In this episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, “Trouble on the Family Tree,” Mama Joyce tries to smooth things over between Kandi and Phaedra, Kenya travels to Detroit for a family reunion and Porsha tries to come to terms with her sister’s pregnancy.
Kandi has been busy with a lot of projects, but she’s taking time out to focus on her biggest one: her and Todd’s first baby. In case you missed it, Kandi recently gave birth to a baby boy.
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When You’re Good to Mama, Mama’s Good to You
Kandi is ready to decorate the nursery, and Mama Joyce has come along to help. The two are getting along like gangbusters, which is a nice change of pace. Mama Joyce asks about Phaedra, and Kandi admits that the two just aren’t very close, despite Kandi’s best efforts earlier this season to clear the air and get things back on track.
Kandi is still upset that Phaedra told Porsha the reason the two have fallen out is because of the money Phaedra owes Todd for her exercise video. Mama Joyce warns her daughter that the last thing she needs right now is stress. Kandi is not only pregnant, but it’s a high-risk pregnancy. Mama Joyce then suggests that perhaps she should have a little chat with Phaedra. Kandi’s answer to this is an unequivocal no. Mama Joyce is a wild card, and Kandi worries that she’ll only make matters worse.
Moore Family Drama
Kenya just recently mentioned to her estranged father, Ronald, that she wanted to organize a family reunion in Detroit — and just like that, it’s happening.
Kenya and her aunt, Lori, arrive in Detroit, where Kenya is planning to air all her family’s dirty laundry on national television. After a lifetime of dysfunction, Kenya is hoping to repair her relationship with her mother and become closer. Her boy bitch, Brandon, has also come along for the emotional roller coaster ride.
Kenya’s mother was just a teenager when she got pregnant with Kenya and wanted to give her daughter up for adoption. But Kenya’s grandmother begged her daughter to let her raise Kenya and she agreed, turning Kenya over when she was just three days old. And since then, Kenya’s mother has acted as if Kenya doesn’t exist.
Kenya has invited members of both sides of the family but has yet to contact her mother. It would seem that if her primary goal was to resolve her issues with her mother, Kenya might have made sure her mother would even attend. Now it’s turned into a surprise party, with everyone wondering if the guest of honor will show up. As if this isn’t messy enough, apparently, Kenya’s mom is content to not have Kenya in her life, and Lori, Kenya’s mother’s sister, doesn’t want to be put in the middle. Lori wouldn’t even hand over a phone number.
Even though Kenya’s dad wasn’t really down with the whole reunion idea when Kenya first approached him about it, he’s had a change of heart. Kenya’s got a rocky past with him and his wife, Kathy, as well, having been estranged from them for many, many years. But Kenya is ready to move forward and make new memories. I applaud Kenya’s efforts to get her house in order, but I question the motives and her timing.
Make Room for Baby
Kenya’s not the only one who has family stuff going on. Porsha is not handling her sister Lauren’s pregnancy well at all. Porsha feels that Lauren, who also works for her, is letting the pregnancy get in the way of her job. Porsha is obviously jealous that her baby sister is expecting.
Lauren’s latest unforgivable act is not being present at the office to accept a package. Lauren thinks she can do her job from home, but Porsha disagrees. She’s paying for office space, and she’ll be damned if her sister doesn’t sit her ass in said space and work. Porsha knows plenty of pregnant women who hold down jobs outside the home, and Lauren should be no exception.
Porsha is really in full-on diva mode and questions, if Lauren is so unhappy in her sister’s employ, why she doesn’t go work somewhere else. Lauren, realizing her sister is a complete idiot, is fairly confident that there aren’t a lot of people out there who will do right by Porsha, work for her and not rob the woman blind.
Lauren isn’t about to roll over and deal with Porsha’s BS. Lauren accuses Porsha of not giving a crap about her life unless it affects Porsha. Porsha puts on quite a show of saying how hard she’s worked to get where she is, and I’m left wondering where exactly that is. She sells some hair extensions and lingerie, and hangs out at the radio station a few hours every day, but she’s not toiling away in a 9-to-5 job. And Porsha got where is she because she’s a reality TV star who isn’t afraid to snatch the hair off a cast member for some press and attention.
Lauren does seem a tad bitter that Porsha isn’t spreading the wealth. Big sis doesn’t even let her fly in first class when they travel together. Lots of sibling rivalry going on here.
Nothing gets resolved, and Porsha proclaims that they’ll just continue to brush stuff under the rug and hope the business takes care of itself. Lauren responds that Porsha’s little empire doesn’t take care of itself; Laura does.
Nobody Talks Back to Mama
Even though Kandi expressly told her mother not to intervene, Mama Joyce decides to go see Phaedra anyway. Mama Joyce questions why the women are no longer besties, and Phaedra downplays the situation. She explains to Mama Joyce that she had a rough year, and she and Kandi had a misunderstanding, but things are back on track.
Joyce brings up the video shoot party, but Phaedra dismisses it all as Don Juan blowing things out of proportion.
Mama Joyce makes it clear that she’s not about to sit idly by and let anyone upset Kandi or hurt her in any way, especially during this pregnancy. You think Mama Joyce is scary on 10? She’s even scarier when doling out not-so-thinly-veiled threats. Phaedra catches her meaning.
Mama Joyce decides that the best way to get these two together again is to get Phaedra to help her plan Kandi’s baby shower. Motivated by fear, guilt or sentimentality — perhaps all three — Phaedra appears ready to throw herself into this party wholeheartedly.
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Porsha’s Biological Clock
After Porsha’s fight with her sister, she gets some advice from Phaedra. Miss P explains that Porsha needs to be patient because Lauren’s hormonal, and while jobs may come and go, sisters are forever.
Porsha drops by her apartment with some flowers, and you can tell this isn’t going to be easy because Lauren’s first comment is that the arrangement looks like it came fresh from the grocery store. Hey, it’s the thought that counts, and Porsha doesn’t have a whole lot of extra thought to spare.
The two sit down and really try to get to the heart of their problems. Porsha’s feeling hurt that Lauren kind of blindsided her with the pregnancy news. The two have always been close, and Porsha felt like Lauren was hiding this huge part of her life from her.
Lauren admits that she thought Porsha might feel “some type of way” about the baby news. I’m guessing the type of way she means is jealous. Porsha swears that’s not the case, and she couldn’t be more excited about the impending arrival of her niece or nephew. I call bullshit. As Porsha says this, she’s stuffing her face, and there’s definitely some sublimating going on.
Porsha does admit that she can’t help but think about her own biological clock, but it is what it is.
Paid in Full
Phaedra stops by Todd’s office to take a look at the infamous exercise video. She’s less than thrilled with the final product, but even though Phaedra’s got no intention of releasing it, she has decided to pay Todd what she owes him. Todd wonders if he’s got Mama Joyce to thank for Miss Phaedra finally pulling out her checkbook.
With this whole ugly business officially behind them, talk turns to the baby shower. Todd’s a little concerned that Phaedra may take it over the top, but she assures him she’ll keep it low-key. No need to shock Kandi into labor.
Speaking of labor, Phaedra shares with Todd some of the more gory details of a C-section, and you can almost see the color drain from his face. Phaedra may still be annoyed, but she knows how to fake it until she makes it. Is this really the end of all the hard feelings or just a brief hiatus until the reunion?
It Ain’t a Party Until Kenya’s Heart Gets Broken
Kenya’s family reunion moves forward, and even though her mother isn’t there, four generations of her father’s family have made the effort. Kenya also acknowledges what a stellar job her grandmother did raising her, but when Kenya sits down with her grandmother, the woman looks like she doesn’t know Kenya from a can of paint. But the woman could just be having a senior moment. The woman must be in her 80’s, although she could probably pass for 79.
Kenya gets some more bad news. Aunt Lori left the reunion before Kenya even arrived, and Kenya can’t figure out why Lori would travel all the way from Atlanta just to bail, especially knowing how much this all meant to her niece.
Kenya speaks to her dad’s sister, Lisa, who tells Kenya that Lori left after receiving a call from Kenya’s mother. I guess Patricia wasn’t too happy about the drop-by.
Kenya tells Lisa about what went down at Patricia’s house, and Lisa can only offer up that there are a whole lot of people who do love Kenya. Kenya’s let down that nobody from her mother’s side of the family showed up, but at least she finally got some closure and can move forward.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs Sundays at 8pm on Bravo.
(Image courtesy of Bravo)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
