The 2018 calendar gave us a trifecta of happiness on Sunday with Easter candy, April fool’s pranks, and the premier of season three of The Real Housewives of Potomac! I might still be on a Peeps sugar high, but in my opinion the ladies are looking better than ever. So let’s jump into it!
First off are flashbacks to last year’s finale and reunion that show Karen Huger in the hot seat. She’s moved into her downsized rental that boasts a whopping 14,000 square feet. No one is buying her act and the gossip is running rampant. Shortly after the season wrapped, the Washington Post ran a story that the Hugers owe the IRS 1.5 million. This gets everyone talking and speculating. Robyn Dixon knows lots of dirt and isn’t shy about spreading it around, but we’ll get to that later.
While everyone crowds around Robyn to hear better, Karen is out in Great Falls alone. I don’t live in Virginia so I’m not familiar with this particular area, but this town is either a very nice suburb or mere steps from the edge of the Earth, depending on which housewife you’re talking to. Karen says she got a call from someone just two hours before the Washington Post story hit the internet. It’s been a while, but she’s still pissed at Ray. He won’t talk to her but just tells her she doesn’t owe anything because they file separately. (M-hmmm…)
Back in Potomac, Gizelle Bryant and Ashley Darby meet at restaurant to catch up. Ashley’s been travelling and posting naked pictures on Instagram since they last saw each other. They both order the Chef’s Tasting meal which seems to be popcorn in warm milk and a main course served in a mason jar. They try really, really hard to talk about their own lives. Ashley is moving back in with Michael and Gizelle is still with Sherman, but they just can’t help themselves and end up spending their time dishing on Karen.
Over at Monique Samuels’ house, the U-Haul is in the driveway and she and Chris are unloading. This is their fifth house and it’s a mansion and don’t forget it has an elevator (in case you missed it the first time she said it, she repeated it and then had Chris show us). These two have fun banter and then Monique has to go and ruin it by saying what Chris really wants is for her to be barefoot, pregnant, and cooking him dinner. UGH! Chris is turning 40 soon which means Monique gets to plan a party and make it all about her to celebrate! Chris tries to stop her but there is no stopping the party train once it gets going in Monique’s mind. She and Chris have not talked to his mom since last year when Chris heard his mom call his wife a heifer. Monique tells him he needs to call her, but Chris asks her to do it. Monique is like, “Uh, not on your life.” After they get all moved in, Monique and the kids know this house really feels like home. Monique then plays guess who lives down the street from me, name drop edition. Monique’s happiness is a little dimmed though, because her ungrateful beloved nanny gave them only a month’s notice and now she’s raising her two kids by herself. She’s really busy Y’all! It’s just a good thing she has that elevator to help her out.
The last time we saw Juan and Robyn together, she had given him six months to get his act together or get out. Time is a relative term because things are still pretty much the same as it’s always been. Robyn’s happy and excited because Juan now has a dream coaching job and they are moving out of the townhouse and into a new home! Maybe these crazy kids will work after all. They are shopping for football gear for their boys when Robyn tells Juan that Karen had called to vent after she learned about the news of the IRS scandal. For two years I have not been a Juan fan, but here’s where I suddenly change my mind. He actually gives Robyn some sage advice by telling her to butt out. Karen doesn’t have to “be honest” like Robyn thinks she does, because the tax thing is Karen’s business. Then…and I love this… he tells her not to be like Ashley and “mind your manners”, which of course tells all of us that Robyn will make the opposite choice!
Gizelle and her girls are doing each other’s makeup using her new cosmetics and brush line. She’s been all over the country promoting it, even going out with some other famous Bravolebrities in Atlanta. She and her daughters have a good relationship and they’re fun to watch. Then she talks to Sherman and I sort of zone out for a minute. However, Sherman is all in for 2F’s and she doesn’t feed him, but the other F is just fine. Sherman 2F seems like a pretty decent guy. Time will tell.
The mood gets much more dramatic as Ashley is packing up her apartment to move back in with Michael. Her lease is up so she had to make a hard choice whether to go back and stay independent. Ashley says that the final straw that made her move last year was a bad fight where he grabbed her stuff and told her to leave. This is HIS house darn it! Plus Ashley’s mom drives him nuts, so since he is older and wiser by thirty years, he did the mature thing and threw a temper tantrum and kicked his wife to the curb. Ashley’s friend pops by to chat. She tells Ashley that she can’t let him disrespect her. And she DEFINITELY can’t let him lord over her that the home is his not hers, nor can he be the only one to make the rules. The next day takes on the feeling of a funeral. Like many boomerang kids returning wives, Ashley doubts her decision to move back in with Michael because they had yet another fight. Gizelle calls her and suggests putting the move on pause. This is good advice since Ashley feels like she is moving back into the fire. She decides to suck it up and enters her new ‘home’. He has roses waiting on the table. She brings up the previous night’s “exercise”. He blames the restaurant, her mom, and everything but himself for their problems. He wants more balance, less mom. This just seems super creepy to me. I have a feeling that it won’t be the last exercise these two have.
Just when we think the drama is over, Karen meets up with Robyn for lunch. When Karen learned about the IRS, Robyn was the one who picked up her call, and she wants to take her out to thank her for being there for her when she needed a friend. Robyn takes Juan’s advice and that’s the end of it. HAHA! April Fools! She completely disregards everything Juan said and demands that Karen be honest. Admit you knew, Karen! The other ladies also believe you knew you were broke well beforehand. At first Karen says she doesn’t care what they think and then the lightbulb goes off in Karen’s head. Has Robyn been gossiping about her? As Karen’s head does a 360 she screams, “Betrayed!” Robyn defends herself that it’s all over the blogs. Karen demands to know what a blog is, at which Robyn’s (and everyone at home watching) eyes roll to the back of her head. [Shout out to Karen: This is a blog that you’re reading right now] Anyway, it was in The Post so Karen’s proud to have her name in such a fine paper. You got to make millions to owe millions everyone! Furious, Karen stands up to leave and tells Robyn that they are all back stabbing “Batches”. Robyn tells her to go back home to Virginia. Karen zings right back telling her to go home alone to Hanover. ALONE!
Tell us: Did Karen know all along about the IRS? What do you think of Ashley’s moving back with Michael?
RECAP AUTHOR: DANA
Photo Credit: Bravo TV
