Originally posted Monday, December 17, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

I have been following this show for 11 seasons and I’m sorry to say that so far, it’s been more dull than compelling. Although everyone on the cast has a boyfriend/fiance/husband, there is a significant lack of real drama or conflict between the couples or the ladies.

What little tension that has been generated to date has felt more manufactured than real. Tonight was no exception.

(As a side note, the ratings - while down from previous years - have held steady since the first episode so the existing fans are still giving it a chance.)

***

Plans go awry: Anyway, NeNe Leakes and her sick hubby Gregg plan a couples trip to Destin. But one by one, each lady says their man can't make it. First, it's Cynthia Bailey and her yet-unseen L.A. boo Mike Hill. Then we hear Kandi Burruss' hubby Todd Tucker has a trip with his buddies before his birthday. And Porsha Williams' fiance Dennis McKinley  can't make it because he hurt his leg in a basketball game. So NeNe made it a girls-only trip, much to Gregg's disappointment.

***
Room choice: The women have sometimes gotten into conflicts over rooms when they go on trips. So NeNe created a super complicated "fair" system where the ladies pick the rooms at their Destin abode for other ladies. Fortunately, the crap bunk-bed room was given to the newbie/friend Tanya Sam, who didn't complain. (So far, the producers have given her barely any airtime.)

***

Truth or Dare: To kill time on the five-hour drive to Destin, the ladies play a mildly interesting game of "Truth or Dare." Eva sucks the first two fingers on Shamari's hand, which Shamari claims to enjoy. (She is bi.) Then Eva tries to talk dirty on speaker phone to her boo and does a horrific job. Her sexiest term: "facial regions." The other ladies boo. "Your phone sex was so bad, I'm still dry," Porsha says. Kandi - the queen of "Kandi Koated Nights" and an adult toy line - does a much better job.

NeNe then has Porsha take a truth question. Did anybody in the bus know anybody who also dated Dennis. Of course, she knew Kandi knew someone. Kandi says she heard it was recent but probably not that serious. Porsha pooh-poohs this tidbit. Kandi also throws some shade, noting that Porsha was with another dude at her birthday party just three months earlier.

Porsha first says she and Dennis were in a strict monogamous relationship but in reality, it appears they may have dated others for a bit before committing to each other.

***

Hold the mimosa! Porsha is holding back on saying she's pregnant publicly. She didn't say it to her future mother in law and the other castmates. She was worried on the trip that if she didn't drink, that might be a giveaway. So she said she was on an "alcohol cleanse." Will all the ladies buy it?

***

Invite omission? Eva had previously held a bachelorette party in Miami but only one "Housewife" was invited. "It was a surprise trip, sort of," Eva said.

But then Porsha says she was invited. (She didn’t go.). It surprised her that NeNe wasn’t invited after Eva proclaimed they were like “sisters” and asked her to speak at her wedding. Eva claims she was so busy and didn’t think it was a big deal not to invite NeNe.

Cynthia, who is really buds with NeNe, finds it odd that Eva uses the “sisterhood” thing when she and NeNe actually aren’t that close. “Even if you thought the person was busy, you’d extend the invite,” NeNe says.

***

Porsha vs. Eva vs. Shamari (sorta): Shamari DeVoe is wondering why her former high school classmate Porsha Williams has given her the cold shoulder since she came on the show.

Porsha says she had heard Shamari had shaded her look though there is no evidence of that. Shamari then says she thought Porsha felt Shamari needed a makeover. In reality, Eva was the one who implied it, though she denies ever doing it. “You’re shady as hell and you be forgetting your shade,” Porsha says.

Yes, this is what counts for an argument on RHOA nowadays. This is micro-petty at best.

Best shade: After Marlo says Shamari could use some fashion advice, Shamari was unimpressed by Marlo, who was wearing a head wrap: "Sorry Marlo, I don't take fashion advice from a person who dresses as someone in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean.'"