DaytimeFan

It's really interesting to see how the narrative was changed to do absolutely everything to make Denise look bad. It was all hinged on a homophobic premise of Denise having an affair with Brandi and throughout it was never about her having an affair, it was about the fact the affair was with a woman. And the audience reaction was "Nah, she's alright, we don't like T------ either" so we are left with a season that was a whole bunch of nothing except the audience likes Sutton and Garcelle, still likes Denise, sees what garbage Kyle, Her Stalker, and Rinna are and how useless Erika is, and how fair Dorit ended up being, specifically because she went against Kyle and the gang up mentality. That Rinna did what she did with the Garcelle comment, especially after seeing that extra footage, WHEWWWWW I don't know whose advising her but she's clearly accepting bad advice or ignoring those with her best interest in mind. She just looks unhinged and evil. I'm not sure if New York/Tiffany still lives in NYC or if she lives in LA now, but that clip is from a digital interview series she did with VH1 (and it's hilarious and incredible) and she hit it off with Sonja. Imagine firing Ramona and replacing her with Miss Tiffany Pollard? I am HERE for that.

Joyce's interview on Heather McDonald's Juicy Scoop podcast is really worth a listen. She is very candid about her time on the show and she is very clear about how she feels about the Housewives. The only person she's stayed in contact with is LVP (and Camille through LVP) and while she clearly wants nothing to do with Brandi, she does not have warm feelings for Kyle either. Joyce appears to know who the real Kyle is and doesn't like what she sees.

That's the thing about this season: the editing has been sloppier than usual and it's given away how many pickup scenes have been filmed to fill in or supplement storyline that hasn't been there.

I posted the changing hats on the previous page.

110% And I agree bring back Camille and at least one new lady. Preferably someone not in show business.

RHOBH Sigh. So next week is the finale. That was it? This has been a truly heinous season. Absolutely nothing happened and but for Denise Richards and Garcelle Beauvais coming in, kicking ass, and being real with these broads, they really would have not had a single storyline. Dorit has redeemed herself as she refused to join the gang up on Denise. She questioned Brandi so logically that all Brandi could do is explode in an expletive laced rant with a bloated kewpie doll face. Dorit really, really made an effort this season to give everyone a fair shake. Meanwhile... Kyle professing to Brandi's truthfulness is...problematic...thanks to the passage of time. Let's turn back to 2014: We then turn to Rinna, going down hard as Garcelle called her ass out, publicly, at that dinner, about how obviously envious she is of Erika and the roles she used to play 18 years ago: But why focus on that, or Denise and Garcelle openly discussing that their 20+ year friendships with Rinna were effectively over, when we can focus on the fact that the 'candid' scene Rinna had with her daughter about Garcelle was...how do we say...less than candid. Note the two hats in the same scene: All I know is the addition of these two is the only good thing to be said about this season: A major reckoning is required at RHOBH because the show is absolutely on life support. They need to clean to focus on the future and leave the problematic past behind. That means embracing Denise, Sutton, and Garcelle. Rewarding Dorit's latent altruism by keeping her on board. Firing the utterly worthless Kyle, the heinous goblin Rinna, the FemBot they call Erika, and that other one.

Was Gina actually objecting to wearing a mask?

POTOMAC Another great episode. The tension in the scenes involving Gizelle, her ex, and their children is so uncomfortable. Like, Gizelle, what are you thinking?! The kids sense something is really off. And they're right. Loving Karen v. T'Challa. That makes me laugh every time. I also like that at the Sip and See, Karen was *not* going to let things spiral and ensured that Candiace v. Monique didn't escalate. That was the right thing to do. Meanwhile, you have Gizelle coming across like like an ugly villain while Charisse is this irrelevant sow sitting on that couch as her excess weight crushes together in her midsection. That rumour is just so ugly and damaging, I think Gizelle should be off the show for opening her ugly mouth about it. It's a pity to see Wendy and Karen not get along, but I hope they see their similarities. A couple of Covidiots right there. The disregard both are showing is disgusting. America, wake up!

It's to Michelle Stafford's great detriment that LLB isn't on the show more. All of the great moments for Phyllis, whether she's played by Stafford, Sandra Nelson, or Gina Tognoni, have involved Christine Williams, to one degree or another. Especially as Phyllis started getting into a repetitive cycle of storylines between Jack and Nick, having Christine as a storyline outlet would have been of great benefit to the character (and the show!). I loved the episode about Paul and Christine's wedding where they both bolted from the reception for the sake of their careers. When have we ever seen that on a soap? Never. It was very "modern young couple of the 90s" and Christine's career has always been front and centre as her character developed into an adult. LLB and Christine blossomed in the mid 90s. She was used throughout the canvas - not being tied to a major family or character really worked in the character's favour.

I think the implosion of the LVP + Ken + PK friendship actually had an impact on Dorit and she saw what the consequences were for standing by Kyle's actions. What Dorit did/didn't do with Doggate could have been fixed, but what she did by standing with Kyle and John Mellancamp's formerly overweight daughter, could not. Of course, the only thing Kyle lost was her relationship with LVP, which she hadn't given a flying damn about, if ever, for years. PK, on the other hand, in losing Ken and LVP, lost real friends and that had to be something he discussed with Dorit in the off season. I think that's why we are seeing a Dorit who is thinking for herself and not joining the bandwagon as she did in the past.

RHOBH I too am finding this season exhausting. It started out with relative promise and then The Break happened and the tone of the show changed as @Taoboi has described perfectly. In the end, it all comes down to Kyle and the producers giving her intel on how she's coming across on camera and her desperate need to be 'liked' by the viewers of the show. But it's all fake. And nobody likes a fake. Denise is the contrast to Kyle and it must really bother Kyle that Denise, like her other nemesis LVP, is not afraid to just call out what's going on (LVP's mistake was waiting till her last season to do so, but we have GOODBYE KYLE as our souvenir for that). I really liked that Denise didn't try to act all sweet and nice. She went for some of these women and laid out her issues with how they have treated her. That's real. That's putting the Real in Real Housewives, and it's what I'm looking for. Once the producer intervened and had Denise go back to the table the narrative changed yet again as the women faked their way through a 'fun' dinner. Pathetic and not believable in the slightest based on what we see next week with them digging Brandi's story up from the grave. These women clearly hate Denise and some of them appear to hate Garcelle (I don't think Erika, Dorit or Sutton are against Garcelle at all - it's Kyle, Kyle's irrelevant stalker, and Rinna who don't like her and they will cross her at their peril). Erika continues to be incredibly irrelevant but it's not been a damaging season for her. Unless she needs the money, I'd be exiting if I was her. Dorit and Sutton are both contributing to the lightness and fun of the show and I don't know how this season would have survived without them. They are, to my mind, the two most deserving to hold diamonds, aside from Garcelle and Denise. Rinna is ruining the balance of her career by continuing to do this show. And yes, she's 57 so there's probably not much left in the balance of her career given the ageism so prevalent in Hollywood, so I get why she goes for broke in trying to be as much of a lightning rod on this show as she possibly can...but the QVC business could theoretically carry her for decades, yet I cannot imagine the buying public isn't turned off by some of this behaviour. It's so clear she lied about Garcelle. I'd also just point out I really noticed what appeared to me to be the telltale sign of a facelift when Rinna was not wearing makeup in the scene with Denise. Go back and look at how her ear met her cheek. It's interesting to see how much 'work' is done to just look good in makeup, rather than with a bare face.

That is just gross and evil of Gizelle to even contemplate a rumour like that about an unborn infant. Cancel culture should be coming for her.

Dallas was awful last season, so you’re not missing out.

POTOMAC Episode 2 was just as good as Episode 1 and I can already sense the tension starting to climb. This is also the first time I have ever remotely liked Gizelle. The scene at lunch with Juan was the first time I have seen Gizelle be happy for someone other than herself. The rumours about Monique and Chris are, as she said, very ugly, and I see why she didn't want to give it any air on the show.

What @Faulkner and @Soaplovers said - oh, what could have been. The exit of AD's Diane was a huge mistake and change the course of legacy children characters in ways that are irreparable without her. I too would accept the flimsiest of excuses to bring AD's Diane back to the show.

Jersey is an island between Britain and France that, although a part of the British Isles, is a British Crown dependency for defence, but has it’s own distinct laws etc. It is known as something of a tax haven and doesn’t charge value added taxes on luxury goods. I think it’s a great choice for a spinoff. Look forward to it!

RHOBH That was a good episode solely because you got to see Denise's wheel start to spin as she realizes she's surrounded by women who hate her and want to take her down (aside from glorious Garcelle). I instantly knew she was lawyering up against Brandi when Rinna mentioned talking to her. Denise chuckled that midwestern chuckle of hers and got to work once the cameras were down. Rinna continues to come across as a total monster. Like some kind of evil gargoyle who has sold her soul in a Faustian pact with satan for continued appearances on the show. I enjoyed Sutton's excessive shopping. However, methinks the lady doth protest too much about trying on clothes in front of other people. There are some serious body image issues going on there. Speaking of body image issues...if anyone thinks that a takedown of Garcelle is going to work based on her statement about Rinna, they're dreaming. Garcelle is 100% correct. Dorit is having a great season and I hope she continues to check Kyle. Erika and the other one were wholly irrelevant. Neither of them should return next season. RHONY I loved this episode. I like that the ladies keep it moving and don't allow the show to get stale or fixate on really petty feuds about non-issues. I loved Sonja's birthday party at the Mexican restaurant. She looked so happy in such uncomplicated surroundings. Sonja appreciates the real deal, simple, pure acts of friendship. That's all she wants. I also enjoyed Lu joining the volleyball game. The ladies were right - she does look like a Bond Girl in that bikini. Confidence like hers is sexier than anything. Next week looks good with Dorinda being confronted. If she's not an alcoholic, or won't admit to it, she would be well advised to scale back on the booze. She goes to such a mean and angry place that it doesn't really work for her anymore.

Ugh, I am so sorry to hear that. It is still a very poorly understood cluster of conditions. I've suffered from TMJ myself and followed Bethenny's lead. It worked for me, but like any treatment, isn't a silver bullet for all. It made such an impact on her face because her masseter muscles had grown exponentially large.

Masseter Botox is a real thing and it works incredibly well for people who suffer from TMJ (like Bethenny did).

Yes. Moving Jill out of the Abbott sphere generally, which started around 2003 with the Kay is Jill’s mother storyline, and was complete by 2005 with Gloria taking her natural role in the Abbott storyline, was absolutely wrong. It hurt the Abbotts generally, the Jabot angle, Billy specifically, and Jill as well. Jabot mattered for the character because Jabot was where Jill found her independence and purpose and excelled at something. It is also an issue the show could fix instantly. Such a shame they don’t seem interested in doing so.

The classics have really made me appreciate, on a superficial level, how much the look of the show has changed. The size and depth of the old sets was really impressive. And boy has that changed in the last decade. Otherwise, agreed on VR - she was a force of nature. And, of course, the value Jess Walton brought (and could still bring) to the canvas is massive.

I forgot to mention: Giselle's house is HIDEOUS. Some of the ugliest, most basic, least inventive, and tacky, interior design I have seen in a very long time.

Monique and Chris make beautiful babies.

RHOP Great kickoff to what looks like another excellent season. It was very well edited with plenty of juice and drama with ground work laid for what we'll see throughout the season. So good to have Karen back on my screen.

I'm glad to hear it. I imagine Season 6 will end in 2002 with as that is likely the natural bookend that's long ago that history can have some appreciation for it, but not too distant in the past that it leaves the series feeling incomplete. I am very interested to see who will be cast as Sarah Ferguson. She is a particularly fascinating character to me and while I imagine she will only appear in a few episodes in seasons, either late in season 4 or in seasons 5 and 6, but I hope Peter Morgan gives her some attention as she intersected between Diana, Andrew, Philip, The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, as well as Her Majesty, quite a lot.