Happiness is the theme of this week’s Summer House. Or, more particularly, the lack thereof. Happiness and its diametrical opposite are running through the lives of nearly every member of the Good Vibe Tribe, whether they’re engaged, dating, non-exclusive, happily (see, there’s that word again) in a relationship or single as an activated HubbHouse.
The episode picks up smack dab in the middle of Andrea Denver‘s bondage party. Where the veneer of happiness by way of lace, leather and ball gags masks an undercurrent of strife. See, Danielle Olivera has just relayed to Paige DeSorbo and Ciara Miller that earlier in the day, an unhappy Kyle Cooke rashly claimed that he and Amanda Batula have nothing in common anymore besides Loverboy. As a bridesmaid in the couple’s upcoming wedding, this is exactly the last thing Paige wants to hear. She’s so upset by the gossip that she breaks down in tears. Tears that stream down to the aforementioned ball gag tied around her neck.
Danielle has essentially handed a loaded grenade of devastation to Paige. She’s the only one besides Carl Radke who’s in the wedding party. So she knows she has the responsibility to now tell Amanda. Which is something she very much so would rather not do. And a BDSM-themed party isn’t exactly the appropriate venue for such a conversation either. Not when Andrea‘s getting tied up inside in the red room of pain and Luke Gulbranson‘s walking around with a whip in an sexual approximation of Indiana Jones that he’s calling “Denim Dan.” No way. This can wait until tomorrow.
Which is for the better, considering Paige has her own drama to contend with for the rest of the evening. After the party ends, she fills Craig Conover in on the action over text. And in the process, lets innocently slip that she may or may not have kissed Andrea during a party game. (Wisely, she holds back on telling the Charmer that she’s actually been making out with his rival ever since he flew back to Charleston and left her unattended with an Italian model. Honestly, what’s a girl to do?)
However, news of the one kiss he does know about gets Craig all fired up and leads to a fight between the un-official, non-exclusive couple. Paige didn’t technically do anything wrong or break any rules of their casual agreement. But she’s made to feel otherwise and now she’s ending the night in tears for an entirely different reason.
The next morning, Sunday, Craig sends an apology text, but the damage has already been done. If he wants the right to get mad at Paige for kissing another guy, he needs to commit and be willing to be exclusive. To a degree it’s the same problem Ciara‘s found herself by morning light, though obviously much deeper and more emotionally involved. Yes, Ciara made out during the bondage party with a blindfolded Carl. (More than once!) And yes, she’s sort of attracted to Alex Wach, who was forced to watch the PDA from two feet away. But she’s a single girl, just like Paige. Even more single, really!
Instead of dealing with their romantic dramas, the girls turn their focus back on the problem that is Amanda and Kyle‘s relationship. Paige plots with Danielle about how to bring their concerns up in a calm, collected and non-threatening way. After all, she’s been down this road before with Hannah Berner, and no one needs a repeat of how that was received back in Season 4. Eventually, the girls decide to approach Amanda carefully by the pool. Because every intervention in the Hamptons is best accomplished in bikinis, no?
While everyone else waits in the house, girls sensitively and hesitantly break the news to Amanda. Obviously, it’s a huge blow hearing something so negative and pessimistic that your fiancé said behind your back. And Amanda immediately starts making excuses for Kyle. He’s stressed and overwhelmed and sometimes lashes out, OK? But all the girls make it clear that they’re not trying to cause a problem, they’re just genuinely concerned about whether Amanda and Kyle are both really happy. It’s something that Mya Allen can empathize with in particular, given that she just broke off a five-year engagement with Top Chef fan favorite Kwame Onwuachi after realizing she wasn’t happy, either.
Inside the house, it’s almost like Kyle can sense that a conversation is happening about his relationship. So he ever so nonchalantly strolls out the pool to find Amanda surrounded by all the other girls and everyone’s in tears. Uh oh. To their credit, the girls don’t beat around the bush either, telling Kyle point blank why they’re all crying and reiterating that they’re all just acting out of love for both of them, not just Amanda.
Paige and company retreat inside to go pack, giving Kyle and Amanda space have a private conversation about the fragile state of their relationship. The wedding is a mere six weeks away and let’s face it: things have been worse than ever between the pair. Yes, they’re both still committed to each other. And yes, the both say they do still want to get married. But Amanda points out that they need to pull themselves out of the spiral they’ve been caught in all summer. If there’s any hope of her walking down the aisle in the finale, drastic improvements need to be made.
Back in city, the housemates return to the daily hustle of life as millennial New Yorkers. Andrea books his latest modeling shoot. Carl goes on a date with the girl he started seeing in California a couple weeks ago. And Lindsay Hubbard returns after being MIA for the past two weeks to look into freezing her eggs. Naturally, she brings Danielle along for moral support. And she gets good news! While Hurricane Hubbard’s plan wasn’t to be single at 35, she apparently has the eggs of a 28-year-old.
The middle of the week also happens to be Kyle‘s 39th birthday. So it’s the perfect excuse for a rare get-together in the city for all the roommates. And look! Even Everett Weston makes a surprise appearance. For those of you who only recently joined the Summer House bandwagon, Everett is Lindsay‘s ex-boyfriend and an OG of the show. The couple’s relationship was toxic and tumultuous, and last I saw Everett was living somewhere down south. Things between he and Lindsay are much better these days. So much so that he’s not even scared to tell Hurricane Hubbard that he bought an engagement ring for his new girlfriend. Trust me, these two have come a very long way…
Gathering all his friends together, Kyle decides to make his requisite birthday speech with Amanda by his side. But rather than reflect on entering the last year of his 30s, Kyle does the inexplicable, using the moment to simultaneously berate his friends for questioning his relationship and ask for their support moving forward. Amanda is understandably horrified and the mood at the party turns awkward real quick. Yikes. And while Amanda bails, making a beeline for the bathroom, Kyle makes one thing clear: he expects everyone to be happy for him. Anything less than complete happiness and support will be unacceptable.
TELL US – DID YOU AGREE WITH HOW PAIGE AND THE OTHER GIRLS HANDLED AMANDA’S RELATIONSHIP INTERVENTION? DID CRAIG HAVE A RIGHT TO BE UPSET THAT PAIGE KISSED ANDREA? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF KYLE’S BIZARRE BIRTHDAY SPEECH?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
