It’s vacation time for the ladies of The Real Housewives of Orange County! And Tahiti better watch out because after losing her mother unexpectedly, Vicki’s looking to whoop away her sorrows and Shannon is looking to have some fun away from her cheating husband. But first, they have to get through another Game Night.

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Game Night

Meghan is planning the Game Night with a little help from Hayley. Meghan thinks Hayley needs more discipline and structure in her home life, and she’s going to try and make that happen for her. Bless her heart starting off as a parent to a teenager. And godspeed.

Heather and Terry have an afternoon to themselves to spend shopping, so Heather makes sure he drinks enough champagne that he’s barely aware of how much money she’s spending. Meghan calls them while they’re out to tell them about Game Night, and Heather says she’ll be Meghan’s partner since Terry can’t come and Jim will be out of town.

Meghan is pretty bummed that Jim is going to be gone yet again, especially since she planned this evening thinking he’d be around. It’s not that she’s upset that he’s gone; she knew that was part of the deal, but she’d like to have a better idea of what his schedule is.

When the guests start arriving, everyone compliments Meghan on the new home, even though it’s a temporary place to stay before they move into their permanent residence. Shannon immediately starts to trash-talk Meghan to Lizzie, saying it’s weird that she’s having a couples’ night without her other half. She also thinks it’s very telling that Meghan has a spouse that spends so much time away from her. Maybe Shannon shouldn’t be throwing rocks from her glass house.

Vicki’s only there for a few minutes before she does her signature “snore,” which basically exists to indicate to everyone how over it she is. Heather and Meghan both think that Vicki’s being pretty rude.

The couples (plus Heather and Meghan) play a version of the Newlywed Game. Tamra and Eddie prove to be pretty much on the same page. Tamra says that the tension between them has lessened even since their conversation about separating their work schedules.

On the other hand, Shannon and David are clearly a mess. Shannon is mad when David claims he’s less romantic than he was when they were married. They get into an awkward fight right then and there, and Shannon’s on the verge of tears as usual.

After Vicki makes an early exit, Meghan tells the ladies about how she’s going to get Botox for the first time. Shannon says in her confessional that she would need a magnifying glass to find the one wrinkle on Meghan’s face. Meghan calls Shannon out for having “judgey eyes” and says that considering what women in Orange County do to their faces, Shannon shouldn’t be so judgmental.

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Time to Get Away

Oh great, now we get to see another marriage counseling session with David and Shannon. Of course they’re a mess. Of course Shannon is crying and laments re-living the betrayal over and over while David questions the need for them to even have counseling. I do really feel bad for Shannon that her husband is such a scumbag, but it’s hard for me to feel sorry for her when she continues to buy into his crap.

Now it’s time for a little “packing for vacation” montage. Shannon packs all of her holistic garbage. Heather individually wraps her shoes and wraps her clothes in tissue paper (I suppose if I had such nice things, I’d do the same). Meghan Skypes with Jim while she packs because he’s on vacation with Hayley.

Tamra and Vicki gossip about Meghan while they pack. Vicki says it’s weird that Jim and Meghan don’t spend as much time together as she thinks they should because for some reason she thinks someone else’s marriage is her business.

When the ladies land in Tahiti, Shannon claims to be coughing up some nasty black substance. Gross, Shannon. She excuses herself to her room as the rest of the ladies plan an evening to “whoop it up.”

But “whooping it up” for this evening just constitutes a few cocktails (water for Lizzie, who may or may not be pregnant) and a light meal before bed. Vicki gives Meghan the third degree about how much time her husband spends away. Meghan is tired of talking about her situation to the ladies, especially the part where she’s taking care of Hayley because Hayley’s mom, Leanne, is sick (and only this week passed away, sadly).

Then the topic turns to Shannon. Lizzie asks Meghan why she has such a problem with Shannon, and Meghan says they don’t have a problem anymore. She’s not sorry that she didn’t invite her to her party, but she thinks the two of them are moving forward. Vicki and Lizzie act indignantly that she doesn’t get along with Shannon, but Meghan refuses to change her opinion because they judge her. She says she’s never one to back down.

Vicki’s judgement of Meghan doesn’t stop the next day when they’re all at a jewelry shop. Vicki says that women get themselves into trouble when they spend all of their husband’s money without asking, and if they’re not bringing in a paycheck, they shouldn’t be spending money. Spoken like a true “breadwinner” whose ex-husband brought her to the cleaners in a messy divorce.

Meghan asks Tamra and Heather why Vicki is so heated about this. Tamra says that Vicki can’t stand gold diggers because she works so hard, but she says in her confessional that if Vicki married rich and she had the privilege, she’d gladly quit her job and live the life of luxury.

At lunch, Vicki continues to grill Meghan about her previous job and about her marriage. She says in her confessional that she doesn’t think it was very smart of Meghan to quit her job because then what happens when Jim moves on to wife number four? Meghan can tell that when Vicki asks questions, she’s not trying to get to know her, but she’s trying to put her on the stand.

Next time, the ladies explore beautiful Moorea!

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Mondays at 9pm on Bravo.

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

Gina Pusateri

Contributing Writer, BuddyTV