Edie Britt
Encyclopedia
Edie Britt Williams is a fictional character
created by television producer
and screenwriter
Marc Cherry
for the ABC
television series Desperate Housewives
. Nicollette Sheridan
portrayed Edie from her debut in the pilot episode of the series until the character's death in the fifth season
.
Within the series, Edie was one of several residents of the fictitious Wisteria Lane
; she lived at 4362 Wisteria Lane in Fairview, Eagle State
. Edie was a real estate agent. She has been married three times to Charles McLain (with whom she had a son, Travers), Umberto Roswell, and Dave Williams. Throughout her time on the series, she also had numerous relationships with the ex-husbands or former lovers of other characters.
Edie, originally conceived as a recurring role and rival for Susan Mayer
, has become one of the series' most notable characters. Sheridan's portrayal of the character has earned mostly positive reviews. In 2005, Sheridan was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
for Best Supporting Actress.
, one of the series' more prominent roles, was cast in the role in February 2004. On August 11, Sheridan was announced to have joined the main cast for the series' first season, the thirteenth cast member to do so. Despite proving popular with fans and critics, Sheridan's role remained somewhat minimal in the series' first two seasons. Series creator Marc Cherry insisted that Edie served "only as a spoiler to complicate the other women's lives." Although Sheridan thought of Edie as the fifth main housewife—in addition to Susan, Bree, Lynette Scavo
, and Gabrielle Solis
—the opening credits only pictured the other four women, excluding Edie. Additionally, Cherry shared that his goal for the series would be to have the central four women remain in the series.
However, Marcia Cross
's real-life maternity leave caused Bree to be absent in several episodes of the third season. Edie's character was elevated in prominence, providing the fourth concurrent storyline for the episodes. During this time, the character's "layers are peeled away and the character is developed on a deeper level than has been previously explored." Despite Cross's return, Edie maintained a more important role throughout seasons four and five
until the character's death.
and assault
and battery
, among five other counts. The following June, Sheridan filed an amended claim, clarifying that the alleged assault was a "light tap," but reaffirmed her stance that her contract was wrongfully terminated.
On August 7, 2011, after the announcement of Desperate Housewives cancellation at the end of its 8th season
, Marc Cherry has hinted that he may ask Nicollette Sheridan back for the series finale, "to pay homage to everyone who has been on the show", including Edie and without addressing Sheridan's lawsuit. However while being interviewed on NBC's Today the following day, the actress has firmly denied her comeback on Wisteria Lane
, saying "That's news to me. [...] I had an amazing time playing that character. I loved her dearly, but they killed her! She's dead."
) tells Susan that she will be babysitting Edie's son, although he does not appear until season 3. Edie and Susan Mayer
are attracted to new neighbor Mike Delfino
(James Denton
), creating tension between them which culminates in Susan accidentally burning Edie's house down. Edie is upset when Martha is murdered, and proves to be the only Wisteria Lane resident who wants to give her a proper burial. Susan admits to Edie that she burned her house down and Edie uses Susan's guilt to join the housewives' poker group. Edie continues to hit on Mike but he's more interested in Susan. Edie is upset when Susan and Mike move in together. Edie tries to get the women to convince Susan that Mike is bad for her, but Susan is sure he's the one. Susan later finds out her ex-husband, Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi
), cheated on her with Edie while they were married; using this knowledge, Edie and Karl start dating, increasing the tension between her and Susan.
. Susan feels guilty when Edie is hospitalized and tells her she won't give the confession to the police, sparing Edie prison. Edie refuses to accept Susan's pity and vows to get revenge.
with Edie in the hospital bed. Edie and Mike start a relationship, creating even more tension between her and Susan. Edie breaks it off when Mike is arrested for the murder of Monique Pollier. Edie's nephew, Austin McCann (Josh Henderson
), moves in with her. He starts dating Susan's daughter, Julie. Susan doesn't want her daughter dating Edie's nephew, but Edie claims she can't do anything about it because they are in love. Julie gets Edie to pose as her mother so she can get birth control pills without her mother finding out. Edie and Susan later catch Austin having sex
with Bree's daughter, Danielle Van de Kamp. He leaves Wisteria Lane when Danielle reveals she is pregnant with his child.
Edie's son, Travers, is introduced for the first time, having been dropped off by his father for a month-long visit. Carlos Solis
develops a father/son relationship with Travers as he is constantly called on to look after him. When Edie develops romantic feelings for Carlos, she uses his relationship with Travers to her advantage and tries to seduce him, but he tells her he's not interested in her that way. They eventually sleep together and later start dating. Carlos wants to keep the affair a secret, making Edie think he's still in love with Gabrielle. Edie tells Gabrielle about her and Carlos at Gabrielle's engagement party. Gabrielle is furious and demands Edie stop seeing Carlos, but Edie refuses. Gabrielle tries to get her friends to freeze out Edie, but Edie makes it difficult. Gabrielle eventually makes peace with the relationship...for now. Edie considers going for full custody of Travers to keep Carlos around, but Carlos convinces her not to. When Travers is collected by his father, Edie asks Carlos to move in with her. When he declines, Edie visits his landlady, Mrs. Simms, at her nursing home and tells her Carlos is an alcoholic, does drugs, and uses her home as a place to hook up with prostitutes. Mrs. Simms terminates the lease and Carlos is evicted. Edie offers Carlos a place to stay but he is suspicious that she was involved in his eviction. Carlos tells Edie he doesn't love her and she tells him she could be pregnant. After they find that she isn't, she suggests he stay with her and they try for a baby but continues taking the pill, because she doesn't want a baby until he starts to love her. While looking for money in Edie's purse to pay the paper boy, Carlos discovers the pills. At Gaby's wedding, Carlos confronts Edie and tells her he can never trust her again. Edie tries to apologize but is unsuccessful. At the closing scene of the season, Edie is shown with a sealed letter to her "beloved" Carlos, and hangs herself with a scarf.
account containing $10 million. She uses this knowledge to blackmail him, asking him to marry her, unaware that Carlos is having an affair with Gabrielle. Edie goes on to announce their engagement, but discovers Carlos's betrayal when she, Carlos, Gabrielle, and Gabrielle's new husband, Victor Lang (John Slattery
), all suffer from crabs
. Edie hires someone to spy on Carlos and Gabrielle, and manages to get pictures of the two of them kissing. Edie attempts to get revenge by telling the IRS about his offshore account. She then discovers that Carlos has emptied and closed his offshore account so she turns the pictures over to Victor, knowing he will get revenge. Edie, still feeling vindictive, reveals to the police that Gaby and Carlos may be responsible for her husband Victor's disappearance. A tornado is about to hit Wisteria Lane and Carlos and Gabrielle plan on disappearing. Edie then gets her hands on a folder, giving her access to Carlos's offshore bank account. Gabrielle and Edie fight over the folder, but lose the papers in the tornado. They are forced to take shelter together in Edie's crawl space and are able to put aside their differences for a while. Carlos is blinded in the tornado.
Edie finds out Carlos gave her fake jewelry when they were together and gets back at him by telling Gabrielle that Carlos's blindness is permanent, when she thought it was only temporary. Later Edie tells Gabrielle that the way she is treating Carlos is sick and that there are other women out there who would treat Carlos better. When Bree and Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan
) are having troubles, Edie lets Orson stay with her. Edie later shares a brief drunken kiss with Orson which is seen by Bree, who is looking for Toby the cat. Bree then confronts Edie about the kiss. When Edie says it meant nothing, Bree slaps her and a full scale war erupts between them. Bree sabotages Edie's business by hounding off potential house buyers. Edie visits Orson, who is now living alone at a hotel, to complain about Bree. When she enters the room, she discovers a piece of paper revealing that Bree's baby is really Austin and Danielle's. Edie threatens to tell everyone about it unless Bree does exactly what she wants. Bree tells her friends about her faked pregnancy and about Edie's threats. The housewives confront Edie and force her out of Wisteria Lane. On her way out, Edie calls Travers, and tells him she's going to be spending a lot more time with him from now on.
is set five years on from the fourth season finale.) Edie has a new husband, Dave Williams (Neal McDonough
), who is persistent in convincing Edie to get along better with her neighbors. He kidnaps Karen McCluskey
's cat after she is rude to Edie, only returning him when Karen apologizes. When Karen attempts to investigate Dave's background, Edie realizes she knows very little about his past. Dave's doctor arrives in Fairview and confronts Dave at the White Horse Club, but Dave strangles him and sets fire to the building. Dave only married Edie to have an excuse to move to Wisteria Lane and get revenge on Mike, who, as it turns out, had been involved in a car accident that killed Dave's wife and daughter. Edie starts to notice something is off about Dave and is irritated that he doesn't show interest in her. One night she wakes up and sees Dave talking to himself. Edie wants to know why he's acting so strangely and Dave tells her he used to be married before he met Edie and that his wife died. Edie is furious he never told her about this before and throws him out of the house. When Edie is locked in a basement with Susan, they have a heart to heart chat and Susan tells Edie not to treat men like tissue and to believe in happily ever afters. After they are freed Edie goes to Dave and tells him to move back in. When Dave tells Edie that Eli Scruggs, the neighborhood handy man, has died, she recalls the time that when she was having marital problems with her ex-husband, Umberto. In a flashback, while feeling insecure about her appearance after Umberto turns out to be gay, Eli reassures Edie and makes her feel better and ends up having sex with her.
While at a liquor store, Edie observes an encounter between Dave and Father Drance. Suspicious about her husband's motives, she does a research on his past after Father Drance calls her Mrs. Dash. Determined to know more about her husband's past, Edie goes to the local newspaper for information on Dave's family, only to learn that Dave had both a wife and daughter who were killed in a car crash. Later, when she asks Dave how he feels about children, he tells her that his "friend" had a daughter he loved who died in the crash and lives his life wondering what she would've looked like and how old she would've been; he also tells her that he would never have a child as it wouldn't be worth it. Edie is still determined to know a lot more about Dave's past. Upon receiving a news article on the fateful car accident and finally learning the truth about her husband's intentions, she confronts Dave when he returns home from his camping trip. As she attempts to call Mike to warn him, she is almost strangled to death by Dave. Tearful and disorientated, Edie manages to run away and drives down the lane. She almost hits Orson as he stumbles onto the road; swerving to miss him, she hits an electric post instead. Dazed and unaware that the power line had snapped and there was water underneath the car, Edie steps out. She receives an electric shock
, falls to the ground and dies a few minutes later.
In the same episode
, housewives pay a visit to her son, Travers, to announce her death and to give him her ashes. On the journey up each of the housewives and Karen McCluskey share memories of Edie. In one flashback, Susan and Edie did get along in the beginning, until Susan finds out Edie is having sex with her neighbor's husband. In another flashback, Edie takes Lynette out to help her acquire the courage to beat cancer. In another flashback, Edie tells Bree that she has been visiting Orson because Bree can't bring herself to enter the visiting room at all since he went to jail. In another flashback, Edie reveals to Gabrielle that she always knew she would never see 50. However, although Edie was right, Gabrielle convinced her that in 50 years time they would still go out and still be the hottest ladies on the lane. And in a final flashback, Edie tells Karen McCluskey she knows what it's like losing a child. Once they arrive, however, Travers tells them that they were her closest friends and that they should spread the ashes wherever they see fit. Ultimately, her ashes are spread around Wisteria Lane. Edie was at peace about her death and had no regrets because she lived her life to the fullest and to her it was "a one of a kind life." Edie appears briefly in "Everybody Says Don't
" as a hallucination of Dave's, telling him to do away with his complicated plan of killing Susan's son, M.J., on a fishing trip, and instead urging him to go and kill M.J. right then and there.
" by Lee McDermott. While selling Mary Alice's house to the Bolens, Lee says he got really lucky, since the woman who handled all the properties in the neighborhood (clearly Edie) slammed her car into a pole and got fried by a power line.
In the episode "If...
", when Susan wonders what her life would have been if she hadn't divorced Karl, Mike is seen accompanied by a blonde and pregnant woman. This woman might be Edie, but it's not stated, since Susan was the only person who prevented Mike and Edie from being together.
", Lynette's frenemy
, Renee Perry
, reveals that she has rented Edie Britt's former home on Wisteria Lane and is moving in.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry is an American writer and producer, best known for creating the show Desperate Housewives.-Early life and career:...
for the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
. Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
portrayed Edie from her debut in the pilot episode of the series until the character's death in the fifth season
Desperate Housewives (season 5)
The fifth season of Desperate Housewives, an American television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on ABC on September 28, 2008 and concluded on May 17, 2009...
.
Within the series, Edie was one of several residents of the fictitious Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane is the fictional name of a street which the characters of the American drama television series Desperate Housewives live. Desperate Housewives storylines primarily centre around the residents of the street. Wisteria Lane is located inside Universal Studios Hollywood, and is actually...
; she lived at 4362 Wisteria Lane in Fairview, Eagle State
Fairview (Desperate Housewives)
Fairview is the fictional setting for the American television comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives.-Location:The state in which Fairview resides is ambiguous, however more than likely it is suburban Mississippi...
. Edie was a real estate agent. She has been married three times to Charles McLain (with whom she had a son, Travers), Umberto Roswell, and Dave Williams. Throughout her time on the series, she also had numerous relationships with the ex-husbands or former lovers of other characters.
Edie, originally conceived as a recurring role and rival for Susan Mayer
Susan Mayer
Susan Delfino is a fictional character played by Teri Hatcher on the American Broadcasting Company television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and first appeared in the pilot episode of the series on October 3, 2004...
, has become one of the series' most notable characters. Sheridan's portrayal of the character has earned mostly positive reviews. In 2005, Sheridan was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Supporting Actress.
Development and casting
The character Edie was originally written as a recurring role in the series. Actress Nicollette Sheridan, who originally auditioned for Bree Van de KampBree Van De Kamp
Bree Van de Kamp is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by Marcia Cross. Actress Marcia Cross was nominated from 2005 to 2007 for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy...
, one of the series' more prominent roles, was cast in the role in February 2004. On August 11, Sheridan was announced to have joined the main cast for the series' first season, the thirteenth cast member to do so. Despite proving popular with fans and critics, Sheridan's role remained somewhat minimal in the series' first two seasons. Series creator Marc Cherry insisted that Edie served "only as a spoiler to complicate the other women's lives." Although Sheridan thought of Edie as the fifth main housewife—in addition to Susan, Bree, Lynette Scavo
Lynette Scavo
Lynette Scavo is a fictional character on the series Desperate Housewives. The character is playedby actress Felicity Huffman, who won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 2005, and was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series...
, and Gabrielle Solis
Gabrielle Solis
Gabrielle Solís is one of four main characters on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. She is portrayed by Eva Longoria...
—the opening credits only pictured the other four women, excluding Edie. Additionally, Cherry shared that his goal for the series would be to have the central four women remain in the series.
However, Marcia Cross
Marcia Cross
Marcia Anne Cross is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Bree Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and as Dr...
's real-life maternity leave caused Bree to be absent in several episodes of the third season. Edie's character was elevated in prominence, providing the fourth concurrent storyline for the episodes. During this time, the character's "layers are peeled away and the character is developed on a deeper level than has been previously explored." Despite Cross's return, Edie maintained a more important role throughout seasons four and five
Desperate Housewives (season 5)
The fifth season of Desperate Housewives, an American television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on ABC on September 28, 2008 and concluded on May 17, 2009...
until the character's death.
Departure
In February 2009, it was announced that Sheridan would be leaving the show following her character's death, which would involve a car accident and electrical wire. Cherry had confirmed the death of several fan favorites at the beginning of the series' fifth season in September 2008. Rumors of on-set problems with Sheridan and her squabbles with Cherry reportedly led to her departure. Sheridan commented that killing Edie "was a risky decision that could have devastating ramifications," and admitted to feeling ignored by Cherry while on the series. Cherry alleges that the reason behind Edie's death was to cut costs from the series. The series reportedly saved an estimated $100,000 to $200,000 per episode without the cost of Sheridan's salary. In April 2010, Sheridan filed a lawsuit against Cherry, alleging wrongful dismissalWrongful dismissal
Wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is an idiom and legal phrase, describing a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer in circumstances where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contract of...
and assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
and battery
Battery
Battery may refer to:*Artillery battery, an organized group of artillery pieces; also gun battery with similar groupings on warships*Battery , contact with another in a manner likely to cause bodily harm...
, among five other counts. The following June, Sheridan filed an amended claim, clarifying that the alleged assault was a "light tap," but reaffirmed her stance that her contract was wrongfully terminated.
On August 7, 2011, after the announcement of Desperate Housewives cancellation at the end of its 8th season
Desperate Housewives (season 8)
The eighth season of Desperate Housewives, a television series created by Marc Cherry, began broadcasting in the United States on September 25, 2011.Desperate Housewives was renewed for an eighth season by ABC on May 17, 2011...
, Marc Cherry has hinted that he may ask Nicollette Sheridan back for the series finale, "to pay homage to everyone who has been on the show", including Edie and without addressing Sheridan's lawsuit. However while being interviewed on NBC's Today the following day, the actress has firmly denied her comeback on Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane is the fictional name of a street which the characters of the American drama television series Desperate Housewives live. Desperate Housewives storylines primarily centre around the residents of the street. Wisteria Lane is located inside Universal Studios Hollywood, and is actually...
, saying "That's news to me. [...] I had an amazing time playing that character. I loved her dearly, but they killed her! She's dead."
Season 1
Edie was introduced as a serial divorcée, with two marriages behind her at the beginning of the show. Martha Huber (Christine EstabrookChristine Estabrook
Christine Estabrook is an American television and film actress. She has been featured in several motion pictures mostly in supporting roles...
) tells Susan that she will be babysitting Edie's son, although he does not appear until season 3. Edie and Susan Mayer
Susan Mayer
Susan Delfino is a fictional character played by Teri Hatcher on the American Broadcasting Company television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and first appeared in the pilot episode of the series on October 3, 2004...
are attracted to new neighbor Mike Delfino
Mike Delfino
Michael "Mike" Delfino is the name of a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor James Denton.- Season 1 :...
(James Denton
James Denton
James "Jamie" Thomas Denton, Jr. is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Mike Delfino in the television series Desperate Housewives.-Early life:...
), creating tension between them which culminates in Susan accidentally burning Edie's house down. Edie is upset when Martha is murdered, and proves to be the only Wisteria Lane resident who wants to give her a proper burial. Susan admits to Edie that she burned her house down and Edie uses Susan's guilt to join the housewives' poker group. Edie continues to hit on Mike but he's more interested in Susan. Edie is upset when Susan and Mike move in together. Edie tries to get the women to convince Susan that Mike is bad for her, but Susan is sure he's the one. Susan later finds out her ex-husband, Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi
Richard Burgi
Richard William Burgi is an American film and television actor. He's best known for the roles of Det. Jim Ellinson on The Sentinel and as Karl Mayer on Desperate Housewives.-Personal life:...
), cheated on her with Edie while they were married; using this knowledge, Edie and Karl start dating, increasing the tension between her and Susan.
Season 2
In the show's second season, Edie starts dating Karl, Susan's ex-husband. Edie and Susan have many confrontations as Susan tries to deal with some minor jealousy issues. Edie later discovers a wedding ring in Karl's briefcase and suspects Karl plans to propose. The truth was, Karl married Susan so she would have health insurance as she needed an operation. Susan tells Karl that Edie thinks he's going to propose so he does. Susan's boyfriend, Ron, tells Edie about her and Karl's marriage and Edie is angry with them for lying to her. To punish Karl and Susan, Edie decides Karl will throw her a lavish wedding and Susan will be burdened with the arrangements. However, one morning, Edie wakes up to find Karl leaving permanently and also discovers that Karl slept with another woman while they were engaged and breaks the news to the other housewives. Edie is extremely upset and Susan, who feels guilty about unknowingly being the "other woman", tries to make her feel better. Edie begins bonding with Susan, making her feel even more guilty. Edie gets a confession letter from Susan and feels betrayed, retaliating by burning down Susan's house. After discovering Edie burned down her house, Susan tries to get a confession whilst wearing a wire, leading to a fight when Edie realizes. Trying to catch Susan, Edie is badly stung by yellowjacketsYellowjacket
Yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries...
. Susan feels guilty when Edie is hospitalized and tells her she won't give the confession to the police, sparing Edie prison. Edie refuses to accept Susan's pity and vows to get revenge.
Season 3
In the show's third season, Edie declines Susan's attempts to rebuild a friendship. She is present when Mike wakes up from his coma and learns that he has retrograde amnesia and has forgotten the last two years. Edie's revenge on Susan is to take advantage of this. While "helping" Mike fill in the blanks, Edie leads him to believe that Susan never loved him and that they were never happy together. Edie admits that she’s always had a crush on him and how hurt she was that he ignored her. Susan comes by the hospital to give Mike flowers, but catches him having sexSexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with Edie in the hospital bed. Edie and Mike start a relationship, creating even more tension between her and Susan. Edie breaks it off when Mike is arrested for the murder of Monique Pollier. Edie's nephew, Austin McCann (Josh Henderson
Josh Henderson
Joshua Baret "Josh" Henderson is an American actor and singer. He rose to fame as one of the male members of Scene 23, a pop singing group that were selected as the winners of The WB's singing competition Popstars 2. After the group disbanded, he began focusing on an acting career...
), moves in with her. He starts dating Susan's daughter, Julie. Susan doesn't want her daughter dating Edie's nephew, but Edie claims she can't do anything about it because they are in love. Julie gets Edie to pose as her mother so she can get birth control pills without her mother finding out. Edie and Susan later catch Austin having sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with Bree's daughter, Danielle Van de Kamp. He leaves Wisteria Lane when Danielle reveals she is pregnant with his child.
Edie's son, Travers, is introduced for the first time, having been dropped off by his father for a month-long visit. Carlos Solis
Carlos Solis
Carlos Solis is a fictional character on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira.-Early life:Carlos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico to Juanita and Diego Solis...
develops a father/son relationship with Travers as he is constantly called on to look after him. When Edie develops romantic feelings for Carlos, she uses his relationship with Travers to her advantage and tries to seduce him, but he tells her he's not interested in her that way. They eventually sleep together and later start dating. Carlos wants to keep the affair a secret, making Edie think he's still in love with Gabrielle. Edie tells Gabrielle about her and Carlos at Gabrielle's engagement party. Gabrielle is furious and demands Edie stop seeing Carlos, but Edie refuses. Gabrielle tries to get her friends to freeze out Edie, but Edie makes it difficult. Gabrielle eventually makes peace with the relationship...for now. Edie considers going for full custody of Travers to keep Carlos around, but Carlos convinces her not to. When Travers is collected by his father, Edie asks Carlos to move in with her. When he declines, Edie visits his landlady, Mrs. Simms, at her nursing home and tells her Carlos is an alcoholic, does drugs, and uses her home as a place to hook up with prostitutes. Mrs. Simms terminates the lease and Carlos is evicted. Edie offers Carlos a place to stay but he is suspicious that she was involved in his eviction. Carlos tells Edie he doesn't love her and she tells him she could be pregnant. After they find that she isn't, she suggests he stay with her and they try for a baby but continues taking the pill, because she doesn't want a baby until he starts to love her. While looking for money in Edie's purse to pay the paper boy, Carlos discovers the pills. At Gaby's wedding, Carlos confronts Edie and tells her he can never trust her again. Edie tries to apologize but is unsuccessful. At the closing scene of the season, Edie is shown with a sealed letter to her "beloved" Carlos, and hangs herself with a scarf.
Season 4
In the first episode of season 4, it transpires that Edie's suicide attempt was faked, and was merely a bid for Carlos's attention. Carlos feels responsible for her suicide attempt and agrees to resume their relationship, leading Edie to discover his secret offshore bankOffshore bank
An offshore bank is a bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor, typically in a low tax jurisdiction that provides financial and legal advantages. These advantages typically include:...
account containing $10 million. She uses this knowledge to blackmail him, asking him to marry her, unaware that Carlos is having an affair with Gabrielle. Edie goes on to announce their engagement, but discovers Carlos's betrayal when she, Carlos, Gabrielle, and Gabrielle's new husband, Victor Lang (John Slattery
John Slattery
John M. Slattery, Jr. is an American actor and director, best known for his role as Roger Sterling on AMC's series Mad Men. He has been nominated for many awards, and has won two SAG Awards with the Mad Men ensemble....
), all suffer from crabs
Crab louse
Crab lice are parasitic insects notorious for infesting human pubic hair. The species may also live on other areas with hair, including the eyelashes. They feed exclusively on blood...
. Edie hires someone to spy on Carlos and Gabrielle, and manages to get pictures of the two of them kissing. Edie attempts to get revenge by telling the IRS about his offshore account. She then discovers that Carlos has emptied and closed his offshore account so she turns the pictures over to Victor, knowing he will get revenge. Edie, still feeling vindictive, reveals to the police that Gaby and Carlos may be responsible for her husband Victor's disappearance. A tornado is about to hit Wisteria Lane and Carlos and Gabrielle plan on disappearing. Edie then gets her hands on a folder, giving her access to Carlos's offshore bank account. Gabrielle and Edie fight over the folder, but lose the papers in the tornado. They are forced to take shelter together in Edie's crawl space and are able to put aside their differences for a while. Carlos is blinded in the tornado.
Edie finds out Carlos gave her fake jewelry when they were together and gets back at him by telling Gabrielle that Carlos's blindness is permanent, when she thought it was only temporary. Later Edie tells Gabrielle that the way she is treating Carlos is sick and that there are other women out there who would treat Carlos better. When Bree and Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors...
) are having troubles, Edie lets Orson stay with her. Edie later shares a brief drunken kiss with Orson which is seen by Bree, who is looking for Toby the cat. Bree then confronts Edie about the kiss. When Edie says it meant nothing, Bree slaps her and a full scale war erupts between them. Bree sabotages Edie's business by hounding off potential house buyers. Edie visits Orson, who is now living alone at a hotel, to complain about Bree. When she enters the room, she discovers a piece of paper revealing that Bree's baby is really Austin and Danielle's. Edie threatens to tell everyone about it unless Bree does exactly what she wants. Bree tells her friends about her faked pregnancy and about Edie's threats. The housewives confront Edie and force her out of Wisteria Lane. On her way out, Edie calls Travers, and tells him she's going to be spending a lot more time with him from now on.
Season 5
Edie returns to Wisteria Lane, five years later, a new and transformed woman. When the housewives notice the change in Edie, they resume their friendship with her. (The fifth seasonDesperate Housewives (season 5)
The fifth season of Desperate Housewives, an American television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on ABC on September 28, 2008 and concluded on May 17, 2009...
is set five years on from the fourth season finale.) Edie has a new husband, Dave Williams (Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough
Neal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
), who is persistent in convincing Edie to get along better with her neighbors. He kidnaps Karen McCluskey
Karen McCluskey
Karen McCluskey Bender is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by Kathryn Joosten, who won the Emmy Award twice for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2005 and 2008.-Overview:Karen McCluskey was born in 1943, quickly wed and...
's cat after she is rude to Edie, only returning him when Karen apologizes. When Karen attempts to investigate Dave's background, Edie realizes she knows very little about his past. Dave's doctor arrives in Fairview and confronts Dave at the White Horse Club, but Dave strangles him and sets fire to the building. Dave only married Edie to have an excuse to move to Wisteria Lane and get revenge on Mike, who, as it turns out, had been involved in a car accident that killed Dave's wife and daughter. Edie starts to notice something is off about Dave and is irritated that he doesn't show interest in her. One night she wakes up and sees Dave talking to himself. Edie wants to know why he's acting so strangely and Dave tells her he used to be married before he met Edie and that his wife died. Edie is furious he never told her about this before and throws him out of the house. When Edie is locked in a basement with Susan, they have a heart to heart chat and Susan tells Edie not to treat men like tissue and to believe in happily ever afters. After they are freed Edie goes to Dave and tells him to move back in. When Dave tells Edie that Eli Scruggs, the neighborhood handy man, has died, she recalls the time that when she was having marital problems with her ex-husband, Umberto. In a flashback, while feeling insecure about her appearance after Umberto turns out to be gay, Eli reassures Edie and makes her feel better and ends up having sex with her.
While at a liquor store, Edie observes an encounter between Dave and Father Drance. Suspicious about her husband's motives, she does a research on his past after Father Drance calls her Mrs. Dash. Determined to know more about her husband's past, Edie goes to the local newspaper for information on Dave's family, only to learn that Dave had both a wife and daughter who were killed in a car crash. Later, when she asks Dave how he feels about children, he tells her that his "friend" had a daughter he loved who died in the crash and lives his life wondering what she would've looked like and how old she would've been; he also tells her that he would never have a child as it wouldn't be worth it. Edie is still determined to know a lot more about Dave's past. Upon receiving a news article on the fateful car accident and finally learning the truth about her husband's intentions, she confronts Dave when he returns home from his camping trip. As she attempts to call Mike to warn him, she is almost strangled to death by Dave. Tearful and disorientated, Edie manages to run away and drives down the lane. She almost hits Orson as he stumbles onto the road; swerving to miss him, she hits an electric post instead. Dazed and unaware that the power line had snapped and there was water underneath the car, Edie steps out. She receives an electric shock
Electric shock
Electric Shock of a body with any source of electricity that causes a sufficient current through the skin, muscles or hair. Typically, the expression is used to denote an unwanted exposure to electricity, hence the effects are considered undesirable....
, falls to the ground and dies a few minutes later.
In the same episode
Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know
"Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know" is the 106th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the nineteenth episode of the show's fifth season and aired April 19, 2009. The episode was narrated by Nicollette Sheridan....
, housewives pay a visit to her son, Travers, to announce her death and to give him her ashes. On the journey up each of the housewives and Karen McCluskey share memories of Edie. In one flashback, Susan and Edie did get along in the beginning, until Susan finds out Edie is having sex with her neighbor's husband. In another flashback, Edie takes Lynette out to help her acquire the courage to beat cancer. In another flashback, Edie tells Bree that she has been visiting Orson because Bree can't bring herself to enter the visiting room at all since he went to jail. In another flashback, Edie reveals to Gabrielle that she always knew she would never see 50. However, although Edie was right, Gabrielle convinced her that in 50 years time they would still go out and still be the hottest ladies on the lane. And in a final flashback, Edie tells Karen McCluskey she knows what it's like losing a child. Once they arrive, however, Travers tells them that they were her closest friends and that they should spread the ashes wherever they see fit. Ultimately, her ashes are spread around Wisteria Lane. Edie was at peace about her death and had no regrets because she lived her life to the fullest and to her it was "a one of a kind life." Edie appears briefly in "Everybody Says Don't
Everybody Says Don't (Season five episode)
"Everybody Says Don't" is the 110th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the twenty-third episode of the show's fifth season and aired on May 17, 2009.-Plot:...
" as a hallucination of Dave's, telling him to do away with his complicated plan of killing Susan's son, M.J., on a fishing trip, and instead urging him to go and kill M.J. right then and there.
Season 6
Edie was mentioned in the episode "Nice is Different Than GoodNice is Different Than Good
"Nice Is Different Than Good" is the sixth season premiere episode of the American comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and the 112th overall episode of the series. It originally aired in the United States on September 27, 2009, on ABC...
" by Lee McDermott. While selling Mary Alice's house to the Bolens, Lee says he got really lucky, since the woman who handled all the properties in the neighborhood (clearly Edie) slammed her car into a pole and got fried by a power line.
In the episode "If...
If... (Desperate Housewives)
"If..." is the 122nd episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the eleventh episode of the show's sixth season and was broadcast on January 3, 2010...
", when Susan wonders what her life would have been if she hadn't divorced Karl, Mike is seen accompanied by a blonde and pregnant woman. This woman might be Edie, but it's not stated, since Susan was the only person who prevented Mike and Edie from being together.
Season 7
In episode "You Must Meet My WifeYou Must Meet My Wife
"You Must Meet My Wife" is the 136th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the second episode of the show's seventh season and was broadcast on October 3, 2010.-Plot:...
", Lynette's frenemy
Frenemy
"Frenemy" is a portmanteau of "friend" and "enemy" that can refer to either an enemy disguised as a friend or to a partner who is simultaneously a competitor and rival. The term is used to describe personal, geopolitical, and commercial relationships both among individuals and groups or institutions...
, Renee Perry
Renee Perry
Renee Perry is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. She is portrayed by Vanessa Williams.-Personality:...
, reveals that she has rented Edie Britt's former home on Wisteria Lane and is moving in.