‘The Real Housewives of Orange County’ Has a Gina Problem

This season of The Real Housewives of Orange County is asking the brave question: What will viewers think when the most annoying Housewife, Gina Kirschenheiter, gets such a prominent edit?

It’s an interesting method, one riskier than you may expect from such a banner season, and one that’s proving to have mixed results. On one hand, Gina’s top billing in the drama is no doubt the calm before the Storms-Beador, but it’s also testing the limits of how much we as an audience care about her, six seasons in.

Tonight’s episode picks up where we left off, with Gina dramatically leaving Jenn in the dust at a coffee shop. The two ladies each call up a peer, Gina phoning Emily and Jenn FaceTiming Shannon, to relay what just happened. Gina’s version of events leaves a lot to be desired, though. Don’t let the newsboy cap fool you, Gina’s no unbiased reporter. She’s incapable of realizing that beating Jenn down isn’t exactly the most effective method, nor that she comes across much less intact, despite being technically in the right.

“I am no longer here to try and educate Jenn how not to be an idiot,” Gina shares in a confessional, but maybe she could learn a thing or two from Jenn when it comes to being a good Housewife.

It pretty well-encapsulates the difference in how Gina and Jenn approach their roles as Real Housewives that Gina ran away screaming at cameras, not Jenn. Gina kept herself elevated to a 10, while Jenn calmly sits at the table, looking a bit upset. Gina’s always looking for her next moment, but Jenn’s magnetic ability to be authentic on screen naturally lends itself to moments, both big and small.

We follow this with the season’s second group event, as the ladies meet up for a random game of flag football. While Heather sidelines herself as referee, team captains Tamra and Emily pick their teams, unsurprisingly pitting friends against foes, but it doesn’t amount to anything beyond a friendly game. It’s off the field where things get a bit ugly.

Apparently, Alexis is having sex with John Jannsen four times a day, which Shannon finds utterly classless. Like, what is going on that these two are having that much sex? Is this just Alexis feeling weirdly competitive and wanting to take Larsa Pippen down as the franchise’s most sex per capita Housewife? Regardless, it’s good Shannon got out of there, because she’s far too busy starting charities to have sex four times a day.

Even more egregious than their absurd sex life is Alexis and John’s decision to try and poach Shannon’s gym and personal trainer, though. At least, that’s Shannon’s narrative. Alexis begs to differ, telling Gina that Shannon hasn’t been to their gym in six months. Whether that’s true or Alexis is trying to Single White Female Shannon depends, but it’s hard to defend Alexis’ decision to get a dog that looks eerily similar to Archie.

Everything to do with Shannon vs. Alexis is the epitome of suburban drama and it’s just a joy to watch. Shannon’s palpable disgust at Alexis saying it’s her gym and her trainer is just petty enough to be understandable. I mean, first The Quiet Woman, now this! Can Shannon never find sanctuary in Orange County? If Alexis were smarter, I might think she’s trying to systematically push Shannon to the brink of psychosis.

After the ladies break for a Canva-promoted football match (please tone down the overindulgent editing, dear Bravo editors!), they sit down for round two of Gina vs. Jenn. Although the conversation starts calmly enough, Gina accuses Jenn of “squatting” in the house she was evicted from, which even Tamra and Heather grimace at. In the next breath, Gina tells Jenn, “I wish you would have called me, though, Jenn, as a friend,” which doesn’t exactly carry weight when Gina has used the entire situation to slam Jenn into walls.

Of course, delusion is a strength of many Housewives, but it’s a balancing act. So it’s nice that the two do make peace and Gina finally comes from a place of compassion, owning that her anger has been some level of projection. She tells the ladies that Travis is moving out, explaining why she’s struggling so much, but it all feels like a rinse and repeat of Gina’s attack on Jenn in Season 17, when she made Jenn’s affair all about herself before admitting she was projecting.

Gina should really let Jenn hang herself, because she has so much rope. It’s utterly chilling when we learn Jenn has never had a credit card in her name despite the fact she’s 46 years old. Jenn, release yourself from the shackles of patriarchy and make smart decisions! Please, in Jesus Jugs’ name.

Next, Shannon accompanies Emily to a boudoir photoshoot to celebrate her new body. It’s allegedly a gift for Shane, but it should be noted that the last time Emily did a sexy thing for Shane (her burlesque dance in Vegas in front of Shane’s parents), Shane didn’t bother attending. But hey, Emily looks fantastic, so why not celebrate with a professional shoot?

Shannon and Emily make for strong scene partners, something that became evident in Season 15, but has always been stalled by inevitable issues between the two. For the first time, it seems the two are meeting each other where they’re at, and it’s producing a genuine friendship that could really last.

As for less-than-genuine friendships, we hop on over to Tamra’s walk with Jenn and Alexis. No hate to Tamra, but the only genuine friendship she’s ever had on this show is with Vicki Gunvalson, and everyone else is merely an ally. It’s already fun imagining how well this season will play on rewatch once she’s inevitably turned on Alexis.

Despite that, Tamra offers Jenn sound advice: Stop relying on the mediocre men around you, and do something for yourself. Tamra understands this more than any other, having escaped her controlling husband’s grip early in her Housewives run, and creating businesses that have surpassed her TV role. It’s perhaps the most admirable thing about Tamra, and it’s clear she does want Jenn to find success, even if it’s so she can launch an attack to take it away. Tamra’s smart enough to know it’s always better to attack someone fairly, even if she often ignores that wisdom.

Flipping back and forth between the two hangouts, we relitigate Trainergate. Shannon claims Alexis told the trainer she’s a “good Christian girl,” to which he rebutted, “A Christian girl talks about her sex life?” leading John to blow up and rebuke the gym. If these are the kinds of scenes left on the cutting room floor due to Alexis not being full-time, I’m devastated. We deserve to see this gym meltdown in its full glory.

Alexis is willing to give up the gym, but the one thing she wants is for Shannon to “redeem my man’s name.” She might want to get the ball rolling by doing some good PR for him herself, because John has come across horribly this season and he hasn’t even appeared on screen.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Sutton Stracke drops in for a visit this week, meeting up with Katie and Gina. As we learned in the premiere, Katie had already known Sutton before she joined the show, and she attended Sutton’s Christmas party, where she got a cold welcome from Heather. Gina’s connection to Sutton is surprisingly real, too, as we learn that Sutton’s ex-husband was the president of the company Gina’s ex-husband formerly worked at. Between this and her connection to Tamra through podcast host Teddi Mellencamp, Sutton’s essentially one degree of separation from the entire RHOC cast.

As the ladies lunch, Katie’s issue with Heather comes up, although Sutton warns her to be careful before going up against Heather. The actual issue seems a bit convoluted, especially the part where Katie was apparently tagged in a random post on Heather’s Instagram (for what it’s worth, my boots on the ground can confirm Katie is not currently tagged in that post). It’s unclear whether this issue is substantive or just Katie glomming onto something to pop on screen, but time will tell.

Back at home, Emily’s gym obsession is once again discussed, this time with the added caveat that she worries Shane’s unhealthy habits will lead him to an early demise. I guess we’ll see!

Finally, we close out on Gina helping Travis move out. She offers him the most unhelpful advice possible, wondering if it’s the wrong decision as he’s actively on the way out. Relatable queen, kinda. Gina’s flaws are almost Carrie Bradshaw-esque. Is she so hard to watch because she reflects our worst traits back to us? Somehow she’s more pitiful than Shannon and Jenn, fresh off a DUI and eviction, respectively. There’s an art to that.

It’s the second episode in a row to end on Gina, and this plot has already worn out its welcome, not really helped by the fact Gina and Travis are still together in the present-day. It’s almost a miracle that RHOC is as good as it is this season in spite of Gina’s disproportionate edit, once again making the case that a rising tide lifts all boats.

While it’s necessary plot movement for Gina, it’s simply an indictment on her character that six years in, she’s still so loosely defined. It’s interesting to think we’ve known Gina for three times as long as Jenn, yet they seem very equally weighted in importance.

That’s almost to say, maybe it’s a risk to give us so much Gina in these first three episodes, but, more than anything, it could be production setting her up for her departure. After all, there are two types of edits you can afford yourself on the way out: an embarrassing flame-out a la Lisa Rinna or a shadow edit a la Kristen Taekman. It’s certainly too early to make serious predictions, but Gina’s flying dangerously close to the sun. Maybe a despairing burnout could enhance her legacy, though. Well-behaved Housewives seldom make history, as they say.

Next week, Vicki pops in for an appearance while Katie launches a full-scale attack on Heather. We’re far from the tip of the iceberg, here. This season is hit after hit, and that’s sure to be a killer episode.