ninjago

Madison gives me the same "Hillbilly Elegy" vibe as LeeAnn Locken (RHOD), Tamra Barney (OC), and Brandi Glanville (BH): mean, hard women who assume everyone else is going to be as mean and hard as they are, who are always distrustful and suspicious, who think kindness is for the naive and weak, who are constantly stowing away hurtful, humiliating information, even about their friends because their vengefulness is deep and long-lived, and they don't believe in "proportionate response", only the nuclear option. A lot of the people on this show are jerks. But she's a gutter-fighter with no boundaries. They should all run from her.

Other than Emily, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that any of these women had, at some time, had a train run on them. They all drink and party a lot, even now, and, probably more importantly, they all have shown to have terrible taste in men, keeping company with creepy, sleazy, manipulators. Between being drunk, high and/or coerced, yeah, it’s not that shocking. Gina has drunk in every episode. Sometimes she orders something NA, but it’s jumped out at me that she drinks in every episode. Just for the optics, I’d think she’d refrain from drinking on camera, especially when she is driving.

Luis is a real life Vaguebooker, one of those people who post dramatic yet vague statuses on FB -“WOW, just had my world turned upside down.”, “Wish I knew there was someone out there I could trust.”, “So this is what it’s like to have your heartbroken.”-just to get sympathetic responses from other people. Either talk about it or don’t, no one’s really watching this show for the personal drama. I never thought he was a very good agent and he looks even worse now in comparison to Fred and Ryan.

Fuck off, Austen. No one cares about you. Did Katherine say she dismissed him on WWHL because he “gets kind of boring”? Because he is totally boring and dismissible. They could replace him with any random idiot.

With the exception of Emily, I would not be surprised to hear any of these women did coke, had threesomes or even had a train run on them. We see how fucked up they get now, in their 50s, so I can’t imagine how out of control they were as young adults in the 80s. Didn’t Peggy Taneous leave the show because she didn’t want to talk about doing coke with Jim Bellino? And, maybe more importantly, all of these women have shown themselves to be susceptible to creepy, controlling men. I can imagine a combination of coercion and intoxication put them all in some questionable spots.

These women are so crass. All of their kids must be so embarrassed.

I agree she was an ass about it, but there was no reason for Audrina to bring it up to Brody other than to make Stephanie look bad. Which, I don't know, Audrina and Stephanie aren't friends, so Audrina doesn't owe Stephanie any loyalty-she can say whatever she wants about Stephanie, but she shouldn't pretend she was not trying to talk shit. Of course, the real asshole in this particular situation is Brody, who totally freaked out over it. I think Audrina was just doing some run-of-the-mill shit-talking, not intending to have Brody go insane over it at Stephanie. That's on Brody.

Justin Bobby, Audrina and Stephanie are the least interesting people on this show, because they are not willing (or able) to be candid about their lives. They are still doing the same phony drama they were doing 10 years ago. It's too bad they are the focus of the show. I think this show could actually be really interesting if they focused on coming out the other side of the fame/Hollywood machine in a candid way. Brandon has some of that Hollywood d-bag to him, but he's also insightful and level-headed. His conversations with Brody about their fathers and how that impacts their relationships with women and friends make me reconsider Brody, who does seem to realize he really doesn't know how to have relationships or be vulnerable. I was moved by Jason talking about his sobriety, how he and his wife are actively dealing with it, despite being surrounded by drinking much of the time. Mischa is very open about trying to get her feet back under her and what a struggle her career has been. Even Heidi and Spencer are open about their past and where they are now. Heidi's anxiety is uncomfortable to watch, though.

I hate Metul.

Braunwyn’s husband is a catty queen. Emily is not great, but she needs to dump Shane. If he doesn’t want to be filmed, if he’s studying day and night, if she didn’t really do much for his parents’ bday party, none of that excuses how he spoke to her on film tonight. There are so many women where I just think What is this guy bringing to the table? Why do you take this shit?

In her talking heads Gina looks like Megan McCain. I'm no Vickie fan, and she should have been axed after the cancer scam, but the person who should have been cut for the debacle of last season was Shannon. She flat out refused to engage with either of the new castmembers, and that screwed up the whole dynamic of the show. It was like there was the real show, with Shannon, Vickie and Tamra, and then Emily and Gina, following them around, trying desperately to get into the frame. It's one thing to have beef with another cast member, but having someone who just won't engage with other cast members and won't even treat them like they are part of the same social circle destroys the whole premise of the show. It's why LVP had to go, it's why Nene should go and, I think, Andy should have at least demoted Shannon for doing it last season.

I’m not a huge fan of Chelsea, but it was so funny when she grabbed Eliza’s aunt’s sleeve and said, “Look, y’all, I found the fox! Where ya been? We’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

He's a doofus in a handsome man's body. I'm sure he's right, but it made me sad when Ryan was talking about how the townhouse in Chelsea isn't in a desirable spot because it's got laundromats and bakeries and other old-fashioned, mom and pop, quintessentially NYC, businesses around it.

One of the things I think is creepy about Ashley is, even as she is apologizing, she is minimizing what she did. She apologized to Katherine for "Being judgmental" and "Assuming everyone is going to parent the way I think is best". Hey, crazy person, you called her an egg donor and a terrible mother who shouldn't be allowed near her children. You might need to go a little deeper.

I thought Kathryn was going for Beyoncé in the “Formation” video. If Ashley's not with Thomas anymore why does she have to have anything to do with Kathryn? ETA: I posted this before I saw the part where Kathryn says she was going for Beyoncé in the “Formation” video.

I was surprised they ate on the boat instead of eating somewhere on shore. June looks so much like Patricia Arquette. I didn't think the drunk Norwegian guy was even that bad. They invited him on board, and he got a little animated saying he loves America and America "pulling out" (presumably meaning backing out of international relationships and agreements) was wrong. He wasn't even Anti-American. Then he asked Johnny Damon to come on his boat. The guests were the ones who got all heated and belligerent over it.

Luann is a pain in the ass, but she keeps her cool like nobody's business. The more heated other people get, the calmer she gets.

They were all three so drunk in that last scene I don't know if Shep was knew what he was laughing about (also, the way it was cut, he may have been laughing at something completely different than what Austen was saying). Austin was so drunk he didn't even actually break-up with Madison on that phone call. Cameran wouldn't be the first woman to realize she doesn't want to stay home with her child full-time.

Watching Kim is so uncomfortable. I feel like at any moment she might start picking at her face or talking about being abducted by aliens. She’s also got some Norma Desmond delusions “How DARE she say something so hurtful to ME?!” Yeah, ok, Kate Middleton, I know you adhere to the strictest of decorum. Try not to faint.

The VPR people are such hot house flowers. Of course Tom has to go to the hospital. Of course Stassi and Katie can't actually get off their asses and paddle a canoe or do anything other than sit around and talk about themselves. I don't even like the Summer House people, but at least they go do shit and seem to enjoy stuff instead of acting like a bunch of geriatrics on a day pass.

Thank you. I have an in-law like Chelsea: "I'm a daddy's girl!" , "My daddy's my best friend!", "No man can compare to my daddy!". You mean the guy who was nowhere to be found while your mother struggled to feed, clothes and house you and your siblings? Yeah, he's a real peach.

There was just an interview with Lisa Kudrow talking about feeling like “a mountain of a woman” when she’d watch “Friends” because she was so much bigger than Aniston and Cox and she could never figure out how to dress to de-emphasize the difference. I feel like Katherine is dealing with that. But I also think Katherine is consciously dressing in a more matronly way. That dress she wore to Pat’s dinner, with the high collar and elephant print, looked like something Pat herself would wear (minus the keyhole cut-out). Katherine is no longer in the ingenue stage of life, like most of the other girls are (even if they are older). I think she is mindful that, given her past and “reputation”, showing up in a backless crop-top is going to read very differently for her than it does for Naomi, regardless of weight.

The stuff with Teddi and her business....I don't know. Edwin was awfully dismissive of her concerns and the obvious distress the kids are in. I don't think the answer, based on how we've seen her kids acting, is as simple as, "If you're happy, they'll be happy". I would hope they would have some help with the transition for the kids.

Does LVP not know the sordid history of the lie detector test on reality TV? From Dr. Phil to Jerry Springer to Meet My Parents, there aren't many ways to more quickly signal "What you are watching is trashy bullshit" than a lie detector test.

In this whole group, I only believe Stassi, Katie and Schwartz like each other, Schwartz, Sandoval and Ariana like each other and Ariana, Scheana and Lala like each other. I believe that Ariana, Sandoval, Lala and Scheana genuinely dislike Katie, Stassi and Kristin, and vice versa. And I think Katie and Stassi keep Kristin around to make themselves feel better and because she’s always willing to make an ass of herself on their behalf or otherwise do the bitch work (Like Stassi said Kristin was a good friend because she always calls to get the cast upgrades on flights?!) The rest of the relationships, including everyone’s relationship with Jax and Brittany, are just coworkers.