Cat

Taoboi, I really, really tried with Covid season. There were good moments, but the restrictions Covid imposed on filming itself took the oomph out of M2M for me. I skipped to the DC episode, then jumped straight to reunion. Reunion was FIRE 🔥 and recapped a lot of what I missed. What was interesting was how long-term issues reappear and dominate, so we got Quad questioning how deep the Simone-Jackie reconciliation is (rightly, IMO), we got Simone vs Heavenly. And we have Contessa & Scott's live-on-air implosion. You are probably very much of a completist in these things (as am I), but this one time I might advise you to jump into last year's reunion, then straight into this season and don't look back. Now, onto this season--- Heavenly's Intervention. WOW. It was both cathartic (as a viewer, obviously not for the cast) and a hot mess. I don't blame Simone, Toya and Contessa for trying to confront Heavenly with her YouTube pronouncements. It was long overdue that Heavenly account for her words -- she's gotten a pass all these years up until now. The thing that surprised me was Quad, Anila and Jackie still defending poor lil Heavenly after all the things she said about them. Anila proves once again that she really is a pea-brain. Quad must have her own axe to grind with Simone, Contessa and Toya to side with Heavenly (who basically called her a ho). H basically said Curtis's nose and mouth was numb from all the random ass he'd partaken, but Jackie said Heavenly talking about her husband simply did not affect her. What? HOW? Did anyone spy when Jackie went to talk to Contessa in her bedroom, Contessa told her "You warned me about her and I didn't listen." This really made me go Hmmmm. I thought Jackie and H were best friends and had each other's back? Or are they more like... an alliance? Heavenly's demented chihuahua laugh was insane. The intervention was a flop because Heavenly will never admit her wrongdoing and is going to play victim from here on in. I did LOL at Heavenly blocking the driveway and Simone and Toya's cars backing up, unable to escape. In other news, Anila & Kiran are deeply annoying. At some point, if you have the kids, you've gotta start parenting. Also, they thought they were so clever showing up Toya & Eugene at the Halloween party. First of all, they stole the idea from Nene & Gregg on RHOA. Secondly, these two talk like they're posting snarky replies on Twitter ("dry as f***" etc). It sounds really false and unfunny.

Is this the scene you are talking about (below)? I'm a few episodes behind. But I love it! I've always liked Dr. Daddy Damon's genuine, quiet way. He's an introvert, but he spoke truth to both Heavenly and Contessa. Heavenly's relationship is in a precarious position. She needs to pay attention and work on their issues honestly. She always has lots to say about other marriages and how perfect hers is (reflecting her insecurities about her standing with the other women). But Contessa needs to pipe down too. Damon did nothing except express hope that she and Heavenly work through things. I sometimes wonder if Contessa turned on Heavenly this season to distract from the shitshow and fakery of her & Scott, which hit Def Con 4 at Reunion. He hardly treats her with respect, either on or off camera.

Rinna appears to be losing it. I don't know whether it is the bots fallout, something coming up on the show, or she got wind of Bravo possibly letting her go after this season, but Rinna (who sounds a little um heightened here) wants to go down guns blazing.

I 100% give Lesa props for THE standout moment of the entire trailer. Caroline thought she ended her with that escort punch, but Lesa came back in a second with the Epstein double whammy and silenced her. Like @Taoboi I didn't know of Caroline's ties to Prince Andrew, but it makes sense given the boarding school she went to and the circles she ran in back in London. There must be a lot of socialites currently distancing themselves from him at this present time. He was always sniffing around richies and trying to get them to pay for his homes, etc. Caroline's ex husband, Cem, is in the oil business in Azerbaijan, and Andrew has long tried to ingratiate himself with the ruthless leaders of those oil republics.

I knew Lesa was out to get Stanbury. And look at Brooks turning coat! Lesa (even though I'm not a fan) dropping that Jeffrey Epstein anvil! Cannot wait for this.

He's a good kid. I'm sorry he had to put up with (as he accurately put it) middle-aged women spewing racist, crude crap at him. I really feel for him, and honestly wish he could have been spared those awful attacks. I stand corrected. Diana IS egregiously awful. Egregiously dumb. And egregiously lazy. Why am I not surprised she laid on her back and threw money at this lame bot idea? She probably thought she was operating on another level. Instead, the bot accounts all replicated her exact wording and spelling mistakes over and over. Lazy is as lazy does! It's not just her sloth energy. From the moment she drifted into view, I had an instant reaction of not liking her. She is not a nice person. The constant references to 'charity work' serve to accentuate her profound hollowness and spite. PLEASE let her be one-and-done.

Garcelle's son Jax's social media has been targeted by haters. The Real Housewives Twitter Detectives did some digging, and it turns out that pretty much all the hateful, attacking comments came from newly-created bots, repeating a lot of the same mantras. It looks like someone paid for bots to go after Garcelle's kids and big up Diana/the Coven at the same time. It would be almost laughable if Diana did something so egregiouusly awful and OBVIOUS, though Diana does have the money to pay for such bots. Interesting from a RHOBH standpoint that somebody paid to go after Garcelle's kids. They know Garcelle is popular. Garcelle is finally leaning into her Supreme status on this show this season. Bravo loves her. So how to get rid of Garcelle? Perhaps hurt the kids so that doing BH becomes the job she doesn't want to do anymore, and maybe she will leave of her own accord. This might be the thinking behind that particular bot attack.

@Taoboi So I finished RHODubai episode, and while I knew Ayan's terrible childhood was going to be addressed, I did not expect FGM. I cannot quite describe how I felt listening to Ayan's experience (at age 6), but like Sara, I had my hand clamped to my mouth in shock. Shock that human beings continue to treat other human beings like cattle, going as far as to neuter them like a stray dog. Because it is somehow sinful for a female (not a male, though) to experience physical pleasure, and her life should only be about pain and submission. Ayan recouting how the women and men in her family wordlessly put her and her sister through that--- it reminded me of the short story by Shirley Jackson called The Lottery, where a small, seemingly placid local community mindlessly go through the same brutal, horrific ritual each year, because "~shrug~ that's what we've always done." Ayan has done something very important in shedding light on this horror. Sergio showing up on jetski on the island pissed everyone off so bad! It was kind of hilarious how their near-co-dependency is a topic among the other women. Caroline's comfort zone is definitely with him and not the women. If we get a S2, I suspect the producers will want her more in the mix and less with just him.

I would have given Jules another season rather than take on Tinsley, but eventually she (and Dale!) grew on me. Why? Because she was a complementary member of the cast. She offered a different approach and background. She was like the baby sis, for better or for worse. And that's what any new RHONY reboot would need -- a group of friends who complement each other but offer something different. S1 RHONY had that in spades. I see Real Girlfriends of Paris (starts airing in September) has a Gen Z influencer-only cast. It's almost like a test run for the new RHONY. However, I'm not sure how well it will be received. The trailer got panned on Twitter a few weeks back. I will check out episode 1, because Paris, but if it flops, I can't see Real Influencers of New York doing any better.

Exactly! I can vouch for all this as I worked in NYC in financial services. The only problem would the crazy long hours of work, and getting permission to film at work. But if you are a Wall Street executive or have your own consultancy (kind of like Ramona had), then you call the shots. But definitely artists, galleryists, doctors (hello! Plastic surgery capital), real estate agents (as Bravo well knows). They're all over the city, in all the boroughs. Influencer is a Kardashian stan who dropped out of college, and if they're living in Manhattan? Guaranteed that isn't 'Instagram money' (which is largely a myth). That's Daddy's Money. Being that our reality shows are already glutted with these individuals, I'm not really interested in seeing more of that fake-curated world. Give me a scene with Luann and Billy Strich any day.

@TaoboiI want to respond to your RHODubai post in greater detail but just to say that Stanbury has been growing on me since just before and during the wedding. And she is peaking now with this finale episode. So I've come around! And I can see both sides of the Ayan-Stanbury miscommunication. Once they get over their mutual suspicion of each other, they could be a great team. Like @ChitHappens I think Ayan is great. Also: yes, Brooks is the villainess and I think I am finally coming around to embracing that. Though thus far in the episode, she is actually a voice of reason. And she really wants us to know that Nina is a sniper from the side! Hmmmm... More on Nu RHONY. Influencers? Yuckitty yuck. IMO that's a non-job for people who don't want to work. I find myself agreeing with much of the comments section to this Tweet:

Every one of these moments is top-tier entertainment. From Dwight in his Last-of-the-Mohicans hair annhilating Kim's look, to Porsha saying "I don't know who told you you looked like Beyoncé to get in your pants.' Who gon check me boo will never not be iconic. And the fact that the clip left out so many other equally great moments, because ATL fired in all cylinders for so long! (I'm thinking primarily about Nene's reaction to Phaedra's highly-ambiguous pregnancy timeline).

I did end up jumping to last season's reunion before starting this season, which was fantastic, honestly. My default setting is pretty much Cannot Stand Quad, but in many ways she earned her spot back on the show during that reunion. Especially the way she butted into the other marriages. I've only watched the first episode of the current season, but it is hitting the ground running already. What's interesting to me is the amount of hardcore Pretending going on in this episode. Anila & Kiran and the new not-forever home, of course. Toya & Eugene inexplicably moving from their custom mansion into a rental, with no explanation as to what happened to the old place. Contessa & RestingAngryFace Scott pretending their marriage is miraculously healed. Perhaps to keep their spot on the show? Jackie & Simone going through the old (scripted) motions of their friendship, when clearly at reunion it wasn't there yet. M2M usually sets up the pretence early on, only to expose what's behind the mask as the season progresses. I have faith the show will do so again this year. Most exciting to me is Devilishly *finally* gettng called out on her trash-talking. Heavenly started buying into her own hype as a 'tells it like it is' chick some time ago. Throw in a big dose of insecurity (especially with regards Simone, and even her idol Jackie) and the fans online gassing her up, and you've got a recipe for confrontation and drama. Can't wait to see the 'intervention.' I wonder if Jackie will remain silent throughout or actually speak up on behalf of her champion?

So Aidan can finally have Carrie-- now that Big has croaked! Aidan always struck me as THE masculine ideal for women of a prototype-MAGA persuasion. Kind of like the females on The Bachelor are the MAGA patriarchy's ideal chick stereotype, and a lesson to MAGA women on how they are expected to look, speak and behave. For me, the problem with AJLT is that nothing exists outside Carrie's orbit. Aidan and his ex wife and baby will become a random footnote. His relationship with Steve will be forgotten, because its Just About Carrie. Like Miranda and Charlotte also shutting Samantha-in-London out because they mostly exist to soothe Carrie's nerves. Is Che returning?

Totally agree, especially on the latter point. Being a total b!tch is not 'honesty,' it's not 'my truth,' and it's not 'owning it.' It is a way of side-stepping the 'accountability' Rinna insists on imposing on (certain) others. Everything that comes out of her mouth is for the show, and therefore rendered almost meaningless. Rinna, like her closest ally Erika, seems like a hollow person. Like she literally sold her soul, and now there's nothing there. ------ As for Melbourne, I am holding out hope it still might be saved. Haven't seen any official word yet.

Well, that does it. I am trying to progress through last year's Covid season, but I'm just going to leapfrog into this season.

I saw this on The Twitter too, and felt really sad. IF it is true. Foxtel has yet to officially confirm. Melbourne was top-tier! And contrary to many, I thought the last season of Melbourne -- with 3 newbies -- was actually pretty good! A solid springboard for the following season. If I were Foxtel, I'd keep Melbourne and bring back crazy stepsister RHOSydney. But this is Rupert Murdoch's network -- it values the male demo which it retains by spending extravagantly on televised sports events, like cricket. ------ I'm usually on the fence about BH's very own grifting Boris & Natasha -- but Phoenix was just too cute in this scene! PK knew: he got put in his place by his daughter. Also that giant portrait of PK & Dorit behind PK. 👀 Giving their best Model Poses. This Tweet is 100% correct. Phoenix gave more in 15 seconds than Diana has in 15 episodes.

BH: Bravo needs to clear the deck with this show. Rinna, Erika Diana and Dorit going after Garcelle (or Sutton) is the same rinse-and-repeat we've had for years. And they get away with it because it passes for 'drama' to target and isolate one person and harass them off the show. It's pretty unedifying to watch. They just look so awful but they don't care. I see the takedown of Kathy has also begun. Another person close to Garcelle, hmmm. Kathy and Garcelle giggling at their bullshit was pretty funny. Rinna with her meaningless therapy-speak was fooling nobody. And Kyle judiciously staying out of the fray was interesting. Was it because Kathy was one of the targets, and Kyke didn't want to be seen siding against her? Or was it because she's debating whether to jump alliances? Sometimes Kyle seems to be having more fun with Sutton, Garcelle, Kathy, etc., than with humorless, miserable bullies like Rinna and Erika. The fact that Brooks came dressed as the wicked queen from Snow White and the Huntsman makes me think she'd make a great villainess! They mostly look good, although Lesa's dress is a nip-slip away from calamity. Ayan loves her curly trains, doesn't she. Stanbury looks like she's wearing a beach cover-uo with some heels, but at least it's not SLC levels of Bad.

That is a truly good ad for housewives. Teresa especially did great! Kyle and Kenya didn't do too bad either. Apparently the numbers on their jerseys have RH significance. 19 on Teresa's = ENGAGED 19 TIMES?! 06 on Kyle's = BH being the 6th RH franchise launched. 93 on Kenya's = crowned Miss USA in 1993. @NothinButAttitude hit the nail on the head. The chemistry between the current RHOA group is solid. But this season has felt paper-light and filler-y. I feel like I've barely seen Kenya (and P.S.: I miss Brandon, Kenya's BFF. It would have been great to see him as her guest on the Jamaica trip). The show cannot afford to lose HWs at this juncture, and needs additions. (IMO the shadow of Nene looms large over the show -- you cannot lose someone who was that iconic in the early days and not expect to feel it still. Even though RHOA proved that it could and would move on from her). I absolutely think Porsha (with Shamea and her sister as FOHs) needs to return. Eva and Lisa Wu, ok. Give them another try. Lisa seems ready to go at it. Eva, I'm not so sure. I also think LaToya may have been cut too soon and, like Drew, could have withstood another season to see if she fit.

It was for Lily, I believe.

Anne Heche was literally one of the best actresses in any genre that I have ever seen. She just happened to grace Daytime back then. Her Vicky Hudson was a force of nature, and she imbued Marley with a wistful soulfulness, too. One of my favorite heroines of all time. Anne Heche was such a talent, she seemed to have a lot of sensitivity and humanity. For me, the tragedy is that she wrestled with terrible personal demons and now it ends this way. So many people suffer trauma which has ongoing ripple effects across years, decades, generations. I wish we could offer better ways to heal. 😥

Perhaps I'm being harsh. Charrisse may work better as a FOH. I just find her sneaky, underhanded, and desperately vicious in her need to be on this show. The Monique rumors alone that she spread... yikes. At what point do you draw the line? How can you build a necessary level of trust with the other women when you know she would shank you at a moment's notice? Gizelle and Robyn aren't perfect. But at least I know they have each other's backs for real.

I cringed throughout the episode. What WAS that? What was Rinna even demanding of Sutton? It made no sense -- a truly embarrassing display of meaningless, performative ass-showing. Which Kyle teed up to perfection, almost as if -- gasp -- they had rehearsed beforehand? Noted thespian CruErika Deville also provided assistance, but between the 3 of them, they could barely eke out a moisture particle (see your pic). What else made me cringe? Oh, Asher warbling Broadway hits at his white piano while BudgetLiberace listened adoringly. Then there was the BH women pretending they actually know Melissa Etheridge's music. "Mumble-mumble come to mah winder!" And finally Boris & Natasha calling their little dinner party for the toothless a 'gala.' She sure can. I'd rather watch Robyn & Juan any day than that bore.

LOL! When Gizelle goes full-dork mom-dancing for her kids, I kind of love her? But yes, this is an early-90s mess. Carlton from Fresh Prince called, he wants his moves back.

RHOA: What's the view on Marlo? Is she putting in work because she lit a fire under Kandi and got her to deliver some amazing comebacks in the last few weeks? ("BITCH, IM WORLDWIDE" is going to stay with me for some time). Or is she an annoying thirst bucket desperately throwing any lie at the wall to see what sticks?