This was originally posted Sunday, April 16, 2017 by Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
With four parts instead of the usual three, this season's "Real Housewives of Atlanta" reunion at the Biltmore taped in Midtown last month promises great material and mucho drama.
Trailers have already teased a major Kandi Burruss and Porsha Williams meltdown that holds up production.
This first episode is a mere warm up for the big confrontation but had it's tasty morsels to chew on. Here are six of the most notable things we learned from tonight's part one.
1) Kenya vs. Phaedra: Phaedra clearly has not forgiven Kenya for issues from years ago regarding Apollo despite the fact they had tearfully prayed together in the past. Kenya thought they had moved on. Phaedra and Kenya briefly made up when Phaedra held a camp for kids who suffered from the Flint lead crisis. But when Kenya held a divorce party for her and Cynthia Bailey, Phaedra thought it was in bad taste and called Kenya "trifling."
The reunion did not make the two ladies like each other any more and there were no more prayers.
Kenya remains flabbergasted that Phaedra is hung up over her Apollo texts and said their initial rift had to do with the competing videos, not the texts. And Phaedra in the past has not been above throwing insults at Kenya, accusing her of being an alcoholic and bipolar.
"You drink like a fish," Phaedra said.
"That's a damn lie," Kenya replied.
She and Kandi both later accuse Phaedra of being two faced. Phaedra made some reference to Kenya being on the Dubai Facebook or something. "You're phony and fake," Kenya said. "And so are you honey," Phaedra responded.
Phaedra's justification for keeping her trap shut in situations where she should have said something: "I won't be in a public restaurant acting the fool. I won't be out here cursing and acting crazy. I can't do that."
2) Porsha vs. Kenya. Porsha accused Kenya of provoking her and others to anger. Kenya denied this, leading Porsha to call her "evil." Porsha had gotten defensive and walked out the door after Kenya asked her about anger management classes in a mildly snarky way. Kenya then followed her out the door to mock her some more. Porsha was proud of herself for not attacking Kenya despite her provocations. Porsha also thought Kenya was making up the fact Phaedra had told her that Porsha would voluntarily talk about anger management to the group. Phaedra did not confirm Kenya's statement at the time. Later, Porsha called Phaedra and Frick and Frack worked things out. This led Kandi to wonder why Porsha didn't call her when she heard rumors about her.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
3) Preview of Kandi vs. Porsha: There is no doubt the rift between Kandi and Porsha only gets wider during this reunion. Kandi was skeptical about Porsha's anger management classes. Kandi wondered why Porsha began treating her so badly when they were on good terms at the beginning of the season. She also said she even gave Porsha $5,000 for her charity on "Celebrity Apprentice." They then began talking over each other and a "To Be Continued" note came up.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
4) Moore Manor vs. Chateau Sheree: This "competition" seems more like a case of the two women playing a story line than anything real. The bickering was predictable. They threw shade at each other's homes, more Kenya on Sheree. Kenya noted Sheree's liens with contractors, which I have covered to an obnoxious degree. Sheree didn't deny them. Andy made a joke about her being like Donald Trump - she pays who she wants to pay. Porsha threw in some "tea" by claiming Kenya's home was partly funded by some African prince. Kenya said she is self made. She said, of Chateau Sheree, to Sheree: "You built a house in five to 10 years. [More five than ten.] I took one. At the end of the day, you did your thing. It is beautiful for you. That's all that matters." Sheree said she's moved in despite rumors on the contrary and the fact Kenya drives by and rarely sees any lights on.
5) Shoot'em up! : Most of the ladies own firearms. As Kenya recently proved when intruders came to her door, she will point a gun at someone to defend herself if need be. These ladies should hold a party at a shooting range next season after doing an escape room this time around.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
6) Implant City: Kandi has joined most of the other ladies with breast implants since the show ended taping in November. Many of the women claim no work on their faces though which Andy noted is unusual among the Housewives franchises. "Black," he noted, "don't crack."
Quotables
"She needs a check, okay?" - Kenya on why Kim went after her at Sheree's party in the season finale.
"To be able to move in, present Chateau Sheree to all the haters, my family and my friends, it's like a dream come true.' - Sheree
"You have been the most boring person on the show since I've been sitting here," Kenya to Phaedra.
"You have been screwing the same men in the back of the truck." - Phaedra back to Kenya.
"I didn't flip out. I was reacting to what I was getting." - Porsha, after Phaedra said she "flipped out" from Kenya's anger management class questions in an earlier episode.
"I don't try to provoke anybody." - Kenya, hitting a disingenuous note
"You're really evil." - Porsha on Kenya
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