Oscars Outsider - Bravo Outsider: SVU (Special Vanderpump Unit - Reunion Pt. 1)

Episode Date: May 25, 2023

Join hosts Craig and Dylan, along with previous outsiders Rory and Sean, as they analyze the explosive Vander Pump Rules Reunion. They discuss Raquel's absence, James' dominating presence, and the dynamic between the key players involved in the affair. The group explores Lala's behavior, the success of Schwartz and Sandoval's business ventures, and the impact of therapy on James. With anticipation for Part 2, they also delve into Sheana's position in the group. Don't miss as we dissect the reunion everyone has been waiting for! Find Rory on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/roryfallis/ Find HUNKS on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hunkscomedy/ Find Dylan on substack at https://dylanferguson.substack.com/ Music by FASSounds [https://pixabay.com/users/fassounds-3433550/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=112194] from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=112194]

Hello and welcome to Bravo Outsider special Vanderpump Unit. This is part one of our special coverage of the explosive Vanderpump Rules Reunion. I'm your host Craig Midwinter and with me as always is my co-host. Dylan Ferguson. Dylan, how's it going? Yeah, thanks for the question. Doing good, Craig. I would like to acknowledge that, well, the rumors are true. I have been offered the job as the general manager of Team Raquel. It came down to a choice between me and Brad Trelliving, and it was, I definitely accept the responsibility.

We all understand that the organization's been going through some tough times. We do have a uphill battle ahead of us, but everybody, going into a big rebuild. Look, everybody in that dressing room believes in this group, so I think we can go out there and surprise a lot of people. Now, we don't typically cover reunions because it's nearly impossible for an outsider to follow without any context. So for our special reunion coverage, we've brought back some of our previous outsiders to give their outsider turned insider perspective. And joining us today are Rory Fallas and Sean Rourke. Yeah, glad to have you guys both back. Let's get right into it.

Rory, do you want to get us quickly started with your highlights? Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, going back to episode 15 was like, I mean, I was going to watch it before you guys asked me to do this. Like, there's no way watching 14 and having that cliffhanger of here's what's coming up. And it's just like what like as an outsider? Like what the fuck is going on? I had to watch it. So I was going to watch it regardless.

And man, that is like the pinnacle of reality TV to me. I think. I mean, it's crazy. Yeah. But going into the reunion, I mean, I got to address the elephant in the room as far as highlights go is Andy's cards and what happened to them. That was like, cards. Oh, my cards. Yeah, that, I mean, it's.

My perspective on the reunion is this just feels a little bit like an extended cliffhanger trailer for what we all actually want to see out of these reunions. You know what I mean? Is the Raquel, Sandoval and Ariana in the same room? And obviously, they're not going to do that in the first episode when they've got it spread out over three. But it just, it left me wanting more and not in a, like, satisfied way. if that makes sense. Yeah, it definitely was like a real tease. I did like how they handled having, you know,

obviously they can't have Sheena and Raquel in the same room for legal reasons at this point. I think that they handled it like fairly well. I think it was smart for them to lead off with with Sheena and then to bring out Raquel later. And to have Raquel watching from her trailer, and every so often getting very like tactical reaction shots I thought was like pretty nice. Yeah, that was a great compromise.

Yeah, it did feel a little incomplete until we finally get the person everybody's waiting for to come out. But until satchel does arrive, I want the dawn to show up. There's no. I just want to spit off that's just the dawn and satchell. It could be like the Hobbs and Shaw of events. So have either of you, like, have either of you, like, watched any sort of reality TV reunions before, or was this kind of your first, like, dive into the reunion format?

Well, I had watched a couple of the reunions, like, 10 years ago when I was watching Orange County and New York. So I'm, like, kind of familiar with the format. Is this all that Andy Combe? and does? Like, I know there's a million Bravo shows, so it's probably a full schedule, but like, does he just do, like, the reunions and the, um, whatever it was called? Yeah. That preseason thing where they tease in, I think, episode 15 about when Ariana finds out.

Does he do anything else? So he's like executive producer on all of the like Bravo, like flagship shows. Um, he also hosts like four nights a week, a late night talk show. that is focused on like the shows that are airing on Bravo. So they have like two guests on. It's called Watch What Happens Live. And it's, it's a really fun show.

I definitely recommend watching it for anyone that follows these shows. He has like stars from the show come out and they like, it's not really like a recap show per se. But they'll have like fun like games that kind of revolve around the content of the show. and they've got celebrities coming on and getting their perspectives too. So, yeah, the clips that we saw of like Sheena and Raquel on the night that Ariana found out, that was from that nightly watch the appell's live show. You mean when Raquel viciously or Sheena viciously attacked Raquel?

Yeah, the night of the assault. Gave her that awful gaping wound on her eyebrow. Yeah, apparently the judge you had. the note that's restraining order, didn't consult with the scientists first. Scientifically impossible for her to punch. There are many papers on the subject. Where are the broken nails? She's got four different doctor's notes that say it's impossible.

So, Roy, is there any, like, specific, like, matchups or anything that you want to see aside from, you know, the one that were kind of all waiting for? Was there anything as like someone that didn't have as much context going into this that you were interested in sort of seeing a follow up to? I mean, definitely Ariana and Raquel, period. Those two for sure. I mean, I found with this particular episode like James dominates so much of. the narrative by his own design. It's, it's interesting to see. Like,

I've gone back and watched a handful of the episodes throughout the season. And the amount that that dude makes everything about himself, like the, like, it's like these people did this to him, you know? And so, like,

honestly, when he, like, leaves at the end, I'm like, that's fine. Stay gone. Yeah.

Finally, Christ. Why don't you storm out earlier? Even the way he leaves is like, there's not enough attention on James. I have to storm out again. Yeah. That everyone will look at me and we'll have a good act break. Yeah, I mean, it's the three principles in the affair is really the dynamic that I'm most interested in. Because watching episode 15, the Scandival episode, that's the, I mean, the, the, the, the, the, the,

the friendships and people being there for Ariana is is great and interesting and I love having some of that perspective from people um but yeah specifically James uh dominating that conversation and uh to a degree Lala though I do I feel like Lala's a bit more authentic in her you know she's projecting a lot of her own shit onto this situation but oh yeah it it feels real whereas James is, he's not even projecting anything. He's literally like, how could you do this to me? James reminds me in this of like the Trump debates. Like the like you start watching it.

And for like at the first, at first you're like, this is kind of funny. Like he just like shut the fuck up. And he's just rooting the format. And it's kind of hilarious. But then after like a couple minutes, you're like, I kind of want to hear the answer to somebody's questions. can we shut them up actually because Christ so they figure out a way to like turn the mics off I think of the second Biden-in-trub debate and I guess you can't really do that here because they're all

close together but maybe put a shock collar on him or something stop them from peeing on fire hydrants so Sean you watched obviously a different episode or your introduction to this was a different episode than Rory's was. So you got to see a little bit of a different dynamic between the characters. Were there any different matchups that you were looking to see or any other storylines that you were hoping to see resolved in this reunion? I think I was looking to get more information on things from the reunion, just like backfill.

Because I think I watched 12 with you guys. And then I did watch 14 and 15 ahead of this. But like, what's going on with Lala and Sheena? and stuff like that that I never went back and watched. I got really curious about when they're arguing, like, oh, maybe I should figure out what that's all about. But primarily, yeah, it's all about the Scandival. I am really also interested in how Lisa fits into this,

because I feel like episode 15 and the reunion really strengthened my thesis that she's the mob boss of everything, everybody going to her to get their side of the story and how they're going to adjudicate all these conflicts and like all the business partnerships. So I'm very, I thought I didn't like Lisa or hearing her voice, but I'm very interested to see like how she's mediating the scandal ball. Yeah, I thought that this was a really interesting dynamic in this reunion

because it was something that I don't think that we have typically seen. We saw like a little bit of pushback against Lisa, which you don't normally see in like the edited like long narrative of the regular season. So to see this power dynamic shift in the quote unquote postseason of the show was pretty interesting because we saw Lala kind of like clapping back at Lisa when she kind of weighs in and tries to measure the response to Tom a little bit. And we also saw Ariana, although she did backtrack a bit, but come out and say, you know, if she's still in business with Tom, then, you know, I. that's going to impact our relationship. Yeah. And then Lisa turns the screw just a little bit.

And Ariana, like you said, basically kind of backtracks capitulates. And it's like, oh, I didn't actually need to put any pressure on. Yeah. I'm sorry. My lips are still firmly on that ring, Lisa. I never said anything. But it was like interesting to see her like kind of wilt because I think I think Ariana's star has like risen quite a bit as a result of the scandal.

Like she is a name to people that don't follow this that are just kind of like on the peripheries of like tracking celebrity or reality TV. Whereas Lisa Vanderpump, I mean, I guess she is a name that people outside of the like Bravo fandom would have some awareness of. But I think that Ariana star, at least right now, is at a higher value. value than Lisa's. And so to see her kind of wilt was a bit surprising to me. But maybe that's just her personality.

Yeah. Well, it almost seemed like she was priming herself to, like for leverage in some way, where she's like, I'm not going to come back for next season without saying that. But like that's the implication, right? And then, yeah, immediately kind of like, well, I mean, you know, we'll see. Yeah. And then she did a little bit of like. like a teenager eye roll at the end after like, you know,

finally like capitulating to to Lisa a little bit. She just rolls her eyes to the side. Yeah, I thought that that was a very like interesting reaction shot that we got injected in there. Also, we got a tiny bit of, of criticism implied by Andy when when Lisa's like, I've been very generous to them. I gave them 5% of the restaurant.

And he's like, okay, 5%. He said what needed to be sad, dude. Yeah. So one dynamic that we kind of got a glimpse of that has changed, and Andy points this out, but this is the first reunion where Katie and Tom are not sitting beside each other. What did you guys think about this dynamic between Katie and Tom on part one of this reunion? It's a bit of a tease. Like, we don't get very much.

much there, right? I'm also, I'm not terribly invested in the Katie and Tom drama. It just doesn't strike me as like particularly stirring, which I think I missed all the meat of it. And this is just sort of like, you know, the bits of fat on the plate. So I don't know. It leaves me a little bit flat. I don't think there's enough.

I don't get any purchase on it. Yeah, that, I'm not surprised to hear that. I think like this is probably a lot more interesting to longstanding viewers. Like even people that are just joining in on this season and have watched the full season, I don't know that they would be particularly invested in this. But seeing as Tom Schwartz and Katie have been a couple since the beginning of this, like season one, like 10 seasons ago, it was pretty interesting to me how this. this has has changed.

And it seemed like, as James pointed out, Schwartz didn't even realize, like it didn't even cross his mind that this was the first time they weren't sitting on the same side of things. Dylan, what were your thoughts on this? Yeah, I mean,

their breakup is obviously less explosive because it just kind of festered like many years longer than it should have and just was just a pedestrian, slowly dying off kind of relationship instead of, which maybe, I mean, side of all it was too,

except they got that, big explosive break at the end. So there's a bit of a contrast between the way that the two oldest relationships on the show has ended. I did think it was kind of funny when Schwartz is like tried to come up with like a hypothetical situation involving Katie that would be like somewhat equivalent to like test her reaction and like I guess try to like back into a corner and he just goes off on something like. And then like if say I had broken up with you and then say you had made out with, let's say

Peter and then like you have to like take notes to try to follow this hypothetical example he's coming up with and at the end you just kind of sits back and it's like I would be okay with it like what you would be okay with what again everybody's got those trigonometry numbers in front of follow his logic I would say to be fair to Schwartz I think he was a bit rattled because shortly before that James came out and

accused Tom Sandoval of having crocodile tears, which we all know Schwartz is very affected by the crocodile situation in Florida right now. So he's very invested. Do you think about his health, his wealth, his family, and now they've got man-eating Nile crocodiles? Schwartz does seem really like on edge through the whole thing because I get the sense that he's like trying to keep his head above water standing on a drowning man's back. Yeah. Yeah. Even in, to, like, dial back to 15 when, like, Sandival comes over and is breaking down, he's like, the Elp reviews.

We're dying. So I think, like, he's being, he was very affected from, as he puts it, like, being canceled for being Sandival's friend. And I think that really comes through for me throughout the whole reunion. He's just very, like, tense and careful. Yeah. This was, like, one very noticeable. dynamic for me was just how Schwartz seems to be doing this balancing act. Because even when we get the intro when Andy's doing like the selfie video and he's like,

were you silent or were you silence? And he's like, well, it was both. We see him trying to like keep all the balls in the air and try to try to look like a good guy still, which is always the position that he likes to play from. He likes to be coming from this, like, having like a wealth of goodwill. And to not have that and try to like claw back at it and like juggle things was pretty interesting. And you do see him a little bit defeated not knowing how to operate in this situation. He wants to be friends with everybody.

He is a serial killer's weapon. Yeah. I think. For me, having gone back and watched a handful of episodes kind of throughout the season, it was, I think it did have a bit more weight, the Katie and Tom Schwartz separation in this episode. But, yeah, it's still not to the same level. Like you said, Dylan, it's just not the explosive end to a relationship, sort of just the like slowly circling the drain down, you know? Yeah, and you see like a lot of anger is, there's clearly a lot of anger that is built up towards Schwartz. Anytime he opens his mouth, you can kind of feel the tension in the room when he's speaking. Not necessarily to the same degree as like Sandoval, where they can't contain it.

But you can see everyone almost wincing at everything that he's saying. I thought that that was really, really interesting. And another thing that I thought was really interesting was, you know, we see Schwartz kind of adjust his strategy, the way that he's trying to play this reunion, when he realizes that he's not going to be able to get anyone on board. So when the discussion about how Lala's friendship with Sheena affects Katie's relationship with Lala comes up, Schwartz comes with the skeletons and kind of shows that he's ready to, you know, throw Katie under the bus a little bit.

Because while Katie's trying to find her words, he's immediately like, well, Katie told me this and, you know, kind of undercuts her. And that is definitely kind of a new strategy because we don't often see Schwartz come and try to play an offensive game at all. Yeah, I think he feels as he has no choice at this point because, like he said, he's not used to being in this position. He's not used to not being the guy that everybody's like, oh, a little cute shorts just want to ruffle his hand. So now he has to figure out a new way to move forward. His usual just being a puppy dog act is just isn't selling it anymore. He has an immense, like, cartoon character energy, but like the cartoon has become quite dark and he doesn't. know how to deal with.

The Adventures of Tweedle Limp Dick. There's that great cutaway on that when it cuts to Schwartz going, my Tweedled D? Yeah, that was the best part of the whole episode. Tweedle D and Tweedle little dick over here. Am I Tweedled D? It was also funny when at one point, Schwartz says, guys, I'm not an idiot.

And they include a shot of Lisa Vanderpup raising her eyes like, well, news to me. One person that came out really swinging during this was Lala. She was playing the role. I mean, she always does, but she was coming out as, you know, Ariana's pit bull. And this is something that she is, I think, been the most active at kind of building an almost a brand around the scandival and her response to it. Like she started selling a line of. merch, a send it to Darrell merch, which is like a line from a Instagram live that she did,

where she was telling Raquel to send things to her lawyer. So it's not surprising to see her come out like this, but she was unshakable. Even, you know, when Andy or when Lisa tried to rein her in a little bit, there was nothing getting in her way. Dylan, you've always been a big champion of Lala. What were your thoughts on her performance here? Well, less of a champion after this season. I thought it was a bad season for her.

And honestly, she's just getting too annoying for me. I still admire a lot of things about her, like her ability to wear such a horrible dress that looks like the carpeting of a global alley from like 1998 and slay it. She wears it great, even though it's a hideous dress. She looks great. I still like her on-screen presence a lot, but I think, like, you said, her decision to build this whole brand about, like, I'm just going to attack Raquel and be, like,

and be completely the unnounced pit bull, just savaging these two people, relentlessly, is getting, like, really tiresome. And I also find it really rich how she's, like, leading into this whole thing, where she's like, I've, I've been clocking Rick Ellis since day one. You know, it slithers like a snake. I've been, I just have that intuition. I just know when somebody's got some capability to be deceitful or, or do bad things. I can smell it a mile away.

I know this is my bones. Like, this is the person who was in a relationship for years with a guy who is basically a sexual predator who is, like, abusing people under her nose. and now she's and she's she's a victim in that too and and i actually feel so bad for her about that but to now be like oh i can smell bullshit a mile away and i can see a bad person no around every corner it's like you come give it a rest and also when she's like you knew uh you knew i i already was always against rakel because you know we're always buttoned heads all the time like if everybody is whoever butt heads with you is like a bad person that's everybody you've ever met like

Lola's had beef with everybody, absolutely everybody. You can't just say now, well, I knew it all along. Like, there's not a single person on this cast who's been there for more than like two episodes that you haven't started shouting in their face at one point. So I think she's overplayed your hand. That basically is what I'm saying. I thought it was kind of like a skillful pivot to like reframe what was clearly actually bullying into, you know, she's kind of retconning it into being like, ah,

I called it because she has always had it out for Raquel. Like there's always been like clashing. And I think part of that is informed by this like, this chemistry intention that Lala and James have. Like it's, it's kind of always like simmering. And anytime that you see them like together, the way they play off each other,

it just seems like a natural match. so to have her kind of retcon this as you know being like I called it I like put it out there I don't think it was like a like a misplay but yeah a little bit of an overplay for sure yeah and just the fact that Lala and James are so like on the same team now just is just like a vultron of annoying yes when the two of them are still like like like Their usual pattern is like one episode they hate each other in the next episode. They're like back to have a drinks together. And they've been doing that for year after year.

And this has just made them completely united. And basically in their like shared hatred of Raquel at this point, I guess. But the fact that they're like so united and so reinforcing each other. And James who's constantly looking to la la la, to back him up on everything he says is just like, it's too much. It's too much. I like to see it when. they've got like a like a great dynamic adversary to to go against and you know tom and rakel this like

idea the idea of tom and rquel them like going against that um i think it is like it is kind of compelling but i think it depending on how this plays out into the next season i think it could reach a point where you know because they're so like leaning into this and so like like singularly focused on it that it gets to a point where it's like, okay, let's find something else to like talk about. Yeah. It's, uh, it could be too much. But for now, this season, that is the story.

That is like the moment in reality TV right now that everyone cares about. So I'm happy to see this dynamic that we have seen throughout the history of Vanderpump rules since they have both been on the show kind of come together and, see how that plays plays into things yeah i haven't seen i haven't seen much of lala but based on what i've seen from this season and the reunion um i think that she's really good in that i do not care for her like similarly with with james i think i'm kind of the synthesis

between uh between craig and dylan where like i think james is a genius but i really don't care to listen to him very much um he's like I have a whole thing of just like physical things he does that I love that I wrote down. It doesn't surprise me that you say that Lala had this like merch thing from an Instagram live because I think like what's really interesting about the reunion setting that you don't get as much in the episodes is you could see how everyone is taking. What is real, you know, interpersonal drama or situations in their group of friends? But like how can I use this for content for me? Yeah. Yeah. And like Lala and James in the reunion are just like that is shining very brightly from them. Like from like James storming out or like getting up to start a fight in the way like the way that people only do when they know they're in a place where someone's going to hold them back immediately.

Yeah. Yeah. And just like you know, Lala jumping in and rejecting Lisa's opinion and all this very like very strongly worded stuff. Yeah. She's trying to make a moment for herself that she can, you know, leverage in in the future. future. Yeah. And, you know, sell some merch. Yeah. And I think, like, I think that Lala isn't actually that great at, like, creating these quotable moments.

Like, all the quotable moments that she tries to monetize are pretty lame. Like, send it to Daryl is, you know, okay, I guess that's whatever. You need to be really deep into the game to care about that. Yeah. Or, like, give them Lala is, like, what she's brand. I like that. It's not like, it's not you're a worm with a mustache. Yeah.

Like that stuff just like flies off of James's like tongue and he does that like so effortlessly. But he doesn't do as good a job of like branding it and like taking it and running with it. It just like, you know, it, he puts it out there and then just lets the world take it. he's just living it. Lala is like, you know, selling something. I think James is just being good off the cuff often, though.

I think she, maybe we've seen less of it this season. But she had some fucking bangers in her, her heyday. Like, I think I've already said this on the show, but I'm going to say it again because I love it so much. There's one episode where she just busts out like,

fool be once, shame on you. Fool be twice. Shame on you. Fool be three times. You're fucking dead to me. that kind of stuff is just brilliant like it's so good and that's just the one that's on the top of my head the most because I think about it every fucking day of my life

but but she she has a she can really go off like off the cuff from time to time too I yeah I think she's like decent at that but I don't think she's on the same level as like James and I think like the only other person in kind of Vanderpump history that is at the same kind of level of, you know, making these, like, effortlessly quotable moments is Stasi. And, like, Saucy was so good at that.

Yeah. She was one of the best to ever do it. Well, I think that James's strength comes from his entire, like, complete lack of self-awareness because he is able to just, like, like, there's no, there's no stopgap. There's no filter between the thing that happens in his head to then coming out. And like there's moments going back in this season, really only one where it's like he approaches an actual insight and then immediately shuts it down for himself where he's talking to Raquel and he's like, you're just so lost right now. And it's like that is like an actual observation that is true. And then he's like, but that has nothing to do with me.

And he's immediately, it's immediately thrown out the window because it has everything to do with him in every way. I hope that if he does stick with the therapy, he wants to get it doesn't have a great effect. It might really diminish what makes him so watchable. Well, remember when Jacks got there because that was great. That would be the best result. Jacks got therapy and he just like got really into his therapist and just had a big crush on her.

And they started to be like, call me Jason. That's what she calls me. And then got obsessed with the idea that he, had like automatically improved himself while being the same person just because he thought she was hot so good uh shan what were your highlights from from this um really like i really like andy cohen's energy throughout it like he's yeah i feel like for reunions this is like his frost nixon kind of thing i don't like there's so much to work with but i found myself like continually watching him. There's this one moment when people are yelling and he's just like sitting there with like a kind of like a tired of the space. But there's three or four like different shots that show it. So it's like, oh, he knows to like hold that until they get the close. The wide shot and everything. To love Andy Cohen. Feel bad for his cards. Yeah. So much good James stuff. Like there went. I think it's the second time James gets up to like start a fight.

with Tom and he's taking his jacket off at the shoulders, but like just at the shoulders, because he knows, like, someone's going to stand in front of him. Like, the hold me back. Is that the one where he screams out? I'm so much more ripped than you. Yeah. Yeah. This is a great callback to the beach. Yeah.

Right? After he throws the drink a short, it's like, I'm strong good faster than you. So good. But my biggest note, it's so small, but my biggest note is I really don't like short hair Brock. They just flash a picture after Sheena says he cut all his hair off. And he just looks like a villager from the Shrek movies. It's awful. I want long hair Australian, like, whatever out of the Australian version of a good old boy is, Brock.

I think you just call it a cunt. Yeah. Like dollar store Jason. Yeah. Yeah, just like Gibby Bogan Brock, you know, hucking rugby balls into James's face. None of this short hair stuff. Was quite shocked at the figure of 200K on merch sales for the sandwich shop that hadn't opened? Yeah.

Yeah, poor support. Good for them. Yeah, this was at... Although I guess that place, they said late May, so maybe it is open now. Yeah, I don't... I haven't seen anything about it. opening. I'm sure there would be a lot of fanfare about that. Maybe

that is going to be kind of like a big reveal on the reunions. Like, oh, we're going to open it today like reunion part three years or something like that. I feel like they're going to definitely try to capture that momentum. The timing seems you know, very

calculated. But I think one thing that we have seen in this reunion that is that is a evolution of how these people are able to leverage the show in order to create a business because in early seasons we have seen lots of attempts at creating a business and them not like really landing we see uh we saw like Kristen with her t-shirt line james may and um,

Katie had like a lip line or something like that, pucker and pout. And, you know, it's kind of on the same. I don't like that. It's kind of on the same level as like Christina Kelly's, uh, party that we saw with her like lip gloss,

like, um, MLM adjacent. I don't know that it's actually an MLM, but it feels like an MLM. Um, but it's kind of on that same level of, you know,

kind of a meandering, type of like, oh, I've got this spotlight on me. I'm going to try to make a business of it. But to see, you know, Schwartz and Sandoval with this bar, they, as aloof and kind of goofy as their approach has been portrayed, I think they are just a lot more smarter and experienced at actually leveraging it. And I think that this storyline that we. Yeah.

I mean, obviously they aren't like fantastic about it. But I think it's, um, I think they're a lot better at it than, you know, a lot of the early attempts that we see. Sure. And they did actually open for a while. Yeah. They did actually open the door. They did like have a, um, a well built brand around themselves. And they knew that, you know, not to like name a T.

your line after James May or like Puckerman Pout, they realized we're the brand. Let's build this restaurant in the spirit of our brand, which is kind of, you know, not, you know, it is kind of goofy and like a little bit of like, um, uh, it's not like failure porn, but it is like, you know, you want to see these guys like just kind of not, not know what they're doing and fumbling through things. And, you know, that was the story they gave us for the bar as well. as the story that we have seen them play out through the course of the series. So you know, it is all branding. It is like all part of the branding. And I think they actually are able

to execute it. They opened the doors and they survived the scand of all. They seem to be still getting people out there and the bar from what I have seen online still is busy. Like if anything, they're probably like

strengthened by this people coming to right on the wall in the bathroom you know that's gonna like people aren't just going in there and like using the bathroom and piecing out after right like they're buying a cocktail they're having the like Schwartz and Sandy's experience and then they're getting their like catharsis out by using lipstick on the mirror which can easily be like washed off like that that's so smart yeah when they go one of the the other mirrors that fuck tom that top But it's like really big, really big, like, peculiaria non-Olet vibes, right? Like, they've done a good job of branding. It's like, okay, yeah, come right on the mirror and we'll be a success.

I do like, that's one of my highlights is that I like that we got that update that, you know, people like their fancy corn dogs or whatever else they're serving there. Because I was really into, I think it's episode 14, maybe 15, where they're talking. And Schwartz is something like, people don't know how hard of this to open. like, we have to hire line cooks. Yeah. So the way that they presented that as like these two like babes of the woods who like don't know how to play restaurant. It's nice to see the thing.

Yeah. Also funny that they apparently somebody protested the ownership of the restaurant by buying a meal and then writing T. Marriotta instead of leaving a tip. Like, wow, way to stick it to the person who served you. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. to the owners. Yeah. You cost probably a little bit of money to the person who served you and enriched the people that you are trying to make. There's one other thing I also really liked.

There's a moment when I feel like it's Andy Cohen getting a little bit real when everyone's just shouting and he just kind of goes off on everybody. Be like, look, you've cheated on her and he's cheated on you. Like, that was, that was the moment I was looking forward to the most because that's kind of the burning question for me. It's like in the show, the show about people cheating on each other, it's 10th season, why is this treated like the Holocaust?

Like, and you know, they do kind of atro, which I appreciate. But it's like, yeah, if Arietta thinks that Raquel is like subhuman and should be run out of LA, as she said,

because, you know, she slept with Tom Sandival, well, he was in a long-term relationship with someone else. Well, that's bad news for Arieta who did the same thing. And if, like, if James thinks it's a absolutely horrendous thing for Tom Sandoval to sleep with Rekyllis shortly after they broke up, well, bad news for James, who slept with Kristen, as Sam Sandoval points out, if you fuck Christian to get at the show,

and he used my condoms. Which was great. And then, you know, if Lala thinks that it's, it's, it's. absolutely inexcusable that Raquel would sleep with somebody who's in a long-term relationship. Well, you know, she's slept with James. Well, he was in a relationship with Raquel. Yeah. And Randall, when he was in a relationship with his wife and all the other people that he was victim. Yeah, sure. But like, so not only have these people like done similar things, they've done them all with each other in various configurations with each other. This,

this, it's so, this friend group is so incestuous. The friend group is like, it's like Taco Bell. There's like the same like five ingredients. They just continually arrange them in new configurations that are often delicious and often just like a horrible affront to God or both at the same time. But yeah, the big question is why is this why is this so different? And what they seem to have settled on is because they're best friends because Ariata and Raquel are best friends. I feel like Ariad would have said that Katie was her best friend before it became like a rhetorical cut. Or Sheena, actually. They've got a long, long history.

Yeah. Which doesn't invalidate the argument. Like, the fact that they're friends, sure, it makes it worse. I get it. Like, it does. Why it makes it like a completely monstrous transgression, whereas everything they've done is apparently just things we did when we were younger. Whereas, you know, Raquel is younger. Give her the benefit of her the doubt, team Raquel.

Yeah, I don't know that this friendship is like. Like as deep as, you know, they're trying to hoist it up to be. Like, we haven't seen this long history of Raquel and Ariana up until this season. And yes, like, they do seem very close this season. But it's not like this long, deep relationship that they're trying to make it out to be. And I think, like, not to give spoilers for like season two of Vanderpump rules, but the big scandal there, it feels like there's a more deeper, like, betrayal that that happens there. So, yeah, I think that it is kind of interesting that, you know, this is what they are using to justify this being a big deal.

But, yeah, I don't necessarily buy it. I would have, like, more lean on the fact that it's, like, a very long relationship and then they're older now and that kind of makes it where. but they really seem to be leaning on the friendship thing, which again, isn't without teeth. Like you said, it does seem kind of weird that Arietta would claim

that Raquel was her best friend now. But the last few episodes, we have seen them getting like very close and supporting each other. So that definitely adds weight and depth to it. And to be clear, I'm not like, I'm not criticizing Ariana for acting that way.

Like, Arianda is the person who's been wounded here. She has the right to act that way. Like, she's the one who's trying to go through extremely, extremely difficult, painful situation. So if she wants to like just not engage with the conversations that other people are trying to force her into or she wants to deal with it, however she wants, I think she's got like

a special right to do that. Like she said in the last episode, she had a line where she was like, I'm just focusing on my anger because otherwise I'll just be dry heating or something. And that's totally fair. Like this is going to be a really, really hard thing to go through and it's going to take a very long time. And it can be very helpful in the early days, I think, to focus on anger because then you're pushing your feelings outwards and you can at least delay, uh, them like coming home to

roost in your, your, your, your sense of self. Uh, if you can like, that's going to happen anyways. That's inevitable. But if you can kind of slow it down to a percolator drip instead of like feeling the full brunt of the negative feelings, uh, piercing inwards right away, that can really help. And, and Arianna's got to do whatever she's got to do, uh, in this situation. So I'm not like, I want to be clear that I'm not saying like, oh, screw you, Arianna for being hypocritical, do what you got to do.

like she's the person who's hurt here. As far as those other people like Katie, James and Lala, they're just being fucking hypocrites. They're being self-serving. They're just trying to capitalize on this. And they're being absurd with a degree that they're blowing enough proportion. They should absolutely have Arieta's back. They do.

That's great. But their arguments, they don't get the special benefit of making any kind of like hypocrite of the argument they want because they're just trying to ride that wave. And I'm getting a little sick of it. Yeah. Dylan, what other highlights did you have from this episode? I think we basically covered it all, really.

I mean, until we get, until we finally get Raquel trotted out, then we'll get the real meat starting here. Yeah, like if James walked out for the last time, I never comes back. Awesome, because I want to actually hear people talk and not just hear him shout over everything and start shouting boo and like throwing peanuts and whatever he was doing. Raquel hates snowboarding.

Yeah, that covers most of the things that I want to talk about as well. The one thing that I don't think we've touched on is Sheena. She was a bit understated here. But I thought it was pretty like interesting when she came out. and the position that she has to play within this show where, you know, she has to kind of make things up to Katie. And she says, like, I wish I had more empathy for you, Katie. But I just trusted what Raquel said.

And then we got like a montage of Sheena being bullied by like Katie and Lala. And I think like I understand where Sheena would have been coming from. Like she didn't know that this was going on with Raquel. And, like, obviously she would trust when Raquel said that, you know, Lala and Katie were being mean girls because she has seen that happen like several times over the course of... She's been the victim of that for years. Yeah. So, like, I understand why she didn't have more empathy with Katie and she trusted what what Raquel said. Totally.

Totally. Because there's a lot of similarities between the situation Raquel's been in recently and the situation Sheeta was in the first couple of years. and She has made that point before. And that was something that, like, made them friends. So it's, it's understandable that. Yeah, I mean, Lala has even been in that, that situation. Like, she has been a victim of Katie's vitriol as well. So it's not like, it's not so egregious that Sheena didn't, like, or that Sheena trusted what Raquel said.

Like, there's lots of evidence of past behavior that would back that up. I would have liked to see Sheena be a little bit more active during this episode because I do think that she was kind of in an interesting position for this season. And I want to hear more about how she's feeling. And I think that the scene at the end of the Scandival finale between her and Sandoval was really compelling. Yeah. So I would like to see some more from her. I'm not sure if we'll get it or not. But yeah, that's just my thoughts on, on Sheena for this.

Yeah, it doesn't seem like we will get more of it in this reunion because it's like her reaction, not that everyone else isn't authentic, but her seems like she's not branding her reaction to this situation in the way that some of the others are. She's like actually processing her feelings. And because this reunion was what, three weeks after that, that it broke. So that's that's still at March. That's very quick for for her to have processed that. Like she truly felt like she'd lost her best friend in that Scandival episode, you know? Yeah. That was like the unexpected, um, hardest hitting moment or one of the hardest hitting moments of the previous episode.

Like, uh, we knew that. Sandoval and Ariana discussing the end of the relationship was going to be really searing and painful and hard to watch. But what I absolutely didn't expect was for Sandoval sitting down to Shita to be like such like feels like such a raw, unfiltered moment. And it felt like she was really mourning the death of the friend group that that they've had for years. That's what it really felt like. Like she felt like it was going to be just irreconcilable that every, the way that these people have supported each other over the years, despite constantly cheating on each other over the years at the same time, that it's like that this rent is final.

And that seemed to be very devastating for Sheena. And that was almost if that ends up being like the last real episode of Anderpump rules, at least in like its traditional format, she's the one like giving the eulogy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I, I thought that I always find like Sheena to be like a great. reality TV personality because I think she makes like a lot happen. And I think she does often come across as like very authentic. And I don't really understand why there is a strong like dislike for her both, you know, seemingly from a lot of the women on the cast, but also from the fan base. Like she doesn't get the, the accolades that I think she deserves for her performance on this.

I was talking with my wife yesterday and I was like, why don't people like Sheena? Like she's, she's so great. And, you know, she, uh, my wife said, you know, well, she does like typically side a lot with the guys against the girls. And, you know, that being seen as, you know, not really being a girl's girl does not exactly play well with, with the fan base. So I think that that kind of informs a lot of that. But still, like, justice for Sheena, she is a fantastic reality TV personality.

She makes a lot happen. She's, like, very authentic on screen. And it's great to see the range that she has, both stirring the pot, like, sending Raquel to go and talk to Katie at the hotel and tell her she's not allowed at the cool kids fool. To have it, like, a deep, like, emotional conversation with a friend, like, a long-term friend who has been by her. her and like having probably the most like heart wrenching breakup that we have actually seen on screen was between her and sand of all so um like this this friendship breakup so uh kudos to she didn't make a huge splash of this reunion but just got to put it out there for my girl yeah yeah she does great she gets a great uh great celebration of sheena and good as gold is a

bangor i'll say it oh yeah for sure that is so catchy Anyone else have any final thoughts on this reunion? I am looking forward to, or I'm hoping in part two that we do get a little bit of of good Sheena reaction on the restraining order. Yeah, that was teens. I think, is it in episode 15 where they talk about it? And she's like emotional about it. But I'm very curious to have that talked about.

Yeah. I also like the name key that we got for Raquel at one point where it says a hundred yards away from she. Awesome. Well, thank you guys so much for joining us. Sean, you're going to be back with us next week

when we cover part two. Rory, do you want to let everyone know where they can find you? Yeah, you can find me at Rory Follis on Instagram. You're not going to find much.

Or follow my other podcast at Hunk's Comedy, Instagram, Hux Comedy podcast. Yeah, that's it. Awesome. Sean, where can people find you? Anything you want to plug?

I don't know. Check out my letterbox, Sean's haircut. Awesome. Three-sentence joke reviews of movies that people don't watch. And Dylan, how about yourself? You could find me on a substack as Dylan Ferguson, extremely infrequent comments about recent movies. Awesome. They're very good comments, though.

That has been Bravo Outson. Special Vanderpump unit. We'll be back with a regular episode tomorrow. We're going to be part of that one. Yeah. Yeah, we're going to be covering Real Housewives of Atlanta and dipping our toes into the water for the first time with below deck sailing yacht coverage.

So be sure to check that out. Until next time, keep on pumping. Oh, and don't forget to find us on Instagram at Bravo Outsider on Twitter. Twitter at Bravo underscore Outsider. Anywhere you listen to podcasts, we'll be there and on YouTube. Catch you next time. Bye.