Vanderboom

She's a special kind of crazy, so I get the fascination. And I would semi-forgive Andy for forcing my DVR to record Watch What Happens if it featured the SLC Housewives reading Mary's text messages aloud. That said, Mary's shtick is going to get old real quick if she's got nothing else to bring to the table. Meredith treats grudges like beloved houseplants; she spends a lot of time and effort nurturing them and seems to get a lot of satisfaction when they grow.

Just catching up with the latest season. Nicole doesn't have redeeming qualities that are fun to watch. At least Christine was funny sometimes and had fabulous/insane fashion. Chrishell crossed a line with the drug accusation, but the drug test and lawyering up was so . . . 🙄. I get wanting to protect your reputation, especially because this show should be is about your job, but there are better ways to shut down that kind of talk. Chelsea needs to mind her own business, but I found myself agreeing with her (unnecessary, obnoxious, and frequently-stated) opinions. I don't get why anyone would want to have a child with Nick Cannon, nor do I think Mary has what it takes to manage these women. I still don't understand Brett's function at the company. Why wouldn't he be the one in charge when Jason goes globetrotting? Isn't this company his, too?

Maybe disingenuous "both sides"ing? Tell me you can't hear her saying something like "A lot of people come down on the Big Bad Wolf, but so many of us enjoy eating pork."

Marlo definitely is more appealing in small doses; she doesn't add much as a full-time Housewife. I somewhat get how she and her date bonded over having criminal pasts; I can see that being a date-ender, so there's a little relief that this is something they have in common. I thought it was a little mean of Kandi to make fun of Sheree, knowing how insecure she must feel about her "business," but then Sheree started talking. Sheree clearly has no idea what she's doing; she went from having a fashion show with no fashions to a fashion website with no ability to get said fashions. Sheree always goes into word salad mode when asked basic questions about her business that she doesn't know the answer to--remember "Joggers. Spring, Summer, or September"? You don't have to be a tycoon to know whether or not your business is making a profit.

For me, it wasn't just two members, though. Leah and Eboni were terrible additions, but the show was getting stale before they joined. Sonja and Ramona's bathroom antics, Luann's on-and-off recovery/ sanctimoniousness, and Dorinda's obsessive bullying were dragging the show down, too. And most of the cast were problem drinkers as well. The Try-Hard Twins were the final nails in the coffin.

Reminds me of the Paris Hilton/Nicole Richie reality show--except more dysfunctional.

The entire trip was so weird--the mystery halftime show, getting kicked out of an event because Kenya/Bravo didn't clear for production and cameras to attend, the women just floating around afterward, the door knocking/cussing, and finally the ER trip for Kenya. Sanya was so smart to leave early.

Elizabeth Holmes reports to federal prison: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/elizabeth-holmes-former-theranos-ceo-reports-to-federal-prison-for-11-year-sentence?fbclid=IwAR1K1cbBMkStTNtnK7hxskyQNYZmPB4HLdbWJHGNPXo2hv1b9kW6gdtmnn0

So Juan has been replaced. Turns out a losing season and (allegedly) enabling a sexual harasser isn't good for the ol' career.

I've always hated the episodes where Ray is super-manipulative, like the Angry Sex one when he didn't tell Debra that Marie came over to apologize or the one where he and Frank take advantage of the feud between Debra and Marie. I also hated the one in which Ray convinces Robert to screw up the wedding invites, but I'll still watch it for the line "That means maybe naked. ON A WEDNESDAY!"

The second I read this, I flashed back to the administrator imitating Frank gnawing on the bologna!

I also loved how Margo and her twin fought over who got to be Jessica. Poor Elizabeth! Imagine being such a killjoy that insane identity thieves refuse to be you.

I've had those parent conferences. They stay with you a long time, and you'll mentally be doing ESPN-level replays and analysis trying to figure out how things went so wrong . I'm glad Janine was able to keep it together in front of the parent, and that Barbara was great at redefining success for her.

I wonder if Dr. Gates came across more information that supported his point, but I get what you mean. There are definitely times when Gates seems determined to push a narrative onto his guests. A few weeks ago, he really wanted Jeh Johnson to believe that the relationship between his enslaved ancestor and the man who owned her was a love match.

Remember when she was "homeless" and living in a high-end hotel?

She's thisclose to looking like the cast of Chicken Run. I was surprised by Teresa's level of insight here. Could this be . . . emotional growth? She's managing to look like the mature one compared to the Gorgas, too. Jen Aydin has always had issues with lashing out at people, but this season she seems to be far more bitter and even more tone deaf. What, exactly, does she want? She definitely needs real help, but that's not going to happen as long as she's on the show. I'm pretty sure that the Aydin's marriage will join the many others that have imploded because of Housewives.

Candiace's response to Wendy's measured criticism was very Gizelle-esque. Apparently, you can just say whatever when you don't like someone, no matter what larger implications there might be in the way you word and deliver your vitriol. /s

I was a little put off by that, too. I get the significance of the slave holding ancestor choosing to live with his former slave and their children in 1870, but Jeh isn't obligated to buy in to the love story that Dr. Gates seemed to be pushing.

I believe that Sunny is playing up the Jealous Wife thing because it's her bit; she thinks it's funny/entertaining/cute to act like that. (It also has the side benefit of showing the world that her husband is The Most Desirable Man Ever.) Remember when Whoopi's bit was coming out from backstage to steal food during a cooking segment? From EGOT to Hamburglar in one easy step! I wonder if the Powers That Be encourage this kind of nonsense. These are also the people who think devoting entire segments to advice columns and Reddit posts are good ideas. I used to really like Sara, but she bends over backwards just to be mediocre.

I guess we're not the only ones to notice the most common phrases and moments in the show!

True, but--move on to what? Charrisse doesn't seem to have anything else, which is sad. She, Gizelle, and Robyn all seem so invested in a Karen Takedown, but is it worth the effort? Remember the pizza delivery? Sure, Karen is pretentious and lies a lot. Those are pretty much the basic qualifications for being a Real Housewife of any city. What will they get out of exposing her?

This Twitter thread has the play-by-play of Jen's sentencing.

At least this season Janine has the excuse of her breakup for her intensified quirks. Still, "I want to fight you" cracked me up! I like it when Janine steps out of her Pollyanna personality on her own instead of constantly being proven wrong by her more cynical coworkers. Jake has better lines this year, but is a little too much of a Liberal White Guy stereotype. His best episodes have been the ones that explore his personality beyond that. I thought the science teacher was attracted to him until the last scene.

Their marriage is probably based on bile fascination. I'm reminded of an episode of Brooklyn 99 when a group of psych professionals were fascinated by Gina because she had so many personality disorders they couldn't figure out exactly which ones she had. But seriously, though, one of the MANY things Rinna needs to stop doing is using genuine life-threatening medical and mental health pseudo-diagnoses to score Housewives Points. Your argument isn't going to cause cancer. Being upset by someone's behavior isn't PTSD. An illness you don't think is serious isn't Munchausen's. I know they won't get rid of Kyle, but Kyle and Rinna bring the show down. Erika does, too, but her soulless pity party might be more interesting to watch without her enablers. Diana is a nonfactor--mean and tedious. I want Dorit to stay, though, so I can still hear the Watch What Crappens guys do their impressions of her.

Why did I keep falling for this idiocy? Andy's never going to hold these women accountable, no matter how many parts there are in a reunion. I'm also not here for Dorit demanding reassurance that she isn't racist.