Cat

IMO the Kandi-Phaedra feud was ended too soon, and I never really got closure from it. Obviously Phaedra was 'leaking' allegations against Kandi that were aimed at destroying her reputation. This was in revenge for Kandi-Todd choosing Apollo over Kandi's friendship with Phaedra. Kandi and Todd really were obvious in the way they tried to discredit Phaedra. Kandi 'accidentally' met up with Apollo's side-piece in S9 on-camera. I always felt like Kandi is so shady in setting up meetings with all these mistresses and then pretending it was a total accident and she never laid eyes on them before. She also has Don Juan and Carmon do a lot of her dirty work. To be clear: I think Phaedra is a con artiste and up to her neck in whatever fraud it was that got Apollo sent to prison. Nevertheless, I also understand the human emotion that was behind her seeking revenge on Kandi, who had once been her true-blue BFF. The other piece of the puzzle was that Phaedra allegedly got the lie about Kandi wanting to drug and rape Porsha from RHOA EP Carlos King, and that is why Carlos King's employment got terminated after that season. Both Kandi and Nene insisted he must go. S9 reunion was a four-parter and so crazy and messy that a lot of these details got swept under the carpet. The end felt totally rushed, and Bravo quickly chose to save Porsha and jettison Phaedra (Porsha supposedly had a Bravo executive benefactor/sugar daddy saving her ass on the show). In conclusion: there is unfinished business between Phaedra, Kenya, Kandi and Porsha and it would be nice to see it addressed on the show, rather than bringing in a bunch of newbies who have no real connection with the existing cast. RHOC: Haven't watched the latest episode yet, not sure Braunwyn should be thrown to the side completely as she is giving us legit messiness at the moment. However, Tamra is so badly needed on this show, it is not even funny. She was a more effective producer than production itself. She was the glue that connected most of these women together. And she didn't care what viewers thought of her, trolled her antis and embraced her villainy.

Looks to me like Kenya may want to purposely piss Kandi off she’s reaching out to Phaedra, her arch-enemy for many years! What is going on?

I wouldn't mind Phaedra back AT ALL.

I'm stunned. I thought she would stick with that marriage-in-name-only to the end. Isn't he also funding 'Erika Jayne'? I actually enjoyed Tom Girardi's rare appearances on the show. I am dying to know what prompted her to do this -- and carefully bury the news on election day -- but I believe that she won't say a word against Tom or the divorce next season. It will all be very amicable and Nothing To See Here.

I am D O N E with Candiace. At this point, I dislike her even more than Wendy! The After Show did it for me. What a nasty, snot-nosed brat. And so, so jealous of the other women. Her cringeworthy "Woot" and "Chile" to whateverthefuck Wendy was babbling about. Karen is snake-like how? Karen told you from the start that she supported both you and Monique, but you couldn't handle it like a big girl! I am BEYOND TIRED of the fake victim act. Yes, Candy Ass is a FAKE. She made up with Monique last reunion and then stabbed her in the back. She admitted in an After Show earlier this season that she was part of the coven propagating that rumor about the baby. And now she is stepping into her worst Norma Desmond impression and acting all 'woe is me.' As you point out, she has nothing else going on but these 'poor-me' acting choices! Also she needs to take that pointy, dry old kleenex and wipe off the 20 pounds of highlighter she smears on her face. It is a grease-fest. As for Wendy... Zero humor. Zero self-awareness. Only thirsty and desperate. Congrats on becoming the puppet of Gizelle & Gizelle's Henchwoman. The pinnacle of your numerous achievements, I am sure. Four degrees and yet you remain a mere fan who thinks she Knows It All. Well, there is no greater fool than the fool who thinks she is wise! Also, in the After Show, Wendy gave us a long stump speech about uplifting Black women before ending it with "Shut the f*** up, Karen." The irony was not lost on me! I love Potomac, but I worry it may be heading into RHONY S4 toxic territory. Worse, I worry that the combined forces of Gizelle, Gizelle's Henchwoman, Candy Ass and Dr Phil will win the day. I am now officially nervous for reunion.

Regardless of whether your opinion on Wendy changed or stayed the same, I'm glad to read your posts! I was getting lowkey worried you wouldn't want to post here because of the growing anti-Wendy sentiment.

Looks like Wendy wasn't that thrilled with Karen's slouching impression. She tried to claw back some 'Read' points in the After Show, and Candiace did a few tired attempts at "Preach," but the comments section dragging them both says it all. They both look petty and catty as hell here.

Maybe I'm giving Tanya too much credit because the other FOHs and Eva weren't all that great. I'll keep my eyes open with this new season.

I will have to go back and re-watch but my snap judgment on last season's reunion was that Kenya was just AWFUL. She tried to shout her rehearsed reads over Tanya and Tanya was calmly but firmly not having it. It's funny you thought Cookie Lady was the beginning of the end for Tanya. I thought it tarnished Kenya and Cynthia to keep bringing the thirsty-ass mistress around. Kandi also pulled this ish with Dennis's alleged mistress while pretending she had never met her before. I personally hate this trend of bringing on somebody's alleged side-chick to the show in order to 'embarrass' another HW. Kandi did it in S9 with Apollo's prison pen-pal. Back in S5, when Kenya tried to play up that Apollo was coming onto her, it backfired so badly on her. All the other women were like 'How can we trust you or your motives with regards to the other husbands?' Kenya was eventually vindicated, Scarlet Letter-styles. But bringing on the mistress cheapens RHOA, IMO. Like I said, it didn't make Tanya look bad, but it did make Kenya look like a unlikeable b!tch. But im ready to see how Tanya comes across this year. Maybe I will eat my words. Wouldn't be the first time!

ITA. Ever since Carlos King and his team left the show and we got the Tardy production crew, my emotional investment in RHOA has fallen dramatically. I've tried hard to reconnect with the show, but Carlos for all his faults, was in these women's ordinary daily lives and picking up on all the cracks they didn’t want us to see Since S10, I've felt that ATL is too much about the lewks and glam and it is verging on BH territory. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy fashion as eye candy, but not as replacement for actual substantial stuff going on. Thank heavens the ATL women are funnier and sharper than the BH women, and that is what keeps the show going. It is also why I enjoy the reunions. On the show itself, I am finding the reads increasingly rehearsed. Again, I put the blame for the over-glam and scripted reads at the door of this particular production team. Even in this latest trailer, all the supposed 'unexpected' stuff like Mike putting his hand on the car cam, or Porsha creeping around a house on cc-tv seems a bit contrived to me. Perhaps the fact that I am watching S6 ATL at the moment is spoiling my mood for current ATL. S6 is crammed full of so much stuff happening, and it is all real. Glam was incidental to the marriage and relationship drama. Kenya was villainess but an enjoyable villainess, with human streaks, and there were checks and balances between all these women so that a lot of their worst impulses were checked. Now I see that Kenya has managed to run Tanya Sam off the show -- for a FOH, Kenya sure was threatened by her presence! -- which is a shame. I liked Tanya. She and Marlo could be peach-holders, but Bravo keep trying to cast semi-famous names who end up being duds. Or they make a bunch of FOHs fight it out, and after filming is done they re-edit the season around their eventual picks and it feels like gaps are missing when we watch. As for Kandi, I get where you are coming from, but its the principle of the thing IMO. Even if Riley's dad pays a symbolic, modest amount each month, its about participating financially and sharing responsibility. Personally, I hate it more when I see Pipsqueak Todd -- who lives high on Kandi's money himself -- complaining about Kandi buying Riley stuff. It is none of his business tbh. He gets an allowance too!

It's definitely a reality and very relatable! Universities are prohibitively expensive. I imagine Wendy has loans for undergrad, her masters AND her PhD. Hubby probably has undergrad and grad school loans. All that bundled together must be a massive amount. That article was a doozy. The stuff about the Nigerian caste system was something else. I don't know if that 'source' was Wendy's mother-in-law but they really are not fans of her or her mother!

If Kathy is going to keep accidentally posting her business on public forums, I am going to love her. 🥰

Thank you for laying it out like that. Seeing Monique filming mostly alone on the show and After Show, it is hard not to shake the feeling that Gizelle has triumphed in getting Monique iced from the show -- kind of like the Manzos got Danielle iced from NJ, even though she was a fan favorite. I still feel like the deck is stacked against Mo, but I also recognize that production need her. Monique *IS* the only storyline this season. The 3 major physical altercations last season and this season have one common denominator. I actually feel empathy for Candidacy because, like Monique, she has anger issues that she is not confronting. She is trying to temper that anger, but a lot of the other women are more than happy to push her buttons in order to achieve a desired result. Candiace's rage obvs stems from her dictatorial mother and feelings of powerlessness over her own life. So she acts confrontational in order to feel powerful. Re: the bold. Wendy is in financial strife? Kathy seems especially close to Kim so we will prob see more of her. I do think you are right and Kathy will be there to pull a Faye and reinforce how 'wonderful' Kyle is. I enjoyed the glimpse of Kathy, Kris Jenner and Faye together at the charity auction last season because they looked like a power triumvirate. You know it must have intimidated the sh*t out of Rinna with her paltry charity bid. I remember in S5 when Kim's daughter was getting married, Kathy was helping Kim organise the wedding outfits. Kyle showed up pretending to be involved, and Kathy could 👏 not 👏 even 👏 look 👏 at 👏her 👏. Every time Kaftan opined about Kim's outfit, Kathy would talk over her and steer Kim back to Kathy's choices, lol. This is the Kathy we want to see! I hope you are right about BH keeping a lid on leaks. It has been egregious the past two years. Brandi was obviously flapping her gums on Twitter months before anything aired, but I'm sure she had the thumbs-up from production to build anticipation. And from a ratings POV, it did work. I like the look of the newbie but I also hope Sutton will be back permanently. Speaking of RHONY: Heather is cited by Eboni as part of the main cast. This group is looking good!

Karen did not hesitate or deviate! Candiace: You've made excuses for Monique. You have coddled Monique. You are choosing a side. Karen: No. Candiace: What I need to hear from you is that you understand that what Monique did was wrong. It is confusing to me that seeing what you saw, that you can still be this soft. Karen: One of the things that I know about you, Candiace, is that you are brilliant, your mind is just so powerful -- but so is your mouth. I'm a little insulted that you continuously return to say that I should be against Monique. Let me tell you, young woman, that I coddled you a year ago. I protected you a year ago. I had your back. When I was holding you down, I didn't always agree with what you had done or said to others. And I am doing no more for my friend Monique than I did for you. Monique did a horrendous thing, and I told her she needed help. And I will walk with her hand-in-hand. If the shoes were reversed, I would do the same thing for you. So, as much as I can be a loving, big sister or auntie to you, I will not be told what to say or think. I find it ironic that literally NOBODY has a problem with Ashley having Monique's back. Ashley is still invited to all the events and on cordial terms with everyone. So why is Karen different? Why are they trying to make an example out of her? Wendy... sigh. Social media and Bravo seem to love her, and I like her family and political engagement. But she is working too hard to keep this fight alive. She is all up in it and righteous and acting like she is deeply involved -- when she wasn't even around last year when the seeds were being sown! She really wants to Be Seen in this storyline. Her angle from the beginning has been anti-Karen, and that is also her angle with this fight, to target Karen as the 'bad friend.' Candiace is eagerly playing the traumatized victim role. Obvs a physical altercation shakes you for days, if not weeks afterwards. It takes time to process the feelings of anger and fear. Right now I am not sensing fear with Ms Candiace, but I am sensing a fair amount of self-righteousness and smugness (Not saying she isn't traumatized, but that doesn't mean she can't also capitalize on an opportunity). She has been jonesing for a confrontation with Monique since before the season started. She helped bring this altercation into the middle of the group. Now she is demanding that her friends pick her side. Has she thought about how all this might be affecting them? Candiace had a face like one of Michael Darby's pinched bottoms when she found out Monique was countersuing. Monique is out, isn't she? I cannot see her surviving beyond this season, especially if nobody will film with her.

That whole table was amassed against Monique. Cha Cha had no business being there, after that vile rumor she invented and spread. But of course she was, because she is as bitter and jealous of Monique as Gizelle is. Karen and Ashley were quite simply outnumbered. Karen was looking at all the women like she was seeing their true characters for the first time. At one point before the meal, Gizelle was laughing about the assault charges and Karen got up and left like she was sick of the sight of her. Robyn watched her go like she realised they had gone too far. And then there is Candiace's mom egging on her deluded child. It felt like I was watching another Coven tbh.

Oh, it was MOST fascinating. Giz and Robyn's faces as their little weapon of mass destruction started boomeranging back towards them! They thought that by refusing to film with Monique (by my count, that is Giz, Robyn, Candiace and Wendy), that would be enough to get her off the show. The whole point of the table conversation was to pressure Karen and Ashley to do the same. I respect that Ashley and Karen held their own. But the more intransigent Candiace gets, the more she pushes them towards Monique. I hate that Ashley decides to throw Karen under the bus to Monique next week. C'mon, Ash. Are you doing Gizelle's dirty work now? Robyn's face was so hateful watching Karen defend herself at the table. Robyn has hated Karen since S3 when she heartily participated in the Humiliate Karen campaign and her feelings have never changed. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't a judge throw out both Monique and Candiace's lawsuits and told them to stop wasting the court's time and money? God bless whoever that fair-thinking person was! You are so right about Candiace needing to eat humble pie. It really bothers me the way she is milking this. She is also very high-handed. Honey, you are only 30. Stop pretending you are a 55-year old diva. That's your mother's role. This episode is the first time I warmed to Wendy. She was light and humorous, amd so proud of her Nigerian background, not to mention her mom. Her husband -- god! he is so effing handsome. He exudes kindness. That is an underrated quality in a man. My heart broke for him as he carried Kamryn (in her mini gele!) looking around to see if his family had showed up. That is so cold. I can't believe after all this time and 3 children later, his mother would not want to acknowledge her grandchildren. Wendy next week, though. Still working so, so hard to turn people against Karen and make this rivalry a thing. You know, I am still thinking about this. This fan 'brandsbybravo' put together a meme for fun which Erika then stuck on her Instagram. The fan, politely, asked Erika to credit them. Instead of saying 'sure' and saving herself some precious time, Erika proceeded to belittle and tear down that fan like he/she was First Season Teddi. It was so mean-spirited and rude. I bet 'brandsbybravo' felt like crap afterwards. It's like you knocking your wine glass over with your hand and then berating the waitress for having spilled it. Erika took this person's meme! And when she was called out, she basically shat on the fan's work. If it was so crap, why did you post it in the first place? Erika keeps showing us what a sh*t person she is. I used to defend her, but now... pfft.

"Now go make some interesting sh*t that I can promote" -- jesus christ! Erika's view of fans in a nutshell. I'm sure we will get a follow-up post saying she was on her period tho.

Same. I used to get the feels I heard the BH one. Like at the end of S1, S2 or S4 (when LVP left the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce party). That video omg I actually feel bad for the little girl whose birthday it was. So ofc no shock I'm more sympathetic to Monique lol. I'm a nerd about these, too. I've always loved soap background music from back in the day for the same reason. Santa Barbara had great themes. So too did Y&R and B&B. The RH ones are similar in that there is a certain 'cathartic melancholy' to them. Oooo now I want to hear the RHONY one. I did a search but couldn't find it.

Haven't watched RHOP yet... but I will later today! I am almost afraid to, because it seems like Gizelle and Robyn are getting away with their nefarious schemes. God, I am hoping for some karma their way. Seriously, Robyn would be the Teddi of Potomac if she didn't have an actual sense of humor! The only comfort I get is that Cha Cha, who tried to get on the show with that horrible rumor about Monique, is STILL edited out. Also this is making the rounds on Twitter today By way of RH nostalgia, you know that finale music on OC and BH which is played as the women muse on what they've learned this season? I found it. That music always hits me in the feels. I know @DaytimeFan loves the OC guitar ballad. I love the BH one also. It reminds me of the Richards sisters being torn apart, or LVP vowing to keep it moving even after another betrayal.

Leeanne Locken = Sheila Carter is a PERFECT analogy. A villainess people feel sorry for. But who is also kind of crazy. And whose pride always leads to a fall. And i don't think SheiAnne paid a penny on that wedding. Everything was negotiated to appear on the show for free in exchange for promotion. Hence why there was no food. RHOD is probably the soapiest of all the RH shows, and I am OK with that.

Ep 1 of OC had potential IMO and was well edited with nods to past seasons. However, like some of you, I think production will regret letting go of Tamra. She was an unapologetic team-divider and pot-stirrer and made their job easier. She was Shannon's BFF and Kelly's enemy, she knew Emily a long time and was busy manipulating a willing Gina. She probably knows Elizabeth! I also wanted to see how Eddie was doing. Anyhoo, if ratings continue on their current path, she could be back.

OMG. I am so excited to discuss this because despite being an 'imperfect' RH franchise, and the lowest-rated, I have so much fondness for RHOD. I love the snooty southern society stuff, I love the Mama Dee and Jabot stuff, heck, I even liked Cary Deuber! Yes, you read right. I liked her self-deprecation in S3, and felt she was harshly targeted by Leeanne in S2. Also, Mark Deuber was Dallas's Jim Bellino and, as awful as that is, it is also perversely crazy to watch. This is going to be hard to discuss because you need to finish watching the season! You thought the Guadalajara trip was nuts? Bangkok is INSANE. And so is the finale and reunion. As low-rated as RHOD is, this thread was hopping during the last few episodes of last season. There was controversy and people's opinions changed about some HWs. Like you, I have leaned towards disliking Leeanne. I found her funny at times, but also violently intimidating to the others, using her frankly horrific childhood as an excuse for ongoing bad behaviour. She was also very wrapped up in being the OG of the show. D'Andra and Leeanne are basically two sides of the same coin, as I've said before. They are both so fucked up by their mothers and childhoods. D'Andra was a coke addict for like a decade for crying out loud! They are both desperate for the adulation and attention that RHOD offers. Leeanne is a lot like a young Mama Dee in some ways and that's why D'Andra can't live with her/can't live without her. After watching this season, my feelings about Leeanne did shift and I felt empathy for her flawed self which is hard to explain. I also wonder if RHOD may regret getting rid of their Alpha dog. You may have a different view. My strong STRONG dislike of Brandi continues unabated. She is the true sniper from the side IMO. Funny how the election + pandemic + disingenuous Handmaid Coney Barrett changes and crystalizes our perspectives! 😰 Braunwyn's drama this year has amped way up. I appreciated the way she laid out the habits of her addiction in ep 1 which she did not want to acknowledge until now. The fact that she did it with Emily who called her out on it last year also made for an interesting dynamic. I think the few fans who watched responded to her authenticity.

Look at Gizelle and Robyn hastily backtracking from their 'THROW THE BOOK AT HER, SHE SHOULD BE PUNISHED AT ALL COSTS' stance. And Candiace is a snotty, petulant teenager with zero accountability on her side. I see Dorothy is there gassing her up. Agreed. It flowed well and this group has potential. The VTs though! The lighting was too harsh. Kelly looked like a 55-year old Maleficent in a wig. Emily looked tired. Gina seems to think she is cosplaying as Stevie Nicks. Only Shannon and Braunwyn looked somewhat professionally shot. Speaking of Braunwyn, what a revelation that at 5 minutes. This is what RH should be about, IMO. Yikes! Well I did hear there was an active social media campaign to boycott RHOC this year. Is 1.051mn viewers bad for a Bravo show?

Prayers to you and your mom @Taoboi ! Vitamin D, Vitamin C and ZINC is also being recommended by doctors here. Boost the immune system. Paracetamol to temper fever and migraines. Here in London, they are about to introduce Tier 2 restrictions (avoid public transport, no mixing with other households indoors) on Saturday. And last night, President Macron of France introduced a 9pm-6am curfew in major city hotspots. Ideas being discussed are of a possible 'circuit-breaker' lockdown -- a short, sharp, 2-week nationwide lockdown à la end-March.