Would Desperate Housewives' Edie Britt Actually be The Hero Today

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00:00Desperate Housewives' Edie Britt was created as a foil to the four main characters, someone

00:05whose key role was to rile them up.

00:08And at the time, she riled audiences, too.

00:11But when we watch her more than 20 years later, Edie looks a little different.

00:16Back when Desperate Housewives debuted in 2004, Edie was pitched as an easy woman, and audiences

00:22and the other characters were encouraged to hate her for nothing more than her sexual

00:26appetite.

00:27Susan had met the enemy, and she was a s**t.

00:31But now, viewers are more enlightened and open about female sexuality, and when we rewatch

00:36the show, Edie, and more specifically the way she was treated, shows us how misogynistic

00:42the era really was.

00:44And what's more, Edie was… kind of a badass, if we're being honest.

00:48The other Housewives hated her attitude, but over two decades later, we kind of rate it.

00:54Edie never felt like she owed anyone anything, and we're all about that.

00:58Didn't you once say you never mix business with pleasure?

01:03I said never mix pleasure with commitment.

01:05So, was Edie Britt the secret hero of Desperate Housewives?

01:09Here's our take.

01:10Physically, Edie's almost impossibly attractive, and she's perfectly cast to achieve that vibe,

01:16played by former model Nicolette Sheridan.

01:18She's also a successful realtor, and while the other women on Wisteria Lane rely on their

01:23current, or ex-husbands, for support, she's powerful and single.

01:28You want to make some money, or you want to pussyfoot around?

01:30The other women characters are threatened by Edie, assuming that their partners want

01:34to sleep with her.

01:35Oh, and if you're in the mood for a carnival, why not call Edie?

01:40I hear you get three throws for a dollar with her, too.

01:43And their fears aren't exactly misplaced, Edie gets together with many of her neighbors'

01:48exes.

01:49Plus, she so clearly enjoys the effect she has on men, and what she gets out of that, too,

01:54whether it's status or pleasure.

01:55Edie Britt was the most predatory divorcee in a five-block radius.

02:00Her conquests were numerous, varied, and legendary.

02:06But frequently, she's blindsided by the men she ends up trusting, mostly because the men

02:11on Desperate Housewives just aren't trustworthy.

02:14When we meet her, she already has two failed marriages behind her.

02:17In the early seasons, she has serious relationships with Carl and Carlos, but both leave her for

02:22their ex-wives.

02:24We haven't been happy in a long time?

02:26Who are you to tell me I haven't been happy, you miserable son of a bitch?

02:30I have been ecstatic!

02:32With this pattern, the show reinforces a hierarchy of marriage over other relationships, despite

02:37the fact that neither marriage was happier than the husband's relationship with Edie.

02:42It's also implied that Edie gets into these relationships with unavailable men because

02:46her father was a serial cheat who abandoned her and her mom.

02:49Well, when I was 16, my dad had an affair with this woman who had a 10-year-old daughter,

02:55and one day he told my mom and me that he was leaving us for them.

03:00Here too, there's a strong patriarchal undercurrent whenever Edie talks about her dad.

03:04Everyone needs a strong male role model.

03:07No, they don't.

03:08I grew up without a father, and it didn't affect me one bit.

03:11Edie, how old were you when you lost your virginity?

03:14In the context of her father devaluing her and her mom, though, it makes sense that Edie

03:19might end up with low self-esteem, which is something that breaks through her tough veneer

03:23occasionally in brief, vulnerable moments.

03:25Trust me, Karen, there is nothing that you could say to make me think less about myself

03:29than I already do.

03:30But rather than trying to build herself up and work through these anxieties,

03:34she runs away, like when she gave up her son to her ex-husband.

03:38I gave him up because I wanted to protect him.

03:41From who?

03:42From me.

03:43Aren't you afraid he's gonna hate you?

03:45I love him enough to let him hate me.

03:47Due to her dad's treatment and the pattern of her previous relationships,

03:51she's also terrified of being cheated on.

03:54Edie Britt was afraid of only one thing, that her lover might leave her for someone else.

04:02Throughout the series, she's often abandoned by her partners, which makes her vengeful.

04:07And she's willing to do virtually anything to wreak revenge,

04:10from shipping ex-lovers to the IRS to suicide attempts.

04:14Carlos Solis arrived just in the nick of time to save the life of Edie Britt.

04:19Come on, you gotta wake up. Come on, please.

04:22Of course, had he known what she was about to do to his life,

04:27he would have let her hang there.

04:30Ultimately, Edie never finds the right person,

04:32and when she meets her untimely death, she becomes kind of a tragic figure.

04:37Her estranged son tells the women who have always derided and slut-shamed her

04:41that they were her best friends, which feels really bittersweet.

04:45You were her best friends.

04:47But what if Edie isn't all that tragic after all?

04:50In amongst her mishaps with men and self-esteem issues,

04:53there's a really powerful strand to Edie,

04:56a woman who in many ways knows herself better than every one of her neighbors.

05:00Despite its raunchiness, Desperate Housewives was a decidedly sex-negative show.

05:05The characters throw around accusations of sluttiness constantly,

05:09and more often than not, they're talking about Edie.

05:12Well, you tell Edie Britt just because Carlos dumped her

05:14doesn't mean she has to go around trashing my reputation,

05:17especially when she's the slut.

05:19She's seen by the other housewives as nothing but a one-night stand.

05:22So, for example, when Susan finds out that her ex-husband Carl is dating Edie,

05:27she automatically assumes it's a fling, rather than the reality,

05:30a months-long relationship.

05:32What are you saying, that your father actually told you

05:34he was going to be having a one-night stand with Edie Britt?

05:37Mom, this wasn't a one-night stand.

05:39He's been going out with Mrs. Britt for a few months now.

05:41But that isn't a problem to Edie.

05:42She's comfortable enough with her sexuality,

05:44and rather than being offended, she ironically embraces the label,

05:48even self-referring sometimes.

05:50Hi, I'm the whore that lives down the street.

05:53Plus, despite the implications that she'll sleep with anyone,

05:56it's not actually true.

05:57Edie knows what she wants, and she won't waste her time with anyone

06:00who she doesn't find attractive.

06:03I could, uh, take you out to dinner sometime.

06:06Honey, you are so far out of your league

06:10that you're playing a completely different sport.

06:13The other characters put a deeply misogynistic focus on Edie's enjoyment of sex.

06:18And one of the best things about watching Edie today

06:21is seeing that, even under the weight of all that early 2000s peer pressure,

06:25she doesn't care what other people think about her sex life.

06:28Other characters talk about the number of men she slept with,

06:31using it as an insult.

06:33You're famous for the number of men you've conquered.

06:36It's not a compliment, you tramp.

06:38But Edie is unbothered.

06:40In a way, she was a link between the 90s post-feminism sexual freedom

06:44and the more modern acceptance that things like so-called body count

06:48don't actually matter at all.

06:50Sex therapist Vanessa Marin told Refinery29 that her clients

06:53had all but stopped talking about their sex numbers by 2018.

06:58In a sex-positive culture, attaching any sort of meaning to the number of people

07:02a person is hooked up with simply doesn't make sense.

07:05And in that way, Edie was way ahead of her time.

07:08I am not going to apologize for having a healthy sex life.

07:12As well as making sure she's sexually satisfied,

07:14Edie works hard for the other things she wants in life, too.

07:17She likes to come out on top, whether it's in business or working hard on her physique.

07:22You know someone else my age with a body like this?

07:24Frequently, though, it's by exacting revenge.

07:27After Susan accidentally burns down Edie's house,

07:30Edie knows that Susan owes her, and she uses it to get into the girls' poker night.

07:34But in the next season, Edie deliberately burns down Susan's house, with no remorse.

07:40By any chance, did you burn down my house?

07:45Yes.

07:46What?

07:47Yes, I burned down your house, you sleazy little whore.

07:51Despite the craziness of the revenge, we kind of side with Edie in this moment,

07:55when she's been so wronged by Susan sleeping with Carl when they were together.

07:59And while the drama of arson isn't exactly an everyday occurrence,

08:03unless you're on Wisteria Lane, she gets her revenge in other ways, too.

08:07Sometimes, it's pettiness.

08:10When Brie finds out that Orson is staying at Edie's house after their breakup,

08:13she goes over to ask Edie not to let him.

08:16But rather than being polite, Brie's pretty rude to Edie,

08:19who in turn not only delivers an impeccable one-liner,

08:22but also refuses to rescind her offer to Orson.

08:25First of all, I am not attracted to Orson.

08:28And that would be like having sex with PBS.

08:31And second, just because I don't like your attitude,

08:34I'm gonna let him stay as long as he wants.

08:36She responds in the way so many of us wish we could if we didn't have a filter.

08:41Plus, her lack of shame means she's able to ask questions and tell people things

08:46that other characters on the show might leave unsaid.

08:49Okay. I'm the one who hasn't been happy then.

08:52Then why did you propose to me?

08:54This is a brave aspect of her character that frequently crops up in the show.

08:57She says exactly what she means, which is refreshing in a show

09:00where pretty much everyone is lying to everyone else's face.

09:03And when she's at her toughest and most frank,

09:06it's often with the people she cares the most about.

09:09You need to start fighting this thing.

09:11Helenette, you are the strongest person I know.

09:14You're even stronger than me.

09:16And that's saying something.

09:18Screw cancer.

09:19Another supremely relatable thing about Edie is that despite the fact

09:23that she hasn't always had it easy,

09:25she refuses to let people pity her.

09:27She focuses on ways to make herself look and feel good.

09:31Edie Britt decided to announce her return to Wisteria Lane

09:35in a way that was guaranteed to make a big splash.

09:40Edie works hard at that, and when anything or anyone threatens it,

09:44she's understandably angry.

09:46You are the way you are because of your father.

09:49Ow! Edie, what the hell?!

09:53Don't psychoanalyze me, you simp!

09:55And although she might not always show it,

09:57she's aware of how others perceive her.

09:59And she's not afraid to laugh at herself from time to time

10:01to bring a little smile to those around her.

10:04Hey, Karen! Your porch light's on!

10:06Whoa.

10:07Sitting in your bathroom drinking? You didn't call me?

10:12Edie teaches us a lot about the negative ways

10:14that women were framed in the early 2000s.

10:16The cattiness and sometimes cruelty that the other housewives

10:20display towards Edie all melts away when she dies, too,

10:24which is actually really sad.

10:26Edie Britt was sexy, perceptive, strong.

10:31It shows us how much better life is when we're kind to people's faces.

10:35Many of the ways Edie acts out throughout her five seasons

10:38could have been avoided if she felt valued by the people around her.

10:42Ultimately, she holds enduring lessons for us in the way she behaves.

10:46A lot of her actions are pure TV drama,

10:49but her consistent refusal to be a victim,

10:51no matter what life throws at her, is inspiring.

10:54There's something you should know about me.

10:57I don't stay unhappy for long.

10:59While the other housewives often pursue things that they know won't make them happy,

11:03Edie is focused exclusively on what will.

11:07And that's a motto to live by.

11:09That's the take.

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