In the Real Housewives history books, everyone knows the path to enlightenment leads to the Reunion show. After a season of back door sniping, two-faced interviews, and re-hashing every petty detail until Andy Cohen begins to drift off, all of the ladies gather to see who will be left out of the next group chat.
The culmination of 13 or so episodes that get you to the reunion hits a peak with the season finale. A big event or gala where everyone is in the same place at the same time, with lots of alcohol. Something dramatic usually happens that will ultimately be addressed on the dreaded meet-up with Andy. We’ve certainly had some banger finales that were pretty unforgettable, with fights challenging even the most expertly placed Botox. Let’s take a look at a few Real Housewives of Beverly Hills finale parties that have stood the test of time.
Season 7 / Diamonds And Rosé
In Season 7 when all was right with the world, we met Eden Sassoon. I was extremely excited to have Vidal Sassoon’s daughter in the house and looked forward to stories of Old Hollywood glamour and, I don’t know, cool hairstyle tips. What we got from Eden was knowledge about Lisa Rinna’s bag of pills and her odd, almost suffocating analysis of Kim Richards’ sobriety.
But Eden came out to play at Lisa Vanderpump’s Diamonds and Rosé fantasy Narnia party. Basically, Lisa’s home is the site of RHOBH’s most explosive moments. Rinna and Eden had clashed over Kim and it all came to a head when Eden lashed out at Rinna and emphatically screamed in her face. “You know what? F–k off! That is rude. I’ve given you so much of my time, my energy, my f–king heart, you bitch. … It’s not OK for you to treat me the way you do. I’m sick and tired of you walking all over me and using me as your f–king scapegoat.” If memory serves, Dorit Kemsely and her gold hair also got a shot in on Rinna. Maybe that’s why this finale was one of the greats.
Season 3 / Happy Anniversary?
All Lisa Vanderpump wanted to do was have a nice little party to close out the season. She wanted to renew her marriage vows to Ken Todd and probably have a nice salad and some wine. Instead, Adrienne Maloof had to come over and whine about leaving Paul Nassif, MD. But all was not lost because, on the bright side, we did get the Morally Corrupt Faye Resnick setting Brandi Glanville straight. Brandi and Yolanda Foster were having a discussion and Faye wanted to get some camera time in. Faye accused Brandi of being complicit in Paul and Adrienne’s break-up. Faye wasn’t invited to the convo, but she was coming in hot anyway.
Brandi told Faye to “be a lady and go” and then Brandi learned to not do that again. Faye said, “You want to talk about being a lady? No matter how many Chanels you borrow, you will never ever be a lady.” Yolanda piped up about it being a low blow and tried to shoo away any thought Brandi’s big mouth had a part in Adrienne and Paul’s impending divorce. I rarely want to hear Faye speak on anything, but this is some fine work by TMCFR. The episode also gives us hope true love isn’t really dead after all with Ken and Lisa’s very sweet ceremony.
Season 1 / The Limo
Arguably the best season finale across any franchise and it put Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on the map. But the ratings and the interest came at a price and the price’s name is Kim Richards. During the entire first run of RHOBH, Kim and Kyle Richards clashed. Viewers didn’t know exactly what was going on, but we had suspicions something in the milk wasn’t clean. Throughout the episodes, Kim would display erratic behavior or spark worry in her sister. They didn’t get along and some might say it was exploitive of Kim’s fragile condition.
All we had were theories until the Season 1 finale when Kyle let all of North America know her sister was an alcoholic. The limo fight would go down as one of the most dramatic and sad moments in the Housewives multi-verse. Kim was clearly shocked the “big family secret” was revealed on camera. Kyle yelling, “You’re a SICK and an alcoholic!” at a very frazzled-looking Kim is fairly unforgettable. Additionally, the fallout from Kyle’s admission trickled down to another sister, Kathy Hilton. After Kim’s substance abuse issues were brought front and center, Kyle had a storyline until Kim decided to exit the show.
Season 9 / Camille 007
Not everyone loves Camille Donatacci Grammer Meyer 007, but when you see her, sparks are about to fly. Season 9 was a dark time for RHOBH. The end of an era and the end of Lisa Vanderpump’s reign as Queen. By the time the finale party rolled around, Lisa had already said GOODBYE KYLE and goodbye yellow brick road because she was out of there. This is why the big finale soireé is being paid for by The Agency and not Lisa. Camille showed up when Lisa showed herself out and dropped some satisfying exclamation points on Teddi Mellencamp. Or as I like to call her, Meg Ryan’s ex-boyfriend’s daughter.
Camille felt she was being attacked because she was the last one friendly with LVP. At this party, she took on everyone from Teddi, Rinna, and Rinna’s unfortunate wig. When Cammy and Kyle were having words, Teddi was close to crying again so she unnecessarily jumped in. Camille said, “No! Shut it down, Teddi.” Teddi once again tried to respond, but Camille fired back, “Shut it down! Shut it down!”
At that moment, I had never loved Camille more. Then she put her hands in Teddi’s face and said, “You’re not worth my time.” Or anyone’s time, really. In the interim Teddi had gotten to Rinna. She smelled blood in the water and made her way over to Cammy. This may or may not have been when the Fox Force Five actually formed due to the communal glee they received by ganging up on Camille. Little did Denise Richards know, she would be next on the list. LVP never returned to RHOBH after quitting in the middle of Season 9 and the show hasn’t been the same since.
Season 5 / Amsterdam Aftermath
Sometimes you might ask yourself, “Who is Adrienne Maloof in dis world?” We still don’t know but thanks to Yolanda for at least asking the important questions. Season 5 of RHOBH was one of the greats. We got Amsterdam and all of the riches afforded by the conflict between Kim and Rinna. The finale show was held at Adrienne’s mansion surrounded by painted people, her always irritated chef, and swinging angels. She entered her own party in the arms of shirtless men which added to the wholesome, unrealistic expectations we all have when we watch.
Kyle spent the majority of her time trying to convince Kim that Brandi is actually Satan’s stepdaughter, but Kim wasn’t having it. Kim was doing her best to deflect any questions regarding her sobriety. And LVP finally gave Brandi the boot after the slap heard around the world. A couple of chapters were closed at the end of this season, but the Kim and Kyle conflict was far from over. Brandi had approximately 5 seconds of self-awareness and told LVP that she was indeed an asshole. Seconds later, she lost that lucidity when she also attempted to deny being a hypocrite.
But Brandi is gonna Brandi and from then on anything that went wrong was the direct result of manipulation via Lisa Vanderpump’s mysterious powers of mind control. Despite Lisa’s departure from the show, her Jedi-like mental dances are still impacting RHOBH lives today.
TELL US- WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE REAL HOUSEWIVES SEASON FINALE? IS THERE ONE YOU RE-WATCH ON A REGULAR BASIS? WHAT DO YOU THINKS IS RHOBH’S BEST OVERALL SEASON?
[Photo Credit: Isabella Vosmikova/Bravo ]
