The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Season 11 Episode 8 – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Leather Pants

We are finally at the episode for the ugly leather pants and if I’m being completely honest it delivered. Just like last week, the episode was produced well and the cast in general provided entertainment and drama. Typically, I would just go straight into blasting the cast, because let’s keep it 100, that’s basically what I’ve been doing since the start of the season. However, let me change my approach just a little.

Glimpses Of The Past

I can’t believe I’m about to say this but Lisa Rinna actually was enjoyable to watch this episode. We got a glimpse of the Rinna that we were introduced to in season five. You know, the Lisa Rinna that was fun, easy-going and just light. Well, barring the stuff with Kim Richards. I wonder why that is? Did the pandemic and the months of quarantine with Harry actually make Lisa Rinna realize she doesn’t need to be so forced? Or am I being taken for a ride and this is all an act? Lisa Rinna and Harry go shopping for ingredients because they will be hosting a dinner at their home and it’ll double as a party for Garcelle. I always enjoy watching the housewives shop – at the supermarket. Something about the women doing regular activities definitely resonates with the audience.

On a similar note, Erika Jayne was [please don’t hate me for this] likable. When I say she was likable, do you remember how she first appeared in season six? Mind you I was never a fan of hers, however, I definitely recall her having a much more likable demeanor – at least before the women went to The Hamptons. Of course that changed for Erika, however, we got a glimpse of the old. She joins Crystal for tennis lessons at Kathy’s home. She had no clue what she was doing. Crystal on the other hand, let us in on the fact that she is highly competitive. She showed off her skills and I must say she seemed like she knew what she was doing. Shortly after that they joined Kathy in her home for breakfast at 10:50AM. Kathy was still in her pajamas. To be rich with nothing to do in the world. LOL.

What used to be Erika telling wonderful stories about Tom whenever she was with the ladies, has now become sessions of badmouthing him to the whoever keeps her audience. She talks about only doing things that Tom wanted her to do because he had everything set up and she simply inserted herself in his life. I knew this was going to be the next play because she mentioned that she was the third wife Tom had in the Pasadena house. She continues “just because you have a lot of money, doesn’t mean that you have a lot of independence” and I call bullsh*t. As I mentioned in my last recap, I’d have found her more believable had she not spent her entire time talking about how amazing Tom has been. The man she is describing now, would never be in favour of his wife doing the music she’s done, with the type of imagery she’s shown. It doesn’t add up.

Sutton and Rinna visit Erika at her house. Rinna can’t seem to keep her excitement level down with her added multitude of compliments. Rinna does this whenever she’s lying or being extra fake. I mean she called Erika’s new place “charming”. While it’s a very lovely home, for these women, it’s a serious downgrade. Erika thanks them for being supportive of her because she felt like she was being pushed out and unheard by Tom. She adds that she was going to see a psychiatrist because she was feeling depressed but Tom didn’t seem to care, for what would she have to be depressed about. It’s quite interesting how she’s getting all this support over a “divorce” yet in season 9, she was part of a coordinated gang up on Lisa Vanderpump who was going to therapy for depression after her brother committed suicide.

*Dorit films a scene that will become a flashback.*

Family time

Kyle is at home with her family, doing their annual holiday shoot. I look forward to seeing this every year from Kyle. As I’ve said, I like Kyle when she’s with her kids and husband. Kathy drops by for no other reason than to fulfill her contract for filming and rub it in Kyle’s face that she spoke to Kim. Kyle says she hasn’t been speaking to Kim but she’s tried to message her, to no avail. Well, Kim changed her number and only Kathy had it and I don’t really blame her. Kyle has a tendency, whether she does it intentionally or not, to point out all the things she has that Kim doesn’t. What was the point of saying she has a husband, her kids and her dogs and Kim has no one? Last I checked, Kim has her kids and they’re always around her. It just seemed unnecessary.

Garcelle is at home with her kids. We get a glimpse of her daily life with them being homeschooled due to the pandemic. Jax is studying his Japanese and Garcelle can’t keep quiet for nothing. LOL. Jaid joins them downstairs but he’s a bit moody and amps up the noise. Jax seems to be a jokester because he keeps poking fun at Jaid. I love Garcelle at home with the kids. The show was missing the family time for quite a number of years because the women were more focused on contrived stories. It was lovely to see.

Gaslighting Sutton

It’s the day of Garcelle’s birthday event at Rinna’s. The episode actually started off with the shouting and I wasn’t disappointed, objectively speaking. The women slowly start to trickle in. In this moment we get that flashback of Dorit’s storyline for the season. I guess she isn’t bringing anything interesting to the table because she’s getting the edit that Teddi received last season. Kyle quizzes Harry on his feelings about Amelia dating Scott and he basically repeats what Rinna had said in a previous episode. He mentions that when he was 29 years old he dated a 44 year old Ursula, so he had to come to terms with the age gap. Excuse me. Am I living in the upside down? How are the two situations remotely similar Amelia is a 19 year old college drop out turned model, she can’t drink or rent a car and she has an eating disorder. Scott is a 37 year old addict and father of three. How can Harry or anyone think Amelia being with Scott makes sense? It can be assumed that both he and Rinna failed that kid.

Sutton arrives with her usual gift for the hosts of the dinner and a soon as she sits down, Kathy calls her Thomasina (a Peeping Tom). Kathy has been flying under the radar since episode 1 with her little comments because she’s seen as fun and clueless. If you read my other blogs, you’ll recall me questioning if this is her true self or an act. Calling Sutton, Thomasina, knowing how she felt about it at Kyle’s event (Kathy instigated that fight with Crystal and Sutton) really set the tone for the evening. Sutton was now visibly uncomfortable and on guard. The women start pulling out gifts to give to Garcelle and Sutton is upset by this. She was the only person present that didn’t bring a gift which I found to be quite unusual. Production plays a flashback of Rinna saying the ladies could bring gifts if they wanted to. This makes it seem like Sutton has no right to be mad because the choice was given. It doesn’t make sense that Sutton brings a gift everywhere she goes, even at this event with the gift for Harry and Rinna, but somehow she didn’t bring a gift for Garcelle, her real friend? What is production hiding? It doesn’t add up. To add insult to injury, Kyle, Kathy and Crystal pitched in to buy a gift.

Kyle looks over at Sutton as Garcelle is opening the gift she got with Crystal and Kathy, and sees that she is upset. Kyle pulls her to the side to speak to her. Kyle loves doing this to appear concerned after she has screwed someone over. Why didn’t she invite Sutton to pitch in on the gift when she and Sutton had spent more time together than she and Crystal? Sutton tells her that she can’t sit across from Crystal with unresolved issues about Crystal’s use of the word “violated”. The others hear the commotion and join them. Garcelle also wants some resolution as is telling Sutton to say what it is that’s she need from Crystal to move forward. Sutton is asking Crystal to apologise for what she said. Crystal refuses and is standing firm in her position. She looks at Sutton with a smugness, as if she knows she’s able to wind Sutton up any time she wants to. It’s quite mean and off-putting. Why is she having a go at Sutton like this? Why can’t she admit that she may have, unintentionally sent the wrong message when she relayed what happened to the group?

When Crystal retold the story of what happened in Lake Tahoe, she did this in many different ways to the women, each time being more inflammatory. It’s as if she realised that the women weren’t going to back her with what she was intimating about Sutton, so she’s choosing to be technical. She keeps saying that the word “violated” doesn’t mean anything sexual and she’s right, it doesn’t. As I’ve said numerous time, Crystal is entitled to her feelings but what she has no right to do, is lie about what happened in Lake Tahoe to paint an awful picture of Sutton. If Crystal wasn’t fully over what happened, she shouldn’t have accepted Sutton’s apology in Lake Tahoe. Sutton is obviously upset but Crystal couldn’t care less. It’s a level of meanness I haven’t seen since a certain brunette left the OC. What if Sutton had decided to say Crystal assaulted her when she was kicked in the bus? Crystal would be the first person to call her out just like she’s been labelling Sutton all types of crazy. Now, she’s accusing Sutton of being jealous and Sutton storms off, not before insulting Crystal’s pants.

To be continued next week.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8pm on Bravo.

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