After all the relitigation and denial about what happened on the plane, the wives’ ability to resolve this conflict is unprecedented.
Photo: Natalie Cass/Bravo

Did Mary’s church service help to heal (or “hill” if you’re Whitney) our fractured group? Of course not, but one can dream! Maybe they’ll have better luck at the post-service Sunday Social that Mary is hosting for them all at our favorite Salt Lake jaunt: Valter’s. “Oh, your guests are here,” Angie tells Mary when Meredith and Lisa walk in, so then again, maybe not. But at least Mary is gifting them all beta fish as party favors!

The only person missing from the lunch is Britani, whom Mary called ahead of time to explain that she was snubbing her because she called her ungodly. Britani ultimately apologized, and while it didn’t earn her an invite, it did inspire Mary to think that there might be hope for this group yet.

So let’s get into it. We’ve heard what all the other women say happened, but Meredith maintains that they’re blowing it out of proportion — so where do we go from here? When Meredith says she couldn’t have tormented Britani the whole flight because she watched two movies, the women begin investigating. What movies? “Crazy Rich Asians, and one other movie I don’t recall the name of,” she says. Rough start. And what happened at the end of Crazy Rich Asians? Genius question. “I don’t remember,” she says. Meredith, you shouldn’t be answering any more of these questions without a lawyer present! “Crazy Rich Asians has a big ending. It’s a big moment, you’ll remember,” Heather says. This is one of the funniest gotcha moments I’ve ever seen on Housewives. Since Lisa watched it too, they ask her if she remembers how it ends, and without hesitation (but with a spoiler alert warning from Bravo), Lisa rattles off the movie’s ending. “I obviously fell asleep before the end because I didn’t see that part,” Meredith chimes in, trying to cover her ass.

Since Lisa continues to downplay the situation, they tell her that she clearly realized how big a scene it was, and that’s why she didn’t go through customs with them. But Lisa says that was just because she didn’t realize she had Global Entry. Alright, if we’re investigating whether Lisa Barlow has Global Entry to get to the bottom of this mystery, I fear we’re too far gone.

Meredith then directs her ire to Whitney (as she is wont to do), after hearing that she was gossiping about this incident behind her back (as Whitney is wont to do). Specifically, Whitney told Bronwyn that she was drinking before the flight and wondered whether she blacked out. She proposed three explanations for the incident: “she has hatred in her heart, an anger problem, or a problem mixing substances.” She’s like if Hercule Poirot were a Real Housewife.

The lunch leaves them with little resolution, and leaves Meredith ally-less, apart from Lisa, whom she meets up with for manicures in spa chairs that I’m convinced get bigger each time we cut back to them. They debrief the lunch, with Meredith expressing her frustration with Heather and Whitney, especially, before Lisa tells her that she met up with Britani to hear her side of things. We flashback to that sit-down, where we hear Britani say, “It was literally, like, the sixth worst thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life.” It’s a sentence that stopped me dead in my tracks. The level of specificity instantly grips me. What were the other five things? And does she have a notes app ranking them? All in all, Meredith basically says she pities Britani and thus is fine to move forward from all of this.

Then, in a jump cut for the ages, we find ourselves in a U-Haul that Whitney is driving to Heather’s house, where she finds her buzzin’ cousin dressed for a funeral. Specifically, the funeral for her marital mattress, which Whitney is helping her haul away. While she assures us that the stains aren’t from sex, I’m more disturbed by her confession that she’s had the mattress for 20 years. That seems like much too long. She talks about Meredith being mad at her, and Whitney talks about being angry at Bronwyn for ratting, but all I can think about is that geriatric mattress.

While Britani is still recovering from the plane ride (and I suspect will be for seasons to come), she says it helped her focus on what’s truly important: healing her relationship with her daughter, Olivia. And now, thankfully, they’re getting professional help and are deciding to give a family therapist a real run for her money. It’s mostly a rehash of what we already know, but Olivia says she feels better hearing her mother take accountability, and Britani is happy to finally get the chance to make things right, so this situation seems to be looking up.

Speaking of mothers and daughters, Bronwyn, Gwen, and Muzzy (and their bobs) spend the afternoon trimming Bonsai trees. Both Gwen and Muzzy say that they’re getting ready to spread their wings and move out, which sends Bronwyn — who has never really lived alone in her entire life — spiraling. You might be thinking, well, doesn’t she still have Todd? But perhaps that’s the problem. Without her whole family under that roof with her, she’s left taking a cold, hard look at her marriage, and she might not like what she sees. After all, if she’s mourning her emotionally abusive mother of all people moving out, then you know things must be rough.

The episode concludes with a meeting so shocking that I wondered if perhaps I was the one who blacked out after combining substances. Meredith and Britani reunite — on the ground this time — at a park, as if producers were afraid they’d destroy a home or place of business. Meredith kicks things off by apologizing to Britani for being overheard talking to Lisa on the plane, saying it was the wrong place and time and that she didn’t intend to hurt her feelings. This feels almost too good to be true, as if a Bravo HR representative is standing just off camera, holding up cue cards.

While Britani says she still feels traumatized, she’s choosing forgiveness. And for her part, she apologizes for bringing up the TikTok in the first place, admitting that it was a shady move meant to hurt her. I almost can’t believe what I’m watching. After all this hubbub sent shockwaves throughout the group, the two of them can sit down and communicate in the name of civility. This kind of resiliency and ability to move forward is what makes this show so successful. As I watch them sit across from one another, I’m reminded of a song made famous by Britani Bateman singing it on TikTok…

And just to clear the air, I ask forgiveness for the things I’ve done you blame me for…
But then, I guess we know there’s blame to share
And none of it seems to matter anymore. 

VULTURE NEWSLETTER

Keep up with all the drama of your favorite shows!

Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice