One Wonderful Day

the song by Stephen Sondheim

"One Wonderful Day" is the 23rd episode and first season finale of the American comedy drama television series Desperate Housewives. It was originally broadcast in the United States on ABC (American Broadcasting Company) on May 22, 2005. The episode was directed by Larry Shaw and written by John Pardee, Joey Murphy, series creator Marc Cherry, Tom Spezialy, and Kevin Murphy. In the episode, the mystery surrounding the suicide of series narrator Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) is resolved. Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) finally discovers the truth about Gabrielle's (Eva Longoria) affair while Bree (Marcia Cross) learns that her husband has died. Meanwhile, Zach (Cody Kasch) holds Susan (Teri Hatcher) hostage and Tom (Doug Savant) forces Lynette (Felicity Huffman) to go back to work. According to Nielsen ratings, the episode drew over 30 million viewers upon its initial broadcasting in the United States, becoming the most watched program of the night across all networks, as well as the highest rated episode of Desperate Housewives. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, most of whom complimented the writers for wrapping up the season's major story arcs. However, Ann Hodgman of Entertainment Weekly criticized the episode for being predictable and spending too much time on the Mary Alice storyline. In 2009, TV Guide listed "One Wonderful Day" as the 55th best television episode of all time.

Desperate Housewives focuses on the lives of several residents of Wisteria Lane and primarily on the friends of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), whose suicide in the first episode serves as the subject of the season's mystery. In previous episodes, Paul (Mark Moses) avenges his wife's suicide by killing their neighbor and her blackmailer, Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook). As a result, Martha's sister, Felicia Tilman (Harriet Sansom Harris), asks Mike Delfino (James Denton) to kill Paul. Additionally, Mike investigates the years long disappearance of his girlfriend, Deirdre Taylor (Jolie Jenkins), whom he suspects Paul murdered. The episode focused largely on the conclusion of the Mary Alice mystery storyline. Cherry had wanted there to be a "definite end" to the mystery, hoping to avoid similar viewer fatigue that Twin Peaks suffered after drawing out its central mystery past its first season. Another scene featuring the Applewhite family, in which Betty brings food to a prisoner in their basement, was cut from this episode but was used in the second season premiere, "Next". Felicity Huffman expressed satisfaction with how her storyline was handled, explaining that Lynette "didn't deal with [Tom's potential promotion] in the most straightforward way, but she was fighting for her family. They were noble motives." While discussing the courtroom scene in which Carlos attacks John, Ricardo Antonio Chavira commented: "People can see the full rage that is in my character. I'm yelling at him, 'I'm gonna kill you'  Then I broke into Spanish: "Yo voy a matar!" I just went for it  Then I looked, and Jesse [Metcalfe] had the most honest look of sheer terror. I think I scared the living shit out of him." though it was aired on Good Morning America on May 23, 2005, one day after the episode's broadcast, and was included on the first season DVD set. Steven Culp was not surprised when his character was killed off, stating "I had a sneaking suspicion someone was going to go." Producer and writer Kevin Murphy explained the reasoning for killing off the Rex character: "As we neared the end of season 1, our plan was that each woman would enter a new life chapter. Gabrielle would learn to function without Carlos, Susan and Mike would build their relationship, Lynette would go back to work, and Bree would become a single woman. We either had to have Rex divorce her or die." According to Nielsen ratings, the episode scored a 13.2 rating among viewers 18 to 49 years of age, a 28.2 percent increase from the season's average rating of 10.3 in the demographic. It was the most watched program of the night across all networks, outperforming repeat episodes of CSI and Crossing Jordan on CBS and NBC, respectively, as well as Fox's broadcast of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. The episode was the third most watch program of the week across all networks and one of only three programs to surpass 30 million viewers. It was also the most watched season finale for a freshman series since ER ten years earlier.

Entertainment Weekly Dalton Ross named the episode as one of the season's best, commending the fact that "most of the main questions were actually answered," unlike the season finale of Lost. He praised the Bree storyline as well as the conclusion to the Mary Alice mystery, calling it "both shocking and satisfying." Cooper felt that the episode was a satisfying conclusion to the season opining that "by allowing some of its plots to remain tantalizing mysteries, yet offering up the satisfaction of explaining others, 'Desperate Housewives' has smartly set things up for its audience to return for its new season next fall." Moore expressed interest in how the cliffhangers would be resolved, as well as in the Betty Applewhite character. He also theorized that Rex's death was a ruse, writing: "Reminder: The audience saw no death scene and no body. When has Desperate Housewives exercised restraint without an ulterior motive?" Hodgman criticized the writers' decision to devoting too much of the episode to the Mary Alice storyline rather than focusing on the other characters. She wrote that Rex's death did not come as a surprise, noting: "Just as a TV or movie cop is inevitably shot after he announces that he's about to retire, we know it's over for Rex the minute Bree rests her head on his feeble chest and promises him he'll make it." The Futon Critic ranked the episode as the 19th best television episode of 2005, calling it "note perfect."