Season 11 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was...underwhelming. We open with the ladies heading to Kyle Richard's Encino home to visit her in bed, fresh after her rhinoplasty. Lisa Rinna is the first to arrive and she shares with Kyle that she will be getting dinner with Garcelle Beauvais to clear the air after her betrayal of longtime friend Denise Richards from last season. We meet up with Dorit Kemsley driving Erika Jayne in a 2020 McLaren 600 LT to Kyle's house. Dorit invites the ladies to her home for an upscale barbeque. Next, we learn Sutton Stracke and Garcelle have kept up a friendship after last season and we find the two of them at Garcelle's house taking some casual mid-day shots. We discover Sutton is renting Kyle's infamous Bel Air home while her newly acquired Bel Air mansion is getting fixed up. So much nostalgia!
Garcelle and Rinna sit down to clear the air. Rinna comes in hot and fast and rehearsed about her behavior from last season, her treatment and betrayal of a longtime friend to make for good TV. The ladies leave with Garcelle telling Rinna she is open to their friendship continuing but to tread lightly. Later, we will discover that Rinna takes this as a clean slate while Garcelle had meant that they could move forward but the absence of trust between the two wouldn't be so easily repaired.
Erika Jayne is with her glam team hanging out in her massive closets. This is the second time she speaks fondly of Tom and has shown no indication, so far, that there’s any problem in their marriage. We get a lot of talk about their home, their material possessions, and work, in what must be foreshadowing for the later drama to come about Erika Jayne and husband Tom Girardi.
Dorit visits Garcelle to see her renovated home. Garcelle introduces Dorit to her two fish, a black and white speckled "Dorit", and an ordinary goldfish named after Kyle. Garcelle shares that while she appreciated Rinna taking responsibility for her wrongs, there’s no trust in their relationship any more and Dorit says that after her own fight with Rinna, she felt the same way. Despite hesitating to answer Garcelle, when asked if she trusts Rinna now, Dorit does eventually say (unconvincingly) yes.
Kyle and Rinna bring toy donations over to meet new cast member Crystal Minkoff for the first time and we learn on the car ride over Kyle is also meeting with Garcelle to squash their beef. Rinna tells Kyle that since her dinner with Garcelle, things are back to normal and feels confident that Kyle will be able to do the same. Crystal as it turns out is a long time friend of Kathy Hilton (née Richards, Kyle's sister) and is married to Rob Minkoff, the director of the Lion King. And even Lisa Rinna is impressed with the name drop!
All the ladies get ready for Dorit's barbeque. The producers focus on EJ's extensive glam team and expensive jewelry. Kathy and Crystal arrive together and both comment on how ridiculous this concept of wearing ball gown to a BBQ is. Agreed, but this is Beverly Hills, without the ostentatious attire we wouldn't be watching. Garcelle arrives and Kathy mistakes her for her own white sister. Dorit pulls her aside and we learn Kathy is too afraid to put contacts in and genuinely has that poor of eyesight. (Kathy Hilton is wild, where has she been all this time?!) Dorit thinks pigs in a blanket make a barbecue. They do not. Lisa Rinna invites everyone to Lake Tahoe for a girls' trip. Kathy Hilton shares she used to do bootleg dental work in her youth on other children and forced younger sisters Kim and Kyle to assist her. Sutton relays to Garcelle that Rinna is under the impression that her and Garcelle are good, which isn't the case. Lisa forces an ice breaker game and we get dark foreshadowing with Erika Jayne.
Next week we are teased with a Garcelle and Kyle sit down over the charity comment from last season's reunion, the women’s trip to Lake Tahoe, with drama starting between Sutton and Crystal, and a second sit down between Garcelle and Rinna
Overall, I felt this premiere to be underwhelming. Kyle doesn't seem to bring much to the plate other than anchoring the group together in a networking sense, but continues to be insular with her relationships with Lisa Rinna replacing Teddi Mellencamp as her right hand. Lisa Rinna has a lot to make up for from last season as most of her behavior was abhorrent to watch. I would feel the same way about Erika Jayne as I do Dorit, except for the turmoil in her personal life to be exposed this season. Both women dress very well and while their personalities make for good lighthearted conflict, they typically move on from issues quickly. Garcelle and Sutton, to me, have been the best addition in years to the cast. Sutton is eccentric and owns it. Her style is all things couture and I love it no matter how much it looks like she's dressed as a lamp. It works for her! Garcelle is fun, down to Earth, and a loyal friend. As it pertains to the rest of the group, I feel her perspective to be the most relatable to the audience. Crystal Minkoff seems like a great addition, as well. She is very opinionated. She is very into the Beverly Hills mindset, and it's a nice reminder of what this show used to be before everyone moved to Encino. Kathy Hilton is a good time and I know she will make for great TV. I have high hopes for this season, but mostly because we are guaranteed to see the aftermath of the Girardi legal drama.
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