First of all can we please retire the terms “tea” and “shade”? They were already played out in the Atlanta gay community where the housewives appropriated the terms when RHOA began years ago. I am so beyond it now I can’t stand it. That rant is about the title that Bravo selected for the episode not any of you special snowflakes here. I still do it myself. But it just feels so 1999 lately, don’t you think?
As usual I got caught up in a Sunday night catch up session on our weekends with a couple of people and we had so much to chat about that I am once again late to recap. So let’s get right to whatever fascinating drama there is in the ATL tonight, shall we? I doubt it is half as juicy as the behind the scenes going on here on the site, but you never know.
Phaedra
I refuse to recap Phaedra’s attempt to capitalize the very serious issue of frequent murders of unarmed black men by police officers in this country. Or any of her self aggrandizing political involvements. Sorry. Not Sorry. Will not dignify it with my time. I find it appalling and disgraceful. Here are my thoughts on her DNC stunts at the time. I will also not play along with the farce that is Phaedra filing for divorce from Apollo. This REMAINS UNTRUE. That is not to say I believe that Apollo has filed on her yet either. I did see that poor pitiful Philly girl literally showing off her “prison paper engagement ring” from Apollo on Instagram this week though. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP, though I hope to God she is. Could anyone actually be flashing a “prison paper engagement ring” on Instagram in a serious fashion? In the world we currently live in? I now believe that anything is possible.
Kenya
Okay Kenya, I am not going to recap your bullshit stories with Matt anymore either. I do not believe your “Matt lost his Gucci belt so I am making him a Gucci cake story.” Even those with traumatic brain injuries would not buy into this storyline. Matt could not afford a Gucci belt if he sold his Ford Pinto and took out a loan. After this weekend’s crazy bullshit stories with Matt and his new “girlfriend” (who seems light on the girl and slightly heavier on the friend) am I really quite done with all the nonsense. My New Year’s Resolution is going to be to be less gullible, and you my imaginary friend in my head are no longer going to be getting the benefit of the doubt with me. I have no idea what your end game is with this kid, but to be honest, I no longer care. And I do not want to watch you and Cynthia bake cakes.
Also, Kenya, if you are inviting a couple to do something with you and your man, you don’t do it right in front of your newly single BFF. I don’t understand why Kenya bothered to make her place on the show the well-mannered one over the last season or two if she is going to revert back to season one Kenya this season. Cynthia is quickly becoming the only likable one on the show again.
Sheree
Speaking of unlikable, how did Kairo manage to get a DUI with the press finding out about this? Apparently, Kairo got pulled over for expired tags. I’m going to guess that was one of Sheree’s cars. And supposedly he was arrested for being high even though no pot was found. I am not sure I believe this happened either. Would Sheree really make this up for storyline though? Surely not. But it does seem strange. Kairo is a good kid. If it is true, it is the first truth of this episode. Or it’s simply another excuse for a fake Bob and Sheree scene.
Kandi
The opening of the Old Lady Gang restaurant is the only interesting storyline to me at this point. Kandi is upset because they are three weeks behind schedule. That’s actually practically on time when it comes to opening a business. Of course Peter shows up to get camera time give advice.
Todd and Peter catch up on their marriages and their BFF Apollo. This guy talk makes RHOA seem more like Love and Hip Hop. I’m not sure if I like it or not. I do have to say it seems more genuine. They do not mention anything about Apollo talking about Phaedra coming for a visit. This will be of note later in the episode.
Cynthia
Cynthia and Noelle go house shopping so that we get to see Cynthia’s new lake house. Of course we are pretending like this is the first time are seeing it. It really is a cute house. I think she is smart to buy out on the lake. As I mentioned before, this can be her vacation property when she ultimately moves to LA with Noelle and Leon. Plus, she has probably already forgotten that is the lake that Porsha assaulted her on, right? It is really big, for a lake house for one person. It’s over 4,500 sq ft and has six bedrooms. I love the outdoor shower and the indoor bathrooms are top of the line and completely move in ready. WOW, $949,000 seems really high but it is lakefront and very nicely finished. Okay, now that I have seen it all, the price seems more reasonable. I love it. It’s still a lot of upkeep for one person.
Wait, WHAT? Are we really going to do another Housewives on ATV Scene?
After this happened in Orange County, production decided to put Kenya, Matt, Kandi and Todd on some ATVs. This was filmed three months after the RHOOC accident. Production really does hate Kenya. Oh and apparently, Matt hates Kenya too because he didn’t show up to film. There was some bogus story about how he was in California visiting his sister. Um, noe. I am so over all of this contrived nonsense. If you are actually a fan of the show, nothing is believable anymore. You have to be someone who just watches the show and doesn’t follow any blogs in order for these shows to be enjoyable anymore. I guess he didn’t get his Gucci belt.
In her talking head, Kenya admits that Matt took off somewhere and didn’t show up for his birthday. Lena and her new husband are there instead. I’m telling you Lena worked for that peach and it’s a damn shame she didn’t get hers. She ends up playing sick so that Kenya can ride with RL and race Kandi and Todd.
After the ATV riding everyone talks with Kenya about her “relationship” with Matt. #eyeroll Kenya is way to smart and way to pretty for this nonsense.
Phaedra Goes To Visit Apollo? And the Bomb Threat on Her Office
On the way to visit Apollo, Phaedra gets the call about the bomb threat at her office. Angela Stanton’s ex, Drama, got out of prison and allegedly went to what he thought was Phaedra’s office to blow her up. Remember that? You can read about that here. And here you can read about Phaedra defending Drama here. Read about Drama’s bond here. You can tell that she was really freaked out by this despite her trying to play it all of as just a misunderstanding later. She was clearly afraid of Drama. They did not mention his name on the episode AT ALL. Interesting. It is also interesting this happened on the day that Phaedra was going to see Apollo. Coincidence?
What is she doing going to see Apollo, in person, at the jail by herself? THAT is what I want to know. Apollo calls her to see why she is late and they have a very civil conversation and then she continues in to visit him. Is this a good time to point out she is wearing a black and white striped jumpsuit for the visit? Again, I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP. Why do I feel the need to say that so often when recapping this show?
It seems to me that Phaedra and Apollo are just as together as they ever were. I am not surprised in the least.
Next Week: Kenya’s storyline looks even more disappointing. Dayum, girl.
Does Porsha keep her “Silver Rights” in the caboose of the Underground Railroad? Lord, she is about as bright as a 4 watt bulb!
Did Todd just say not washing balls is Caucasian?
How ignorant is that?
This show gets a pass when saying anything racially insensitive.
He said “Cajun”. As in spicy balls. Sigh.
She said she is all about the fight for civil rights, but all I could think of was how she thought the underground railroad was a train. These women are so fake. Phaedra is touting her foundation associating it with Black Lives Matter and her husband is in prison. Kairo was driving with expired tags and/or being high while smoking pot and Sheree turns this into him being gunned down because he is black.
Does Phaedra really care about anything other than how her foundation will elevate her in the circles she wants to be in? All I could think after seeing her and Porsha at the convention is that they were there mainly to party and pick up men. Did Porsha even know Hilary was running?
I hope the season improves.
Sheree was trying to explain to him that black men get gunned down by law enforcement for even less than that. Like it or not, that is not an exaggeration. We tell our kids not to make any mistakes at all when driving because it may cost them their lives. And we’ve seen that even that may not be enough. Just because you break a law, doesn’t mean you should’nt still have your day in court. I’ve had this same talk with my teenaged son. It is very necessary in the current climate. We are just trying to keep them alive. Some people will never understand this. That’s what I got from her talk with him.
Nana. I am so sorry that you have had to have that talk with your son. If anything, I saw Sheree and Bob’s talk with their son as “fake” only in that they weren’t MORE passionate about how he is always “driving while black” whether or not he had some weed. I have no children, and yes, I am white. Must have that caveat. But I do follow a local news anchor on FB – she’s been on an Emmy award winning news team for years, and she as a few years ahead of me at my university (she’s a trustee now). She’s black.
She dropped that “journalistic neutral” attitude, and posted about how she has had to have the “conversation” with her son numerous times, especially after the horrible death of Treyvon. It made me weep at the time, and feeling helpless about what to do as an ally.
I watch the HW for amusement, but that topic and seeing the DNC convention where I had such high hopes of that particular glass ceiling being shattered (#ImwithHer) just made me sad all over again, and afraid for women, LGBTQIA, people of color, religious minorities, etc. all over again.
Well that’s what I meant when I said doing far less than what he did. My original comment to Ruthie was in response to what she said about Sheree’s talk with Kairo. The talk with Bob? Weird. Everything about their scenes together are clearly manufactured. And why is he so friggin sweaty??? Jeezus! I don’t want to keep getting into the whole issue of violent police encounters though. It’s just kinda hard not to turn these comments into political talk, when that’s what the whole damned show was about. Phaedra at the DNC however, is full of shit. And Porsha should not have been allowed to attend after the Underground Railroad debacle.
I know that is what you meant. I was ineptly supporting your statement – if the cameras were off, I think the ‘talk’ with Kairo would have been much more brutally honest. I think that both Bob and Sheree get that delving deeply into the violent police encounters on camera would serve no useful purpose in this venue. Black Lives Matter, violent police encounters (in BOTH directions)… too nuanced for the Housewives. Seriously, I don’t know if I can think of any HW I would trust to hold that kind of important conversation – accept for perhaps some of the DC housewives (as that was the best cast in terms of multiculturalism and respect)
Agreed and agreed. And I know you were agreeing with me. Ha!
I didn’t mean any disrespect, NFL NANA. I have to remember this is an edited RHOA show and we only see snippets of conversation. It seems when this show brings in serious topics, it’s difficult to take in much of what they say on a deeper level because the next segment will be over-the-top frivolous.
Phaedra’s Flint charity makes me nuts. Yes, it would be nice to give city kids who would not normally get to go camping a chance to do that, but is the top priority not CLEAN WATER? She can send Atlanta kids to camp. Get the Michigan kids decent living conditions.
I was wondering why she was visiting also w/o the boys. Unless she was getting paperwork signed, it seems odd she was just casually stopping by for visit with a man she claims to have divorced.
It was barely on the news Friday but Kenya did her court date too. Got her $1000 fine & paid it right then. She can & needs to do much better than Matt. He does act like a child & her scenes with him show it loud & clear.
I don’t think Kandi restaurant is opened yet. That schedule went out the window a long time ago. It is going to take quite a while to make back that money unless it really takes off & stays packed after the novelty is over. I hope that does for her sake. Her mom & aunts will never let her forget it if it doesn’t.
@Joanplusdogs I thought it was insinuated here, but maybe not, that Bravo pushed for the visit between P and Apollo? Am I remembering that right? I really felt for Phaedra tonight. That had to be utterly terrifying for her and the thought of her boys being around. Really scary. You could see how shaken Kenya was when she heard the news.. Kandi was announcing it like gossip and Kenya realized the severity of the situation right away. She has more sense than the rest of them and it’s her Aunt Lori’s influence. Kandi had a baffoon as an example in Mama Joyce so she can’t differentiate between idle gossip and terrorism.
You may right. I don’t recall it (except taking the kids). I may have missed that discussion when it was just the two of them visiting. Since Bravo cannot film past gates, it is rather dull & poor choice of storyline. Likely Phaedra regretted it since she was separated from the boys & her family when the craziness occurred. That would drive any parent sick with worry.
That’s true.. Bravo can’t film in the prison. I don’t know why I thought that this visit was concocted somehow. I guess I just can’t believe that Phaedra cares about Apollo or cares to see him. I think she secretly wishes she never had to deal with him again. I don’t believe she wants her boys to remember him or have any kind of relationship with him. I think she fears that he will take her down somehow.
The only good thing about this episode was that I watched it in 10 minutes bc I fast-forwarded through 90% of it. I watch Bravo for mindless entertainment, not political discourse. I also have zero desire to see Kandi and Todd having sex with the help of her mother. Just. Plain. Weird.
I was still catching up on typing some other scene during this Todd and Kandi scene y’all keep talking about.I remember Todd saying to his mother, “that’s how we got pregnant the first time..” but tend not to pay attention to the Bedroom Kandi/ sex talk during Kandi scenes. It appears I missed something grosser than usual.
Yes, really gross. Todd paints some chocolate sauce on Kandi’s ass and starts licking it off. Really? Bizarre, strange. I noticed that Mama Joyce was once again dissing (used in lieu of shade) Todd. She said that they were both working so hard, “Well at least Kandi is” that she felt back for them.
Tamara, I know you said that Matt and Kenya aren’t together anymore. It makes perfect sense to me because they are barely together on the show. Not just physically, but there doesn’t really seem to be an ongoing adult relationship going on. All that said, if Matt was a real contender, I could see him being pissed off when Kenya posted that ‘throwback Thursday’ picture of her sitting next to Jay-Z in some video they did back in the 90’s. Kenya seems to want to make herself seem ever relevant by putting up photos like that that have nothing to do with her life now. It almost seems like she put it up to provoke Matt, knowing how jealous he is. I am not a big fan of Kenya this year. She seems to be verbally aggressive and I’m not liking this side of her much.
TT you are so right about how fake this show has become. I had to FF through all the Phaedra and Sheree scenes. God I can’t even stand watching Phaedra anymore. The woman is such a shameless opportunist and a fraud.
On to Matt and Kenya, I couldn’t believe he just blew her off like that. What an asshole. I sure hope she is done with him.
OMG I looooved Cynthia’s new place. I so want that house, it was absolutely stunning. Amazing that place was less than 1 million. Just goes to show what your money can get you outside of NYC/LA/SF. Ugh I need to move.
Thank you BKS… for conveying my sentiments about this episode. After watching, I felt bad for Tamara. Then I read this post and I have to give you much respect for sticking with this for so long. I’m glad I found Tamara’s blog because she has a great perspective on all things Bravo.
Matt seems like the typical narcissist and since Kenya had such a tragic situation with her mother, it looks like she plays it out.
The show is not the same anymore, it’s like Carlos is producing his dream show and not a real one, everything is just so damn fake now. Lena and RL would have been such great additions but the powers that be shut them down for these tired drawn out storylines from the same girls 5 seasons in a row. And why on earth is shade used on damn near every episode title, I know Carlos and bravo are better than this and if no other women in Atlanta want to do this show then cancel this city.
Thanks for the recap, TT, as six minutes in I just couldn’t bear to listen to the drivel these clueless women spout. I had to return to Miami with my boyfriend Tony B. I did peak back in during a commercial break only to see Ms. Parks in her b/w striped jumpsuit (WTF was she thinking?) en route to the prison, receiving the alleged phone call about the bomb threat. I could be mistaken, but wasn’t she in South Africa being excluded from a conference when the bomb incident occurred? Which leads me to believe this entire ‘visit’ was just for the cameras. Seriously, Phaedra’s striped attire would be an ironic gesture if I believed that she understood the meaning of irony.
Those were diff events. There was a situation concerning the school her children attend when she was out of the country–TT covered the details–didn’t happen all that long ago.
Correct, the only actual real scene of the entire show was of Phaedra in the car on the way to the prison. I hope that next week we pick up where we left off there but that is highly unlikely because she didn’t have anyone in the car to talk to about the visit when she came out. That fact alone makes me think this prison visit was NOT scripted and that Phaedra was going since she was so close to the prison already and she probably did not ant cameras there but they insisted. While I kind of hope the camera person does ask her questions, I doubt that will happen.
Of course Phaedra and Appollo are still together. She has to control him so that he does not flip on her.
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Omgosh, just started to watch, Cynthia dealing with her hair in the cake shop is so distracting, I have to rewind to hear what they said. Wild wig, even for Cynthia. She is so pretty though.
I didn’t watch, obviously. Is this different from the time Kairo got arrested for DUI in May? Or is it the same arrest?
It’s the same. Did I post about it? It was not in the metro area. It was down in Carroll County near that prestigious college Sheree was referring to University of West Georgia.
Dunno. I just remember a new story coupled with some of his modeling pics and thinking: Well, Sheree created one thing of beauty. He’s legal, right? lol
Barely, Andrew. Just barely.
I’m going to try again. What is up with Bob’s sweating?
I’ve been sick-ish this weekend so just reading this, God I hope you’re right about Kenya and Matts relationship being made for tv, volitile is a kind word to say the least. Matt is OJ Simpson crazy IMO. Other than Cynthia’s beautiful new home it was kind of a snoozer.
Bringing Peter,” I’ve been doing this for thirty two years” ( What ? Running businesses into the ground?) , is like an old broom in a new house. He can’t sweep the street clean.