To spice up another lukewarm episode, I’m going to be a bit unorthodox and start this recap by discussing next week’s episode. Shereé brings together four of the five RHOA OGs for the first time in who knows how long to break bread and give fans a chance to reminisce. I suspect this moment, which we see a portion of at the end of tonight’s episode, is not only a last-ditch effort at CPR on this season but a moment to test the chemistry of some old faces in a new era.
I’m particularly interested in Lisa Wu, who did a cameo last season, and Kim Zolciak’s return. Unless DeShawn suddenly became an interesting person in the past decade, there’s no chance she’ll be asked to come back, but it’ll be nice to see her. However, I’ve stated before that a Lisa comeback would be fun to me, and I’ve seen a lot of fans mentioning Ms. Zolciak’s name as a player they would want back on the field. Personally, I’m not a Kim fan (remember, in her final appearance on the show, when she proclaimed that racism wasn’t “real†until recently?), but at this point I just want to see something shake — and who doesn’t want more tea on Kim’s divorce with Kroy and his butt implants?
Sadly, we have to wait another week to see if their meetup will be worth watching more of, so we’re left with this carcass of an episode. But despite being pretty boring overall, the episode does set up an intriguing bit of drama that will continue to unfold in the weeks to come. Drew reuniting with her sister, Allison — who managed the majority of Drew’s career since she was a child star and hasn’t been allowed to step foot inside Drew’s house for years — gives us a peek into the skeleton closet of Drew and Ralph’s marriage. From the context Drew provided, Allison called out Ralph’s controlling and manipulative nature, and Ralph was so upset he banned her from the house. Ralph said Allison did a lot of things to “hurt†him, and he needs to “process†allowing Allison back into his home, stating that he may need to leave while she’s around. Now, I take both of their words with a grain of salt because they are two very unreliable narrators, but obviously something went down. Allison also had a mental breakdown a few years ago and stopped managing Drew’s career, adding more tension. Looking back, Drew regrets not having a more familial, sisterly relationship with Allison outside of business, and to build that bond, she invites Allison to come on set as she films the video for “Already Know.â€
The video is, as Mia described Candiace’s “Drive Back†video on Potomac, low budget. But that’s okay! At least she’s following her dreams, even if she doesn’t know how to skate, and even if Monyetta shows up in a beanie and glasses like she just rolled out of bed, and even if the music sounds like asking ChatGPT to make a modern R&B song. Yes, it looks like a bootleg version of Beyoncé’s “Blow,†as Kenya points out, but it’s Drew Sidora, so what else should we expect? More important, her big sister gets to see her do her thing, which brings a tear to Allison’s eyes, as she’s the one who originally came up with the concept and reached out to the video’s director. She expresses how happy she is that Drew is finishing the things they started together, and she actually shares a hug with Ralph. It’s touching to watch them together, but it’s apparent we’ve merely scratched the surface of their relationship dynamic. More will be revealed when they have an emotional sit-down next week — and I need to hear Allison’s side because Ralph and Drew tend to live in an alternate reality.
The rest of the episode really just underlines the glaring issues with the show and cast: The women don’t like one another, their personal story lines are stale, and the drama is circling the drain. Most notable, Marlo and Shereé (and Courtney by association) seem to have colluded to come up with Operation Take Down Kandi. Since she wasn’t able to address it during the Gucci brunch, Shereé asks Kandi to meet up so they can talk about the comments Kandi made about She by Shereé. Shereé arrives for their casual fall walk in a full-length mink coat and Louboutins, reminding me that she’s from Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland not far from where I grew up, known for its bougie standards. Exuding the energy of her hometown, Shereé does everything she can to protect her reputation, eventually resorting to smoke and mirrors with her explanation as to why her site crashed.
Shereé tells Kandi that, since Kandi has such a large following, Kandi’s comments about She by Shereé could negatively impact her company. Of all the issues surrounding She by Shereé, Kandi’s statements should be the last thing she’s worried about. Between the years of waiting, the website crashing, people not receiving their orders, and the questionable quality of the garments, it’s not as if She by Shereé is exactly winning any CFDA awards. But she’ll never take accountability, and none of those things would help continue the story line that Kandi is a bad friend who supports no one but herself, so why not hit two birds with one stone?
As Kandi explains during their conversation, it’s not as if she said anything that wasn’t already out there. Even her “She by Shein†read was a joke that circulated widely on the internet before Kandi repeated it. Shereé tries to shade Kandi in return, saying that she has supported Kandi’s businesses when the food at her restaurants came out cold and the clothes from Tags were ruined after one wash. (Doesn’t most fast fashion disintegrate quickly?) But to Kandi’s point, at least you can get her clothes.
After talking in circles, they come to common ground and Kandi apologizes for making any derogatory comments about She by Shereé. Meanwhile, Marlo stays adamantly committed to Operation Take Down Kandi, defending her actions to Sanya, her feelings still hurt by Kandi’s “Fuck your flowers†declaration. Her delusions take over the rational part of her brain, and she says she interpreted it as “Fuck your nephew, and fuck his mom.†Sanya, who practically rode in on the fence she sits on, doesn’t tell Marlo how ridiculous she sounds but instead says that, at this point, she needs to leave it alone.
Marlo takes the advice, and miraculously she doesn’t really mention Kandi for the rest of the episode. For a moment, it seemed we were getting the Marlo I envisioned when she initially got a peach. Call me naïvely optimistic, but I thought giving her more individual screen time would increase her likability; showing her working with foster kids and dating is a nice change of pace from the Marlo we’ve seen terrorize half the cast for years. But her behavior since she was promoted to full time leaves such a bad taste in the mouth that these scenes that should be adding humanity to Marlo fall flat.
Throughout Marlo’s time on the show, we’ve only briefly seen her in any kind of romantic relationship, yet her sexuality and how it may or may not be how she makes her money has been a constant topic of conversation. Tonight, she goes on her first blind date with a man her best friends set her up with. He’s a nice, handsome Jamaican man who owns a restaurant and has spent time in jail, which checks off many things on Marlo’s list. But before the date, she gives us another example of why rooting for her is hard.
Upset that Drew didn’t invite her to the music-video shoot, Marlo FaceTimes Drew on the way to her date to both show her love and antagonize her. Seconds before Drew answers, Marlo calls her a fake bitch, then greets her with a “Hey, beautiful!†Drew cuts through the bullshit immediately and says she needs an apology for Marlo’s outburst after Candiace’s show. Marlo gives her a half-assed apology but deflects true responsibility, saying she’s surprised that Drew is upset because Drew is from Chicago. She minimizes what happened, and when Drew tries to continue to explain her feelings, Marlo hangs up. Then she rants about how ugly she thinks Drew looks, showing us that some things on Atlanta never change — which might be the show’s most significant detriment.
Peach Tea To Go:
• As great as it is to see Drew and Allison reunite (that comment Allison made about Drew’s “Hollywood age†was great), I can’t imagine not allowing one of my sisters into my home because of calling out my clearly toxic husband. But Drew truly thinks his behavior is okay, so I’m not surprised. The whole situation makes me more curious about what the nail in the coffin was to make them file for divorce since she put up with so much already.
• Shereé with this baby line is so funny — we all know she just wanted to take a picture of her beautiful granddaughter in She by Shereé merch. She needs to focus on improving the quality of the adult-size clothes she’s selling for $40 more than they’re worth (yet she’s still not making a profit).
• Speaking of ridiculously priced She by Shereé clothing, look at this Pride shirt she’s trying to sell for $65.