Before we jump into our party list this week, I thought we should address the firing of Stassi, Kristen and those two other guys from Vanderpump Rules. I fully support firing people for racist behavior, and Bravo shows have done that in the past, like with LeeAnne Locken on RHOD last year. However, I do think it’s also worth discussing the fact that the axe fell on these specific people, who, with the exception of Stassi, are relatively expendable. What about Jax? What about the RHONY ladies who treat the young men working for them who are often people of color in a terrible way or Luann showing up in blackface to a party? Bravo is a network that shows people behaving badly-and I still want to see people throwing ravioli at each other-but I don’t want to see them doing things that are racist, and I think that as viewers, we need to make it clear that we won’t tolerate that behavior even in our biggest Bravolebrities.

Now, in lighter news, we had a bit of a slow week in our shows-we had a reunion on Vanderpump, a rerun on RHOBH, and I just read that this was our last new RHONY for a few weeks and Tinsley’s final episode ever. It was sad to see Tinsley go in such an underwhelming way-I really loved her on the show and she seemed to blossom being back in the spotlight. Her growth from when she first showed up, back the New York and was living in Sonja’s apartment, seeming like a mere shell of her former self to the much more confident and happy version that drove off with Strawberry and Shortcake to look for true love in Chicago was impressive, although she kept her high-pitched voice, commitment to Pinot Grigio, and wacky family dynamics until the end. She left on her own terms, although the bullying by the other women likely made it a lot easier to leave without regrets, and it seemed like she was really happy. I’m hoping she and Scott do get the fairy tale ending that she’s hoping for!

Who’s Not Invited:

The Deckhand Who Called Malia Sweetheart: I honestly can’t tell two of the deck hands apart. There’s the sweet Irish male model guy, who seems like a genuinely nice person, and then there’s the other two. Is it terrible that I can’t remember their names or which one is which? One of them keeps calling Malia sweetheart, which is so condescending/sexist, especially considering that he’s addressing his boss. Ugh!

Lala: For someone who started out so strong on the series, Lala has really lost her valuable player status. I think it’s great that she’s sober and able to open about her relationship with Rand, but she’s so smug and superior now, that it’s really unappealing. She’s constantly lecturing the others, which no one enjoys. She picks on weaker people like Kristen or Raquel, while working so hard to cementer her BFF status with Stassi and Katie and Brittany.  I was happy to see her repair her relationship with James, but otherwise she seemed to spend most of the reunion either apologizing for her bullying behavior or continuing to be a one woman lecture circuit. 

Dorinda, Ramona and Sonja: She seemed like maybe she was coming out of her dark place, but then she dove right back into it with the way that she was so rude to Tinsley when Leah told the group that Tins was back together with Scott and moving to Chicago. I was disappointed to see Ramona and Sonja go along with her and basically ignore Tinsley too-they are so afraid of standing up to her! It made me miss Bethenny because she would have called Dorinda out on her bullying this season and wouldn’t have backed down. She’s the only person who has a strong enough personality to always say what she thinks and get the other women to agree with her. Now we have Dorinda taking that role over, but she’s so dark that it isn’t taking the group in a good direction. I’m interested to see what her vibe is like once Tinsley is gone, and she doesn’t have an easy target.  

Who Made the Guest List:

Lara and Hannah: I’m loving the power play between these two this week. Lara is overtly rude and dismissive to her boss-and Hannah has no idea how to react to someone who isn’t even bothering to disguise her anger with some passive aggressive facade, so she sticks her on housekeeping duties and tries to break her spirit with unending laundry. When Lara even manages to fight with Kiko, a man who seems like he exists in a little bubble of zen, we know that she has what it takes to argue with anyone. This is a true battle of equals, and I can’t wait to see how Hannah regains her power and takes her down.

Raquel: I loved that Raquel has gained the respect of the Vanderpump Rules cast and that they all gave her a round of applause in this episode. Who would have ever predicted that at the start of the season? Even Lala had to retract her crazy rant towards Raquel at Tom and Katie’s part and apologize. Raquel definitely came into her own, and even though she can still be a space cadet sometimes, we’ve gotten a glimpse at the real person behind the wide eyes.

Luann: She has latched onto the cult of cabaret and is never going to let it go, which I love! She seems to have gained some awareness of her strengths and weaknesses as a performer, from turning it into more of a variety show and auditioning comedians (can you imagine how much material a new comedian could get from being a part of the Countess Luann experience??), to getting Sonja onstage with her. I’m just hoping that Lu actually pays Sonja-rita this time instead of taking advantage of her friend’s flair for the comedic and not even paying for full hair and make-up!

Tinsley: It was sad to see Tinsley and her puppies all roll out of New York dressed in ridiculous puffer coats-I’ll miss talking about her eggs, her dysfunctional relationship with Dale and her allegiance to all of the trappings of socialite life. I loved that Sonja could sum up Tinsley’s New York reboot as a success because Tinsley has achieved getting two puppies, walking on a runway, doing her charities and finding love-may we all aspire to that definition of success and achieve it! Now I’m left worrying about Leah and how she’s going to survive the rest of the season without Tinsley-I’m so worried about Leah being left alone in this tank of drunk sharks.