RECAP: Ladies of London – My Thanksgiving is Better Than Your Thanksgiving [Episode 1]

Oh, snap! We’re back. Autumn in London will be blustery and I’m not talking about the weather. The Ladies of London season 2 premiered Monday night showing us that social status is a completely different beast in England, compared to America. Your standing depends more about who your father’s, father’s, father was, and less about who you are. 

We begin with a quick snippets of the ladies in their lives. Caroline Stanbury’s gift library has grown and she’s acquired a wedding business as well. The Queen Bee’s worker bees are busy in the stockroom, filling orders. It’s good to be the queen.

Annabelle Neilson and Lady Julie Montagu are bff’s now, driving to the Mapperton house that belongs to Julie’s husband’s family. Luke, Lady Julie’s husband, is 347^th in line for the British throne. Something seriously will have to go wrong, like an apocalyptic zombie situation for this to occur. It’s been nine months since Annabelle broke her back and pelvis falling from her horse. She’s now dealing with chronic pain. On the upside, Annabelle seems cheerier this season so something’s working for her.

Juliet Angus pops into Caroline’s office. The two have become open-door policy friends since last season, upgraded from Juliet’s minion status. When Caroline mentions Marissa Hermer’s name, Juliet gives a slight twitch and goes quiet. Their friendship is on a rocky road right now. Juliet says she’s tired of always apologizing to Marissa. Caroline suggests couples’ therapy might be in order.

Speaking of Marissa, she is just doing amazing. Her life is amazing. Her restaurant is amazing. It’s just all so amazing. And that’s how she’s earned her spot on guests lists to all of London’s top events—she gives amazingly good guest. Her husband Matt drops by for camera time to play with their two little boys.

Caroline is on her way to pick up Juliet so they can go to the supermarket with the other ladies, but she’s not happy about traveling there. Juliet has moved to South London and has downgraded to a five-million dollar home. Caroline compares Juliet’s move to leaving Manhattan for New Jersey. Ouch. Juliet complains to Caroline that taking the kids to school practically takes up all of her morning—something Caroline can’t even remotely relate to.

Marissa and Annabelle meet up to go the supermarket. Marissa explains the typical Thanksgiving menu and Annabelle is horrified by the mention of mashed sweet potatoes and marshmallows. Just wait until she sees the traditional cranberry sauce from a can. She’s going to love that. Lady Julie pedals up to join the ladies for the super market trip.

Back over to the car, Caroline is not happy that the Thanksgiving dinner is the night after her cocktail party. Juliet tries her best to explain the meaning of Thanksgiving: cooking and American football. Really, Julie? It’s so much more. Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for the year’s bountiful harvest. And to cook, eat, watch football and take a nap. In that order.

Marissa has hosted Thanksgiving dinner for her friends for either 5, 6, or 7 years, because she listed them all, and has already placed the order with her butcher. But to Juliet, it’s not just Thanksgiving, it’s her birthday. Happy turbirthkey day, Juliet! When the ladies are all together in the market, and Marissa explains that Thanksgiving will be at their restaurant, Bumpkin, Juliet looks like she was just told all of the Hawaiian rolls are gone.

Juliet wants her birthday/Thanksgiving to be at someone’s home, though just not hers. Marissa has invited 30 people to this dinner at their private dining room and cannot disinvite people, then move it to her home to please one person. The rest of the girls stand around, staying out of it. Truth be told, they couldn’t give a rat’s ass. It’s just a Thursday night in London to them. No one really cares where the dry turkey is consumed. Annabelle tells Juliet and Marissa to work it out and let them know.

Over at Lady Julie’s house, she is demonstrating how overwhelmed she is with four kids, no staff, no nanny, in a small house. You see, they don’t actually live at Mapperton. My image of a Viscountess is forever ruined. Her husband, Luke, is at Mapperton four days a week because he is the first born male in the family. Sucks to be the spare! Lady Julie, burns the kids’ hot chocolate after-school snack. Get this mom some help, please!

In direct contrast, Caroline is being served tea and toast by an assistant while she gets the rundown on her children’s activities and accomplishments. Juliet arrives, tells Caroline she looks like crap, but the house looks great. You can see the hamster wheel turning. Juliet explains to Caroline that big, bad Marissa, always gets her way and all Juliet wants to do is start a tradition with her close friends who live in large estates. Caroline doesn’t give a damn about Thanksgiving, but in order to divert Juliet’s tears, offers to host Thanksgiving at her home. Caroline tells Juliet she must deal with Marissa.

Juliet rushes off to spill the tea on Marissa at Bumpkin, and long story short, tells Marissa it was Caroline’s idea to have her birthday/Thanksgiving party at her 12,000 square foot house because it truly feels like home. Marissa recognizes this as just another power play by Julia to insert herself further up Caroline’s ass. After describing the birthday cake with a turkey on top, Marissa gives up and tells Juliet to go to Caroline’s if that’s what she wants to do.

Meanwhile Caroline is complaining to her make-up artist, Matt, as he readies her for her cocktail party, about having to host an event the very next night. It’s so difficult being Caroline. Having to pick up the phone and place the call to the party planner to handle everything so Caroline only has to show up. Matt points out that Caroline and Marissa are both control freaks, risking his job security with this observation.

The fabulous women who arrive for a smashing good time on a rainy night apparently got the memorandum to wear black. Caroline greets her guests in a black romper with sheer stars around the edges, and we are briefly introduced to the two new castmates, Caroline Fleming, the Baroness, and Caroline’s sister-in-law, Sophie Stanbury, both who are gorgeous.

Marissa, odd girl out, arrives wearing two shades of blue that don’t really compliment each other. She and Caroline S have a quick chat about Thanksgiving and how Caroline’s not trying to one-up her. Marissa hands over personalized turkey-hats and reveals that the  abdicated seats have been filled by those next in line. Aren’t they lucky.

Juliet arrives and tries to ignore Marissa, and the same for Marissa, but with only 16 other women in the room, it’s kind of impossible. They go off to argue. Juliet doesn’t understand why Marissa has to host 30 people. 

Marissa is ready to get off the Juliet merry-go-round. (She said roller coaster, but cease and desist letters are probably being prepared by Ramona’s people as we speak.) And Caroline is rather enjoying two people fighting over her.

Tell us what you think. Did you like the first episode? Was Julie out of line to insist that Thanksgiving be held in someone’s home? Or does she get a birthday pass?

 

 

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