Oscars Outsider - Explosive Allegations in the RHOSLC Finale | RHOSLC S05E16 | Bravo Outsider Podcast

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

We want to hear your takes! Give our hotline a call and leave a message with your thoughts on what's going on in the Bravo universe at 1-833-927-0178. Join us on the Bravo Outsider Podcast as we embark on a thrilling exploration of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City's explosive season finale. 🥂 About Bravo Outsider The Bravo Outsider Podcast offers an outside perspective on Bravo shows like The Real Housewives, unlike any other Bravo podcast! We focus on the artistic value of these shows while providing strategic analysis of the social game at the core of the Bravo docu-soap. We love thick literary references and diving into themes before diving into the drama! 🍸Featured Bravolebs: Real Housewives of Salt Lake City: Heather Gay, Lisa Barlow, Meredith Marks, Angie Katsanevas, Mary Cosby, Bronwyn Newport, Britani Bateman, Meili Workman 📣 Stay Connected: Find Bravo Outsider: On your podcast platform of choice: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bravo-outsider/ Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bravooutsider TikTok: ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@bravooutsider https://www.bravooutsider.com Find Craig Midwinter: chess.com: https://www.chess.com/member/craigjmidwinter Find Dylan Ferguson: Substack: https://dylanferguson.substack.com/ 📖 Credits Music by FASSounds from Pixabay #RHOSLC #bravotv #bravo #realitytv #RealHousewives.

They're finishing things off in Porto Vallarta with a lunch that has the theme of everybody is Lisa Barlow. I love that. I love that. We get a few warm-up scraps. And then a couple of proof it. Go get your proof. And then I'm going to sue the f***ing out of you. And then a couple activities, horseback riding, saviche making. Look, we got the ingredients for a Greek salad. We're just missing the fete cheese. Bridging us into the big showcase dinner at the wonderful Vodanta's world's fun. luxury theme park where of course the lid comes off when we get one of the most insane explosive reveals we've probably ever had in a high-o-swash show that brittney would rather

have tea with bronwyn than with mary that's the meanest thing you had in your phone the only thing i've had in my phone about mary one out on the limbs hello and welcome to the bravo outsider podcast. I'm your host Craig Midwinter. I'm joined by Dylan Fergie Fergis. Ferguson. We weren't planning on doing an episode this week, but the real Housewives of Salt

Lake City finale happened, and we just had to talk about it. So here we are. Emergency podcast. Let's get the bird book out. Dylan, usually we talk about the number one question that we hope gets answered later on in the season. As this is the finale,

I'm wondering, is there something that you are really hoping to resolve within the reunion. What unanswered questions do you still have? I guess it did sort of feel cliffhangery that we have Whitney lobbing accusations of infidelity at Lisa in like the final minutes of the show. And then we don't really get to see the fallout of that. So that's kind of a lingering question that I would like to see addressed because other than it just causing Lisa to blow up and storm up. off, we don't have much payoff from that moment. So I guess that payoff I'd be looking for in the reunion.

And I guess the question would be, is there any truth to it? Any grain of truth to these rumors of infidelity and like a couple different accusation, jerking off related accusations going around there. So I would like to see more follow out from that. So that was one thing that was a little almost disappointing to me that it felt kind of like kind of a hanging chat there that we never really got a follow-up. through on like the last inning revelations of the episode. Yeah. The way that Whitney used

this game was just a mark of mastery, I feel like. I thought that the way that she used this opportunity to find the funniest thing she could force Lisa to read on air was just brilliant. Yeah, huge props to Whitney for finding opportunities

to turn these games into attacks. Yeah, like, she was the one who specifically, like, found something that would be, like, introducing a new allegation rather than just, like, a mean thing to say. And she was also the one that saved kind of the Lisa Barlow lunch from being a little bit lame, too. I think, like, the whole everybody's dressed up as Lisa thing is a pretty, like, sea level gimmick. Like, it's not especially hilarious. It's fine, whatever.

And the fact that Whitney thought of a way that she could turn. her Elisa Barlow disguise into an accusation by being like, and I have the price tag sticking out because everybody knows you returned your clothes. That was great stuff. That's similarly another moment where she's thinking of how she can use the game they're playing to lob an accusation out there. So I want to talk about the presentation on this a little bit. Is there anything in particular that stood out to you about how this was constructed?

I did like the visuals in the final dinner just because the colors were so kind of carnivalesque, kind of grotesque, like, too keyed up because they are in this like carnival setting. The Ferris wheels in the background. Yeah, theme part that's very godly lit with like very gaudy, you know, oranges and greens and purples and stuff. Kind of sickeningly overhued colors like you get in a carnival. carnival. That was really great for me. That idea of like, you know, it's a, it's a theme park. It's a, it's a space of fun where we play, but it's also kind of queasy and too much and grotesque. Uh, that vibe that those, those like too much colors brought was a real added plus to that scene that really like keyed it up, but that really made it great. A lot of flowers too in that scene, which also had like slightly two exaggerated grotesque colors. I like that too. The flowers get in the action. You know, we have people hiding behind flowers, ripping flowers, throwing flowers. If you want to, you can, you know, talk about flowers. The things that take time to grow, like the friendships that Heather is always talking about and framing the relationship as. And it's notable that the very final shot on the episode is of broken flowers on the ground. Yeah, very, very nice symbol there. I, one other thing that I really liked about how this episode was constructed. I just like how we got this seed of conflict that was planted between Mary and Angie, who's a relationship, they have shown developing over the course of this season.

And then we got that resolution at the end. I just thought that that was a really nice kind of emotional nugget within this episode and really helped frame their friendship as being something that transcends the show. show and is a lot more real than some of the other relationships that we see on this show. I also really enjoyed the way that how cinematic the intro for this was. This episode was really encapsulated very like cleanly. There was a really defined intro to it where Heather is giving like a read of the talking about friendships and and their role and the blurred line.

between managing friendships and truth and your image and everything. And we have all of these women in front of a green screen that is used for confessionals, just waiting to be asked questions while there is clips behind them projected onto the green screen behind them. I just really liked how they accompanied this passage that Heather had constructed, talking about the lines between friendships and their roles while we got the clips playing behind them. I just thought that that was a nice visual pairing that we got there. I really, really enjoyed that.

Yeah, absolutely. And it really ties in nicely with the previous episode because Heather begins right off by saying, like, sure, we all agreed to do this. Well, we have, like, you know, these shots of them being prepared to be filmed, the things that they have filmed in the background. So that really frames the whole idea of friendships, but also privacy and what you've consented to share and what you've consented to not share, all really encapsulated really well. And once again, Heather is really positioning herself as like the narrator of this season. And the show is really working with her in that too.

And that's a great moment of kind of the hand and glove synergy between Heather, who really wants to be like the author, the narrator, the guiding authorial voice. of the show and the show, you know, wanting her to do that as well and them like framing this together. And we both start and end with Heather really playing that role very well. And I really like her in that role. I've said it before. But I like how her kind of slightly prim and keen energy and enter her fairly quick wit to really lends herself well to being like,

I'm going to frame everything now and I'm going to summarize and tell you what the theme of today's dinner is. I thought that that worked well this episode to have the start end at the end. Yeah, I really appreciated how this episode leaned into the notes of comedy because the end was hilarious. It may be one of the funniest episodes of hostwives that I have ever seen. Just the reaction shots that we got to the reading of the insults. And they also lean into the sound effects. There's a shot where Meredith is on the horse talking about, you know, I think we all got horses that represent our personalities.

And immediately there's like a horse fart sound effect that plays after from the horse that she is on. They use sound effects in a really funny way when at breakfast time, the text messages are going back and forth. and everyone has normal text message alert sound effects. But then when we see Britney's, it's got this like clown horn hon. Just really, really appreciated how they leaned into various like notes of comedy throughout this. It really,

it preps you to, uh, to take the, the reading of the burn books as, as comedy and really like lean into that. I, I just really love that. Totally.

I need to call it a quick time out here. It is starting to rain and I have to move inside. It looks like you teleported. I did teleport. YouTube viewers are going to notice a dramatic change in background because I was outside and it started raiding. It was a little peek behind the Emerald Curtain for all you people out there on YouTube land. Do you have a quote that stood out from this episode?

It might be hard to narrow it down to just one. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. There's a few absolute. absolute bangers in this one for sure. Near the start, when Lisa gets worked up about what Whitney's saying, and she says, your gut is off. It's leaking. Take a probiotic. Yeah. Awesome. So good. It just gets so worked up that decides to accuse her of having diarrhea, I guess. That was a great run right away. I really like when Mary says as a threat in reference to Brittany, I will unmemorize your existence. because I am able to do that.

I like threatening somebody by saying, not I will forget you, I will unmemorize your existence. I think she's spent too long reading a thothorist there. I think my favorite has to be one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel is just so fucking funny to me.

So good. I mean, I was I was kind of working up to that because, man, Angie absolutely killed it when they do the game of like read something insulting about somebody else. She was so ready. Oh my God. Like she is the goat. Like she comes out here and heads her phone. It makes her read. Yeah.

Your husband is a man who has one foot in the grave and the other one of a banana feel hilarious. And then she doesn't listen because her ears are stitched to her face so tight. She can't hear anything. She wears a hot dog outfit to remind us she sucked her way to the top. All of this in one text? Like, oh my God, I did not know she had that kind of game. Like, I knew she was funny. I did not know she had that kind of texting game.

I want to be in a group trap with Angie so bad. I'm sure it would be just bangers every day. It would be worth putting up with like her sending you a photo of like every time she sees a newspaper article that mentions Greece or like a globe and just takes a picture of the country grease on. it or something. Or sees the letter G and takes a picture of it. It says like that letter is in the word Greece. Just taking pictures of John Triboldon, Olivia Newton, John. Oh, thank God.

Another one has to be Whitney's text is really great. I think she just really made perfect use out of this situation. And I love that Lisa is reading. this and coming to the like slow realization as she gets the end of the text like just like it was just so beautifully constructed the way it built up

she's reading it trying to figure out where it's going and gets the payoff about John like circle jerking someone well making out with Lisa I yeah I thought it was amazing yeah really good how about

strategy wise do you think that there was any real strategic play that was happening here? I've already noted that I really like the way Whitney turns the games into opportunities to lob new accusations. I think that's good strategy. I think Whitney was really backed into a corner here. Both Lisa and Meredith are kind of like a two-headed dragon facing her down.

And she doesn't really have many options to wiggle out of that. And I think I like the way that she handle it, the choices she made to go on the offensive. of I like how she literally just turns the final dinner into like Meredith and Lisa. We're both like, I'm taking you both on right now, pointing her fingers at both of them. Right. And then Lisa's like, don't point out me. She's like, now I'm pointing both my fingers at you. The like the kind of aggression and like the willingness to like to look for new attacks constantly is,

it was very fun. And kind of like her own. choice because she did seem to kind of be backed into a corner like I say. But I think the fact that she like went like all out like offense as the best defense attack mode was was fun and an interesting strategy and an interesting contrast to Angie who also had a good episode, but took really the opposite attack, right? Angie was was pretty much like rolling over and being as soft as possible when she was attacked to to play the kind of sympathy card. And that worked out for her too, right? Like, first, like, at the dinner, she chooses not to stoke the

flames between her and Meredith, but instead kind of, like, becoming conciliatory and rolling over and be like, we're friends now. And then, of course, when Mary brings the attack to Angie, because Angie went and talked to Brittany, which Mary saw as a betrayal, Angie goes full on, you know, Merrill Streep and just goes complete, like, Yeah, and it refuses to show any aggression, refuses to really show any defense, any attack, and instead just plays 100% into, I'm heartbroken.

This is so sad. Our friendship was so important to me that I'm crushed that you would say this. And it works really, really well because then it really cracks Mary's shell. And then Mary gets super emotional and starts talking about a relationship with her dad and stuff. So those are two totally different strategies by Whitney and Angie, whether to get like aggressive and attack mode or whether to get like conciliatory rollover emotional mode. They both work differently. And I was actually surprised how well that worked for Angie and how it turned into an unexpected

emotional scene with Mary. I think it worked for Angie because it seemed very earnest, like honest. And she was really, I truly feel like we have a connection. that is bigger than this show and trying to vocalize that and really connect. We saw Angie like reaching out her hand physically towards Mary and Mary does not want to take it. And then by the end,

she's still offering it there even though Mary is like firing shots at Angie being like, you betrayed me. And the fact that she is making this physical gesture to Mary, even though Mary is very like agitated and being aggressive towards her, that is showing that she is not abandoning her, which is like the core of what Mary's issue is. And the fact that she can see this physical, this physical effort and this offering. The physical hand that's just sitting in Whitney's lap for 10 minutes. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

but I like it definitely like spoke to Mary and I think that you know that is how you are going to connect with with Mary and I think Angie knows that just because she actually is close to Mary like that that comes from a place of friendship and you're right that is a huge contrast from Whitney who I think was like you said very strategic in terms of how she conducted herself because yes she was backed into a corner so much so that she had to be to reach out to Monica, which is like not something that's going to score points with anybody, but she felt like she needed to arm herself for a fight. But I think the fact that she went on the offense was really smart and just showed that she knows, she knows her castmates well in a very, like, different way. It might not be a direct, like, emotional connection that she has with Meredith and Lisa, but she knows them. She knows how they are going to respond in a situation.

And Meredith especially, but also Lisa, have a habit of disengaging and just walling off and stonewalling as soon as someone comes and attacks them. And so by going on the attack, she can put them into this like stonewall mode where they don't want to engage anymore. And that is going to cause them to not fire back at her. They're already stopped. They're out. They're not going to engage. any further. And that's a way of creating space for herself to like not have to take on the barrage of attacks that would be coming for her, you know, relating to whatever they're planning on attacking her over.

I think it was really smart to just poke them until they like go into their shell and then she didn't have to have to deal with it. Absolutely. I think that there was a like a strategic misstep as well with Lisa. the fact that she brought up Jackie's husband while she was trying to fend off the attack from Whitney, I was a bit surprised that she kind of walked herself into this trap of bringing up someone else's husband, getting them involved in the situation, really getting the group turned on her. I believe that she was trying to make an analogy as opposed to a specific, like, attack and bringing something new to the surface. But she should have known that that is not how it's going to get played.

You can't activate Angie like that. Well, you can't activate anyone in this group like that. Like anyone is going to take that and use it to their advantage. She just, like, really gave up, like, a soft target there. it's something that I would expect out of someone like Jackie Goldschneider, who we saw on Real Housewives of New Jersey, do something similar by making an analogy with Gia. With Lisa Barlow, I expect more of her. I expect her to just be a bit more savvy and smart and be able to play the game a little bit better. So that was a bit confusing to me that she would, you know, she would do this.

But I think it just shows how effective Whitney's strategy was and, you know, how. much that destabilized Lisa. Yeah, I think she was flailing there. She was when you got her flailing, which is a sign that it worked. Let's get into our highlights. Any highlights that we didn't cover?

We start off strong with Meredith showing up with like a mink's sleep mask. Oh, yeah. Just tilted to cover one eye as like a makeshift eye patch because she got a scratched cornea, which was mysteriously diagnosed at 4 a.m. Yeah.

That's a strong opening. So I had to point that out. Yeah, the conversation between Meredith and Heather right off the top was pretty interesting too, just how Heather takes what Meredith is saying about her feelings last night and like kind of imposes an apology on it. She says, well, I accept your apology, even though I don't think Meredith is. ever said that she was sorry. She was just saying why she feels a certain way.

And she's like, I don't feel like I'm heard unless I'm screaming. And Heather is like, well, I accept your apology, even though Meredith doesn't apologize here. She did kind of, didn't she come out and say something like, I don't have the exact text written down. But she came out and said something like, that's why I led with saying, I made a mistake or something. She maybe doesn't actually say, I'm sorry, but she says something. me to that effect, which to me seem to destabilize Heather. Like she was not expecting her to just like to say that. She said it aggressively.

Like not in a conciliatory way at all. She said it with an aggressive tone, but it seemed to be like, well, I am saying I'm sorry. So what are you going to do about that? Yeah, I think that I don't know that it was a full on apology. It didn't feel like an apology. I feel like Heather turned it into an apology that she was accepting more than it was Meredith offering it. I feel like she was like it was an olive branch, but it was not like an

apology. I think that, I think what Meredith wanted out of that conversation was to get an apology out of Heather, not to be the one giving the apology. So I think that this was like a skillful conversation from Heather to turn that around and be like, I'm getting the apology from you as opposed to giving one to you in order to squash this. It's nothing big enough to like make anything more of. I think they both know about that. It's a matter of who's going to score the points in this situation. And I think Heather did a great job of scoring the points here off of Meredith as opposed

of Meredith, you know, getting what she wants out of Heather. One more quick note about that opening scene. Is it a thing that people call cappuccinos a capu? Or is that just a Heather thing? Have you heard that before? Because Heather definitely says like, yeah, I could go for a little capu. And I don't know if that's literally just Heather slang, like, or maybe people in Salt Lake City love to love to get a kapoo in the morning. I don't know.

But that caught me off guard. And I really enjoyed that. Did you have any other highlights from this episode that we haven't discussed? I mean, plenty, honestly. I really like the little Mexican waiter and suspenders who has to wait on the Lisa Barlow lunge and has no idea what's going on. and doesn't seem too pleased to be there. I often enjoy the waiters more when they're outside of the United States because they often just don't seem to be familiar with the concept of what's happening.

Right. And so are not like as willing or able to indulge in whatever's going on. I remember in New Jersey, when they're in Dublin, we had like a good waiter who just like just seemed like really annoyed at one of them out of the restaurant. But this guy was just was great. just some young guy in suspenders. And they're all going, I love that. I love that at the same time.

And he just doesn't know what's going on and seems to really regret taking a shift that day and just would rather not be there. So a little shout out to him. Yeah, I think we covered. Oh, there was another thing about the Lisa Barlow lunch that I wanted to talk about. I really like when Lisa and Heather start to, or Lisa and Whitney start to get into it. I really love that Lisa is like. really wants, or I really love that Lisa wants Whitney to take the wig off. Like, that's her goal.

Yeah. You don't deserve to like anything. Yeah, you're nothing like me. Take the wig off. Take the wig off. Lisa's reaction was so good. Yeah. It was amazing.

Yeah. She definitely reacted as if they were like potentially stealing some part of her by imitating her if they were doing it in an unflattery way, which I, yeah, which I, I really appreciate. I also just want to quickly go back to the to the Savite making scene because I do also like that little detail we get there. There where Angie apparently refers to her tits as chicharones without knowing what the word means. I didn't catch that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And Heather says something about like, oh, you're chicharones or something. And then Angie admits that now I'm starting to weather the fact that you didn't. catch it. I'm wondering if maybe we didn't see completely the same version of the episode. Because I think you would have got that. They do like a confessional bit about it too. Okay. So I watched the broadcast version, not the uncut Bravo version. I probably, so mine was

an hour long. Okay. So mine was 45. So yeah, you definitely got the uncensored version. Great. Well, then let me tell you that that yeah, the guy making some Mice says something that sounds like Tichiorones, but isn't that? And Heather's like, oh, Angie, chichoronis. And he's like, that's not what I'm talking about. And he's like, no, she likes to say that. And then, and then she, Angie says it a confessional. Like, I actually don't know what Chicherones are,

but to me it sounds like tits. So that's like what I call my tits, my chicherones. So I just love that Angie's been referring to her tits as like fried pork fat rinds, uh, because she just thinks the word sounds like tits. Oh, that's really good. Yeah. Let's talk stars. So who are your stars from this episode? Hmm.

You know what? I'm going to give number one to Angie. She had a great season and she just crushed it out there. Signorita Cicarones was on fire and her. And she just absolutely lit up the final game. with her insanely good text message, which just like, which just like crushed everybody else is.

And I love the way that Bronwyn has to read that out, where Angie is like hiding her face. And what I assume to be is a mix of shame and pride. Yeah. And definitely, definitely deserves that pride for that. So it was a good episode all around. But it just like the way that she crushed it in that game,

just kind of puts it over the top. And I'm going to give Angie first star. Um, we've also talked a lot about Whitney's good strategy and her attack. So I think I'll give Whitney number two. Uh, and then, um, Heather, who has had a great season. I'll have to get her in at number three. Uh, love her games of framing everything of trying to like make things happen in every scene. Love the way that she gives her a little like Stan from South Park summary at the end of dinner and being like, so the thing is, it's a bit of this and a bit of that. But it's like, we're all friends at the end of the day. And then, as always, is very good, like off the cuff, like coming up

with sentences to tie themes together and things. And then immediately trans into. And so that's why it's time to all insult each other. Yeah. Which is how you do those things. But Heather is like, is so good at playing that part, I think. So I've got to get a mention in for her too. Yeah. It's hard to narrow it down to just three here. I think that Angie number one, one for me. Yeah, like you said, she just, she killed it with the text message. The reaction shots that we got to like Whitney's text message and the fact that we got to see a spectrum of emotion from her, we also saw her trying to connect with with Mary. And I just, yeah, I thought that it was a all around great season, great episode for Angie. Number two is going to be Whitney just because

she made the most out of both of those lunches. That's brilliant. I would also, I was debating between Heather and Lisa Barlow. I feel like this episode would not have been the same if we didn't have Lisa Barlow kind of, you know, being the punching bag here. So Lisa Barlow is going to be my number three. Honorable mention to Heather. Yeah, Lisa was really good.

There was another thing that I, just remembered from my highlights. I like how they did the end cards here, like the little update on what they've been up to since filming rap. I like how they used them as punctuation marks

in this dinner scene and they like came up with like this fighting music every time someone stormed out of the table off the table and their exit was punctuated by this title card and then we don't see them again. I really

like that. I can't think of another season in recent memory, at least, where we have the final scene being this like knockdown, drag out battle where we've got people storming away from a dinner table and getting that treatment of their exit being the punctuation mark for their presence this season. But I really like that. On the topic of the season, I am curious what you think about this cast, do you think that there needs to be any changes? Who do you think needs to go if you think there needs to be changes? Anyone need to be upgraded, demoted? What are your thoughts? Well, so let's start with the obvious one. Brittany was funny, but she was funny in a the jokes on you kind of way. She was the punchline of her own scenes. And I think the joke would stop being funny

if it was repeated. So I don't think we need Brittany back for another season. Interesting. Okay. Do you? Do you want to see more of Brittany going forward? Yeah, I do want to see more of Brittany. Yeah. Yeah.

I feel like Brittany was like a leaf that was floating in the breeze. And she was really not in control of her own destiny all season. I kind of like that. She was just like crashing into things all the time, constantly tripping over herself. I think that that chaotic energy, is something that really added a layer to this season. I don't know that she needs to be upgraded to like a full blown snowflake holder, but I do like having her here because it does just like agitate things and it adds an extra

dimension that is really interesting. She had a lot of camera time for a friend of this season and I don't think any of it was really boring. You could say that there were certain things that were maybe a little tiring, like her relationship with Jared. But that was still interesting, right? There was still, like, there was still something there that really kind of drove emotion. And even if that emotion was just irritation, that's something that I come to these shows for. It's like a variety of emotions. And so, yeah, I do think that Brittany should be bad, at least as a friend of next season. I think she added a lot to this season. She's just so ineffectual. It's really funny.

We really saw that in the Lisa lunch where like at one point she like decides that she's going to like do something by like taking Lisa's side and be like, I think that's not fair. I'm defending Lisa. And Lisa's kind of like, I don't care. Shut up. And and and and then when she like kind of starts to get into it with Meredith. Meredith says, I'm not interested in you anymore. And then Brittany just stops talking and skulks away. She's just so easily batted off. And like, it's funny. Like, her presence is funny for that reason.

And it's, I chuckle every time those moments happen. But she doesn't succeed in doing anything in any scenes. And every single time somebody like sits her down and is like, all right, give us something, do something. She's just like,

me and Jared are still together. Shut off. Not that again. Jesus Christ. I don't want to have tea with Mary. Yeah. That's the biggest thing you have in your phone? Yeah. Okay.

Next. We're done with you. There's this like obliviousness to how the whole housewife game works that Brittany seems to have. That I just really appreciate because like, reminds me almost of like Shannon Bador who just kind of wanders through the season and is very uncalculated doesn't know how to operate. I don't think that Brittany is at the level of Shannon Bador in terms of what she brings to the table. She's like a T-Moo version of Shannon Bador. But I I do really like having someone that is so so out to lunch on the whole

thing. I think it really gives you a benchmark for how good some of the other players are at this game. So I really like that. And I also think that it's interesting because the other women don't really know how to use her effectively. Like they keep trying to pull her in, but she's not a very useful tool. And they're like trying to find interesting ways that they can maybe bring her on to their side and make her useful. but it always is so limp. Like we saw when Whitney went and comforted her after the bus ride or Angie going off and comforting her after the Lisa lunch and how that kind of backfires. And then there's just like she's got no punch at all. And so, yeah, I think it just adds an interesting dynamic that I would like to see more of in some capacity. but I don't think that she will get promoted. I don't think she deserves to get promoted, but I would like to see more of her.

Yeah, I think mostly my negativity about the idea of her going forward is just that I don't see any hope of her like evolving and changing. So I feel like it's just going to be the same thing. Yeah. I mean, you could be right. I would like to give her another season to see where that goes, though. Yeah. Any other changes that you would make to this cast?

Not necessarily. I mean, I like having Braun win around. I think I liked her more at the start of the season. I had higher hopes based on a few, like, a few, like, strong episodes off the bat. But she's a good, she's a good piece of the mix. And you could always count on her to dress like an insane clown. So that gives you something to look at. So I wouldn't mind having her back.

But otherwise, yeah, I mean, I want them all back here. It's a good group. Yeah, I think that this was good. How about Monica? Do you think Monica could come back for another season? season next season. Do you think that Whitney opened the door for that? I don't think that is a realistic possibility. I would like it. I loved the Monica season. And I also love how her ghost makes the occasional presence from time to time.

Just a little glimpse, a little tiny reminder from here and there from what somebody says that shows that they're still kind of shaking from the trauma of what happened and see privacy different. because of that. She's like the dead woman in Tar. She's just like her, her ghost is somewhere in the friend. You can feel it. I would love to see her back, but I'm sure that Heather in particular would absolutely not be open to that idea. Heather sees it as a dragon that she has slayed. And I'm sure Meredith, Lisa, they don't want her back. They would not accept it. I would love it. I would love to see that, that energy return, that kind of existential anxiety be brought back for everybody. but I cannot imagine. I think they would just boycott the show en masse if the producers tried to do that. So my thing with Monica is that I really, really, really,

hope that Whitney has opened the door for her return. Because I think that in the wake of the finale from season four, Monica has been reduced to that like 45 minutes. That's what people remember. That's how, that's all that's important about her season in terms of how it is reflected within the show and how how they talk about it on camera. Even how the discourse online is framed. It's all about Monica

reality volunteers. But I think that that really that really undermines how great of a season she had before that. There was so much depth to her as a housewife leading up to that 45 minute finale that we got, which was a brilliant revelation. And it was like, it was shocking one of the best all-time episodes of real housewives. But I think the fact that we just talk about Monica as reality vaunties, I think that that really does a disservice to how compelling she was as a housewife over the course of that season. I think that she brought so much to the table. There was so much nuance to how she operated.

we got that awesome contrast in terms of like class and how Monica was really trying to live up to the class of someone like Lisa Barlow and you know but she like she went out and it was a big like financial decision that she regretted to have this like handbag we got like great symbols there I just think that she had so much depth as a housewife and the fact that we only talk about her as reality vaunties, I think it really does a disservice to her. So I really hope that she comes back. I really hope that the production company here has enough like power and the balls to say we're bringing her, we're bringing her back. But yeah, like you said, I think that almost all of these women, I think specifically Meredith and Lisa more so than

than Heather would be opposed to it. I think Heather, we have seen this season that she is constantly looking at the way that relationships are laid out and how she can like turn those to her advantage. We saw that with how things went with, with Brittany. Like we saw her try to use that situation a little bit. I think that Heather is a little bit more strategic and would. potentially like to see a piece like Monica come back that she could maybe potentially patch things up

with and have that as another like member of her infantry if she has to like battle Lisa and Meredith not that I there's any evidence that there's a battle brewing between Heather and Lisa and Meredith but the fact that you've got such a strong coalition of these two characters someone is going to want to take that down. And I think that in order to do that, Monica would be really helpful. It would be an insane twist. That would be legendary if Heather brought back Monica, her arch rival, who she thought she defeated and be like, now I need your help. That would be amazing.

But yeah, I think it's a pipe dream, unfortunately. Let me have that dream. Yeah. Well, I think we just about covered real hostwives of Salt Lake City. Dylan, want to let people know where they can find you? Yeah, if you want to know my opinions on various movies, I'm on substack. It's just my name, Dylan, D-Y-L-A-N, Ferguson. My top 10 movies of the year are up there right now.

You won't believe what's at number four. I'm Craig Midwinter. You can find me on Instagram or, TikTok at Bravo Outsider. We're on YouTube, Spotify, all the podcast platforms. Be sure to like and subscribe. Leave us a comment. Leave us a DM.

Leave us a voicemail at our hotline, 1-833-927-0178. That's going to be in our show notes. We want to hear from you what your thoughts are on Real Housewives of Salt Lake City or anything that's going on in the Bravo sphere. Give us a call and we'll talk about it on our next episode. Until next week, keep on Wifeing.