• The episode opens with Sutton storming out of Lisa Rinna’s backyard, screaming at Crystal while the other women chase after her.

    Then, we cut back to three days earlier, with Harry Hamlin and Rinna getting ready for a backyard party at their house. They head to the grocery store, where Harry is focused on finding the right ingredients while Rinna wanders around like a two-year-old who has never been out of the house before. She gets distracted by big, shiny things, like her lips, and Harry has to rein her in.

    At Kathy Hilton’s house, Crystal and Erika play tennis, because Kathy just loans out her luxuries to friends, and I love that. I need more rich friends, and I need them to be sharers. After the game, Kathy greets them in her jammies and I love what has just happened here. She must be like, “Yeah, help yourself to my house. I will be sleeping, and will see you when I am ready.” This is the kind of hostess I aspire to be. I have twenty people coming over tomorrow, and am already thinking about sleeping through it and just leaving them to their own devices.

    Erika discusses her separation and her new life, and both Crystal and Kathy are supportive.

    At Kyle’s, she and her family are posing for their Christmas card photos. Kathy comes over to supervise. Kyle and Kathy sit to talk, and Kathy starts unloading her purse, which contains a bottle of moisturizing spray, shoes, hats, and a small Volkswagen. Kathy has everything. Literally.

    Kathy says she has been talking to Kim a lot, and they both are worried about Kim being alone during COVID, since all of her kids are out of the house. Kyle says she has been texting Kim, but hasn’t heard back, and Kathy tells her Kim changed her number and didn’t give Kyle the new one. LMAO. Classic Kim.

    Rinna and Sutton visit Erika at her new Hancock Park house, and it’s lovely. It’s like a little Barbie dream house, and they love it. They revisit the Sutton and Crystal beef. Crystal says Sutton violated her by entering her room while Crystal was naked in Tahoe. This, somehow, becomes a controversy for the whole season. The women think Crystal’s use of “violation” is too strong, and Crystal refuses to back down on it. 

    At Garcelle’s, she and her son have dinner together. Her son is taking remote classes in Japanese, and Garcelle keeps interrupting him. It’s funny and reminds me how very much fun COVID was. Once, I was teaching a class on Zoom, and my husband set off the smoke detectors, and my entire class heard me call him an “ass clown.” Luckily, I eventually learned how to use my “mute” button.

    At Rinna’s, she is getting ready for the party, and her backyard looks great. Harry is cooking his heart out, and Rinna is mostly getting in the way.

    Dorit and Kyle meet up to head to the party, and Dorit discusses her bridal wear line. It isn’t interesting, but it happens, so it goes in the recap.

    At the party, Harry tells Kyle and Dorit that he and Rinna are getting a pool, with the hope that someday, their daughters will use it with their own kids. Kyle tells him she had her first child at 19, so it could happen any day, and Harry looks silently unamused.

    Kathy greets Sutton as “Tomasina,” joking that she is a peeping Tom, and it doesn’t go over well. Sutton says she is at a breaking point with all the jokes about her “violating” Crystal. Sutton at a breaking point is no joke, as we have seen and shall see again.

    At lunch, they discuss Rinna’s daughter’s relationship with Scott Disick, a much older father of three. Harry clearly does not approve and would rather not talk about it.

    They bring out a birthday cake for Garcelle, and she wishes for a man who is hung like a horse. Don’t we all? Kathy says she didn’t know that Garcelle liked horseback riding, and I die. Kathy is a delight, at least for me. I am headed to Beverly Hills in January and I am going to keep my eye out for her!

    Garcelle opens her gifts, and Sutton is clearly disengaged from the group, applying makeup and generally being antisocial. Kyle asks her what is going on, and Sutton says she doesn’t want to be there. She doesn’t like Crystal at the moment and doesn’t want to be around her.

    Kyle takes Sutton away from the table to get a drink, and Sutton starts pouring vodka like it is going out of style. She tells Kyle that she can’t be fake with Crystal, who has been talking about her behind her back and is looking smug. Crystal always kind of looks smug, no? I would, too—if I had Lion King money.

    Sutton wants to leave, and the women at the table hear her yelling, so they start making their way over to butt in. Everyone is at the bar, and Sutton is having a breakdown. They ask why she is crying, and she says it’s just allergies and that she prays to Jesus every day. Sutton says she can’t pretend like everything is hunky dory, and Kathy asks, “Who is Hunky Dory?” Oh, Kathy. I love you.

    The look on Garcelle’s face is priceless. Garcelle asks Sutton what she needs from Crystal. Sutton wants Crystal to back down on the word “violate.” She asks Crystal what crazy planet she lives on, and Crystal says, smugly, “Not yours.” The women ask Crystal to just apologize, and she refuses. Then she starts to, and takes it back. She tells Sutton, “You’re upset because you are jealous. Period.”

    Sutton looks stunned and yells, “Jealous of what?! Your ugly leather pants?!” and storms off. The women’s jaws collectively drop. Insulting someone’s fashion in Beverly Hills is the equivalent of flipping a table in Jersey. This is bad.

  • We are back in Salt Lake City. I am reviewing as many iconic episodes as possible before the new season starts, so feel free to comment and give me more episode suggestions.

    The ladies are still in Zion, and they were up late partying the night before. Today, they split up for a day of activities. Heather and Lisa have a little date to go horseback riding, Whitney and Jen are going to ride ATVs, and the other women are headed to the spa.

    It is a very normal, relaxing day in Zion, which means we can probably expect everything to go completely off the rails before dinner.

    After horseback riding, Heather and Lisa discuss Lisa’s issue with the group, most of which stem from her defending Meredith. Lisa tells Heather that she and Meredith have tension between them, and Heather says they can all sense it. 

    Lisa and Heather agree that Meredith does not show up for Lisa. This seems to be a recurring problem in their friendship: Lisa is expected to support Meredith through everything, while Meredith doesn’t necessarily return the favor.

    After the ATV ride, Jen and Whitney discuss Meredith flipping out the day before. Meredith had been at her father’s memorial and had to come to the trip late, but now the women are all confused about exactly when this memorial happened, and for some reason this has become a major issue.

    Meredith just wants everyone to leave her alone about it. Honestly, I don’t blame her. Her father died, she had a memorial, and now she’s being interrogated about the exact date like she’s trying to establish an alibi.

    The women think Meredith is lying and used the memorial as an excuse not to come on the bus with them. Jen says she can’t trust Meredith if Meredith lies.

    This is especially rich coming from Jen Shah, who is currently facing federal charges for running a telemarketing fraud scheme. The woman is literally awaiting trial for fraud and is suddenly the integrity police. The hypocrisy is doing Olympic-level gymnastics.

    Heather and Lisa say Meredith has given them two different dates for her father’s memorial, which means they have concluded that she must be lying to one of them. I still don’t understand why this matters so much. Her father died. She had a memorial. She was grieving. Why are we conducting a forensic investigation into the calendar?

    Whitney thinks Meredith has a vendetta against Jen, although she doesn’t actually know why. Jen says Mary says mean things to her, and Whitney brings up the allegations surrounding Mary’s church. They decide that Mary and Meredith think they’re better than the other women.

    They probably do.

    Meanwhile, over at the spa, Jennie, Meredith, and Mary are getting massages. Mary gets hers fully clothed and wearing sunglasses, which is one of the most Mary Cosby things I have ever seen. I didn’t expect to love her, but I kinda do.

    After their massages, they discuss the shifting alliances and all the tension in the group. Meredith thinks the entire situation is like a bad game of telephone, which is probably the most accurate description anyone has given for this cast.

    Mary excuses herself from the conversation, because she obviously hates Jennie and would rather leave than spend another five minutes pretending otherwise. At this point, the Mary and Jennie relationship has officially become one of the strangest grudges on this show.

    Back at their villa, Mary tells Jen and Whitney that they are dirty and need a shower, and then calls to check in on her son, which is sad. He seemed like he had some issues, but he was a nice kid.

    Everyone gets ready for dinner, and Jen is hosting a Cinco de Mayo party in honor of Mary calling her a “Mexican thug.”

    Meredith tells Whitney that she is uncomfortable going to the party because Jen has told the courts she has no assets, yet is paying for this party. Meredith doesn’t want to be involved.

    Whitney says the husbands paid for the party, so Meredith grabs her maracas and agrees to go.

    They sit for dinner and the table looks incredible, which usually spells trouble. Seriously, though, I love Cinco De Mayo and I want a party like this—just with less crazy women. I’d like to be the only one there.

    Jen passes out gifts for everyone, and they each get diamond snowflake necklaces that she had originally intended to give them in Vail. Her arrest derailed the Vail trip, but she is still giving everyone the extravagant gift.

    Meredith looks uncomfortable but thanks Jen. Whitney thinks it’s odd that Meredith would even accept the gift considering how she felt about the dinner and Jen’s financial situation.

    Mary still hasn’t come down to dinner, and everyone agrees that she is being a buzzkill on the trip.

    Mary finally makes her entrance, and Whitney immediately asks whether she likes Jennie. Mary simply says no. She insists she isn’t trying to be rude to Jennie and thinks Jennie is actually the rude one. Jennie disagrees, and Mary basically responds that she doesn’t care. This friendship is going beautifully.

    Heather points out that the situation is uncomfortable because everyone’s husbands have chipped in for the trip, including Jennie’s. Mary responds by reminding Heather that she doesn’t even have a husband.

    Heather fires back that Mary’s husband is her step-granddaddy, so there is that.

    And with that, the Cinco de Mayo party is officially heating up.

    Mary rolls her eyes and gives the women absolutely nothing. Suddenly, Jen starts yelling at Lisa to stick up for her and be consistent, and Lisa seems genuinely confused about what just triggered this.

    Lisa says she is a great friend to everyone and that she is authentic. She also says nobody is ever there for her, which is really the heart of her frustration. Jen leaves the table, and Lisa tells us she is tired of constantly coddling both Jen and Meredith.

    Lisa then tells Meredith that the tension with the other women comes from Lisa always defending Meredith and taking her side. And this is where Lisa’s carefully contained frustration starts to boil over.

    Lisa tells Mary she is “fucking fake,” and I am not quite sure where that came from. Lisa has clearly reached the point where every unresolved grievance from the entire trip is coming out at once, whether it makes sense or not.

    Mary says Lisa still eats candy and her whole life is fake. She eats Taco Bell, for crying out loud, and Mary criticizes her for feeding it to her kids. 

    Lisa calls out Meredith for not sticking up for her, and Mary calls Lisa a liar. Lisa fires back that Mary’s church is fake and then starts speaking about herself in the third person, which is always a sign that a conversation is going well.

    They proceed to attack each other’s character, with Lisa repeatedly circling back to Mary’s church. Mary finally tells Lisa that she will never be welcome there.

    Jen comes back to the table, and Heather attempts to make peace between her and Lisa. Meanwhile, Mary and Jennie get into it yet again and once again establish that they do not like each other. I believe this is approximately the hundredth time they have had this conversation.

    Whitney expects Mary to be more godly and love everyone. Mary brushes Whitney off, as she does.

    Mary says she doesn’t really feel like she is friends with any of the women other than Meredith. Whitney asks how Meredith can be friends with Mary when Mary is so mean, which seems like a perfectly reasonable question at this point.

    Lisa is furious when Meredith sticks up for Mary. She storms away from the table, forgetting that she still has her microphone on, and calls John. Lisa proceeds to completely lose her mind over Meredith, unaware that she is about to provide us with one of the greatest hot mic moments in Housewives history.

    Lisa says Meredith can go fuck herself, that she is a whore who cheats on her husband, and that her family are a bunch of posers.

    Girl, shut your mic!

    This shit is going to blow up when Meredith hears it. Lisa says Meredith can’t own a house because her husband changes jobs every five minutes. She is absolutely losing it, and I am living for every second of this.

    Back at the table, Whitney asks Meredith if she even had a memorial for her father, and I can’t believe we are back to this. I just want to hear Lisa go off some more!

  • Some Housewives moments are forgotten by the next commercial break.

    Others become part of the English language.

    From Beverly Hills to New Jersey to Salt Lake City, these are the lines that have survived the reunions, the feuds, the divorces, the lawsuits, the table flips and approximately 47 different cast shakeups.

    1. “Be cool. Don’t be all, like, uncool.” — Luann de Lesseps, RHONY

    Luann was trying to give Heather some very simple advice about how to behave on vacation. Instead, she accidentally created one of the most quoted lines in Housewives history.

    2. “Mention it all!” — Bethenny Frankel, RHONY

    Bethenny wanted the whole story, and she wanted it NOW. The phrase has become the official Housewives demand for receipts, details and maximum chaos.

    3. “I’ll tell you how I’m doing: Not well, bitch!” — Dorinda Medley, RHONY

    Dorinda was asked how she was doing and decided that a polite “fine” simply wasn’t going to cut it.

    4. “Prostitution whore!” — Teresa Giudice, RHONJ

    One of Teresa’s most explosive insults, delivered during the legendary table-flipping era of New Jersey. It is difficult to imagine a Housewives list without it.

    5. “Go to sleep!” — Bethenny Frankel, RHONY

    Bethenny’s increasingly frantic command during Scary Island became one of the most unforgettable moments in RHONY history. At that point, the entire vacation had completely gone off the rails.

    6. “You’re such a fucking liar, Camille!” — Kyle Richards, RHOBH

    Kyle Richards entered Housewives history with this accusation, delivered during one of the earliest and most memorable Beverly Hills fights.

    7. “Beast? How dare you.” — Eileen Davidson, RHOBH

    Eileen’s response to being called a beast was somehow even more devastating because of how controlled it was.

    8. “The morally corrupt Faye Resnick.” — Camille Grammer, RHOBH

    Camille didn’t simply dislike Faye Resnick. She gave her a title.

    And it stuck.

    9. “Jesus Jugs!” — Tamra Judge, RHOC

    Tamra managed to turn a bizarre nickname into one of Orange County’s most memorable insults.

    10. “That’s my opinion!” — Tamra Judge, RHOC

    Tamra’s argument-ending declaration became a Housewives catchphrase all by itself. It doesn’t matter whether anyone agrees with you. It’s your opinion.

    11. “I made it nice!” — Dorinda Medley, RHONY

    Dorinda decorated. Dorinda cooked. Dorinda hosted. And Dorinda was NOT going to let anyone forget it.

    12. “You can leave.” — Meredith Marks, RHOSLC

    Meredith delivered three simple words that somehow carried the force of an entire courtroom verdict. Calm, controlled and completely dismissive, it became one of her most memorable Housewives moments.

    13. “Receipts. Proof. Timeline. Screenshots.” — Monica Garcia, RHOSLC

    Monica came prepared for the Reality Von Tease fallout with what may be the most efficient four-word legal brief in Housewives history.

    14. “I have worked with the toothless and the homeless.” — Kathy Hilton, RHOBH

    Kathy Hilton casually delivered one of the strangest humblebrags in Housewives history, proving that sometimes the most memorable lines are the ones you absolutely could not have predicted were coming.

    15. “I’m from Paterson, did you forget?” — Teresa Giudice, RHONJ

    Teresa’s reminder that she came from Paterson is pure early Jersey: defensive, proud and delivered with the kind of energy that could turn a perfectly normal conversation into a Housewives argument.

  • There are Housewives fights that are hilarious, fights that are legendary, and then there are the moments where you watch and think: “Are we really supposed to be watching this?”

    These are the scenes that crossed the line from entertaining reality-TV chaos into someone please turn the cameras off territory.

    1. Teresa Flips the Table — RHONJ

    It started as an ugly dinner conversation with Danielle Staub. It ended with Teresa Giudice flipping an entire dinner table and unleashing one of the most explosive outbursts in Housewives history.

    The table flip became one of the defining moments of the entire franchise.

    2. Kim and Kyle’s Limo Fight — RHOBH

    The infamous limo ride between sisters Kim and Kyle Richards wasn’t just another Housewives argument. Kyle confronted Kim about her drinking, turning an already painful family conflict into something intensely personal.

    It remains one of the most uncomfortable scenes in Housewives history because there was clearly something much bigger happening beneath the screaming.

    3. The Amsterdam Dinner — RHOBH

    What began as another tense Housewives dinner turned into absolute chaos when Kim Richards confronted Lisa Rinna and the argument escalated dramatically.

    There was screaming, broken glass, accusations and a physical confrontation. By the end, this was no longer a normal Housewives dinner.

    4. The Dinner Party From Hell — RHOBH

    Camille Grammer’s dinner party was supposed to be an elegant evening.

    Instead, Allison DuBois showed up, started making bizarre predictions about the Housewives’ lives, and helped turn the evening into one of the most uncomfortable dinner parties ever filmed.

    Allison puffing on her e-cigarette while delivering her ominous predictions remains one of the most surreal images in Housewives history.

    5. Shannon Throws the Plate — RHOC

    The Quiet Woman dinner was already going badly.

    Then Shannon Beador picked up a plate and threw it at Kelly Dodd.

    The looks on the other Housewives’ faces said everything. This wasn’t simply another argument over who said what—it was the kind of escalation that makes you wonder how production was still rolling.

    6. Teresa Goes After Margaret in Nashville — RHONJ

    Teresa Giudice’s confrontation with Margaret Josephs in Nashville went from verbal warfare to Teresa throwing glasses and dishes.

    Luis Ruelas tried to get Teresa out of the situation, but Margaret’s final remark only poured gasoline on the fire.

    At that point, the dinner had completely ceased to resemble dinner.

    7. The Ireland Meltdown — RHOC

    The RHOC trip to Ireland was supposed to be fun.

    Instead, Kelly Dodd found herself increasingly isolated from the group before the tension finally exploded.

    The trip became one of those classic Housewives situations where every conversation somehow makes things worse—and eventually everybody is yelling at everybody else.

    8. Danielle’s Country Club Escape — RHONJ

    After the infamous table flip, you would think the women might have decided to keep their distance.

    Absolutely not.

    The feud continued at a country club, where Teresa chased Danielle during another spectacular confrontation. Danielle eventually fled outside and hid in the bushes.

    There are reality-TV scenes that feel produced. Then there are scenes where you genuinely wonder how the hell production got from Point A to Point Bushes.

    9. Luann Confronts Tom — RHONY

    The Regency scandal was shocking enough when Bethenny revealed what she had learned about Tom D’Agostino.

    But watching Luann confront Tom about the photographs and the alleged infidelity made the situation painfully real. It wasn’t just Housewives gossip anymore—it was a marriage imploding in front of the cameras.

    And naturally, it happened at one of the most famous Housewives locations imaginable: The Regency.

    10. Aviva Throws Her Leg — RHONY

    There are dramatic Housewives exits.

    And then there is Aviva Drescher removing her prosthetic leg and throwing it across the room.

    The argument had already spiraled completely out of control, but nobody could have predicted that the evening would end with a prosthetic limb being launched across the table.

    It was shocking, bizarre, unforgettable—and possibly the most literal example of a Housewives scene going completely off the rails.