Mention It All - Secret Traitors, Sisters of Salt, & The Return of the Shahs

Episode Date: January 9, 2026

Dylan returns for the first Friday episode of 2026, and it’s a week full of drama, deception, and debauchery in the Bravo world. We kick things off with RHOSLC’s season 6 finale, where the group melts down in the wake of watching their personalized Greek tragedy. Dylan unpacks some burning questions about the finale, and where the ladies can go from here. Next, he shares some quick hit takes from RHOBH, back after a lengthy holiday break with a trip to Sedona. Can newbie Amanda overcome her rough edit, or is she doomed to be a punchline (with $10k worth of crystals)? Then, Dylan digs into the all-new show The Valley: Persian Style, which remixes some beloved Shahs of Sunset OGs with the winning formula of The Valley. It’s off to a strong start, even if some of the relationships are on very shaky ground. And finally, we finish things off with a recap of the first THREE episodes of The Traitors, featuring lots of spoilers about the latest twist to the game, the first murders and banishments, and who’s standing out so far. Go to the BravoByBetches YouTube page to watch full length episodes every Tuesday: Youtube.com/@BravoByBetches Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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See Store Online for details. Betches Media presents. Ha ha, laugh, funny. Mention It All, a Bravo by Betches podcast. We don't say that, but now we said it. With me, Dylan Hafer. We're going to check me, though. Hey, everyone.

Welcome back to the Mention It All podcast. It's a new year. It is 2026. And you guys, I am so thrilled to be back. And boy, do we have a stacked lineup today. We've got traders to talk about. We've got the Valley Persian style to talk about. We've got Beverly Hills to talk about.

And did you forget, we have a Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season finale to talk about. There are other things we could be talking about, but I feel like that is kind of enough, right? We are only a week into the new year, and I feel like so much has happened. If you missed it, we had our actual first episode of the year earlier this week. I had Captain Sandy on the show for the first time. We'd never, we'd never chatted IRL before, and it was lovely to have her in studio. I felt like I got a free life coaching session in a way. You know, we talked a little bit about below deck men, this season. We talked a lot about life and captaining and life and just being a captain. It's always

so interesting talking to like housewives and vanderpumpers and stuff all year long and then sitting down with a captain of a boat. It's a different vibe and I hope you enjoyed it. You can watch it on our YouTube channel. Of course, YouTube.com slash at Bravo by Betches for full video episodes. And of course, we also have video on Spotify. If you're listening there, you can just type. the thing and switch to video or sometimes it does it all on its own. But I'm so glad everyone is here. And next week, we have a real treat for our Tuesday episode. I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Mercedes-Javid, also known as MJ, which we talked about. We talked about her name evolution and embracing her beautiful Persian name. We talked about the Valley Persian style and what she's been

up to since Shaz of Sunset went away. Honestly, one of my favorite conversations I've had in a while, I thought she was just so open and introspective about kind of life and career and being on TV and people in her life. And, you know, she's had some tumultuous times in her marriage of late, which we got into a little bit. Just a good conversation with Mercedes-Day. And if you are watching the Valley Persian style or if you're thinking about it, I think it's going to be a good episode. So I'm excited for that. But without further ado, we should just get right into it because there is a lot. lot going on. And let's start with the Salt Lake City finale. I am, I'm going to talk about

all three of the episodes of Traders that dropped on Thursday night. I'm going to talk about them all. I am going to spoil them all at the end of the episode. So if you're listening and you want Traders' content, it's going to be at the end of the episode. There will be spoilers. So I don't want a fucking one of you to be in the Spotify comments, to be in my Apple reviews saying, you spoiled traders. I'm spoiling traders in like 30 minutes. So stick around, go watch if you need to, whatever. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it. But we're going to spoil the Salt Lake City finale right now because how could we not? Now, Salt Lake City is in such an interesting position because they have really created over the last few seasons this tradition and this

expectation of delivering and earth-shattering, historic, mind-blowing. finale. And as much as I appreciate the last two finalees that they have given to us in Bermuda and last season in Mexico, that is a tough precedent to set. And that is a really tough precedent to be able to keep up with. And this season, they did it again where they finished the season in the middle of the trip. This has been a recurring trend on Bravo shows that I think really, I would have to go back and look, but I really think that in large part, this is a trend because of how iconic that Bermuda Reality Vantes season finale was. But they're ending it on the last night of the trip in Greece. And of course, we have to have something that's big and dramatic and earth-shattering.

And so what do we do? Or what does Angie do? It's not the producers. It's Angie. She finds a playwright, this woman, Stella. They say she's a famous playwright in Greece. I'm like, really? Because I don't think you'd be getting, you know, you're not getting like Lynn Manuel Miranda to write you a housewives girl. I'm like, is there a famous? Is she like famous? Like, I don't know that much about the Greek theater 2025 scene. I'm no more about the Greek theater scene in like 2025 BC. But they bring in this poor woman to interview all the ladies and to get them to talk a little bit of shit about each other.

and then to whip it all up into a play. And look, I like a, can't be silly over-the-top gag as much as the next person. But I have to say watching the play, as much as I was enjoying the drama of it and the tragedy of it, it was also a little bit like, what are we doing here? What is this? Is this, there's a, there's a, there's a, a, a, a, A group of women in like matching, you know, unitards with, you know, colorful scarves. And the women in the group are wearing coordinating color scarves so they know who is who.

And then there's like a narrator who's like, behold, the sisters have salt. One is to blame. And the other is to shame. And how would the ladies know, marry this says to Lisa? Like, it's very, it's silly. And I think that if it were just allowed to be silly, that would be really fun. But it feels like this is a silly thing that we are being asked to take very seriously. And so I don't know if it really worked for me to have this play be sort of the vessel

through which these women are hashing out their feelings about each other and talking shit about each other because when I watch Housewives, part of what I enjoy is the women talking shit about each other and hashing out their feelings face to face. And I feel like sort of outsourcing that process to a Greek interpretive dance theater troupe and, you know, framing all the stuff where it's like, Heather, the deflector, she turns to Mary. And she says she's not a two-face. It's just like, it's convoluted. And it feels a little bit like the producers had an idea and they had to go through with it.

And they were like, oh, this is going to be epic. This is going to be never been done before. And I would just like to say, sometimes I think with housewives, we don't need something that hasn't been done before. Because the formula works. And the formula has been working for we're coming up on 20 years. And I think that Salt Lake City, you know, this was still a great season of Salt Lake City, but ending on a note where there's this kind of outlandishly dramatic thing that's happening. And then it feels like the situation with Meredith and the rest of the cast is something that we have seen them going back and back and back to over the second half of this season.

And it doesn't feel like there has been any kind of satisfying progress or any kind of conclusion or development in this storyline. Because since they came back on that plane from Canawan and they've all been laying into Meredith about what happened on the plane. And then, you know, what she's, you know, saying and doing since then it's just kind of felt like we're spinning our wheels a little bit with moments in between that are really fun and really, you know, dramatic and great. Like, I mean, last week's episode, I didn't get a chance to talk about it over the break, but last week's episode, when they were in that spa and Brittany got the water on Angie's hair and we were like whisper fighting about how you don't get someone's hair wet, that it takes

them an hour to blow out. And she says, I blow it out with full tension. So it looks like glass. and I have a bad hand right now, so it took me a full hour. And Britney's like, but I did it. And she's like, you don't know how long it takes to blow out air like that because yours is synthetic. That was epic. That's a perfect moment.

And then we had that moment and then we get back to Meredith's an alcoholic. She's not saying the problem that she has. And I think that she's really going through something. And she doesn't say it. And it's like, maybe. But at a certain point, like, watching over and over and over again the same drill and drill and drill and you're not getting any oil, then you have to move on and drill somewhere else. That's...

Now we're drilling oil. I don't know. The metaphors are all over the place. But I will just say, like, at the end of the season, it's like, I'm not necessarily team Meredith, but I'm also not team everyone else. And that's a, it's a weird place to be in because I love this cast. I think this cast has so many great qualities. But it does feel right now like there is something,

something a little bit out of alignment about how they're kind of going, going about all of this. And in particular, a lot of people have been calling out Heather's kind of performance at the end of the scene. Because, you know, they do this play and, you know, Heather says they nailed it. And, you know, Lisa's like, I do have high expectations of myself and I don't let everyone else see it.

Like there was some introspection happening. You know, people were, you know, Bronwyn was horrified by what she saw. And there was a lot of truth. And she struggles with getting and giving loyalty. And, you know, Todd has been disloyal to her, but she's choosing to stand by her man for, you know, three to six more months. But Meredith, of course, doesn't like the play. And she says that she's sensitive with words and she's afraid of betrayal and letting

people in and Heather sees her opportunity and brings back up the issue that she had with Bronwyn the previous day, which was that Meredith had texted Bronwyn in the middle of the night. And according to Bronwyn, Meredith was kind of needling her for information about what they were talking about at lunch and thinking that people were talking about her, which they were. And Meredith has, you know, this different version of events and says that never happened and is calling Bronwyn a liar. And this, you know, seems like Meredith is again kind of being dishonest about what has happened. And Heather brings this up and Meredith immediately shuts down.

And she says that she's yelled at every time she tries to open up with the group and she doesn't need this. So she storms off. And I, like, it's always disappointing when somebody storms off in a situation like this. And Meredith, of course, has had, you know, a few different moments in Greece where she's kind of been like, okay, fuck y'all and walked away. But then she's not done yet. She charges back out into this plaza wearing her little pink Polly pocket heels.

And she says, I have one question. What's the goal? And Mary says that they're all concerned about her and think that she's spiraling. And she says, that's what we talked about at lunch. And Meredith says, well, I'm okay. And I've heard enough. And then, sweet Whitney, Whitney, Whitney has spent, you know, the last five weeks being like, alcoholic, palpapa.

Actually, I'm sorry, I said that, but you reminded me and my dad. She's like, can I get real with you, Meredith? It's just like, it's a little too late. You know, Whitney is, out of all the people in this cast, I'm like, Whitney, you're like, you're not going to have that moment with Meredith right now. She's not going to hear that from you. She's not going to be impressed that you are, you know, that you said that because you thought about your dad.

Like, it's just not going to work. And then Bronwyn brings out the thing that we had heard before, which is that she was in New York with Todd recently. And she saw Seth at dinner. And she's dancing around the fact that Seth was with a woman at dinner. But then she like doesn't quite want to say it. So she's like, you know, I don't, I don't know who he was with. She's like, well, I wouldn't want to say who he was with because I don't know. It could have been, it could have been a co-worker. It could have been a friend. And I do think that I love Bronwyn. I think that she's had a lot of good moments this season. To me, it's annoying to do the like halfway thing of being like, well, I saw him at dinner. And I just,

I couldn't possibly say who he was with. And it's like, well, you're bringing it up for a reason. If he was at dinner with, you know, Andy Cohen, you wouldn't be saying it like, oh, maybe he's cheating on his wife. And so I, there are certain moments, like I said, where I understand why Meredith is so frustrated with these women. And so she says, my physical health is fine. My mental health is fine. I don't drink very much. I don't use drugs. And my husband is loyal to me. And I am loyal to my husband. And I have a good fucking life. Period. And then now we're just getting into this place where feels like everybody's accusing everybody else of doing things. She's like, well, you know, look at how many pills Brittany has in her bag. And, you know, let's talk about the pills that I've seen

Heather and Whitney taking. And on now. You know, over the last couple weeks on Instagram, you know, we've seen accusations about somebody else who got her stomach pumped allegedly and made sure that it wasn't, you know, shown on the show. And then we've also seen Monica, we've seen Monica Garcia really like getting in the mix where she's like, you don't want me to say who didn't want their, who was nervous about somebody finding their Coke stash and their suitcase at BravoCon. Now, look, am I interested in knowing who got their stomach pumped or who had a Coke stash at Bravo? con. I mean, I guess, sure. Like, that would be interesting information to have. I would so like for Monica Garcia to get a life. Like that, like, more than I want to know who got their

stomach pumped, I want Monica to find something else to do with her time. Like, because that's the thing. It's like, Meredith is struggling right now because the only person she kind of has on her side in this cast is Lisa, which we see at the end of the episode. But does Meredith really want Monica Garcia coming to her defense? Like, it just is messy. It's weird. And that is, I think, the thing about the end of this season of Salt Lake City is just like the vibes in here are a little weird. And it feels, it feels bad to feel like I'm speaking so negatively about the end of a season that was like really quite good. But I just think that where we're leaving off is leaving a strange taste in everyone's mouth.

And going into this reunion, obviously we have, you know, some juicy stuff to look forward to. but when it comes to the way that these women are going to come at Meredith and, you know, try and, you know, extract some sort of confession of struggle out of Meredith and it just doesn't seem like that's going to be productive. Like, it's hard for me to really be excited for that. And I was saying to, I was saying to someone the other day, like it feels like the women in the group don't necessarily want to push Meredith out. They want Meredith to come back to them while admitting something big or taking accountability or, you know, revealing something that she's going through that's really intense and personal. But they want her as part of the group, but with those things. But I don't think that that's a realistic goal because we know Meredith Marks. If Meredith Marks has said the first 12 times that she has a good life and nothing's wrong with her and she doesn't have a substance abuse problem and how dare you say that and her marriage is perfect,

the 13th time she's not going to be like, you know what? All those things were lies. You're right. My life sucks. I do need you all as my friends. And how dare I ever question that again? The effect is going to be that you're pushing Meredith out of the group. Because she's going to reach a point and she has reached this point where she's like,

you bitches aren't my friends. Why am I doing this? And so I don't not want Meredith to be on the show next year. But if Meredith doesn't want to be on the show next year, then I think it would probably make sense for her to take some time away or be in a reduced role or whatever makes the most sense for her. What I don't want is another season where Meredith comes back and is just miserable the whole time. I don't want that for her and I don't want that for us as viewers. And so I think after the reunion, there are going to be some tough questions about where things are going. and we will see.

But yeah, I mean, the whole like production that Heather was making, which is like, call your Uber! If you don't want to be, if you're going to call us toxic assholes, then walk the fuck away. Call your Uber. I do think Heather, I think ever since receipts,

proof timeline screenshots, like Heather feels the weight of the world on her shoulders to make another moment that like the White House is going to reference in a meme, well, maybe not now, that like somebody important is going to know about. But like, we can't always have that and we certainly shouldn't force it. And so I think in terms of Salt Lake City going into next year,

I would love to see them just kind of like get back to basics a little bit. Just go to lunch, argue about dumb shit, you know, talk about whose hair looks cheaper. talk about, you know, having glam in Monaco and glam in Santropay, who has the, you know, the Cartier watch. Like, there are lots of things that these women could argue about for weeks and weeks and weeks and I would be thrilled. And I just think that the hurling, the accusations of the substance abuse and all of that,

it doesn't lead to a lot of fun. And I like to have fun. So good, so good. Everything you want for summer is at No. Nordstrom rack stores now and up to 60% off. Stock up and save on the brands you love like Vince, Sam Edelman, Frame, and Free People. Join the Nordy Club to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free.

Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Girl, winter is so last season. And now Springs got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders. That perfect hang on the patio sun dress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night.

And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear up on that envelope. It's time for a little in-person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. You know what I was having a little bit of fun with? Is watching this week's episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. And I have to say, a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of

News Fest. Now, like, I, we're only four episodes into this season. And I saw a little bit of conversation on threads, I think. By the way, I've been spending more time on threads. Kind of fun. I don't know. I'm on threads if you want to come find me. But people were saying how they should have waited and had this season of Beverly Hills premiere like this week. Because we had three episodes at the beginning of December. And then because the show is airing on Thursday nights, Christmas was on a Thursday, New Year's was on a Thursday. They took both of those weeks off. So we have three episodes and then a full three-week gap before episode four. And so when I sat down to watch this week's episode, it's not even that I thought the first three episodes of the season were bad.

I thought they were fine, but I just feel like I hadn't thought about this show in damn near a month. And that's not a great place to be in when, you know, Salt Lake City has been occupying so much of the mental conversation. I think Potomac has been pretty good. We'll get back into talking about it next week. But I think there's just been a lot of a lot of other stuff going on. I mean, people really check out during the holidays too. Like, I really enjoyed not thinking about Bravo much for a lot. a couple weeks. And so I think that now this season, we're on episode four. We're on the first

trip of the season. These ladies are in Sedona, staying in like some old mining cabins, which to me, I'm like, what were the conditions back that? Kathy's like, where are the miners now? And it's like, Kathy, they're dead. And it's like, right, but like, did they all die when they were like 25 from like the mines? I don't know. That's a little bleak to get into. But no, it just feels like we're still sort of just meeting and getting to know Amanda. And let me tell you, Amanda, you're in danger, girl. Because the way that she is getting the Doreat Kemsley Memorial Blabbermouth edit twice in this episode when talking about her business and what she does and her Amanda Francis app and how she can send messages to all her people at once. And she's helping, she's helping people manifest and there's

courses and there's camps and there's classes and there's curriculum. It's like yada, yada, yada. yada, yada, yada, yada, yada, yada, m-lm-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-lm-lm. This is a good, scam, scam, scam, yada, yada. It's like, too much. And I love when Kathy Hilton hits her with the, that's great. And Kyle goes, anytime my sister says, that's great to you, it's because she either wasn't listening or didn't understand a word you said. And that is just the perfect encapsulation.

And I'm like a little bit heartened that not only did we have Bose clocking Amanda as like a little bit of a questionable business figure in the last episode, you know, back in way back when. But this week's episode, it feels like everybody else is kind of like, okay, this girl has a lot going on. She talks a lot. And I don't know if I understand much of what she's saying. So that is, that's going to be interesting. Because I feel like if they're in the edit, it does feel like they're really leaning into the idea. that people are not necessarily fully on board or like super impressed by what Amanda is sharing about her business. And for the fact that she's only been on the show three episodes, we're seeing a

lot of that. And I feel like that seems like it should be building up to some sort of payoff later in the season. Like somebody's going to call out her business or somebody's going to really ask questions. Like that's kind of what I'm hoping for because it seems like it would be interesting. and I would like to see how she, you know, reacts under pressure. I would like to see her manifest, you know, a house falling on someone because they questioned her business. Like, let's lean into the villainry. And we do already, we're sort of laying the groundwork now for her to have issues with Dorete because she's telling everyone at Kathy's, you know, dinner party, lunch party. She's eating caviar and a cucumber.

I don't know what's going on. But she's telling like Tilly and Sutton and Kathy how, oh, yeah, like I, I, like, I, got, um, I, I, I met up with Doreet and she was sharing so much about her story and her stuff with PK and I was really interested and feel like I could help her. But then I'm also like, wow, she's talking a lot about this. And I'm worried that it could negatively impact her. And you know that if there's one thing Doreet is not going to respond well to, it's somebody like criticizing how she is navigating this portion of her life and her split from PK and everything she has going on. And I am, I'm really, probably the thing I am most,

at this point, interested in this season of Beverly Hills is what's going to happen to really flip over the dynamic between Amanda and Doree, because we know that it gets to a very bad place between them. And right now, that hasn't really set off yet. And so I'm excited to see that. I also am really interested to see what kind of issue there's going to be between Jennifer Tilly and Sutton, because we see a little bit of that in the season trailer. And I think that this week we got our first little breadcrum that something is happening. Because at the beginning of the episode, Jennifer goes over to Sutton's house and Sutton's talking about how she's changed her relationship with alcohol. And, you know, she's now only having, you know,

a glass of wine here or there and like a special occasion, whatever. And, you know, they're not, she's not, she doesn't have vodka in the coffee cup anymore. And, you know, amen, sister. But she and Jennifer are talking about, you know, how she's going to talk to Doreet and like, you know, she wants to have healing and she's inviting the women to Sedona for the healing. And Jennifer Tilly is like trying to give her a little bit of, I think, lighthearted but well-meaning advice about how to approach the situation with Doree. And so she's like, oh, well, like, don't go to go into it. I'm like, no, num, num, num, nam, nam, nah. And something's like, don't mock me. Don't, I don't, Don't make fun of me. And it was such, it was a moment where Jennifer seemed like she was so

innocent with the comment she made. And you could tell that it was really like a reflex, like, wrist slap from Sutton in a way that I'm like, oh, what's that? Can we focus in on that a little bit, because I feel like that's the first little inkling that we're getting, that the relationship between the two of them can be a wee bit prickly. And it's not always just like, oh, who has the most fun Louis Vuitton bag and who's, who's, you know, has a bigger minor league baseball team that there has been, you know, there's more beneath the surface there. And last season, it was kind of all just like fun and luxury. And I, I'm excited to see a little bit more of the, the gooey insides of that relationship. Because I,

I know it's there. And I also just, before we move on from Beverly Hills, I did laugh at them on the, the PJ to Sedona. And Rachel's so critiquing everyone's interpretation of Western wear. She's like, okay, so Kyle shows up in like denim and turquoise. Erica's wearing like, you know, pajamas to be on the plane. Amanda Francis is showing up in like giant Louis Vuitton logos, but she loves that. so like good for her. I just like Rachel is is very much like giving what I want her to give, which is just like,

like commentary. I know that's probably not enough long term, but right now I'm so here for it. And then Kathy gives it right back to her because when they're in the car on the way to the, the like ranch or whatever in Sedona, she's like, can I be honest with you? What you just did with the under eye, it doesn't look good. She's like, she's like, hey, your, your concealer looks like shit. right now. That's, I, I'd like that to continue. I'm having fun with it so far. But Beverly Hills, it's like, right now I feel like Beverly Hills is giving me a good like six and a half out of

10, which four episodes into a season is like, fine, okay, how are we getting that up to an eight? I mean, ideally a 10, but six and a half, it's like, it's okay. I'm not upset about it. I just wish I had more passion, more energy. And, you know, I think that holiday break made it tough for them. But we have a long season left to go with Beverly Hills. So we will be checking in in the future. Now, let's talk about the valley Persian style. Let's talk about it because, oh, my God, the shaws are back and it feels so good.

Now, I was intrigued like everyone else when this show was originally announced and bringing back our shah's O'Gs, Mercedes, Mercedes, Reza, Golnessa, as a spin-off or a brand extension of the Valley. it felt like a bit of a surprising choice, but also, you know, good consistency in branding. And, you know, I thought I understood kind of what they were doing with it. The Valley, you know,

a surprise, big hit in the last couple of years for Bravo. It makes sense to kind of try and build on that success. But I don't think I expected or realized or anticipated how much the Valley really does a certain thing in terms of the format and the subject matter and the vibe that they have been able to really recreate with a distinct flare for this new version for Persian style because watching it, obviously I was excited to see our three Shah's friends again. You know, it's been four and a half years since that show ended its ninth season on Bravo and there's been, you know, lots of talk and rumors and questions and theories and stuff

over the years of, are they bringing Shaws back? Are they giving them a spin-off? What is this going to be? When is this going to be? Is this going to happen? What are they doing with our Shaz? It feels like there has to be something. They were still getting invited to Bravo cons over the years. You know, Reza and MJ have both been on traders. In the meantime, like, they were never fully gone. They just weren't on TV. But watching this show, it really feels like the perfect blend of good old-fashioned Shaws of Sunset and watching these people who we've known. I mean, Shaw's premiered, I think, like almost 15 years ago. That's a long time.

They had nine seasons. It's the perfect blend of that classic energy with what has worked so well about the Valley in two that it is grown-ups with grown-up problems, married couples, people in relationships, some single people, working through complicated relationships, working through parenting dynamics, family dynamics, you know, dynamics with their adult, older parents, working through career stuff, working through financial stuff, tough things, real, I think, pretty relatable issues with just the right amount of, you know, friend group drama and yeah, they're going to group dinners and yeah, they're having parties. And that is still an element of it. It's still an ensemble cast who

has all these interpersonal things going on. But there is that kind of like element of being in the home with each of these people that is so central to the valley. And I think it almost, it almost makes even more sense with a group that has this. cultural, you know, side of being Persian where the family and the marriage and there are all these different cultural norms and expectations and, you know, specific things and both, you know, there are people in the group who are in relationships with people who aren't Persian, you know, MJ and Reza are both married to white guys. And what is that? And there's, you know, different stuff going on there. And we're seeing in the new cast, too. I was, you know, whenever there's a show where,

It's three people I know and like and 10 people I've never seen before. That was the question with the Valley is like, am I going to give a fuck about all these randos? And, you know, two episodes in, it's too soon to tell if these people are going to be like icons that I have strong feelings about. But they're showing us a lot of really good juicy stuff right off the bat. And you're seeing these couples. You have Natasha and Amir. You have Tanin and Greg. You have Sky and Bomshod.

And then there's also Reza Jackson on the cast who's like the resident. Fuck boy. All of these people have very like different but relatable situations going on in their lives. Like Tenine and Greg don't have, don't have kids. And sometimes they seem to hate each other, but they also love each other. Like whatever's going on there. You know, you have Sky and Bombshad who he's quite a bit older than her. And there's, you know, they.

have their own dynamic. And then Natasha and Amir, he has, uh, his first wife passed away. And there's, you know, complicated stuff there about his lingering, you know, feelings for his first wife who passed. Like, that's so complicated. But then you also have these people coming together as a group. And, you know, having that drama and that tension that just feels so interesting to watch. And I really liked the way that they did this two episode premiere. Because I think this has been really common on streaming where shows will either drop all at once or we'll get, you know, a few episodes and then it's weekly after that. But I feel like on Bravo, almost exclusively, they've continued to do, you know, one premiere episode and it's just one a week.

And that's, you know, I mean, that's like normal for TV. But for a brand new show like this, where you're getting reintroduced to the Shaz after so long and you're meeting a whole bunch of new people and there's all of these different people to meet and, you know, things to check in on and situations to learn about having two hours with these people right off the bat, I thought was like such a smart decision. Because even when I was talking to MJ, which you'll hear next week, I was saying to her, the first episode feels like it's so, the biggest thing going on is Golnessa's financial situation and living situation where she has to be out of this place that she's been living with her son who's five years old now because what is time? And she's been

supported for her entire life by her father, which just feels crazy because she's like 44 years old. And she has bad credit and she has expensive taste. And how is she navigating that? And how are her friends and people in this group helping her navigate that or maybe not helping her? she doesn't appreciate the help or, you know, that's a whole complicated thing. It feels like in the first episode, that's sort of the big thing to deal with. And then we go into episode two. And suddenly it feels like the biggest thing that we're focusing on is before our eyes, the marriage between Merceda and Tommy is teetering on the edge.

Really, I mean, like, uncomfortable stuff to watch. They're going on date night, which, is a whole thing, you know, they're supposed to go on what, like 17 date nights in the year. We're watching number four. I don't think they've been on enough to meet their quota, let's just say. And he's like teasing her and talking about how he's, you know, gonna overeat so he has to take a shit. Like it's just like so you can watch on her face the look of just like, this isn't what it was supposed to be. And later in the episode, you know, they're already talking about how they're going to work through things moving forward.

He's saying if she doesn't like me the way I am, then she should get a divorce. It's real and it's happening right in front of us. And I think having those two episodes to balance out really felt like we were able to sort of get our bearings with everyone in the group, but also sink into some really, really, like, interesting and complicated stuff that's happening with this group. it feels like they started filming at the exact right time. I don't know how long they were in process of getting this show together, but it feels like, you know,

there's a lot that it's like week to week. How is this going to unfold? I don't think this season is going to be super long, which is, you know, frustrating because I always want more episodes, but like I get it for a first season, but it really feels like we're going to have some tough stuff to sink our teeth into over the next, you know, month or two. And I'm just so glad because I,

I think that with Shaw's, it was tough because there was this deep connection to these people in the cast. But then there was also so much baggage along with it. And there were also other, I mean, a lot of the people that they had added to the cast in the later seasons just didn't really feel like they were necessarily clicking on the level that we kind of needed them to. Like Mike obviously had his own baggage and legal issues and his stuff with Paulina was so messy and dark. But then you had like destiny and you had Nima and, you know, Sherwin. Like there was just a lot of, a lot of people in the group and there were only maybe a few people in the group that really felt that important. And I think that this is a good chance to reset. And I was talking about this on the episode next week that these are still people who have been in their lives and in their community for a long time.

So it's not like people that they just met on the show, but it's people that we're just meeting on TV. And I think it's fun to kind of have that chance to refresh. And I would say even if you're not a big Shavs of Sunset person, even if you don't know exactly kind of like what this whole experience entails, I just found it really compelling. And I think anybody who gives it a try will probably be kind of sucked right in. Because also, the vibe of the valley just works. and this is like, again, has that extra that extra element to it. But I think it's a really smart decision for them to do it this way. And I'm excited to keep watching. And let me know how you're enjoying the show

because I would love to keep talking about it week to week or at least keep checking in throughout the season. And I'm just excited to see where it goes. Ready to soundtrack your summer? With Red Bull Summer All Day Play, you choose a playlist that fits your summer vibe the best. Are you a festival fanatic?

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Watch only on Prime. Now, without further ado, we got to talk about the traders. Now, again, I set it up top. We're spoiling the first three episodes. Tune it out. Go away. Go watch. Also, you guys, these.

episodes are long. When I sat down to watch these, now keep in mind, I'm recording this on Thursday afternoon. The show doesn't come out until Thursday night, so I was fortunate enough to have the episodes in advance, but I'm like really trying to cram these in because I want to be able to talk about them. We're looking at 68 minutes. We're looking at 70 minutes. Long episodes of television. And I guess, I mean, you kind of got it because my first thing that I think about these first couple episodes of The Traders is that this cast is gigantic. And I know it always is, like, whatever. But a lot of people, I think 23 people at the start of this season, I guess you kind of have to have a lot of people on traders for it to work well because between,

murders and banishments, you're averaging about two people that you're getting rid of per episode. And then maybe there's some other shenanigans that happen throughout the way. If there's like a double whatever. And then you still need like five or six people to be around for the finale. So I get that you have to start with a big group. But there are some people on this season where I'm like, I kind of didn't know your name at the beginning. And after watching three episodes, I kind of still don't. Now, maybe that's a problem with the edit.

Maybe that's a problem with some people just being a little bit boring. But we're going to get into it. And, you know, probably some people that I barely know now, like Stephen Coletti from Laguna Beach, he was on One Tree Hill. Handsome man. I think he's still podcasting with Kristen Cavaleri. So, you know, he's stronger than I am. But I never watched either of the shows that he was on. So I kind of don't know him.

And I feel like I still don't. know him at all. So Stephen Coletti, you're on notice. I mean, you've made it through the first three episodes. Spoiler alert. I told you all. I need a little bit more, Stephen. Stephen, give me something more to work with. No, but so going into this season, there's a twist. And I'll be honest, I don't know how I feel about this secret traitor thing. So Alan tells us right at the beginning of the first episode that all of these people are arriving at his castle, And what they are about to find out is that a trader is going to be chosen in broad daylight before they even enter the castle, but that nobody will know who this traitor is, including us at home. And like, okay, like, I get it.

It's kind of like gaggy. Like, oh my God, like we're not even castley it. And the game has already started. It's like on Survivor, when they make them do like a challenge before they even get to go to the beach. It's like, we're tired. We just, we flew to Fiji for this. Can I like go lay on a palm frond? No, they're, they're getting right into it.

But the thing, I don't mind that. But the thing about this trader that is selected in front of the castle is that it's not a normal trader. This person is the secret trader. And so they still do the normal thing where Alan goes around and they're wearing like cummer buns as blindfolds and Donna, Donna Kelsey in the blindfold. I'm sorry. Just can't.

Oh, God bless her. But no, he still does the like heads up, seven up and picks three traders and they go to the turret. But they find out that there's a fourth trader, who's the secret trader? And that that secret trader, they're not going to know who it is. And the secret trader won't know who they are. And every night before they go to the turret, the secret trader is going to nominate three or four people who are eligible for murder that night. And then the other traders, they're going to only get to decide from between the nominated people. who they want to murder. So essentially, this is now, you know, middle management. The traders are

just, you know, selecting from a menu of options that some, you know, invisible higher up has prepared for them. It really feels like working in corporate America. But I just don't know if this is necessary. Because, first of all, there is something to the fact that the traders are reacting to something that's happened throughout the day and saying, no, that one, he's suspecting me. He said something I don't like, we need to get his ass. Michael Rappaport, obnoxious loudmouth, among other things that we don't have to get into, seems like a horrible person, obnoxious to boot, kill his ass. Michael Rappaport would have been gone if Candace Dillard Bassett could have just said, murder him. Murder him! Murder him!

But instead, we have spoiler alert, Donna Kelsey, as the secret trader who gets to pick, I don't know, four random people every night, just picking names out of a hat seemingly. And then Candace, Lisa, and our snake wrangler Rob Rausch up in the turret don't get to do what they want to do. And there is something, I think, important and exciting about the fact that the traders get to, like, call the shots. and by adding this secret traitor element for these first couple turrets until, again, spoiler alert, Donna Kelsey gets banished, you're not having the traitors actually being in control of the game. And so you're getting kind of like randomish murders where like, yeah, I guess they're strategic. Like, Ian the big brother guy, he's the first person that gets murdered. and then Rob Sester Nino from Survivor, he gets murdered the next time. Yeah, both of those guys are gamers who could be really strategic and, you know,

suss out the traitors. But also it's like I would have liked to see Michael Rappaport killed first. And I think that we would have had a good chance of that if Candace could have just been like, mm-mm, get them out of here. And so it's one of those things where like if you've watched Survivor much, you might know about the idea that it's like they've added all of these extra bells and whistles to the game and changed things and made it more complicated and made it advantages and shields and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah and it actually doesn't make things better and so with

traders I would just implore them you know madame peacock if you're listening like we don't actually need traders to be more and more and more complicated and you know convoluted every season the reason this show works so well is because the people on it are great and the overall vibe really just works. So that being said, that's who gets murdered. I am kind of enjoying the traitor, the traitor selection this season. It does make me nervous as, of course, a housewives fan. To have two housewives in the turret together, it's never happened before Candice and Lisa Rina. Lisa Rina, by the way, just looking devastatingly cunty in her traitorous looks. I mean, she has shown up to play.

She's brought every weird sunglasses in the closet. She just looks, she looks so fucking cool. I love her so much. No, but Lisa and Candice are having a lot of fun. Candice makes me nervous because if there's one thing Candice is going to do, it's like let you know, let you have a piece of her mom. And so I just like Snake Rangler, Rob, I am getting a little nervous that Candice is going to kind of overplay her hand and turn herself into a target. But, you know, she's made it through the first few episodes. Okay. Rob, I don't know so much. I didn't watch season six of Love Island USA. So I didn't watch his season. He seems like a nice guy. I don't know. The only two things I know about him so far are that he's from Alabama and he catches snakes. which are, you know, just two things I love to know about a person.

But it is, it's fun with this big of a cast to sort of start to pull out different threads of like, who knows each other, who's getting along. Like we have on this season Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski, who obviously are both figure skaters who have been this dynamic duo for NBC at the Olympics and stuff. And they're specifically trying to play it cool where it's like, oh yeah, we know each other, but they're not approaching the game as like, oh yeah, a couple of besties attached at the hip because they know that that's going to put a target on both of them. And so it's fun to see them kind of, you know, get their feet wet and talk to other people.

And like, Candice and Tara have this, like, cute little friendship. And I love when Candice is like, we cannot banish that bitch because my curling iron broke. And so I've been using Tara's. And she has the big barrel curling iron. If we send her home, my hair is messed up. Like that's the kind of thing I want to see on traders. I want to see people who you would normally never see in a room together. Just like having fun.

Seeing Natalie from Survivor and Monet Exchange deciding that they want to work together, like inject it into my veins. Seeing, there's really so many people in this cast. It's hard to even, Kristen Kish, she's like having a great time. seeing like Mark Ballas. Somebody said that they want Mark Ballas and Mora Higgins to get close so then Mora can be his partner on Dancing with the Stars next season. I love that we're like fan casting that.

Seeing like Ron Funches and Borsha going at each other. It's great. But that brings me to the sad part. Porsche. Porsche, Porsche, Porsche, Porsche, Porsche, Portia, Porsche being the first person banished on this season. It's tough. It's tough, but at the same time, my girl, she did it to herself. Because Ron says at the roundtable that he heard Portia saying, oh, something, something, something

when we murdered Ian. And why would you say that if you're not a traitor? And she says, oh, well, like, I don't know. I probably did say it, but I, like, slipped up. And I was thinking, and it's the first. roundtable. The whole thing with traders is that for those first few weeks, nobody knows a fucking thing. So if you give any sort of credible reason for people to think you're a traitor, you're going to get sent home. And I don't know what Portia was thinking. I don't know what she

was doing. But saying that and getting called out by it by multiple people and then admitting that you said it, it's just like, at that point, you've, you've signed your own death warrant, and to use the, you know, the words of the traitors. So it was sad to see Portia go. I mean, there are a lot of Bravo people on this season. So having out of the first like five people to go home, having one of them be a housewife, it's not the end of the world. I mean, I am, I'm thrilled for Dorinda that she has made it through the first couple days in this castle. you know, when she shows up to the first breakfast, you would think she had won the game. You would think that the prize pot was in her bank account and she was going home a winner.

But look, I love that for her. We haven't seen too much out of Caroline Stanbury yet. So I'm excited to see kind of if she throws her hat in the ring a little more throughout the season. Like I said, Kristen Kish is a fun presence. You know, Candice and Lisa are getting some of the most screen time so far. because they're up in the turret. But it's been fun so far. I don't think there have been really moments in the first few episodes that are that are like upping this into the top tier of traders.

But it's early days yet. And like I was saying, because the cast on this show is so huge, it's hard for those first few episodes, anyone to really like break out and have like an amazing. amazing moment. And so, you know, going into the next, I think next week they're dropping two episodes. And then after that, it's one per week. I don't understand. Why are we, why are we doing? It's too much. But anyway, I, I'm hoping that we get a couple more weeks of this trader trio intact. I'm liking seeing Candace and Lisa having their fun. Top of my wish list is Michael Rappaport, getting murdered, banished, whatever, send him home. It's just annoying.

The way that he and Jam Jam are screaming at each other at the roundtable, get a life. Go be somewhere else. Anywhere. I would take, going anywhere else. Except here, like, not where I am, but like, not on my TV and not in my personal space. But yeah, Donna Kelsey, um, Donna Kelsey had some good moments. And you know what? why was my ass crying for Donna Kelsey when she gets banished and she admits that she's a traitor,

the secret traitor? And she's like, you know, I'm just so thankful that I get to be in the game and doing this at this point in my life. And in the second episode, when they're just like chilling in the castle and she's like, you know, I'm such a fan of so many people here. and I always feel like I'm not, you know, worthy or whatever. And I felt the same way with Paul McCartney at the Super Bowl. And everybody's like, bitch, humble brag. I don't even give a fuck about the Kelsey boys.

But I'm just like, oh, Donna, good vibes. Fun times. She was a fun casting decision. And that's what I love to see on this show. I mean, that is really where they shine. It's just like bringing people together that you truly could not in your wildest, like, mad libs put together. And Donna Kelsey, you know, she didn't make it a long time on this.

season, but I think that she, uh, she had a good impact while she was there. Um, and I'm, I'm excited to see it in the next couple weeks. Like, who else kind of like bubbles up to the surface and gives us something fun to talk about? And I hope that it's a great season. And I believe in my heart that it will be. Uh, but we have, um, we have so much more coming up. Like I said, Potomac will get back into next week. Southern Charm, we should get back into that next week. We're still going to have Salt Lake City reunion kicking off. Obviously, Beverly Hills, traders, the Valley Persian style, Vanderpump rules, we'll get back into it.

We shall. It's going to be a long 2026. So we'll mention it all in due time. Don't forget to rate, review, subscribe to our YouTube channel, YouTube.com slash at Bravo by Betches. Reminder, my episode with Mercede is coming out next Tuesday. So don't miss that. And then, of course, next Friday we'll be back with another

big old episode with lots of stuff going on. but until next time, be cool. Don't be all like uncool. Mention It All is produced by me, Dylan Hafer, and Joe Diomor, edited by Julia Stanton and Grace Hernandez-Johnson. Socials by Dylan Hafer. Our senior director of studios is Brian Russell Smith, Associate Director of Studio Post-production Shannon Jimenez-Sisone, and our production manager is Will Maxwell. Be sure to follow Bravo by Betches on Instagram and subscribe to Bravo by Betches on YouTube for full video episodes. and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars.

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