Well, Bravo had the good taste to insert a frame at the beginning of this week’s episode of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” explaining that the episode was filmed before A.J.’s death and offering their condolences. So Kandi and her family are now officially condoled.
And now we get into the real dirt. Arch-enemies Sheree and Kim meet for (many) drinks to plan Kandi’s engagement party and bury the hatchet. It sure looks like they subscribe to the saying, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
Where in the world do they get the money for these parties? Can you say B-R-A-V-O? They don’t seem to worry at all about the expense. Wouldn’t it be great if that were the case for the rest of us?
Actually, Kim and Sheree’s biggest problem seems to be whether or not to invite NeNe, since NeNe and Kandi are like oil and water. After much discussion, hey agree to invite NeNe and let her decide if she wants to come. Brilliant!
Of course, it’s also questionable if Kandi’s mom will speak to A.J at the party. It’s one big, happy family.
Meanwhile, NeNe and her Uncle Mel (brother of her not-really dad Curtis) go to Athens, GA and pick up Denene Millner, who is really writing NeNe’s book (must be nice). NeNe wants to show DeNeNe her mom’s house, and gives a convoluted explanation about who brought her up. It gives me a headache.
So now Denene is along for the ride, and NeNe takes them to her Mom’s house and says that she died many years ago. NeNe tells them that the house is empty but the family still owns it. Why wouldn’t they sell it? It’s all very strange, indeed.
Sheree, faux-designer-extraordinaire, gets the shipment of her samples clothes for the fashion show from the real designer in New York. I don’t know whether she likes the clothes or her own “model-figure” more. Luckily, Sheree doesn’t suffer from excessive modesty.
Kandi, her mom, and A.J. all go for counseling, and the less said about this, the better. It seems to me that they could have cut this scene out of the show, since it’s all very sad, and it seems gratuitous, considering the circumstances.
Next, Kim’s high-healed male hairdresser tells her he wants to give her a new look with a new wig. Kim is happy because the wig contains s a pound of hair. Kim tells the hairdresser that she wears a new wig every day, and that the wigs cost her about $12,000 a month. A month! And Big Poppa pays for this? Wow.
The surprise engagement party begins, and Kandi’s mom is already unhappy. They’re off to a great start. Before Kandi gets there, Mom tells everyone how much she doesn’t want Kandi to marry A.J.
Kandi and A.J. show up, and the party gets underway. Kim is thrilled that NeNe doesn’t show up and she hangs out with Kandi’s mom.
A.J. asks Kandi’s mom to make a toast, who is having none of it. Awkward! She finally says that she just hopes that everything works out… “and just wait and see.” A ringing endorsement!
Back on the road in Athens with NeNe, she and her posse visit NeNe’s Aunt, who raised her. NeNe explains that her mother and father didn’t raise her at all – very confusing. Her mother lived in New York. We get to see childhood and teenage photos of NeNe, and she gets very nostalgic.
Now Dwight comes to help Sheree with the fashion show, and you just know there are going to be fireworks.
Dwight checks over the samples (lots of hmm hmm’s) and is not at all happy with the quality of the samples. He says Sheree is far behind schedule and that she has no clue. You can just see this building to a knock-down, drag-out fight.
NeNe’s alleged long-lost father has agreed to meet with her in Athens – not in his house, but outside his house – for a short period of time. He obviously wants a meaningful relationship with NeNe.
So the reunion occurs, and it’s plenty awkward. NeNe has lots of questions, but alleged-dad doesn’t want to answer them now. He tells NeNe to call him. It’s all very heartwarming. NeNe’s pretty sure he’s her dad though.
Next week is the season finale. It promises to be pretty darn exciting and fun. Stay tuned.
