For a show that is so carefully staged, the end of season seven feels surprisingly aimless. Overall, this was a more muted outing than last season — more of a part two than a stand-alone piece.
While it’s nice to see most of the group getting along by the end, the show is also clearly struggling to figure out compelling story lines in the midst of all these women who just don’t want to get too messy on TV. Thank God for Chelsea, who has learned a time-honored American strategy for engaging an enemy with minimal risk: a proxy war! She literally takes a hesitant Cassandra’s hand at the new-office opening party and marches her over to Bre, just to make sure they get a chance to fight. But ultimately, it’s hard to care about Cassandra versus Bre since we barely know Cassandra, and Bre’s reasons for not liking her are based mostly on paranoia and stubbornness.
Chelsea, on the other hand, is giving Bre plenty of reasons to hate her. She fully admits in her interviews that one of the main reasons she likes Cassandra is because her presence upsets Bre so much. It’s simply a bonus that she also offers to co-list with them on a big, stunningly beautiful Bel Air mansion she might get to sell. Even if Bre chooses to stay at the O Group — and at this point, that seems like a big if — I have a feeling that this isn’t the last she’ll see of Cassandra. It’s unfortunate that Bre is so committed to being mean, and it’s ironic that she can’t see how much her tough exterior is actually a weakness. “I am not a friendly-ass bitch!†she shouts in the middle of a room full of colleagues and clients from her job in sales. It’s simply not a good look at all.
The new office is bigger, and Brett and Jason have said they plan to hire even more agents to join the brokerage. This couldn’t come fast enough since this season’s ending doesn’t exactly leave me wanting more. Fresh blood would certainly liven things up, and it wouldn’t hurt to take some of the pressure off people like Amanza, Chrishell, and Mary, who’ve now carried this show for seven seasons with their personal suffering and seem a little tapped out by it. Cassandra, unfortunately, doesn’t have much screen presence, Emma is Emma, and Nicole can’t find a way in. Her one thing was fighting with Chrishell, and now that Chrishell doesn’t want to do that anymore, she’s just a tertiary character who occasionally says hilariously rude things. Meanwhile, Chelsea was built for this show, but if Bre leaves, she’d have no one to spar with, and where’s the fun in that?
I do want to take a moment in this final recap of the season to acknowledge the utter insanity of the O Group’s office moving scene. All the moving boxes are labeled with pieces of loose-leaf printer paper that have been taped to them that say “New Office.†This is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. Do they have only one set of boxes they use over and over again? Was there something offensive written on the boxes they had to cover? The fact that I am so interested in this gives you a sense of how thrilling this episode was. Not to discount Amanza and Chrisell’s fight, but I knew neither had it in their hearts to continue a prolonged feud.
And poor Amanza. She really cannot handle someone being mad at her. She’s sending essay-length texts to Chrishell, getting her cartilage pierced by a saucy Frenchman, and when she takes Mary to look at a listing across the street from the Chateau Marmont, it’s obvious even to us that something is terribly wrong. “I love these doors … Are you okay?†Mary asks pointedly. Amanza can’t be okay with this hanging over her. Her friends are her family, so not being on speaking terms with Chrishell is killing her.
When she finally does have her tearful reconciliation with Chrishell at the office opening party, it’s such a relief. Neither of them wants to be fighting with the other. These are both sensitive people who loathe open conflict. And while she’s teased at pulling away from the brokerage entirely, Chrishell does love Amanza. Who wouldn’t? For all her drunken antics, she’s the most agreeable person in most of these rooms at any given time. All she wants is for Chrishell to trust her more, to understand her intentions are never bad, and to be her family. But hey, nothing says family more than not being on speaking terms for a little bit.
Unlisted Observations
• Chrishell’s closet is so heavenly! I will not make the obvious joke about that!
• Emma’s Glamorous Death Wish: Of course, she got in the tiny elevator.
• Real-estate fact from Jason: “Viola marble, anytime you see purple like this, it’s viola marble.â€
• If you watch closely, you will at one point see Brett wearing his AirPod on top of his ear like a cigarette; these people are all so strange!
• Chrishell keeping her wedding off the show and a secret from the rest of the O Group is actually so cute, even if this reveal will kill Amanza.
• Marie-Lou makes her second joke about Jason proposing to her; you can always tell when a relationship is doomed. (You’re better off, sweetie!)
• If Chrishell ever said “Good to see you†to me the way she says it to Marie-Lou, I would simply pass away.