Bravo's The Real Housewives of....

[Gray Bunny]

Agreed 100%. It's like, I want to like her, and especially since the GEB's go so hard against her, I rooted for her with her alliance with Karen and Candiace, but by herself she comes off flat or forced. Her reality TV persona is a bit of an identity crisis. It is pretty remarkable she's lasted this long, but Bravo always seemed hesitant at rotating out castmembers on Potomac. 

Trailer looks good! Come through Keiarna! You earned that flute! And Jacqueline an official friend? Oh, yes, they're definitely building the show around Messy Mia, which is crazy to me. Yes, Mia's life circumstances are ripe for fodder in reality TV land, but as Nene Leakes said, Housewives don't create *stars* anymore, and Mia is no star. 

Lots to discuss... Karen's DUI... Wendy and Karen falling out... Gizelle and Wendy's producer-forced truce... people coming for Ashley... Gizelle no longer having her stooge and looks to be waffling in the wind... looks to be good! Hope they can correct course and make this a fabulous season. 

[Taoboi]

At long last...which she should have become after the Battle of the Receipts. And best of all...NO CHA CHA IN SIGHT.

Yeah, I watched the trailer and was at work thinking...ooooh they putting your girl to work.

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So...it looks like we will have plenty of HW shows in rotation soon. NY, SLC, and POTOMAC with a side of OC. Not to mention Married 2 Medicine which should be the next trailer dropping.

 

 

ETA: Awwww Nicole...

 

 

Edited September 13, 2024 by Taoboi
RHOM news

[j swift]

I wonder how they'll reference the loss of Robin on RHOP?

They have to say something about Gizelle loosing her ally.  But, they shy away from direct references to the show.  I hate when they use they say, “she's not a part of our friend group anymore”, because it is so unnatural. 

Are Robin and Gizelle still doing their podcast?

[Taoboi]

Yeah, I believe they are. Even still fighting with Eneiem if I'm not mistaken. 

[NothinButAttitude]

[Soaplovers]

Potomac

Wendy has always given off an air of insecurity.  And she obviously compensates with her talking about her four degrees, being the youngest female professor at John Hopkins, etc.   I want to say to her 'Show us, don't tell us'.

I still remember the way she spoke to the designer on the Project Runway special really showed the kind of person she was... someone thinking they were superior to everyone.  And the kicker was that she was vague about what she wanted in her outfit.. then got mad when the designer didn't do what she wanted.

[Taoboi]

Hehe. I take it you're watching this year.

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But woooow...now that is the kind of HW feud I love to see...fun AND petty. 

 

And it looks like Little Girl will continue to go to the school for Ashley Darby Confessionals. 

 

And DEAD at Mary. 

[Cat]

RHODubai

First of all, Bravo buried this on the same night as the presidential debate. Of all the times to take a pause during a season, this was one of them!

Secondly, this cast really is the most photogenic out of the franchises. Most of the women looked like supermodels coming onto the reunion stage.

Stanbury's facelift is top-tier work. She looks exactly like herself (and can move her face), she just looks a lot younger, like her Ladies of London days. I also loved her hyperclassic, minimalist 90s evening gown.

Someone else also had a facial refresh: Brooks. And while she does look beautiful, she also looks different from how she used to. I can't quite explain it -- the nose, cheeks, jawline, lips have been perfectly tweaked. Brooks is very beautiful, but you get the feeling that life and some abusive relationships have hardened her to people in general. I'm not sure she likes or trusts many people. Even with this insta-alliance with Lesa, you feel that both of these women would throw each other under a bus at a moment's notice.

This reunion is turning me off Lesa and Brooks somewhat. Both are insanely jealous of Stanbury. Both have come into reunion primed to attack. Ayan, too, by the way. I was actually shocked at how well Taleen handled herself, to be honest.

Part 1 of reunion was a little slow in some ways, bit I'm hopeful Part 2 will pick up pace and ask the question: what the hell happened between Sara and Saba??

Ratings have been really low, but I hold out hope that Dubai is getting better streaming numbers.

It's an insecurity complex which she tries to cover with superiority. I'm not surprised about Project Runaway, that she would try and humiliate someone she views as lower than her.

It wasn't until her second season that i really understood how insecure Wendy was within this group, how lacking she felt about her looks (i thought she looked great first season, classy and strong), and how much she wanted to be part of the GEB clique.

A classy post from a classy lady. I'm sad she's going through this, but as usual she looks for the positive while raising awareness about postpartum anxiety to her followers. 

When she said she was not returning as a 'full-time cast member,' this gives me hope that she will be back (if RHOM gets another season after this one), and may even pop up in this current season. After all, Nicole and Guerdy are close IRL.

[Taoboi]

RHoDubai

 

My turn!!! lol. And surprisingly...I feel different. But I love you anyway.

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I definitely thought it was a solid Part 1. The girls came to play. And the Lesa/Brooks alliance...I love both, but let's call a spade a spade...was solid and honestly my favorite part of the reunion. I was sad that it's clear the Lesa/Brooks/Sara trio I loved during the season was clearly over. It even looked like the Brooks/Sara duo was over...there was just such a vibe from Sara of trying to balancing being Everyone's Friend. Made me think of Saba. And while I love the Lesa/Brooks alliance and Lesa is an intelligent woman, Lesa better tread carefully. Brooks is a Chaos agent on the show for a reason.  

 

What really irked my soul though was 1) WHO INVITED TERRI DEMARCO TO THE REUNION??? WHAT IN THE WORLD?? Oh...I mean...Taleen. lol. Because she was butting in all over the place. Like the aforementioned gnat from that HW show (or two) that takes place in Cali.  So I enjoyed every moment Lesa treated her like Little Girl to her Mary and shaded her. And 2)WHERE IS THE AYAN I USED TO KNOW? Because the girl that was on screen WAS playing victim all over the place rather than being a fierce bitca. She was being such a Pick-Me. *cough*secondseasoncurse*cough*

 

STANBURY. What surprised me was that she got off easy. The only thing that I came away from Part 1 with her was...as expected...she spoke out on the Michael tea that Ayan/Brooks brought up on camera. Other than that, she was just laidback. But again...she had plenty of minions other castmates fighting any battle she would need to. 

 

TALEEN. TERRI DEMARCO. I'm sorry, no. She was interjecting, interrupting, being loud and wrong all episode for me. So I loved Lesa and Brooks whacking her over and over again. Cuz Taleen Terri was giving micro-aggressions and I was not here for it. Especially the 'are you going to cry?' exchange. While the season was filmed two years back, there's been too many instances (the discourse around RHOP's latest season comes to mind) why she should not have done that. I will give her this one though...I liked that she apologized to Brooks for her WWHL antic...a sign of the friendship they had. Or have given Brooks's online apology to her for Rafi's sake.

 

BROOKS. Not Production bringing up the online antics!!! lol. Brooks has always been a diva so she did not at all bug me. It was surprising that she was over there telling Taleen Terri to shut up as much as I was. In fact, she might have been exaggerating for the most part, but rollback showed that Brooks would be having nuggets of truth about her. I also thought it was interesting near the end of the episode when Andy was discussing the Brooks/Taleen friendship that there was one point where EVERYONE side-eyed Taleen Terri, NOT Brooks. I also aha at more information on the Rafi/Brooks friendship. I thought it said something that Rafi and Brooks have a longer friendship than she has with Taleen Terri. And with her online apology, I feel that friendship is more in play than her own friendship with Taleen. Things that made me go hmmm.

 

SARA. Outside of her riding the fences between the factions, I didn't mind her much. She was the only one that got to the meat of results of Beyoncegate. 

 

LESA. No notes from me. I would call her the MVP along with Brooks for me because their ability to keep whacking Taleen Terri was unmatched. And her and Ayan fighting was very how I expect former BFFs to fight. And it said something to me that the hatred/jealousy vibrated off everyone when she walked onto the stage...even from Stansbury. She knew they were coming for her...and she was READY. From her producing that receipt on Ayan (meaning she was right and backed by Andy) to her calling Ayan out on being a professional victim (and also being VERY clear that she meant Ayan's behavior on the show not a victim in terms of the backlash Ayan received post-Season 1 for telling her story), Lesa handled herself well. If anything she could have gone harder. So far...she has not. So I felt the Ayan/Lesa friendship is still in play. 

 

AYAN. Over there on that couch and being obtuse...NO MA'AM. Is victim a trigger word? I am sure it is. But the fact that Lesa explained her words clearly and Ayan still wanted to be willfully obtuse...I just couldn't get with that. And I just continued to be so surprised at how much of a fall from grace I have with her after a great Season 1. I was right there with Brooks. Ayan was doing too much. But...blood in the water. 

 

Well onto Part 2 where we see if Ayan truly is about to be unmasked...

 

[Forever8]

 

[Taoboi]

RHoDubai

 

The unmasking of Chanel Ayan.

 

I thought it was a solid reunion. There was quite a lot of resolution, regardless of people's attempt to keep drama going *cough*TerriDemarco*cough*, but it was the fact of the matter that the main thing that fans appeared to want to be resolved...the Ayan/Lesa friendship...was quite open-ended due to the bombshell...I don't know how I would feel about a reconciliation between the two of them.

 

But I felt Part 2 had several interesting bits to digest. There was the section where Lesa was talking about the drama surrounding her event with Brooks, and Stanbury pivoted it into a pile-on on Lesa...nice chess move. There was getting to the specifics over VoiceNoteGate where Andy...in true RHOP S5 Reunion style...protected Ayan (and Production) by sweeping it under the rug. There was the bombshell and how Couch Left reacted to it with an attempted pile-on on Brooks...as if she is not a Chaos agent...when the focus should have been on the fact that Ayan said it (or whether she did) spoke volumes. 

And that bombshell...well. The gasp. The 'Excuse Me...?' The Lesa walk off. The reactions by the cast. The foreshadowing in Part 1 when Brooks mentioned that Ayan always does too much when she's covering up something. I feel Ayan said all of that. That Lesa heard it. Was the method shady? Yes, but not unusual among friends. And Ayan surrre did try for a resolution reeeeeeeal quick after that reveal. So...like Gizelle's face was cracked by Monique at the S5 POTOMAC reunion and Heather's true self appeared in the open at the SLC S1 reunion...so too I felt the real Chanel Ayan was revealed at this one with this bombshell. And it is as expected. She was the Season 1 star. And she can be insecure. And she can be a victim. But she is also jealous of her co-stars. 

 

Caroline Stanbury...might want to watch her back. If she can do that to her actual BFF, she will do it to her show BFF. JS.

 

STANBURY. I would say a solid reunion performance. I felt this was an interesting conclusion to her rivalry with Lesa. And sadly for Lesa, I felt Stanbury bested her. Everything was roses with her. AND she looked great. She also has a ready-made (pun unintended) storyline with her and Sergio's friction over her having his baby. Moreso since Andy gave her a lifeline with that line about surrogacy. But Andy was covering her all reunion...which is the one thing that I did not like about her a la Gizelle on RHOP.

 

TALEEN TERRI DEMARCO. I will give her this much. Her gagging Brooks at the very end was hilarious and well-done. Another good receipt out of this reunion. Outside of that...unnecessary wanting to have drama. Andy worked hard to get her and Brooks to come to some truce. And she tried to throw that out the window. RME. Thankfully in hindsight, Brooks off-screen saw that her friendship with Rafi is more important than mess with Taleen Terri. So we will see where they go moving forward. 

 

BROOKS. Awwww my Chaos agent. She was much softer this part of the reunion. And the fact that she was the one behind the bombshell of Lesa hearing what Ayan thought of her AND staying on Ayan. Not to mention how her and Lesa were still scrappy with each other. lol. I did not at all like how everyone tried to gaslight her for the bombshell. Ladies, Ayan said it. Lesa heard it. Brooks clarified it. BYE. 

 

SARA. A non-entity. And she had a whole segment. 

 

LESA. Andy trying to treat her like Monique did nothing for me. Probably why that receipt fell flat with the books. But I admit that it felt flat. Cuz her receipt with Ayan was perfection in Part 1. That said...I felt she did a good job saving herself this part. She clarified VoiceNoteGate and no amount of interference from Andy and CouchLeft stopped her. Did she know about the VoiceNote? Yes...BUT literally as she was walking to the dinner from what could be heard. And even then...Ayan being Ayan...did not give her any specifics. Meaning she knew of A VoiceNote, not HER VoiceNote. Also meanst what we saw as reactions at those scenes STILL ring true. I liked that Lesa admitted to being messy and taking accountability for her role in that...which was all that was needed in that situation from her at the time it happened with most of the audience. That people appear to still be obtuse right along with the castmembers I find telling. In that part of the episode, it was nice to see a glance at the old Ayan/Lesa friendship as they apologized to each other. And no, I didn't like Production trying to gaslight her as well. I didn't like that Ayan was trying to use her son as an excuse when if she was going to use him, it should have been when Lesa spoke on her own son at the finale, which shown who was being honest. As for the bombshell, I'm Team Lesa on that. She heard her BFF say cruel things about her and couldn't deal. That felt very real. And even at the end, Lesa might have appeared to be open to it, but I really don't think she was. I even think she walked off because if she stayed Old Lesa Milan from COLLEGE HILL was about to come out. She was THAT hurt. 

 

AYAN. The second season curse is real. I honestly don't think I have anything to say about her except that her in Part 2 was performative. And the only time she came alive was during the bombshell. She really did not see that coming. If my BFF said what she said and I heard it, she would be dead to me. And I already knew where I stood on her during VoiceNoteGate. So now I am seriously side-eying her and waiting to see if she will throw Stanbury under the bus next season. And if Stanbury decides to throw her under the bus, I would feel nothing because Ayan would have done it to herself. A follower when she said she was That Bitca...how dreadful.

 

Fingers crossed for another season though. 

[Soaplovers]

Lesa needs to be humbled on occasion so bravo Stanbury for throwing some Ladies of London moves onto the reunion.

Aylan... anyone with a quick ascent will always have a quick fall... human nature.

For season 3, maybe downgrade Sara to friend status..and add someone new.  I always love a housewife show that never keeps the same cast more then one or two seasons.  Jersey, Potomac, and Atlanta wouldn't be in slumps if production would actually remove or downgrade housewives more often.

[Antoyne]

“I don’t want her to put bread in my bag.”

SLC is so back omg what a premiere.

[NothinButAttitude]

Dubai:

I have the same sentiments that Andy was trying to snuff Lesa out from truly exposing his beloved Ayan. At this point, production needs to stop trying to force-feed the fans bulls**t b/c we see right through it. It is obvious Ayan said what Brooks and Lesa heard or she wouldn't've started overtalking them. And Taleen is another one that made my head hurt throughout the reunion. Her motor mouth kept moving all day long. I hate a housewife who inserts her opinion in every topic at the reunion. They could've been talking about anything and Taleen had input. Girl, shut up!

SLC:

Heather annoys me. And her calling Whitney a liar is rich coming from someone who lied for a year, which resulted in a network-wide investigation. How production has not plotted their revenge boggles my mind. She's too protected for my liking. Lisa... meh. She wants followers, not friends. I am glad Mary is back at full capacity, and Bronwyn seems neat. 

Lastly, Bravo needs to cut Monica a check b/c even in her offseason she still carried the premiere. 

[Taoboi]

SLC

 

Well, first thing first. The specter of Monica definitely hanged over everything to me. I could even say that whole opening monologue...ironically given by Heather...was most definitely Monica-coded. She got at least two mentions in the episode. And that was not including flashbacks. And I giggled at her TV Spot for HOUSE OF VILLIANS. And that was definitely RHOA S11 by Kenya-coded.

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That said...I thought that was a great season opener. When I heard the rumor that the first episode was going to be set contained at a group event, I wasn't sure about that. But I felt Production pulled it off well. The production. The fun shade. The set-up for everyone. It was very well done.

 

And I am shocked to hear me even type it, but if the main arc of this season is going to be Lisa vs Little Girl, I was Team Little Girl. I know...shocking. But the basis for that dinner fight between Lisa and her was...something that happened off-camera....and it seem silly...not even fun petty. It honestly felt like without Monica to check Lisa, Lisa was just trying to lord things over everyone. Rumor has it off-camera at this point of filming Little Girl was working to get Monica back. Perhaps Lisa found out from Production. THAT makes more sense to me. Otherwise, Lisa was starting a fight because Lisa is all about Lisa and being a star in her own little mind. Little Girl has a history on this show of trying to start stuff to break people down so I feel that was a bad calculation on Lisa's part. Moreso because Little Girl has grown picked up tricks from her RHOP friends and has no problem playing the HW game and standing up for herself. So it was awesome to see her go toe to toe with Lisa, and an awesome declaration of 'war' going forward.

 

But there was loads of potential. Meredith not in one...but TWO...petty HW feuds!! Heather trying her best to be Lisa's lapdog...which will probably backfired. The Mary/Angie K duo...which will surely cause some trouble given Angie K's issues with the others by the end of this episode. And the New Housewife and how she will fit in. 

 

I am curious to see how the show does since here it's in the same timeslot as DUBAI was, but it seems people found the episode easily so we will see.

 

LISA. With Monica no longer around as an opposing force, Lisa has been allowed to run amok. And even with all the high fashion running around, it was not giving the Fabulous Ice that I used to know. I guess the love is truly dead for me after last season. That said she was running around like Queen Bee with Heather and New Housewife as little minions so...living her best life. But just like any Queen Bee or Mean Girl, Lisa gotta find a target. She picked Little Girl. And I feel she miscalculated and that will bite her in the butt in the end. Little Girl does not mind being messy. And over a podcast that could be taken out of context versus something that actually happened on the show? GIRL, BYE. Little Girl was right. Narcissist. 

 

HEATHER. Speaking of people feeling themselves...lol. To paraphrase Porsha Williams...I guess new body, new personality. And that personality...straight up lapdog that is a mean girl. She definitely needs to be humbled at some point. And that beginning with her had me rolling my eyes so hard. Gotta take a dig at Little Mo to be relevant. GIRL, BYE. I will give her this little one...I laughed right along with her when Little Girl was at that dinner showdown and said she didn't lie. Not that Heather has any room to talk.  She will be insufferable this season. Moreso cuz she's Production's Favorite.

 

MEREDITH. Impressed. Why? Not one, but TWO petty HW feuds??? Our resident heroine in this crazy soap opera will definitely be busy. First with Little Girl and bath bombs (sorry to @Cheap21 for all the tub sightings) . And Second with her continuing rivalry with Angie K. What was funny was they BOTH ate her up. Especially Angie K who has no use for her. I also didn't like she was in on the pile-on on Little Girl like Lisa Minion Number 3.

 

ANGIE K. Am I about to like you this year? Cuz the potential has been there. And coming into this season, Angie is making the right moves. Being friends with Mary. Being in a petty feud. Surprising alliance because she was the only one standing up for Little Girl. Pot-stirring between Lisa and Little Girl. Not afraid to be silly. Not afraid to get into confrontation with HBIC Lisa. STILL hollering at her eating Meredith up cuz that renter line killed her. Good start. 

 

NEW HOUSEWIFE. I love her vibe and her love of high fashion so far. And I hollered (and rewinded) watching her and Mary tag-team drag Heather's Friend Of (who will be getting into it with Mary on the cast trip #tea) over her coming for their fashion and being poor. Fashion that only she and Rhianna can get? GET HER! Lol. So far, so good.

 

MARY. The Myth, The Legend. Cuz who has not shown up to a reunion, returned as a FOH, and now a FT Housewife again? Not many. And Mary did not miss a beat. New friend in Angie K. Tag-teaming with the New Housewife. One Liners for days. Reactions. Great Confessionals. MARY...IS...BACK...HUNNI!!!  

 

WHITNEY. We know how often I use her REAL name so you know her presence meant something in this episode. Everyone's target apparently given that pile-on at the dinner. And what I ACTUALLY LIKED...she did not do what she would usually do. She would be using that baby voice of hers, making excuses or playing dumb. Or even have a silly meltdown like Lisa. But NO. She actually sat and TOOK IT. She got some great lines in there. And then she left with dignity and great digs. Did Little Girl just grow up in front of my eyes??? Probably not...lol. But just like last season, it looked like Whitney took her notes from her RHOP pals and started to use them. She had the makings of a true chaos agent...and I...was actually impressed. If she is for a Lisa takedown, I might just back her. And knowing she will soon be under Angie K and Mary's wing...she might come out of this season smelling like (pun unintended) roses. 

 

Good start to the season. I might just continue.