Bravo's The Real Housewives of....

[Taoboi]

OC

 

Now that my system has been fixed and I guess updated...I started with this first. 

 

This past week episode was more of the same. I didn't dislike it either. I didn't completely like it either. Braunwyn gave a set of interviews this past week and if she is telling the truth about what's coming with one of her sons of how this group is going to react to it...I will be VERY triggered. 

 

Because as it stands right now, Braunwyn vs everybody appears to be this season arc so far. ANOTHER gangup. And the reason for it is very petty on one hand, but very OC on the other. Because I'm definitely not here for Kelly getting married. So...with the exit of Vicki and Tamra and the advantages of this being a transitional season...it looks like the ball is about to be dropped.

 

BRAUNWYN. I don't at all remember finding her husband attractive last season. Perhaps it's the scruff or just the pandemic, but he's been looking doable. That said...knowing what's coming up with the two of them, it's been nice to see her holding her hand as Braunwyn deals with her sobriety. Meanwhile, I am sure she will get a handle on being sober, but now she is just a mess. And since we all know that vow renewals are the kiss of death on these shows...well... But still, she was trying to make amends so I'll give her more time to get there. 

 

SHANNON. Again I am going to be like a broken record. Happy Shannon is a better Shannon to watch. I think she did say that she thought Gina's house was small. But I believe she doesn't remember saying it. She is so off in her own little world I think she really does not believe she said that. That said...I did not like that she was trying to start drama for the sake of it with 'Lemonade Boy.' Braunwyn did not realize that was her new man's son. That was that. But she was carrying on. Deflection much.

 

EMILY. Well she is a lawyer. So I guess I should expect her to be a snake. Shame I liked nice, but firm Emily. She was funny with Kelly in the car. But her doing her bone carrier act and then trying to be sympathic to Braunwyn's flight...uhhh does make her sympathic, but fake.

 

GINA. Surprisingly she did not bug me this episode. And she at least tried to be mature enough to hear Braunwyn out. Not sure if she can co-exist with her ex-husband. But we will see.

 

KELLY. Other than the car scene, meh. Not here for her acting like Co-Vid is a hoax.

 

ELIZABETH. A breath of fresh air and yet so Vicki 2.0. A hoot.

 

 

After watching the Season 1 marathon...same. 

 

Some of the best housewives scenes are scenes where the history between the friends show.

[Taoboi]

POTOMAC

 

Enjoying my second viewing. lol. I think right now...especially here in America...what I need is a vacation. So Portugal is sooo breathtaking. Just the hills. And the miles of architecture. The attractive men. The vibe. And those hotel rooms. Just take me away!!!! lol. I definitely want to travel again next year. And hopefully Mexico City for my birthday next year.

 

So far, so good. And it's clear that Production continues to have fun. Their digs at Wendy and her degrees (and the girls' reaction shots). Their digs on Karen on not knowing Portugal is a country, not a city. The foom, foom (sp?). It's been a scream. Even if Gizelle is trying to be a hater

 

 

KAREN. STAY, STAY, STAY on Gizelle's neck!!! Karen was totally right. Just like last year when she was graceful, but still called Ashley out after years of Ashley calling out Karen, it was great to see her put Gizelle in the hot seat. She has Gizelle's number and she was calling it all episode. Either Gizelle needs to admit that it is a fake storyline or show off Mr. Chocolate. Meanwhile, I love how over this feud with Wendy she is. She is now five seconds away from giving her dust. In fact, that was all she was doing. She should have just read her again. But again she seems Wendy is just doing that for story, too. And at this point her strategy was to let Wendy hang herself because the other girls are getting tired of it. And then...hell froze over...who would have thought that she would be comforting ASHLEY of all people. She was even supportive to her tonight on WWHL. Thanks to watching the Season 1 marathon, it's nice that their relationship is a mature version of their Season 1 relationship.

 

ASHLEY. Girl...F#$% Michael!!! He cannot even step up while you are out of town to be a real man who can be a father. And speaking of hell freezing over, who ever thought Ashley would confine in KAREN of all people. That is true growth. And as some people suspected, Monique asked her to do a character statement. I wished that she had told Candiace directly. You know if you tell either of the Green Eyed Bandits, they are going to bone carry on over to Candiace. I blame her slip of judgment on the Michael drama.

 

GIZELLE.

 

 

Well a hit dog will holler. And that's what we got with Gizelle tonight. All of these years and find she's *PorshaWilliams*IN THE HOT SEAT, BITCA!!!*PorshaWilliams* So all that pot stirring to keep people out of her business, and BOOM!!! Karen now has people focused on Gizelle. Is her relationship real or just for show? And then she had the nerve to be mad at Robyn for having Karen's back for a change...GIRL, BYE!!!

 

CANDIACE. Speaking of GIRL, BYE...Kai > Cliff. Sorry. Not happening. And I just no longer see her the same way anyway now. Those post-its she had on the trip...was just for show now. Not about self-improvement. Right now, the only thing she was good for is the looks she gave when Karen was gathering Gizelle. 

 

ROBYN. Every once in a while, she shows her backbone. THIS was one of those cases. And it was beautiful. I know she did it from a place of concern for her BFF Gizelle, but still. It said a lot about her and her relationship with Gizelle as much as it said a lot about Gizelle.

 

MONIQUE. Yay!!! I was happy to see she and Karen about about the comment on camera. Should make people like me feel better.

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WENDY. Girl, stop being butthutt and get a real storyline. Beating a dead horse ain't it. 

 

Good start to the trip and not bothering at all. I hold we get more of Portugal next week. Especially since none of us can travel right now. 

[Gray Bunny]

 

I was very glad to see that online and of course had to comment on it. 

 

Shut up! 

 

Sorry, a couple friends and I always end any conversation about LuAnn or housewives with an abrupt "Shut up!" in honor of her Viva la Diva song LOL 

[Taoboi]

HAHAHAHA!!!!

 

She even inspires in-jokes.

 

How can you not like her sometimes? 

 

[Gray Bunny]

POTOMAC: What a wonderful treat to cap a wonderful joyous weekend of good news and merriment. I always laugh, chuckle and smile throughout my watching. I too love how Karen and Ashley of all people are the ones comforting each other and having honest, real conversations.  I kind of get NYC sisterhood vibes from those two together, much like a LuAnn/Ramona relationship, where they have their ups and downs; their fun times and their bitter feuds, but at the end of the day they're in this together. I hope Monique will stick around for season 6 and they can be The Dream Team of Potomac. 

 

We watched the first few episodes of S1 from the marathon, and that was a trip. The etiquette crap was too much, and I'm so glad this show evolved into what it is today. Oh, and I warmed up to Katie Rost a little more this time around, but y'all know my disdain for Charrisse Jackson Jordon only grew stronger LOL. That woman had such a high opinion of herself based on no reason. And after seeing her droopy eyes come into the whisky tasting event, I'm convinced she spent half the season pre-gaming before shooting any scenes, didn't bother to check herself in the mirror beforehand, and then tried to fake being sober until everyone caught up to her. 

 

LOL Can't wait for next week with Ashley vs. the butter knife wielding guinea pig. 

[Soaplovers]

So OC ratings are down so far...and while I think Vicki/Tamra not being there is a small part of it...it isn't the main reason.  

 

I think Kelly is the reason ratings are down due to her comments and just overall toxic behavior.  I did like Gina saying people should just fast forward Kelly's parts when she was asked about it.

 

I do wonder if the show is renewed for season 16..would the show cut Kelly?  Ratings are down.and fans have said they're boycotting because of her.

 

As I've said before, Tamra is missing and it is noticable.  I think she and newbie Elizabeth would hit it off..imho.  Plus, I'm intrigued with Shannon and Tamra's falling out..since it appears at the start of filming they were still talking.

[chrisml]

RHOA: Where did the Carlos King rumor start? Was it Phaedra or her blog friends who put that rumor forward? It seems that came up as a way to save Phaedra's job. Frankly, it makes her look worse, and it doesn't jive with everything else she did that season. She wanted to take Kandi down, and she didn't need King to do anything. Phaedra was a liar from her first episode, and she was a liar on her last. The only thing I miss about her is her fine ass ex-husband. I think her ex-con ex-husband had more integrity than she did.

 

RHOP: Karen on WWHL illustrated why I don't like her. She was asked if it were difficult to talk about her relationship trouble with Ray. Instead of answering, she went on a tirade about Gizelle and her relationship with Jamal. Andy even look bored at her deflection. Karen is obsessed with Gizelle, and I get why. If she keeps attacking Gizelle, she doesn't have to talk about her life or show anything substantial. She's really the Lisa Rinna of Potomac. 

[Cat]

 

Oh man, you said it! I also spent a sizeable portion of my weekend laughing my ass off at this mess:

 

 

Edited November 9, 2020 by Cat

[Taoboi]

FIXED.

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Because Gizelle has always been one to not answer that question about Mr. Chocolate and deflecting. And after the years of attacking Karen about that, Karen was simply returning the favor...especially since she sees what is going on the girls (and the fact that Gizelle set it rolling) for what it is: Deflection.

[chrisml]

I get that, but it becomes annoying after a while. If you take Gizelle out of KAren's mouth, she barely has anything to do. She's like the Potomac version of Rinna going after Denise. I get that Gizelle is hiding stuff and there's some serious stuff there, but I just grow tired of KAren always going after Gizelle.  I guess I don't respond to self-appointed hall monitors. I know the board thinks she's saint Karen, but I just wish she would focus on her own life. People like Gizelle always bring down themselves. 

[Taoboi]

RHOM

 

Woooooooow. 

 

I finally finished my Season 2 binge of RHOM so I got to see the reunion for the first time. And I am also watching the Season 3 reunion for the first time.

 

What a difference a year makes. Night and day.

 

After this Season 3 reunion...well...I hate to say it, but I can see why it got cancelled.

 

The Season 2 reunion was vicious. Not in a bad way. In a juicy way. After that, there was so much potential for an explosive Season 3 with Ana and Lea at odds. Lea and Marysol still on the outs. The Adriana/Joanna rivalry especially with the two weddings (and the Adriana secret in the winds). Going through old messages, there was the tension between Joanna and Lisa as well as Lea and Adriana. The possibilities were endless. 

 

Season 3 reunion was TOXIC. It is like watching a trainwreck. And after that video of Marysol's dad, I don't think I'll be watching this again. Seeing Lisa and Joanna's friendship end is sad since I liked their friendship. And Joanna is being a fake A&( bitch. And what I liked about Season 2 Joanna was that while she was definitely messy, she was real. Now here is Lisa and Joanna throwing verbal daggers at each other. And the fight with the makeup artist...shows how badly they have fallen out with each other. Not only was Joanna having the artist's back over her friend, but she was egging it on.

 

Speaking of her friend...This reunion Lisa is NOT the fun girl we had in Season 2. She is a little diva. The show ego showing (aka the Season 2 Curse) and other than her right to be upset at Joanna's dig at her being infertile, I don't like her at all. Except for her constant checks of Alexia who is being a bit condescending. 

 

Perhaps this reunion is a good example of why Bravo should not have changed the format since if Ana and Karent was at this Season 3 reunion they would be counterpoints to other girls. Right now, this is just mean spirited and I wouldn't want to see this if there was a Season 4. There's no fun. 

 

But that's just it. Karen doesn't always go after Gizelle versus Gizelle going after her. Karen is out there living life. She is however calling Gizelle out. Why? Because Gizelle keeps coming for her friends and causing drama when Gizelle should be out there living her own life rather than being jealous of people for having a life. 

 

So now it's okay for Gizelle to hide stuff when Gizelle IS the self appointed hall monitor? Yeaaaah...no. That is the very point that Karen has been bringing up, especially this year. Especially after figuring out that Gizelle was winding up Wendy as a form of deflection. At some point, when someone comes after you time and time direct or indirectly (and for those two we are talking years) one does get a bit tired of it and give it back. Since Karen ISN'T a saint, she has no problem giving back what was thrown at her in the first place. 

 

 

[Cat]

Me to Wendy:

 

 

Some people delude themselves into thinking they are experts at changing the narrative. Wendy is one of those people.

 

Sweetie, Karen isn't questioning the provenance of your FOUR DEGREES. She was pointing out how you keep bashing everybody over the head with them. Because you are deeply insecure.

 

Wendy claiming she put a 'button' on the subject -- I LOLed at the way Delusional patted herself on the back. The next day she is all "FOUR DEGREES! FOUR DEGREES!" and Karen calmly intones: "I thought we put a button on that." And Wendy starts stuttering. "I... I... want to unbutton... unbutton it... for a second!" This is why Karen is my GOAT. She owned Wendy then and there.  

 

 

Candiace mandated that everybody must pick her side over Monique's, and clearly not everybody is going to do that. So she is leaning into her victimhood as an excuse for all kinds of bad behaviour. Tantrums. Buying new luggage, lol. Trying to get a mother of 3 imprisoned. She is very bitter and spiteful, and she needs to cool it. Especially online.

 

 

Here is where Bravo went wrong with Miami, in my humble opinion.

 

1. The cast (plus assorted, random hangers-on) was too big in number. For coherency, it needed to be whittled down to more manageable levels.

 

2. Bravo didn't work hard enough to keep Karent on the show. A sizeable portion of the audience was on her side, but Bravo did not think she was worth fighting for. I have a theory about that, which is....

 

3. ...Bravo was not interested in showcasing the Latinas, even though Miami is 70% Hispanic, and 50% Cuban-American.

 

The network focused instead on Joanna Krupa and Lea Black. Hmmm, wonder why? Centering the show around Joanna Krupa was a massive mistake. Who cared about that vapid, mean-spirited bore? Not me. Escort Girl didn't even live in Miami. As for Lea Black, she was fine as the lightening rod character. But she was no LVP and wasn't strong enough to bind the show together.

 

4. Losing Mama Elsa was another massive blow. Mama Elsa was the most compelling character, and heart & soul of the show.

 

5. The scripted fakery of the two duelling weddings was totally obvious, and it turned off what few viewers were left. Also, Adriana and Joanna? Not much to like about either HW (though I was Team Adriana). Alexia was the natural heroine of the show.

Edited November 11, 2020 by Cat

[chrisml]

I know I'm in a losing battle with this subject, but I think it's possible to think Gizelle is lying while thinking KAren has no story without Gizelle. Karen knows that. That's why she's keeping the pressure on Gizelle. That's why she always go after Gizelle at the reunions because she knows she has to keep it up. Karen (at least the last two seasons) has depended on other people for her story. Do people care about the alleged problems in her marriage? Comes across as so fake.  KAren has always gone after Gizelle, and while she might have good reason, I just find it tedious. Gizelle will reveal herself; Karen the hall monitor can take a breather. OF course, Gizelle is a pot stirrer, but if these women are so damn dumb (which is really what Karen is saying) that they can be so easily manipulated, how is it Gizelle's fault?? They've seen the show--they know what she does.

 

RHOM: @Cat I agree that's probably why Bravo chose the white women on the show, but I would also say that I think Lea was the favorite of the housewives. I think the major problem was that many of the women were lying about stuff behind the scenes. Ana was lying about her drinking. Adrianna was lying about nearly everything. Karent was hiding stuff as were Lisa and Joanna (especially about Roman). Marisol became a thirsty nutjob, and losing Mama Elsa was a huge blow to the show. Alexia was hiding her son's horrible criminal behavior. While I think season three was quite good (better than most seasons of current shows), I just think the toxicity got way too much for people. I think the Lea/Adrianna stuff was stronger than the contrived Joanna/Adrianna feud. There were real stakes there, but I also think finding out Adrianna was a liar also did some damage to the show.

[Soaplovers]

 

I hate we've become an either or type of bias.  Giselle is toxic, but so is Karen (Robyn is right...name fits).

 

I think either Monique or Candice needs to go.  If this is a reality show, we need a bit of reality...and both staying isn't the right way.

 

RHOM, Alexia had a lot of focus in season 3...but due to personal things with both sons..it's understandable why she wasn't the lead story in season 3.

 

Adriana and Joanna were both toxic women..and neither should have been leads.   

 

Season 3 was destined to be a letdown after the highs of season 2...no matter who was the focus.

[Taoboi]

You remind me that Lizzie is going to be on OC tonight!!!  

 

Yeah, I see that so many people are turning on Candiace online. Especially after that blogger who she verbally attacked died. Things are really not looking good for her.

 

RE: Miami. I agree. RHOM really was ahead of its time. And now look at the viewers who want to explore that lifestyle and love shows like MEXICAN DYNASTIES, TEXAICANA, and FAMILY KARMA (which btw got renewed, been filming, but had to stop recently since someone got covid). It is like how the black community like soaps, but not seeing more of themselves reflected on screen. Though Lea was a favorite so I can see why they would be focused on her. I liked Joanna Season 2 even if she was just as messy as Adriana. I believe that I liked her Season 3, but that Season 3 reunion she was as smug, nasty like others (Nene and even Lisa on RHOM for example) who let the show go to their head.

 

Losing Mama Elsa definitely was a major blow. And I agree that Season 3 revealed too much behind the curtain...funny given that is how the shows are doing that now. lol. 

 

I liked the massive cast and felt they were balanced out pretty well overall. Every time they appeared in Season 3, the show got its flavor and style back, a sign that messing with the formula that worked for Season 2 was a BAD idea. 

 

PS. Team Karent. And I loved her tagline. They stayed looking at her smile when they should not have looked her way. hehe.

 

I agree. I feel they are two sides of the same coin Gizelle/Karen. You cannot pick on one without picking on the other for the same thing. Of course that means that we two have favorites and nothing wrong with that.

 

There is a reason why the majority here (and online) think it's time for Gizelle to get some comeuppance. The reason being your last sentence. We see the show. We see what she does. And it's time she was called out for it. It took until Season 4 for Ashley to have some comeuppance for being messy. Karen got it in Season 2. Gizelle's turn IS coming. 

Hahaha!!! And here I was just saying Gizelle and Karen were two sides of the same coin. 

 

I agree. I don't feel like binging Season 3 of RHOM, but I loved that I sat down to binge Season 2...TWICE this year. 

 

But when you say it like that (Monique or Candiace), who should go? They both bring something. I would say Monique brings reality and Candiace brings mess. What would be the way to go? Okay, I would say reality because Monique can be messy from time to time. So could Candiace bring reality? But while Andy might want to keep them all and all the ladies actually bring something to the show in her own way...can they all come back and the next season NOT be toxic? Because it's dancing the line I feel...