Cat

Oh, for sure Production want to have their cake and eat it too. They are giving Erika a sympathetic platform but also dropping little hints -- Erika talking about how it's going to get MUCH worse; Tom snapping at her in that S6 throwback; Erika talking in Tahoe about how Tom "lets me be me" and now we know that's a lie! Production want to make it ambiguous so that the audience gets invested in the 'mystery.' The whole trailer was basically IS ERIKA LYING? FWIW, I'm not sure I believe Erika driving Tom to work and telling him she loved him and then filing for divorce. I do, however, believe that Tom shut down any complaints she had about being his geisha wife, and I also believe the story about him telling another man at dinner "You can have her." He viewed her as a tradable commodity. One thing that gets lost is that while the focus is on Erika, the #1 villain in all this is Tom Girardi. Kyle let drop an interesting tidbit on WWHL some months ago. She says that before every season, she sits down to lunch with the EPs. And presumably goes through SLs and what they can talk about and cannot. I think the EPs really do acquiesce to the RHOBH's demands much more than some other franchises. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean they're not going to be shady in the editing room, lol. That meal with Erika snapping "OR WHAT? OR WHAT?" at Sutton looks like a mask-dropping moment for sure. Interesting that Dorit and Garcelle might have a feud. Dorit told TMZ recently that Garcelle was the most 'inauthentic' -- at the time, I assumed she was backing up the Faux Force Five, but now I'm wondering if she was laying the groundwork for a feud. It's about time because Dorit is doing not much for me so far. The Daily Mail article indicated that the biggest lawsuit is for $2mn! The Girardis are so greedy, god. If they'd just quietly paid the $2mn to make that lawsuit go away, Erika would still have $18mn to hold onto for a bit. I am seriously stunned. They could have sold the planes and the Pasadena house, paid off the most pressing lawsuits/creditors right away and restructured the remaining payments. Instead, Tom wanted to hide assets and declare bankruptcy. Wretched. Did NOT know that about Rinna's dusters on QVC.

Give her a character, for a start. I have no sense of who Abby is as a person. I mean, I get that she isn't a 'villain', but broad strokes, what kind of person is she? This is not a question I would ever ask about the character of Ashley. ED always imbued her with sensitivity and softness, but also with a certain WASPy self-centredness, too. I felt like I was watching a woman with complexity, and I could read emotions on ED's (and BE's) face (s). With Ordway, it's blank and one-note. I suspect her prettiness and the fact that she seems well-liked among the cast is what keeps her on the show. P.S.: I always thought John Driscoll played a great Chance. He played a gentle-hearted, kind character, he sort of reminded me of Ryan on Another World. But at the time, that kind of male character was not really welcomed on soaps.

BH I agree with @DaytimeFan that Erika's performance this episode was better than I even expected (although @Taoboi saying he'd seen better acting from the chick who plays Willow on GH made me cackle out loud!). Props to production for giving her an entire episode to carefully establish Her Side. She wants the narrative to focus strictly on her divorce, so I think that's what we'll get. I honestly think Dorit's "widows and orphans" comment is taken out of context and will actually be a statement of support for Poor Erika. Sutton calling Crystal out on being a mean girl was exactly what we were all thinking. She sees you now, Crystal. Kathy side-eying Rinna's OTT cackling was EVERYTHING. She knows. Rinna is as fake as a 2 dollar bill. I don't see friendship between Rinna and Erika, I see strategic alliance. And when Erika was talking, Rinna was scrutinising the other women, almost like she is enforcer of the status quo. Her loud laughs are meant to prompt the others to do the same. Dance for your master, monkeys! Also I think this Rinna Beauté project is a fallback in case QVC dump her.

Having watched Below Deck Med S3, I can definitely see the attraction of these shows. Downton Abbey on the High Seas! I also am watching Summer House which is a fun ride, too. But Bravo is struggling with its ratings this year. The stability of RHONY's recent ratings is to be commended, but this time last year, RHONY was apparently pulling in 1.26mn for an episode. BH ratings have recovered just above the 1mn mark after a poor start (because Bravo put 90% of the episode online in snippets) but that's down from last year, too. I hope this is more a case of viewers watching via streaming services (as I seem to be doing these days). Covid also severely impacted these shows' formats and breadth. Bravo held off from major firings until recently. Also, in RHONY's case, I think Bravo was a little too hasty in seeing off an Alpha like Dorinda.

This scene? Remember how that dinner party scene was edited to make Kathryn look absolutely awful and LVP not great either? And yet Tom snapping at Geishabot to pipe down was not worthy of inclusion back in S6. After that episode originally aired, we rarely if ever saw Tom interacting with Erika and the women again, and Erika made it sound like he was too busy and 'above' mere reality TV. Now we know why.

Maybe I'm overthinking the unexpected break we had this week, but I worry Bravo is giving RHONY the Dallas treatment. Dallas was a MESS and RHONY is really not in the same category of near-system fail. It is a transition season but with loads of potential, and the show is still a jewel in Bravo's crown as far as the quality of its cast and what they serve us. Following Below Deck would not be a bad idea. Also, I think Bershan will bring a breath of fresh to the show. It will leave Eboni less islanded, and I am interested to see what she's like.

This cannot be said enough! The 'Poor me' bungalow is to show the courts 'No money to see here.' Same as this week's gas station jaunt in sweats and no makeup. Look at how I suffer! Moreover, the BH scenes and her recent Twitter pronouncements are designed to keep the focus on Erika's divorce and NOT on the massive fraud. Interesting that 24 hours after Erika's lawyers publicly dumped her, they took up her case again. That says to me that she finally paid one of their invoices. So she's getting money from somewhere. Lawyers are not cheap. I haven't watched the episode yet but your review is great! This is an interesting point because yesterday's WWHL had Kathy and Crystal (and Kyle in the audience). Kyle has seriously never looked more relaxed, happy or confident. She is on top of the world right now. She has banished LVP and Ragamuffin from the show; meanwhile, Erika and Rinna, are on the outs with the audience. Kathy's presence has burnished Kyle's standing and she knows it. Kyle and the others were incredibly diplomatic about Erika (and Rinna's support of Erika) on WWHL. What happened to "OWN IT!" "Just tell the truth!" ? WWHL still trying to paint LVP as a villain last night, and all I could think was: Really? Lucy Lucy Apple Juicy and Denise allegedly sleeping with Brandi are worse than the Girardis stealing from burn victims to pay for Erika's overpriced glam?

@Liberty City Well that makes sense. The Below Deck franchises pull in higher ratings/demos. ETA: POTOMAC TRAILERRRRRRRRR errybody !!!!! Meanwhile in Melbourne... 😬

Sorry to dampen the fun of analysing B&B's utterly random twists and turns.

To have any kind of villain you need to write a credible character with backstory and motivation, even if that motivation is just "Hey, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there." What IS Justin other than Bill's ride or die? That's no diss on Aaron D. Spears who works hard to breathe life and dynamism into Justin in what little he is given. The problem is Bradley's horrific 'writing.' There is no such a thing as character on this show (ironically, given that character motivation defined B&B in its early years). Every character merely exists as a single plot point. And so it was with Vinny. And so it might be with Justin.

Ugh! She Who Shall Not Be Named infecting Europe with her 90s Ally McBeal aesthetic! Their soaps often look and sound better for a reason! When I saw that she scored that Locher podcast interview recently, I wondered if they were laying her groundwork for a return. Hopefully she's enjoying her retirement too much to contemplate a return! I mean, the show is horrific currently, but I'm not sure I could bear her brand of sub-ABCD-lite. Even if it was 'technically' more exciting than today's SLs, that 'exciting' was very alien, unbelievable, soap-writing-by-numbers.

Apologies -- don't mean to invoke her name! The show has never gotten over her disastrous tenure, and her fingerprints are still all over the joint -- and now we have Stitch popping back in. Am cringing at the thought of scenes between him and the Abbybot.

omg those Soap Opera Spirit awards Let's give everyone a medal for participating! Ron Carlivati wins Best HW 5 years in a row!

Is JFP returning also? He is the embodiment of her godforsaken era at Y&R. She loves a bland, generic-looking leading man.

In Erika news (apologies, I feel like I'm always the one mentioning Erika around here, please tell me if it's too much) -- After showing up at the gas station yesterday for a totally unstaged, unplanned, spontaneous pap shoot, Erika decided to jump on Twitter and toy with viewers. Erika = the human embodiment of Melania's I REALLY DON'T CARE DO U? jacket. She's trying so hard to deflect. But, hey, let's play. Who do you think is the snake? LVP? Mikey Minden? Justice Tricia Bigelow? Danielle Staub? Terri DiMarco?

That's random. You think they needed a break to retool/re-edit?

Vinny threw himself in front of Liam's car because he was in love with Thomas? Or because he wanted Thomas & Hope together? IDGI. Please tell me this isn't what Brad calls his 'gay SL' ? 🤯

Cynthia really opened her life to the cameras -- and that included the stuff she probably wished was private. The loss of her funds which she put into Peter's restaurant; the fact that her mom and sister tried to obstruct the wedding; the other women criticizing Peter being in 'women's business.' Rumors of Peter's infidelity! She really showed the good with the bad, and the fact that others put conditions on what can and cannot be shown (Porsha), and then in the next breath fans are like "uhhh Cynthia is boring" ? Like I said before, we need balance and complementary personalities. Cynthia is a go-to for many a RHOA cast member. Also she made possible this sweet moment between Noelle and fine-ass Leon: I can't imagine her on BH with all the cold alliances and snipers from the side -- I associate her so much with ATL. However, Cynthia is one of the most-liked RHs out there among her peers. She is friends with a lot of them, including Ramona, Luann, Melissa Gorga, Jill Zarin (!!) and others. I know she lives in LA right now but I feel like an East Coast franchise like NY would be a good fit for her. Or... Potomac?

No offense to KKL who is still a fine-looking lady, but Naomi Matsuda looks so beautiful, elegant and glowy in the press shot! I would love if B&B actually wrote for an Asian-American character like an actual, you know, human being, but Brad doesn't even do that for his existing cast, so that may be too much to ask. As for Ted King, he has always exuded a very sexy and cerebral presence. Honestly, he was too good for the second-fiddle role they gave him on GH, so I'm not sure if I want to see his character play second fiddle to Bill and Ridge (which he will inevitably do).

OOOO Ted King 😍 Loved him as Lorenzo Alcazar on GH.

I applaud CLB and others for coming out, because even in this day and age, that takes courage. It's not like we didn't 'know,' of course, and it makes me sad that CLB doesn't hold his husband's hand in public. I am confident that CLB's general popularity among Y&R fans will mean he will get a lot of support on his social media. As for Susan Flannery, it is entirely up to her whether she decides to come out publicly or not. She's got to do what's comfortable for her. She seems a private person generally.

Gizelle's 'villainess' role reminds me a little of Kenya on RHOA. Interestingly, fans aren't calling for her to leave the show, even if they might hate what she's doing or are Team Monique (fans being more savvy than Bravo gives them credit). This is in contrast to HWs like Erika Girardi on BH or Leah McSweeney on NY, where the calls to get rid of them are deafening. I have to agree with you. I've always had a soft spot for the nice ones, lol. We've been with Cynthia since before her first marriage (what a great season that was -- early season Cynthia was very watchable and she really did show us all of her life), and have been invested in her journey. Pretty sure plugging in actor newbies like Drew will not fill the Cynthia void, especially since ATL has struck out with its newbie additions in recent years. Also, these RH shows are ensemble casts which need complementary characters to give them variety and balance. It's one reason why I thought Jules on RHONY needed another season (and Kathryn on RHOBH) -- they softened the abrasiveness of some of the other women. We can't realistically have a cast of five Bethennys, you know? That's one reason why Tinsley was liked and missed when she left, even though I can't really recall any breakout SLs of her's, apart from pining after the Coupon King.

Only D'Andra and Tiffany should return, IMO, though I would entertain Cary Deuber coming back and even -- sigh -- LeeAnne. As for production companies, as @Liberty City said, I think some of RHOD's troubles in building up a fanbase has been because of its production team. Would love if Carlos King and an experienced team would take the show over. I say Carlos King because he ran another southern franchise, ATL, back in the day. He also did New Jersey's first season, which was epic. He understands personalities that have spark, capturing the essence of a place and weaving interesting threads.

DListed used to refer to Kourtney as The Slow One, a name that lives rent-free in my mind! You hit the nail on the head regarding TSO. For someone who claims to be a clean-living, children-first, wellness aficionado, her lack of emotional growth over 15 years is astounding. I would say she has regressed. When she had the Dash store, Kourtney seemed to be level-headed and invested, but when life became easy and boring and lounging around those big, empty mansions, Kourtney's reason for living became Snapchat and harping on the ultra-petty. Even having her kids didn't give her additional maturity. This reunion is far more interesting than the season which has been a CHORE to get through, testing my desire to be a completist. KUWTK has not ever been the same since Kourtney & Khloe Take the Hamptons and Scott went into a drug-fuelled spiral. After that, the family made a conscious decision to (A) wear colour-coordinated greige Yeezy sweats at all times, along with 20 pounds of makeup, (B ) never leave their McMansions for scenes, (C ) no more real stuff unless they absolutely have to show it (i.e.: Bruce becomes Caitlyn; tabloids expose Tristan cheating, etc). Consequently, this show became very dull with lots of filler like made-for-TV pranks on Kris. The reunion is good because it touches on the stuff PRIOR to that pulling-in-the-drawbridge moment. Like Kim talking about Kris Humphries (and her decision to include the family because she knew she was too dull to carry the show on her own. I admire Kim for owning that. I like how clear-sighted and goals-oriented she always is). That whole Kris Humphries season of Kim and Kourtney Take New York was gripping TV back in the day and remains very watchable. As far as the other sisters (since Rob clearly does not want to do this), I thought Kylie came across well, mainly because of her decision to pull back from the show. I'm not sure the two Jenner girls are all that interesting, however. Kendall's voice could lull me to sleep. I've always appreciated that Khloe understood the assignment and put her life on main street -- even if she hasn't always come out of that smelling like roses.

Oh she thinks she's Lady Gaga. 😆 You know who her 'real voice' reminded me of? Mikey Minden. I watched her TED Talk for some context -- the subject is embracing personas and the 'real' you. Which is ironic, because TEDTalkErika was meant to be the 'real Erika' talking about her stage persona Erika Jayne / wife persona Erika Girardi, but TEDTalkErika felt like a stage persona as well. IMO Erika harbors a lot of self-loathing which she covers up with bragging. She'd rather play a one-dimensional showgirl archetype than herself. No wonder the Erika we've known on BH always felt hollow and empty. It also influenced the other women to imitate her, to the absolute detriment of the show.