"This episode lacked forward momentum, and it could be due to several reasons. Katie, who was somehow the driver for a lot of the story, even though she did so little, is absent from everything but the cast photo in the beginning. Then we have Tamra stuck in a never-ending non-forgiveness loop with Jenn and Shannon where she just tries and tries and gets no movement at all."
"This episode is still a tale of two trips. While Tamra's trip to Temecula, named after the pagan god of strip malls, is the one with the more traditional Housewives pyrotechnics - fights, walkouts, drama - it is also the one that is less interesting. That's not just because it didn't have male strippers, though the strippers were a consideration in my decision."
The season's latter half approaches with a cast trip still to come, but momentum has diminished and scenes feel stagnant. Katie is largely absent beyond the initial cast photo, despite being set up as a narrative driver. Tamra remains trapped in a repetitive non-forgiveness cycle with Jenn and Shannon, producing little progress. Gretchen provides brief sparks of interest through drunken, unfiltered behavior that the camera cannot mask. The episode presents two contrasting trips; Tamra's Temecula delivers traditional fights and walkouts yet feels less compelling, while post-dinner villa moments focus on concerns about Shannon's drinking and a subdued attempt at marijuana use.
Read at Vulture
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