Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Real Housewives of Melbourne Season 2 Episode 1


I’m so excited that Bravo has decided to air the new season of Real Housewives of Melbourne. They are airing it a few weeks behind the airing in Australia, which has been the normal practice in other countries when airing the US versions of the show. It’s about time Bravo got their act together. They should have aired Real Housewives of Vancouver the same way. It may have gotten renewed if they had… Can you tell I’m bitter about it?

Anyway, the very first thing we see is an extremely brief “recap” of last season. However, it was just a few clips, and if you didn’t watch last season, you would have no idea what happened. Considering the facts that Andrea was in the middle of most of the drama last season and she was only shown once in the recap without saying a single word, I’m going to assume the producers were throwing some shade by purposely leaving her out as much as possible. It may not be true, but that’s the world I prefer to live in…

The season opens with Lydia, Jackie, and Chyka meeting for what I am assuming is a drink considering Lydia orders a “wet pussy”…? Of course the waiter retorts perfectly, just as I would have, “I’ve never seen one of those…” Jackie keeps going on about how great Lydia looks and how she has lost so much weight. If it’s true, that’s great for Lydia; however, I can’t tell a difference. And that is not my way of throwing shade. I simply don’t think she looked overweight last year.

Janet calls while the three women are together and says she is going to see Carlos, who Chyka contends is Janet’s new boy toy. Janet asks if they are coming to her birthday party, and she says she wants to invite Gina. Janet says she wants to move forward with Gina and that their ups and downs are indicative of a “real relationship.” Later Lydia says she wants to pick up Gina so they can ride to Janet’s party together. Lydia wants to have a chat with Gina and also move forward with their relationship… I can’t help but point out something. Gina has been embraced by viewers as one of the standouts and favorites on the show. It seems to me that the only reason Janet and Lydia are trying to make things right with Gina is to gain favor in the eyes of viewers. It’s a smart move, but I think many people will see through it. Furthermore, I doubt it will last long. We shall see…

Janet goes to see Carlos who has offered to have her party at “his venue”; however, he says there were some construction issues and it won’t be ready in time. I’m inclined also not to believe this. Something tells me the venue was ready, but it just wasn’t camera ready. Why would you want to show something on international television that isn’t perfect?... Janet claims that she is “freaking out”, but by the amount of Botox in her face, who can tell? She always looks somewhat surprised… The conversation turns to Janet’s love life (so clearly she wasn’t too upset about the news of the party). Janet says she doesn’t want a man in his 70s, what she alludes to be age-appropriate for her, because most of them are unwell… Did she just slip up and reveal her approximate age? Or is she saying she wants an older man so she can feel like a kept woman and trophy wife? Either way it tells us a lot about Janet…

Janet then goes to see Patrick, her gay gossip buddy who must get his hair from the same tragic distributor as Nene Leakes. Janet decides to call Gina to invite her to the birthday party. Janet leaves a voicemail because Gina did not answer. (Whether this was intentional or happenstance on Gina’s side, it was a good thing. Upon calling back, Gina had the power to direct the conversation and the knowledge of what the call was about.) While Janet and Patrick discuss her cheap-looking, tacky dress options, Gina does call back and accepts the invitation.

The first time Gina is shown on camera, she is walking down the street on her way to have lunch with a friend. The camera pans out to a wide shot from across the street. I can only imagine this was done on purpose since above her we see a sign that says “the bitch is back”. This is one of the best reality TV shots I’ve ever seen. It was captured and tweeted by many people, and if you missed it, go to the RHOMelbourne hashtag, and you’re bound to see one… While at lunch, Gina and her friend talk about Gina’s partner who still lives in the US. Last season the two of them split, but here Gina says they have gotten back together again. She plans on moving to the US with him. I wonder what that means for her future on the show. I definitely do not want to see her go, but if that’s what makes her happy, I will not begrudge her that.

Earlier we heard Janet say that Carlos was taking care of everything for the party: the location, the food, and the alcohol. But apparently when he backed out of hosting it at the last minute, he also backed out of the other duties? This is the only reason I can think of for Janet to show up to a bakery begging for a birthday cake the day of her party. Of course the baker/cake designer is absolutely insane and starts giving Janet a therapy session in his bakery. Janet invites the cake designer to her party. It’s the least she can do.

As said earlier, Lydia wants to ride with Gina to the birthday party in hopes of chatting. And as I suspected, Lydia is all talk and no action. They spend a good bit of time in an awkward silence, what I would call one of the most awkward car rides ever… The silence is finally broken, and Gina says she heard from many sources that Lydia and her husband had separated… And the car ride just got more awkward. Lydia appears caught of guard by this, almost as if she were stunned that people knew the truth? But she claims it’s BS.

Next we are introduced to one of the new housewives, and judging by how much I loathe her already, I’m guessing she is Andrea’s replacement who will bear the brunt of my bitchy comments this season… introducing Gamble. First of all, that voice… I thought Scheana from Vanderpump Rules had the most annoying voice, but I have been proven wrong. As Gamble is first introduced to us, we see her brushing her dog while lying on the floor wearing Louboutins… I almost called 911 because my throat was closing up; I’m allergic to fakeness… She’s married to an ophthalmologist who appears to be 80 years old. She says her name comes from a Shakespearian play and means “to frolic”; however, I think her parents may have been referencing how they gambled and lost in having a kid… She doesn’t eat breakfast, and she thinks frozen peas are a suitable dinner. So overall, I’d say the bitch is stupid.

At the party we get some pearls of wisdom from Gamble as she meets the ladies for the first time. If you found nothing wrong with what she said, it must be because you don’t speak Bitch… Luckily, I speak Bitch fluently, so allow me to help you out… When she first met Chyka, Gamble says, “Chyka’s got a beautiful face…” Translation: “Chyka’s body needs some serious work…” (Let it be known that I think Chyka is beautiful in every way. She is an intelligent, sexy, strong business woman with a gorgeous husband. Who could ask for more?) Gamble also says about Jackie, “I don’t believe in psychics…” Translation: “Oh shit! This bitch is gonna see through all of my fake behavior…”

If you recall, last year Janet talked about her son being in an accident that severely burned a large portion of his body. He made his first public appearance since the accident at Janet’s birthday party. For the horrific and traumatic event that this man has gone through, he looked happy and amazing. Seeing that moment gave me some hope and made me smile.

Gina arrives to the birthday party, and Janet immediately calls her a drag queen behind her back. (I know of many fabulous and beautiful drag queens, but the intent behind the statement was to be rude, so you have to take it as an insult.) Gina, on the other hand, says that Janet looks fabulous. So just like Lydia, Janet said she wanted to repair things with Gina, but actions speak louder than words… At least we can see that Janet is trying. She says she was going to tell Gamble the myriad of “terrible things” that Gina did, but she stops herself.

The other new housewife is Pettifleur. She is from Sri Lanka and is a property developer who moved to Australia as a teenager. She says, “It’s not a woman if there’s no bitch in her.” So she’s basically saying that all women are bitches; however, I am living proof that not all bitches are women… Perhaps the most intriguing thing about Pettifleur, in my opinion, is that she has no allegiances with any of the women; she doesn’t know any of the other women. Her choices in whom to trust will be interesting to watch.

Toward the end of the episode, Gina and Gamble have lunch. Gamble says she likes intelligent people, which is why she is drawn to Gina… But if she likes intelligent people, does that mean she doesn’t like herself?...  Gamble is clearly kissing Gina’s ass by giving her gifts and telling her about how some of the other women were insulting her at Janet’s party. However, Gina never disappoints me. She says she’s always weary with new people (as she should be).

In the last scene, Janet goes to see Carlos…and his pig… We’re teased at the end of the episode with the fact that there’s gossip circulating about Gamble, but of course we are not told what that juicy tidbit is. We have to wait for the new episode.

The season is off to a great start. Let me know what you think of the new housewives and your predictions for what the new season has in store. I hope to be back next week with a recap of episode 2. 

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