Welcome back to The Valley Episode 11 recap, “Darkside Danny.” In last week’s episode, fans watched as the group trip to Big Bear intensified. The men were kumbayaing around the fire, which led to revelations. Jesse announced he thought his marriage to Michelle had finally come to the end of the road. While Danny cried over not being thanked enough for waking up every two hours to feed the twins he helped make. The worst, however, was Jax’s constant gaslighting of Brittany. In the end, the Kentucky queen raged against her husband only to pretend like nothing had even happened the next day. Honestly, a fan could get whiplash from all this.
Surprise, you’re having a baby!
As Jasmine and Michelle prepare for the baby shower with a $300 diaper cake, the party starts to come together. Brittany and Nia chat over their morning cup of Joe with the mother of one noting Jax has officially apologized for his outburst. Obviously, no one is buying it.
Cut to the men drinking and fishing. I have never seen so many men acting like a fish out of water, pun intended. Danny is inebriated. And that is putting it lightly. Jesse has gone boat hopping, leaving his lameish friends behind as he makes his own Titanic moment with strangers. Honestly, I love Jesse, and I need him to return for Season 2.
Michelle comes clean
As the men fish for their dinner, Michelle opens up to Brittany about Jesse knowing everything about her secret texts. While Michelle feels therapy is working for Jesse, he is still “so extreme in everything he does. So now he is all over me. It’s actually putting me off.” When Brittany asks the hard-hitting question about whether she wants to still be in her marriage, Michelle’s silence speaks volumes. “I do, and I don’t,” noting she is “not really” attracted to him still. “It’s a process for me to understand. I was very attracted to Jesse when I first met him till now that there is nothing that he can do that I think is attractive. It’s not only physically. Everything just bugs me.”
For the first time all season, Michelle showed an emotional side as she shared, “I want to feel the way I used to feel for him. I feel bad because it’s me who has to make the decision. I don’t want to be the bad person.” It becomes very apparent during Episode 11 that Michelle is not happy. The mother of one goes on to state, “When I got married, I never thought I’d feel this way about my husband. I was very in love with him. A small part of me feels like a failure. I never thought I’d get to a place like this.”
The life sh*t gets real
After a whirlwind fight between Jax and Brittany, where the veteran OG tried gaslighting his wife’s friends into believing she had a drinking problem, Janet decided to sit B down for a heart-to-heart. Poor Britt has broken out in hives because her body is rejecting her marriage to Jax. But Janet gets down to the nitty-gritty, saying, “Basically, we need to talk. His delivery is wrong and super harsh. He can’t just come out and scream at you.”
Our Kentucky princess seems to agree as she shares she is “Super embarrassed because I am at home with my child 24/7, and I don’t drink. I’m a mother first, and I’m allowed to have a drink sometimes. Jax is a terrible communicator. I’ve been dealing with this for eight years.” Janet adds “I care about and love you guys so much. I just want to see you in a better place. You guys just aren’t communicating well. I know you don’t believe in divorce.” But B cuts Janet off, adding, “Oh, we will go down that path.”
The expecting mother just basically said what every viewer is thinking- that she doesn’t see Brittany’s relationship with Jax getting any better. In fact, she sees it getting much worse. Now Janet has been quite the messy bee as she has skipped from friend to friend trying to collect all the honey. But in this case, our girl Janet isn’t wrong in her observations.
Fantasy vs reality
For the final night, the entire cast indulged in a themed dinner. The partners were asked to dress as their spouses’ fantasy. Who knew Harry Styles did it for Michelle? Chef Tammy had no idea who she would be serving but the poor cook should have been warned. I did have to laugh when Jax complained about being constipated as he tried to garner sympathy from his wife, whom he had only yelled at hours prior. Jason has been a slow burn for me, but he is on point with his reads of the guys in the group. He outdid himself when he stepped out as a hotdog, one of his wife’s pregnancy cravings.
Jax is still pacing back and forth, worrying he looks fat in what I can only guess is a basketball costume. I thought Britt Britt would wish for something different but to each their own. B has dressed up as a sexy puck bunny and honestly looks the best she has all season. However, we start to see Danny slip off that high pedestal of his. Nia’s ranch-dressing costume failed to show up, leaving him quite upset.
The dinner goes downhill quickly as Danny once again states how he is the only one who has three kids, as if that gives him a get-out jail-free card for his antics as of late. As Danny gets heated, Nia tries to help him find his inner zen, but Danny quips, “Don’t tell me to stop. You’ve f*cked me over.” If we’ve learned one thing this season, Danny is sensitive. Seeing the perfect couple get spicy with one another just hinted to fans that something more is going on.
The Valley continues Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE VALLEY EPISODE 11? DO YOU THINK DANNY AND NIA ARE IN TROUBLE?
