Kandi Burruss made it through her musical A Mother's Love" without any major hitches.
This made for a not terribly suspenseful season finale since that was the focal plot line for the episode. And NeNe Leakes, who had blood clots in her lungs and landed in a hospital, was barely there.
But Bravo was smart. They included a special one-on-one "Watch What Happens Live" show featuring NeNe for 30 minutes right after the finale. That was far more interesting because NeNe is seldom boring. (See some of her comments below.)
During the musical, Porsha Williams, who plays Kandi's younger sister in the musical, did well. And though the play itself was based loosely on Kandi's situation with her now husband Todd Tucker and Momma Joyce, Momma Joyce told Kandi after the performance that she enjoyed it. (The editors tried to make it look like, with artful editing, Momma Joyce was not enjoying it at all.)
Momma Joyce also offered Kandi a relative peace offering: "Whatever your decision is it's your decision.We going to agree to disagree." That's hardly a ringing endorsement but she basically agreed not to sabotage the marriage any longer.
Other story lines:
- Kenya Moore holds a funeral service for her dog Velvet, who got chomped on and killed by a neighbor's canine. There were some hideous rumors this week that the dog was still alive but I can't even imagine Kenya stooping that low for a story line. Or maybe I'm just naive. Anyway, Cynthia is the only housewife to show up. Kenya cries seemingly genuine tears for her only baby.
- Phaedra Parks finished mortuary school. She is licensed and ready to get into the business. She really wants to own a crematorium.
- Porsha Williams' divorce with Kordell Stewart was finalized during filming. She gets teary eyed, telling her family, "He will not break me." Oddly, she still had her big engagement ring on. Her mom and sister tell her to dispense with it.
- Cynthia Bailey tries to seduce her hubby Peter Thomas with a red dress and a "Basic Instinct"-style sitting stance, plus strawberries and rose petals. At first, he laughs, but then he appreciates it.
- NeNe is feeling bad about traveling. She ends up in the hospital with blood clots in her lung, probably because of her extensive flying back and forth to L.A. (She missed Kandi's play, as a result.) Her right lung has collapsed. Her left lung partially collapsed.
The updates for each of the cast members at the end of the show:
- Phaedra plans to open a crematorium in Athens. She won't be representing Apollo in his fraud case.
- Porsha did not receive alimony from her divorce. She is supposedly dating an African tycoon.
- Cynthia: Bar One is still in limbo. Peter is seeking investors to buy the property. Cynthia is not one of them.
- Kenya and her "African prince" are seeking in vitro fertilization in June - unless it happens naturally.
- Kandi sold out five performances of "A Mother's Love." She and Todd just got married.
- NeNe ended up in the hospital but recovered to be on "Dancing With the Stars" now.
TRAILER for REUNION SHOW
We see a glimpse of the fight when Porsha attacks Kenya. Porsha also appears to have had breast implants.
RATINGS
Last week's episode sagged to 3.66 million viewers, its worst performance since Dec. 15. I expect ratings will perk up now that we know this big fight is forthcoming.
"WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE" with NeNe
On Cynthia: She doesn't think Cynthia is necessarily the best person on the show because she doesn't bring much to the table in her mind. She says this despite being good friends with her. Then again, she feels Cynthia hasn't always loyal to her. "She just blows wherever the wind blows," she says.
On Kenya: She may not like Kenya but she's pragmatic. "She is good for the show. She's drama. She doesn't take her medication before shooting. I think she's great. She's delusional."
On Kandi: She says she found it weird how hard it was for Kandi to express her feelings with Momma Joyce.
On Marlo: She says Marlo caused tensions amongst the bridesmaids during her wedding and afterwards, distanced herself from her. Then Marlo didn't tell her about being so friendly to Kenya and filming scenes with her. NeNe felt betrayed.
How long would she stay on the show? "The show has changed for me... Although this was the most popular season, it was drama filled." In other words, she didn't answer the question.
Her take on her own image this season on the show: "I don't think I came off in the best light but I'm okay with it. I can't change what these people think."
Putting Andy on the spot: She tries to get Andy to say who he'd like off the show but of course, he didn't say anything
On the fight between Kenya and Porsha during the reunion show: "Kenya kept trying Porsha. Kenya violated her over and over again. I'm not condoning violence,' she says, but she couldn't blame Porsha for reacting that way.
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