Tuesday, October 20, 2015

The Real Housewives of Orange County Reunion Recap: What a Lovefest (Seriously)!

The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 10 Episode 20 marked the first installment of this fall’s reunion special, and oh, it was special indeed.


If you like drama, tension and occasional awkwardness – and clearly you do, if you sat through this past season on Bravo – Monday night delivered.



That being said, it looks like the real bloodbath is yet to come, and The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 10 Episode 20 was just a teaser.


If you watch The Real Housewives of Orange County online, you know what’s about to come to a head after 9-10 weeks of this Brooks Ayers fiasco.


At least by their standards, the ladies were generally reserved, polite, calm and even accepting of one another, despite the conflicts of the past.


In fact, the topic of Brooks Ayers’ cancer never even came up.


Vicki Gunvalson reflected on her mother’s death, her reaction to which was captured by Bravo cameras, and from which she has not yet recovered.


“It’s actually worse,” she said. “Our void has gotten worse.”


“It’s so stupid, but I never really thought she’d die.”


At the others’ urging, Gunvalson told a great story about her 80-year-old mother’s road rage, but she also took heat from her co-stars later on.


Vicki’s statements about how people should behave rub people the wrong way, it turns out. Not the least of which? Meghan King Edmonds.


Host Andy Cohen asked if her beef with Edmonds didn’t stem from Vicki calling RHOC “her show” and a desire to have her “kiss the ring.”


“I am the OG of the OC and I do expect respect,” Vicki said.



That was about it for feuding on this night, though. Edmonds revealed that she and her stepdaughter Hayley are in a good place these days.


Tamra Barney, meanwhile, is on the outs with her daughter Sidney, who lives with her father (Tamra’s ex-husband) Simon and doesn’t talk to her.


Her son Spencer, on the other hand, lives with Tamra and doesn’t talk to Simon. That’s not normal. But it’s also what brought Tamra to God.


Tamra remembered telling a woman who had invited her to church:


“I feel like I’m going to die right now. I just don’t have any help.”


Hence the Tamra Barney baptism storyline, a major focal point of this season, and the subject of the reunion show’s final twist Monday:


Alexis Bellino, the series’ former cast member, weighed in.


“I cannot sit back and watch a mockery be made of my savior,” Alexis wrote via email, taking Tamra to task for what she felt was hypocrisy.


While she was baptized as a Christian, Bellino argued that her rival did not display any new, better, behaviors in the wake of the ceremony.


Tamra’s response to the zing by Jesus Jugs?


“She’s the type of Christian that gives Christians a bad name. Sometimes you have to go through things in your life to get to a better place.”


Amen.