Faulkner

From Virginia

They were so lovely together. And genuinely love each other off screen.

From Amsterdam, Netherlands

I skipped S8 because work stuff had consumed my life around then (2016 - what a year that was), so I missed a lot of the discussion that obviously happened here in real time. Forgive me the rehash. Bethenny can kick rocks. I think she makes great reality TV (her Berkshires rant was sh!tty behavior but spellbinding to watch) and can be genuinely hilarious and fiercely perceptive. But nope... I could only tolerate her if she could accept not always being the (hypocritical) voice of God on the show. Which would mean a personality transplant. Carole....pffft, lint. It’s just funny that sweet little Jules was the one who sent B over the edge, but I guess her presence (beautiful, younger, dark-haired, rich Jewish girl who was thin) triggered her. She wasn’t an unsympathetic Kelly Bensimon whom Bethenny could just steamroll. And Bethenny saying Jules reminded her of her mother was such a diversion. Bethenny deploys her fücked-up childhood so manipulatively.

It’s so interesting to see Bethenny transparently throwing her weight around. This was the nastiest Bethenny ever (her behavior in the Berkshires was sooo out of line—and she DID steal Luann’s hairdo lol), and I know she was dealing with GYN health issues at the time. But when Bethenny told Sonja that “I want nothing to do with you” over TipsyGirl-gate, you knew it was to jeopardize Sonja’s position on the show, which Dorinda actually sort of aided and abetted by cutting Sonja out of the Berkshires trip. Jules *really* got under Bethenny’s skin. Bethenny even admitted that she isn’t usually affected by what people say, but when Jules said Bethenny uses humor to hurt people, that really hit her in the gut. It’s funny: I saw that Bethenny was angry on Twitter that Jules called Carole “irrelevant,” but Jules nailed it there too. All Carole did that season was nuzzle her twentysomething bf and ice out Luann. And she had zero impact at the reunion, aside from being Bethenny’s loyal yes-man. There was no way Bravo was cutting ties with Luann with the juicy Tom drama ready to explode.

Well, in tribute to the old, more fun Dorinda... If you had to guess, who do you think will go? I think there are arguments for keeping or getting rid of all of them, save for maybe Luann and Leah. Dorinda has had a rough season and is doubling down on her bad behavior on social media, which isn’t endearing her to fans. She seems particularly vulnerable for the ax and deservedly so. Ramona has had a reckoning coming for years, but there’s a sense that she IS RHONY. Her relationships with the others define the show. It just depends on how deep the producers feel the problem lies. If they want a full reboot, she’s the one to go. Sonja’s a fan favorite (her “I have an unstoppable pusssaaaay” was hilarious), but all the talk of her mixing of pills and booze is scary. But I think she’s the least expendable of the older ladies other than Luann. To me, it’s either Dorinda or Ramona (or both) going, a return of a veteran HW (Jill or maybe Heather), and 1-2 new younger HWs (and more ethnically diverse) coming on.

From Texas

Leah’s hookup in Mexico on this week’s NYC was hot. I would have given up my vow of celibacy for him, no joke.

Who didn’t see this coming?

Especially without Nadine.

Tone-deaf. And this is a man who wrote a story about racial bias (well, it was for two seconds). He’s not engaging in the cultures he’s portraying at all.

I love that Karen rant. To me, that’s an iconic moment that should get more play. I searched YouTube forever for it. Thanks @Taoboi!

From Vietnam 🇻🇳

Reportedly, Serena and Venus had a great three-setter (which Serena won). Glad to see Venus playing well.

Garcelle can gather each and every one of these heffas, and she has Black Twitter as reinforcements. This is an example of “I wish a muthafûcka would.” If this ever happens, let me know when to tune in, as I refuse to voluntarily watch that show again. (EDIT: unless there are serious changes.)

The center of gravity of SON has really shifted to the Cancelled Soaps thread. Thankfully YouTube and other platforms have so much great old stuff, and you can rely on a lot of our scholars and long-time viewers to add context. And yes, in the past few years of upheaval, it’s been a comfort to re-invest in the genre, even if the current-day stuff is a snooze. There’s so much great stuff that came before I started watching in the early ‘90s. I wouldn’t have checked out old ‘80s episodes of the great British soap Brookside if not for the community here.

Lord, there are a lot of skilled and unemployed copywriters who could lend them a hand.

Yeah, life’s too short for me. My BH watching has been sketchy for years for this reason. Too much focus on trivia, and I find most of the cast unwatchable. I’ve sort of also lost interest in NYC this season, especially after watching the great S8. Meanwhile, Potomac has real drama and goes from strength to strength. It really hasn’t made a step wrong since the end of S1 after a slowish start. I’m living for the Potomac ladies‘ social media right now. I’m also crushing on Monique’s gay brother:

I was laughing about that. At a certain point, I think Ellen got a little peeved, but it was all love. Rachel Miner is incredibly well-spoken. Glad to see her doing ok. It’s a shame that they didn’t allow her to grow up in the role as Kimberly McCullough did on GH. But given what happened to Michelle and GL overall, she dodged a bullet. Can you imagine Miner’s Michelle with Danny?