Desperate Housewives: Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know

Posted Apr 20th 2009 12:30AM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: OpEd, Desperate Housewives, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

(S05E19) "I died just like I lived, as the complete, utter center of attention." - dead Edie

It's no secret anymore. Nicolette Sheridan is leaving Desperate Housewives, and this was her last episode as a series regular. Even if most major websites, newspapers, and magazines warned us in early February that the actress was exiting the show, some fans were still holding out hope that the news was untrue, as it wasn't the first time we heard a rumor about Sheridan leaving. Those fans must now come to terms with the fact that the sexy, perceptive, strong, beautiful, and one-of-a-kind Edie is now gone. If you ask Lynette, she would tell you that Edie looks like cat litter right now.

One thing is for sure, Edie/Nicolette went out with a bang with what may be the second best episode of the season (my favorite being the 100th episode featuring Beau Bridges).

Thanks to a four-hour drive to Travers' academy, the ladies try to come up with positive memories they have of Edie. Each flashback is filled with Edie's usual humor and take on life and allows us to know a little bit more about each housewife. Here are bits and pieces of what we learned:

Edie and Susan were friends when Edie first moved to Wisteria Lane. Susan even pretended to enjoy running in order to be friends. Things turned sour when Edie admitted she was sleeping with a married man. We learned that Edie was the one who warned Susan that Karl was cheating on her with his secretary.

Edie pushed Lynette to be strong again and fight the cancer. It was fun to watch Edie bring Lynette to the bar so Lynette would start having some fun, as it was clear the other housewives (through what we saw Katherine do) were more strict with her.

After Edie left Wisteria Lane, she lived close by the prison. She visited Orson once or twice a week to keep him company. If Bree hadn't learned of this fact when she tried to visit Orson, it's doubtful that she and Orson would still be together. But thanks to a prison guard who could be bought, Bree learned the truth and confronted Edie. The latter asked Bree why she couldn't suck it up once a month to help Orson go through this awful time. As Gaby said it, Edie shamed Bree into being a better human being, and from then on, she visited her husband in jail.

Edie helped Gaby go back to the dating world by taking her to a singles' bar. After this outing, Edie revealed that she always knew she wouldn't live past 50 and that she was surprised her youth went away so fast.

Without much surprise, Travers is not really shaken up by his mother's passing since he barely knew her and believes that she was a bad mother. However, Edie's real best friend, Mrs. McCluskey, tells him that Edie truly believed that she did what was best for him when she gave her ex full custody. She knew she wouldn't be a good mother and that her lifestyle wouldn't be best for a child. Travers is moved by the story. He later thanks the housewives for making the trip to announce his mother's passing and asks them to scatter the ashes since they were her friends and knew her best.

The episode was filled with fantastic quotes. Here are a few I had time to note down. Feel free to comment and add those I missed:

"I took my last breath." - Edie announcing to us that she had finally passed away
"It looks like cat litter." - Lynette commenting on Edie's ashes
"You're stronger than me." - Edie telling Lynette that she has what it takes to fight the cancer
"My boobs are impressive, but they can't bend iron bars." - Edie to Bree
"Edie Britt shamed you into being a better human being." - Gaby to Bree
"I appreciate my life in a way most people don't." - Edie to Gaby
"I love him enough to let him hate me." - Edie to Mrs. McCluskey about letting Travers be with his father

It was really fitting to have each housewife take some of the ashes and spread them over their lawn, as Wisteria Lane was Edie's home.

As I've said in my intro, I think this was the season's second best episode. The flashbacks were fun and touching at the same time, and having Edie narrate in her unique snarky voice enhanced the episode. Even if Edie was sort of a fifth wheel, I'll miss her antics. Hopefully, we will see her in the future, or should I say, in flashbacks.