The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City – Season 7, Episode 9: “Feed Her to the Sharks”
Salt Lake City is still recovering from the emotional demolition derby that was Angie and Mary’s last confrontation, and this week the women are left to deal with the aftermath. There are apologies, marital uncertainty, a mother who would rather be anywhere else than meeting her daughter’s new boyfriend, two competing luxury lounges, and a Sweet Sixteen party featuring an inflatable shark and a $60,000 car. Just another quiet week in Utah.
We begin with Meredith, who is discussing plans for her new lounge with Seth. The project is moving forward, and Meredith is already thinking about the details of the space. One important design decision: there will be no urinals. Apparently, Meredith has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to the bathroom situation. The future establishment is taking shape, and she is clearly excited about having another business venture to put her name on.
Meanwhile, Lisa is in the kitchen baking cookies for John and Jack. Domestic Lisa is in full production mode, and she is also thinking about her future grandmother identity. When that day eventually arrives, she wants to be called “LeeLee.” Lisa is already working on the branding for a grandparent role she hasn’t even been cast in yet. Somewhere, a future grandchild is going to be handed a cookie and informed that LeeLee has arrived.
Over at Bronwyn’s, it is time for a meeting that promises to be uncomfortable before anyone even sits down. Her mother, Muzzy, is finally meeting her boyfriend, Brandon. Bronwyn has already met Brandon’s family, but apparently the reverse introduction requires a considerably more elaborate production.
Muzzy is not exactly thrilled about the appointment. She has never been particularly easy on Bronwyn’s romantic partners, and she makes it clear that she still has a soft spot for Todd. In fact, she is not shy about telling Bronwyn that she liked Todd and is not automatically welcoming the new man taking his place.
Brandon is running late, which does not improve Muzzy’s mood. When he finally arrives, he is greeted by a woman who has already decided that this meeting is going to require some work on his part. Muzzy even introduces the idea that she should be addressed as “Queen Muzzy,” and Brandon obligingly plays along.
Queen Muzzy proceeds to question him and make sure he understands that she will be expressing her opinions whenever she feels like it. She wants to know what kind of influence he is going to have on Bronwyn, and she is not about to hand over her approval simply because he showed up for lunch.
Brandon, to his credit, remains polite and tries to charm her. He addresses her as Queen Muzzy and takes the interrogation in stride. Bronwyn seems to think the meeting is going reasonably well, although the bar for success may be somewhere underground.
There is also the matter of why this meeting is happening on camera in the first place. Bronwyn has heard the suggestion that her relationship with Brandon is somehow a publicity arrangement. She wants the women to understand that this is a real relationship, and the introduction to her mother is part of demonstrating that. Unfortunately, putting the meeting on television does not necessarily make the relationship look less like a television storyline. But at least Brandon has survived his first encounter with Queen Muzzy.
Elsewhere, Whitney is preparing for daughter Bobbie’s sixteenth birthday. The party is going to have a shark-themed, beachy feel, with a little Shark Week and Outer Banks mixed together. Whitney is planning a surprise celebration and has invited Bronwyn to participate in the festivities. Bronwyn is even expected to arrive in an inflatable shark costume.
Whitney is also making decisions about the guest list. Meredith is not invited. Conveniently, Meredith is holding an event of her own on the same day, so there is no need for Whitney to invent a complicated excuse about why one particular woman will not be receiving an invitation. Whitney is perfectly comfortable keeping the guest list selective.
The party preparations are not the only thing happening in the Rose household, however. Whitney and Justin are still trying to figure out what exactly is happening in their marriage.
Justin explains that he recently met up with Shawn, Angie’s husband, and the two men discussed their respective situations. Justin says Shawn has not shared their private conversations with anyone, which brings the discussion back to the larger problem: Whitney and Justin still do not know where their marriage is headed.
Whitney says that sleeping separately has actually improved things for her. She feels better without Justin’s energy beside her at night, and she is not particularly happy with the state of their intimacy. At the same time, she has not completely given up hope that they can get back to a better place.
Justin is trying to be patient, but he also needs some indication of what Whitney wants. He cannot remain indefinitely in a marriage where he is waiting for his wife to decide whether she wants to be in it. He wants an answer, or at least some sense of what direction they are moving.
Whitney does not have a simple answer. There is no single dramatic incident that neatly explains the state of the relationship. They are dealing with a collection of feelings, distance, and uncertainty, and neither seems to know exactly how to turn that into a decision.
So, while Whitney is organizing a shark-themed birthday party and making sure the decorations are ready, she is also trying to determine whether her marriage is going to survive. Housewives multitasking is not for beginners.
Next, Heather, Lisa, and Angie get together for a walk. Given the events of the previous episode, this is less of an exercise outing and more of an emotional debrief with comfortable shoes.
Angie is still devastated by what happened with Mary. She knows that she crossed a line, and she cannot undo what she said. She tells Heather and Lisa that she regrets it and will never forgive herself for making the comment. She also understands that Mary may never forgive her.
Angie describes herself as a “ticking time bomb.” She has been keeping a lot of feelings bottled up, and she is beginning to recognize that the pressure has been building for some time. Rather than acknowledging what has been happening in her own life, she has been carrying it around until it finally came out in an explosive way.
The argument with Mary was the moment everything boiled over. Angie knows that whatever was going on inside her does not excuse what she said. She cannot take back the words, and she knows that the damage may be permanent.
There is another piece of the situation that Angie has not been fully open about: her marriage to Shawn. She tells Lisa and Heather that things have been difficult, and she admits that she has not been happy. She has been struggling with the state of the relationship and does not know what is going to happen.
Lisa is able to relate. She went through a difficult period with John, and she knows how frightening it can feel when a marriage that has been part of your life for so long suddenly becomes uncertain. She encourages Angie not to give up on the relationship after all these years, although she cannot promise that things will work out.
Heather is relieved that Angie is finally talking about what is happening rather than keeping everything bottled up. She also reminds Angie that Mary has been through an enormous amount and deserves some grace.
Lisa, meanwhile, makes an important distinction. Angie’s marital problems may help explain why she has been emotionally overwhelmed, but they do not excuse what she said to Mary. If Angie wants to repair the friendship, she is going to have to accept that Mary gets to decide what happens next. Lisa advises her to sit with the consequences and take whatever Mary is willing to give.
That is easier said than done, particularly when Angie is already imagining a future in which the friendship is gone forever.
We also get a glimpse of Mary in her own environment, surrounded by the people who work with her and support her. They refer to themselves as her “aunties,” and Mary is still deeply hurt by what Angie said. She is not in a forgiving mood, and she considers Angie blocked from her life.
The situation is especially painful because Mary and Angie had developed a close friendship. They had a familiar rhythm together, and Mary thought of Angie as someone who understood her. Now she feels that Angie crossed a boundary that cannot simply be repaired with a text message and a quick apology.
Meanwhile, Meredith is moving ahead with her new caviar lounge in Park City. She has invited a very particular group of women to a tasting: Lisa, Mary, and Quai. Angie, Bronwyn, and Whitney are not on the guest list.
Meredith is excited to show off the space and get feedback from the people she has chosen to include. The lounge will be called “Perhaps,” which is a rather Meredith Marks name for an establishment. It also happens to be remarkably close to Lisa’s own lounge, Premiere. The two businesses are only about four-tenths of a mile apart.
Two women, two lounges, one small geographic area, and an entire cast of Housewives who will undoubtedly have opinions about which establishment is more fabulous. Meredith and Lisa are apparently going to be neighbors in the hospitality business, whether the neighborhood is ready or not.
At the tasting, the women sample caviar and discuss what has happened between Mary and Angie. Mary explains that she eventually told Robert Sr. what Angie had said during their fight. She had not necessarily planned to share it with him, but the situation was too painful to keep to herself.
Robert Sr. was extremely upset by the comment. Mary explains that his reaction was serious, and it is clear that the words affected more than just the two women who were arguing.
The others ask whether Angie has tried to contact Mary. Mary explains that Angie did reach out, but she has blocked her. That means Mary’s phone has not been receiving the apology Angie has been attempting to send.
Mary is still angry that Angie continued after the argument had already become painful. She feels that Angie did not recognize the seriousness of what she was saying, and that she kept going when she should have stopped.
Mary also makes it clear that the relationship has changed. She does not see Angie as the same friend she once did, and she is not promising that things will return to normal.
But there is a small opening. Mary says she is willing to hear Angie out, provided the conversation happens face-to-face and on Mary’s terms. She is not interested in handling this through texts or having the other women negotiate the apology for them.
That is not forgiveness, but it is at least the possibility of a conversation. In Mary Cosby terms, the door is not wide open, but it is no longer necessarily welded shut.
Back at Whitney’s, the preparations for Bobbie’s Sweet Sixteen continue. Whitney has been working hard to make the celebration special, and the party is a surprise. She has also been able to pay cash for Bobbie’s car, thanks in part to the success of her businesses, Prism and Wild Rose Beauty.
The car is reportedly worth $60,000. This is not a small birthday present. Some teenagers get a cake and a gift card. Bobbie is about to receive an automobile.
Before the party gets underway, Bronwyn arrives and talks with Whitney about the meeting between Brandon and Queen Muzzy. The conversation is already a little awkward, and then Angie arrives. Given the recent history between Angie and Bronwyn, the atmosphere becomes uncomfortable.
The two women are not exactly in a position to have a relaxed reunion, but they do not turn the birthday preparations into another confrontation. They recognize that this is not the time or place to hash out their issues.
Meanwhile, Meredith’s event is underway. Quai has been invited to both gatherings, and she eventually decides to leave Meredith’s tasting and head over to Bobbie’s party.
Meredith is not thrilled about this. She considers Quai’s departure ill-mannered, which is an interesting level of etiquette enforcement for someone who is essentially hosting a small caviar gathering while another woman is throwing a teenager’s birthday party.
Quai has somewhere else to be, and that somewhere else includes an inflatable shark and a sixteen-year-old celebrating a major birthday. Meredith will have to survive the loss of one guest.
At Whitney and Justin’s party, Bobbie finally arrives and is surprised by the celebration. The family has pulled together to make the occasion special, and the moment is genuinely sweet. Bobbie is thrilled, and the excitement builds when Whitney and Justin reveal the car.
Bobbie is appreciative and clearly delighted. It is a lovely family moment, even if the birthday gift budget is operating in a tax bracket most of us will never encounter.
Quai arrives after leaving Meredith’s event, and she becomes the messenger between the two groups. She fills the women in on what happened at Perhaps, including Mary’s conversation about Angie.
This is where the information begins to land with Angie. Quai explains that Mary told Robert Sr. about the fight, that he was very upset, and that Mary has blocked Angie. She also explains that Mary is willing to hear an apology, but only in person and on her own terms.
Angie is visibly affected by the news. She knows she cannot undo what happened, and hearing that Robert Sr. was hurt by the comment makes the consequences feel even heavier.
The part that seems to hurt most is Mary’s description of their relationship. Angie believed they were best friends. She thought their friendship was something solid, and now she is hearing that Mary no longer feels the same way.
Quai relays that Mary is not promising to return to the way things were. She is willing to listen, but Angie should not expect an immediate restoration of the friendship.
The women continue discussing the fallout, and the possibility of a face-to-face conversation becomes the one hopeful development. Mary may be willing to hear Angie, but the apology will have to happen when Mary is ready.
There is also an awkward moment involving Angie, Heather, and Justin. Angie jokes to Justin that he should call her and Heather if his wife ever dumps him. The comment is meant as a joke, but Heather knows more about the state of Whitney and Justin’s marriage than Angie does. Heather’s reaction makes the moment particularly uncomfortable.
And that is where the episode leaves us: two women whose friendship may be permanently changed, a marriage still hanging in uncertainty, a mother who has officially met the new boyfriend and issued him a royal title, and a teenager driving away from her Sweet Sixteen with a new car.
Mary may eventually hear Angie out, but she is not promising to forgive her. Angie is going to have to face the damage she caused, and the next conversation between these two could determine whether there is anything left to save.
Meanwhile, Meredith has opened the door to Perhaps, Lisa has Premiere nearby, and the Salt Lake City luxury lounge district may soon require its own zoning board.
Feed her to the sharks? In this group, the sharks are probably already on the guest list.
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