BrindaWalsh

Yes, I noticed that too lol. Everybody else was just going tobstand there waxing philosophical about chips for breakfast and she got down to business.

Credit to Dolores for that event and I hope this is a true cause she is involved with and not just for the Bravo camera. That said, Melissa irritated me. Yes, Margaret should have had the gift bags set up before the guests arrived (event time is at 6pm? You show up at 4pm), but you could tell there was an effort made. Melissa treated it like she had shoved a bunch of samples into a grab bag. She puts more efforts into her eyelashes every morning. Tre struck me as comfortable at the event. No doubt due to some of the people she met while away at camp as well as growing up in Paterson. Margaret held up okay as well. Jackie looked like she couldn't get out of there fast enough. Sadly, I thought Tre and Jennifer came off better in this episode. If there is a scorecard. Margaret and her mail order bride shtick was offensive. I get she doesn't like Jennifer, but 2 wrongs don't make a right, Marge. Sure, Jennifer is atrocious. But Marge shouldn't stoop to her level. And Jackie and her apology seem filled with insults. "Do you always react that way?" And "my family went away, we just laughed at it!" Come on. I loved Jackie in the first few episodes. But something about her is irking me and i can't quite put my finger on it. I'm getting the classic grown up "mean girl" vibe. And finally Turkey. After season after season of prosciutto, mozzarella, and Jersey faux maphia Italian gaudiness, having another culture in there is like a breath of fresh air. But damn, Jennifer's husband truly could care kess about her. Kind of like JoeGo. Could he be more of a pig towards his wife???

Um...Khloe knows that she doesn't really look like that, right?

I flove crab pretzels....moved away from baltimore about 13 years ago and I still have yet to master a good crab dip.

You raise a good point. It should be a Kris problem. And if you think about it, acne probably DOES rank up there on the same scale as poverty and human trafficking in her mind. Because it can permanently mar an appearance, and if you don't have the skin of a kewpie doll then you are doooommmmeeeeddddd.

Pretzels are trending up. Just read an article about how event planners want donut walls to go away and pretzel bars (or walls, or trees?) to be the new big thing.

I happen to LOVE when mainstream artists embrace other musical genres - especially in a live setting. Those types of collaborations in an open jam setting can absolutely blow your mind. So much about the little video is perfect - the gospel singer, little Chi dancing, Kanye's smile, the choir. It checks all the right boxes and make me want to stand up and cheer along. Except it's Kanye. And so instead I feel like we've all just been witness to birth of Yetology. And that's going to be a problem.

Because Kris didn't come up with that. An the proactive media team and external agencies did. The K's signed on. They will get enough backlash that it will turn into Pepsi v. 2.0, proactive will come out with a statement apologizing to everybody for being so off base in their promotion and apologizing to Miss Kendall and then next season we will see how distraught Kendall was because of the whole ordeal. We cut cable a while ago, so I haven't seen or heard a proactive commercial in a while. Are they as big as they used to be? Perhaps all of this is around a rebrand effort?

I felt bad for Jennifer. It strikes me that she is in a similar position that Melissa was in back in season 1, except with a dose of traditionalism tossed in so less fun for her. Melissa was expected to keep the house, but at least she got to socialize with her husband, go out and have fun, etc. It seems to me that jennifer is expected to keep the home and primarily be at home. I suspect her life is a bit lonely. Except she is on this show which is odd that her husband ever agreed to it. That said, I did agree with him when he said she needed to be stronger with the kids, but her "you're scolding me" reaction resulted in raised an eyebrow from me. She looked genuinely upset and embarrassed.

My final thought on the episode as I rewatched it tonight. It was weird. Tre seemed normal. Jackie seemed too calculated. Jennifer seemed sympathetic. I can't help but wonder if there was major manipulation in this one. Like the producers realized that the Gorga Giudice argument had run its course, knew Danielle wouldn't be there with Marty to let loose the crazg, so they directed Jackie and Jennifer to bring the drama.

Gabriella looks more like Filomena, but perhaps that's just the coloring. I remember reading Jackie's article when it first came out and having a bit of a strange reaction to it. It was the first time that I read an article by her that brought a very specific other family and person into the puzzle. I just had no idea that it was about a housewife cast member. Her articles are either much more personal when using the introductory anecdote, or more general and speaking in "types" when pointing to outside people. And there were other ways to share that anecdote more generally as as she had written other stories in the past. Example: Every time my children run into another friends home they make a beeline down into their playrooms filled with toys, video games, and sometimes even a bouncy house and it always makes me stop and think - Can kids grow up having everything they want and still turn into humble, appreciative adults? Do too many gifts create spoiled children?" She could have presented that article without it being so specific to Jennifer, because let's be real. Jennifer's house may be bigger and shinier than Jackie's but it's not like Jackie herself is living in some hovel. She lives in Tenafly NJ - it's hardly town known for its modesty. She has a beautiful big home as well. 10 bucks says she could have looked around her own playroom and her kids having a playdate in her own home and asked herself the same questions. She knows she's living a very privileged life and that her kids are leading a privileged lifestyle. Why bring in Jennifer so clearly? Sure she could have been the inspiration for the article, but Jackie could have easily been less specific without losing the structure of her writing or the point she was looking to make. I suspect there was a bit of jealousy and contempt that fueled that article, even if Jackie herself doesn't want to admit it or isn't even aware of it. Does anybody really like Delores? But it doesn't dissolve Gorga of any and all responsibility in the matter which was what Melissa always tries to do. Her poor husband against Joe Giudice who is 100% responsible for starting everything. It's never as black and white as that.

OMG, that Kardashian Shakespeare quote. Please don't ever put Kanye West and Shakespeare in the same story ever again. Like, ever.

That's something that has always bothered me. Joe G flies off his handle and Juicy always got blamed for charging and brawling. At the baptism it's Joe Gorga who screams and loses it first. In Lake George, it's Joe Gorga who charges (you can tell simply by the fact that Juicy has basically come 2 steps in the door before Joe Gorga slams into him). Yet, Melissa keeps portraying this innocent picture like it's Joe Guidice who keeps starting the violence. And it's not. And it's there on camera for everybody to see. And I don't understand why they haven't clearly stressed that point, especially when there is video to back all of that up. I don't love Teresa, but if I were her I would have nailed that home over and over again until it was clear. Joe Giudice is not without faults (clearly, since he's sitting in prison right now), but crazy, table banging, nuts biting, punch throwing, charging neanderthal he is not. That's the Gorga gene.

Thank you. I can't stand Milania. Okay, actually, her crying and falling asleep at her birthday party on the Italian cruise was funny. But other than that, the kid needs a swift kick in the a$$. And, (I suppose I'm going to hell?), good lord that kid is unattractive. Unattractive personality combined with unfortunate looks.

I suspect she is probably a solid student. I would guess a b/b+ average. That would get her in to Rutgers, Penn State and Quinnipiac, assuming her test scores are strong as well. Greek life at bama - no, she won't get into the traditional southern sororities. Even if they wanted her, the moms and alums would stop it. Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi, SK are filled with the out of state girls where she would bid. And she would probably feel more comfortable there. Who wants to be the one jersey girl surrounded by debutants from mountain brook? Gia would find her niche at bama - with the other girls from far out of state. But Tre and Joe in Tuscaloosa? I'd give my left arm to see that. Bless their hearts!

Bama is recruiting heavily from the northeast (and other areas of the country) and throwing a LOT of scholarship money at stronger students, trying to raise their academic profile. And a lot of NJ residents are taking advantage - the scholarship $ is really enticing. There are stories of people turning down the Ivys and the top private liberal arts colleges because bama will offer basically a free ride. I have a tough time seeing the Giudice family in Alabama. Not matter how diverse the population is becoming on that campus. Southern traditions still rule at that school, and I feel like Gia would probably struggle down there simply because of her family.

Kathy Wakile's daughter went to Caldwell University in NJ - it's a small regional school up here. SHe looked at bigger universities, as we saw on the show, but according to Kathy, she chose to stay closer to home. Danielle has always made me incredibly uncomfortable. At first I thought she was deeply wounded, and the way the cast treated her, especially in season 2, made me feel sick to my stomach. Like they were torturing an already injured animal or some such thing. But now, and in hindsight, she outright scares me - as in, the one day I think she'll snap and go kill somebody kind of crazy. I truly have no idea why Bravo has brought her back into the fold as I see her and see nothing but a giant liability. I can't understand why anybody lets this woman into their life, and if Margaret is smart (and I do believe she is), I think she should run for the hills as fast as she can. Nothing good will come of her relationship with Danielle. Absolutely nothing. Her statements of "I demand respect." Her inability to let go of the small "wrong doings" of her friends. Her willingness to damage family ties for the sake of her own personal gain (and I'm not talking just Marty). All of it is wrong - and that's just scratching the surface of it. She allegedly lives in the town next to me. If I were to ever see her I'd run in the opposite direction. Soooo, Jackie's parents did time. Tre & her husband are doing time. Delores' husband/ex/fuckbuddy has been disbarred. Danielle was arrested for aggravated assault. Jacqueline and her husband filed for bankruptcy. Caroline's father in law was found dead in the trunk of a car. Joey G & Melissa have a rap sheet full of shade. Margaret recently filed for bankruptcy. Interesting NJ crew. Can't Andy Cohen find anybody in NJ without these major skeletons? That said, I like Jackie, I don't want to hold her parents faults against her, but I'm just adding it to the list. And in defense of Teresa, Jackie is talking about her parents crimes after 15 years of perspective? Dolores is right, you really can't compare the two. Who knows, after Juicy gets home and the fam has lived in Italy for 15 years or so, they will look back and it will be something they talk about. Jackie would probably gain some mileage with Tre if she approached her with that story - told her about her experience when she was not that much older than Gia. On a side note, my husband and I often look around this area of NJ and wonder what we're doing wrong. We work hard, make a good combined salary, and check all the right boxes, yet somehow we're surrounded by this obscene amount of wealth that just doesn't make any sense to us. I'm beginning to think that it's not that we're doing something wrong, instead everybody else doing it wrong and it's only a matter of time before everybody either files for bankruptcy or serves time for tax evasion and fraud.

Fair.

Who the hell styled Dolores for her TH and what did she do to piss that person offbso badly? That half up hair against the harsh makeup and orange skin and her extra white eyes is atrocious. And why is Joe's TH so close up. I feel like he is going to jump out of the screen at me.

So what's up with this North looks just like Kim push that's going on? North looks more like Kanye, imo. Chicago looks like Kim. The photo shoot pics are cute. Kim's dress needed to be 2 inches longer, but i guess it's better than some other outfits.

I think that Kylie genuinely loves makeup and that's where she really puts her best foot forward (unlike her sisters who have latched onto her success and claim to love it). And I also think that she got a taste of life off camera when she was pregnant and doesn't have much interest in doing the show anymore.

That bachelorette party was gross. So was the scene in the sex shop. I mean, these women are in their 40s. They have children who are college aged. Please please please try to be classy. And I can't stand Danielle. She is exhausting to watch on TV, I can't imagine what it's like being around her. Delores and her "what am I doing wrong" schtick is utterly annoying. What you are doing wrong is enabling a man who could care less about you to run roughshod over you. That's what you're doing wrong. Marge is awesome. I really like her straight shooter mentality.

I also want more of the other handmaids. Specifically, Alma, who has been in the resistance far longer than June. She knew plenty about what was happening in the Waterford household, the comings and goings of June and her commander, June's opportunities for outside communication, and she can take June down a peg or two when need be. She's interesting. Perhaps as June gets deeper into the resistance, we can get more about Alma. I still think they will bring June back to the Waterfords - how else can she be out in Gilead society not be with them? For one, the 3 are the core main characters. But I also think a season of June hiding in the shadows working for the resistance will be too much of Elizabeth Moss sitting around and thinking out loud. I think they will capitalize on Emily getting out by blaming her for the kidnapping of Nicole and the attack on Aunt Lydia. Aunt Lydia a victim and June - who to the outside world is seen as a fertile believer - desperate to save her commander's daughter from the crazed and dangerous rogue handmaid. And as for Nick and the commander, Nick's job is to protect the commander. He didn't say, you stay here so they can get your kid out. He said, it's too dangerous outside, I can't let you out, we'll stay here. And hey, they can blame Emily for the writing on the wall as well. Once again, WE know the story behind that phrase. Those who will investigate the kidnapping, do not.

Why do they even bother with clothes anymore?

You may be right. But there's a difference here. They finally have a group of housewives that work without teresa. No other group was strong enough to carry it before. Bravo and Tre both needed each other to make this show work. I know it's early but if things keep going the way they are now, by the end of the season, Bravo won't need Tre anymore.