S02.E01: London Calling

[OnceSane]

Julie Montagu struggles with being a working mother in the Season 2 premiere. Also: Annabelle returns following an accident in Season 1; Marissa plans a lavish Thanksgiving dinner; and a formed alliance could lead to the end of a friendship.

[Bossa Nova]

Anybody catch the First Look that aired today at 12 noon (est)?

 

Well I am so in. Looking forward to the season. Gotta admit, this series does have some real and serious glam, house porn, fashion porn, lifestyle porn, that the Real Housewives of everywhere are lacking.

 

Thank you Bravo. This is the strong antidote needed after seasons of: Brandi Glanville, Tamra, Theresa, Manzo's, Mama Joyce, & Kim ZB. *

 

*I will bet that none of the above ^^^ characters watch Ladies of London as they can't understand the foreign language. ;)

Edited September 6, 2015 by Bossa Nova

[Pickles]

I saw the preview. Looks like it will be a good season!

[Jellowslr]

So happy this is back! 

[politichick]

And what is that song? I need it for my treadmill.

And what is that song? I need it for my treadmill.

[Neurochick]

I'm glad that Caprice or whatever her name was, isn't around.

[Teddybear]

 

And what is that song? I need it for my treadmill.

"London Bridge" by Fergie.  

[trimthatfat]

I figured Noelle was not going to come back this season. I thought they might address her situation, but it's such a sensitive issue that I get why they didn't.

 

I think the Thanksgiving drama is so petty. If someone offers to host a party for you, it is tacky to accept a different offer because it sounds better. I thought Juliet suggesting that Caroline's home is more 'homey' was just weird. I think she should have just talked to Marisa about the situation and maybe offered a few suggestions so she could feel more comfortable. This has shades of the ridiculous drama last season with Capri's baby shower fiasco.

 

Caroline is loaded! I didn't know her e-commerce businesses were so successful.

[Panda Bear]

"I don't even know what Thanksgiving is." 

 

Oh, shut up, Caroline (and go blow up your lips some more). I don't believe that a worldly woman like her has no inkling of what a traditional American Thanksgiving is like. Surely she's seen a movie or TV show depicting it. 

 

I continue to hate everyone on this show except for Julie, but I'll keep watching it for the pretty scenery. 

[autumnh]

Oh for crying out loud.....why couldn't they just do TWO Thanksgivings....I know so many of us do two at times when we have to. I love this show!

Caroline IS a bit stiff and cliche for my taste.....it's like she looks down on all things American....

[Luciano]

Well, at least they got the dysfunctional part of a traditional Thanksgiving gathering down.

[JennyMominFL]

Oh for crying out loud.....why couldn't they just do TWO Thanksgivings....I know so many of us do two at times when we have to. I love this show!

Caroline IS a bit stiff and cliche for my taste.....it's like she looks down on all things American....

Haha, nothing say Thanksgiving like people arguing  and  having to go from house to house to make family happy.. They already have the arguing

[Frost]

Oh, shut up, Caroline (and go blow up your lips some more).

 

No kidding!  Her lips are at least twice their normal size.  Why do women do that to themselves?

 

I found Juliet kind of a breath of non-stuffy fresh air last year but she was incredibly obnoxious this episode.  Marissa is cooking the food in her kitchen (and other people are baking things and bringing them), she just needs to seat people in the private dining room because her home isn't big enough.  It's not like 'going out' to a restaurant.  I get the whole wanting Thanksgiving.  I went to school  in England and that was a time of year that was difficult because no one around me cared about the fourth Thursday in November.  I had to go to CLASS if you can believe it!!!!  But jeez, you have your husband and children with you Juliet.  You're not all alone!

[HunterHunted]

I figured Noelle was not going to come back this season. I thought they might address her situation, but it's such a sensitive issue that I get why they didn't.

 

I think the Thanksgiving drama is so petty. If someone offers to host a party for you, it is tacky to accept a different offer because it sounds better. I thought Juliet suggesting that Caroline's home is more 'homey' was just weird. I think she should have just talked to Marisa about the situation and maybe offered a few suggestions so she could feel more comfortable. This has shades of the ridiculous drama last season with Capri's baby shower fiasco.

 

Caroline is loaded! I didn't know her e-commerce businesses were so successful.

At the same time, Marissa's offer to host wasn't really gracious. The party was really about what Marissa wanted and not what Juliet wanted. A couple of my friends once took me out for a birthday brunch at a restaurant that I hated and they loved and they knew that. That's not really generous nor should I be particularly thankful. I find Juliet to be really annoying but on this, I completely understand her. Plus it was so obvious that Marissa was not willing to make any accommodations. I think if they weren't filming, Juliet wouldn't have made such a big deal. Some people feel really feel very strongly about Thanksgiving. My father is very much a Thanksgiving at home person. He's only recently forgiven my cousin for getting married on Thanksgiving five years ago.

As always Juliet's wardrobe is so tragic. I cannot for the life of me figure out how she's a stylist.

This is probably the most name droppy of all of the Bravo shows. And Caroline (not CaFle) loves herself some Jonathan Adler and has outsourced her life to a ridiculous degree. I cannot believe she was sending her nanny to her daughter's school assembly.

Hooray! No Caprice or Noelle and very little Annabelle.

[Sun-Bun]

I think the Thanksgiving drama is so petty. If someone offers to host a party for you, it is tacky to accept a different offer because it sounds better. I thought Juliet suggesting that Caroline's home is more 'homey' was just weird. I think she should have just talked to Marisa about the situation and maybe offered a few suggestions so she could feel more comfortable. This has shades of the ridiculous drama last season with Capri's baby shower fiasco.

Caroline is loaded! I didn't know her e-commerce businesses were so successful.

Man, I've missed this show and am soooo glad that the shameless shrews Noelle and Caprice are gone---Julie and the Baroness are such better and more natural additions to this cast!

I see that not much has changed about Juliet since last season beyond her neighborhood---she's still proudly playing up the tacky, annoying American role, complete with desperate social-climbing and begged invites.

And I don't even understand her ongoing insistence on having a Thanksgiving/birthday get-together at someone's house, especially when that someone just had a big cocktail party for everyone at her house the night before...what the fuck is even the point at that point?!

I'm calling producer manipulation on that shit storyline.

AnnaBelle is far less smugly superior than before and didn't even mention MacQueen once, so that was nice to see.

Marissa is still playing up her Marcia Brady-meets-London goody-two-shoes shtick.

Caroline is still the queen bee bitch we all hate to love...I've definitely missed her dryly sarcastic wit the most!

[Thumper]

If Juliet wanted a home Thanksgiving she could have cooked the whole damn thing for her family at her home! How's that for celebrating your birthday??? She exhausted me tonight. So self-centered. Enjoy the fact that you have a meal/ party to go to on your birthday.

Sounds like Marissa has a tradition of hosting Thanksgiving and she already had made plans. She was accommodating Juliet with the cake, etc. Then Juliet had to drag in Caroline and somehow got Caroline to host the dinner???!!! Ack.

So far I like Julie and Marissa the most.

Is there another Caroline joining the show?

[breezy424]

Oh Juliet, get over it.  If you want a homey feel, then stay home and cook.  I'll go anywhere if it means I don't have to cook a Thanksgiving dinner....with a bonus of someone having a birthday cake for me?  I'm in.  So now Thanksgiving is the most important American holiday..last season, wasn't it Fourth of July?  She just grates on me. 

[Maharincess]

I'm so happy that Caprice is gone. I couldn't stand her and her plastic face.

I was watching an episode from last season and she said she "has fame, is good looking and has a hunky husband", which shows what's most important to her.

I love Annabelle.

[lunastartron]

I understood the circumstances to be as such: Marissa invited the cast to holiday festivities - a function that she, Marissa, has hosted annually for some time and, after Juliet threw her fit in Patridge's and whined about the date coinciding with her birthday, graciously ordered a cake to acknowledge the nominal addition importance of the party to her friend. I don't think she was dictating or refusing to make concessions to anyone - she noted that she had already invited 25 or so other guests to the celebration . . . so did Juliet expect her to rescind said invites just so her forty-plus-year-old self could indulge in compulsive need to be the sole center of attention ("why did you have to stick to doing this with all your friends")? . . . Per the extended preview at the top of the episode, I am expecting this to be the season in which Caroline devolves from acidly charming to simply unlikable and Marissa possibly suffers a classic Bravo pile-on. As rudely as Annabelle herself behaved last year, I will always get a kick out of her checking Juliet during the Fourth of July fight. I can't say that I ever really enjoyed Caprice but I did find her watchable and somewhat interesting; I wouldn't have minded some insight into how she's handling motherhood. Likewise, Julie is not especially winning to me on the whole but I find her narrative of upper class poverty and the hereditary albatross of that estate the most engaging.

[ichbin]

This was probably my favorite Bravo show last year so I was glad it was coming back.  There was more emphasis on the location without so much infighting.   Too bad someone decided to make it all about the interpersonal drama right out of the gate this season in the more usual Bravo style. 

This was probably my favorite Bravo show last year so I was glad it was coming back.  There was more emphasis on the location without so much infighting.   Too bad someone decided to make it all about the interpersonal drama right out of the gate this season in the more usual Bravo style. 

[autumnh]

I have to say? I am on Juliet’s side here. I have never lived abroad byt ny dad was born/raised in County Kerry, Ireand…..we spent ONE Thanksgiving there and well, it stunk.

Thanksgiving is about the smells ( I mean really…. who does not all love the  (for the most part) smell the turkey/stuffing in the oven? I think Thanksgiving is that FOOD holiday that is so delicious……

I say quit the fussing…..go have your own Thanksgiving but no one should be forced to participate in anothers holiday dinner….I do think the Thanksgiving dinner drama was producer driven.

Edited September 8, 2015 by autumnh

[Lizzing]

If Thanksgiving is all about cooking to Juliet, why should she give a flying f where it's held, since she admits she can't cook?  No matter where it's held, someone else is going to be doing the cooking, and odds are, back in Chicago she probably talked through all the football games and irritated the ever loving beans out of anyone cooking.  I think she was just pissed that the whole event wasn't going to center around her birthday at Marissa's.  Eh, she just bugs me...she has a perpetual look of "where did that stink come from?" on her face.

[Writing Wrongs]

I might be in the minority, but I love Caroline. I find her pretty self deprecating at times and I love her snark.

 

I really can't stand Marissa.

 

I feel like Juliet is ok one on one, but in group situations she just doesn't know (or pretends not to know) how to act.

 

The Thanksgiving drama was so stupid. I 've never lived abroad, but I don't think not having a traditional Thanksgiving would bother me. Sometimes I'd rather go t a restaurant and not bother with the mess. Now, Christmas would be a different matter.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Writing Wrongs

[trimthatfat]

Maybe it's because I don't celebrate Thanksgiving and haven't in many years for personal reasons, but it's hard for me to understand why Juliet is so emotional. If the day is so special to her, she should just host her own celebration.

 

I might be in the minority, but I love Caroline. I find her pretty self deprecating at times and I love her snark.

I love Caroline, too. I would take her lifestyle in a heartbeat! Well, for a week or so.

[Atticus Finch]

No kidding!  Her lips are at least twice their normal size.  Why do women do that to themselves?

 

I found Juliet kind of a breath of non-stuffy fresh air last year but she was incredibly obnoxious this episode.  Marissa is cooking the food in her kitchen (and other people are baking things and bringing them), she just needs to seat people in the private dining room because her home isn't big enough.  It's not like 'going out' to a restaurant.  I get the whole wanting Thanksgiving.  I went to school  in England and that was a time of year that was difficult because no one around me cared about the fourth Thursday in November.  I had to go to CLASS if you can believe it!!!!  But jeez, you have your husband and children with you Juliet.  You're not all alone!

 

 

 

juliet is being a self centered brat. marissa is cooking, in her home, and they are gathering in a restaurant, yes, one marissa owns. besides, juliet can't even cook!

 

i really don't care about where i have thanksgiving but i do look forward to the menu. i need to have everything my parents and their parents served.

 

 

Edited September 8, 2015 by Atticus Finch

[hoodooznoodooz]

Why does Marissa's face look so odd in her THs? Too much face powder?

And Julie's face in general still frightens me. Hints of the crypt keeper.

"I ordered a turkey birthday cake for you. It's not made out of turkey but..."

[HunterHunted]

I have to say? I am on Juliet’s side here. I have never lived abroad byt ny dad was born/raised in County Kerry, Ireand…..we spent ONE Thanksgiving there and well, it stunk.

Thanksgiving is about the smells ( I mean really…. who does not all love the  (for the most part) smell the turkey/stuffing in the oven? I think Thanksgiving is that FOOD holiday that is so delicious……

I say quit the fussing…..go have your own Thanksgiving but no one should be forced to participate in anothers holiday dinner….I do think the Thanksgiving dinner drama was producer driven.

Both of my parents are naturalized Americans, Thanksgiving is hugely important to them and my siblings. I tend to find that first and second generation Americans believe Thanksgiving is more important than Americans whose families have been in the US longer. I think it's because Thanksgiving feels a lot like an old fashioned traditional ethnic celebration - just food and family. I'd like to believe that Juliet only made a stink Beverly they were filming and that most years she'd just stay home. Juliet's insistance that Caroline have another Thanksgiving at her house is bullshit.

[JAYJAY1979]

Caroline is what bethenny on new York wants to be like but fails...in regards to her snark and sarcastic tendencies. Maybe the British accent tempers the put downs some...perhaps?

I still loved carolines line last season about the American girls wanting her to celebrate 4th of July lol

[Neurochick]

I'm confused.  I thought Marissa was having Thanksgiving in the restaurant; then Juliet said she preferred Thanksgiving at home and that it was also her birthday.  THEN Marissa said, "I'll make you a birthday cake," but she said it in such a nasty way I would have told her to fuck off.  Marissa didn't want to do anything for Juliet, she wanted to have Thanksgiving HER way.  I don't like Marissa for some reason.

[Babyfoot]

I wish they wouldn't Bravoize this show and focus on petty drama and squabbles. I watch this show for the real estate porn. I'm also a sucker for a British accent. Caroline S and Annabelle could read cereal boxes and I would be riveted.

Juliet is dreadful, as is her ridiculous, albeit ridiculously expensive, wardrobe. If England decides to stop being our ally and declares war with the U.S., it will be because we inflicted her upon them. I'm so sorry, UK.

[Juliegirlj]

Ok, so Juliette wil be eating her Birthday/Thanksgiving dinner at Caroline's house, but it will all be from a catering service!! At least Marissa was doing the cooking in her own kitchen! Marissa looks like an alien in her talking heads! Poor Julie!! I just read about how sick her husband has been for many years! He has a chronic debilitating illness, supposedly from long term antidepressant and benzodiazepine use, followed by withdrawing too quickly. He ended up suing one of his doctors.

[Frost]

I just read about how sick her husband has been for many years! He has a chronic debilitating illness, supposedly from long term antidepressant and benzodiazepine use, followed by withdrawing too quickly. He ended up suing one of his doctors.

 

I thought his walk was kind of stilted when Julie and Annabelle went out to Mapperton.  Why do Julie and their four kids live in a small London house instead of Mapperton?  I assume the estate is open for tours and things to make money, but usually that's only part of the house and gardens.  The place looks big enough for them to have their own wing even if his parents still live there.

 

I liked Julie's kids but is the hair color of her twins natural?  If they were older I would have assumed their hair was dyed but they seem young for that.  Something about the blond color looked too yellow.

[Panda Bear]

I liked Julie's kids but is the hair color of her twins natural?  If they were older I would have assumed their hair was dyed but they seem young for that.  Something about the blond color looked too yellow.

 

Almost all of the blonde people on the show last night seemed to have oddly yellow hair to me. Maybe it's something to do with the lighting? 

[Surrealist]

"I don't even know what Thanksgiving is." 

 

Oh, shut up, Caroline (and go blow up your lips some more). I don't believe that a worldly woman like her has no inkling of what a traditional American Thanksgiving is like. Surely she's seen a movie or TV show depicting it. 

 

I continue to hate everyone on this show except for Julie, but I'll keep watching it for the pretty scenery. 

 

Julie grew up not too far from my hometown. I have a soft spot for her. Even though I like Caroline (sometimes), Julie seems like the most down-to-earth and friendly.

 

 

Likewise, Julie is not especially winning to me on the whole but I find her narrative of upper class poverty and the hereditary albatross of that estate the most engaging.

 

Thank you for mentioning this lunastartron because her segments grabbed my attention for these reasons.

 

I'm glad that Caprice and Noelle are gone.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Surrealist

[Panda Bear]

I don't hate Caroline, but I would like her so much more if she would drop some of her pretensions. It's like, you're on a reality TV show, lady. You spent a lot of time last season palling around with a D-list underwear model. You can drop the holier-than-thou, "British society is so closed off" act. I don't think Queen Elizabeth is coming round to yours for tea. 

Edited September 8, 2015 by Panda Bear

[Frost]

I would have more respect for Caroline if her 'work is in my blood' statement was backed up by getting off her arse and heading out to the warehouse or stock room when she found out all her employees were "missing" because her company had gotten slammed with orders they were trying to fulfill and ship out to customers.  Honestly, if the previews are accurate and her business is in trouble, it will be no shock to me. 

 

And did I hear correctly?  I thought one of the ladies at her cocktail party said "I didn't realize Caroline was so hands on with her children."  because they never left her side at the party?  One, why were her kids at the cocktail party?  Two, if they were clingy it's because they never see her as it's the nanny or assistant who actually participate in their lives. 

[Luciano]

I thought his walk was kind of stilted when Julie and Annabelle went out to Mapperton. Why do Julie and their four kids live in a small London house instead of Mapperton? I assume the estate is open for tours and things to make money, but usually that's only part of the house and gardens. The place looks big enough for them to have their own wing even if his parents still live there.

I assumed it's because their lives (the kids's schooling and their general social life) are in London and it's too far to make that trip on a regular basis.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Luciano

[cyberfruit]

I have to admit that I completely zoned out during the Marissa/Juliet Thanksgiving spat. I'm a second gen American who did grow up with Thanksgiving being important and all that, but honestly, in my family it's still all about Christmas. I haven't visited home for Thanksgiving in years, however I always come around in late December. Also, this thing about it also being Juliet's birthday is irrelevant. Should your friends be interested in your birthday? Sure. Should your birthday be a bigger to-do than what was once a national holiday? I don't think so. I think that Juliet could have maybe done something small with her family and then went house hopping. Maybe a bigger dinner/drinks thing with the ladies that weekend. Then again, I'm flexible and don't put too much stock in my birthday. 

 

Julie's interesting to me (even though her eyes scare me) because she's still that Midwestern girl she always was, and I appreciate that. I can imagine that the upkeep for Mapperton is more than a pretty penny, hence the reason she lives in a small house in London. 

[izabella]

Juliet, if you want a homey Thanksgiving, make it yourself in your home.  There is nothing easier than sticking a turkey in the oven and basting every so often.

 

Or, they have these things called airplanes.  Buy some tickets and go home for Thanksgiving since, as you made sure to assure us, your husband makes a good living.

 

I hated that they started off with ceaseless bickering about stupid shit.  They've already ruined the season for me. 

[trimthatfat]

Julie's interesting to me (even though her eyes scare me) because she's still that Midwestern girl she always was, and I appreciate that. I can imagine that the upkeep for Mapperton is more than a pretty penny, hence the reason she lives in a small house in London. 

I really like Julie! Her family's estate is gorgeous and I would love to live there, but I totally get why she would prefer their other home. I imagine it makes it easier to bring the kids to and from school and Julie can easily travel to work. I got the impression that the estate is pretty far out.

[Writing Wrongs]

If Marissa's thing is annual, does this shit storm happen annually too? Why was this year such a big deal for Juliet?

[Surrealist]

Julie's interesting to me (even though her eyes scare me) because she's still that Midwestern girl she always was, and I appreciate that. I can imagine that the upkeep for Mapperton is more than a pretty penny, hence the reason she lives in a small house in London. 

 

I appreciate it too. All the ladies seem to like and respect her. Which doesn't seem to be the case when they talk about one another.  Lol.

 

Like you, I don't see my birthday as a huge deal. Then again, I don't see Thanksgiving and Christmas as big deals either. I'm weird like that, but the whole Marissa/Juliet spat was nothing but eyeroll inducing.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Surrealist

[izabella]

I appreciate it too. All the ladies seem to like and respect her. Which doesn't seem to be the case when they talk about one another.  Lol.

 

Julie has a title.  Her H is a Viscount, making her a Viscountess, and the future Countess of Sandwich once her hubby becomes Earl.  I don't think any of the others have titles, so Julie has one up on them as truly being part of that "English titled society."   Julie is also pretty likeable, tries to make hot chocolate for her kids, is not snobby, and doesn't treat the other women as pets nor does she look down on them for being social climbers.  The #1 reason for others to like her:  she doesn't make a federal case out of a turkey dinner.

 

I guess the new Caroline is a Danish Baroness, so that actually puts her ahead of the others in the society pecking order, too.

Edited September 8, 2015 by izabella

[Neurochick]

What happened to the woman from last season whose boyfriend was involved in some sort of scandal?

 

I can't tell the difference between Julie and Marissa.  

[Luciano]

What happened to the woman from last season whose boyfriend was involved in some sort of scandal?

I can't tell the difference between Julie and Marissa.

Noelle. Her fiance died after falling (jumping?) out of the fourth floor window of their penthouse. Edited September 8, 2015 by Luciano

[larapu2000]

Danish Caroline is STUNNINGLY beautiful.  

 

I don't understand why Marissa has to have Juliet invited.  As soon as Juliet started bristling at being at a restaurant, just tell her she's welcome to come, but you understand if she'd rather be at home.  Juliet is a pain in the ass, but Marissa has martyr complex that is even more annoying to me.

[izabella]

I can't tell the difference between Julie and Marissa.  

 

Julie has the short blonde hair that usually looks like a mess.  Marissa has longer blonde hair and would never be caught dead looking like a mess, or even casual in any way.

[Neurochick]

Noelle. Her fiance died after falling (jumping?) out of the fourth floor window of their penthouse.

 

Oh, that's awful.  Maybe that's why it took so long for this show to come back?  I remember last year it was on earlier than September.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Neurochick

[sheetmoss]

I might be in the minority, but I love Caroline. I find her pretty self deprecating at times and I love her snark.

 

I do too, I like how she allows Juliet to give/call her out on her shit

[larapu2000]

Noelle. Her fiance died after falling (jumping?) out of the fourth floor window of their penthouse.

 

Or pushed.  Wasn't the word on the street that he was in bed with some shady characters?