In this week’s episode we see Mama Joyce and Todd make some kind of peace, watch Cynthia and Peter deal with possible foreclosure issues with their businesses, see NeNe start her clothing line and be a diva, and sadly watch as Kenya breaks down over the loss of a loved one. There was a lot to see in this episode, so there’s a lot to chat about. Let’s get to it.
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Kandi Sets Porsha Straight About Being Tardy For The Party…Aka, Practice
First things first, we head to the recording studio where Porsha is trying to get her Aretha Franklin on. Her time dealing with her divorce drama through song is interrupted by Kandi, who has come to set her straight about missing too many “A Mother’s Love” practices. Kandi reads off emails from her staff that show Porsha has been unprofessional and missed quite a few practices, but Porsha blames poor communication on the part of Kandi’s team. However, when a phone call is placed to Porsha’s sister, it shows that she has been slacking on sharing the practice schedule with Porsha. This woman is already off to a bad start with this whole independent, working woman part of her new single life.
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NeNe Gets Into Fashion And Ditches Hollywood Roles That Will Typecast Her
NeNe meets up with her manager to talk about what’s next in her career. Things have slowed down since The New Normal was cancelled, but based on the talk with her manager, it seems that NeNe isn’t that serious about picking up new work. Her manager asks why she wasn’t interested in an opportunity on the show Mr. Box Office, which stars Vivica A. Fox and Bill Bellamy, and she says it’s because she didn’t read the script. It’s kind of beneath her I guess, as she states in her confessional that she wants to do more work that elevates her and doesn’t leave her in the same place in Hollywood. Interestng indeed.
But no stress for NeNe, she says that she has a new opportunity in the works, a clothing line for Home Shopping Network. Would you pick up her pieces? While you might be quick to say no, wait until you see some of the items from the line…
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Is Peter Doing Bad Business Again?
Cynthia confronts Peter about what she’s heard on blogs that he hasn’t been forthcoming about: the rumor that Bar One is possibly facing foreclosure, and that it could affect the space where she houses the Bailey Agency. When confronted, Peter tells her that in reality, the bank has been asking him to pay them directly because the owners of Bar One haven’t been paying the mortgage. Peter seems very cool about it all, but Cynthia is slowly but surely freaking out, worried that they’ve found themselves in yet another bad business dealing. He tells her that he doesn’t think her business will be foreclosed upon, but then again, he can’t promise her that. However, he says that if they have to shut down Bar One, he will have no problem picking up and starting over elsewhere. Cynthia isn’t trying to hear it.
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RIP Velvet
Kenya’s aunt rushes into Kenya’s home to see the tearful former beauty queen in her bed, emotionally in pieces. The sad news she has to report is that her dear dog Velvet was attacked by a neighbor’s dog, and when Kenya found her dangling in the mouth of the animal, she was barely holding on to dear life. Eventually, the dog passed, and Kenya is broken up about it, because after seven years of taking care of the little one, she’s alone. “How do I go on?” Kenya’s aunt thinks that Velvet’s death could have real meaning though, an opportunity to make room for a child: “Maybe she’s making room for someone else in your life…do you think you can give that same love you gave Velvet to a child?” Eventually, they decided that a memorial service for the dog will be a good way to give Kenya closure.
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Kandi And Mama Joyce Finally Do Therapy
Kandi invites a therapist into her home to try and deal with her issues with Mama Joyce. She explains to Dr. Sutherland (who is quite handsome by the way) the strife between her mother and Todd, and how that has affected her, but he asks her why at the age of 37, she still allows her mom to hinder their relationship. Kandi says she only allows what she does out of respect, but Dr. Sutherland isn’t quite convinced. When Mama Joyce arrives, she tells him that she feels like Todd is a user and that since Kandi has been with him, she has gained 30 pounds because Todd isn’t helping her to be a better person. However, Dr. Sutherland asks her if she’s tried to have a real conversation with Todd, and she says no. To that, he tells her, “Your daughter is engaged to a man that you really haven’t even taken the time to get to know. That concerns me,” and the words manage to bring tears to Mama Joyce’s eyes.
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NeNe’s Not Feeling Her New Clothing Line
NeNe is in New York checking out the samples and pieces from her new clothing line for HSN. A whole team has been set up to do her bidding and be at her beck and call, and you can tell Mrs. Leakes is absolutely giddy about it. However, she’s not so crunk about the clothes so far. While cute, a few aren’t up to her expectations (leather skirts instead of leggings, other pieces were too short), and some didn’t even fit her–the line creator. But that’s the point of such meetings, right? To work out the kinks? The team promises to go back to the drawing board and NeNe is happy: “Even though one show was cancelled…I have my clothing line. That just goes to show you that when one door closes, another opens. Just. Like. That.”
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Kenya Tells The Ladies About Velvet’s Passing
The ladies meet up (as in Cynthia, Kandi and Kenya) so that Kenya can give them the news about the loss of Velvet. They are surprised to see her in less than colorful form, but when she shares the news about Velvet, they all are shocked, especially Cynthia, who breaks down in tears. Kenya invites just the two of them to the memorial service for Velvet, and they agree to go. As Kandi says, they want to support Kenya because they knew her bond with Velvet was strongest: “Kenya may get on everyone’s nerves, but when it came to Velvet, she was genuine. She loooooved that dog.”
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Cynthia And Peter Talk Things Out
After freaking out on Peter for withholding information about all the issues happening with the Bar One property, Cynthia speaks with him in their home one more time about all that has happened. While she respects his entrepreneurial sense, she just wants him to be more forthcoming with info because they are a team, and how he spends their money affects her. “I feel like we’re a team and I just get frustrated when you don’t tell me what’s really going on.” Peter hears her, but says that when it comes to business, he’s going to go with his gut feelings whether she likes it or not (and whether or not his past business decisions have ended poorly).
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Porsha Finally Shows Up To Practice
Porsha shows up to practice, taped mic on her face, energy high, ready to learn her moves and songs for “A Mother’s Love.” However, everyone else seems a little skeptical of her, including the director of the shindig, who wants to know that Porsha is serious about her work in the show. Porsha thinks she is absolutely ready, but by the look of the director, seeing is believing, and talk is cheap.
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Todd Confronts Mama Joyce About Her Constant Shade
Finally the moment we’ve been waiting for all season–a real conversation between Mama Joyce and Todd, not one where Mama Joyce is laughing maniacally about “Ain’t no mountain high enough to keep me off your a**!”
Mama Joyce comes to the “A Mother’s Love” practice to see what Kandi is cooking up, but by the looks of her expression during some practice scenes, she’s not too impressed (the show is based around her foolery). As Kandi continues her lines with Q from 112, Don Juan takes Mama Joyce on a tour of the Rialto Center for the Arts. However, Todd runs into them and decides to show her around for Don Juan. After having little enthusiasm about the tour, Todd wants Mama Joyce to explain her beef with him. Her responses are short, which allows Todd to really give her the real. While she claims that Todd stopped working his full-time gig to live off of Kandi (“I didn’t stop liking you. I stopped respecting you”), he says that’s far from the truth. “I didn’t take a break and live off your daughter. Never did, nor will I…I’m not here to get anything from Kandi, I’m here for her.” He tells her that even if she thinks she’ll never like him, he just wants to hear it from her, and not through Kandi or anyone else. Surprisingly, Mama Joyce lets her ice melt, saying that after losing a son (he died at the age of 22), she knows that she became a little too protective of Kandi. “My whole existence has been about my children, and I never want to see anybody take advantage of them.” They come to something of an understanding and Mama Joyce even gives Todd a hug. Could she finally be turning over a new leaf? Even if she doesn’t, it’s nice to see her not be so…you know…Evilene-ish.
