The Real Housewives of New York are serving up a season of wokeness. The arrival of Eboni K. Williams has been a game changer for this group of privileged women. They don’t seem to understand how to talk to or act around a Black woman. This has already led Eboni to spend many episodes attempting to educate and inform these women. She shouldn’t hold her breath that someone like Ramona Singer is going to change so quickly.
With Heather Thomson out of the picture, there’s room for a new friend in the group. Bershan Shaw is FINALLY making her debut on the show which should be a thrilling addition. How well will she acclimate to the group? These women can be a tough group to break into and get to know. Her connection to Ramona might make it even more difficult for some of the ladies to accept her. Ramona isn’t exactly the most beloved person of all time.
Eboni’s excited to bring Harlem to all of the women. She can’t wait to expose the group to her culture. These women are used to their own privileged bubble, so this is totally out of their element. It’ll be good for everyone to experience something new and out of their comfort zone.
Ramona is specifically someone I cannot wait to see in this environment. This seems the most out of place for her. It will also be interesting to see how Ramona’s new friend Bershan vibes with the group. I wonder who she will clash with first.
Bershan immediately comes off as a ray of light and radiance. She’s a strong personality and unafraid to be herself. That sounds exactly like Ramona, so it’s not surprising that she clicked with Ramona. Ramona is who she is and there’s nothing that could ever change her.
Bershan’s loved Ramona since the moment they met and she commented on how B’s lashes were too much for daytime. Ramona’s never been afraid of expressing her opinion at all times. It’s good to see someone accept her for that and embrace it instead of fighting it.
Eboni’s been in the world of these other women for quite a while. This is the first time they’re getting a real taste of her background. Hopefully they can develop a new understanding for Eboni and what she’s all about.
The location of the event used to be a speakeasy. This is not a group that would’ve fared well during Prohibition. Living a “dry” lifestyle isn’t something any of them can probably commit to. It would’ve been fun to watch them during that era.
Everyone almost breaks their neck while trying to walk down the stairs into this bar. They clearly weren’t aware at how steep the entrance would be. Also, what in the actual hell is Leah McSweeney wearing? Her outfit looks like a tacky prom dress from the 1980’s.
The elephant in the room is that they’re only 24 hours removed from the election with no clear winner. We know some of these women fall on the other side of the political aisle.
Ramona makes such a problematic comment about the group photo being taken. She doesn’t like that it looks like Black & White. Bershan and Eboni are on one end and the other women are on the idea. Honestly nobody probably would’ve noticed if she didn’t point it out because it’s just a damn photo.
SHE is the one making s**t weird. This is all rooted in her own insecurity about how people perceive her. She should shift her focus to finding out why Luann de Lesseps is dressed like f**king Cruella. The Countess is LITERALLY walking around like she just skinned a litter of dalmatian puppies.
Eboni thinks Sonja Morgan might’ve been onto something with Ramona. She does go out of her way to protect her image on Instagram. It doesn’t feel genuine at all. She wants to get brownie points from woke people. Ramona also is doing everything possible to not come across as racist. However, in the process of doing so she’s making herself looks horrible.
Leah thinks Eboni feels a responsibility to teach these women about Black culture. This isn’t about fun, but she sadly has to do this. However, it’s not going over well with the group whatsoever. It’s nice to hear about this Harlem icons, but can someone get a drink? Where are the crab cakes? Someone please find the bartender.
Bershan thinks everyone’s the same whether you’re Black or White. That’s the opposite point Eboni’s trying to make with this night in Harlem. It’ll be interesting to see how these two progress in their relationship throughout the season. They are two Black women standing at two polar opposite sides of a debate plaguing our country.
Eboni feels undermined by Bershan in this moment. Everything she sought out to do at this event was unraveled by Bershan in .2 seconds. Everything is now moot.
It’s powerful hearing about Bershan surviving terminal cancer. Being able to overcome something like that must give you a new lease on life. Hopefully she’s living it up and doing whatever she can to seize the day.
Eboni’s first impression of Bershan isn’t positive after the “All Lives Matter” vibe. The world is so divisive right now, and this is a shining example of that. Whatever side of the aisle you fall on, this isn’t good for anyone. The world is NOT a melting pot. It’s a colorful salad bowl.
Good thing Ramona left when she did because the topic of penises comes up. We learn that most of the women are not okay with a smaller sized package. Sonja however is up for whatever version of the D comes her way. She accepts all penises. Be a Sonja.
Leah tells Eboni she thinks white people are sometimes scared to get it wrong. A lot of the women are quiet and walking on eggshells right now. They don’t know the level of offense they exude. Now they’re being faced with interacting with someone who is going to make them aware of how bad their s**t is.
Leah explains to Eboni how she sometimes comes off as intimidating. Eboni’s coming with the best of intentions, but it might not be landing well with them. She doesn’t want to HAVE to teach everyone about Black America. It is feeling a tad preachy at times. Be a friend. Be a girlfriend. Try to actually get to know them and do your part in being a good friend.
Victoria de Lesseps is visiting her mother, and we learn she hasn’t drank in over a year. I’m glad Luann has an ally within her immediate family to feel more comfortable. They speak about Sonja and the hope that Sonja will get her drinking under control. Is that even ever going to happen because it sure doesn’t look it? This has been going on with Sonja for so many years, and it’s forever the same song and dance.
Luann apologizes to Victoria for putting her through hell and all of the insanity. That’s all she’s wanted from her mother. This should go a long way in healing the damage that’s been done. It might take a while for their relationship to be the same, but Luann’s putting in the effort. However, it’s just the first step.
Leah calling her daughter’s admissions consultant the hottest woman she’s ever seen feels so weird. It just doesn’t come across as something you’d say to someone you just met in that role because WTF? Odd.
Leah wants Kier Cristofaro to have a great high school experience unlike the one she had. She’s meeting a lot of resistance from her mother, but she’s holding her own so far. Luckily, Leah’s trying her hardest to avoid projecting her own issues onto her daughter. Being self aware is great when you’re a parent. You don’t want to transfer your own personal problems onto them.
Ramona invites Eboni over to get to know her on a deeper level. She asks her what she thought of the Harlem night. Ramona loved the atmosphere about the event, but something tells me it’s going to go south soon.
Eboni tries to talk about the overall feelings of the election and the city, but Ramona looks blindsided. She doesn’t want to talk politics. I don’t think it’s wrong of her to avoid that. She wants to know Eboni on a deeper level, but this is making it impossible. It feels like she’s purposely setting up Ramona to come at her. That’s not cool.
Eboni’s “surprised” at how triggered Ramona is by the direction of the conversation. Ramona makes a quick attempt to try and do it, but she’s not having it. She wants to walk away from the conversation for a moment and revisit it. I actually don’t think it’s wrong of Ramona to avoid this conversation. This is a blindside moment of political provoking, and that’s not why she went there.
Ramona doesn’t want to be preached at every time she sees Eboni. It feels rammed down Ramona’s throat. Trying to connect with Ramona this way is never going to be the way to do it. Eboni accuses Ramona of gaslighting her by bringing up how preachy she is. Even though I fall on Eboni’s side about the issues, I am Team Ramona in this moment. Talk about something else with these women. You are supposed to be their friends, not their teachers.
All of this issues are crucial in this world and should be addressed because many lives are impacted. Absolutely. However, it’s not right to constantly talk AT someone like that. Does Eboni genuinely want to be friends with this group at women? What does she truly want from them?
Overall the two of them survived the conversation and end it in a decent place. Ramona did threaten to leave her own home at one point which I low key wanted to see because that’s crazy. Where was she going to go? Was she going to just leave Eboni at her house confused as to what actually want down. Next week, we’re off to Salem!
TELL US – TEAM EBONI OR TEAM RAMONA? WHAT IS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF BERSHAN? IS IT WRONG FOR RAMONA TO AVOID TALKING ABOUT POLITICS
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
