Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Bravo
After last week’s episode of Real Housewives of New York ended with a fight hot enough to burn up all of the Christmastime snow (or rather, the brown curbside slush—snow is a rarity in New York winters these days), it seems that all of Housewives are still steaming. The energy of Season 14’s eighth episode is, at times, downright nasty. That’s surprising given that, up until now, the rebooted RHONY cast has been doing a great job of keeping their version of the show relatively lighthearted—while still staying steeped in drama.
But it’s inevitable that, even in a new era of Housewives, there are going to be some low blows here and there. Real Housewives can’t be Real Housewives without delivering the occasional shocking dig. And for any viewers who have felt that the reboot isn’t tapping into the same level of spiteful maliciousness that the likes of Ramona Singer and Dorinda Medley gave us, you’ll be happy to know that your time has come. The new crew’s first international trip starts off with a bang, and half the cast is already at odds by the episode’s end. There is betrayed trust, tattling, genetic disorder drama, and gossip procured through means of hot soup. Forget spilling tea, these women are splattering stew!
With their upcoming, post-Christmas trip to Anguilla on the horizon, Sai and Ubah meet at a boutique called Zimmerman, each sporting a different style of Ariana Grande high ponytail. Sai opts for a Positions-era style retro, bouncy pony, while Ubah goes for the My Everything-era classic—appropriate, given that she has broken free of the bout of COVID that kept her absent from the last two episodes. The two of them shop for bathing suits and decide how much skin they want to show on the beach, a topic of conversation that foreshadows the arguments that arise after their plane actually touches down. “If you have tits like mine, topless makes sense,” Ubah tells Sai, nonchalantly recommending that Sai just buy a skirt and nothing else.