Bravo's The Real Housewives of....

[DaytimeFan]

 

This return for Heather really feels like a setup for slaughter. I'd almost wonder whether Lu, Sonja, and Ramona had quietly gotten together and decided to bring Heather on to confront her...but what they didn't count on was Leah going insane?

 

 

It's the gentle tone in which The Grande Dame delivers that truly lethal blow that really had me rolling. 

 

Get her, Wendy! The enemy of Gizelle is my friend. 

 

That trailer was fantastic. We are in for a very good season.

[Soaplovers]

Ashley shouldn't be a housewife...downgrade her to friend status.

 

Nice to see Karen and Gizelle carry on their frienimie vibe..and I hope Gizelle is a good friend to Robyn.

 

And Robyn continues the tradition of a new hair style per season.

 

Gizelle is the Tamra of Potomac.

 

And I think the trailer is trying to establish Potomac like a Desperate housewives Wisteria Lane?

Edited May 25, 2021 by Soaplovers

[Cat]

 

This is an aspect of Potomac I like. BH is of course super aspirational with glam squads, bling and houses. But BH relies too heavily on these in lieu of showing their lives. I like variety across the franchises, and they don't all need to be standardized in the BH mould. They don't all need to be 'aspirational' when 'aspirational' actually means 'You will never get a chance to live this lifestyle, b!tches.'

 

What fascinates me about Potomac is the precariousness of middle-class life, and that's very relatable. I mean, Robyn is always 'dealing' with the IRS over something. As are Karen & Ray. Michael & Ashley's restaurant flopped and she signed a binding pre-nup. Gizelle is purportedly living in a bungalow (a long way from the mega-church life). Candiace & Chris have her mother 'helping them out.' Wendy & Eddie have accrued significant student loan debt. They are anxious to stay within that socio-economic class, but it's a struggle, and I always appreciated Potomac showing that. It certainly has not limited the show's excitement or potential but, instead, added to it.

 

I can see the lack of sense of place. Maybe they need to bring DC into it more, after all some of these women do go to political and social events. Or maybe they need to do a better job of selling Maryland/the DMV. 

 

 

She looks very Ethiopian/East African, with that mix of African and Arabian sleekness! It's cool that Potomac has been showing the African diaspora lately.

 

 

I wish we didn't know that her time on RHONY was cut short!  

 

IA with @DaytimeFan that Sonja, Ramona and Luann would probably have confronted Heather over a meal, got it all out on the table, and then moved on, which is the beauty of RHONY's fights (excluding Dorinda and Bethenny). Heather would be cool with that. She can handle them. But they've kind of tangled Leah up in this now, and she's going to grab an opportunity to suck the oxygen out of the room. The wonderful thing about Heather is that she can take her. Because Leah is sloppy and Heather definitely is NOT.

 

 

Do you think Karen is being kind and empathizing with Gizelle? Or just being elegantly shady? I honestly did not know!

Edited May 25, 2021 by Cat

[Taoboi]

Ding, ding, Ding!!! You hit it right on the bullseye. She is Ethiopian/East African. And proud of it from early reports. 

 

As for La Dame and that remark...I bet the latter.  

[Taoboi]

@Cat that reminds me...YEEEEESSS!!! The narration DID sound like Monique at first. Nice to see that I'm not alone.

 

As far as POTOMAC style, I thought the beginning of it...a town of secrets if you will...did touch on that Wisteria Lane vibe and at the same time going back to its roots if you remember the very first promo for POTOMAC. Its hook was no one knew where POTOMAC was and as Gizelle said in that promo they preferred to keep it that way...a tiny little secret. The haves...and the have-nots. And what one would do be among the haves. I am sure I will do a binge of the show before Season 6 to see how long that vibe kept up. 

[Cat]

RHONJ.

 

If anybody was wondering why Dina and Caroline Manzo never reconciled, this may be one reason:

 

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Cat

[FrenchBug82]

That's the essence of a frenemy.  There is a hint of both: the underlying comment certainly recognizes that Gizelle is the victim in this which she wouldn't do if she genuinely hated Gizelle (Monique used it as an attack for instance) and yet there is shade because, well, that's what they do.
I continue to say this relationship is one of the key ingredients of Potomac's success.

[Cheap21]

RHONY

And this is the episode that Leah lost me as a fan. These women talk sh-t about each other all the time but they get over it and move on. I didnt like her trying to rile the women up to go after Heather like that when realy no one cared. It was a fail on her part and made her look bad

 

I cant believe Sonja and LuAnn were fighting over pass around d--k Tom. Ewww

 

@Cat, Caroline is a piece of sh-t and what she did is UNFORGIVABLE

Edited May 26, 2021 by Cheap21

[Antoyne]

Seriously f.uck Leah.

[Chris B]

This was a good episode, but it proved this needs to be Leah’s last season. She just doesn’t fit in and nobody seems to care enough to even fight with her. She is truly useless. Also, did y’all see Leah seething when Eboni was getting along with Heather?! I feel like that’s also why she went off on Ramona. Leah is not Eboni’s friend. You can tell she resents that Eboni fits in.

In contrast, Heather fit right in and that felt like classic RHONY. Like Eboni said, they had their fight and moved on. I was also happy to see Eboni comment that Heather is actually asking about her life. Heather seamlessly slipped in there and one thing I do love is that she does seem genuinely interested in the ladies and their lives. I mean who else would take a Sonja Morgan toaster oven seriously?

 

We also got to see shades of old school hateful Luann. I cannot wait to see her with Eboni next week. I believe this was episode 4 and so much has happened. Not only that, but we’re about to be on episode 5 which is still in the Hamptons. This is better than they’re given credit for. To keep taking one day of filming and getting a full episode out of it is very impressive. I don’t think people realize just how many days of filming it takes or one episode on some of these other shows. The vets have a certain magic on RHONY. 

[Cat]

@Cheap21 Totally unforgiveable. It is one thing to be caught between your sister and your husband's family, which Caroline probably was when Dina and her ex decided to separate. But the assault....! I don't know if you saw pics of Dina after the break-in, but she and her fiancé were very brutally beaten. That would have been enough for me to side with Dina if I were Caroline, but the fact that the Brownstone then hosted some kind of wedding party for the perpetrator in lieu payment for the assault? And Al Manzo wasn't aware? Yeah, right. Truly disgusting that she STILL sided with the BIL instead of her flesh and blood. He could have had her sister killed.

[Taoboi]

NY

 

And I thought last episode was bananas?

 

OMG! The craziness....the shear insane fun of it. I was loving this episode even more than last week's and I LOVED last week's. To echo @Chris B, I was surprised to see this was Episode 4. I found myself wondering...already? Wow. They are showing EVERYTHING and there was not a boring moment at all. The power of these women to give so much and it not at all feel stale at all...even when they are talking/arguing over things that have already past (the history with Tom, LuAnn's history with men period, Leah's 'crude' talk). I was wondered about the loss of Blue Stone Manor, but this has been a great trip so far.

 

And then Heather....awwww Heather. I've enjoyed her every time I've seen her. She tapped into another golden era of RHoNY which is why she STILL fits in with these ladies. And ha at the Carole shoutout.

 

And Leah did not like it.

 

Leah, Leah, Leah.  I admit that I feel differently than some of you all. She does not fit in as well as Heather or even Eboni (who I loved immediately liked Heather), but she brings her own crazy eccentrics to the ladies that fit. BUT she is totally throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. The vow of silence. Glamming? This wannabe feud with Heather. Second season curse much??? She was better off just focusing on the drama with her grandma. Oh, well....

 

THINGS I LOVED:

 

OH MY GOD LU!!! Looks and looks and more looks. From her talking heads to her dress at the dinner to even her workout clothes. Her figure stays banging. To quote her from his episode...in more ways than one.

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GARTH. Woof. Love him with Lu. Love the ladies reacting to him. Love his...uh...reaction during the workout...if you notice. lol. 

 

HISTORY. I was definitely watching during LuAnn and the Tom drama. And stay loving when it randomly comes up. 

 

EBONI. I continue to love her presence with these ladies. I stay loving her having Sonja's back. I love the nurturing nature she has with her.  And she took on LuAnn this week and I look forward to more of that this week. Her and Ramona getting along has been nice. And LOOK!!!! She was even bonding with Heather...but knew to stay out of that feud. She has been a great Greek chorus with the ladies so far. And we got a glance at her through her call with her Mom. Feisty mom. lol.

 

SO FAR. Simply because there was so much craziness and I was here for it but know I might forget something. lol.

 

RAMONA AND THE BUTLER. lol. Their whole conversation over the tequila shots was hilarious.

 

HOLLA GIRL IS BACK!!!! And it was hilarious. And it was funny to see Ramona and Sonja 'banish' her to the lower levels just like with LuAnn last season. And even Heather seem to be in on the joke so I...hollered. She just fit in so well with the madcap, but brought a rational nature that has been missing a bit for a season or so. And of course she handled herself well with Leah. And I hollered at some of LuAnn's looks. Some of why I love her is her delusion when someone says something bad about her and she seems offended or shocked they would since she is soooo fabulous (well, she is, but...lol). And this was one of those moments. 

 

THINGS I DON'T LIKE:

 

LEAH BEING IRRELEVANT. Funny how she was a firecracker last season, but she is grabbing for anything to stay relevant. When she should just...be herself. And we know I'm not here for her coming for Heather. I am so worried that the ladies are going to be sway for it. 

 

SONJA. She bounced back beautifully, but I am worried about her. And I loved Eboni being there for her throughout.

 

And Episode 5 looks like more of the same. Nude hottie. Leah going off on the ladies. LuAnn vs Eboni. 

 

Here for it. 

 

[Faulkner]

Leah knows she doesn’t fit in and is scared that Heather, who has history with the group, is coming for her spot. She so nakedly wants to be the new Bethenny of this franchise and remake it in her own image, and it’s a turnoff. 

[Soaplovers]

Leah is missing the snappy one liners of Bethenny and the nurturing confidence of Heather.  She knows she'll never measure up.  

 

@Taoboiif Leah is like this with Heather..imagine what she would be like if Bethenny came for a visit lol.

 

Heather, unlike Bethenny and Leah, has confidence and I can see why she bailed.

[Chris B]

This is spot on. Leah should be confident in being herself on camera. That would probably be enough. It’s hard to imagine considering 5 episodes usually takes *at least* a month of filming in other shows, but the first 5 episodes will literally take place during the first two weeks of filming for RHONY. So this Hamptons trip is only week two and Leah is trying so hard. If she would chill and be herself she’d be fine. 
 

In other news, RHOBH premiere ratings are out! They debuted lower than RHONY.