Welcome to the recap for The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 19, Episode 2. The last episode was all about Katie. And not in a good way. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, had a bone to pick with her. This week, Katie tries her best to extend an olive branch of peace. But the main drama will be between Tamra and Gretchen, who finally face off. Sadly, Shannon is back in the spotlight, and it isn’t good news. So here’s exactly what happened on Real Housewives of Orange County Season 19, Episode 2: “Old Faces, New Places.”
Gretchen Rossi shows back up on Real Housewives of Orange County
Okay, dare I utter the idea that I am excited to have Gretchen grace our screen! Friends, I have been waiting for this day for years, and it’s like Christmas in July. The Golden Door opens with a not-so-welcoming light for change. Katie is still fighting off the banshees, a.k.a. the rest of the women who want to see her text messages. Yet somehow Wi-Fi alludes her. The closing ceremonies are anything but good-intended. Katie’s just hoping to get out of this labyrinth alive, while others are wondering if Daedalus left a secret key code to break out, or will they all turn into Icarus and fly too close to the drama.
The RHOC rehash
Orange County never ceases to amaze me. These women are all about finding the next big workout, or, as it were, the lack thereof. Gina, Emily, and Tamra rehash the Golden Doors excursion. It seems Emily is a little peeved that Shannon stood up for Katie, and she wants answers. But the new tres amigas also feel like Katie is playing victim. Tamra is calling Katie, a silent assassin. However, across town, Shannon and Katie are having a rehash of their own. Naturally, Katie felt under attack, and it felt like these two were teaming up. And I don’t like this duo. Katie claims she is just dealing with a trauma response.
Gallery shoot drama
Instead of going to the respective corners, Tamra comes out swinging. It seems she has some tea on Katie. The word on the street is that during the gallery shoot in 2024, Katie filmed Shannon losing her shit. Evidently, Shannon was having a bad day. She entered the studio screaming. Even Jenn added in her confessional that everybody knew Shannon was not having a good day, and she was pissed off that Alexis was there. Here’s where it gets interesting. Tamra claims Katie was having a conversation with her husband, abruptly hung up, recorded Shannon, then showed the recording to Alexis, her arch-nemesis.
As fans recall from Season 18, John and Alexis made claims that they had videos of Shannon acting inappropriately. Now, the question needs to be asked: Was the audio that Katie recorded the same audio that John and Alexis were trying to use against Shannon?
Emily is bearing her soul on Real Housewives of Orange County
Emily is still dealing with deep feelings about her son’s diagnosis. But Shane and Emily seem to be on different paths. And honestly, it feels like Emily is drowning: she is pleading for some emotional support from Shane, and he can’t deliver it. Emily is enveloped in hardship, while Shane chooses to believe his son will eventually improve. Both are valid emotions. Shane explained that this approach aims to make everything seem normal. He doesn’t want his son to feel less than. Sadly, Emily feels alone in the fight, and I can’t help but wonder if this will lead to bigger issues for the marriage.
Hot pot and hot feelings
I found myself saying “oh my god” out loud, as Gretchen and Slade finally entered the frame. It’s been eleven years since her last confessionals, and the woman looks like she has been frozen in time. She claims no plastic surgery, but I have my doubts. Hilariously, Slade is labeled “Gretchen’s life partner.” I’m dead. It’s obvious that Gretchen was brought in as the big guns to deal with Tamra. She’s aligned herself with Jenn and Katie – so this should be good. Also, Ryan and Slade as a bromance seems like a battle of the douche canoes, but I’m here for it.
Emily is the first to arrive, and it’s awkward. Painfully awkward. But the dinner starts to gain momentum, and for one fleeting moment, everyone seems content. But the moment Gretchen Christine walked through that door, Tamra’s stomach dropped out of her butt. The anxiety was palpable, and it felt like sides will have to be chosen.
Things heat up as Katie tries to start the apology train. But Gina and her East Coast heart wasted no time in airing her grievances. And boy was it a list. She became so heated that she blurted out to Shannon the details of the secret audio Katie taped. Shannon is fuming and rightly so. She was in active litigation with John at the time. No one is trying to hurt Katie, so why is she trying to hurt everyone else?
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs at 9 PM/EST on Bravo. It can be streamed on Hayu in the UK and Ireland.
