candle96

Totally! I honestly at first thought it was a drawn background and started cracking up. And the Avery cameo FTW. I never thought I'd say it, but when I saw Jill, I wished she was back on this show. She was capable of good drama, for sure, but there was also a grounded-ness to her. She's funny and brings strong points of view. Right now the women are like helium balloons lost in the wind, nothing to hold them down somewhere near "reality." There's no there there. I found this episode to be both boring and a mess. I never thought Tinsley brought much to the show, but I missed her presence, so maybe I was wrong. Elyse is no Tinsley, that's for sure.

Yeah, Tinsley will fit in just fine at the Hancock. The area is called the Gold Coast for a reason. Plus she's in walking distance of some of the luxury shops on Oak St, like Prada, Christian Laboutin, Jimmy Choo, etc.

I live in Chicago, and definitely have mixed feelings about there being one here. ON the one hand, fun, on the other hand, embarrassing if they insist on acting like represent "real" Chicago, which none of these ladies do from any of the cities. I had heard Bravo scrapped a version of it here, but then I've also heard from some people here in the know that the matriarch of the Pritzker family, a wealthy and influential family here in Chicago (J.B. Pritzker is our governor, the Pritzker name is on a lot of buildings and hospital wings), put the kibosh on it happening here. Or at least threatened to freeze some people out if they went on the show. But our city is pretty great. 🙂 Having Tinsley be the one to start a "spinoff" would make sense, although I'm not sure she could carry a show as the "OG," as they like to say.

And not for nothing, but Leah is 37 - fairly young to own a place as expensive as I'm sure that place is. She's still acquiring her wealth and income. This may be her first piece of real estate. Bethenny came on this show around the same age and lived in a shoebox.

Yeah, somewhere in at that lunch, Dorinda said something to the effect of she no longer goes after Hannah or fights with Hannah. I guess Tinsley has filled that void. Perhaps there is more of a pattern there then she has clued us in to. Later on, she has the audacity to say she was a good mother, why did this happen to her? I'm not going to comment on her mothering, but you think someone living in a city where things like, I don't know, 9/11, happen, at the ripe old age of 55, would understand the world doesn't work that way. It's pretty gross. I used to really like Dorinda, and thought she had a good heart. Now I'm not so sure. For all her supposed claiming that Tinsley is shallow and nothing, what does Dorinda do all day? She doesn't have a job either.

A few years ago I was getting my haircut and look next to me and there's Stephanie Izard, getting hers cut, too! That stylist specializes in curly hair, every time I go there she's doing someone with curly hair. I was too shy to say anything, just smiled. But she is by far my favorite Top Chef contestant and winner. And yes, Girl and the Goat and her other restaurants are just down the street, so I guess it's convenient for her.

Just saw this today: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/04/21/this-sanctuary-took-dozens-tiger-king-joe-exotics-tigers-now-its-struggling-stay-afloat/#comments-wrapper With the stay-at-home orders and decrease in revenue for grocery stores who donated food, the sanctuary is struggling to stay afloat. I know it's tough times for a lot of people right now, but if you're interested in helping out, they could use it. I'm going to make a donation today.

I was fine with Brandi, even if she wasn't my favorite, until she started taking advantage of a very damaged, alcoholic Kim to instigate things with Kyle. That crossed a line for me. She knew exactly what she was doing, and I found it pretty gross. Honestly I howled when Sutton came out in that terrible outfit. Those shorts fit like a diaper! Even Lisa R was like, "well, I guess when you're that rich you can get away it . . . "

Unfortunately, they don't really give that much information about what happened to all the animals. I was wanting more. It looks like maybe some were sold, but there were people still trying to operate the park, under a new name and management. But they're all scumbags, too, so who knows. One of them is likely to go to prison as well. We did find out at the end that Joe had 2 chimps that he gave to a chimp/great ape sanctuary, so at least two of them got out to a better life. Honestly, I'm glad I didn't know about the chimps until the end. Big cats and the others were sad enough, but chimps are on another level when it comes to understanding their circumstances.

Only in this saga would the guy who is supposedly the inspiration for Tony Montana/Scarface get such a short amount of screen time AND come across as halfway decent! 😂 I would absolutely watch a whole documentary on him too.

Me three for missing Bethenny - although I know many hate her and I understand why. The key piece Bethenny has brought to this group is calling people out on their BS, especially Luann. The other ladies, while highly entertaining, are generally not capable of putting together concise thoughts or a cogent argument, and even if they have a good point, it often gets lost amidst the messiness and sloshing wine. Bethenny at least seemed somewhat grounded in reality. It's obvious to me that the casting of Leah was an attempt to fill the Bethenny role, she gives off a similar vibe, but it remains to be seen what will happen.

I noticed the same thing. Sonya, who I've always considering to be aging the best/not aging at all, looked really strange in that opening scene with Luann in the park, and it was the first time I thought she looked her age. The filming angle did weird things to her eyes, like you could see the work she'd had done, and her skin did not look great. But she made up for it with her chomping down on a danish mid-hug!

I heard Brian Moylan talking on a podcast about spotting them in the Hamptons last summer, with no cameras around. Apparently they were all over each other, so maybe it's not fake?? (Brian Moylan writes HILARIOUS recaps of Summer House and Vanderpump at Vulture, for anyone who's interested.)

The more I watched the show this season, the more I wondered why the writers made Midge a mother to begin with. There still could've been plenty of storyline with Joel leaving her and them NOT having kids. I just think the constant "what about the kids" that I feel when I watch this show has become an unnecessary distraction. Like I'm fine with suspending disbelief (a necessary talent with any ASP show), but this one is just too much. It all could've worked without the kids. Although I will say Ethan's line "Yom Kippur is scary," was one of my favorites of the whole season. I LOL'ed at that one.

Well, dammit show, if you're going to throw in a still-slightly-jacked-from-Shazam Zachary Levi as a doctor who doesn't take shit from Midge, you've officially lost me on Joel forever. The contrast between the two couldn't be greater. I have no idea what the end game is for Midge and Joel, but I'm glad it looks like Levi will be around for a bit to possibly become romantically entangled with Midge, shake things up for her. The actor who's playing Joel is doing a fine job, so it's not against him, but I have yet to see any quality Joel possess that would make Midge fall for him. At the very least if they had cast a more handsome actor, I'd buy that she was charmed by his looks. But he's fairly average looking, IMHO. And a drip.

Plus the look of her flawless skin at age 50 plus makes me think she has made some deal with the devil. Whoever her plastic surgeon/skin care team is - Bravo. (about a decade ago she did some weird stuff to her face, but she seems to have toned it back and now just looks amazing.)

In some ways it makes feel better, knowing these people aren't just unsuspecting house staff just going along in their job, and then one day find themselves on television with no choice but to serve these women. I still think Sonja's behavior was despicable, though.

ITA. Late to the party here, but I had to come on to say that despite the table flips, physical fights, and way too many accusations of husbands being gay (why do they do this??), Sonja's behavior was some of the MOST appalling I've ever witnessed on the Housewives. The way she treated Tej wasn't amusing or funny, it was horrific and it was harassment. I wasn't laughing, I was ANGRY. I wanted to reach through the tv and yank her away from that poor man who was likely working for minimum wage and a tip (hence deciding to put up with that BS). I think a producer should've stepped in. I shudder to think what Sonja's daughter must deal with, and how she must feel seeing that. I love the Housewives shows, but at what point are they crossing the line from entertaining to enabling terrible, destructive behavior?

This would not surprise me in the least, but I also think part of the reason Ramona doesn't like Barb comes down to her looks. She's not as thin or pretty as the other women (at least in Ramona's mind), and Ramona is pulling a classic mean girl on her. She really doesn't have any reason to dislike her as much as she does.

ITA. The color, the style, what was she thinking? More appropriate for a winter wedding in Connecticut. And then they added the traditional flower crowns, and they looked even more out of place. Bridesmaidmaids for a wedding in Hawaii should be wearing, IMHO, a bright or pale color, and they should be sort of flowy and, you know, "beachy." The funny thing is that Kyle complained about the fit of that dress on her and I think she looked great. Much more flattering than some of the dresses she picks herself! I will admit I was a bit disappointed with where they stayed as well. It was certainly nice enough, but didn't seem super luxurious. That's why I watch these shows - to see the women go on fabulous vacations I could never afford!

I'll join you in the statement necklace corner! Maybe because I'm tall like Lu, but I like statement necklaces and wear them sometimes. Almost always get compliments when I wear them. I think the talking head where she's wearing the light blue blouse with one of her necklaces, Lu looks stunning! (and I'm not a fan of hers at all) That being said, I can easily get a necklace like hers pretty much anywhere. Not going out of my way to likely overpay for a Luann cabaret "original." 🙂

Her bedroom screamed "Home Goods" to me. Everything in it! Nothing wrong with Home Goods, I shop there myself. But I also don't pretend I'm a countess or rich. Her going on about how "busy" she's been getting it ready - girl, you took like 3 trips to Home Goods or Marshall's. And she ripped on Ramona for the same thing with her Hamptons remodel! And the tile floors in upstate New York? It's not Miami. How cold will that be in the winter? Her bedroom downright depressed me. Round houses may look cool on the outside, not so much inside. So, does Luann have any type of home in Manhattan now, or is this it? Her finances are definitely a house of cards.

I realize what I'm about to say is not in the realm of possibilities for Tinsley in Tinsley's and Dale's world, but I personally think one of the reasons Tinsley finds herself so miserable is that she has nothing outside of being a socialite and trying to become a wife and mother. Girl, you need a JOB, maybe even a career. I think she's probably bored. She may be immature, yes, but she doesn't strike me as stupid. A short little appearance in the Big Apple Circus is not going to be satisfying in the end. She needs to find a larger purpose, and because relationships and the possibility of having children don't always work out, I think she'd be better off pursuing something for herself. (dare I say, she could take a page or two from Bethenny in this regard?) She got through Columbia University, where she was also on the varsity tennis team - that takes a fair amount of dedication and time! So clearly she has it in her, or she did. And now she just sits around in her hotel, shops, and goes to lunch? That sounds like something I'd be happy doing for a year or two, and then I'd get pretty bored.

I would've paid money to see the two of them wander around a Costco! Seriously, how could the producers have passed up that opportunity?!? Sonja stealing as many free samples as possible, Bethenny buying a ton of stuff.

Totally with you. I have a soft spot for Kyle, and think we might be a pretty small club around here. I think she's terrible at communicating, especially when she gets in a fight, but think she mostly means well. But the hats! Enough! As I heard on a podcast she and Teddi seem to be doing a lot of "aggressive hat work." Luann over on RHONY too. I wonder if with Kyle it has to do with covering grays before she gets to next colorist appointment. . .