By Jessica Blackwell

 

After watching the second drama filled installment of the Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion, I was interested to see how the ladies of the Big Apple stacked up against the Garden State wives.  The season ended with plenty of excitement, so I expected nothing less for the reunion. 

 

Andy questioned Carole first, and inquired as to why she came on the show since she already attained fame from her best selling novel. I glad he brought that up, because I was wondering the same thing. Carole is a peace loving hippie and the Real Housewives franchise is known for its theatrics. Carole admitted that she wanted to try something new that was totally out of her comfort zone, so I guess she hit the nail on the head with that one. Out of all the cast this season, she seemed the least comfortable with all the histrionics. 

 

The one conflict Carole did almost have this season was with the Countess. It never really turned into a full on ugly war like some other situations, but after seeing some of the things Carole said during her interviews, they had a little spat on stage. LuAnne was still insisting that she didn't attempt to borrow clothing from her designer friend, but Carole insists that she did. All of the ladies agreed that Carole seemed very neutral during the filming, but her interviews told a different story. 

 

A common theme during the season was dirty Harry, aka Aviva's ex husband that seems to have slept with every socialite in New York City as well as a few of the housewives. When questioned if the amount of times her ex came up in conversation bothered her, Aviva admitted it did. Sonja, a "friend" of Harry's took offense to that admission remarking that Aviva talked about Harry more than anyone.

 

Aviva's phobias and the other women's lack of tolerance for them was a big issue when they were all trying to get to know each other. Although Aviva's fears come from a place that makes sense, (I mean she watched her leg get ripped off on a conveyor belt), she got more than her fair share of eye rolling from the ladies. When Andy asked how she deals with them daily, she told the full, emotional story of what happened on the conveyor belt. Aviva did state that she doesn't let the loss of her leg define her, but at the same time, her phobias make up a large part of who she is. 

 

Heather, who turned out to be one of my favorites only second to Carole, never backed down to Ramona despite being a newbie to the show. They had plenty of disagreements during the season, but they both agreed that they should be able to get along going forward. LuAnne and Ramona also seemed to be at a cease fire although they both admitted they are cautious with each other. Hmm.. mistrust. Not a good basis for any friendship, so I'm sure we'll see some drama between these two in the seasons ahead. 

 

When the St. Bart's trip came up, Aviva was called out by Andy and the viewers for her snobby, mean-girl behavior. She apologized profusely for the way she treated Ramona and Sonja, but Sonja wasn't going to get her off the hook so easily for calling her white trash. They didn't feel like her apology wasn't sincere and called her on it.  A viewer wrote in and commented that since Aviva is so educated and speaks multiple languages, she could have come up with a better word to call them. Although they did have to Google it, I'm inclined to agree. 

 

Ramona closed this portion of the reunion with a zinger, telling Aviva that she likes her, wishes her no ill will, but she just needs a different therapist!

 

Next week the reunion continues and we get to the really juicy stuff like prenups, trysts, and relationships! 

 

The Real Housewives of New York airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.

(Image courtesy of Bravo)