The Real Housewives of New York City Recap: Ubah All Along

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I’ve been advocating for this year’s Real Housewives of New York (RHONY), arguing that Bravo is aiming for something more refined and ambitious, less intense than Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (RHOSLC). I still believe in that stance, but as the season unfolded, it felt quite uneventful. The ladies seemed to keep their cards close, refraining from the usual Housewives drama and revealing less about themselves.

Initially, I found myself uncertain about who to accuse. At first, my instinct was to point the finger at Erin Mew Mew Lichy because I’ve never had a good relationship with her and it’s often easier to blame someone I don’t like. However, this wasn’t about her husband selling his crypto or making jokes about mushrooms, nor was it related to her pranks that were unwanted by many.

Then I began to suspect Jenna, as she established strict boundaries after the first season and became a fan favorite. I reasoned that if Jenna wasn’t sharing information, then neither would the others.

Later, I thought Brynn was responsible for creating unnecessary drama, based on distorted truths. This made it unclear what actually happened versus what Brynn claimed.

I never really held Sai, Jessel, or Racquel accountable because I believe they’ve been as open and cooperative as possible. As for Becky Minkoff, I try to avoid thinking about her unless absolutely necessary.

In fact, I’ve reached a different perspective. The culprit behind this lackluster season was none other than Ubah Hassan. Similar to how Agatha Harkness appeared at the last moment to claim responsibility for the mess she had created, Ubah Hassan has been the mastermind behind the season’s slumber, and now that she has unmasked herself, it all makes perfect sense, and in hindsight, we should have realized it sooner.

The reason no one’s speaking up is that when they do, Ubah responds with yelling, effectively ending the discussion. The lack of drama within the group could be attributed to Ubah’s intervention whenever there is, overpowering it with her daily frustrations. If things aren’t to her liking, if it’s not something she enjoys, or if she’s in a bad mood, she expresses this negatively, dampening the spirits of everyone around. In essence, Ubah is unintentionally ruining the atmosphere.

This journey has shown us that the women have been harboring their issues throughout the entire season, only for them to surface all at once in the final moments. It’s a result of keeping feelings bottled up and allowing pressure to build. Just as a pressure cooker explodes with greater force when it’s kept sealed for too long, so do these unresolved grievances. Observe how all the conflicts are arising simultaneously — Erin, Brynn, and Sai feel Jessel is corny; Sai believes Jessel’s husband owes her an apology; Ubah suspects that Brynn obtained her job through improper means; Brynn feels that Erin hasn’t supported her; Erin thinks Ubah should mind her own business about her marriage — these tensions have been present since the beginning, but they’ve only now erupted in the closing stages. I believe the reason they hadn’t surfaced earlier wasn’t because the other women were shielding themselves from public scrutiny; rather, they were protecting themselves from Ubah.

I find it strikingly illuminative when Racquel approaches Ubah regarding her inappropriate actions at the beach, expressing her discomfort over Ubah’s loud declaration that it was “disgusting.” Instead of acknowledging Racquel’s perspective, Ubah stands firm in her opinion, intensifying it by adding the additional comment about the smell. Not only does Ubah fail to grasp Racquel’s concern, but she escalates the issue further. In an attempt to justify her behavior, Ubah suggests that if everyone were in Somalia, even a minor faux pas would warrant harsh reprimands from her. However, I can’t help but imagine that in such a setting, even the slightest misstep would earn more than just a verbal rebuke from Ubah.

Later, Ubah attempts to share with Racquel, who hasn’t visited Puerto Rico in six years, that she has been there four times and holds a deep affection for the island, which Racquel finds hard to believe. This is utterly unbelievable. Sai has now joined the conversation, and both women try to explain to her how Ubah’s comments carry more weight given Puerto Rico’s struggles post-Hurricane Maria (a reminder of Real Housewives of New York season 10). However, Ubah seems oblivious to this. She encourages Racquel not to heed the opinions of other cast members if they claim that Ubah is being impolite, insisting instead that she was simply being herself.

In this situation, Racquel’s behavior was impolite, not because someone else said it, but because it went against her own feelings. The misunderstanding here seems to be that instead of expressing that it was rude, she expressed that it hurt her feelings.

Racquel wanted to give her friends an authentic taste of Puerto Rico by taking them to her favorite beach from childhood. Her intention was to share a significant part of her life and connect with them more deeply. However, as soon as Ubah arrived, she began criticizing the place and throwing a fit. I’m sorry, but that behavior is disrespectful, unjustified, and not friendly towards her supposed friend, Racquel.

Perhaps if Ubah had recognized that both Sai and Racquel were hurt on an emotional level, she might have reacted differently. But I doubt it. Ubah believes that her feelings are absolute, and all of her opinions are indisputable facts.

When Erin and Brynn are concocting a (to put it mildly) playful trick on Erin’s husband Abe, see what unfolds next. Erin phones him, and there he is, chatting on speakerphone with both Erin and Brynn, along with the whole group gathered around them. Brynn is feigning that she and Erin are taking a bath together, trying to stir up Abe’s emotions. Although it appears innocuous, this prank, Abe understands he’s in on it, being aware that he’s both audible on speakerphone and visible on camera due to it being a work trip. That’s why he handled his responses carefully yet played along with the joke.

When Ubah observes the situation, she exclaims, “Abe, it seems you’re on a conference call, and everyone can hear you.” She angrily departs, expressing concerns about Erin intruding on Abe’s privacy. However, it’s important to remember that Erin is Abe’s spouse, and she has the freedom to act as she wishes in their relationship, especially since Abe didn’t seem bothered by it. If everyone found it amusing, why not let them enjoy it? Brynn remarks that Ubah seems to quash fun. However, Ubah’s outburst escalates when she says, “Show some decency; there are those who pray for a husband every day.”

However, one might argue that Erin’s prank on her husband is disrespectful, but what about Ubah’s behavior earlier at the beach? Wasn’t that also inappropriate? I wish I had that GIF of the lady doing impossible math when I needed it. And why does Erin’s behavior disrespect those who don’t have husbands? Could we please re-post the math lady GIF again?

Jenna often prefers to keep private aspects of her life out of the spotlight, including her income from yard sales (possibly for tax purposes), but she shows great sportsmanship. When her friends tease her by flaunting their silky wigs, she bursts into laughter. She’s clearly in on the joke and even tries to improve their appearance. Later, Jenna proposes a synchronized swimming session with the group, a hobby she’s cherished since childhood. If there was a LGBTQ+ team, she’d join – lucky for us, such a team exists in New York City. This is one of the few moments during the season where all the women are gathered, enjoying themselves. We could use more of Jenna’s positive influence and less of Ubah’s contentious behavior.

After the synchronized swimming performance, Ubah inquires from Erin about her distress, to which Erin responds that she was upset by Ubah’s yelling regarding Abe. “It seems like every minute, there’s something that sets you off,” Ubah retorts angrily. “She spoils everything.” However, it appears that this is a misinterpretation. You may recall my feelings towards Mx. Mew Mew Lichy, but it’s not her who is constantly upset about something or ruins everything; it’s Ubah. Moreover, Ubah, perhaps if you weren’t so harsh and overbearing all the time, people wouldn’t always be annoyed with you.

Now it’s their turn to engage, as Brynn remarks to Ubah that she’s more like a commercial flight, while Brynn prefers private travel – a typical, snide comment that Brynn enjoys. However, Ubah retorts sharply, “With who? Someone else’s husband?” This is certainly below the belt. Ubah is not only bringing personal attacks from the internet onto the show, but she’s also hurling them directly at Brynn. Moreover, Ubah seems to think she’s in the same class as supermodels like Naomi Campbell and Gisele Bündchen? Hardly! Where are her lavish mansions, countless Paris runway walks, or high-profile partners like theirs? The truth is, they don’t even recognize Ubah’s name. She’s simply not in the same league. End of story. Sorry, but she provoked me!

In this scenario, Erin and Brynn engage in a minor spat over whether Erin supported Brynn (which she didn’t), marking Erin’s third disagreement of the night. This dispute escalates when Ubah confronts Sai about an earlier conversation they all had with Erin regarding comments made about Jessel in the last episode. Erin maintained that it was just them chatting and her listening, but Ubah perceived it as gossip. However, the blame for this argument lies with Ubah, as she is the one who tends to assign all the negative remarks to others. Now, Erin finds herself on the receiving end of criticism from both Ubah and Sai for not wanting to disclose the conversation. This is why I say it’s Ubah’s fault; her actions leave the other women feeling stuck in a cycle of irrational and harsh reprimands. They fear further confrontation, as it could lead to more shouting, so they choose to avoid escalating the situation. Unlike some shows that repeatedly rehash the same arguments, this cast only had this argument once, at the end of the season, which is a relief. For the first time since episode one of this season, I’m eager to see how this conflict resolves itself.

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2025-01-15 07:54