Real Housewives of Potomac: “Salty Behavior” recap

This was a nice episode of The Real Housewives of Potomac all about healing as we prepare for all the shade coming to the rest of the season…

We saw the three ladies who have had the roughest years take steps toward some much-needed healing. Coincidentally they’re also my least favorite Real Housewives of Potomac cast members, so my empathy muscle got a very good workout.

Usually I find Monique to be messy, judgmental, and pretentious, but lately, she’s been showing a sweeter side. For the most part, she’s been staying in her lane, and I’ve actually been looking forward to seeing her celebrate her new baby.

In true Monique fashion

She released doves at exactly 5:30 pm, and I knew there wouldn’t be any fireworks between the ladies, even with both Ashley and Candace in attendance.

I didn’t know what to expect from Chris’s mom, though. As carefully as Monique plans things, I’m really surprised that she would let her mother-in-law freestyle like that. Given their history, you’d think Monique would keep Ms. Samuels as far away from a mic as possible.

Ultimately she got the apology she was owed, though it wasn’t the one she wanted. And she’s right. That apology should have been delivered directly to Monique in private before any public anything.

Which brings me to…

Karen and Ashley’s private moment.

Separately, these two women have had a really rough time. Karen’s parents have passed. Ashley lost her baby last year and (at the time of taping) is struggling to conceive. Together they’ve had several false starts, with Karen thinking she could mold Ashley in her image and Ashley hiding her shade in concern for Karen’s freedom after Ray’s tax trouble last season.

I’ve never been interested in either of their storylines. Both Karen’s ego and Ashley’s naivete are excellent ingredients for Housewives drama (see: Nene and Porsha on RHOA), but they fall flat for The Real Housewives of Potomac. This season they’re both trying to rebuild or reinforce the bridges they’ll need to get through their personal fires.

So when they were able to chat one on one and agree to move forward, it was nice to see. They were feeling the weight of their respective loss and it was awesome that they were able to use the opportunity to connect to each other. And although the Housewives and mediums don’t usually mix well… it worked here.

Karen’s experience seemed to make a difference in her mindset. Her connection with Ashley seemed genuine and we caught a glimpse of what their friendship could have been this whole time had Karen refrained from treating Ashley like clay in the beginning…

Elsewhere in the episode, Gizelle is looking to rehab her dream house while Robyn’s in the midst of a nightmare renovation.

Candace is… confusing me. I don’t know why she’s having such a poor response to Ashley trying to conceive. But… I guess it’ll all come out soon.

If we’re to believe the mid-season teaser, we have some REAL drama on the horizon and I can’t wait.

The Real Housewives of Potomac in on Sundays at 8 PM ET on Bravo.