We last left things on The Real Housewives of Orange County at an awkward dinner party for the ages at new housewife Shannon’s house. If she and her husband are going to bicker, they should at least do it out of earshot of their guests.
Party at Shannon’s
Well, things get worse before they get better. At dinner, Shannon mentions how she would like to be more involved in her husband’s business, but he wouldn’t want to work with her. Eddie and Tamra say they have moments where they don’t see eye to eye, but they make it work. David comments on how he has enough of those moments at home, so he doesn’t need them at work too. When Shannon isn’t pleased with that, he tells her to “Try a sense of humor.” Commence the awkward silence…
The conversation turns to how the couples met each other before they were married. Shannon starts to tell the story of how she met David on a blind date and Vicki can’t stop interrupting her. Heather turns to her and tells Vicki to let Shannon finish, which Vicki takes offense to. She tells Heather not to tell her that ever.
Luckily, things lighten up quite a bit after dinner. The men go down to Shannon’s indoor basketball court and the women shed their high heels for a few minutes and join them. Except Heather, who Tamra says incapable of letting loose.
Shannon and Tamra do shots, and Shannon has an herbal pill for Tamra to take the next day so she doesn’t get a hangover, which Tamra jokingly calls “the morning-after pill.” Heather makes a snide comment about how she doesn’t need that since she’s had her tubes tied. She walks away and Tamra responds like any adult would, by flipping her the bird behind her back. She tells Vicki and Shannon that Heather needs to remove the stick from her ass.
Heather approaches Eddie at the party to talk about the conversation she had with Tamra last week about having kids. She tells Eddie that Tamra was crying about wanting another kid, but don’t worry, Heather coached her to make sure she’s making these important decisions for the right reasons. ALERT! ALERT! Heather, you are most definitely breaking the rules of female friendship! Mind your business, girl!
Heather and Terry say their goodbyes and Terry knows right away that something is off with Heather. She says ever since they all got back from Hawaii, things have been awkward with Vicki and Tamra. She says she feels like the odd man out when it’s the three of them and that she would honestly rather have “one fabulous friend than a dozen pieces of sh*t friends.” Guess what, Heather, after that conversation with Eddie, you’re the piece of sh*t friend.
Eddie pulls Tamra outside to take a break from the party to tell her about what Heather said. Eddie is clearly uncomfortable and says that their family decisions are none of her business and that he would appreciate it if she didn’t share that kind of stuff with her girlfriends. Tamra gets visibly upset and says that what Heather did was wrong and hurtful.
It All Comes Back to Brooks
Tamra stops by Vicki’s to debrief about the dinner party. Tamra doesn’t want to get into situations where she and Eddie have to go out as a couple with Shannon and David because all they do is fight. They remind her of she and Simon as a couple, and Vicki says they remind her of she and Donn. They both are worried about Shannon, but they’ve only just met her so they don’t feel comfortable giving advice where maybe it isn’t wanted.
Tamra tells Vicki about what Heather said to Eddie and she agrees that it was out of line. Tamra says she doesn’t want to fight with Heather, partly because she’s her friend but she’s also afraid she’d lose.
Vicki goes to visit Briana to talk to her about Brooks. Because we haven’t already beaten this dead horse over the last two seasons. Vicki tells Briana she didn’t talk to Brooks for two months after the reunion (which Briana says is a lie) but now the two are back together. Briana says she’s seen her mom in two abusive relationships, and she doesn’t want to see her repeat the pattern with Brooks.
Vicki gets defensive and starts shouting, saying she is most certainly not in an abusive relationship and she would never defend an abusive man. Things take a turn for the even-uglier when she accuses Ryan of being abusive and Briana tells her that it isn’t fair of her to deflect like that.
Like it’s been the last two seasons, the whole thing is just a big old mess. Vicki tells Briana to stop trying to protect her because she’s the mom and she’s “got this.” Briana tells Vicki that if she wants to keep dating Brooks, fine, she is just not going to have anything to do with him. Vicki says that she wants everyone who loves her to accept her decisions, but it’s clear that isn’t going to happen, like ever.
Friendsgiving
Vicki is having people over for a pre-Thanksgiving celebration and she’s recruited Shannon and Tamra to help her in the kitchen, where Shannon is offended by the giblets. Baby Troy crawls all around the house, and boy does that kid motor. Being around Baby Troy makes Tamra want to have another baby. Let’s hope she doesn’t share those feelings with her turncoat friend Heather.
Tamra and Vicki complain some more about Heather to Shannon. They feel like they’re “less than” when they’re around her. Shannon suggests having a conversation with her to repair their friendship. Vicki doesn’t think she’s at a good place emotionally in her life to do that right now. She has enough problems that aren’t Heather-related.
As soon as the men arrive to Friendsgiving, Shannon and David start to bicker. I’m surprised these two are even still married as this show airs. Tamra appreciates how she can be herself at dinner, lewd comments and all, without having to worry about being scolded by Heather.
She calls Heather when she gets back from New York to meet and talk and clear the air. When Tamra gets mad at people, she usually just writes them off, but she doesn’t want to do that with Heather because she’s too good of a friend.
Before Tamra can even get to what’s bothering her, Heather tells her she’s felt ostracized by Tamra and Vicki during their last few gatherings. She feels like she can’t get a word in between the two of them because she’s always being cut off or interrupted. She says she doesn’t want to change who she is to be around them.
Tamra tells Heather she feels the same way about how Heather is always correcting them and being a know-it-all. She also says she cops a tone that can come off as condescending. Tamra says she doesn’t want to fight, though, she just wants everyone to say their piece, be heard and then have it be fixed. Heather agrees and tells her that she loves her, and that everyone makes allowances for qualities they may not like in a friend because ultimately they value each other’s company.
It’s nice to see they’ve handled this maturely, and they do seem to genuinely care about each other. I’m disappointed that Tamra let Heather off the hook about the Eddie thing, though. But I’m not sure we’ve heard the last about that topic.
As a peace offering, Tamra invites Heather to a charity event/ugly Christmas sweater party. And it looks like we’ll finally get to meet the other new housewife, Lizzie, at that event next week!
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Mondays at 9pm on Bravo.
(Image courtesy of Bravo)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
