RHOC Season 10 Episode 3

At the start of this episode, Meghan, Tamra, and Heather are all having dinner together. They talk about the upcoming Napa trip and the previous night’s party at Vicki’s. Tamra said she was surprised that Lizzie was so nice. The two of them actually had fun together. However, she didn’t talk to Shannon much. Tamra says Shannon was “standoffish”. Meghan takes this opportunity to pipe up. Meghan and Shannon share some friends in common, and Meghan got Shannon’s personal cell phone number from a mutual friend. In a flashback scene, we see her call Shannon about a charity that they have both been involved in… I have to take this opportunity to say that I hate when the editors do this. Flashbacks are meant to be for reminders and short scenes, not new information that is pertinent to the storyline in a scene that lasts over a minute. If what is happening is that important, which in this case it absolutely is, then work it into an episode as a full scene. Okay, stepping off my soapbox… Meghan called Shannon to ask her for her advice about planning the charity event. Shannon sounded very confused on the phone and seemed busy, so she asked “Who is this?” Meghan replied with her maiden name “King”, which was incredibly stupid considering Shannon does not know her as Meghan King… Shannon asks if she can call her back because she was dealing with her kids in the car. Meghan apologizes for bothering her, and when she hangs up, Meghan acts extremely offended. Just like at Vicki’s party, Meghan is upset that Shannon, who probably only met Meghan once, does not remember her. Frankly, Meghan, you’re not than memorable… However, Meghan says she didn’t bring up the phone call at Vicki’s party because she didn’t feel it was appropriate “the first time she met Shannon” and in front of a bunch of new people… So now Meghan is saying that Vicki’s party was the first time they met? You can’t have it both ways, Meghan!...

Vicki is packing her bag for Florida where she is getting an award for her excellence in the insurance field.  She calls the awards “The Oscars of Insurance”, so I assume it’s a big deal. Congrats, Vicki! You worked your ass off. You deserve it!... Shannon is there watching her pack, and she is still not happy that she has to go on this trip without Vicki. She has forgiven Tamra and Heather, but she has not forgotten. Vicki is apparently too preoccupied, and she starts talking about the underwear she is packing. She has to have matching underwear in case she gets in a car accident?... Umm, I don’t understand…

The ladies meet at the airport and Heather has arranged for a private flight to Napa for all of them. Of course the men have to go separately. After Vicki’s party, Tamra feels more comfortable with Lizzie as long as they are having fun together. On board the plane Meghan pulls out some cheap-looking wine glasses that she colored on and customized for the ladies. Heather is celebrating the launch of her sparkling wine; bring tacky champagne glasses, not tacky wine glasses… Tamra starts talking religion with Katie, who we found out at Vicki’s party is quite religious herself. One of Tamra’s gym members told her to start going to church, so she obeyed. Now Tamra is claiming she is saved. Tamra will have to change a lot in her life if she is fully embracing the life of a devout Christian. Meghan says she is not opposed to religion, but she hasn’t found a church that isn’t boring. She doesn’t want to waste her time… I’m pretty sure that’s not what religion is about, and that’s not the best way to look at it.

Heather is friends with the Bello’s who own a winery in Napa, so she collaborated with them to do a methode champenoise… As I said a few weeks ago, you can’t call something “champagne” if it is not made in France, but you can still use the same techniques to create a product, and that product is called a “methode champenoise”. Heather meets with the event planners of her launch party. She wants bottles of Collette everywhere. I am just like Heather; I pretend not to micromanage and be a control freak, but we can’t help it. It’s in our personalities… #SorryNotSorry

While Heather is meeting with the event planners, the other ladies go to their rooms to settle in. Tamra walks in to see a card that says “Tamra Barney”. She knows to get rid of it because Eddie will get upset if he sees it. I can’t believe Tamra still hasn’t changed her name. I understand women not wanting to change their names when they are first married. Some women want to keep their maiden name for sake of their own identity, and some women, like Heather, need to keep their old last name for sake of their career. A name change for an actress or writer could be detrimental to her career if she is already established and known by her maiden name. Tamra has no excuse but laziness. She is currently keeping the last name of a man she has divorced and a man who has caused her so much turmoil? One would think she would have changed it immediately to sever that connection. I would advise Tamra to change her name back to her maiden name just in case things with Eddie don’t work out. I know that’s harsh, but with Tamra I’m just being realistic…

It comes time to leave for the launch party, and everyone is at the bus waiting for Shannon and David. Eventually they pull up in a golf cart, and we can hear them bickering about something. David asks the driver of the cart to turn back around, and they drive away again leaving everyone else standing there confused. Apparently David had stopped and had lunch with Christian on the way to Napa, and David drank a lot of sake. Shannon says she was afraid he was going to show up drunk, but I don’t think that was the real reason. Shannon reminds us that David was not a big drinker before last year, and it seems to me that Shannon associates the start of David’s drinking with his affair. So as soon as Shannon hears that he has been heavily drinking, the negative thoughts start coming back to her. This is probably going to be the hardest part for them as a couple. Shannon will never, and frankly should never, completely get over the infidelity. Certain things will always trigger those memories and thoughts for her. David is the one who screwed up, no pun intended, and he has to suffer the consequences. He has no business getting mad at Shannon for her concerns. The two of them finally come back on the golf cart, Shannon makes up some excuse about wardrobe issues, and they all go to the event.

At the event, Shannon starts looking for the bar. She wants vodka. I understand Shannon is upset and wants a strong drink, but it is a little rude not to try the drink that the launch party is honoring… Heather gets to saber a champagne bottle, an item on my bucket list, although I will feel guilty doing it because it wastes so much wonderful champagne… Tamra is annoyed that no one has said anything about her new boobs. I’m sorry. Is it just me, or is it rude to ask if you’ve had your boobs done? It’s something that the person who has had it done has to say aloud and then you can talk about it… Heather and Tamra sneak off to call Vicki. Heather tells her that they’re at Andale’s whooping it up without her. Vicki doesn’t understand how they can be having fun without her, the self proclaimed Fun Bus.

Heather pulls Terry aside and tells him that she has good news and bad news. The good news is she didn’t cut off her finger while sabering the bottle, and the bad news is they are over budget on their cabinets by $135K. This is the first time that she has gone over budget where she can’t shave off any money elsewhere. I’m not sure of the timing of this conversation. I assume they wanted to catch it on camera easily, and I suppose it is better to give that kind of news when the alcohol is flowing freely and you’re having a good time partying…

Shannon and Meghan go to the restroom together, and Shannon announces that she is wearing three Spanx, rendering it difficult to use the bathroom. Tamra, who also needs to use the facilities, comes to knock on the bathroom door. So apparently it is a one-person bathroom. For a party that size, I don’t think it was the best idea to have a one-stall bathroom… Meghan and Shannon yell to Tamra that they can hear her knocking and that they’re coming, but Tamra doesn’t hear them. She continues trying to open the door, knocking, and doing a little I-have-to-pee dance. She eventually goes into the men’s room, and when she comes out Shannon and Meghan are behind her. Shannon reaches out and pulls toilet paper from the bottom of Tamra’s dress. They all laugh about it, but Shannon calls it “Karma”.

Meghan, in a drunken state, approaches Shannon and says that she has heard rumblings that Shannon was mad at her for flirting with David. This happened a year ago! How transparent can Meghan be? She finds out she is going to be on the show, and she digs around in her memory to find something she can spin a storyline out of. Viewers know when you’re trying too hard… Shannon calmly reassures Meghan that it had nothing to do with her. Shannon says she felt invisible as her husband was talking to someone and did not introduce his wife. Shannon tells us it was the morning of the hoedown that she really knew something was wrong in her marriage and that David was most likely being unfaithful.

After the party, the ladies are wandering around the grounds of the resort looking for their rooms drunk and cold. Shannon and David finally find their way back, and Shannon apologizes to David for her negative thoughts earlier in the evening. I really don’t think Shannon needed to apologize, but it just goes to show how much she wants things to work out and how big of a person she is. She doesn’t want to let the negative thoughts affect their relationship any more than they already do.

The next morning everyone meets for breakfast and Meghan gives a toilet paper roll to Tamra. At least she didn’t color little flowers on it like the tacky wine glasses… Tamra admits that the previous night Eddie pulled more toilet paper out of her ass while they were in bed. And to my dismay, the editors decided to put a flashback scene of Eddie pulling toilet paper from under the sheets. I really did not need to see that… Although I will admit, THAT is the kind of thing the flashback is effective for…

The group then goes to a winery that looks like a brothel on the inside complete with mannequins dressed like strippers. The owner of the winery brings them to the wine barrels and is putting wine into their glasses straight from the barrel. However, Tamra wants to take a shot of wine directly from the phallic dispenser. Meghan, not to be outdone by Tamra, says she wants to do the same. Tamra calls Meghan her “mini-me” even though Meghan is taller, and Meghan calls Tamra her “mentor”. Anyone else throw up a little? I’m sure Vicki would have if she had been there.

The group then goes to a party at the Bello’s house for their last night in Napa. Meghan thinks this is a great time to talk to Shannon about the phone call that we saw at the beginning of the episode. This would be the second night in a row that Meghan has approached Shannon about a problem; not a good idea… Meghan says she was truly offended by the phone call. By the look on Shannon’s face, you can tell she is already done with this conversation, but she stays to continue. Shannon says she was also offended; she explains her confusion to defend herself, even though she really shouldn’t have to—anyone with a little intelligence can see why Shannon acted the way she did. First of all, Meghan was calling from an out of state number. Second, Meghan didn’t use her full name, the name that Shannon knows. And finally, Shannon had no idea how Meghan got her private number. Shannon says she thought it was a sales call… Meghan claims she wanted to get Shannon’s opinion on the number of hors-d’oeuvres to serve. Why call someone you barely know to ask such a dumb question that any caterer could help you answer? When Shannon did not call Meghan back, she sent Shannon a text message. It was then that Shannon finally put the pieces together and figured out that Meghan was a friend of Heather’s. Shannon felt no need to call her back. Meghan starts harping on the fact that she wanted Shannon’s help on a charity function, but Shannon just didn’t have the time. She is acting like Shannon is not charitable and doesn’t care to help charity. Shannon is having none of it, and she walks away saying, “I start charities!”

From the previews, it seems this small thing that Meghan blew way out of proportion is about to blow up even more. Let the drama begin. Something tells me Meghan is self-destructing with this one. Is it bad to say I hope she doesn’t recover? :)