This season of RHOBH had everything: family problems, legal issues, social media rampages, receipts, and endless drama. There were mixed reviews among fans, but I really loved this season. After having to sit through all the women ganging up against Lisa Vanderpump in season nine, and then do the same thing over again to Denise Richards in Season 10, it’s refreshing to finally watch a season that isn’t all about Kyle and her groupies berating one person for not being “open and honest.” The dream team of Garcelle, Sutton, Crystal, and Kathy is here to call out Kyle, Erika, Lisa, and Dorit (aka the Fox Force Five, sans former housewife Teddi) on all their hypocrisy. To me, it looks like the Fox Force Five is finally starting to crack. So, let’s take a look at those five housewives and where I think they’re heading in the show’s trajectory.
Kyle Richards
Listen, I used to like Kyle. But, on March 3, 2015, when I watched Kyle run out of that Amsterdam restaurant when Lisa Rinna broke a glass while screaming at Kyle’s sister Kim, it was over for me. I don’t quite want her to stay on the show, but she really has to because she helps keep the original energy of the show alive. I liked her a lot better as Lisa Vanderpump’s right-hand because I just don’t think she fulfills the OG cast member role as well as the women on other franchises do. I just think she’s so annoying and so hypocritical, but she’s the (usually) harmless pot-stirrer the show needs.
Dorit Kemsley
Somewhat the opposite of Kyle, I really hated Dorit when she first came on the show. But, over the past few seasons, she’s grown on me a lot. I also really appreciate that she’s the one member of the Fox Force Five who seems to actually be able to move on from a grudge and spend time with the other women in the cast. Sometimes it can be frustrating that she’s a bit wishy-washy, but in a cast where gang-ups are so common, it’s pretty refreshing to have someone be fine spending time with any of the cast members. She doesn’t have much of a storyline outside her robbery this season, but I’d still really like her to stay.
Erika Girardi
As much as I wouldn’t want Erika back next season, I think she definitely will be. But, I do think next season may be her last. I don’t think Rinna will be coming back (we’ll get to her next!) which will really throw Erika off her game. She won’t have a default person to help make her plans play out, and with Erika’s recent comments about Dorit’s marriage, I expect there will be some conflict between them over that next season (side note: I do think that Erika and Dorit planned out those comments. It helps them both start out the season with a fresh storyline, which they both desperately need). Ultimately, I think next season she’ll get a bit isolated, and without a sidekick, she’ll be fizzled out.
Lisa Rinna
It’s time. Lisa Rinna has GOT to go. She’s a hypocrite. She’s a liar. She’s been getting worse for years, but now she’s really hitting a low. Yes, I feel horrible about the loss of her mother this season and she does deserve a bit of a break from the other women. But the thing is, nobody came for her this season! She only went after other people. And even though she tries to blame her actions on grief, that is how she behaves every year! She does nothing but cut deep and cause fights that are way too dark and way too personal. She may do well with a season or two off, but if she never comes back to the show, that would be fine by me.
Teddi Mellencamp
Other than the occasional cameo in a Kyle scene and her podcast, Teddi is pretty irrelevant at this point. I’m sure she’s a fine person, but she definitely isn’t cut out for reality TV. She has personal relationships with the other women, but I don’t see her returning to the show on any level.
Okay, after thinking through how I feel about these five, it definitely sounds like I don’t like the show, but I do! Isn’t the whole point of reality TV the drama? And doesn’t that mean there have to be people that the viewers love to hate? I think my ideal cast for next season is Kyle, Dorit, Erika, Sutton, Garcelle, and Crystal, as well as one new cast member who has ties to both sides of the cast, and Kathy back as a friend-of. We should be finding out more details any day now that the reunion has finished airing!
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