Is RHOC Good Again?: An Investigation
A few weeks ago, I posted on Bluesky that Real Housewives of Orange County is good again, but my confidence in this take has dwindled since. It’s possible that the problem is me: RHOC has never been my favorite franchise, and I may be grading it on a harsher curve simply because it hasn’t built up that much good will in my heart.
In fact, seasons 13-16 of OC and later seasons of Dallas are the only exception to my Housewives completionism (though I remember little to nothing of OC season 12 and would — like all people with taste — love to scrub the Lucy Lucy Apple Juice season of Beverly Hills from my mind palace). But I decided to jump back on the bandwagon this season because I heard I hadn’t missed much during my viewing hiatus and I was intrigued by the Taylor Armstrong crossover event of it all — which does not disappoint, to be clear! But the rest of the season? The verdict’s still out.
THE GOOD
Taylor Armstrong
A former Beverly Hills housewife turned OC friend-of, Taylor is a great addition to the cast. She’s funny, endearing, and has figured out the exact right balance of getting in the mix vs. staying on the sidelines. I love seeing her so happy and light-hearted after the darkness of her RHOBH stint — it’s not a redemption arc because she was in no way the villain in that situation, but it’s nice to witness someone make it to the other side of the worst part of their past.
Fancy Pants
I’ve noted this here before, but Heather Dubrow is an awful person who represents everything that’s wrong with late capitalism — and I love her anyway. I’m not particularly compelled by her empty-nester storyline this season, but I could watch her snobby, East Coast brunette ass run intellectual laps around evangelical blondes who vote Republican if they remember to vote at all all goddamn day. She’s playing the reality TV game impeccably and I love to see it. Plus, her open, enthusiastic love for her LGBTQ kids is a sweet counterweight to today’s culture war bullshit and a great palate cleanser for the post-Kelly Dodd era.
All-Time Weirdo Shannon Beador
I get the sense from various Bravo corners of the internet that one is not supposed to enjoy both Heather and Shannon, but some of those people will also threaten to kill your family if you point out that Teresa Giudice might not be a morally upstanding intellectual powerhouse, so who cares about their weird norms. Like Heather, Shannon is a monster, but I find her infinitely watchable and a natural comedienne. Her throwaway lines, her fundamental messiness, her facial expressions, the way she constantly gets trolled by her own kids — I love it all. Getting to see her live reaction to the news of her ex-husband’s (still on-again, off-again) divorce was an extra special treat.
The Odd-Numbered Episodes (Generally)
On a scene-to-scene level, the editing of this season has been solid. Scenes move at an appropriate pace, and flashbacks and confessionals are deployed where appropriate. But on an episode-to-episode level… what exactly is going on here? The odd-numbered episodes tend to have so much going on while the even-numbered episodes give next to nothing.
I understand linear time places some limits on how reality television storylines unfold — and while there are franchises in which the editors could get away with a little non-linear narrativizing, OC isn’t one of them because the cast themselves wouldn’t understand — but the relentless back and forth between boring, table-setting episodes and episodes crammed with too many events makes me feel like I’m watching the early seasons of Game of Thrones.
THE BAD
Gina From Lawn Guyland
A lot of fans hate Gina because she’s broke, so I want to be very clear about this: I hate Gina because she sucks. Her “I don’t like Jen because she’s a cheater and my ex-husband Matt cheated on me” storyline felt ridiculously contrived, but but the broader context of how Gina represents her relationship with Matt — honing in on his infidelity while whitewashing his history of severe domestic violence — is toxic and irresponsible to put on television. Did Bravo learn anything from how they produced and depicted Taylor’s Beverly Hills arc?
Emily Simpson
I’m leery of child acting/modeling and have a blanket opposition to filming housechildren, so needless to say her storyline this season gets a big, big no from me. In the spirit of fairness, I will say she’s realized one impressive achievement, and that is displaying even less charisma than Gina.
The Even-Numbered Episodes (Generally)
See Odd-Numbered Episodes above.
THE WHO KNOWS
Tamra Judge
Along with Taylor appearing in a new city, this season of OC also boasts the return of Tamra Judge, who has been characteristically exhausting. On the one hand, her meddling and self-producing are obvious and bad, and the way the editors are spotlighting her bullshit makes me believe that production actively hates her. On the other hand… what would be happening this season without Tamra? Such is the eternal dilemma of Tamra/RHOC broadly.
Jennifer Pedranti
It’s always hard to judge a newbie, but I’m leaning positive on Jenn. She’s still figuring out what to conceal and what to reveal about her life and doesn’t seem to know how to navigate getting into the mix, and her instincts about who to ally herself with have thus far proven poor — but I nonetheless think she has potential. Her personal life is an intriguing disaster and I would love for someone with more reserved, calm energy to get a real chance to establish their presence on The Real Ear-Splitting Shriekers of Coto de Caza (#Justice4LizzieRovsek).