S5.E11 Troop Salt Lake City

[ichbin]

On 11/27/2024 at 11:09 PM, princelina said:

Sorry, but all I could think of during that scene was, "Well, I've got to go talk to my son about his obvious drug problem as soon as the camera crew gets here."

On 11/28/2024 at 1:23 PM, StevieRocks said:

Unpopular opinion--sorry to offend. I still find Grandpappy humping Elmer Gantry thievin' Mary revolting and repulsive. 

This 180° shift from the Mary of earlier seasons...I'm not buying it. I can't help but think there is something behind it. Money? Public rehabilitation of her reputation?  I don't know, but what we're seeing is far removed from before. We get glimpses of the high and mighty attitude but she seems to be making a concerted effort to put herself forward in a better light. I'm not doubting that her son has an addiction issue, but judging from his previous appearances I can't help but think there is something else at play as well. Since she appeared on the show she has always seemed like someone who is very concerned with public conception.  I hope the young man is getting attention for whatever needs he has, but again, I'm not buying the entire picture Mary is selling.  YMMV

 

[politichick]

6 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

Federal government security checks are very serious business these days and conducted by government employees or contractors. One doesn't run a federal check on a personal friend or family member; that's illegal. Also, the type of check depends on the level of clearance. How would Todd have access to the systems needed to conduct a check? The FBI does heavy spot checks of applicants' fingerprints to catch criminals and the camera systems must produce very high quality fingerprint images or the applicant is rejected. A brainless housewife doesn't need or qualify for a government security check, especially at NSA level. Anyone with a federal clearance is not supposed to discuss it outside of the job, including stating what type of clearance he/she has. He's a liar.

That was probably his idea of a joke.

[ladle1]

On 11/27/2024 at 10:21 PM, TheCouchPotato said:

Wow! Anyone else tear up while watching Mary and her son? Truly makes her a “Real” housewife and one of my favs now.  Awareness is so important and I’m glad they used this platform for good. 

I don't know how I feel about this being a part of the show. It seems a bit exploitative. But, yes, I was legit weeping.

[ladle1]

On 11/28/2024 at 8:55 AM, Vanderboom said:

The thing is, I don't think there is. More importantly, it seems like Brittani doesn't think there is, which makes me sad for her. Brittani clearly thinks a will-they-won't-they with a junior varsity Osmond is what makes her special.

Hey now, there was also winegate!  :)

[SemiCharmedLife]

8 hours ago, ichbin said:

This 180° shift from the Mary of earlier seasons...I'm not buying it. I can't help but think there is something behind it. Money? Public rehabilitation of her reputation?  I don't know, but what we're seeing is far removed from before. We get glimpses of the high and mighty attitude but she seems to be making a concerted effort to put herself forward in a better light. I'm not doubting that her son has an addiction issue, but judging from his previous appearances I can't help but think there is something else at play as well. Since she appeared on the show she has always seemed like someone who is very concerned with public conception.  I hope the young man is getting attention for whatever needs he has, but again, I'm not buying the entire picture Mary is selling.  YMMV

 

I believe her active participation and involvement this season stems from her need of the paycheck Bravo is offering.  Production probably made some demands of her after her many refusals to participate and be a part of the friend group last season.  I don't trust a thing about Mary and haven't forgotten how she treats her parishioners  and uses their money to buy god-awful designer rags and doo-dads.  Many of them probably can't afford a can of soup, yet they support this scammer.

The scene with her son was intense, as were all the other times he has been on camera these last few seasons.  I hope he was sober when he agreed to air his story.  I wish him the best in his recovery.  

[ladle1]

Hold up, I’m going to say something positive! 😂 Electra and Henry both seem like sweeties, and I love that they were both into the snake. 
 

Now, back to the snark… Lisa trying to find her husband’s birth family without running it by him first is WOW. Holy narcissism.  

[Salacious Kitty]

How did Lisa get a spit sample from John without telling him why? Because you need a spit sample for Ancestry. 

I wonder what she told him it was for?

[ladle1]

6 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

How did Lisa get a spit sample from John without telling him why? Because you need a spit sample for Ancestry. 

I wonder what she told him it was for?

He said he did it willingly, but he thought he was just going to find out about his roots more generally. Then Lisa went the extra mile and started locating relatives. 

[ZettaK]

And the shade about Meredith living in Airbnbs!

[JohnnyU]

On 11/27/2024 at 11:25 PM, Straycat80 said:

And Bravo marriages don’t last, I think Bronwyn and her Father acting huzzband might be next. He insulted her twice at Meredith’s dinner. 

I get that same feeling 

[Sweet-tea]

On 11/28/2024 at 5:33 PM, twilightzone said:

That's rich considering how viewers often complain about HW hiding their real lives.  This wasn't about whether people like Mary or not.  As a parent, she was trying to do everything to help her son.  And you can tell she was scared - for him.  As hard as it was, Robert Jr's story needed to get out.

This harks back to Laurie, OG of RHOC and the struggles her son, Josh had with addiction.  Sadly, he died from it earlier this year.

I’ve never liked Mary but I felt for her during the scene with her son. However, I find it hard to believe that she was just learning of the seriousness of his addiction during the conversation we saw. Throughout this season, there have been numerous scenes of him sleeping all day, acting out of it, slurring his words and asking her for money. I think it’s more likely that she knew what was going on and was trying to manage it. But it escalated during filming, and producers came to her and told her it should be worked into her storyline. 

While I agree that it’s good to bring awareness to addiction issues and take them out of the closet, I am not sure Robert Jr. was clear-headed enough to give informed consent to all of this airing about him. He was in the throes of his addiction. It feels exploitative and makes me uncomfortable. Also, where is Mary’s husband? Is he not filming partly because of this? 

On 11/27/2024 at 10:03 PM, Straycat80 said:

I’m never going to look at a hot dog the same way again after listening to Heathers explanation of Mormon non-sex acts. Ick.
I wish they’d keep Britani out of this group, she’s trying too hard to be more than ‘a friend of’. And we don’t care about Jared Osmond, he seems creepy. 

 

Agree. I didn’t like any of the sexual stuff. It was crass and unnecessary. Brittani is in a toxic relationship. I hope she realizes it at some point and permanently steps away. She should watch Tell Me Lies on Hulu. It might give her a clue about Jared. 

[twilightzone]

1 hour ago, Sweet-tea said:

I’ve never liked Mary but I felt for her during the scene with her son. However, I find it hard to believe that she was just learning of the seriousness of his addiction during the conversation we saw. Throughout this season, there have been numerous scenes of him sleeping all day, acting out of it, slurring his words and asking her for money. I think it’s more likely that she knew what was going on and was trying to manage it. But it escalated during filming, and producers came to her and told her it should be worked into her storyline. 

While I agree that it’s good to bring awareness to addiction issues and take them out of the closet, I am not sure Robert Jr. was clear-headed enough to give informed consent to all of this airing about him. He was in the throes of his addiction. It feels exploitative and makes me uncomfortable. Also, where is Mary’s husband? Is he not filming partly because of this? 

Mary could have suspected - but she could have been in denial.  It's a very common response.  You can tell her fear, her hurt - when Robert Jr. revealed the truth.  And that needed to come from him.  Then her reaction - where she felt she failed as a parent. 

Addiction is supposed to be uncomfortable to watch.  But Robert Jr's story needed to get out there. 

Edited December 1 by twilightzone

[Sweet-tea]

On 11/28/2024 at 8:10 AM, FlyingEgret said:

Did anyone else notice when the others were gathered to talk about Mary it was like a switch was pulled and all of a sudden they were giving her grace. Almost like the producers told them what was happening (or had happened) at the Crosby House. 

 

Yes I noticed it too. It did strike me that the producers might have told them something. 

[RedInk]

Unpopular opinion, I understand, but I always find the more serious reality on these shows to be exploitative. If anyone is truly helped by something they saw on a Housewives franchise, I think that’s wonderful, but I imagine that’s few and far between. I’d venture to say it may even result in more damage because there is nothing offered beyond the obligatory hotline number and general platitudes to “seek help,” when most everyone already knows to do that but can’t afford it, or has an unwilling family member, etc. I forwarded through this one because I knew it was coming. And although I obviously sympathize with Mary in this situation as a mother, she’s shown herself to be disgustingly predatory before (her church). My much more cynical side sees it as attention-seeking behavior, usually on the part of the parent or spouse. There is just no need to put someone so vulnerable and at their weakest point on camera. Discuss steps you’re taking and what’s helping, sure, but after the person in need is in a stable place. 

[pasdetrois]

I doubt anyone will be helped by seeing Robert Jr.'s story - addiction treatment resources are already heavily advertised on the media and are forced by the courts. Shame on Bravo and Mary for exploiting him and for allowing them all to pretend they showed the footage as an altruistic act. They did it for ratings.

[Starlight925]

I agree about the Robert Jr. scene.  I found it to be exploitative.

Mary should look around at the hundreds of thousands of dollars of useless designer stuff in her house and how ill-gotten most of those items are, including the house itself.  She spent decades focusing on how to buy more.  More, more, more, when she had a child who was likely crying out for attention.

Even in that scene, it's all about Mary.  Mary keeps saying to Robert Jr., "Do you know how sad I'd be if something happened to you?  Do you know how bad that would be for me?".

Furthermore, Robert Jr. admitted that he had just taken Xanax (amongst possibly other things), and it was apparent that he was not clear-headed.  He probably doesn't even remember most of that conversation.

I found putting your son's very personal issues on display for cameras to be the height of exploitation, as he was likely too impaired to even realize what was happening at the time.

[Dr Mama]

1 hour ago, Starlight925 said:

Even in that scene, it's all about Mary.  Mary keeps saying to Robert Jr., "Do you know how sad I'd be if something happened to you?  Do you know how bad that would be for me?".

I noticed that too.

[Pi237]

2 hours ago, Dr Mama said:

I noticed that too.

Even when he basically told her he didn’t kill himself because of her, she said, ‘thank you.’ I was waiting for-I want you to live for yourself! You have your whole life in front of you, full of possibilities, you deserve to be happy etc’  Anything.  You can’t guilt an addict into sobriety. In fact, telling them how much you need them to live for You, just makes them think you’d be better off without them. They think if they die, it’s temporary pain and they’re sparing you a lifetime of pain if they fail to stay clean because I. That moment they don’t think they can.  
 

But I can’t judge. No one is going to say all the perfect things. They don’t exist. It’s ultimately the addicts choice to recover or not.  You cannot Save someone. They have to save themselves.  But yeah, that jumped right out at me, how Mary made it about herself. Not that I doubt her love for him. 

[Rlb8031]

On 11/28/2024 at 1:13 AM, princelina said:

I didn't actually have a problem with Kim being outed - she was an adult who took a job, drank throughout, made all of her coworkers uncomfortable and expected them all to overlook it and keep hush because that's what addicts do.  And then after her rehab she did it again for a couple more seasons.  This young man isn't part of the show and shouldn't have to air his issues on camera to give his mother screen time.  If it does help people that will be good, but I don't think it's right in spite of that.

I beg to differ. Robert Jr. is an adult. He chose to be on camera, and how he looks and what information is shared is completely within his control. Having watched several years' worth of "Intervention" I'm always surprised at how open some addicts are about their issues. Let's recall that RJ is an allegedly "married" man who was comfortable having his mother walk into his bedroom while he was in bed with his wife to ask if he had cleaned his room. Both he and his wife (girlfriend??) had to sign waivers to have their faces shown. He's not a child any more than Brooks Marks is, and like Brooks, he should be treated and held to account as an adult.

[princelina]

1 hour ago, Rlb8031 said:

I beg to differ. Robert Jr. is an adult. He chose to be on camera, and how he looks and what information is shared is completely within his control. Having watched several years' worth of "Intervention" I'm always surprised at how open some addicts are about their issues. Let's recall that RJ is an allegedly "married" man who was comfortable having his mother walk into his bedroom while he was in bed with his wife to ask if he had cleaned his room. Both he and his wife (girlfriend??) had to sign waivers to have their faces shown. He's not a child any more than Brooks Marks is, and like Brooks, he should be treated and held to account as an adult.

Yeah I get your point.  But either they had this conversation in private, and then chose to reenact it for us, or else Mary waited for the camera crew to show up and went into his room with them in tow to have this conversation.  And I don't think they're that good of actors.  That's my problem with it, even if he did allow them to use the footage.

[Spicymustard]

I really hope Mary’s son can get the help he needs. My brother died of an oxy overdose at 21, same age Robert jr is if I read the age pop up correctly. Brought out a lot of emotions in me. 

[heatherchandler]

On 11/29/2024 at 12:02 PM, princelina said:

 

In Lisa's case I'm guessing she has glam "all the time" when she's on the show, in order to show off, but in private not so much.  Her "look" is not that complicated 😄. And flying first class isn't that big of a deal if you  are regular rich, plus you get airline deals.  

 

She said she ALWAYS travels with her glam!  Remember at the Trixie hotel, she was screaming about it.  She brings them to Europe, or has people in Europe.. honestly why??  She doesn’t look great and no one is looking at her.  She’s so vain.

Something is fishy with their financials.

 

On 12/2/2024 at 10:20 AM, Starlight925 said:

 

Even in that scene, it's all about Mary.  Mary keeps saying to Robert Jr., "Do you know how sad I'd be if something happened to you?  Do you know how bad that would be for me?".

 

Yes!  That’s all I heard from her- how she feels, what it does to her, that he was her perfect baby.  She is beyond self-centered.

[Starlight925]

18 minutes ago, heatherchandler said:

She said she ALWAYS travels with her glam!  Remember at the Trixie hotel, she was screaming about it.  She brings them to Europe, or has people in Europe.. honestly why??  She doesn’t look great and no one is looking at her.  She’s so vain..

Lisa even said she has glam to go to the grocery store. 

I thought she was kidding, but she was totally serious.

Geez, they're lucky I remember to wear pants.

[Natalie68]

15 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

She said she ALWAYS travels with her glam!  Remember at the Trixie hotel, she was screaming about it.  She brings them to Europe, or has people in Europe.. honestly why??  She doesn’t look great and no one is looking at her.  She’s so vain.

Something is fishy with their financials.

 

Yes!  That’s all I heard from her- how she feels, what it does to her, that he was her perfect baby.  She is beyond self-centered.

She looks very average and there is nothing about her LOOK that needs a glam person. I think their financials are VERY fishy. 

[RealHousewife]

I think it’s crazy to get glam just to go to the store. In Lisa’s defense though, she’s a public figure and her looks are picked apart on the regular. She’s a beautiful woman, and she’s picked on just for not having that frozen look and actually looking natural. Maybe that made her insecure. I don’t know, but I couldn’t believe seeing that she “needs a facelift”  per same hateful Bravo account. You know so many women wish they had Lisa’s looks. I don’t care for some aspects of her personality, but I do love her face. Her face structure and big, brown eyes are so pretty. It’s cool she’s not a cookie-cutter blonde too.

[princelina]

On 12/3/2024 at 9:26 PM, heatherchandler said:

She said she ALWAYS travels with her glam!

 

On 12/3/2024 at 9:45 PM, Starlight925 said:

Lisa even said she has glam to go to the grocery store. 

She may SAY it.  I'm saying I don't believe her 😄

[TheCouchPotato]

On 11/29/2024 at 7:16 PM, ladle1 said:

I don't know how I feel about this being a part of the show. It seems a bit exploitative. But, yes, I was legit weeping.

I can understand that. I think if it was someone like Mia or Tamra doing this, I’d feel gross but there’s something about Mary where this comes across so genuine. I think she truly wants to bring awareness to others. You can tell that her son, for good or worse, is her everything in what seems to be a very lonely life. 

[Chalby]

Can someone please shut Angie and Whitney down?

I am not interested in watching them fight each other about things that were said, during the last 4 years.

That scene (4 eps ago?) where Bronwyn kept repeating, "Angie, put a line under it, so it's over" is a perfect example where Angie is like a dog with a bone. She kept referring to Meredith advising someone to sue, yet embellished the idea that she would lose her home if they did.

It didn't happen, so get over it.

I actually like Bronwyn, and I appreciate her husband because he's at a point in his life where he's not interested in having rabid women yelling at his event. I felt bad for Bronwyn, but at least he communicates his stance.

Edited December 14 by Chalby

[Chalby]

On 12/3/2024 at 6:45 PM, Starlight925 said:

Lisa even said she has glam to go to the grocery store. 

I thought she was kidding, but she was totally serious.

Geez, they're lucky I remember to wear pants.

😆 🤣  ... meanwhile, I just returned from the store wearing s toque, pj bottoms, and a puffy coat. What makes it worse is the 2 boxes of cat food I left home to pick up.

[Chalby]

On 12/2/2024 at 8:20 AM, Starlight925 said:

Even in that scene, it's all about Mary.  Mary keeps saying to Robert Jr., "Do you know how sad I'd be if something happened to you?  Do you know how bad that would be for me?".

I didn't see this the same way. Sadly, I've had to experience a handful of suicides in the last 4 years, and I feel that people get so lost in their depression/ trauma etc, they forget how selfish suicide is.

I know the one in pain thinks their suffering will end once they're dead. BUT NO, because they merely left their pain for us (survivors) to pick up and carry.

Suicide is extremely selfish, and maybe Robert needed to hear and understand that Mary is now shouldering his pain as well.