Mandi's Thoughts on 'RHONY' Season 12 Episode 12!

 

photo courtesy of bravotv.com

'RHONY' finally returned last night after nearly a month and it was supposed to be the best and worth the wait. Well, was it? It was very different, to say the least and that started with the taglines. Gone is Leah stinging like a bitch and she is much more tame; but why the mid-season change up? It most likely had to do with the fact the cast lost a key player as Tinsley Mortimer sang her swan song on the last episode when she left New York to live with now-fiance, Scott Kluth. 

Remaining are OG's Luann de Lesseps and Ramona Singer as well as Sonja Morgan, who joined in season three; Dorinda Medley, who joined in season seven via Singer; and newcomer, Leah McSweeney, who came on this season via Mortimer. Along with the new taglines, another big change were quarantine confessionals, which shocked social media and garnered mixed emotions. So, how did I feel about the taglines, the new confessionals, and the episode as a whole? I am here to tell you and if you need to know more, it's all on Twitter @3icecubes where you are always welcomed to follow along!


THE TAGLINES:
They sucked. They have not always been the best but these were next level bad. And speaking of levels, Luann's may have been the best of all!
"I rise above the drama- and won't settle for the lower level." An amazing chance to jab at Ramona putting her in the basement at her Hamptons home.  

 

You can check out the rest in the video above but as you clearly see, Dorinda is no mint in my mouth. Onto the new confessionals.

QUARANTINE CONFESSIONALS:
When fans were upset 'RHOBH' and 'RHONY' were on hiatus, I believe it was Denise Richards who explained it was because of the confessionals. Apparently, some confessionals are filmed at the end of the season and because of COVID, they were put at a standstill so, obviously, Bravo had to wait until it was safe enough for someone from production to get equipment to the housewives so they could answer their questions and film their own confessionals. TLC has done this with '90 Day Fiance: Self- Quarantined' and some of the reunions on Bravo have been done via Zoom. 

In addition, 'WWHL' has been done from Andy Cohen's home, along with Zoom, so we should be used to this tactic. Unfortunately, these home confessionals did not mesh all that well with the previously recorded ones as well as the show. It was like weird, loud statement videos being interjected into the show at random times. The coloring was off, nothing matched, Ramona looked crazier than ever, Sonja's new face did not match her old one; it was very confusing and not aesthetically pleasing. At one point, Ramona's daughter, Avery stepped in while she was doing her confessional but I am so over those Bobsey Twins, they can just turn the camera down. If it was this uncomfortable to watch with just one episode, I cannot imagine the rest of the season. 

THE EPISODE:
It was Halloween and Luann was throwing a party, which did not go over well last season. But, she was performing last time so she was in total cabaret bitch mode. This year, she just wanted to have fun but we did have to have Dorinda regale us with the story of how she and Sonja accompanied Ramona to her birthday planning meeting and it was clearly all about Ramona and a photo op and 60 of Ramona's closest friends. Listen Dorinda, as Leah pointed out, you've known Ramona for a billion years. Why does any of this shock you anymore??? She's a self-entitled narcissist. And the fact she counts her friends when she is in her mid-sixties is pathetic. Elyse is also learning what a crap friend Ramona is and only liked her when she led a life of luxury. In essence, she is a user but Sonja and Elyse have so much dirt on Ramona, they could bury her alive. It was cute seeing Leah at dinner with her baby daddy, Rob and their daughter, Kiki because whatever they have just works for them and he even accompanied her to the shit show that was the Halloween party. It was a disaster from the jump since Ramona arrived super early as she had plans to go to another party and was hoping to get done with Luann's fiesta as soon as possible because she is so self-serving. 

photo courtesy of bravotv.com

When Elyse and Sonja picked up Dorinda, Sonja was like 900 sheets to the wind and had no problem telling Ramona exactly how she felt. Did I mention Ramona brought Missy with her to the party? You know Missy, the ex of Tom, who was briefly married to Lu and somehow only popped up thanks to Ramona. Ramona also mistook a friends new tummy for part of his costume because she is that socially inept. She sat in silence with Missy most of the night, silently judging everyone, thinking of the party she was missing and all of the friends who really love her. Eye roll. Best part was watching a drunk Sonja eating like no one was watching. Jill Zarin was back with her new fiance but she added nothing. There was cool seafood tower which Leah dismantled and a drunken reunion between her and Sonja but overall, it was just a hot mess of slurs and tackiness. 

I did love Dorinda's costume as well as Lu's and once Ramona left, it seemed to seem a lot less stressful. But all this will change next week when they head to the Berkshires. And Jill wanted to go but Dorinda blocked her so she could not attend. There is also a battle between Sonja and Lu over payment for the cabaret show so maybe there is some hope but the general consensus was Ramona needs to leave. She is insufferable. She is a bitch. She is a horrible person and deserves her just desserts. I am worried this show cannot survive on just these five ladies but we shall see. What do you think? I felt it was entertaining but disjointed and Ramona needs to go! You can catch new episodes every Thursday night at 9pm only on Bravo. And don't forget 'RHOBH' returns next Wednesday so get ready for that jazz!