Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Bravo
After a pretty humdrum premiere—yes, Taylor screaming at Craig over her ex-boyfriend Shep’s infidelity was ultimately more sad than amusing—the cast of Southern Charm gets right to work in tonight’s riveting whodunit—or didtheydoit, rather—episode.
Unfortunately, for viewers waiting for the downfall of “Craige,” Craig nips last week’s rumor about Paige cheating on him right in the bud. Luckily, though, a new cast member named JT (not to be confused with creepy Keebler Elf JD) launches his own investigation into Austen after finding out Taylor slept over his house one night. It’s a clunky but hilarious start to what will ultimately be the show’s less buzzy attempt at their own Scandoval.
Before we dig into things, I’m going to break a cardinal rule of mine and say that I actually enjoy Paige’s limited presence on this show. Maybe it’s because the typically grating Summer House star has less power on this series (and is seemingly despised by the fanbase) that I can finally stomach her antics. I especially enjoy her withdrawn-ness from Craig, like this phone conversation at the beginning of the episode where he suggests they go on a double date with Madison and Brett. She responds, clearly paying attention, “Oh, wow, good!”