Did last night's The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 10 Episode 5, dramatically entitled "Game Changer," live up to its billing?
I’ve seen almost every episode of each Real Housewives franchise. Over the course of hundreds of episodes, I have felt various emotions. But, mostly, they boil down to anger, awe, and embarrassment.
However, on tonight’s episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County I felt an emotion that is rarely conjured during the housewives: sadness.
While at a bunco game at Shannon’s house, Vicki received the devastating news that her mother died.
Her mother’s death came as an enormous shock. In the middle of wailing sobs, Vicki repeatedly mentioned that she had just talked to her mom on the phone that morning, and she didn’t display any signs of illness.
But her brother Billy found her dead at her home later in the evening. Talking to Vicki on the phone, he tearfully said, “I tried to shake her to wake her up, and she didn’t wake up.”
Certainly, the death of her mother was sad. But it was Vicki’s response that was the most heartbreaking.
“Who is going to worry about me?” Vicki kept asking.
Vicki has struggled with most of her romantic relationships. And her relationship with her daughter has suffered since Vicki started dating Brooks.
The only genuine and lasting relationship Vicki had was with her mother. By asking who is going to worry about her, Vicki showed that deep down, she feels unloved. The only person she believed loved her died.
It was a terribly sad scene to watch. And it is hard to decide what is worse: that Vicki’s mother died or that she truly feels unloved.
The ladies’ friendships are mostly founded on fighting. But they were actually able to pull it together for Vicki.
“This group isn’t perfect,” Heather said. “But when push comes to shove, we are friends.”
Maybe for the first time in the housewives’ history, all of the ladies paused and acted as true friends. But, of course, the ladies weren’t friends the whole episode.
Before the episode’s dramatic turn, Shannon and Meghan continued their ongoing battle.
Shannon made an effort to patch things up with Meghan. She called Meghan and invited her to play bunco with the rest of the cast members.
Meghan, who was reluctant to go, told Shannon she will have to “prove” that she is willing to build a better friendship. That didn’t fly well with Shannon. Not even a little bit.
Shannon said, “I don’t need to prove myself to a 30-year-old.”
Her demeaning statement that she doesn’t need to prove anything to Meghan does prove one thing: Shannon has a sh*tty attitude.
Age ain’t nothing but a number.
It doesn’t matter how old Meghan is, she should treat her respectfully. And sometimes resolving conflict means proving you can behave differently despite the situation's complications and demographics.
The belief that she doesn’t have to demonstrate appropriate behavior because Meghan is younger only suggests that Shannon believes Meghan is beneath her.
Well, numerically she is. That's about it.
Shannon often sees herself as holier than thou. Yet, she goes to great efforts to make herself look “normal.”
Remember when she said she watches “the dollar” as she showed off thousands of dollars worth of Christmas decor?
Or even on tonight’s episode when she asked her housekeeper to help her make food for the bunco party, but claimed she loves cooking for her guests?
Shannon is far from normal, and her attitude toward Meghan proves that she perceives she is superior while trying to look like the good guy.
The only thing that makes Shannon seem like the rest of us is her willingness to work on her marriage.
Shannon’s husband had an affair with another woman that ended in a temporary separation.
The couple decided to work on their relationship. Shannon, although still working through the ordeal, is handling the situation with fortitude.
“David has told me numerous times on his own that when and if he runs into her again he will keep on walking, that he will not speak to her,” she said. She continued that she chose to believe him.
“David’s biggest fear is that I’m not going to get over the affair,” she added. “If David ever tries to make contact with his affair again, I walk out the door, and I never look back.”
In a time when divorce is used as the easy way out, it is admirable that Shannon is willing to work for her marriage. It is also good to see a woman set the boundaries and know her limits.
Her sense of agency is a redeeming quality.
Heather might be the closest to normal on the show. Sure, her life is far from the average American’s. But she will be the first to admit that.
Plus, she expresses the same concerns about motherhood and family that most women do. For example, she said, “It frustrating to have to be everything to everyone.”
Coupling her willingness to admit her privilege and her struggles with motherhood, she is quickly becoming the most relatable cast member.
Meghan eventually agreed to go to Shannon’s party, but only because not going would make her look bad. What really makes Meghan look bad though is her husband, baseball legend Jim Edmonds.
Jim, at best, is inattentive and misogynistic. He seems to enjoy making blanket statements about women.
For instance, tonight he was annoyed that he had to clean out a drawer, so he commented that there are “too many females that won’t throw anything away.”
Yet, he refused to help Meghan move. So he expects her to do all the work and complains that she isn’t doing it his way.
Meghan tried to defend her husband. “There’s never any compliments when people are moving,” she stated. However, it’s hard to believe that Jim would even hand out a compliment when they aren’t moving.
I can think of something she could discard in the move.
Tonight’s episode didn’t have the regular drama we are used to seeing on RHOC. Shannon and Meghan had a spat. But it was pushed to the sidelines with Vicki’s devastating news.
Sure, we love the drama. But we feel terrible for Vicki. Hopefully, next week will bring back the less serious, old-fashioned drama we are used to seeing on RHOC.
Follow the link to watch The Real Housewives of Orange County online to see the installment in full at TV Fanatic, and hit the comments!
