The world seems to be a different (and much better) place now that the Countess has called Ramona a cow. Let’s see if Ramona harbors any ill feelings toward LuAnn for this uncharacteristic outburst in this week’s episode of The Real Housewives of New York City.

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Fog Machine

Carole is in London on her book tour, but she’s turning 50 soon so Heather wants to help her plan her party while she’s abroad. It’s going to be a “midnight in the garden of good and evil” themed outdoor party and Carole has some strange requests. She wants a thousand white lights in the trees, Spanish moss on every table, her personal chandeliers from her apartment, live butterflies, a psychic, a snake handler and, of course, a fog machine. Carole is usually pretty low maintenance, so this list of bizarre requests seems strange, even for a Real Housewife. 

Sonja and Harry decide that it’s time to take their relationship to the next level by getting a dog. Harry connects with a little poodle in a shop right away and it’s adorable. Sonja thinks that things feel right with Harry now, but he did cheat on her when they were together 25 years ago and she was humiliated. So she still has her reservations, even though she cares a lot about him.

Kristen and Josh meet Dr. Fuller for marriage counseling. Josh barely manages to get out how “she doesn’t know what it’s like to run a business” when Doc interrupts to tell him to try using “I” statements instead of focusing on Kristen. Things move a lot smoother from there. She tells him she feels like she’s always on his back burner and sometimes she feels like he doesn’t love him anymore. It’s hard to tell if Josh is hurt by this statement because mostly he just seems like a chauvinist robot, but it does seem to give him pause.

Kristen says that she doesn’t want to give him the impression that she doesn’t support him or his business, because she does. But she asks that he try to communicate better with her from now on. If he’s going to be late, make a phone call to tell her. If he has to take a call on date night, tell her he’s sorry. The two actually agree that they’ll try communicating better when they leave the office. And for our sake as much as theirs, I hope they can make it work.

Off to School

Avery is packing for college in Atlanta and Ramona is trying to put on a brave face for her because she knows that Avery is just as nervous about leaving as she is. But inside she’s crumbling. Ramona knows she can’t be her little girl forever and that she needs to leave the nest, but she’s going to miss her. On the way to the airport, Ramona gets very emotional. She says she and Mario are very proud of the young woman Avery has become and they know she’ll do well in the world. Poor Ramona, though. Now she’s stuck at home alone with a cheating husband.

Aviva goes to see her prosthesis specialist at Step Ahead with Heather, a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing. She lost her leg below the knee about a year ago and she and Aviva became friends after she visited her in the hospital. Aviva shows her some of the legs that have acrylic toenails that she can paint. She says that life without a limb is still limitless and Step Ahead generously agrees to make Heather a leg free of charge. Aviva might be as phony as they come in the context of the show, but she’s obviously doing good things for people who she can relate to instead of simply throwing charity events as an excuse to have a party.

Sonja meets Thomas John, a Christian mystic, at a restaurant. He pulls out his huge deck of cards and tells her how active she is in the spirit world. He also tells her to be wary of a devil in disguise in her inner circle. He tells her that it’s a brunette who isn’t Carole. Sonja wonders if it’s LuAnn since she’s been giving her such a hard time lately.

Good vs. Evil

It’s the night of Carole’s party and Heather is arranging the headless mannequins and waxing the apples. Unfortunately, the health department put a nix on the snake handler, which Carole is sorely disappointed about. But she has a team of manicurists come to do her nails while Heather is busy creating her ideal party atmosphere.

The poor live butterflies brought in for the event haven’t survived the time it took for the guests to arrive. Kristen and Josh dress in black and so do Ramona and Mario. Heather and John are in white and Sonja is in white lace, while Harry is in his finest Phantom of the Opera velvet jacket. Carole is fashionably late in bright red. She hasn’t celebrated her birthday since her husband died and she never thought she’d feel good about turning 50, but she feels sexy and empowered as she walks into her party. Once she gets there, she tells Heather that it’s everything she wanted in her party.

When Mario asks LuAnn where Jacques is, she admits the two are on a break. Ramona is not satisfied with the lack of details in LuAnn’s answer, like LuAnn owes her anything. She does open up to Kristen, Carole and Heather, though. She says they were just at two different places in their lives and it was very frustrating. She admits that they still love each other, but she wants Jacques to be happy and have a family of his own.

Sonja and Ramona are mad that LuAnn told the other ladies about her break-up before she told them. Sonja drunkenly confronts her about why she didn’t tell her. LuAnn can’t believe that the first thing Sonja does when she hears about her misfortune is to make it about herself.

Harry pulls Sonja aside. He says he’s serious about her and he seals his promise to her with a passionate kiss. He wants to take their relationship to another level so he gives her a ring. It’s not an engagement ring, but it’s a symbol of his love for her and that he wants it to continue growing.

Later, Sonja tells Ramona about Harry’s ring. She’s slurring her words at this point when she tells Ramona how wary she is of giving her heart away. Ramona is a good friend to Sonja; she’s genuinely happy for her when she hears about the ring and encourages her to take risks. But on the other side of the room, Harry is engaging LuAnn. It’s unclear what their conversation is about, but they seem to leave together. Or at least at the same time? I don’t know! Editing is tricky. But Harry wouldn’t leave with another woman right after committing to Sonja, would he? 

 

The Real Housewives of New York City airs Tuesdays at 9pm on Bravo.

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

Gina Pusateri

Contributing Writer, BuddyTV