Desperate Housewives: The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened

Posted Jan 19th 2009 3:01PM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: OpEd, Desperate Housewives, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

(S05E13) TV shows always try to offer us big episodes when they hit milestones such as their 100th episode. Some totally miss the mark while others offer us an amazing episode that ends up being one of the best in the series. Desperate Housewives' cast and crew can give themselves a pat on the back because they are of the latter group.

"The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened" may not have pushed forward the current storylines, but it brought us down memory lane while offering tidbits we didn't know about the main housewives. It also allowed us to see a few old faces such as Rex, Mrs Gruber, Yao Lin and Mary Alice.

The story was simple, Wisteria Lane's handyman, Eli, had a heart attack while fixing Susan's roof. This was set to be his last job before retiring in Waikiki. During the episode, the housewives remember how Eli affected their lives.

We see Gaby's first step as a Wisteria Lane resident. She is a spoiled brat who loves making an entrance. Thanks to Eli telling her a few things he overheard, Gaby apologizes to the other housewives and explains how her life is. Without Eli, maybe Gaby would still be a lonely model. Loved the "Now you know why models don't usually talk" comment from Gaby.
Bree's flashback features Rex. Back then, she always wanted to write a cookbook. Rex does not think it's a good idea so Bree complies. However, after Rex dies, Eli tells Bree he saved a few of her recipes and tried some. He tells her that writing a book might be good. She says she is not ready to do so. If it weren't for Eli putting the idea of the book back in her mind, maybe Bree would have never done so.
I didn't recall Edie being married before, so her flashback offered me that piece of information. She was married for two years to a man who turned out to be gay. Eli was there to comfort her. Of course, since Edie's libido was out of control, Eli tested first-hand the mirror he installed on Edie's bedroom ceiling!
Thanks to Eli, Lynette learned about caring for her children. He gave Lynette a chance after finding baby Penny alone outside under the sun and reminded her that she has a lot to handle without the job.
As for Susan, he was a needed shoulder when Susan decided to throw Karl out of the house and when she and Mike decided to divorce.
My favorite flashback was that of Mary Alice because it was linked to the very first scene of the series: when Mary Alice kills herself. Eli was the last person who saw Mary Alice alive.

The writing was effective and every flashback made sense. As a fan of the series since the unaired version of the pilot, I must say I was satisfied by this 100th episode. As a fan of Katherine, I'm a little disappointed they didn't find a way to include her in the flashbacks. Couldn't she have been in the first flashback where Eli meets Mary Alice? After all, if Katherine knew Susan, she must have known Mary Alice, no? Also, Eli recently died so maybe he did some work on Katherine's house when she moved back to Wisteria Lane? Then again, the episode is only about 40 minutes long in total, so not everyone can get their flashback moment.

What did you think of this 100th episode? Do you think, as I do, that it's one of the best the series offered us so far? Let your voice be heard in comments below.