This Real Housewives of Beverly Hills episode manages to mend some friendships — some out of necessity (hello, Crystal and Annemarie) and others out of choice (a sweet moment was shared between Sutton and Kyle). Dorit still misses the point that Garcelle is trying to make about triggering words, and Erika indulges a little *too* much in alcoholic beverages, causing her behavior to raise some eyebrows at Sutton’s paella-making dinner.
Crystal is experiencing a medical emergency in Barcelona, and her only choice is to rely on Annemarie, the nurse anesthetist. Despite Crystal making a mockery of Annemarie’s profession (according to Annemarie), she looks to her until the ambulance arrives on the scene, and Crystal fears she is experiencing “stroke symptoms.”
The irony of this situation is not lost on me — one minute Annemarie and Crystal are at each other’s throats, and now Crystal is leaning on her. It turns out that Crystal’s blood pressure is super high, so she gets whisked away in the ambulance, leaving the ladies (since none of them went with her to the hospital) at the chapel.
Erika has already been inside the chapel (which proves she was not outside assisting Crystal during her episode), and she poo-poos the chapel, citing how she used to have one in her old house. Yes, used to, Erika. The rest of the group heads in to light a candle for Crystal, but Dorit refrains, as Jewish people don’t pray in churches. They then set intentions. Erika’s intentions are to pick up, rebuild, and be prosperous (note they are allll about her), and she is still bent out of shape because no one apologized to her after the earring news.
While the ladies file out, Sutton and Kyle hang back and open up about suicide. Sutton talks about her father; Kyle talks about her friend, Lorene. At that moment, Sutton tells Kyle, “I’m sorry I haven’t been a better friend,” and to have this moment with Kyle is a turning point. They are rebuilding, and the apology is accepted to make their friendship stronger.
Crystal FaceTimes from the hospital to let the group know she is on anti-nausea medication, and she will catch up with them back at the house. The ladies go exploring with the help of a tour guide, and although they didn’t find the Hermes, they sit down for some lunch. It is there that Annemarie talks out of both sides of her mouth again, claiming she wants Crystal to be okay, but also making it clear that Crystal used to make fun of her profession. Around and around and around we go.
Garcelle takes the mic next to address Taco Tuesday. She explains that she felt as though she “left her body” during the conversation with Dorit over the word “attack.” Dorit reminds Garcelle that she called her a Karen, but Garcelle points out that although she doesn’t believe anyone is racist (you could almost hear the entire group let out a relief sigh), Dorit has lived a very sheltered life.
Dorit takes this as an opportunity to talk about her upbringing with Garcelle. She lived a life where people would say antisemitic things toward her family, and she talks about the adversities she has faced because she is Jewish. At the end of her tale, Dorit promises to never try and trigger Garcelle again… completely missing the point of what Garcelle was trying to say.
In the end, it is refreshing to hear real conversations between the women because it lends itself to deeper connections within the group… something they all need. At the conclusion of the meal, Sutton reminds the ladies that her friend Trevor, plus some of his friends, will be joining them all for dinner. Trevor was also part of the Merce Cunningham dance company, and considering Sutton has known him for an incredibly long time, she is looking forward to the women seeing another side of her.
Before heading back home, Dorit and Kyle go on a timed shopping spree, courtesy of Sutton. Dorit manages to purchase seven, yes seven, antique-painted fans, and Kyle buys five rings, one of which does not even fit her, all in three minutes.
The ladies return to the house and find a weakened Crystal, who explains that high blood pressure caused the episode. She leans on Annemarie’s shoulder as she becomes emotional thinking about what could have happened to her. Crystal says out loud that she appreciates Annemarie being there for her and states that she will join Kyle on the sober train this evening since her body is still reeling from the medical emergency.
It turns out Erika has been marinating in booze all day long, and so now, as the dinner approaches, she is cooked. She lets her glam team know that Sutton has invited erudite friends to dinner (shout out to Bravo for providing that definition!), but she claims she knows how to handle that sort of crowd.
The women meet and greet Sutton’s guests and Erika overly compliments, a sure sign that she is highly intoxicated. Sutton is stoked to see her friend, Trevor, and she explains that she used to get into trouble with him. Dorit gets Trevor to open up about Sutton over dinner, and he lets the group know that Sutton was mean to him at first and that she always acted like she was in charge… so not much has changed. When Trevor shares that Sutton lived in Brooklyn, drunk Erika yells out, “What a dump.” And Dorit smugly pronounces in her confessional that Sutton, “Was not always very wealthy, she just likes to pretend that she was.” Um, you too, Dorit.
As Sutton and Trevor reminisce about Merce, Erika jumps in and says a very insensitive thing about this topic. She states that Merce was in a Ziploc bag, causing major awkwardness at the table. The ladies weigh in on Merce being in a Ziploc, commenting on ashes, a topic that many of them don’t even know anything about.
Besides the outbursts about, “Merce is in the purse,” Erika is in her element at this dinner party. She talks about how she is used to dining with erudite folk and she could essentially write a handbook on how to survive these types of dinner parties. She is putting on the performance of a lifetime as she spews out information that only a person preparing for Jeopardy could actually know. When Dorit refers to Erika as “drunk Rain Man,” I can’t help but LOL.
Sutton points out that Merce has been with her for over 10 years, and so she feels as though it is time to spread his ashes in the beautiful sea here in Barcelona. After dinner, Trevor lets Sutton know that she has grown into her own and is now more comfortable in her skin, and Sutton couldn’t agree more.
The next morning, Sutton delivers the flowers of Spain for the release of Merce’s ashes. She wants the other women to think about something they’ve internalized that they want to release themselves.
While getting ready, Sutton gets incredibly emotional about the thought of opening Merce’s ashes, and she feels like there is a lot of her father wrapped up in all of this. Kyle finds her friend teary and lets Sutton share her emotions with her. Sutton says that these ashes symbolize so much of her life, in many different eras. It symbolizes Merce, and her marriage, her growth, and the death of her father.
It is a huge deal for Sutton to let these ashes go, but she feels like by doing this, she is ready to really grieve the loss of three important men in her life: her father, Merce, and her ex. She feels very alone, and this scares her, but now it’s time for Sutton to channel that 24-year-old girl in Brooklyn. It is time to be brave.