“What do you think about me?” This episode of the Real Housewives of Dallas kicks off with the question heard ‘round the world asked by Tiffany. Will Brandi work through her issues and stop projecting her guilt on Tiffany?
After Tiffany rattles off a list of wonderful things about Brandi, she wants to know what Brandi has to say about her. Brandi’s pause left us all in suspense, but then she responds by claiming that she feels like she is holding back in front of Tiffany. This doesn’t sound like a Tiffany problem. After all, Tiffany can’t change that she is Asian. This is a Brandi problem (and everyone knows that, including her BFF, Stephanie).
To cut the awkwardness, Kary suggests the ladies hold hands and jump into the lake. The last time I checked, jumping into a lake doesn’t unify people! Tiffany looks on in terror, considering she doesn’t even know how to swim, but she attempts to be a team player by hopping into the water with the girls. Tiffany immediately realizes that Tiffany 2.0 is still not fun. Her dress is ruined, her body’s cold, and she has absolutely had it. It doesn’t help that she was targeted by Brandi during dinner. She is over it.
Tiffany runs into her room and blames her emotions on being “tired” (in more ways than one, I am sure). She apologizes for not being fun and tearfully states she doesn’t want to “disappoint” Kary and the rest of the girls. Tiffany mocks her behavior by acting like a robot while the ladies try to play dumb and figure out what exactly caused the meltdown.
It’s time the others give Tiffany some credit. The girl is balancing a lot of balls up in the air and she admits that she has been having anxiety about her upcoming work meeting to discuss eliminating some hours. Tiffany further opens up to D’Andra and states, “I wanted to be liked by” Kary, but she feels like no matter how hard she tries to fit in with the others, she’s just not good enough.
The next morning, the packing ensues as it is the last day in Austin. Tiffany left early in the morning and only said goodbye to D’Andra. Her traumatic night really put her right over the edge, but Kary cannot understand why Tiffany did not want closure in the morning. Kary is certainly going to address Tiffany’s stealthy exit as she feels disrespected and hurt. Brandi defends her conversation with Tiffany, but it’s sounding more and more like Brandi wants to use Tiffany as her way to explain to the world that she is not racist. (These women really like to make things about themselves, huh?)
Tiffany is back in Dallas and washing away (and disinfecting) every memory of her Austin trip. Her husband, Daniel, sits down to hear Tiffany’s story and wonders why she came back early. She explains that it “served her own sanity to remove herself from all the toxicity” and that she “snuck out the back door like a coward.” Tiffany cannot understand how to move forward with Brandi if Brandi continues to live in the past. She also worries if she can ever make the women like her/understand her.
Simultaneously, Brandi shares with her husband, Bryan, how she told Tiffany she feels uncomfortable because she can’t be herself around her. Brandi poo-poos Bryan’s suggestion to hang out with Tiffany one-on-one since she thinks Dr. Moon is BORING. Sigh. Kudos to Bryan defending Tiffany (her workload, being the new girl, etc.), and when he starts talking sense, only THEN does Brandi claim she is feeling guilty. To demonstrate how far Brandi has come, Bryan gets the letter Brandi wrote to her future self toward the end of treatment at the mental health facility. Brandi reads that letter out loud and cries as she shares the words on the note. Perhaps she will no longer make “insensitive” comments.
Later, Kary and her daughter, Olivia, roll up to Stephanie’s house because Olivia is there for a pep talk. Stephanie states how she can relate to Olivia with her depression and anxiety as she went through dark points in her life, too. Not sure why Kary is sitting there interjecting every 10 seconds… she just can’t help herself, can she? Stephanie shares how in her 20s she tried to kill herself by overdosing on pills, but that moment in her life was an awakening for her. Stephanie stresses the importance of Olivia talking to her mother because learning how to cope is one of the most important mechanisms when dealing with anxiety and depression.
It’s always amazing when Momma Dee makes an appearance. We all know that she supports D’Andra financially, but seeing her slip D’Andra a check makes it real. Speaking of being real, leave it to Momma Dee to support Tiffany. As D’Andra fills her mom in on the Austin trip, Momma Dee learns how isolated Tiffany feels, and she gets defensive of her second daughter, Tiffany. She claims that the other women are jealous of Tiffany and that “sitting home and shopping, buying Barbie clothes” doesn’t compare to Tiffany’s “busy.” Momma Dee calls it how it is and shuts down the conversation, but D’Andra worries how Tiffany will be at her upcoming shaman party.
LOL to Kary’s “casual look.” Here comes Tiffany, stopping over after work in her scrubs, and there is Kary in her white denim mini, prancing around. The ladies sit down in Kary’s backyard and have some champagne. Things seem normal until Kary wants to know what exactly happened to Tiffany in Austin. Tiffany explains that she was feeling inauthentic, and Brandi’s comments during dinner didn’t really help.
Naturally, Kary makes this about her and how she felt disrespected that Tiffany left early, without even saying goodbye. Tiffany looks straight exhausted by this conversation, probably because she has a million other things to worry about, but she has to answer Kary. Sooo interesting that Kary finds EVERYTHING disrespectful, but nothing SHE does is wrong (ya know, like throwing a girl who CANNOT SWIM into a pool!).
Tiffany shares that she felt embarrassed about her outburst the night before and wanted to avoid having to confront the issue the entire bus ride home. Can you blame her? Tiffany is not great with feelings, and to that, Kary states she, too, is trying to be softer. The women decide that they have many similarities… they are both misunderstood in their behavior, and since they have come to this understanding, Kary volunteers to plan something for Tiffany’s birthday. Wait, we are going to be celebrating someone other than Kary this season?!
It’s the day of D’Andra’s shaman (or magical wizard — thanks, Kameron) party, and it’s gonna be a hoot watching them attempt to get involved in D’Andra’s newest journey. It turns out that D’Andra’s shaman has also done Stephanie’s extensions in his past life. Well, that’s a fun twist! In the car ride over to the party, Brandi makes herself the victim again in this whole ordeal. She worries about her interaction with Tiffany now that she realizes she has been making things uncomfortable.
Could the shaman put one more bracelet on? Asking for a friend… Tiffany is the first to arrive and how cute is she? She comes with gifts for the ladies since she hasn’t really spoken to any of the girls since the trip. Kam is afraid of getting brainwashed by the shaman and no one really knows what to expect. Things get more awkward when Brandi arrives, and Tiffany dances around Brandi, unsure of how to behave. Before the party really kicks off, Brandi suggests she have a one-on-one talk with Tiffany. To be continued…
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