The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14 finally came to an end. And as T.S. Eliot wrote, “Not with a bang but a whimper.” The entire season left something to imagine when it came to intriguing storylines. Gone were the days of constant family feuds instead replaced by the silent treatment. Fans like myself thought, “Well, at least we will get a reunion to settle everything once and for all.” Unfortunately, fate was not on our side.
After years of loyal watching, all fans will be given a half-assed attempt to reunite using two separate rooms and a lousy T-shirt. The metaphorical T-shirt obviously got lost in the mail. I dare say the women could have benefited from a traditional sit-down and here are my reasons why.
RHONJ fans would have been given closure
There is nothing I hate more than committing to years of a TV show and not being given a solid ending (I’m looking at you, Grey’s Anatomy.) Since 2009, I have diligently and religiously tuned in to the Real Housewives of New Jersey. I was there for the table flip. I shed tears over Teresa Giudice leaving her four daughters as she headed off to jail. As a fan, I plowed through Season 6 when Amber Marchese and the twins almost wrecked the franchise. So, dare I say, I feel owed for my time.
Just like the 13 seasons before, I was more than prepared for a three-part reunion complete with Jovani dresses and a couch. I expected the Garden State women who are under contract and being paid for their time to sit their asses respectfully on the perfectly themed reunion set and discuss, aka, yell their sides of the story at one another. Instead, what I and other fans were given was a half-ass Soprano-themed ending, which, quite frankly, I wasn’t impressed with. It’s McDreamy being killed off all over again, and I can’t handle it.
The RHONJ ladies wanted a reunion
There is nothing I dislike hearing more than the Real Housewives of New Jersey stars wanting a traditional reunion. I mean, who am I to believe at this rate? According to Dolores Catania, who spoke with OUT, all the ladies were ready for a good old-fashioned sit-down. When asked about the new take, the mother of two said, “Oh no. They wanted to sit. They had their dresses ready. I had never seen this group so excited to go to the reunion because it was going to be World War III. It was going to be hand-to-hand combat. Yeah, that’s what it was. They were like, ‘I got my dress. I’m ready to go.’ It was that way. And then I think it was a decision that they had to make. However, we also all left not so stressed out. The different rooms kind of worked out. It did.”
While I am thrilled to hear that ladies could keep their zen, I keep thinking, what about us fans? Dolores noted “I would’ve liked for them to save the fights for the cameras, which is what they love about it. If you’re a good Housewife, you save it for the cameras. I would’ve liked a resolution. I would’ve liked it all, but it is what it is now.” The women were more than ready for combat, so why wasn’t Bravo?
Fans could have heard more of Jackie Goldschneider’s story
I’ve never been a Jackie Goldschneider fan, but I can’t deny that she has had one amazing villain origin story. The fact that this woman, who was first a huge fan of the series, as is proved by her book signing photos with Tre, happened to play the OG like a violin, astounds me. It feels like we only scratched the surface of the lawyer since Margaret Josephs dropped the bomb at the Rails lunch. I dare say we could have had so much more from Jacs. But it’s like the infamous question of how many licks it takes to get the center of a Tootsie Roll pop reincarnated. So, how many more secrets could Jackie have enlightened us to? The world may never know.
TELL US — DO YOU WISH RHONJ WAS GIVEN A TRADITIONAL REUNION?
