While this has been a strong season, not every episode bursts with color and surprising moments. This penultimate one featured mostly predictable dynamics.
There were a couple of tense moments between Porsha Williams and fiancé Dennis McKinley and a mildly interesting counseling session between Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker.
Fireworks? Wait until next week’s season finale.
Kandi and Todd meet with a counselor: Bottom line is this marriage is solid, their communication and priority issues eminently fixable.
Todd is not thrilled about doing counseling with a therapist, but Kandi is being proactive, a healthy sign in and of itself.
“We’ve been so focused on success, we’ve become great business partners,” Todd says. “We love each other to death, but we haven’t had time to be happy together lately.”
The therapist, Machel Hunt, observes that they have a hard time being present for each other: "You need to have that space where you can influence each other to just slow down."
Todd supports Kandi’s acting gig out of town. (She has a role on HBO’s “The Chi.”) But he gets upset that when she does have time in Atlanta, she doesn’t spend enough time with family. She ends up focused on work and friend obligations.
“I see how it affects the kids,” Todd says. The three-year-old Ace would crawl into bed at 4 a.m., Todd says, while she’s out of town and wonder where mommy is. Kandi is in tears as he talks.
“I have an issue with trying to find balance,” Kandi admits. “I am definitely a person even if I didn’t get a chance to sleep, I’d be there to help others. I do that.”
Todd: “If you choose that over your family, what happens to your family?”
Kandi says Todd does the same thing. In some relationships, this tit-for-tate move would have caused a blow up, but Todd keeps his cool.
Todd says they are in “conquer the world” mode. Machel says they can’t do that to the point they end up being by themselves.
But he sees this as an issue where they just need to prioritize “me” time together. “You guys are on the right road,” Machel says. “It’s practice. You have an opportunity to think about how to build these small moments with each other so it doesn’t feel like six months apart... Just Todd and Kandi time.”
If every relationship was like this, we’d have no divorces!
***
Speaking of divorce...
Kenya Moore is still lost and hurt by Marc Daly's departure from their marriage.
But at the same time, she has him blocked on her phone. “We haven’t spoken,” she says to Kandi.
“When he learns how to talk to me then I will take him off block,” Kenya says. “If he’s not willing to work on it, I’m not left with anything. It’s just like, what am I working with? We literally had everything. Then it just went to hell.”
Later, she invites Cynthia to help her get rid of Marc’s stuff. But Kenya can’t do it.
Cynthia believes Kenya tolerated a lot of Marc’s obnoxious behavior for the sake of Brooklyn. Kenya never imagined herself to be another person’s punching bag or doormat. But that’s what happened.
“It’s very hard,” Kenya says. “I just feel confused most of the time. This is not what I thought a marriage would be like.”
“You are deserving of love and respect,” Cynthia says.
Tension between Porsha and Dennis: Dennis is spending more time with Porsha now that he's back in her good graces but hasn't moved back into her Duluth home because he's worried she'll boot him out again. Of course, she won't if he doesn't cheat on her again.
Dennis brings up past grievances such as how much he hates that she lives so far out of town way out in Duluth.
Then he says he doesn’t want a real wedding, which Porsha vehemently objects to.
Dennis, after working so hard to get back in her good graces, seems to be contentious just to be contentious in front of the cameras this time around.
Porsha thinks he’s embarrassed about his cheating going worldwide and is worried that folks will be talking about him at a wedding.
Then he brings up a pre-nup. Porsha, aware that he is just picking fights, smartly walks away.
***
Eva Marcille moves into her new home and only invites Cynthia Bailey over. Eva isn't as worried about her crazy ex Kevin McCall even as he tries to get joint custody of their daughter. And over at NeNe Leakes' home, she rekindles romance with Gregg after long break while he was suffering from cancer.
TRAILER for the season finale: Kenya throws shade at NeNe to the media about not having friends. Porsha feeds the dirt to NeNe. Todd and Kandi have an argument during their baby shower at Areu Studios. Kenya and NeNe have their umpteeth face-to-face argument.
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