Next Gen NYC Recap: Everybody Hates Charlie

by

As a movie critic, I found myself stretching my imagination quite a bit while watching this week’s episode. It seems rather implausible that this extravagant crowd would opt for a vacation at the Jersey Shore. Ocean City, to be precise? Frankly, it’s hard to imagine such a spoiled and ostentatiously wealthy group choosing this destination, especially given their consistent complaints about its appeal. The show claims that the trip was organized by Gia, their resident New Jersey native, but it’s clear that if left to their own devices, they’d all be jetting off to the Hamptons instead. Indeed, Ava is explicitly forgoing this trip in favor of exactly that! Perhaps Bravo wanted to avoid competing too heavily with ‘Summer House’, or maybe they weren’t quite ready to invest that much money into a freshman season… so let’s all just pretend that these trust-funders hitting up a New Jersey casino is the most normal thing imaginable.

The show, up until now, seems disjointed and lacks a clear identity, even after six episodes. It appears as though it’s a combination of various shows, with Georgia’s storyline being the most captivating because she’s always active while the other characters seem to be idle. I find it more engaging to observe an active character rather than one who remains stationary. Instead, I prefer a series similar to “Gallery Girls,” focusing on Georgia and other event curators in New York’s socialite scene. I was enthralled just by watching her guide a bowling alley tour and display her Led Zeppelin tattoo to the night manager. Perhaps next season will offer that.

Just as when Sandra Oh announces “The queen is here” in The Princess Diaries, that’s exactly how I feel about Kim Zolciak, the last Real Housewife parent to join the series. Interestingly, despite Ariana using this show to discuss her mother’s financial struggles, Kim is still making an appearance. Now, you might wonder where Kim’s older sister, Brielle, fits into all of this. Is Kim asking Brielle for money too? Anyway, Kim has arrived in New York to visit her caretaker-daughter, and it seems as if no time has elapsed since we last saw her on our screens. She’s still sipping wine from a red Solo cup, enjoying Cheez Whiz, criticizing Kandi for suing her, and even bringing up the memory of when she misspelled “cat” as “k-a-t.

In this show, the main focus is on watching kids, specifically Ariana, Hudson, and Riley, grumble about their friend Charlie to their parents. This dynamic unfolds when Ariana, accompanied by Hudson and Riley, dines with her mother in Little Italy. The conversation begins with Ariana informing her mom about the $14,000 bill they accumulated. Her mother, Kim, is taken aback, but it’s amusing to compare Kandi’s (who covers Riley’s expenses) and Kim’s (whose bills are paid by Ariana) reactions. Kim expresses her disapproval of the idea of paying for a section, suggesting they should “stay home and drink bottles of wine” instead – a remark that proves to be quite shrewd. To make matters worse, Ariana learns that Charlie has been discussing his desire to sleep with her, despite her having a boyfriend. You might wonder how she found out; it seems Charlie didn’t just confide in Ava, as previously shown. He also told Riley this unwelcome information. Is he foolish? Indeed, he is.

In light of everything that’s been shared, Kim imparts some wise guidance to her daughter. “Trust people as they initially present themselves,” she suggests, cleverly adapting the well-known quote from Maya Angelou. It seems someone has slipped a book by Maya Angelou into the library at ‘Watch What Happens Live’! First, Stacey Rusch rose powerfully at the Potomac reunion, and now this? Quite intriguing!

When it’s time for this diverse group (for the second occasion this season, which seems excessive for a series titled “NYC”), they embark on their journey to Jersey. We are presented with two accounts of that club night. Casually, Charlie mentions Hudson had to cover the bill because Riley insisted he shouldn’t pay. Simultaneously, in the other vehicle, they grumble about him not settling the tab. Georgia is crunching the numbers, and her calculations seem to favor her. Throughout the season, we’ve witnessed that Charlie has alienated everyone. Given his behavior as an immature adult, one might expect sympathy from others if conflicts escalate, especially since she’s the latest target of his actions.

Upon reaching Ocean City, Gia escorts Charlie to his room, and someone from a nearby residence spots her and enthusiastically calls out, “We adore your mom!” This is how I envision life for Gia Giudice in New Jersey. She’s practically royalty. However, Charlie doesn’t share the same warm feelings about this sweet encounter and instead makes a sarcastic comment, “That’s just fantastic to be neighbors with.” What a grumpy pessimist! He’s such a sourpuss that even criticizing New Jersey, a popular pastime in America, seems distasteful coming from him. It’s as if he’s playing the villain, making me sympathize with New Jersey instead.

In a similar vein, I’m growing weary of Emira’s air of superiority. She declines to accompany her friends to the grocery store, while Georgia is enamored by the deli counter. Emira turns down Gia’s seafood boil, which is reasonable, but posts a picture of it, which seems like false bravery. Instead, she orders takeout from Red Robin. It’s astonishing that she pretends to be above using the subway, grocery stores, and New Jersey… yet she orders from RED ROBIN? When Georgia sees her order and makes a jest about her Ozempic losing effectiveness, Emira becomes upset in her interview, but the matter isn’t addressed face-to-face, at least not as of now.

As Emira grapples with potential food poisoning, everyone else is eager to engage in real gambling, piling into the car for a trip to the casino. It’s during this drive, where there’s no escape, that Gia queries Charlie about his feelings towards always being the focal point of the drama. He responds in the negative, stating that when he feels irritated, he simply departs. As they argue over whether this is cowardly, Brooks emulates his mother’s strategy and withdraws from the conversation by maneuvering himself into the back seat and then into the trunk. Incredibly, Chloe, seated next to him, remains unbothered as he silently enters the trunk.

When they reach the casino, they persuade Georgia to give Charlie a chance and listen to his side of things, but it seems Charlie doesn’t want to talk. When Georgia approaches him, he mumbles a shallow apology that he often uses as an escape route. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help the situation, and Georgia points out that the words he used have created an unbridgeable gap. Emira is trying to persuade Georgia that Charlie still cares, echoing Kim Zolciak’s sentiment: “Trust people for who they are when you first meet them.

When everyone gathers again for dinner, Georgia feels irritated upon noticing Ariana and Brooks snapping a selfie with Charlie seated nearby. Georgia thought the group had collectively stood against Charlie, but it seems like he’s being welcomed back into good graces unexpectedly. It must be particularly frustrating to witness this, considering how abhorrent his actions towards her have been. After all, wouldn’t you expect your friends to support you if someone called you names like that and expressed a desire to hit you?

At Brooks’s birthday celebration in New Jersey, Georgia attempted to keep her disagreement private by quietly voicing it instead of causing a scene. However, Ariana noticed her whisper and challenged her about it, bringing the issue into the open. Just as tensions were escalating, an unexpected event occurred: Chloe returned with a magician who entertained everyone with tricks. The most astonishing part was that as soon as the magician left, the argument resumed as if it had never been interrupted, leading to further chaos. It became challenging to discern which side each person was on. While Charlie’s behavior towards everyone present was appalling, Georgia’s quiet disagreement at the table seemed trivial by comparison. Yet, for some reason, these two actions were being compared and treated as equivalent offenses, resulting in a heated argument at the casino table.

Read More

2025-07-09 06:54