Good news ! "Desperate Housewives" lands on the Star category of Disney + this Tuesday, February 23, 2021. Gabrielle, Susan, Lynette, Bree … We all had our favorite female characters in this successful series. Still, Edie Britt is probably the best because she has the least problematic behavior of all. We explain to you.
Desperate Housewives is a timeless series. Arrived in France in 2005 on M6, this cult series blew a breath of fresh air on our small screens. It must be said that Marc Cherry took on a huge gamble in dealing with subjects that directly concern women and which were still little talked about at the time. To top it off, the creator of Desperate Housewives surrounded herself with actresses from hit '90s soap operas who had had their heyday, but have since gone a bit darker. From Terry Hatcher we saw in Lois and Clark to Marcia Cross from Melrose Place passing by Eva Longoria and her appearances noticed in The Young and the Restless… They were all familiar faces from television that we enjoyed seeing again.
Among these was also the actress Nicollette Sheridan who, in Desperate Housewives, played Edie Britt for five seasons. If we missed her after leaving the show, it's no doubt because Edie is the most endearing and least problematic female character. Since this Tuesday February 23, 2021, Desperate Housewives is available on the Star category of Disney +. The opportunity to (re) make a rewatch of the cult series but also to do justice to dear Edie, a precious character too often and unfairly overlooked.
Edie Britt is constantly slutshamed by other "desperate housewives"
From the first episode, Edie is unfairly propelled to the rank of bimbo. As Mike Delfino arrives in the neighborhood, she and Susan Mayer set their sights on him. This is the usual story: two women fight over a man. Here, one is blonde, sultry and confident. The other is dark and terribly awkward. In the end, it is Susan who wins and lives the great love with Mike, with highs but also, and above all, lows. And Susan frankly isn't always cool with Mike at times, even going so far as to lie to him when he's looking for her son, Zach.
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But on the pretext that she is doing all this for love, we forgive Susan. In the meantime, Edie is constantly slutshamed. Not only is she not entitled to love, but, on top of that, she gets this image of a munchie of men without morals. Worse yet, he is repeatedly accused of stealing from other people's husbands. However, when she gets into a relationship with Carlos, Gabrielle is indeed separated from the latter. And when Edie welcomes Horton Hodge with open arms in her home, since he is in the midst of a divorce from Bree, he is accused of stealing, once again, the husband of one of her neighbors. Edie Brit is constantly judged on her sexuality, her outspokenness and her behavior. So much so that she is rejected by others and becomes the neighborhood's unloved one. It’s breaking your heart.
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In "Desperate Housewives", Edie Britt is the ugly duckling and she deserves better
Edie is therefore often put aside by her neighbors. And it is from the beginning of the series that she struggles to find her place within the group because if she is a mother too, she remains single and has chosen not to have custody of her son, but also, because she is frank and takes responsibility for her sexuality. Edie does not fit into any box. Result: the very traditional Gabrielle, Susan, Lynette and Bree constantly judge her for her life choices. Yet, from the first seasons, we see that Edie is a deeply unhappy woman, because she is alone. She is unloved by those close to her, which makes her the ugly duckling of Fairview … and above all makes us want to surround her with kindness.
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In love too, Edie is the fifth wheel of the coach. When she begins a relationship with Carlos, she tries everything to keep her affection. But if she needs attention, the reason Carlos is with her is because he has a complicit relationship with her son. Having never had a child with Gabrielle, it's the jackpot for him. Then he decides to stay in the hope of being a father one day, while Gabrielle no longer wishes to be a mother after a sad miscarriage.
Edie deserves better than that ugly duckling label. Its frankness and authenticity bring another dimension to Desperate Housewives, especially when we know that the series is centered on small secretions between neighbors / girlfriends. Besides, his performer, Nicollette Sheridan, also deserved better. Disagreeing with the series creator, Marc Cherry, the actress had to leave the cult program and, to our dismay, the character of Eddie died of a stupid accident during season 5. No doubt the following seasons of Desperate Housewives did not taste the same.