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"Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know" is the 106th episode of Desperate Housewives.
Summary[]
Edie Britt perishes on Wisteria Lane after a tragic accident, and the women of the street are brought together by this heart-wrenching event to go on a road trip with the intention of giving Edie's ashes to her son. During the trip, the women look back on Edie's life and their relationships with her: Susan recalls how their great rivalry started off with what could have been a great friendship; Lynette thinks fondly of one time Edie took her to chemotherapy, but not without making a short stop first; Bree remembers how Edie saved her marriage and her soul; Gabrielle reminisces about a very fun and sensual girls' night out; and Mrs. McCluskey tells everyone of how just a good mother Edie Britt truly was.
Plot[]
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So I'm driving my car the other night and what do you think happens? I crashed into a utility pole. Then, to add insult to injury, I was electrocuted. What can I say? It was one of those days. All my neighbors heard it happen, so they quickly left their microwave burritos, and their expensive jars of moisturizer, and their racy pay-per-view movies. And they hurried outside, excited to see what all the ruckus was about. But then, when they saw it was me, this weird thing happened. For a moment, no one moved or said anything. They just stared. And then... all hell broke loose. Yes, everyone suddenly became very concerned, which was touching, but ultimately pointless. Moments before the ambulance finally arrived I heard someone whisper. Uh, Susan Mayer, wrong again. Two seconds later, it happened. With all my neighbors surrounding me, I took my last breath. The good news: I died just like I lived, as the complete and utter center of attention.
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| Edie Britt | ||
 Edie dies as the complete center of attention. |
We see Edie driving her car fast down Wisteria Lane at night, it then goes off screen we hear skidding and a loud crash. We then see Edie’s car door open and touch a frayed electrical wire, she then puts her hand onto the top of the door to get out and she’s electrocuted. She then collapses to the floor. Meanwhile, inside Susan’s house, Susan is in her kitchen eating a burrito. She’s frozen as she tries to make out what the crashing sound was. She then puts the burrito down and heads outside. Inside Gabrielle’s house, Gabrielle stops moisturizing her face and she heads outside to see what the sound was too. And, in Lynette’s house, Tom is sat on his bed watching a movie when he hears the crash sound, and he too heads outside. A while later, all the residents of Wisteria Lane run towards the car which is crashed into a pole and they see Edie lying in the floor. They all just stand motionlessly when they see its Edie, but then Gabrielle whispers “Oh my God” and everyone then gets into a panic. Katherine yells to see if anyone knows CPR and Lee calls for an ambulance. Mike then rushes to Edie and asks if she can hear him, but she doesn’t respond. A little while later, Edie is laid on a blanket on the road as everyone gathers around her, crying. Susan is knelt down beside her and she whispers to Edie, telling her she’ll be fine. However, two seconds later, Edie’s hand drops down off her leg and she stops breathing.
Act I[]
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Two days after I kicked the proverbial bucket, my husband asked my neighbours to do me a favour. You could tell from the looks on their faces it wasn’t something they wanted to do, but they agreed to do it, anyway. So, the next day they piled into a car with two thermoses filled with coffee, a basket filled with baked goods and an urn that was filled with me.
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| Edie Britt | ||
 Dave asks the housewives to take Edie's ashes to Travers. |
Two days later, Dave Williams asks Bree, Lynette, Gabrielle, Susan and Karen to take Edie's ashes to her son, Travers. They housewives seem reluctant at first and they clearly don't want to do it, but Susan agrees on behalf of the five women. The next day, the five all get into Lynette's car. With them, they take two thermoses filled with coffee, a basket filled with baked food, and an urn which is filled with Edie's ashes. A while later, when the women are on the main road, Gabrielle announces that she hates the fact they have to take the ashes as it is something a relative should do. Lynette says that they’re doing it anyway so she should stop her bitching. Gabrielle then asks to put the radio on as she won’t bitch if she can sing to something, but Karen says if she sings, then she’ll be the one bitching. Gabby moans that it’s a four hour drive, so they need to do something to pass the time. Susan then suggests that they share stories about Edie. Lynette jokingly suggests they talk about when she tried to steal Mike off Susan when he was in a coma. Susan says she meant stories that put Edie in a positive light, Gabby then asks what to do when those five minutes are up. Susan tells Gabby that Edie is dead so they should honour her memory. Bree then says she’s up for saying a few nice things and then she says that Susan and Edie were never friends and they clashed from the start. Susan says that’s what everybody thinks, but it isn’t true. Susan then tells the story of when she and Edie first met.
Flashback
 Susan meets Edie for the first time. |
We see Susan walking outside to put her garbage in the bins. When she drops one of the bags in, she accidentally drops her doughnut. She sighs and then starts to retrieve it from the bin, and just as she pulls it out and eats it again, Edie jogs up near her and is disgusted. Edie says that it’s disgusting, but Susan justifies her actions by saying it landed on a detergent box. Edie then gives Susan money for a new doughnut, booze or crack...anything to relieve her pain. Susan realizes that Edie thinks she’s homeless, but she informs her that she lives at the house they’re outside of. She then proves it by saying what’s in a bin bag she’s holding. When Edie notices a wart removal cream, Susan jokingly says that she’s homeless, Edie chuckles. Susan then introduces herself to Edie and Edie introduces herself back and explains she just moved to the lane. Susan welcomes her to the neighbourhood and asks if it’s just her or if she has a family. Edie explains that she has a son that lives with his father. She says it’s a long story that she’d tell one day over a margarita, she then asks Susan if she’ll invite her in for margarita, but Susan suggests coffee. As they head into Susan’s house, Edie says Susan can fill her in on the gossip, starting with Bree, and she calls her a robot. Susan says that they’ll get along just fine because she’s funny and likes to gossip.
 Edie confesses to sleeping with a married man. |
Over a week later, Edie is running down Wisteria Lane with Susan clumsily following a distance behind her. She begs Edie to stop for a moment so she can regain her breath. Edie says they’ve only gone four blocks and she tries to start running again, but Susan doesn’t move. She then tells Edie that she lied to her about liking to run. Edie asks why she didn’t say anything, and Susan says because they were becoming friends and one of them had to cave in. Suddenly, a couple, Helen and Ed, walk by on the other side of the street. Helen yells hello to Susan, and Susan says hello back. Susan then tells Edie she’d introduce them to her, but once Helen starts talking, she doesn’t shut up. While looking at Helen and Ed, Edie says that Ed told her that. Susan asks if Edie has met Ed, and Edie says that they’re “doing it”. Susan asks what they’re doing, but Edie just says “it”, implying sex. Susan says that Ed is married, and Edie says that she’s a naughty girl. Susan tells Edie she’s being immoral and she’s committing adultery. Edie says that Ed is committing adultery, and all she’s doing is getting laid. Susan gives Edie a glare of disapproval, so Edie tells Edie to forget what she just said. Susan says she can’t just forget it as Helen is her friend; Edie reminds Susan that she said she was annoying. Susan agrees but says that she doesn’t deserve for her marriage to be wrecked. She then walks back home and Edie, mocking Susan, asks if they aren’t friends anymore and Susan says they aren’t. She then starts to run quickly back to her house. Edie yells that she thought Susan didn’t run, but Susan says “it depends on what I’m running away from”.
 Edie tells Susan that Karl is having an affair. |
One day, Edie arrives at Susan’s door and introduces herself as the whore that lives down the street and asks for a cup of condoms. Susan angrily asks if a cup will be enough. Edie says that she knows Susan doesn’t like her but she wanted to do her a favour. She then bluntly says that when she was out to dinner the night before she saw her husband, Karl, with another woman. Susan, not believing her, asks “really?” Edie says she feels bad saying it, but she thought Susan would want to know. She then tells Susan she’s welcome and walks away. Susan, thinking she knows what’s going on, says because she judged Edie, Edie wants revenge by making her insecure about her own marriage. Edie says if she wanted revenge then she’d have joined them and had a threesome. Susan says that Karl would never cheat and that the woman he was with, Brandi, is his secretary and it was her birthday. Edie says that the secretary excuse is a classic one. Susan then suggests that because Edie is all moral, then she should go over to Helen’s and they can share Ed’s favourite positions. Edie says that what she does is totally different to what Brandi is doing because she isn’t looking to destroy a marriage, unlike Brandi. She says she just wants to have fun and help a man through his midlife crisis. Susan sarcastically says that Edie is a giver, and she starts to head back inside. Edie says that Susan can use all her energy judging her and she can ignore the real problem, because she says Brandi is in it for keeps. Susan, becoming worried, tells Edie to leave and she heads back inside her home. Before the closes the door, Edie says she was just trying to help her neighbour out as she thought it was the moral thing to do.
Present Day
 Susan regrets her foul relationship with Edie. |
Back in the car, Susan concludes her story by saying that three weeks later she found Brandi’s bra in Karl’s glove compartment and that they know the rest. Gabrielle then says that Edie really understood men. Karen says she hopes so after all her years of research, the women chuckle. Susan then says she can’t help think of all the time she and Edie sniped at each other, she then says they she could have been good friends. Lynette comforts Susan and says if Edie knew what she was about to do for her, then she’d forgive her for everything.
Act II[]
 Lynette tells the story of when Edie took her to chemotherapy. |
A while later, the housewives are still in Lynette’s car, however, Susan is now driving. Gabrielle, who’s holding Edie’s ashes, says that her hours up and she asks someone else to hold Edie. Lynette says she’ll take her, so she does, and puts the urn on an armrest. She then takes off the lid, looks inside and says it looks like cat litter. Susan tells Lynette not to look at Edie. Lynette says that it looks all rough and gritty. Bree tells Gabby to take the urn before they learn what Edie tastes like. Gabby snatches Edie off Lynette and Bree says more reverence for the dead is in order. Lynette says they’re talking about Edie, so more irreverence is needed. Lynette then demands the ashes back, so Gabby gives them, and Lynette puts the lid back on. She then looks at the urn and smiles at it as she thinks of a memory. She asks the girls if they remember how they took turns taking her to chemo, she then says none of them did it like Edie. Lynette then tells the story of when Edie took Lynette to chemotherapy.
Flashback
 Edie doesn't like to see Lynette being weak. |
We see Edie quietly walking into Lynette’s house. She sees Lynette, who’s wearing her cancer bandana, tiredly curled up on her sofa with a blanket covering her. Lynette, exhausted, says hello and Edie asks how she’s doing. She then hands Lynette a DVD that she asked for, Lynette thanks her and says she’ll watch it during chemo if she isn’t too tired. Suddenly, Katherine comes from the kitchen with a tray full of food. She says hello to Edie and Edie says hi back. She then asks what’s on the tray. Katherine explains it’s a health shake of fermented brown rice and a salad. Katherine then gives Lynette the food. Lynette asks Katherine to fluff her pillows, which she happily does. Edie then gives Lynette a look of shame. Katherine announces that she’s got some errands to run, so she’ll be back to take Lynette to chemo. Lynette asks before she goes to put some socks on her as she’s cold. Just as Katherine is about to put them on, Edie snatches them off her and tells her that she’s busy so she’ll take her to chemo instead. Lynette says it’s fine, so Katherine tells her she’ll see her tomorrow. When she leaves, Edie throws the socks on Lynette’s body and asks her where her coat is. Lynette asks why as chemo isn’t until five. Edie then says that she has to make a stop on the way.
 Edie tells Lynette to fight her cancer. |
A little while later, Edie and Lynette both enter a biker’s bar. When the men, who are playing pool, drinking beer and talking to each other, see Edie they all look and yell her name, welcoming her. Edie sticks her arm in the air and cheers happily. Lynette, realising the men know Edie well, asks if she’s been before, to which Edie replies “a couple of times”. Edie then takes Lynette towards the bar and says that Lynette will love it at the bar. Lynette says that she has cancer so she probably shouldn’t use the ladies room in the bar, but Edie says it’s fine because there isn’t a ladies room. When they reach the bar, Lynette, feeling reluctant, says she has chemo in half an hour, so Edie says they better start drinking. Lynette tells Edie that she’s not supposed to drink. Edie then says that the people in this bar aren’t supposed to do tattoos in the kitchen, but she has a bald eagle on her ass that says otherwise. Just as Edie calls for two tequila shooters, a man, Reggie, approaches Edie and they both greet each other. Edie then introduces Reggie to Lynette and she says that she’s trying to cheer her up. Reggie asks Lynette if she wants to play pool with her, but she says she can’t because she has cancer. Reggie then pulls off one of his arms, a plastic arm, and tells Lynette that he’ll play her one handed to make it equal. Shocked by Reggie’s arm, Lynette excuses herself and Edie from him. When they’re alone, Lynette tries to remind Edie that she has cancer, but Edie finishes her sentence, saying she knows. Lynette asks what Edie wants from her, so Edie tells her that she needs to start fighting her illness. Lynette, becoming upset, says she’s doing the best she can, but Edie says she isn’t and that she’s the strongest person she knows. Edie says she may be out of line bringing Lynette to the bar, but that Lynette needs to remember who she is. She then says “Screw cancer, you are Lynette Scavo”. After listening to Edie, Lynette tries to contain her tears. When the tequila shots arrive, Lynette grabs one and drinks it. Edie smiles, and then Lynette asks where Reggie is so she can play some pool.
Present Day
 The housewives rely on Karen to fix their flat tire. |
Back in the car journey, the five wives are all laughing together at Lynette’s story. Bree says that Edie gave Lynette just what she needed, so good for her. Lynette then says that Edie never let her forget that moment and that she insisted it was the tequila shots that killed the cancer. Suddenly, there is a popping sound from behind the car and the car starts to move a bit bumpier. Susan isn’t amused when she realises it’s a flat tire. Gabrielle says it may be a sign that they’re not supposed to take the ashes today, Bree smiles and tells her “nice try”. When Susan pulls over on the side of the road, she asks if anyone knows how to change a tire, and with that, everyone looks at Karen.
Act III[]
 Bree tells the story of when she ran into Edie. |
A little while later, Karen is raising the car with a jack; she asks Gabrielle to pass her the cross wrench. Bree then reveals to the girls that Edie used to live near the area they stopped in when she moved from Wisteria Lane, but Karen corrects her, saying when they gave her “the boot”. Susan asks Bree how she knew where Edie lived, so Bree tells them that she ran into her once, unexpectedly. She then tells the girls the story about how she met Edie whilst visiting Orson in prison.
Flashback
 Bree finds out Edie has been visiting Orson in prison. |
We see a prison guard outside a visiting room call for Bree Hodge. Bree stands up and gets ready to follow the guard into the room, but when she sees all the other prisoners sat inside the room, she has a change of heart. She takes a few steps away from the room and asks the guard if that it’s the visitor’s room. The guard says it is and asks why. Bree asks if they have a private room, so the guard mockingly asks “like an upgrade?” Bree says that would be lovely, but suddenly realises she was being sarcastic. The guard then asks Bree if she’s ready to go in, but Bree suggests that having an upgrade might not be a bad idea and it’d be a perk people would be willing to pay for. However, the guard doesn’t allow Bree’s suggestion. Bree then says that she isn’t feeling up to visiting Orson, so she’ll come back another day. The guard says that it’s fine, because he has another visitor coming in anyway. Intrigued, Bree asks whom, so the guard replies “just some lady” and says she visits him every week. Bree asks her name, but the guard refuses to say. Bree then says if a woman is visiting her husband, then she has a right to know. However, the guard still refuses to say the name. Bree then tells the guard that getting the woman’s name is a perk work paying for, insinuating she wants to bribe her.
 Edie reminds Bree how lucky she is to be with Orson. |
A while later, after learning of the woman’s name, Bree arrives at a house and knocks the door; suddenly, Edie answers and is surprised to see Bree. She asks Bree what she’s doing at her house, so Bree says that she wanted to see her. Edie mockingly says she didn’t bring muffins, but Bree tells her that it isn’t “that kind of a visit”, she then walks into Edie’s house, uninvited. Bree tells Edie that she stopped by the prison earlier on and learnt that Edie had been visiting Orson, sometimes twice a week. She then asks what Edie’s up to, but Edie says she’s not up to anything. She says that Orson is fifteen minutes away, and she feels sorry for him. Bree asks if she’s trying to start up something, but reminds Bree that Orson is in jail. Bree thanks Edie for checking up on Orson and answering her questions; she then gets up to leave. As Bree’s about to leave, Edie asks why she didn’t visit Orson. Getting upset, she tells Edie that her schedule is full with the catering business and Benjamin. Edie says that everyone is busy and then asks for the real reason she hadn’t visited him. In a disgusted tone, she tells Edie that the jail is disgusting and she compares the prisoners to animals in cages and then tells her even to take step foot in the prison is humiliating. Edie reminds Bree that Orson went to prison for her and asks if she has any idea how much he loves her; Bree says she does. She then asks why she can’t “suck it up” once a month to say “hi” to him and help him get through his living nightmare. Bree just says silent, hiding her disgust and disappointment in herself, so Edie says that Orson could do so much better than her. She then opens the door for Bree to leave, which she does silently and ashamed. Edie then glares at her as she leaves.
 Bree is ashamed that she never came to visit Orson in prison. |
An unknown amount of time later, Bree is sat waiting in the prisons visiting room. Suddenly, the guard brings Orson in. He walks in with his head down and when he sees Bree, he just coldly walks to the table and sits in front of her. Smilin, Bree asks how he is doing; Orson says “how do you think?” Bree’s smile suddenly fades when she hears Orson’s harsh voice. Bree says she shouldn’t have asked and that she knows it’s horrible in the prison, but Orson just asks how she’d know because she’s never been. She then tells Orson that he has every reason to hate her, but Orson says there’s no need to be melodramatic. Bree says she doesn’t know what she was thinking for making Orson come to the awful prison, but Orson tells her that she was thinking he needed to take responsibility for what he did, and that she was right. But Bree says she’s upset about making Orson take his punishment and never visiting him and she asks how he’d ever forgive her; he just tells her to be there when he gets out. They then both hold each other’s hands comfortingly.
Present Day
 Lynette is worried about how Travers will react to the news. |
Back at the car, Bree concludes her story, saying she never told the girls that story because she was embarrassed. Gabrielle jokingly says she should be embarrassed because Edie shamed her into being a better person. Karen then announces that the tire is fixed and they can set off again. The ladies begin to get back in the car, and Susan says they have some ground to make up. Gabrielle then asks how he (Travers) would react when they tell him about Edie, so Lynette replies “how do you think?” They then all get in the car again and set off.
Act IV[]
 Gabrielle tells the story of when she and Edie went out for the night. |
Sometime later, in the car, Karen, holding Edie’s ashes, says that she never thought Edie would be cremated, but instead pumped full of chemicals and preserved. Lynette jokingly says that that’s what she did for the past fifteen years. Bree says her theory is that if Edie was buried, her real D.O.B would be carved into a tombstone for all to see. Susan than asks if the girls thought Edie thought about her death. Gabrielle says that she does, and then she begins to tell her story about a night out she and Edie had.
Flashback
 Edie is intimidated by Gabrielle. |
We see Gabrielle getting ready in front of a mirror, and Edie sat on a desk, waiting for her to get ready. She then tells Gabby to hurry up, because she wants her bikini wax to be fresh when they get to the club. Gabrielle, going to put her dress on, says the night out should be fun and she says she can’t believe they’d never gone out before - Edie says because they’d never been single together. The two then express how hot they think they both are, and Edie says they’re the hottest “chicks” on Wisteria Lane, but Gabrielle says that Bree, Lynette and Susan are beautiful too; however, Edie doesn’t accept it. Gabrielle then reveals her dress to Edie, and she’s impressed. She asks if it’s too much, but Edie, obviously intimidated by her sexiness, says it’s great. Gabby then leaves the bedroom, telling her to go, but Edie waits for a moment just to roll up her dress a few inches, trying to make herself that bit sexier than Gabrielle.
 Edie and Gabrielle argue over who is sexier. |
Later on, as Gabrielle and Edie walk through a packed singles club, techno music blares out all around them. As they look for some seats at the bar, Gabrielle says Edie was right about the place being good. Edie then says that there’s a lot of “hotties” at the club, and very few “noties”. The second they sit down, a waiter comes up to them and says some men bought them a drink. Edie is shocked, saying that’s her personal record time, but as she’s about to drink, the waiter explains the drink is for Gabrielle. Jealous, Edie removes her lace jacket to reveal her body. Gabrielle tells Edie not to take it personally and she says they’re both different types. Edie agrees and says some men like tall, blonde and sexy, and some men like “that”. Gabrielle jokingly tells Edie not to be snarky as they’re both hot... but then says she’s apparently a little bit hotter. Edie sighs and says that one man thinks that, one man that is intimidated by full sized womanly breasts. Gabby admits that her breasts are quite small, but says that’s the problem with having ones that are real. Edie laughs and insists her breasts are real, but Gabby says that when Edie jumps, the room moves more than her boobs. Edie says that Gabrielle must have a chip on her shoulder, and she’d knock it off but she can’t go down that low, insulting Gabby’s height. The two then continue to argue about who is hotter, so Edie asks if Gabby thinks she can’t get a man to buy her a cocktail. Gabby says that she can, just not as many as her. So, Edie stands up and challenges Gabby to get as many cocktail sticks as she can in one hour. The two then turn away and start the competition.
 Edie and Gabrielle compete to see who is the sexiest. |
Throughout the night, we see Gabrielle and Edie both walking around the club and successfully getting men to buy them drinks. As they compete, the song I Know What Boys Like by Shampoo plays. They both go to desperate measures to get more drinks than the other; Edie flaunts her breasts in the mens faces, and Gabrielle even shows her bra to one of the waiters. After the hour is up, Edie and Gabby meet back at the bar. Edie skips towards Gabby and drops a large pile of cocktail sticks on the counter and tells Gabby to “count them and weep”. Gabby, acting as if defeated, says she could do that, but then, as she pulls her pile out of her purse, she says she could do “this”, and she lays an even bigger pile of sticks on the counter. She says she should make some sort of speech, but then says it’s pretty obvious she crushed Edie. Gabby then excuses herself, because “Swizzle stick #7” has a Yacht and giant feet, leaving Edie, hurt by the reality that just hit her.
 Edie explains how fast her youth has gone by. |
Later that night, back on Wisteria Lane, we see Gabrielle exit a taxi and walk towards the park, were she finds Edie sat on a swing, feeling depressed. She yells at Edie, asking why she left her alone at a singles bar, but Edie just quietly and sadly apologizes and says she needed to be by herself. Gabby asks if Edie is depressed because she lost a “stupid competition”, but Edie says she isn’t depressed - but surprised because her youth had gone by so quickly. She then explains that the harder she tries to hold onto her youth, the more it “slips through her fingers”. Gabby then comfortingly pats Edie and assures her that she’s gorgeous and that she’ll stay that way forever. Edie quietly chuckles and then says she’s not going to be old. Gabby asks what she’s talking about, so Edie explains that ever since her childhood, she knew she was never going to turn 50 years old. Gabby tells her she’s being ridiculous, but Edie says that she always had a voice in the back of her head saying she should enjoy the time she has left. Gabby jokingly says that there’s medication designed to get rid of those voices, but Edie laughs and says they aren’t a bad thing as she appreciates her life in ways others don’t. She then says that she never expected her youth to go by so fast. Gabby then tells Edie that she has a voice in her head saying Edie’s wrong and that in fifty years they’d both still be wearing dresses too tight, walking in heels too high and going to bars where they’d meet old men. Edie replies by saying “If you say so”, and then Gabby invites Edie over to her house for a bottle of wine.
Present Day
 The girls prepare to tell Travers about his mother. |
Back in the car, Gabby concludes her story by saying it’s weird that Edie knew she’d die young. There is silence for a few moments, until Susan finally breaks it by asking what Gabby meant when she said they’re the two hottest women on Wisteria Lane. Lynette then asks if Edie called her a “Baby factory”, so Karen tells Gabby she should’ve left that part out of the story, but Gabby just huffs and shakes her hand at them. Bree then notices something outside the car... when realising what it is, she informs the girls that they reaches their destination. They then park up, exit the car ad it’s revealed that they’re at a High School. Gabby asks if the girls are ready, but Bree asks if you can ever be ready to tell a boy that his mother is dead.
Act V[]
 Travers is informed of his mother's death. |
A little while later, inside the High School, the five girls are looking around, and then they eventually arrive at Travers’s dorm. They peer inside and see a teenage boy with dark brown hair packing his school bag. Lynette calls out to him, he turns around, and Lynette asks if he remembers them. He says he does, and asks if his mother came with them too. They all are awkwardly silent for a moment, but then Bree enters the dorm and gives Travers the basket of muffins. Travers, noticing something is wrong, asks if his mother is in trouble. Lynette then sits Travers down on a sofa and she sits next to him, with her arms around him. She tells him that they have some bad news, that his mother was in a serious accident and she passed away. Travers, seeming slightly upset, asks if she died, so Lynette nods sadly. Bree then explains that they’ve been trying to contact his father, but he’s out the country, so Susan explains that Dave thought it’d be best for the girls to tell Travers. Bree then offers Travers a moment, but he says he’s okay. He then says he has a class, and he gets ready to leave. Gabrielle tells Travers that the school would understood if he missed a few days, but Travers says that isn’t needed as he and Edie weren’t very close. Bree says she was still his mother, to which Travers replies “technically, but not a very good one”. Susan tells Travers that everyone here is a mother and they make mistakes with their children, but what they count on is that they forgive them. Travers asks how he could forgive his mother for abandoning him with his father and not even trying to raise him. He then tries to hurry out the room, but as he reaches the door, Karen grabs his tie angrily and says he needs to know something. Karen then tells the story of when she learnt that Edie gave up her child.
Flashback
 Edie explains she loves Travers enough to let him hate her. |
Its night, we see a clearly distressed and unhealthy looking Karen sat in her living room drinking whisky. Edie comes through the front door yelling that the porch light is on. When she enters the living room, she sees the state Karen is in, and simply says “whoa”. Edie jokingly asks why Karen didn’t invite her over to sit in dressing gowns and drink, but Karen tells her she wanted to be alone. Edie asks why, so Karen explains it’s the anniversary of her son’s death. Edie apologizes, and then Karen explains how she thinks every year it’d get easier, but it never does. She then says there’s nothing worse than losing a child and that Edie’s lucky she doesn’t have any. Edie tells Karen that she does have a child, much to Karen’s surprise. She then tells Karen that he lives with his father because when she got divorced, she gave him full custody and then she says he kind of knows how Karen feels. Offended, Karen says that she lost a kid, and Edie just gave hers away. Edie, defending herself, says that she gave Travers up because she wanted to protect him from herself. She says she tried to be a good mum, but she knew if he wanted a good life, he had to be as far away from her as possible. Karen says Edie is just being selfish, but Edie says there’s nothing she can say to make her feel worse about herself than she does. Karen then asks if she’s afraid he’d hate her, but Edie, trying to hold in her tears, says she loves him enough to let him hate her. Karen then opens another bottle of whisky and pours an upset Edie a glass. She then says she hopes Edie isn’t making a huge mistake, to which Edie replies “me too”.
Present Day
 Travers gives his mother's ashes to the girls. |
Karen then concludes her story by saying she’s not defending everything Edie did, but Travers had to know that Edie loved him. Travers, starting to get visibly upset, says he needs to get to class, so he hurries out of the room, leaving the five women. A little while later, outside the High School, the women all head back to the car; Karen calls shotgun and runs ahead. Travers then runs up behind the women, asking them to wait. Travers thanks the women for coming all the way just to tell him the news, and Bree says they owed it to his mum. Suddenly, Gabrielle remembers about the ashes so she hurries to get them out the car. She then brings the urn and explains they came to give him her ashes. However, Travers says that the girls should take them, as they were Edie’s best friends, so they’d know exactly where to put them. Travers then walks back into the school, leaving the girls with the ashes.
Act VI[]
 Karen wants the girls to decide on what to do with Edie. |
Later that night, back at Wisteria Lane, Lynette parks the car in her driveway. She tells the girls that they arrived, but then she realizes they’re all asleep. So, she beeps the car horn twice, making them all wake up immediately. Bree says that Lynette nearly gave her a heart attack, and Karen says that she wants to see Edie again, but not that night. Bree then thanks Lynette for driving, and then the four housewives start to exit the car. But, as they’re getting out, Karen tells them to wait as they need to plan what to do with Edie’s ashes. She says that it has to be somewhere special to Edie, but Bree asks if they have to plan it tonight as they’re all tired. Karen then says they’ll all talk tomorrow, so they all exit the car and go to their homes.
 Karen gets an idea. |
Later on, Karen is sat in her living room drinking a glass of whisky with Edie’s urn on her lap. She asks Edie what they’re gonna do with her, and seconds after, her front door opens wide. Karen heads towards the door with the ashes, and as she closes the door, she looks out onto the street, and an idea suddenly hits her. She then steps out onto her front porch and she continues to look around the quiet and beautiful street. She then looks at the ashes and tells Edie that she’s “subtle as always”. She then heads back inside, and as she closes the door she takes a second glance at the street.
 The girls say goodbye to Edie. |
The next morning, the five girls are stood in a circle in the middle of Wisteria Lane. They’re each holding an individual pot cup with a different coloured flower on it. Lynette pours Edie’s ashes into each of the five cups until the ashes run out. Bree tells Karen that her idea was a lovely one, but Karen admits it wasn’t entirely hers. Bree asks if they should say something first, but Gabby says that Edie wouldn’t like them to get “sappy”. Karen says if they’re quick about it, then she’d be fine, so Lynette suggests that they each say one word that they feel sums up Edie. Gabrielle starts by saying that Edie Britt was sexy. Bree then says that she was perceptive. Lynette then says that she was strong. Karen then says she was beautiful... leaving Susan until last. After a moment of thinking, Susan says she needs four words. Gabrielle says Edie wouldn’t be surprised that she’s ruining the moment, but Lynette asks for Susan’s four words. Susan then says that Edie Britt was one-of-a-kind. They all smile and nod in agreement, and then Karen announces that “it’s time”. They then all walk in their separate directions and they go to spread Edie’s ashes around Wisteria Lane.
 Edie's ashes are swept into the air. |
We see Lynette stood in her front garden, scattering Edie’s ashes over the grass. We then see Bree scattering Edie’s ashes underneath a tree in her front garden. Then we see Gabrielle scattering Edie’s ashes on top of roses in her front garden. And finally, we see Susan scattering Edie’s ashes beside a picket fence in her front garden. Then, we see a gust of wind come along and take the ashes up into the air. Then from the point of view of the ashes, we see them look down on Wisteria Lane. The camera then pans over to Edie’s house, and then as Edie finishes her narration, it raises and looks high into the blue sky.
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And that is how Wisteria Lane became my final resting place. My ashes were spread over grass I had once walked on, beneath trees that had once given me shade, on top of roses I once admired, and beside fences I once gossiped over. And after my friends had finished saying goodbye, a wind came along and took what was left of me into the air. As I looked down on the world I began to let go of it. I let go of white picket fences, and cars and driveways, coffee cups and vacuum cleaners. I let go of all those things which seemed so ordinary, but when you put them together, they make up a life, a life that really was one-of-a-kind. I’ll tell you something: It’s not hard to die when you know you have lived. And I did. Oh, how I lived.
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| Edie Britt | ||
Production[]
"Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know" was written by Matt Berry and directed by Larry Shaw. This episode marks the death of one of the main housewives and thus longtime series regular, Edie Britt. For the second time in the show's entire run, Mary Alice does not narrate this episode - Edie does. The last time this occurred was when Rex Van de Kamp narrated the season 3 episode "My Husband, the Pig". However, Mary Alice did narrate the "Previously on Desperate Housewives" segment of that episode, so this is the only one to not feature her at all.
Reception[]
The episode was watched by 13.851 million viewers, ranking in as the seventh most watched show the week it aired. The ratings were down from the previous episode. Despite the diminished ratings, the episode received mostly positive reviews from television critics and fans.
Trivia[]
- The title of this episode comes from the song "The Ladies Who Lunch", from the 1970 Stephen Sondheim musical Company.
- This is the only episode of the series to not feature Mary Alice Young in any capacity (be it a physical appearance or a voice-over performance).
- This episode marks the death of longtime series regular Edie Britt.
- This episode is one of the few (all from season 5) that does not feature a "Previously on Desperate Housewives" segment, along with "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" and "The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened", excluding the pilot.
Gallery[]
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.
Bloopers and continuity errors[]
- In this episode, there is a flat tire. Susan asks Mrs. McCluskey to fix it, because she doesn't know how to. But in "Every Day a Little Death", Susan fixes Edie's flat tire when they were going to the lake to remember Martha Huber and spread her ashes.
- As Susan recalls her first meeting with Edie, the amount of her doughnut goes from less to more between shots.
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