On this episode of The Real Housewives of New York, we learn that there are two kinds of people in this world: people who get invited to Erika’s birthday party, and Daisy. We also revisit Carole’s Epstein-adjacent associations, watch Jessel complain about her marriage to a mother who is not particularly interested in hearing it, and meet Daisy’s sister, who appears to have taken a wrong turn somewhere between Boca and a midlife crisis. There is also a fish-market dispute, because apparently we have run out of actual problems.
We start with Erin and Carole taking a walk and discussing the aftermath of Abe’s birthday party. Erin is driving Carole’s Jeep, which is apparently a 1996 Cherokee and possibly the most famous jalopy in Manhattan. Erin is not particularly good at parallel parking, and I would suggest she leave that to someone else. Maybe Carole. Maybe a parking attendant. Maybe literally anyone who has ever operated a motor vehicle in New York.
The two stop for pizza, and as they are walking down the street, a woman yells at Carole about the Epstein files before ducking into a bodega. Erin immediately goes into protective-friend mode, calling out the woman for shouting accusations at someone on the street. I have given Erin plenty of grief this season, but she actually handles this well. Carole seems relatively composed, but later admits that the association with Ghislaine Maxwell is something she is still struggling with. She worries that, no matter what else she has accomplished, that relationship will always be part of how people remember her. It is an uncomfortable situation, and I can understand why it bothers her. That said, being a public figure means people are going to have questions about the company you kept. The question is whether you can answer them honestly and move forward.
Over at Erin’s, we get another installment of the Erin and Abe parenting show. Abe is still upset about Erin criticizing him at his birthday party for spilling his drink and not helping with the children. Erin is frustrated because the kids aren’t listening to her, and now the two of them are having the same argument at home. I don’t know what the answer is here, but I do know that having a disagreement about parenting in front of your adorable baby is not exactly the ideal family activity. Perhaps they could try having the conversation when the children are not in the room. Just a thought.
Meanwhile, Jessel meets Sai for lunch and announces that Pavit despises her. This is a pretty strong accusation for a man who mostly seems to be minding his own business and eating his way through the world. Jessel says that after the children go to bed, Pavit is on his phone, she is on hers, and he doesn’t even say goodnight. She also complains that he doesn’t take enough interest in her career and doesn’t make enough money. I am not sure how those complaints all fit together, but apparently they do in Jessel’s head.
Jessel tries to get some sympathy from her mother, Nilam, who is visiting. Unfortunately for Jessel, Nilam is not particularly interested in taking her side. She points out that Pavit does ask about Jessel’s meetings, but Jessel gives him a one-word answer and shuts down the conversation. Well, there you go. If someone asks how your meeting went and you respond with “fine,” there isn’t exactly a lot of material to work with. Nilam seems to think Jessel needs to put more effort into the marriage, and Jessel is not thrilled about hearing that. I am beginning to think this family could use a group communication workshop.
Then we visit Daisy, who is spending time with her sister, Samona. Daisy tells us that they are very close, which I believe, because they also seem to argue constantly. Samona has apparently left her doctor husband for a 28-year-old Cuban firefighter named Anthony. Daisy is deeply interested in this development and wants to know whether the sex is really that good. I mean, if you’re going to leave a doctor for a firefighter, I suppose the least you can do is make sure the firefighter is bringing something to the table. Daisy also wonders why Samona couldn’t have just had an affair instead of leaving her husband. Excellent family conversation. Nothing says sisterly bonding like evaluating the practical advantages of an extramarital affair.
Over at the Crane Club, Erika is having a much more emotional conversation with her husband, Ankur. She is worried about their efforts to have a child through surrogacy. They have already experienced disappointment, and she is afraid that their hopes of becoming parents might not work out. Ankur is supportive, and the two discuss the uncertainty surrounding the process. Then Erika receives a message that a potential surrogate has accepted their offer. She is understandably thrilled, and it is a genuinely sweet moment. I am happy for her. It’s nice to see something meaningful happening on this show that doesn’t involve somebody complaining about a fish market.
And then Erika makes a decision that will apparently alter the course of Daisy’s entire emotional existence: she invites everyone to her birthday party except Daisy.
Daisy, meanwhile, is attending a dog charity gala with Samona and Anthony the firefighter. Jessel stops by and announces that she has to leave for Erika’s birthday party. Daisy is surprised to discover that she wasn’t invited. She also mentions that she wasn’t invited to a dinner with King Charles and Martha Stewart, which is apparently another wound she has been carrying around. At this point, I am starting to wonder whether Daisy has a spreadsheet of every event she has ever been excluded from. She seems to remember each one with the precision of a court stenographer.
Daisy asks Erin whether she was invited, and Erin confirms that she was. Erin doesn’t exactly go out of her way to soften the blow, either. Daisy is offended, but let’s review the recent history here. Daisy spent much of the island trip complaining about the accommodations, the arrangements, the food, the flights, and pretty much everything else. She was not exactly sending out invitations to friendship during that vacation. Now she is shocked that Erika doesn’t want her at her birthday party. Actions, meet consequences.
We get a glimpse of the party through social media and phone footage. Jessel, Carole, and Hailey are there, and everyone seems to be having a lovely time. The cameras weren’t invited, which is unfortunate because I would actually like to see a Housewives birthday party that doesn’t involve Daisy asking why she wasn’t invited to it.
The women eventually gather at a comedy show in a Brooklyn pizza restaurant. Daisy is still at the dog gala, but the birthday party becomes the subject of conversation. Erika, Carole, and Hailey discuss the festivities right in front of Daisy, who is now forced to listen to a detailed account of an event she was deliberately excluded from. Erika could have made this easier by simply explaining that she knew Daisy had another event and didn’t want to put her in the position of choosing. Instead, she lets the conversation continue. Perhaps she enjoys watching Daisy simmer. I can’t say I blame her.
Daisy is visibly unhappy, and I do understand the basic human desire to be included. Nobody enjoys discovering that everyone else was invited somewhere and you weren’t. But Daisy has made a career out of being dissatisfied with nearly every group activity, so it’s a little difficult to summon an enormous amount of sympathy. She wants to be invited, even when she doesn’t want to go, and she wants everyone to know that she was invited. She wants to be included and also wants to be the person who is too important to care. Pick a lane, Daisy.
In one of the more amusing moments of the evening, a black cat jumps across the roof and makes its way along the fire escape. Daisy watches it and seems to wish she could be the cat: free to come and go, welcome everywhere, and completely uninterested in whatever nonsense the Housewives are discussing. Honestly, the cat has the right idea. It has no obligation to attend Erika’s birthday party, no responsibility to defend a fish market, and no need to explain why it wasn’t invited to dinner with Martha Stewart. I would also like to be the cat.
But Daisy’s peaceful feline fantasy is interrupted when Sai arrives. And judging by the look on Daisy’s face, she knows that another conversation is about to happen. Sai has already had enough of Daisy’s comments about her sushi, and Daisy has apparently managed to turn a disagreement about seafood into another reason to be offended. We are now arguing about where people buy their fish, which is a level of pettiness I can absolutely support. Finally, some Housewives nonsense that doesn’t require a legal disclaimer.
Sai has been publicly promoting Fish Tales in Brooklyn, while Daisy insists that her own preferred fish market is better and that Fish Tales gets its fish from the same place. I don’t know who is winning this seafood war, but I do know that I have spent more time thinking about fish than I ever intended to. Somewhere, a fishmonger is watching this episode and wondering how his business got dragged into a Housewives feud.
And that is where we leave things: Daisy feeling excluded, Sai arriving ready to confront her, and the rest of the women sitting around waiting for the next argument to begin. The birthday invitation has become a referendum on friendship, the sushi has become a referendum on taste, and apparently the fish market is now a matter of personal honor.
I am not sure anyone learned anything, but at least nobody was arrested, sued, or dragged into another dark legal subplot. Sometimes all I want from these women is a stupid argument about seafood and a little social humiliation. Is that too much to ask?
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