This episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County has it all: a live show with Vicki and Shannon, the GLAAD Awards, a budding friendship between daughters, and a poolside party. It also has Emily spiraling, and it all stems from a pair of jeans. Emily’s insecurities are on full display as she lashes out at Heather, but it seems like Alexis is getting the brunt of Emily’s anger when she inserts herself right smack into the argument. Note: There is no talking to Emily when she is seeing red… is it really about the jeans, though??
After showing some homes, Gina pays a visit to Shannon’s house, but not before stealing two lemons from a neighbor’s tree and then gifting them to Shannon. #Classy. Shannon shares that she is flying to St. Louis tomorrow to do a show with Vicki. Who needs the Tres Amigas when you’ve got the Dynamic Duo? I made that up. There is no cutesy name linked to Shannon and Vicki, but they need SOMETHING to bring the pep back into their show, and tap dancing sure ain’t gonna be it…
Gina does a good job of filling Shannon in on what she missed after leaving Sonoma. The whole Katie telling Heather that Gina is only friends with Heather for her real estate connections story gets shared. Gina swears that Heather has brought her nothing in the way of real estate and that she worked her butt off to get where she is. Despite all the drama, Gina is ready to rebuild with Katie, carefully.
Shannon has yet to respond to Jenn’s text about her poolside party, and maybe that’s because she has bigger fish to fry… like, say, her tour AND the Johnny J. lawsuit. The newest is that her attorney knows these videos are being used to blackmail Shannon and that John is using them for that exact reason. And I quote, “John needs some sort of insurance policy in case Shannon goes off the rails.” Extortion is a criminal offense, and we don’t need Emily with her law degree to tell us that.
Emily and Katie get a laugh out of Jenn paying for their breakfast when Jenn is the one struggling financially. They sure do a great job of making Jenn feel less self-conscious about her recent financial situation — not. Emily talks about giving her daughter everything she wants as a way to overcompensate for her home life as a child. However, Emily is paying the price now with her daughter’s ‘tude. Jenn understands where Emily is coming from since her son Dawson has been pushing the limits lately based on Jenn’s lack of control. Jenn plans to have a conversation addressing this with him, and she is excited to lay down the hammer.
Emily then takes the chance to talk about Heather’s fashion show and shares she was the only one who was asked to bring their own jeans to wear. She talks about the mini breakdown she had after the show because of this. Emily feels like Heather is just unaware of how much time and effort she put into getting herself where she is today body-wise. Emily admits that she just got a testosterone pellet in her butt, and so her emotions have been up and down lately, which isn’t great if she plans on talking to Heather about this…. It is interesting, however, that Emily is the first to point out Jenn’s financial woes all the time, but when she feels like she is getting called out, she cries.
Heather is busy getting ready for the GLAAD Awards, where she will be presenting an award with Meredith Marks. “As a mother of three queer kids,” Heather is set on making sure her children grow up in a place that makes them feel comfortable being themselves. Alexis is there to support the cause, and she states she wants to help create a world that is loving, caring, and kind to her children (just not for Shannon).
Katie and her daughter, Kaili, meet up with Tamra and her daughter, Sophia. This is a new friendship between the daughters, and it turns out they are very similar. The group makes some candles, and we learn more about Katie’s 14-year-old son who still lives in Georgia. Tamra and Katie talk marriage and children, and Sophia makes it clear that she doesn’t want to have children. She mentions the residual energy from her parents’ divorce, and she seems resentful while Tamra is clueless and sits blaming Simon for all the messiness that ensued.
The Dynamic Duo is off on their tour. They are “selling out shows like they are Adele” and going on the road is fun. The highlight of the show is slingshotting T-shirts out into the audience, so you can say it is definitely a work in progress.
Jenn sits down with her son, Dawson, to discuss his behavior. Dawson disregards his curfew, and he shares that sometimes he sits in his car because he doesn’t really want to be in Ryan’s home. Dawson states he doesn’t really have personal, respected space. Dawson lets Jenn know he wants to go with his father since he is closer to him. His dad has a one-bedroom apartment, so perhaps he can get that space he wants there — wait, what?! Jenn is simply trying to instill some hustle behind Dawson, and she doesn’t want him to feel like the failure she does now. She apologizes to Dawson for being annoying, but she promises she will always be his mom, no matter where he lives.
While the O.C. ladies get ready for Jenn’s poolside party, Shannon and Vicki head onto the stage. Jenn (and her 17 dogs) greet the ladies, and she lets them know about the conversation she had with Dawson. She breaks the news that Dawson would rather live with his dad, and they bond over kids breaking curfews. Staying out late brings nothing good, and Tamra notes, “Who’s out at 3 a.m.? Drunks.” The shaaaaade of the producers cutting back to Vicki and Shannon’s show at that exact moment is next level.
Alexis rolls up to the party, and she praises Heather for all the work she has done at the GLAAD Awards. Heather wonders why she didn’t bring John, and the ladies realize that Alexis’ energy is off. Alexis can barely get the words out, and she lets the ladies know that this legal battle is draining her. The baggage that is coming with Johnny’s ex-relationship is too hard to take on, but Gina promises to help her rally for some fun.
After the tears, a game of truth or dare Jenga begins just as Alexis has “re-collected” herself. This game ranges from Heather barking like a dog to Tamra peeing like a dog on the cement next to the group. Typical. Also typical is that this fun, light-hearted moment gets hijacked when Emily brings up the fashion show to Heather.
Emily lets Heather know that she felt singled out because she was asked to bring her own jeans. Heather is beyond apologetic to have added to Emily’s insecurities. Emily goes on to say she has worked so hard, but it’s not really Heather’s fault for how Emily feels. Heather got their measurements, and the designers did their work. Heather throws a dig when she states in her confessional, “I have news for you. The dress was tight on Emily. It wasn’t too big.” Ouch.
The next thing you know, Alexis is taking offense to the fact that Emily did not like being in the same dress as she was in the fashion show, missing Emily’s point about Alexis being in a size two and Emily being in a size 12. Two fights are occurring simultaneously, thus making for chaos.
Emily tells Alexis to “shut up” because she keeps interrupting the real fight. It seems like Emily is projecting her insecurities on Heather and Alexis. Sure, Alexis is annoying, but this is next level, especially after Emily shrieks that Alexis is a “wack-a-doodle.” Heather gets super defensive when Emily attempts to have a conversation with her. Emily then calls Heather rude and condescending, and she then tells Heather to “f*ck off.”
Alexis STILL thinks this is her show and bemoans, “I am at my lowest point right now. I’m already broken. I’m already a broken bird,” completely missing the point that what Emily said was just a fact, not an excuse to fight.
Heather cannot believe that while she was raising money for family equality, Emily was crying in the bathroom about jeans. Alexis is still carrying on as Emily heads out. When Emily and Heather begin to go at it again, Alexis becomes involved, causing Emily to shriek, “F*ck off, and go f*ck John some more.” Who knew jeans could set someone off like this?!