Desperate Housewives is an American mystery drama TV series. The series takes place on a fictional street of a fictional town in a fictional state. Still set in the USA, though. The street is named Wisteria Lane, the town is Fairview, and the state is the Eagle State. The series kicks off when one of Wisteria Lane's residents commits suicide despite having a seemingly happy life. The woman, Mary Alice, left behind her friends Gabrielle, Bree, Susan, and Lynette, who are all determined to find out why Mary Alice killed herself. Mary Alice, while deceased before the show properly begins, is a constant presence. She narrates the show and shows up in occasional flashbacks, but the show is focused on the four living "housewives."
I used to think Desperate Housewives was a reality show, a mix up because of the Real Housewives franchise. One day I was just looking for a new show to watch and my husband suggested what was already on the screen: Desperate Housewives. I have no interest in reality TV but I decided to give it a go anyway, and I'm very glad I did. I quickly learned I had huge misconceptions about the show and by the time Mary Alice finished her first opening narration, I was hooked. I'm a sucker for a good mystery and I absolutely love drama. The more insane the better, and Desperate Housewives gets insane.
I finished all 8 seasons within a couple months. I was afraid to finish the show because I became attached to the wives and the lane. Even now I feel a twinge of sadness thinking about how things ended, but I was grateful that season 8 ended with one more poker game between all the wives. Wisteria Lane is definitely a place I'll be revisiting again and again throughout my life.
Bree Van de Kamp is my favorite out of all the housewives. When we are first introduced to her, she is unhappily married to a man named Rex, and they have two teenage children: Andrew and Danielle. Bree is a woman who prioritizes appearances and holds her composure in the worst of situations. Her own family is put off by her lack of outward emotion and how pristine she keeps the house. I did not expect a character depicted as "uptight" as her would become my favorite character, but Bree undergoes some of the most extreme change out of all the characters.
There is a scene in season 1 where Bree is speaking to Zach, Mary Alice's son, about how her own mother died when she was young, too. Bree tells Zach her mom got ran over in the street during Christmas time. She was left alone while her mother was taken to the hospital and couldn't bear the sight of the blood in the road, so she cleaned it up and felt better. This is when I began to understand Bree's character and her need for cleanliness. I still think about how she never told anyone else about this. Not any of her husbands, not her children, just Zach who shared a love for Christmas and a loss of a parent with her.
