Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Bravo
It may be a new day in the Caribbean, but not much has changed between last week’s episode of Real Housewives of New York and this week’s. The cast is still living it up in Anguilla (if being emotionally broken down by your pestering castmates and accused of lying about egg freezing is “living it up,” in which case, they’re having the best trip ever), trying to enjoy their final days in the sun without any of the drama that has plagued the trip so far. That’s a formidable task, seeing as none of these women are particularly adept at letting go of a grudge, and their reluctance to drop anything keeps the walls of their luxurious villa steadily closing in around them.
Though tensions do stay simmering, eventually reaching a boil in this season’s biggest blowout yet, the episode is nicely balanced in the same way that the rebooted RHONY has been from the jump. There are moments of real hilarity, amusing obliviousness, and even some hot-and-heavy flirting between Brynn and Jenna to round out the explosiveness of the cast’s conflicts. But it’s when that quarreling begins that we’re reminded of why we come to the Housewives. It’s not just for magic, if I may borrow the phrasing of a certain Aussie superstar, but for delectably petty spats that turn into sunglass-snatching fights in the blink of an eye. Dazzling images on a modest television screen, conflict we can feel!
Things begin innocently enough, with most of the women feeling refreshed on a new day. Brynn, who opted out of the previous night’s group dinner, approaches Erin to download her on what went down. Brynn knows that Erin is the cast’s Michelin star shit-stirrer, and therefore, she’s also the castmate who will relay any drama with some creative liberties. Erin tells Brynn that Jessel once again tried to explain to the group that she didn’t necessarily have the most privileged upbringing, which no one seems to be buying.