• After an entire season of the women refusing to film with Danielle, most of the cast is finally together at the Posche fashion show, an event that has become practically synonymous with early Jersey drama.

    Teresa insists on saying hello to Danielle, so she and Jacqueline wait for her in the hallway of the country club. Teresa explains that she wanted to say hello because Danielle is a sweet and nice person.

    Danielle says she really doesn’t know Teresa that way.

    Fair.

    Teresa says that’s Danielle’s fault for getting her mad and calls her “honey.” Danielle tells her not to call her honey, and Teresa asks if “bitch” is better.

    LMAO.

    Then Teresa gets up and does some bizarre Paterson tough-girl dance to demonstrate just how tough she is. I don’t know what that was, but I suspect it was supposed to be intimidating.

    Then Danielle mentions that Teresa’s house is in foreclosure.

    Oh, boy.

    Teresa is MAD.

    She takes off after Danielle, with Jacqueline right behind her. Suddenly, we have a full-scale chase through the country club. People are running. Things are being knocked over. The cameras can barely keep up.

    And Teresa is FAST.

    Danielle’s heel breaks, and she ends up outside, waiting for someone to carry her to the car. But before she can make her escape, Ashley, Jacqueline’s daughter, comes running after her.

    Danielle is being carried away from the women who are chasing her, Kim G. is trying to calm her down, and Ashley runs over, grabs a clump of Danielle’s hair and screams:

    “Love and light, bitch!”

    It is completely insane.

    And, believe it or not, Teresa just keeps running. She is STILL chasing Danielle.

    Ashley, meanwhile, is very proud of herself for pulling someone’s hair.

    Um, honey, that’s assault.

    Even when the hair isn’t real.

    Teresa promises Kim G.’s bodyguard that she won’t hit anyone and that she just wants to “talk to the bitch.”

    This is not particularly reassuring.

    Jacqueline tries to get Teresa to leave, while Danielle is absolutely FREAKING OUT in the car. She wants to leave. She wants to call the police. She wants her extensions back.

    Priorities.

    Now Jacqueline and Ashley are fighting, and Ashley is still proudly announcing that she pulled Danielle’s hair. Perhaps she should stop giving the police a detailed account of what she just did before they arrive.

    Danielle wants everyone arrested. She calls 911, and let’s just say the cops seem pretty familiar with her.

    Jacqueline is still standing outside the car like some kind of terrifying suburban sasquatch.

    Kim G. wants to leave. She came looking for drama, but apparently even Kim G. has a limit, and this is too much for her.

    Kim D. is shocked. The Kims are all up in arms. And Ashley is still proudly telling everyone that she pulled Danielle’s hair.

    I am begging this girl to stop talking before the police get there.

    She is not bright.

    Four cop cars show up, and once again, the police seem to know Danielle. Apparently, they have received a lot of calls from her.

    A lot of people chase her and throw tables at her. I wonder if it has anything to do with the company she keeps?

    The cops call Jacqueline over to talk, which, to me, seems insane. Don’t they usually separate people when there has been an altercation? Putting Jacqueline and Danielle together is a nightmare waiting to happen.

    They must be new to the job.

    Or new to the show.

    Ashley admits that she pulled Danielle’s hair—or extensions—because she heard that Danielle hit Jacqueline.

    Um.

    This is new.

    And a lie.

    Teresa, meanwhile, clearly has some experience playing dumb with the police. She keeps saying “What?” and resisting giving up her license so she can make a statement. Somehow, she has suddenly developed a severe case of selective comprehension.

    Danielle is still in the back of the car and still crying.

    The cops let Ashley go for now. If Danielle decides to press charges, she can.

    And why wouldn’t she?

    If these women are right that Danielle is out to get them, they just handed her a gigantic gift wrapped in hair extensions.

    The next day, we’re at Caroline’s house, where Teresa and Jacqueline go over to fill her in on everything that happened.

    Teresa sums up the entire situation by saying:

    “I called her honey and she flipped out!”

    LMAO.

    That is certainly one way to describe it.

    Ugh, I can barely understand anything Caroline is saying. Does she have marbles in her mouth?

    Meanwhile, Danielle is telling her creepy mobster-wannabe boyfriend, Danny, all about her attack.

    Danny tells Danielle that she can’t live like this and that he has her back.

    Dude is like a five-foot-two brunette Marty McFly.

    What exactly is he going to do?

    Strangle somebody with his wife beater?

    I don’t even want to know.

    Meanwhile, Albie and Caroline visit a lawyer to discuss Albie being expelled from law school. He has to wait two years to reapply, and apparently the school does not want him back.

    Caroline and Albie claim that the whole thing happened because his accommodations weren’t being met.

    Because apparently the entire world is supposed to accommodate the Manzos.

    I can’t with these people.

    My husband is an attorney, and I’m sorry, but for someone to be expelled from law school and told they have to wait two years to reapply, something went wrong. I don’t care what Caroline says.

    And here’s the thing: we have the benefit of hindsight.

    Albie never returns to law school.

    The proof is in the pudding.

    He didn’t cut it in law school.

    The end.

    Danielle’s energist calls Jacqueline to try and cleanse her over the phone. This is some weird shit, and Jacqueline is not feeling it. She needs to be cleansed of Danielle. Period. 

    Teresa gives Joe Giudice the lowdown on the throwdown while showing him her “cleavelage.” He does seem mildly aroused, but mostly by the description of the fight.

    Chris Laurita and Jacqueline try to talk to Ashley, who is completely unfazed that she assaulted someone and may be facing serious criminal charges.

    Ashley generally seems unconcerned with most things.

    She drives me crazy.

    And then we’re back with the Manzos, and I am bored.

    Danielle meets Kim G. at a diner, which is very Jersey. Danielle wants to press charges. I don’t blame her, and Kim G. tells her to do what she has to do.

    Apparently, Ashley posted that the fashion show was “ubeweavable.”

    Oh, dear.

    That may be the most clever Ashley has ever been.

    Also, Danielle eats French fries oddly.

    But I digress.

    I remember when this episode originally aired and the blogs were absolutely buzzing about the huge fight at the Posche fashion show. There had been so much buildup and speculation about what had happened that you wondered whether the actual episode could possibly live up to the hype.

    It did not disappoint.

    The Posche fight is a classic early Jersey artifact: completely chaotic, deeply ridiculous, and somehow even more entertaining all these years later.

  • The ladies are in Amsterdam, and it looks beautiful. Yolanda is feeling right at home, while LVP is looking forward to getting a little crazy.

    Rinna is still shaken by her confrontation with Kim on the plane. Kim has asked her, once again, to stop discussing her sobriety. Maybe, Rinna, you should listen. Kim has told you to back off. Kyle has told you to back off. Back the eff off.

    Everyone takes a little rest and then meets back up to hit the town. They are waiting for Kim.

    They are always waiting for Kim.

    Eventually, they make it to a beautiful restaurant for a beautiful dinner, where the conversation somehow turns to the pros and cons of prostitution. Because of course it does. Yolanda says she would do it if she had to. LVP doesn’t quite understand the appeal.

    Yolanda decides she wants to go around the table and have each woman share something private. She wants everyone to get raw and vulnerable.

    She is about to get Monday Night RAW.

    Yolanda shares something deeply personal about her daughter Bella’s DUI. Then Rinna gets emotional and, almost immediately, makes the conversation about herself, bringing up the loss of her sister to a drug overdose.

    This is exactly the kind of shit Kim wanted her to back off from.

    Rinna addresses Kim directly, and Kim is not having it. She has asked Rinna repeatedly not to discuss this stuff, and here Rinna goes again. Rinna insists she only means to help, but Kim tells her AGAIN to drop it.

    We get flashbacks to Kim being messy at Poker Night, and she explains herself. It is a pretty bogus explanation, but honestly, that still doesn’t make it Rinna’s business.

    Kim has made her boundary very clear. Rinna just keeps stepping over it.

    Now Kim points that iconic Richards sister finger at Eileen and tells her to back off, too. Kim accuses Eileen and Rinna of prying, and honestly, they definitely have been.

    Kim points out that she could talk about every single one of them if she wanted to, and tells Rinna to talk about her own home life. Then she calls Eileen a beast, and I love it.

    The two women finally agree that they don’t like each other. Kim hates Eileen’s hair. She hates her face. She hates her voice.

    LMAO.

    Kim looks to Kyle for support and doesn’t get it. Kyle cries instead.

    Brandi, meanwhile, is remarkably calm.

    When Brandi Glanville is the calmest person at your dinner party, you have got a problem.

    Rinna butts in again, because apparently she has learned absolutely nothing. Kim tells her to eat something and calm down.

    LMAO again.

    Yolanda tries to be the voice of reason and brings up Harry Hamlin’s sobriety, presumably hoping that reminding everyone that other people’s personal lives exist will somehow get this conversation back on track.

    It does not.

    And then it happens.

    Kim looks around the table and delivers the sentence that is about to become Housewives history:

    “Let’s talk about the husband.”

    Rinna goes flipping nuts. This is honestly the craziest shit. She lunges across the table and grabs for Kim’s throat before rising out of her chair like a crazed Soap Opera character and hurling her glass at Kim, sending shatters flying over the other women. 

    Kyle goes flying out of the restaurant in her cape. It is a scene she recently called her most iconic.

    I dunno. It just seems a little weak to me, but what do I know?

    The women scatter like Botoxed mice.

    Kim and Kyle go at it, with Kyle calling Kim’s behavior indefensible. Brandi is shocked.

    I mean, BRANDI, is shocked.

    That’s really something.

    Kim is completely unapologetic. She laid a boundary, Rinna violated it, and Kim made a comment. Rinna is the one who just committed assault.

    Is everyone seeing what I am seeing?

    And I don’t even really like Kim all that much!

    Kyle is all about what she goes through with her sister. Kim says her kids have been through hell because of her drinking and that Rinna is hurting them, and I get it. Clearly, Kim could use some help.

    I still don’t think it’s Rinna’s business, though.

    Sorry, not sorry.

    Even Brandi points out how physical Rinna got, yet somehow the focus still seems to be on what Kim said. Everyone is comforting Rinna, and I don’t get it.

    I would honestly be a little afraid of her.

    For all her talk about Kim’s behavior, Rinna might want to take a look at her own.

    Kyle goes on and on about how hard it is for her to be so strong.

    Girl, you bite your finger and run at the slightest hint of a fight. Go to Jersey for a week and see how you make out then, Strong Girl.

    Most of the women are now discussing how mean Brandi and Kim are, and I don’t even remember Brandi saying anything at the dinner!

    I mean, is anyone going to say anything to Rinna? Call the police? Do anything?

    She kind of just acted like she was going to kill Kim, and everyone is boo-hooing all over her.

    Yolanda is ready to go home, and honestly, I don’t blame her. She came to Amsterdam hoping for some bonding and sightseeing and instead got front-row seats to a Housewives homicide attempt.

    Rinna says she will never speak to Kim again.

    Honestly, after that dinner, I’m thinking Kim might consider that a gift.

    The day after, everyone is tired.

    Why do these women travel so far and to such beautiful places just to be miserable all the time?

    Kim goes to see Rinna, and all of a sudden, Rinna is willing to talk. Kim once again explains that Rinna’s concern was fine, but that her constant talking about it was too much.

    I agree.

    And bringing it up at the dinner after agreeing to squash it was insane.

    Kim again explains the impact her drinking has had on her children and why Rinna’s constant discussion of it has been so painful. Rinna actually seems to get it. She is calm. She is receptive.

    I can’t believe these two women are even in the same room.

    These chicks move on quickly.

    The other ladies are also stunned that Kim and Rinna have somehow come to an “understanding.”

    Meanwhile, Brandi is still picking glass out of her underwear.

    Man, these women rally quickly.

    They are about to hop on some bikes and go see some windmills, because apparently the solution to a Housewives near-murder is a wholesome Dutch bicycle ride.

    They ride through the streets of Yolanda’s small town, and it is absolutely enchanting. The windmills are so special and adorable, and for a few minutes, everyone seems to be having a genuinely nice time.

    Then, in a completely staged scene that I am expected to believe is spontaneous, Yolanda randomly runs into a man she used to date.

    And they kissed!

    I don’t buy this setup for a second, but it is kind of cute, so I’ll allow it.

    At least no one is getting choked.

    They go to Yolanda’s mom’s house, and honestly, I don’t even care for Yolanda, but I am hoping these women can behave themselves.

    And they do.

    Miracles happen.

    They discuss Amsterdam’s famous coffee shops and the joys of weed and space cakes. Kim acts shocked and says she doesn’t smoke weed.

    Sure, Kim.

    They all head into a coffee shop, for medicinal purposes, of course.

    Kyle is pretty silly about the whole thing, acting like she barely knows what pot is or what to call it.

    Girl, you live in Southern California.

    Stop it.

    Brandi gets sick of the act and calls Kyle out, reminding her that the last time she got high, they were actually smoking together.

    Kyle looks like she just got punched.

    She doesn’t want her children to know about it, which is completely understandable. But maybe don’t play dumb about marijuana in front of your smoking buddy.

    Brandi has had it. She thinks these women are phony, superficial, and insane.

    She may not be wrong.

    But isn’t that what we’re here for?

    And there we have it.

    The Amsterdam Dinner from Hell!

  • We start at Lisa Vanderpump’s, where Lisa has achieved an important milestone: she has gotten her American driver’s license. 

    Then we cut to Camille and Taylor having lunch. Camille is planning a party at her house, and her goal is to reunite the women after all of the fighting that went down in New York. She is cautiously optimistic that everyone can put their differences aside and have a nice evening together.

    And then Camille casually mentions that she has invited Allison DuBois.

    Yes, that Allison DuBois—the real-life medium who inspired the television show Medium. Camille explains that Allison likes to drink, which feels like a detail we should probably file away for later.

    Camille seems to know exactly what Allison is like, which makes her decision to invite her even more fascinating. She is essentially saying, “I know this woman can be a problem, but let’s put her in a room with a bunch of Housewives and see what happens.”

    What could possibly go wrong?

    Meanwhile, Adrienne and Paul are bickering. Apparently, one of their sons broke Paul’s nose, and Adrienne is less than concerned about her husband’s facial injury. Their marriage has its own little ecosystem of passive-aggressive exchanges.

    Camille starts calling the women to invite them to the party. She even calls Kyle, despite the fact that the two of them are very much not on the best of terms.

    Camille is hoping to bring everyone together and smooth things over.

    Unfortunately, she has also invited Allison DuBois.

    So this is less of a dinner party and more of an archaeological dig site where we are about to uncover one of the most spectacular Housewives disasters ever fossilized on film.

    Kyle is getting ready for the party and gossiping about her fight with Camille in New York. She is also cautiously optimistic that tonight might actually go well.

    Kyle is bringing a guest, too: Faye Resnick.

    Because nothing says “let’s start fresh and heal old wounds” quite like bringing Faye Resnick to dinner.

    Finally, we get to the party preparations, and this is one of my favorite parts of Housewives episodes: getting to see the ridiculous amount of work that goes into creating one of these fabulous events.

    Camille’s massive Malibu estate is buzzing with activity. The house is gorgeous, the staff is preparing everything, and the whole thing looks incredibly glamorous. I love seeing this behind-the-scenes glimpse of how these women actually live and entertain.

    And then we finally meet Allison DuBois.

    At first, she seems…normal enough.

    Which, as we now know, is an extremely temporary condition.

    The ladies are drinking enormous mixed drinks, because apparently nobody involved in this evening has any interest in remaining sober enough to make good decisions.

    Allison immediately starts chatting with Lisa Vanderpump and telling her about her television show and her real life as a medium. There is a little bit of bragging happening, and Lisa responds with the icy politeness of someone who has absolutely no interest in hearing about it.

    Lisa is perfectly courteous.

    But she is also very clearly thinking, “Who is this woman and why is she telling me all of this?”

    And we are still in the calm before the storm.

    The fossils have not yet begun flying.

    Camille is cordial to Kyle, but the second she sees Faye, her entire expression changes. She is not pleased. The look on her face is pure disdain.

    Everyone sits down at the table, and Allison is already BUZZED from the lake-sized drinks. She tells the women that she likes to “go crazy” on Saturdays and that the drinks aren’t supposed to be good. They’re supposed to be bad, but in a controlled setting.

    It is confusing.

    The women don’t laugh. They mostly just look confused, which makes the whole thing even funnier.

    And as a psychic, couldn’t Allison have seen that joke was going to fall completely flat? Just sayin’. 

    At the table, the drinks are flowing and Allison is talking about dead people, although apparently not to them. The women start debating whether they are all alphas, and we are about to find out.

    The conversation turns to Faye.

    Camille has clearly decided to set this up. First she pretends she doesn’t recognize Faye, and then suddenly announces, “Oh, I saw her naked in Playboy after the O.J. trial.”

    It feels very calculated, and Camille looks extremely pleased with herself after saying she loved Faye’s “spread.”

    She tells us that she recognizes the “morally corrupt Faye Resnick,” which is a line for the ages.

    Kyle points out that Camille also did Playboy, but Camille is quick to explain that she was clothed. This launches an entire debate about whether that counts as doing Playboy.

    Camille argues that she did not pose naked for Playboy after the murder of her best friend, as Faye did, and somehow this is supposed to establish Camille’s moral superiority.

    Then comes the electronic cigarette.

    Allison cannot put the thing down. She puffs away constantly, looking less and less like a psychic and more like an evil villain plotting the destruction of the entire dinner party.

    Lisa asks Allison about her psychic gifts. Allison hints that she has already gotten readings on all of them, but she doesn’t want to discuss them because she is off the clock.

    The women, particularly Kyle, keep pushing.

    Kyle insists she is just curious, but she is really being a little obnoxious about it.

    Then Faye, the uninvited guest who has already been publicly identified as morally corrupt, jumps in and asks Allison to read just one person.

    Allison looks at her and says, “Don’t tempt me.”

    Then she takes a long drag on her electronic cigarette.

    Honestly, the whole scene has now become performance art.

    Camille cautions the women that they may not like what Allison has to say. Kyle keeps pushing, and Allison begins hinting that Kyle might get divorced.

    Kyle is adamant that this will never happen.

    And then Allison delivers the line that has become one of the most infamous moments in Housewives history:

    “He will never emotionally fulfill you. Know that.”

    The “know that” absolutely cracks me up.

    Kyle, not so much. Allison continues to say that when her kids grow up, Kyle will have nothing in common with her husband, which seems to have proven true. Season 1 Kyle, however, is MAD. 

    The conversation turns to the Camille/Kyle fight in New York and Allison calls Kyle offensive. Lmao. Camille says she didn’t tell Allison anything about the fight and did not want to prejudice her against Kyle, Faye, uninvited again, chimes in to say she finds that hard to believe. 

    Faye takes up for Kyle, Allison takes up for Camille, and suddenly everyone is talking at once.

    It’s on.

    And Allison is still puffing away on that electronic cigarette.

    Kyle finally tells Allison to butt out and calls her boring.

    Oh, no.

    Now the drunken beast is unleashed.

    Allison calls Kyle washed up. She tells Faye to take a flying leap. She is still drinking, still puffing on the e-cigarette, and I honestly did not see this coming. This woman has gone from slightly annoying dinner guest to full-blown drunken supervillain in about five minutes.

    Then she tells Faye and Kyle, “You have two legs,” and tells them to leave.

    LMAO.

    Faye is stunned.

    And I don’t know if I completely buy this. Faye has seen a lot.

    Lisa and Adrienne are doing the smart thing and trying very hard not to get involved.

    Then, completely out of nowhere, Kim and Taylor start fighting and yelling at each other across the table.

    In Jersey, this table would have been flipped by now.

    But this is Beverly Hills, so instead of flipping furniture, the women insult each other’s plastic surgery. Kim tells Taylor to go get her lips blown up some more.

    Honestly, this is the Beverly Hills version of a table flip.

    Eventually, the women decide it is time to leave, and they are absolutely right.

    But Allison is not finished.

    As Kyle is leaving, Allison makes 13-year-old-boy jerking-off motions at her and tells her she is nothing.

    This shit is completely off the rails.

    Then Allison says she can tell us when Kyle will die and what will happen to her family.

    And it gets ugly.

    The women continue fighting as they make their way toward the cars, and then, in a perfect Housewives moment, the sprinklers go off on them.

    It is excellent.

    I don’t know if Camille had those sprinklers timed to go off at exactly that moment, but if she did, I respect the hell out of it. Because if I had just hosted this dinner party, I would have turned those sprinklers on myself.

  • The Giudices, Gorgas, and Wakiles are all at Lake George, pretending they want to learn how to get along. They even have team-building coaches.

    The coaches look like extremely WASPy people who have never encountered this level of North Jersey Italian energy in their lives. They are clearly overwhelmed by the family drama that has invaded their peaceful little castle.

    And things go downhill quickly.

    Melissa calls Teresa poison. Joe Gorga calls her scum.

    Even Kathy thinks this has gone too far.

    Meanwhile, Joe Giudice is outside venting to Rosie. He tells her that one day, Joe Gorga is really going to piss him off. Joe Giudice once said that the only reason he didn’t kick Joe Gorga’s ass was because he had promised Nono Gorga that he wouldn’t.

    Frankly, I believe him.

    Stunned by what is happening, Teresa rushes outside.

    “Joe, he just called me scum. I wanna leave.”

    Joe Giudice, who appears a little tipsy, heads right to the castle. He wants Joey Gorga to apologize, so naturally he heads inside to confront him.

    Joe Gorga is ready for a fight. A panicked Richie tells him to back up. It’s good advice. 

    Almost as soon as Joe Giudice opens his mouth and tells him to apologize, Joe Gorga charges at him.

    And this is one of my favorite Housewives moments ever.

    Joe Giudice grabs Joe Gorga and flips him like it ain’t no thing.

    And just like that, it is ON LIKE DONKEY KONG.

    Melissa immediately jumps into the fight, biting and scratching, while Teresa runs to get security.

    And because Melissa is Melissa, she also manages to stop long enough to retrieve Joe Gorga’s hat and cover his bald spot.

    Yes. His hat.

    By now, everyone is covered in Joe Gorga’s black hair spray.

    It is literally everywhere.

    The fight continues, with the Joes screaming threats at each other, and then we learn that Joe Gorga apparently bit Joe Giudice’s nuts.

    LMAO.

    I mean, what even is happening here?

    The WASP team-building coaches look absolutely terrified. They came to Lake George expecting to teach some Italian-American families how to communicate effectively, and instead they have accidentally wandered into a prehistoric Jersey territorial dispute.

    And the black hairspray is still everywhere.

    The jig is up, Joey Gorga.

    You’re bald, and we all know it.

    Melissa is furious with Teresa for allowing the fight to happen, which I don’t completely understand. Teresa literally ran to get security. What exactly was she supposed to do? Step between two enormous, furious Joes?

    I’m not particularly interested in taking either Joe’s side here. They are both acting completely insane. But I don’t see how this is Teresa’s fault.

    Joe Gorga tells Joe Giudice, “You made me be a bum like you.”

    Sure, Joe.

    Maybe you’re both just a little nuts?

    And let’s not forget the Christening From Hell. Joe Gorga started that one, too. Dude has one hell of a temper.

    Meanwhile, the WASPs remain traumatized.

    And the black hairspray is everywhere.

    Joe Giudice looks around and seems genuinely bemused by the fact that there is black shit all over him.

    Why, indeed?

    Teresa really wants to leave. She is completely over this entire family vacation.

    But now Teresa wants to punch Melissa in the face, and Melissa declares that they have reached rock bottom.

    You think?

    Don’t worry, Missy G.

    You will go lower.

    Joe Gorga tells us he hates Joe Giudice so much that he wants to skin him.

    Oh, my.

    That’s aggressive.

    We get a montage of Joe Giudice’s past misdeeds, and I have to admit, the man has quite an impressive rap sheet of Housewives offenses.

    Melissa announces that she is DONE.

    Meanwhile, Joe Giudice is telling Teresa that Joe Gorga started the fight by charging him, and again, I agree.

    Now Rosie is blaming Teresa for the fight, while Kathy is primarily concerned that her brand-new nose might have been damaged.

    Priorities.

    Again, I am not seeing Teresa’s fault here. Sue me, but I don’t.

    Joe Gorga called her scum. Teresa wanted to leave. Joe Giudice went inside to tell Joe Gorga to apologize. Joe Gorga charged him. Teresa ran to get security.

    I don’t know what I would have done differently, except maybe give up on my brother years ago.

    Joe Giudice tells Teresa she is an idiot if she continues trying to reconcile with her family, and Teresa is worried about what her father will think.

    Richie, meanwhile, doesn’t want to leave. He thinks he can talk to both Joes.

    If Richie is going to be the voice of reason, we are all in trouble.

    Richie heads over to the Giudices’ room to shame Teresa, and she is having absolutely none of it.

    I wish Juicy Joe would karate chop him.

    Teresa didn’t drag her husband into this. She told him what happened and said she wanted to go home. What happened after that was between the Joes.

    Period.

    Little Joey Gorga is crying, and Melissa is comforting him.

    I just can’t muster up the sympathy for a guy who just called his sister scum, charged her husband, and bit him in the nuts.

    Again, sue me.

    Teresa wants to talk to her brother alone, but Melissa doesn’t want to leave. Even Rosie tells her to give them a minute alone, but Melissa refuses to budge.

    Joe Gorga says he wants nothing to do with Teresa and cries some more.

    The WASPs finally emerge from their nest and attempt to manage these dinosaurs.

    They are in way over their heads.

    Literally.

    They are speaking a completely different language.

    Richie says that things always get worse before they get better. Maybe that’s true, but sometimes things get worse because it’s time to walk away.

    Joe Giudice, meanwhile, is over it.

    He wants to go have dinner.

    I do enjoy how quickly he gets over things. 

    The Giudices decide to have dinner on their own while the rest of the crew remains in the dining room, listening to Richie be gross and Joe Gorga attempt to explain his hair spray.

    Lol.

    The Giudices are in the bathtub, which I could have lived without seeing.

    Joe says that if he feels good tomorrow, maybe he’ll take Joe Gorga fishing.

    Again, I love this man’s ability to move on.

    Even from someone biting his nuts.

    The next day, Rosie is optimistic that things will improve, and Dr. V, a therapist, is on her way to work with the families.

    Teresa calls Caroline to ask her to come help her family, and I think this may be one of the most staged things I have ever seen on this show.

    These women hate each other.

    There is absolutely no way this call happens without producer intervention.

    Dr. V arrives, and she is very Jersey.

    No WASP vibes here.

    She is direct, gets right to the point, and Teresa immediately clues her in on the long and complicated history of the family disputes.

    Melissa seems resistant to her almost immediately, and I get the feeling that she really just wants the relationship between these families to be over so she can live in peace.

    Everyone gangs up on Teresa and blames her for the fight.

    Still not seeing it.

    Melissa’s hatred for Teresa is very clear in this scene.

    Dr. V speaks to everyone individually, and Joe Gorga tells her that his sister is the devil.

    Dr. V asks him to talk to Teresa.

    Alone.

    No Melissa. No Joe Giudice.

    And wouldn’t you know it? When you take away the spouses and let the siblings talk to each other on their own, things suddenly become much calmer.

    Joe Gorga still needs time.

    Fair enough.

    Oh, Christ.

    Caroline arrives.

    Why?

    Again, this all feels incredibly staged.

    Apparently Teresa called her at 6:45 in the morning, and Caroline just happened to be available, willing to travel hours away from home, and ready to help a woman she cannot stand.

    Like I said, I am not really on Team Giudice or Team Gorga, and Lord knows this feud will develop for seasons to come. But in this case, I say Joe Gorga started it.

    Melissa called Teresa poison. Joe Gorga called her scum. Teresa wanted to leave. Joe Giudice went inside to demand an apology, and Joe Gorga charged him.

    I’m sorry, but I’m still not seeing how this is Teresa’s fault.

    Joe Giudice certainly didn’t handle the situation well, but Teresa didn’t start the fight, and she didn’t encourage it. She ran to get security.

    I’m not taking sides in the larger Giudice-Gorga war because, as we know, this thing is nowhere near over. But for this particular incident?

    I’m giving this one to the Gorga fossil.

    Sorry, Melissa.