This was a super-sized episode of RHOBH, and this is definitely a super-sized blog to recap it all!
Brandi is the first of the ladies to arrive with a few of her girlfriends and they all look stunning! OMG Brandi is so TALL!!! I really enjoy the teasing relationship between Brandi, Lisa and Ken – it’s clearly all good-natured and very flirtatious (Ken talking about Brandi, “ I’m to short for her.” Lisa – “You’re too married for her!”). Next to arrive is Adrienne and Paul. No one can rock a gold lame dress like Adrienne! The funniest part of the evening was Bernie (Adrienne’s chef) arriving and Lisa having no clue who he was!! There were several very awkward moments in this episode. First up – Brandi announces to her girlfriends that one of waitresses at SUR had an affair with her husband while she was pregnant. YIKES! Brandi had never seen her in person before, only on a TV show where she was upset over loosing her boyfriend (Brandi’s then husband) to his now wife. As she walked past with a tray of food, Brandi said “Oh, you’re the girl that had sex with my husband!” I don’t know anything about the situation, but I gave this girl a lot of credit. She immediately went to Lisa, told her that she had a personal situation with Brandi, and asked if she should go. Despite being an employee for two years, Lisa wasted no time in sending the girl home for the night because Brandi was a guest and it was more important that she was comfortable. Major kudos out to everyone on handling a rough situation like ladies!
Taylor was welcomed with open arms. Lisa sees bruising under her eye, covered with makeup, and asked her about it. Its then that we see that Dr. Sophy’s role is to facilitate a conversation between Taylor and the rest of the ladies. Almost like a mediator. Taylor, Lisa, Kyle, Adrienne and Camille sit down at a table with Dr. Sophy and Taylor begins to speak. She says over the last 6 months, she’s been acting like a crazy person. Her life has been out of control and she has been trying to make it better by herself, she couldn’t do it so she started to act out all over the place and she’s sorry. She wanted to come to the party because they have done so much for her and she loves them very much. Lisa said that she didn’t need to apologize. Adrienne spoke up and wanted to be honest – it’s been difficult for her to want to support Taylor only to be confused again when she returns to the situation she is complaining about over and over again. Kyle said Taylor didn’t fit the “profile” of someone that would be going through this, which I found very interesting. Taylor then explains that a few weeks ago, she and Russell had a big fight, things got physical and she got hurt (hence the residual bruising on her face). She’s been dealing with healing from that for the past few weeks. It wasn’t easy and it’s not something she wants to live again. She understands that she pulled her friends through the ringer, and she owns her actions and apologizes profusely for them. Including specifically apologizing to Camille for saying that she put her family in harms way. There was no shrinking away from her actions or words, and she owned everything that happened this season thus far. The most powerful thing Taylor said that night was that she wasn’t in a place to believe that she was valuable enough to have anything different. But she is now, so she is going through a divorce and trying to start her life over. They all agree that they just needed to come together for her and Kennedy. Taylor owns it all, and found the strength to move forward but wants to know that they will all be there for her. Lisa puts all of their hands on the table together, one on top of another, and they just sat looking at each other and their hands intertwined. It was one of the most real and powerful moments I’ve seen on any “reality” show, and it brought tears to my eyes. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. Taylor, Lisa, Kyle, Adrienne and Camille. The REAL Housewives of Beverly Hills. “Go Team” is right!
The second to the last episode of the season finds us at the opening of the fabulous SUR (Sexy Unique Restaurant), the newest project from Lisa and Ken. Wow, does it look fantastic! You can really see why they have been so successful in the before and after shots. The color palette is very relaxing and glamorous, the furnishings are comfortable with a hint of exotic and the flowers everywhere are breathtaking. Looking at this place makes me want to call my travel agent and book a trip to Beverly Hills – STAT! Speaking of glamour – Ms. VanderPump didn’t fail to deliver in this episode. Who wears leopard heels with jeans in a construction zone? Where can I get a style/body/booty like that? And she is SO British – “oh for God’s sake get off . . . not in front of everybody!” she tells Ken when he tries to kiss/hug her and tell her what a wonderful job she did on SUR. LOL
Brandi is the first of the ladies to arrive with a few of her girlfriends and they all look stunning! OMG Brandi is so TALL!!! I really enjoy the teasing relationship between Brandi, Lisa and Ken – it’s clearly all good-natured and very flirtatious (Ken talking about Brandi, “ I’m to short for her.” Lisa – “You’re too married for her!”). Next to arrive is Adrienne and Paul. No one can rock a gold lame dress like Adrienne! The funniest part of the evening was Bernie (Adrienne’s chef) arriving and Lisa having no clue who he was!! There were several very awkward moments in this episode. First up – Brandi announces to her girlfriends that one of waitresses at SUR had an affair with her husband while she was pregnant. YIKES! Brandi had never seen her in person before, only on a TV show where she was upset over loosing her boyfriend (Brandi’s then husband) to his now wife. As she walked past with a tray of food, Brandi said “Oh, you’re the girl that had sex with my husband!” I don’t know anything about the situation, but I gave this girl a lot of credit. She immediately went to Lisa, told her that she had a personal situation with Brandi, and asked if she should go. Despite being an employee for two years, Lisa wasted no time in sending the girl home for the night because Brandi was a guest and it was more important that she was comfortable. Major kudos out to everyone on handling a rough situation like ladies!
Next to arrive was Camille in a red-hot, one-shouldered number that was ah-mazing! Lisa better watch out because I think Camille is giving her a run for her money in the glamorous department! Kyle, Mauricio, Farrah and Faye arrived next. Does Kyle Richards ever look bad? I don’t think it’s possible! I love how “real” she is! Kyle was definitely on edge because she was anticipating an encounter with Kim would be the most stressful part of her evening. Little did she know!
In walks awkward moment number two – Cedric! Kyle looked like she’d seen a ghost! Lisa sees him and responds with “are you kidding me?” That woman is classy down to the bottoms of her shoes - she has ZERO interest in having a conversation with him and asks him to leave right off the bat. Her British manners take over and whereas someone else may have turned it in to a screaming match, Lisa (and then Ken) simply continued to tell Cedric that they have nothing to say to him and would like him to leave. When he was asked who invited him, his response of “It doesn’t matter who invited me” indicates to me that possibly the producers or someone at Bravo may have had a hand in it. Brandi was very quick to speak up that it was not she, despite it being well known that she and Cedric are friends. He has a microphone on, so clearly SOMEONE knew he was coming enough in advance to have him sign a tape release and mic him before he went in. (Kind of makes you wonder???) Brandi was clearly upset and worried that she was going to get blamed for Cedric being there, and it appears that neither Ken nor Lisa held her responsible for him showing up. Cedric and his guest did eventually leave without bloodshed or riot, and the party resumed.
Despite staying in a hotel closer to town, Kim and Ken were late to the party (shocker!). Earlier in the day, we watched the friction between the two of them as Kim was getting her make-up done and talking with Thierry (the make-up artist) about her argument with Kyle in Hawaii. You can clearly see that Kim was stressed about seeing Kyle at the party, and annoyed with Ken for not being more helpful. The room is a disaster, and Kim was frazzled and constantly searched for things – in her purse, shopping bags, suitcases, and drawers. (The funniest thing she pulled out of her purse was the “lipstick” vibrator – and she said she didn’t know what it was! Hilarious!). This gets worse as the day goes on. Watching Kim and Ken relate to each other now, it seems very parent/child as opposed to the lovey-dovey relationship that we have seen previously. Ken is being ultra possessive – telling her what to wear, why he packed what he did for her, etc. Clearly, it’s suffocating her and she’s trying to break free. Once at the party, everyone seems surprised to see Kim – she and Kyle have an awkward greeting and then break apart. Poor Kyle, she is just not dealing well watching her sister implode and feeling helpless. Kim wants to socialize with her friends, and Ken wants to put the handcuffs on her. You can tell that it’s not going in a good direction. Kim pulls Adrienne aside and tells her that she is moving out. The two of them go in to the bathroom where Kim tells her that Ken has a mean streak, is very possessive and she’s not dealing with it well. Adrienne feels stuck in the middle between Kyle and Kim, so she went to Kyle and told her that she needed to go talk to Kim. I love Adrienne! She is such a good friend, a good person, and really cares about the relationship between the two sisters.
At Adrienne’s prompting, Kyle approaches Kim to talk to her and they go outside to chat. Kim confesses to her that it’s not working with Ken. She tells Kyle that she spends her days crying hysterically and he puts her down all the time. From her description, it seems like a verbally abuse relationship. Kim says she is packed and ready to move out. Kyle is confused because she feels that Kim has been depressed lately, despite pretending that she is happy. Kim agreed that she has been pretending – but she wanted so badly not to be alone and to have someone take care of her. They agree that the things they have argued about are stupid and irrelevant. Kyle feels like she is the one who always apologizes and Kim never apologizes to her. Kyle really needs to hear her say that. Kim feels like Kyle wants her to be just like her. Kyle doesn’t – she just wants her to be responsible and okay and happy. It was a very powerful scene between two sisters who love each other very much and really are two worlds apart in their perceptions of each other. The both seem to have preconceived notions and expectations for the other one. Maybe they just need to stand back, look at the situation with a different perspective, start from a place of love, and restructure the expectations. Kim telling Kyle she is 3 months late with her period thinks she is pregnant is craziness! Kyle’s comment about it being menopause is a more likely story. Their heartfelt conversation comes to an end when Ken walks up and sits down. Later that night, we see Kim apparently barricaded in the bathroom and Ken trying to get her out. She keeps telling him to go away, leave her alone, and that she is fine. Later, we see her coming out of the bathroom with Estella (Kyle’s mother-in-law), looking for Ken. To be continued . . .
Taylor arrives at the party last, bringing Dr. Sophy (her therapist / adult and family psychiatrist) with her. Admittedly, it was a bit odd but clearly she needed emotional support that evening and wasn’t sure that she would be receiving it from the ladies. You can tell that the women mean a lot to her, and she was fearful of being rejected by them for what she has put them through. It’s clean up time for her, and I’m really proud to see that she pulled up her big-girl panties and went for it, not knowing what the outcome would be.
Taylor was welcomed with open arms. Lisa sees bruising under her eye, covered with makeup, and asked her about it. Its then that we see that Dr. Sophy’s role is to facilitate a conversation between Taylor and the rest of the ladies. Almost like a mediator. Taylor, Lisa, Kyle, Adrienne and Camille sit down at a table with Dr. Sophy and Taylor begins to speak. She says over the last 6 months, she’s been acting like a crazy person. Her life has been out of control and she has been trying to make it better by herself, she couldn’t do it so she started to act out all over the place and she’s sorry. She wanted to come to the party because they have done so much for her and she loves them very much. Lisa said that she didn’t need to apologize. Adrienne spoke up and wanted to be honest – it’s been difficult for her to want to support Taylor only to be confused again when she returns to the situation she is complaining about over and over again. Kyle said Taylor didn’t fit the “profile” of someone that would be going through this, which I found very interesting. Taylor then explains that a few weeks ago, she and Russell had a big fight, things got physical and she got hurt (hence the residual bruising on her face). She’s been dealing with healing from that for the past few weeks. It wasn’t easy and it’s not something she wants to live again. She understands that she pulled her friends through the ringer, and she owns her actions and apologizes profusely for them. Including specifically apologizing to Camille for saying that she put her family in harms way. There was no shrinking away from her actions or words, and she owned everything that happened this season thus far. The most powerful thing Taylor said that night was that she wasn’t in a place to believe that she was valuable enough to have anything different. But she is now, so she is going through a divorce and trying to start her life over. They all agree that they just needed to come together for her and Kennedy. Taylor owns it all, and found the strength to move forward but wants to know that they will all be there for her. Lisa puts all of their hands on the table together, one on top of another, and they just sat looking at each other and their hands intertwined. It was one of the most real and powerful moments I’ve seen on any “reality” show, and it brought tears to my eyes. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. Taylor, Lisa, Kyle, Adrienne and Camille. The REAL Housewives of Beverly Hills. “Go Team” is right!
NEXT WEEK ON THE SEASON FINALE OF RHOBH: Pandora’s wedding and the death of Russell Armstrong.
If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org or 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Photo Credit: Bravo
Thanks for telling me what SUR means!
ReplyDeleteNo problem :-)
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