated that he envisions the show ending with just one character remaining.

No you have to just go woth me on this one. It’s far-fetched, but possible. And if you have seen the movie “Identity” starring John Cusack, this would make more sense.

What if Mary Alice is the only housewife remaining?

She shot herself in the first episode — but, what if she didn’t shoot herself? What if she had Multiple Personality Disorder, and she symbolically, by putting the gun to her head, killed off her major personality? (The one she was born with) What if all of the characters on Wisteria Lane, Fairview (which would not be an actual place — it would be her *mind*) were different personalities, and each character (personality) died off on the show through psychiatric treatment from a doctor.

Mary Alice could be the one left standing.
Lynette, Bree, Susan, Edie, Katherine and Gabrielle — the whole gang represent personalities. All other characters — husbands, doctors, lovers, were imagined scenarios.

So, basically what I’m saying (hypothetically) is that Mary Alice never died. The houusewives never existed. This whole time Mary Alice was in an institution, undergoing some experimental drug therapy that actually *worked*, and every time she narrated a show, she was actually talking to a psychiatrist, who is asking her “what’s happening now?” to gain further insight into her psyche.

All characters (again — personalities) die, and somehow, Mary Alice “survived” the symbolic gunshot to the head — leaving her completely cured.

Just a thought. I know it was long-winded, but I’ve tossed this idea around with some friends, and they agree that the “it was all a dream” scenario has been overused before (“Newhart”, when he woke up with Suzanne Pleshette, “Dallas” where Bobby Ewing never died, “Roseanne”, where Dan survived the heart attack and she won the lottery “The Golden Girls” — when Blanche’s dead husband resurfaces after ‘faking’ his death)– but this would sure make an interesting ending (albeit — maybe not the BEST one). Don’t you think?