One of the other ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” accuses Lisa Barlow of thinking everything is about her, and in the Nov. 28 episode, almost everything is. Lisa argues with one of her castmates, finds at least temporary peace with another, fights with a third, and melts down in a way not seen since Season 2. Oh, and she goes shopping with her son for his missionary clothing.
The episode’s other big storyline involves the death of Whitney Rose’s friend, and how she handles it. (Spoiler alert: Not well.)
(harles Sykes | Bravo) Monica Garcia on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen."
Is Monica the new Jen?
Heather goes over to Angie’s house, and they talk about Monica’s behavior at the pioneer-themed lunch in the previous episode. “When did it go left?” Heather asks. “Like, when Lisa kicked Monica off her wagon?”(Heather acts like this wasn’t her fault. It was.) Angie says that “set [Monica] off, so it was like she just came in hot again with the insults.” (Totally true.) Heather says Monica’s behavior was “weird.”
In a confessional, Heather says, “I’m starting to realize that you can never really count on what you’re going to get with Monica. She could be up and happy and charming and fun, and then angry and vicious and mean. And then also just detached and vacant. ... It kind of reminds me of Jen [Shah].” And the producers show us clips of the two acting similarly.
Heather, who has been very friendly to Monica, says she is “drawn like a moth to the flame to these personality types. I’ve been burned [by Jen], and I want to learn from my history and not make the same mistakes again.”
(Jen is, of course, now in prison after pleading guilty to federal fraud charges.)
Heather is concerned about how Monica’s behavior will affect the upcoming girls’ trip to Bermuda. Angie tells Heather she needs to talk to Monica before the trip and “just work through it.”
Whitney’s friend is dying
Whitney and Justin are driving after a couple’s therapy session, and she wonders, “Does therapy help or make it worse?” Justin says he’d rather talk to another couple — specifically, Meredith and Seth — than the therapist. “And then it didn’t hurt that Seth had my back on most things.”
Whitney gets a text message that her longtime best friend, Shari — who has terminal cancer — has been intubated. In a confessional, Whitney says, “It’s the most helpless feeling to know that my friend is suffering and I can’t do anything about it. And I have no idea how to cope with that.”
She tells Justin that when she looks at “the bigger picture … us just not seeing eye-to-eye, like, is it really that bad of a thing?” Justin says, “It definitely seems like our problems are pretty trivial.” And Whitney says, “Well, I think as long as we both still want to be married, then we’re winning.”
(Fred Hayes/Bravo) Meredith Marks and Lisa Barlow on "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."
Lisa vs. Meredith
The former BFFs-turned-sworn enemies who are trying to be friendly again meet for lunch at Toscano in Draper, and Meredith asks Lisa, “Did you and Monica get to a place of peace?” Lisa says she thinks so, adding, “It’s frustrating to even have a conversation with her because they don’t go anywhere” because Monica hurls insults about Lisa being ugly. “I’ve never talked like that to another woman,” Lisa says. Meredith says, “Neither have I.”
And then Lisa unknowingly echoes what Meredith said earlier this season about Angie: “There’s so much low-hanging fruit around Monica. Like, if I wanted to attack, it wouldn’t be hard.”
Meredith accurately points out that that is “very similar” to what she (Meredith) said about Angie. Lisa, however, takes offense to that; denies it; and says that what Meredith did was “disgusting” and “icky.”
Meredith tells Lisa she’s being hypocritical. In a confessional, Lisa blames Meredith for her fight with Angie: “You had an issue with Angie … and then you took it up eight levels and said you know things about her husband, her family, her business. And the bottom line is that’s not what’s happening with me and Monica. Monica is just being a bitch. You’re being deceptive.”
When Lisa tells Meredith “there’s nothing out there” about Angie, Meredith says that’s not true. “You’re living in la-la land,” Meredith says, adding that there is “stuff out there” about all the Housewives. When Lisa says it’s not OK to use that sort of gossip to “threaten” Angie, Meredith says, “You can’t use the word ‘threaten.’ By definition, it’s wrong.”
(Meredith said she could reveal unsavory, unsubstantiated information about Angie. That is, by definition, a threat.)
Meredith claims that telling people she has info that could ruin Angie’s life is not the same as a threat: “I could ruin anybody’s life. So could you. So can anybody under the sun. We all could. That doesn’t mean you’re going to.”
And then things get worse when Lisa says she “pumped the brakes” on her renewed friendship with Meredith because of all this, but she did not pump the brakes on her friendship with Angie. And, Meredith argues, the way she treated Angie was “very minor” compared to the way Angie treated her.
“Let me make this clear,” Meredith says. “I am not the one bringing the tornado through.”
(Charles Sykes | Bravo) Mary Cosby on a recent episode of "Watch What Happens Live."
Surprise! Mary offers good advice
Monica visits Mary’s large, tacky home and says in a confessional that she’s missed her because she “could have … had a buddy” as she fought with the other Housewives.
Mary serves Monica a piece of cake, and Monica proves that (a) she doesn’t know Mary at all, and (b) she either hasn’t watched the show, or she didn’t pay attention. “Did you make it?” Monica asks. (Mary? Bake a cake? Of course not.)
Mary says she’s been “make sure that my sanity is protected. Make sure I’m not losing my mind on anyone, like I did.” (There are helpful flashbacks here to Mary attacking Whitney.)
Monica complains about Lisa, and Mary tells her a truth: “I feel like it’s not just her. I feel like it’s both of you.” Monica agrees, adding, “But I feel like she gets nasty.” (It’s worth pointing out that Monica has been the one hurling nasty, personal attacks at Lisa.) And then she once again mocks Lisa for being “materialistic.”
Mary advises Monica to take Lisa “for who she is. It’s going to bother you to hold a grudge. It eats at people. Like, I think grudges eat at you. Like, you should not be a grudge holder.”
It is good advice. But Monica hits the nail on the head when she says in a confessional that Mary “gives great advice. She might not be great at taking her own advice. Those that can’t do, teach.”
Monica says she’s going to apologize to Lisa and move on. Mary tells her she has to “really mean it. You can’t just say things just to say it. Not with them.”
Lisa is unintentionally funny
Lisa and her husband, John, accompany their 18-year-old son, Jack, to Odion / Modern Missionary Menswear to get him ready for his impending mission to Bogota, Colombia. And it’s funny, because is so out of her element.
She wants to buy Jack a teal suit. The salesman explains that that’s prom attire, and missionaries are supposed to dress more conservatively. “He’s going on a mission,” John says. “He’s not going [to] a dance or whatever.” Lisa isn’t listening. She wants to buy Jack a red, pin-striped suit for the mission. “Maybe if he was going to Vegas,” John says.
(Bravo) Jack Barlow, 18, and his mother, Lisa Barlow.
Jack wears pants with a 32-inch waist, “but he might get chubby on his mission,” Lisa says, “so maybe a 33?” And, a bit later, she says, “I liked that one brown color pant, because I feel like it could be, like, total jungle chic.” Jack rolls his eyes in a big way, and says he should’ve come shopping with just his father. Lisa says missionaries “don’t need to forget fashion.”
Jack tells Lisa, “You’re a lot. … I love you so much, but I … need the space.” He says that his mother told him stories about how, when she was 18, she was “getting, like, Russian mobsters’ limos and going on vacations all over. Like, you left the nest. It’s my turn to leave the nest.”
Lisa tells him it’s going to be hard “not having you here for Christmas. Not having you here for Thanksgiving.” She says that Jack “will have a hard time without me, and I’m going to have a hard time without you.”
Jack, however, says, “I think it’ll be good for me to leave, because then I’ll come back and you’ll look at me not as your little baby but as an actual adult.” (Good luck with that.)
John predicts that Lisa will cry for a week when Jack leaves. Jack says his mom will cry “up until I come home, pretty much,” and Lisa agrees.
Heather is wary of Monica
The two women meet for drinks, and Heather asks Monica if she’s going to go on the trip to Bermuda. “No, I’m not going to go,” Monica says, pausing before she says, “Just kidding.” She thinks this is funny.
Monica says the pioneer lunch was “really difficult” for her because of her fight with Lisa. Heather is not particularly sympathetic: “You’re dishing it out, you have to take it.” Monica replies, “That’s fair.” She says she should’ve kept her mouth shut, and apologizes to Heather.
In a confessional, Heather expresses skepticism: “Monique has been so apologetic, but she also has shown that she has a dark side. … I mean, I like Monica a lot as a person. But I can’t help that there are alarm bells going off.”
(Brett Colvin | Bravo)Meredith Marks, Heather Gay (behind Meredith), Monica Garcia and Whitney Rose at the launch party for Meredith's new jewelry line.
Meredith launches a new jewelry line
Lisa, Heather, Monica and Whitney are there for the launch of Meredith’s new jewelry line. Angie was not invited.
The collection, called Plated by Meredith Marks, “is supposed to be fun,” Meredith says, “It’s supposed to be for people who maybe can’t afford to buy the fine jewelry.” (The pieces range from $50 to $500.)
Whitney has decided that Shari would have wanted her to attend. She tells Meredith about Shari’s death, and Meredith gives her a big hug.
Whitney says, “I don’t want to put a rain cloud over your head, I just wanted to show you my support.” Meredith is touched. In a confessional, she says, “Her showing up today really means something” after all the “ups and downs” in their relationship. “Her making the effort to come today really means a lot.”
Heather gives Whitney a hug, and then Lisa walks over — and her behavior is odd. She talks to Heather and gives her a gift, but she doesn’t acknowledge Whitney’s presence. And she knows about Shari’s death. Whitney texted her about it the day before, the first of the other Housewives she told. In a confessional, Whitney says, “For her to act like I’m not even existing right now … it’s hurtful.”
Lisa talks to Whitney about the jewelry but not the death of her friend. Whitney makes an excuse and walks away from her.
(Bravo) Monica Garcia, Angie Katsanevas and Lisa Barlow on "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."
Monica apologizes to Lisa
Monica says she is “owning my part” in their arguments. “I fight very dirty and I say things I don’t mean.” Lisa replies, “I don’t ever want it to go that low again.”
Monica goes into full suck-up mode, telling Lisa she respects her and adding, “You do a lot of things that I admire. Like, truly, you’re an amazing mom.” Lisa says, “You’re really good at apologies.” And in a confessional, Lisa says, “This is the one time where I’m, like — keep talking Monica. Keep talking.”
Lisa tells Monica that Jack is going to Colombia on his mission, and Monica’s voice goes up at least two octaves as she expresses her delight. Her father, who abandoned the family when she was 4, was from Colombia. “A part of me is missing that I don’t know,” she says, “and it’s my Colombian side.”
The two declare they’re “fine” with each other.
Whitney hates Lisa
Lisa pulls Whitney aside to tell her about her lunch with Meredith and ask her advice. Whitney says, “I mean, I just lost my best friend. And life’s too short. Just forgive me. Like, I don’t have the capacity to deal with that right now.” And then Whitney criticizes Lisa for not hugging and consoling her earlier.
(Monica interrupts and pulls them both aside. More on that below.)
Lisa tells Monica — but not Whitney — that she unsure how to handle this situation. “I don’t know if I should talk to her, or not talk to her.” She approaches Whitney, asks if she’s OK, and says, “I’m sorry you lost someone so important to you.”
(Jesse Grant | Bravo) Whitney Rose and Lisa Barlow in "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."
Whitney is irate that when Lisa arrived, she talked to Heather and not to her. She makes this point over and over again. (She said earlier that she was going to drink, and she appears inebriated.) “I need you to hug me. I need you to acknowledge that I lost my best friend.” Lisa apologizes repeatedly, but Whitney keeps going after Lisa for the same thing over and over again.
Whitney gets louder and louder. The irony is that she scolded Lisa for making a scene (with Monica) at her jewelry event several episodes ago; now Whitney is making a scene at Meredith’s jewelry event.
“I can’t always keep a mental calculator of everything going on for everyone at all times and in all moments,” Lisa says. In a confessional, Whitney says, “I’ve been talking to you about it for the last five days, and, bitch, I texted you last night. Does she need an abacus to keep track of that it was less than 24 hours ago?”
Lisa points out that she responded to Whitney’s text the previous night. And, that morning, she ordered flowers sent to Whitney’s home. But Whitney is fixated on the fact that Lisa spoke with Heather first. Lisa apologizes over and over, and Whitney repeatedly condemns her for her lack of “self-awareness.”
Lisa suggests that perhaps Whitney is triggered because she spoke with Heather, with whom Whitney has not resolved her differences. Whitney denies that. (It is not a convincing denial.)
In a confessional, Lisa makes it even more clear that she doesn’t know how to deal with someone else’s grief. “We’re in public. I don’t know how fragile she is,” she says, adding that she “did not want to say anything that could, like, upset her, because I don’t know how Whitney handles grief.”
Whitney calls Lisa “really fake” and, once again, asks, “Why are you going up to Heather and giving her a gift when I’m your good friend?” (Good friend who is berating her in public, that is.) She turns to leave, and Lisa goes after her, trying to smooth things out. It doesn’t work. Whitney tells her, “Everything’s about you!”
Whitney storms away, and Lisa turns around, cursing. She tearfully tells the production team, “You guys need to stop right now.” And she wants her body mic off. (It’s like when she had the hot mic rant aimed at Meredith toward the end of Season 2. Only this time, she takes the mic off.)
“If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” John Barlow says.
Monica comes bearing gifts
Monica has Bermuda rum and Portuguese pastries for Meredith, Heather, Lisa and Whitney.
“You guys. I really am excited about Bermuda,” she says. “My family is from there. And I have family there now. It’s very special to me.”
In a confessional, Monica says the upcoming trip is “also a chance to reconnect and meet up with my family on my mother’s side. … Because growing up without a father, I feel like half of me is completely missing. So I treasure anything I do know about where I come from.”
Out of context
Viewers don’t know how they get here, but Seth says, “We need a man for Heather. What is your perfect man? Stop compromising. … What would the physical features of your Ken doll be?”
“He’s faceless. He has a ski mask on,” Heather says. Seth shouts, “Is there a therapist in the house?”
It’s unclear if he wants the therapist for himself or for Heather.
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