Selling Sunset Recap: Chelsea Tries to Fix It

Much of what makes Selling Sunset a compelling project is how it struggles to define itself practically every season. Is it about real estate? Is it about rich women in Los Angeles? In episodes four and five, “Namaste Out of Everyone’s Business� and “Setting the Stage for Disaster,� these questions are once more front and center. When Bre and Chelsea finally sit down to hash things out, we can see where they’re both coming from as people. Chelsea wants to squash their beef and move on because she doesn’t want to be the odd man out. Bre doesn’t want to pretend like Chelsea doesn’t think her family is lesser than, because Chelsea has basically said that out loud to her and never taken it back. They are at an impasse, but maybe that’s okay? They’re just co-workers, after all. Unlike the Housewives, none of these women have to feign social relationships with each other for the sake of being on the show … or do they?

Amanza clearly wants everyone to be not just friends but family. Her very Olive Garden attitude to the O Group initially rankles Chelsea, who makes it clear she already has a family and that what she needs is to not be in more trouble than she already is. Amanza’s attempts to placate Bre have only spread more tension — creating problems with Emma and Chrishell that Chelsea definitely doesn’t want. Amanza is quickly labeled a “pot stirrer,� a thing this Heather-less show does actually need, even if I do not think that’s actually what she is. I do not believe Amanza is calculating or messy enough to be a pot-stirrer; I think she’s just not able to detach herself enough from anyone to be an objective mediator. But also, “we did Google searches together� is something I believe Chelsea is telling the truth about — it’s too weird and specific a claim to be a lie — even if it doesn’t necessarily implicate Amanza in saying anything bad about Bre.

Chelsea looks to smooth things over with Emma and Chrishell by showing up after Chrishell’s surgery to make Vietnamese dumplings. Which is, frankly, really fucking nice. If someone did this for me, I would be in thrall to them for life, just saying. Chrishell’s surgery went well, and her grapefruit-size cyst (!!) is gone, but she feels bad. And hey, even if all she feels bad about is people thinking she’s a mean girl, that’s something! She’s ready to put the Nicole business to bed, and she’s giving Amanza the benefit of the doubt. Nice Chrishell has returned, and unfortunately for all of us, so has the real pot-stirrer: Jason.

The O Group is opening a new office space! In 2023! The year of offices being a thing everyone wants to have and go to! No, there’s definitely nothing dumb about building a new, huge office for your luxury real-estate firm that could also double as a nightclub during a market downturn that shows no signs of improving. (In case it’s not coming across, I am being sarcastic.) While the narrative here is that Jason is taking a huge risk in the hopes of a major reward … is he? Sure, other brokerages are cutting back, but other brokerages don’t have multiple Netflix shows. So, like, come on, is it really Bre who needs to worry about paying for this, or is it Ted Sarandos?

Because the new office will be such a major expense, Brett and Jason are united in pressuring everyone to make more money. When handing out listings to the staff, they give Chelsea a breathtaking $10 million listing on Mulholland, before Brett tells Bre that because she’s gotten off “to a slow start,� she needs to prove herself with a $5 million listing. Ouch. But that’s the business, I guess! Jason, meanwhile, is assigning Nicole a gorgeous little listing to work on for Chrishell while she’s recovering from surgery. If you’re having déjà vu, it’s because this is almost the exact situation that initiated their whole feud. Maybe Jason thinks that, given the opportunity to revisit the site of their initial trauma, they can break free of it. Or, more likely, he wants to squeeze more drama out of this so Netflix will give them another season to pay off the $100,000 AV system in the new office. It’s so stupid and mean, and it almost makes me respect him. If you ever remind me that I said this, I will deny it.

Nicole, to her credit, does the work. Admittedly, that work is basically just deciding where to hang mirrors and putting vases on coffee tables — with the help of two other people — but hey, this is labor our perfect economy has valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, so it must be very important. Chrishell comes by, compliments the work, and demands Jason declare whose listing it is in front of both of them. He reiterates that it is only Chrishell’s listing but that he’d hoped “in a perfect world� they could sort out their issues. Chrishell apologizes to Nicole, but Nicole does not apologize in return. She did not dress all in black and another jacket reminiscent of a cape to not whirl out of this room angrily. Maybe Chrishell should’ve just turned the listing down.

But competition is the lifeblood of the O Group! For instance, Mary, Emma, Bre, Chelsea, and Brett compete to sell a truly ridiculous $59 million megamansion boasting amenities such as six ovens, one lane of an Olympic-size pool, two wine cellars, and a beauty salon! But they must act fast, for the dreaded “mansion tax� continues to loom, and on this baby, that tax is three whole million dollars! Imagine having to pay that, and then one of your six ovens breaks. Whatever would you do!? Bre uses this house tour as an opportunity to confront Bret about the staff meeting. She thinks she should get more leeway since she’s got a pretty fresh infant at home. I do feel bad for her, but I also suspect Bre has not sold one house. At least, I can’t recall her selling a house on this show. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure she’s actually pivoted to Instagram sketch comedy? Wait until Nicole gets a load of this.

Chelsea, however, is thriving and continuing her streak of squashing beef. She meets up with Amanza following Amanza’s revelations that she was sexually abused as a child. The hell Amanza has crawled through to get here never ceases to astonish me, and I will always quietly root for her. When Chelsea offered her hand to Amanza in solidarity, it did bring a tear to my eye. When the world you live in is all business, maybe being a little bit family isn’t so bad.

Unlisted Observations 

• Someone needs to stop Jason from wearing vests. I am usually very pro-vest, but it takes a certain kind of person to pull off a vest, and Jason is not that kind of person.

• Amanza held a lollipop as an accessory. That is all.

• More Emma-isms:

• Emma’s Death Wish: “Oh, this staircase is sexy; I could probably slide down it!!�