Is It Poor Taste to Call a Real Housewife a B**** in Her Own Home?

No one knows how to ration one measly feud for 20 episodes like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the ladies who built an entire season around the whereabouts of a dog. What a treat it is, then, to have an episode full of fights and feuds, where everyone’s involved in the drama. Well, that’s aside from Erika, who continues to creep toward irrelevance.

The episode begins in Augusta, where Sutton finally gets a long-awaited “I love you” from her mother, and it ends with Sutton storming out of Dorit’s party after being accused, yet again, of being an alcoholic. The circle of life is so beautiful.

Dorit’s Fourth of July bash is exactly what a Real Housewives party should be: full of food nobody touches, extras who disappear the second fighting begins,, and celebratory in exactly zero ways. Truly, it looks like a miserable event for all involved, which is a sure-fire win for production. What’s more American than fighting incessantly in a state of utter hatred for your neighbor?

From the second the event begins, it’s immensely uncomfortable. Sutton arrives to no fanfare, greeted by Dorit’s mother while the host is nowhere to be found. When Dorit does show up, she tries to steal Sutton’s purse in a bit that goes on a little too long to feel like a bit. Sutton better keep an eye on her belongings, because that purse is probably in an entirely different state right about now.

Dorit and Sutton have a clear disdain for each other that, after years of remaining dormant, has been unleashed to a nasty degree. They’re simply unable to even play nice, at this point. We’ve got kleptomania, alcoholism accusations, and the worst faux pas of them all, calling someone a b---- in her own home. God forbid.

Dorit is positively flummoxed that casually accusing of Sutton being an alcoholic is met with backlash, while Sutton’s disgusted that she’s yet again accused of drinking all the time, something she doesn’t even do when she’s sleeping. News flash, Dorit: Sutton didn’t even like those nasty drinks! Surely that will quell the accusations.

The Mother and Daughter Saga ‘Real Housewives’ Fans NeededMOMMIE DEAREST

Alec Karam

Sutton’s storm out is one of those toddler tantrums we’ve all thrown, where you “run away” only to sit five feet away in hopes everyone begs you to return. It’s a successful maneuver, too, in that her tantrum ricochets off everyone else to cause a plethora of fights that allow Sutton to easily slip out of the party. Queenie.

Bozoma makes that quite easy by rolling up to the party, telling everyone to get a grip, and strolling right up to Dorit, having successfully done her minion duties. It’s funny character work to arrive to the party with no context of anything at all, scold the women for “coddling” Sutton, and then wonder why anyone would ever accuse her of being Dorit’s spokesperson.

Sure, Boz has her own reasons to find Sutton annoying, but that doesn’t make it less obvious she’s riding the Dorit boat all the way to the harbor, no matter how many cracks emerge. Tying yourself to a polarizing Housewife who’s centered in the drama is a smart marketing move, after all, and who understands that better than this maven?

It’s just that, after 12 episodes of that song and dance, it’s reasonable for the other ladies to want Boz to sing a different tune.

“In the spirit of sisterhood, can we all rally around [Dorit]?” Boz says, to which Garcelle retorts, “Where’s your spirit of sisterhood when you came over there and called us all rude?”

These ladies have really rolled with Sutton’s “spirit of sisterhood” motif from earlier in the season, weaponizing it at every turn. It’s gotten to the point of utmost absurdity, because like, no, you’re not sisters. You are not acting in the spirit of sisterhood when you try to out each other as lesbians, accuse one another of alcoholism, and claim that same woman has a personality disorder.

That’s something much more complex than sisterhood: being a Housewife. It’s the most nuanced journey a woman can undertake, one that creates an entirely new dimension of reality that encompasses every facet of their being. These bounds are so bizarre that we blindly accept that Dorit’s Fourth of July bash should be a place where women who barely like each other—and no one else—sit down and scuffle, and we all act like that’s normal. It is the status quo in this world, after all.

This Hot Mess Real Housewife Is Actually the Biggest StarWINTER SOLDIERS

Alec Karam

It’s kind of impossible to watch a modern Housewives season, especially one as transitional as this, without acknowledging these bounds. And it means that any new Housewife has to come with her own idea of how to market herself and fit into the drama organically.

That’s part of the challenge of being a Housewife, something Boz is starting to realize. She’s marketed herself as the truth teller who cuts through all the minutia, but hasn’t quite considered how to shift that approach when catching her co-stars ire. She hasn’t learned yet that repeating a brand slogan does not inherently make those words your identity. Actions matter, too.

Thanks to a little birdie by the name of Erika, Kyle has been made aware that Boz said she’s unwelcoming and cold, and she’s quite annoyed by this accusation.

“Even though you said that you don’t have preconceived ideas, your actions say otherwise,” Kyle says

“I am not someone who is led,” Boz replies.

“I know you say that, but it feels differently because…”

“I am not someone who is led,” Boz repeats, hoping to bury it all with empty corporate speak. And there’s no better Housewives city to do that than Beverly Hills.

That said, Kyle’s biggest grievance in this group has always been accusations of inauthenticity. It’s the same thing that happened during Garcelle’s debut season, and with Carlton (well, she got mad that Kyle was mean in her dream, but she did disguise it in a “you’re unwelcoming and fake” delivery).

It’s pretty clear Boz has signed on as the project manager of Dorit deliverables, and Dorit’s quest to secure the Andy seat come reunion—with Boz snuggled right next to her—is going exceptionally. Now, Boz has herself a feud with Kyle that she can ride all the way to the reunion.

So, no, I don’t find Boz’s issues with Kyle fully authentic. But I do find them wholly intriguing in the way it’s created an added ripple effect, as she takes on Sutton, Kyle, and Garcelle all at once, while keeping from a scorched Earth approach with any of them. It’s a much ballsier approach than merely coasting and riding the fence, as newbies so often do. And it’s one that puts her in an interesting position, whereas Erika eats hot dogs and saves all her “hot takes” for confessionals.

Well, I see it as interesting, and Kyle sees it as “gross,” lashing out at Dorit for constantly kissing up to Boz. It’s a joy to see Kyle have to work for her diamond this year, and she’s finally proving that she can do that pretty well.

Just when it seems Kyle’s losing all her control, she takes a breath and decides to make peace with Dorit, once again. It’s obvious that they’re both burying their irritations right below the surface, ready to revive it all at the reunion, but hey. That’s the Housewives ethos.

Disastrous Rape Scandal Should Get a Real Housewife FiredEND OF BRYNNOCENCE

Alec Karam

The two separate from the group to go into Dorit’s house of horrors, with boxes everywhere and clothes astray. Here, the two have a heart-to-heart about their divorces, one that helps propel the episode from feeling like an endless assembly line of feuds. Sure, little of importance is learned, but next week we get to see the fallout of Mauricio being spotted with a younger woman, so that’ll be fun.

More exciting, however, is that Jennifer Tilly will be back, hosting her first-ever cast event where Sutton class-shames Dorit in culturally questionable garb. That’s how you do it, Tilly.