Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Bravo
You always remember your first. The first time you spread a rumor about your friend in supposed confidence. The first event you throw as a backdrop for drama. The first time you confront said friend in an effort to catch her in a lie. These are simple rites of passage for us all, at least if you’re a Real Housewife of Orange County.
Katie Ginella is new to The Real Housewives of Orange County, but she’s quickly learning the lay of the land. Particularly, it’s not enough to be right in a Housewives fight. You have to have the optics on your side—and that’s the Heather Dubrow specialty.
Heather’s a masterful Housewife in that she picks her fights delicately and deliberately, and says every word with the utmost intention. She does it all without seeming too reserved for reality TV, too, which isn’t an easy feat. There’s no better example of that than Heather entering this episode declaring she’s “not interested in nonsense” following her husband Terry’s stroke, thereby invalidating all petty drama that comes her way as just that: nonsense.
Yet here comes Katie, schmoozing the ladies by dropping some salacious Heather tea, all the while unaware she’s dooming herself within a vicious regime. This breakneck paced season doesn’t slow down, the episode jumping right into the thick of things as most of the cast meet for a cozy night inside a dive bar.
Alexis Bellino, Jennifer Pedranti, Tamra Judge, and Katie Ginella
Here, they do what they do best: gossip. You may recall that Season 17’s attempted Heather Dubrow takedown all started with some paparazzi photos of Heather and Terry canoodling at Disneyland. Back then, Heather was lightly accused of staging the photos, a claim she adamantly denied. But Katie has intel that seems to prove Heather wrong, as she’s friends with the paparazzo, allegedly.
Hearing that Katie has proof that Heather lied, Tamra lights up with the joy a person typically reserves for more traditionally good news. Tamra is the queen of schadenfreude, after all. The ladies very transparently encourage Katie to bring this to Heather’s attention, all the while knowing it will be the action that defines Katie’s debut season, one that could make or break her.
Before that can happen, the OG of the OC makes her first appearance of the season, as Vicki Gunvalson meets with her amiga Shannon to queen out like only a Coto lady knows how to. The two are figuring out how to go on with their comedy show now that Tamra has abandoned the Tres Amigas, leaving the former best friends in shambles. If you’re keeping track, this is the sixth time Tamra and Vicki have fallen out (multi-episode squabbles, not-with-standing) and the fourth time for Tamra and Shannon. RHOC is a rotating ferris wheel of friendships.
The major revelation here isn’t about Tamra, though, but John Jannsen. Shannon has been sued for $75,000 by her former boyfriend that she allegedly borrowed for a facelift. It’s another devastating week for John’s public image, even though he once again doesn’t appear (and neither does Alexis, this time!). He just can’t win, probably because he sucks.
Speaking of men who suck, we jump to Jennifer and her boyfriend Ryan. Everyone’s favorite money-blind diva is about to jet off to Hawaii, and she’s worried that Gina and Emily will criticize her for flaunting that amid her massive debt. It’s funny how nonsensical she is while maintaining an aura of common sense and relatability. I smile and nod along as she says she shouldn’t be judged for wearing nice clothes and flying to Hawaii despite not paying rent, and then I’m like: Wait a minute… that’s bad, actually. It really is about optics, isn’t it?
Ryan, unfortunately, doesn’t have that sheer charisma.
“I will tell you this: Bank accounts come and go, but being rich in your soul and spirit, who you are as a person…” he mutters, not even finishing the thought. Thanks for trying, king.
After that tragedy, we join Katie and her husband on a dinner date at none other than OC staple Javier’s. Between The Quiet Woman and this, it’s been a big season for classic Orange County restaurants—we’ve even had a scene at The Deck! The scene itself adds some solid context into Katie, something we desperately need so she can avoid getting Nneka’d, but she’s yet to pop on screen. The back-to-back of Jenn’s solo scene and Katie’s is a bit brutal for Katie in comparison, but it’s always possible she’s a slow burn. Maybe she’s a bit too normal for TV. Time will tell.
She has only been here for four episodes, after all. Emily’s been here for six seasons and receives the Vicki Gunvalson snore most the time she graces our screen, so Katie certainly could be in worse territory. That’s to say, this Emily/Tamra friendship that keeps getting pushed just rings of inauthenticity in every sense. Obviously, Emily’s earlier attempts to vanquish Tamra proved futile, but serving as a puppet this far into her run isn’t endearing, especially when Tamra’s so much more tactile as a pot-stirrer.
Nonetheless, the duo froth at the mouth at the fact Katie has one up on Heather, meaning the proxy war on Heather can resume after an embarrassing retreat at the end of last season. It’s hilarious when Tamra says that Heather loves the paparazzi and press, but Tamra? Oh, she’s not one for the spotlight. That must be why she tweets about every buzzy Housewives topic and started a Housewives podcast when she was fired! God bless Tamra Judge. She loves to lie, and that’s why I love her.
Gina sits down with Katie, too, to discuss Heather’s paparazzi photos. Now, it’s a clear disservice to Katie to rile her up and encourage this particular attack on Heather. We all know Heather called the paparazzi last year! She is not famous enough to be followed by the paparazzi. Very few people are, yet alone Real Housewives—and that’s okay. This was as obvious as it is now, so put a pin in it.
Instead, Katie adds to her repertoire of issues with Heather, sharing that her friend Cynthia Bailey (yes, of The Real Housewives of Atlanta) apparently had a run-in with Heather where Heather immediately asked her: “What do you know about Katie Ginella?”
So that makes two Housewives from other franchises hosting an off-screen event where Heather allegedly acts shadily towards Katie. Next we’ll find out that Heather was in Bermuda with the RHOSLC ladies, just off-screen accusing Katie of being the real Reality VonTease. While it’s amusing to think of Heather sleuthing so intensely, it all just rings like we’re getting a chunk of the truth, with big gaps in between.
Finally, the ladies gather for a golf match, which serves as the set for a duel to the death between Katie and Heather (and of course Jenn got glam for the occasion). After a game of golf, Tamra does her Tamra thing, mumbling in the corner, “I think I’m gonna tell Heather.” Donning her most empathetic voice, Tamra shares the paparazzi drama with Heather, while the other ladies hype Katie up for the showdown, giggling internally about the brutal fallout to come.
As she presents Heather with the debacle, Katie does hold her own, but Heather solidly bulldozes her at every turn. It’s a situation where Katie’s clearly in the right, but she’s gone about it all wrong—and that’s what will be remembered. There’s nothing more juvenile than a rookie Housewife too eager to get in the ring. You have to let it come naturally. Katie’s issue with Heather comes across more pedantic than authentic, especially when she won’t concede any point to help her main point. Take, for example, the fact Heather tagged Katie in an Instagram post by mistake, or so she claims.
Tamra Judge and Heather Dubrow
The story Heather tells, that her social media manager meant to tag Givenchy but accidentally tagged Katie due to the “Gi” in her last name, is honestly very plausible. It’s especially likely when you consider: Why would she tag Katie? What would that even accomplish? Katie’s acting like tagging someone in a post as a passive aggressive dig is some universally understood mean girl move, when in fact that’s not a thing anyone ever does.
And so, if Katie’s willing to bend over backwards looking for ill-intent in Heather’s actions there, it makes her other, valid qualms with Heather seem much shakier. People don’t seem to realize that Real Housewives is a social strategy game far more complex than the likes of Big Brother, but hopefully Katie learns her lesson.
Sure, it’s possible that Heather gave Katie a dirty look at Sutton’s party, followed it up by tagging Katie in a post on Instagram in an effort to mentally disturb her, scored a hatrick by asking Cynthia Bailey—the most universally nice Housewife to ever Housewife—for damning dirt, and then slam-dunked with a gaslighting session about the paparazzi. Really, there’s probably a bit of truth to it all.
Yet, Katie loses ground by delivering all of that ammo against Heather in one fell swoop, thereby invalidating it all as the “nonsense” Heather’s grown tired of. She may be a slow burn in her solo footage, but she came in way too fast here. It’s Heather’s narrative to dominate now, a task she will do with ease.
“I don’t even know you Katie, but now that I don’t know that I want to,” Heather says to a deflated Katie. “So now what?”
That’s the question. Katie burnt her bridge with Heather, while proving herself to be a sloppy pawn, meaning she’s on rocky ground going forward. Sure, she has allies in Tamra (not an ally) and Gina (irrelevant), but she’ll need to solidify herself outside of this kerfuffle very soon. Katie could very well be up for that task, but she could just as well be the Noella 1.5 Heather dubbed her in the press.
Luckily, the Russian roulette of drama continues next week, as we trade out Heather vs. Katie for our first big Shannon vs. Tamra moment, giving Katie some time to recharge and come back with a plan of action.