UGT has grown on me. These women are the best versions of themselves (minus VICKI, though I will give her kudos for decades-long consistency)

I love the dynamic of this UGT because it’s revealing the bridge between a lot of the personalities they have on their home shows vs. where the women are way more comfortable at.

Vicki is still so wrapped up in being a good businesswoman/provider as her identity and her failed marriage - I think this is accurate. Her conversation with Kyle about Mau is entirely projection. There is no universe in which she’d have been satisfied with Don given that she ended up the breadwinner, her love tank was never satisfied with him to begin with, but she definitely believes that was a situation she and/or him failed marriage vows in, rather than believe that they just weren’t compatible. She resents and projects that dynamic to every other relationship she has and witnesses. How are you going to tell a woman who was married 20+ years that her own divorce disappointed you?? 😭

But I do think that the only real flexes she does have are: being the OG of the OC/Franchise, trying to navigate her warped moral compass as a personality and minor celeb/being a self-made businesswoman. I think she leans into those identities as armor against the other women (as signs that she is superior to them) but without the girl power knowledge to know she’s alienating women who just want to kiki over shared experiences, have a good time, forget about their franchise troubles, and try to lean into their true selves.

I think Lisa Barlow imagines herself to be the Lisa Vanderpump of SLC, and she maybe even deserves that role, but without an equally FU Money housewife à la Adrienne or Camille, or stable/secure personality (i.e. Eileen, Kim Fields) the jealous/petty/social climbing/cliquey/crabs-in-a-barrel dynamic of the aspirational SLC wives will take precedent. Meredith having a stable marriage and currently seemingly legit finances is the only true relatable equal for her, otherwise, this franchise will go the way of the “who’s rich/who’s not” pissing contest. This is also why she feels like such a victim of her franchise’s dynamic (which is not totally imagined tbh). I think back to “how can LVP and ‘Denise FN Richard’s’ feel like victims or underdogs in the context of their franchises?” And it makes perfect sense. If everyone seems out to get you, there’s no way you’re gonna have a good time. And she becomes a defensive, whiny wet mop, which I really don’t think she wants to be.

I do imagine if Kyle was as rich as she was now back in the day, her friendship with LVP could have played out very differently, because I do think “who will be the RHOBH queen bee” was a pressing issue in their dynamic (and I do think it was all Kyle/production then). I don’t think today’s Kyle would’ve been so insecure about it, but I also can’t tell if she would be where she is now if she hadn’t played her cards the way she did in the past. THAT BEING SAID, I genuinely am liking Kyle right now. It’s just maybe too little too late or UGT is so carved out that it’s not going to change her multiple season image but it’s nice to see her sober, clear, nostalgic but willing to move on, and able to take herself less seriously.

Giselle is absolutely giddy to be the pot stirrer/bone collected but she definitely overcorrected on Potomac. She is trying to compensate for it now. There, she didn’t know the difference between messy and destructive. She really just should be a reunion host but I think any “evil” aura about her is not realizing that her TV actions have offline consequences. I don’t know if she really understands the real world negative impact she can cause. But I also believe the fans egg it on and she’s more than happy to secure her check by laying it on thick since there hasn’t been quite enough backlash so far, and all her enemies have either chosen to save themselves or forced to retreat.

I never watched NJ and I only know the highlights and lowlights of Teresa but she has been totally harmless on this trip. I love a Lydiot in the mix.

Luann is “be cool, don’t be uncool” on steroids. I love her renaissance but I do wish at least one housewife would say “so did you grow tf up and calm down or humble yourself or do you just enjoy the fan service/canonization of it all?”

I am genuinely having fun watching them for the first time in a long time and this is exactly how these wives should be enjoyed. At a distance, with some context, and as entertainment.