RECAP: Real Housewives of Potomac — Karen Huger Confronts Ashley Darby [Episode 8]

As the women go about their daily lives, Gizelle is testing out new make up for her cosmetics line. She talks about being misunderstood as a light-skinned, green-eyed, woman, and that others don’t know that she understands the problems of the black community. Gizelle often puts a smackdown on Katie for not being willing to be “black enough,” so it grates my nerves to hear her constant references to being “light-skinned.” On the positive, she  wants to show her girls that they can be business leaders and have something of their own. Love the feminist side of Gizelle, It is too bad that it is the side of her that gets lost in the presence of Katie and Ashley. She is so refreshingly fun in this scene that I am hoping to either see her this way all episode, or not at all.

Katie is home with her family, celebrating the girls’ birthday. Renee is the dominant twin, jumping for joy and refusing to share balloons with sister, Kathryn. Poor James Rocco has grabbed the balloons, too, as if Renee is the sharing type. This could go south, fast. Why am I posting about children under the age of 4? I’m trying to ignore Katie’s desperate cries for marriage, once again. Without mentioning the beach drama, Katie and Andrew snark about Gizelle in other ways and Katie reiterates, with a little bass in her voice, that Gizelle is a “phony ass.”

Karen and her personal assistant, Eny (who is wearing her Diana Ross weave), are working on the O-gala, a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s victims, held in memory of Ray’s mother, Odessa Huger. Unfortunately, Mrs. Huger died last year. It is doubly sad, then, that Karen’s mother was just diagnosed with early dementia. Supportive Ray comes in and helps out, but he wants to scale things down. He doesn’t think his family could handle a huge party, this year.

Gizelle and her make up artist/friend, Kal (of cooked crabs fame), are at “The Park” restaurant setting up for the make up samples party. She flirts with the HOT young Turkish bartender and greets her model-esque friends, Zavia and Donzella. Ashley joins the group and receives a warm hug. See? Fun Gizelle showed up, tonight. They resolve their beach issues, noting that Michael being there was a problem because of HOW Ashley handled his arrival. Gizelle tells her Karen was offended, but she doesn’t want to hold a grudge and would like to move forward. Karen and Charrisse arrive at that moment, as if on cue. Karen announces in a Talking Head that as a “woman of her quality” she will speak to Ashley, though she hasn’t received an apology. Kal, wrongly, in my book, apologizes to Charrisse – who decides to let things go, as well. Robyn shows up after the first round of drama.

As the party starts, Gizelle tells everyone that she wasn’t confident in her looks until her 40s because so many people who had problems with her. They thought, based on how she looked, that she was: a mean girl, stuck up, air head, etc. I totally get her now, and why she freaks out in the presence of some of these women. She is still as wrong as two left shoes, but I get it. She wants the women to each take a station and try out the make up. Ashley compliments the work. Karen, of course in a Talking Head interview, puts it down as too similar to other products on the market. Out loud she says that she loves the shade and it matches her perfectly. One of the model-esque friends is giving Karen the same side eye I’m giving her. Gizelle notices that Katie is a no show and finds it rude. Katie decides that having postponed her event means that she needs to be out and be seen to give the Rost Foundation more visibility.  

The food at Gizelle’s event looks so good that it is a shame that Ashley may spoil her appetite by deciding to be the bigger woman and talk things out with Karen. That poor spring chicken is like a lamb to the slaughter. Apparently, the weekend was “fabo-lous,” all but the last six hours – which were ruined by Michael’s presence. Karen thinks the men should talk about Michael’s behavior. Ashley, in a Talking Head interview, thinks the “men talking” line is old-fashioned and questions whether a duel is going to be proposed. Karen thinks Ashley is being narrow-minded to say that she could have locked the door if concerned. I am still in shock that they think this man was a threat. I would have been offended, in Ashley’s shoes, not telling someone they could have locked a damned door. Charrisse, Robyn, and Gizelle witness the showdown and decide it has to be stopped, but not before Ashley gets out a great line, stating that Karen had a tantrum like a five-year old. Of course the queen denies it. Shouldn’t the queen of etiquette have shut Ashley down and decided to hash things out while NOT an invited guest at someone else’s function? Karen tells Ashley she is immature and again tells her that the men will have to talk it out. Charisse and Robyn can’t stop giggling.

At home, Robyn and Juan are building a storage unit and are still waiting to hear about the coaching job. While they work on the unit, they talk about the trip. Sleeping in the twin bed reminds her of when they were younger and slept in a twin bed all the time. He jokingly calls her a stalker, when she reveals she was at his college games in the hopes of seeing another player. He remembers the line he dropped on her the first time he spoke to her (Don’t I know you?)  and remembers that they talked about the Young and the Restless their first real conversation. He calls her the love of his life. I.AM.MELTING! They seem like they just belong together, but she is not yet over his infidelity. Why do we have to shift to the Hugers and Darbys from this? In case you’re wondering, Ray is no more rational than his wife, he doesn’t want Michael looking at his wife in her skimpy things. Uh, I’m betting Michael doesn’t want to see that, either.

Karen “jokingly” says that Michael is a freak and that is why he doesn’t mind what happened. She also thinks her husband “took it to” Michael, despite how joking and friendly the conversation was. Karen seems to think the two men are titans of industry coming to terms. I somehow don’t think Ray has the same wealth as Michael Darby. We wash down the Darbys coddling the antiquated Hugers by watching Charrisse learn to swim. It is the real reason she didn’t get into the water at the beach. At nearly 50 she wants to face her fears. Her children are proud of her. The swim coach is hot. I wish her well. And again, the swim coach is HOT! P.S. ex-RHOBH Brandi Glanville, if watching, must have flipped to see a black woman in the pool and black swim coach. Just sayin’.

More planning of the O-gala. Karen and Eny didn’t realize that cherry blossom are only available in the spring and settle for roses. The O-gala takes place in the Huger living room and Katie brings her angry kitty snark face, asking Brynee if this “gala” is what kept Karen so busy that she couldn’t help her. They laugh as they look around. Katie goes big cat when she pretends (to pretend)  to be upset at missing Gizelle’s make-up party. Elsewhere, Karen brags about Ray giving Michael the “business,” completely overselling it. Michael and Ashley are ringing the bell as the speeches begin. Karen ignores it, leaving the Darbys outside until they are done speaking. Ashley is shocked to hear from Gizelle that Karen is saying that Ray gave Michael the business and thinks that Karen has been lying about other things, too, and that Karen doesn’t respect her. She tells the ladies that Karen thinks they are all corrupt, herself included, and doesn’t want her daughter around them. 

Karen makes it clear that Ashley is the problem, not the others, and announces that she is done with a stunned Ashley. Ashley putting her daughter’s name in her mouth was the last straw. Charrisse thinks Karen is owed an apology. Gizelle thinks Katie owes her one. Karen keeps going and states to the other women that Ashley has an agenda and she doesn’t know what it is. What is Karen’s agenda? Do you think her rage matched what happened?

 

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