Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Bravo
I’m still not entirely sure what I just watched. The second and final part of the Real Housewives of New York Season 14 reunion was part therapy session, part narcissistic exhibition, and part verbal boxing match—one where everyone in the ring thought they had signed up for a light, friendly lunch at Panera Bread. That’s not exactly uncommon for a Housewives reunion, but both halves of this season-ending special brought a remarkably strange energy, one that the new group of RHONY Housewives had largely managed to avoid in their reboot thus far.
Last week’s episode filled a significant amount of its runtime with compilations and clip packages that reminded us who these new Housewives are, with little attention paid to what actually happened this season. It was, frankly, a boring way to go about structuring the reunion. Tonight’s finale rectified that, but only marginally; we spent just a few minutes in the weeds of this season’s events before the cast members and Andy Cohen came to a clearing. While I suppose some might say that was a necessary way to organize a reunion for a rebooted franchise, it left much to be desired in terms of compelling character development, concluding a fluid season with a head-scratching standstill.
No one came out of this reunion with their star shining any brighter, but if there’s one thing I’m now completely certain of, it’s that I want 100 more seasons of the Jenna Lyons Show. Sad, considering that Jenna doesn’t seem to feel the same way. Whether or not she returns next season is still up in the air, but I think that regardless of her Housewife status, she cemented herself as a versatile, fascinating woman who has so much insight and wisdom to offer.