Cat

I am in absolute shock. Drake Hogestyn as John was an indelible part of my life growing up. John & Marlena were the most magical supercouple experience that, yes, fulfilled my youthful need for romantic stories, but on another level, taught me about the importance of challenge, struggle, sacrifice in forging an honorable spirit. We don't write heroes today with the same depth that JER did for John in the early 90s. After I first read this thread, in shock, I stumbled to YouTube to find some Days scenes involving Drake from that era. I am guilty of having joked about his acting (the eyebrow) on this very forum, as Days edged into a more parodic era. Watching those scenes back today, though, I am touched by his presence, his talent, his commitment to the material. The quiet moments of pause in the dialogue, the intensity, the sheer charisma. Drake Hogestyn was the real deal. And by so many accounts, Drake was as committed, kind and giving as the character he imbued. He was devoted to nurturing a community of actors at Days, team players he called them, giving them space to shine as well as learning to support their colleagues. He seemed devoted to his family, too. It goes without saying what a huge loss he is to them, to his work-family at NBC, and to us all in this soap opera community. May he RIP. I am so sorry. I know you are a longtime fan of John & Marlena, and Drake & Dee, also. Thinking of you and all fans of theirs. I am so sorry for your loss to this horrific disease. Sending prayers your way.

You bet, baby! I love RHONY (old and nu), and I've missed my kooky Millennials! I'm very excited to have them back and hope it's soon because I need that upbeat energy going into fall. I'm even willing to give Sai her due! Yes, it's been that long. Jenna's tagline is the standout but, honestly they are all pretty good. Including Sai and Brynn's. Thank you for posting!

Oh same here. During Jenn's fiesta party, I think the other women realised what it would mean to have Alexis around full-time and Shannon gone, and were like "Uh oh." It's really astounding how Alexis thought she'd show up, humiliate Shannon, and come out smelling of roses in all this. Johnny J is looking like a nasty extortion agent and she's backing him up blindly. Even Tamra and Heather are backing away from the mess. Do you think Heather meant to give Emily the 'fat' clothes, or is Emily just trying to have a moment? Tamra is awful. Gina and her shiny silver pants... I know she thinks she's making a fashion statement, but she looks so bulky and awkward rustling around in those things. Jenn Pedranti as a HW is awesome. She is like a through line from old OC to current OC. Especially that scene with her son.

RH live ratings are down across the board and I think streaming is the main reason why. I would love to see the +48 hours streaming numbers for SLC and every other RH franchise this year. Nevertheless, I totally understand your point comparing this opener with the TV ratings for reunion. Reunion was a watercooler hit for Bravo, in that word-of-mouth brought the live viewer numbers. I will never understand why Bravo put Monica out to pasture when she kick-started so much story for the show. As for this episode, I agree with you. It was entertaining and pacey, and way better than many episodes in S2 and S3. However, it was also very performative. Everyone bent over backwards to 'prove' they can make it without Monica. Lots of emphasis on wealth, given that this was the area in which Monica was lacking. Brittani had it out for Mary, in order to be relevant on this show after her calling card, the Osmond offspring, dumped her. I imagine the Osmonds were not pleased Brittani joined a show with a fair number of lapsed Mormons. Bronwyn looked ridiculous walking down Park City's freezing main drag in what looked like a cheetah bikini, pretending to be this edgy fashion plate. She looked like a clown. Whitney getting dragged by the three other cast members was long overdue. And I can see that Heather is really going to annoy me even more than usual this season. No, I'm talking about the story that Brooks put Ayan on speaker and Lesa heard Ayan disparage her, or something. Honestly, with all the screeching I had no clue what the story was. Is anyone enjoying OC? I really am. It's their best season in about a decade.

@Taoboi @Soaplovers @NothinButAttitude Someone will have to explain what the hell the Dubai women were screeching about in the last 10 minutes of that episode, because I could not absorb one iota of information from that mess. It was an awkward and chaotic end to what was a pacey and enjoyable season. I was disappointed, frankly. First of all: agree with @NothinButAttitude that Taleen needed to calm down and stop screaming, because she was exhausting. However, i was Team Taleen when Brooks came to see her at lunchtime and tried to sweep everything under the carpet. Brooks may have a got a beautiful new face, but she's so unlikeable. I much preferred her at Season 1 reunion when we got a complete, complex woman revealing herself and her vulnerabilities. This time around, seeing her cackle at Lesa and Ayan's fight, or admit to putting Ayan on speaker to catch her out, I feel like Brooks has lost a human part of herself that made her interesting and slightly mysterious in S1. And I wish I could like Lesa more. Lesa is soulfully beautiful. Whoever did her immaculate, glossy marvel wave of hair deserves an Emmy, because that was a work of art. But Lesa is a bit-player who thinks she is LVP. She thinks she can outmanoeuver these women, and Reunion proved she can't. Plus she lied about not knowing that Ayan had shared the voice note. Ayan may have only told her minutes before they started filming (so technically still in a grey area of shock), but the pretence of shock and anger she cultivated over an episode makes me look at her differently now. The fact is, Lesa cannot stand that Stanbury and Ayan are higher than her in the show's pecking order. And she is acting out because of that. Inchallah, as they say in Dubai. God willing Dubai will be given another lease of life in S3 -- with slippery Sara in the cast.

RHODubai First of all, Bravo buried this on the same night as the presidential debate. Of all the times to take a pause during a season, this was one of them! Secondly, this cast really is the most photogenic out of the franchises. Most of the women looked like supermodels coming onto the reunion stage. Stanbury's facelift is top-tier work. She looks exactly like herself (and can move her face), she just looks a lot younger, like her Ladies of London days. I also loved her hyperclassic, minimalist 90s evening gown. Someone else also had a facial refresh: Brooks. And while she does look beautiful, she also looks different from how she used to. I can't quite explain it -- the nose, cheeks, jawline, lips have been perfectly tweaked. Brooks is very beautiful, but you get the feeling that life and some abusive relationships have hardened her to people in general. I'm not sure she likes or trusts many people. Even with this insta-alliance with Lesa, you feel that both of these women would throw each other under a bus at a moment's notice. This reunion is turning me off Lesa and Brooks somewhat. Both are insanely jealous of Stanbury. Both have come into reunion primed to attack. Ayan, too, by the way. I was actually shocked at how well Taleen handled herself, to be honest. Part 1 of reunion was a little slow in some ways, bit I'm hopeful Part 2 will pick up pace and ask the question: what the hell happened between Sara and Saba?? Ratings have been really low, but I hold out hope that Dubai is getting better streaming numbers. It's an insecurity complex which she tries to cover with superiority. I'm not surprised about Project Runaway, that she would try and humiliate someone she views as lower than her. It wasn't until her second season that i really understood how insecure Wendy was within this group, how lacking she felt about her looks (i thought she looked great first season, classy and strong), and how much she wanted to be part of the GEB clique. A classy post from a classy lady. I'm sad she's going through this, but as usual she looks for the positive while raising awareness about postpartum anxiety to her followers. When she said she was not returning as a 'full-time cast member,' this gives me hope that she will be back (if RHOM gets another season after this one), and may even pop up in this current season. After all, Nicole and Guerdy are close IRL.

ITA. Wendy's first season was her most authentic, as humorless and inflexible as she was. In the seasons that followed, I was torn between feeling bad for her (the GEBs were truly horrific), to wrestling with my inability to connect to her. Part of this was the inexplicable 're-branding' from university-professor/political commentator (which was really solid, I thought) to sticking her name on any old random crap. Part of it was the fact that she has no natural humor and therefore has to script/rehearse every one of her reads and VTs. When she's not in rehearsed mode, she's lecturing somebody. I've tried to listen to her interviews on a RH podcast here and there, but rarely make it to the end.

They put a lid on the outright toxicity, although the sudden love-in is a shock after +2 years of "BECAUSE. I. DON'T. LIKE. HUH." This was an easy shift for Wendy, though -- she has long craved Gizelle's approval, and it personally devastated her that Gizelle couldn't stand her. Without Robin and Candiace there to detract attention, though the trailer exposes the fact that Wendy is a so-so RH. She's not naturally funny or spontaneous or whip-smart. She feels rehearsed. I am waiting to see what the beef with Karen is about before I cast big judgment, though.

She is,too good for the show, and she does not need Bravo. Nevertheless, I will miss her and do think she is a crucial cast member. Larsa OTOH is completely dime-a-dozen expendable.

This is devastating news. It has crept up on me but Nicole is one of my favorite housewives, because she is an authentic and decent person. She has a job. She has real friendships. She showed her life. She became one of the lynchpins of the show, a voice of reason and intelligence. She didn't put up with any bullsh!t. Most of all, the support and love she showed Guerdy last season is what stood out to me. She'll be missed -- she stabilised the cast. That group of friends -- Nicole, Guerdy, Julia, i was more often than not Team Newbies. Like @NothinButAttitude I have to wonder why we lose the Nicoles while the Larsas, who think their OF careers are more impactful than the medical profession, never seem to leave. I hope this is temporary -- Nicole just had a baby and lost her dad, after all. I'd like to think RHOM started filming late because they wanted to give Nicole time to get back into the swing of things. But sadly, I don't think Bravo appreciates RHOM and the rest of this cast quite as highly as we do. Nevertheless, I hold out hope that this is just a negotiating snafu and that in a week or two, the lawyers will have ironed things out, and Dr. Nicole and Anthony will be back on board.

So, I came away with a somewhat different view of the episode. For the record, I'm not Team anybody, and I'm not Anti anybody either. Lesa is incredibly beautiful, fiery, and a pretty fab RH addition. But she is also jealous and controlling, and cannot admit to her BFF the real reason for her anger. She has a great deal of pride, and admitting such a thing would be an admission of weakness. Lesa is jealous of Stanbury. For many reasons. For the fact that she's a Queen Bee of this franchise, for the fact that Ayan is now making heart-eyes at Stanbury. And she thought she could manipulate Ayan over two seasons. She didn't expect Ayan and Stanbury to hit it off. And so, she tripped over some of the groundwork she laid. Her intense laser focus on trying to outplay Stanbury alienated her from the rest of the group, who didn't want to be her proxy either. The fact is, Lesa is not warm with the other women. She tolerates them, but Ayan is (or was) her special friend. By contrast, Stanbury cultivates friendships and people around her. Lesa kind of islanded herself. I see she's tried to make an alliance with Brooks ahead of reunion, but Maleficent is going to bite her too, sooner or later. Do I think Ayan made too big a thing over absolutely nothing? Yes. That fake boohooing was the cringiest acting I have ever seen. Ayan saw an opportunity to play victim and have her moment. But two things can be true at the same time, and maybe she was tired of Lesa, the dominant figure in their friendship, directing her on the show. They've obviously both been strategizing with regards to the other women up until this point. Reunion will hopefully shine a light on some of these issues. Maybe I've read it all wrong, too.

Alexia is not about that broke-broke life and never has been. I knew she'd finagle her way back into his life -- or start dating his best friend to make him jealous! This is the high standard of Telenovelaness we expect from RHOM. I sure hope the cameras are capturing all this.

There is a ton going on (Nicole's baby, the Pippen-Jordan break-up, Marcus coke-bumping, Lenny getting his ass dumped)! I'd give anything to watch karma smacking Lenny in the face, after he tried to lock his wife and kids out of the house so he could turn it into a love-nest for the tacky side-chick. Lenny's mom must also be ruing her decision to welcome the trashpot with open arms -- she alienated the mother of her beloved grandchildren in favor of somebody who was clearly going to move onto bigger and better sugar daddies. 💀

I guess she healed from all his free plastic surgery that made her look like a Barbie doll, and swiftly embarked on a Hot Gorl Summer.

I thought it was Mercury Retrograde also! Certainly the intransigence of my boss aligns with the intransigence between the female friends I cited. The really sad thing is a lot of problems I'm facing have solutions, but everyone is digging in and being very My Way or the Highway. And it is killing morale, and affecting me emotionally. Because the solution, as I said, is within reach but no-one wants to compromise anymore or accept responsibility. That's the issue we are also seeing play out between these Dubai women, specifically Ayan and Lesa who have been on the outs for nearly 2 years now. Lol. Thanks for the hugs. Sending good vibes to you also. I won't see a small respite until Friday 13th (yikes) so I just want to make it to there lol. Honestly, the RHs and this thread will be my little distraction for the next little while, so thank you, posters here, and keep up the good work! Lol.

Finally catching up on Dubai (after another horrific week at work, sigh). My quick take is that if Brooks' spa never once crossed Lesa (and her event planner's) mind, then she is really not bright. As soon as Lesa verbalised the concept for this event, I thought 'Uh oh, why isn't she having this at Glass Door? It would have been a nice way to get Brooks' support for a Mina Roe event. I knew Maleficent Brooks would have a problem with the whole tjing. Lesa may dislike Stanbury the most, but that doesn't mean her rivalry with Brooks isn't percolating either! Brooks expertly sowed the seeds of discontent, and Taleen saw an opportunity to go after Lesa for her moment, and it escalated into a mini gang-up, which Lesa managed to bat away -- for now. But the bad feeling now has momentum, which I imagine we see play out next week. The Sara-Saba conversation was pretty compelling to watch if, like me, you like Sara. You're right, it was the authentic Sara we saw behind the mask.of perfection. And given everything that has now transpired between the Two S's, it was crazy to watch them so close. Female friendships of all ages can be intense, sometimes you kind of fall for people platonically, and when you later fall out, it is as painful and heartbreaking as a romantic relationship break-up. Sometimes even more so, if the friendship was a long one. I don't know what's happening recently, but I'm seeing really close girl friends suddenly fall out catastrophically with each other, and I don't understand why! And RHs is built on the ebb and flow of these very intense, close female relationships, so I hope Saba I'd back for S3. It's too bad reunion has already filmed.

Woah, wat? Is this like Alexis and Shannon's ex on RHOC??

I'm shocked tbh. Kelly Monaco has been at GH so long, I thought she was a fave of TPTB. I'm not a megafan, but I do think the timing is cruel in that she has been through a terrible and life-changing loss recently. Someone upthread said this might be to free up money for a Vanessa Marcil limited return, and I can't shake the feeling GH might be planning out something approaching a long goodbye.

LVP knew something was up from the get. And I think, deep down, so did most of us watching in real time. We may not have known the detail amd extent of the embezzlement, but we knew... just as LVP knew... things were not as they appeared.

* Screams * Was just going to post the reunion looks! You know what? Everybody looks true to themselves. Heck, Taleen looks like she always does on the show. I love Stanbury's clean 90s lines. I've been missing the 90s recently, lol. Ayan dressed for carnival. This look harks back to RHOMiami reunion, and even further back to some of Porsha's reunion looks on RHOA. Porsha IMO produced some of the best reunion looks of all time. Sara went strapless and showed off her tats, and that is a bold move for her! Lesa probably won in terms of her well-planned total concept, but I've got to say, Brooks going full 1940s femme fatale/Diahann Carroll on Dynasty looks pretty phenomenal.

I think the story is shaping up to be Lesa vs Stanbury and their lingering resentment, and in a way, Ayan is merely peripheral to events. Interesting that Ayan said she was angry at Lesa about how events went down... I was like B!tch, where? How are you angry at Lesa?? But honestly, as lowkey as the episode was, I loved how it took us into individual lives. Sara uncovering a kidnapping plot chimed with what I've heard about wealthy people in the Gulf -- they have to be careful whom they hire because ransom situations are real, given all the money there. And lucky Brooks has deflected all the drama to Lesa and is watching from the side, happy to swoop in like a harpy and gather up the broken pieces to cackle over. I wonder how reunion went for her? Andy and Brandi... either this story disappears into the ether, like the Bethenny union thing, or it clings on and kills Andy's career. RHOC -- I've caught up, tonight's episode notwithstanding, and what a fire season it has been so far. OC hit the ground running. Tamra doing the most to destroy Shannon emotionally is such a bad look on her (coached by her minion Terri, I wonder?). And Gina finally getting called out on her stirring is long overdue. OC and Dubai are really hitting the spot right now.

OMG! What is THIS? A professional, personal, amicable, authentic (did I mention authentic?) parting of ways? Did Sara embezzle a children's charity or something? I swear, like @NothinButAttitude, snooty b*tchy Saba is so up her own ass, and I love it. And it's all official templated, like "UAE, London, August 13, 2024." Saba is setting up S3 of Dubai -- The Unraveling of Sara. You know what this reads like? A coded divorce announcement. I've said it before about Sara, and I'll say it again -- this may be one of the things she is hiding. Lord, that pigeon motif was applied with a heavy hand. Nevertheless, I am very excited. I can see the hand of You-Know-Who crafting this trailer -- not least the use of gossip (who got knocked up after a drunken night? What did Erin's husband say/do?) to guide story. Also Rebecca Minkoff is barely to be seen, so he's gone elsewhere for some drama. But I am glad they kept last season's kewl gurl (but not as cool as they think) vibe. And I have to say, I have affection for these ladies, as flawed as they may be. I see Ubah has experienced zero self-realisation since last year! October 1st, though, is too far away. I wanted September 1st. Larsa jumped on an opportunity to play the victim and burp out an insta SL. Adriana better by investigating this mess like a pig in truffle!

@Taoboi @Soaplovers @NothinButAttitude Dubai reunion is finally -- finally! -- filming. Seating chart: I would have done it: Taleen -- Ayan -- Stanbury -- ANDY -- Brooks -- Sara -- Lesa. I said what I said!

Exactly so. S10 RHOA would have been nothing without a Reunion reckoning which was MANY years overdue. It finally made Kim Z accountable. One could argue that RHOA S9 reunion did also, regarding Kandi and Phaedra. "THE LIES, THE LIES!" In fact, RHOA is often (though not always) good at channeling a better reunion to save a poor season. Reunion is the Superbowl, it is the build-up, and the finale is the bridge into such an event. Problems are rarely solved meaningfully in the finale, but they have potential to be dealt with at Reunion. And yes Andy plays favorites all the time, but he's pumped to be doing Reunion. They are a feather in his cap. Taking a more recent example, can you imagine if SLC had decided to forego reunion after that barnstorming finale? Reunion brought all the cast together for the first time since Bermuda to hash it out. The fact that SLC had, mostly successfully, hidden the season's big reveal over the course of filming meant that Reunion was more important than ever, and the live viewing figures surged as a result.

Sadly, Marcusa is no longer a HW on RHOM, so Andy can't ask him! But I sure hope Larsa talks about this and their ex-relationship on the show. HOWEVER! I speculate that Larsa signed an NDA after they broke up, so that the Jordan family wouldn't have to worry about loose lips. And that will mean for another consecutive season, Larsa will deflect, deflect, deflect. I do hope the other women comment about the coke-snorting, although I suspect Marysol and Alexia will somewhat suspiciously clam up, too, lol. I've got the polar opposite opinion. I love the reunions and cannot stand the cheapo After Shows which give everything away for free. They have eroded the power of a three-part reunion. Bravo cannot control the social media RH ecosystem and gossip blogs, but it can control this. It should can the After Shows and keep Reunions 'special.' I live for the tense build-up, the crazy dresses (hello, outfit watch) and the fact that issues from the season are ostensibly laid out on the table all in one go. It represents a kind of catharsis and closure to the season for the cast, and the audience.