The Real Housewives of Atlanta Recap: Rookie Moves

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Mrs. Oakley, I must admit, I had underestimated your performance in the game. In my initial review for the premiere, I nearly overlooked Angela, only recalling she was a permanent cast member later. As a joke, I gave her a small mention due to the amusing wig malfunction. However, by last week, I found myself uttering her name an impressive 18 times. Tonight, she breathed new life into an episode that would have been dull without her causing trouble. In under ten episodes, she’s made quite an impact, earning a dedicated fanbase who’ve given her the nickname Fangelas. Some are even campaigning for Bravo to seat her beside Andy at the reunion.

If this event occurs – and it seems quite possible – Angela could become a member of an elite group of newcomers who outshone the originals in their initial bid for the coveted seat. This select circle includes personalities such as Shannon Beador from RHOC, Monica Garcia from RHOSLC, and none other than our own Kenya Moore. While Angela may not have eclipsed Kenya’s performance yet, her rookie season on RHOA is reminiscent of Kenya’s entrance with a fake boyfriend, an old beauty queen title, and no fear. However, Angela’s portrayal appears more grounded in reality, displaying a level of maturity that allows her to maintain respectfulness while still stirring up storylines unrelated to herself, much like Nene and Shereé from the original cast.

In this particular episode, Angela successfully reconciles her issues with Porsha and Kelli, introduces an unexpected issue into the group’s long-standing friendship by carrying a bone, which some might say complicates things, she markets her pricey rental property that has low ceilings, forcing her to avoid hitting light fixtures. A humorous take could be that perhaps Kelli might find it appealing because of her height. What truly stands out, however, is Angela’s bold approach in confronting a long-standing rumor directly and honestly, a tactic other Housewives, including some from her own cast, could learn from! The rumor about Charles fathering a child outside his marriage to Angela has been persistent since the Nashville trip, reaching its peak at Cynthia’s event. Interestingly, it was Brit who initially brought up the gossip, but it was Kelli who apologized for repeating it while touring Angela’s rental property.

Instead of reacting antagonistically towards Kelli when the rumor about Angela’s past is brought up, Angela chooses to discuss the matter openly and peacefully, explaining to Kelli that it would have been preferable for the group to ask her directly about the gossip rather than using it as a weapon. As often happens, the credibility of the rumor largely comes from online blogs reporting that Wendy Williams claimed that Angela had told her, based on shared experience, that an outside child doesn’t necessarily mean the end of a relationship. (It is a fact in my world!) Since Angela was already married to Charles at the time, Wendy assumed he was the person involved in their mutual experience. Angela clarifies the situation with Kelli, revealing that she was actually referring to her daughter’s father, but she does acknowledge that Charles has been unfaithful in their relationship in the past.

After graciously addressing a rumor about her personal life and skillfully shutting it down, she effortlessly transitions the topic to her hobby of collecting bones. She shares a chat she had with Shamea, which was later passed on to Kelli. According to Angela, Porsha never supported Shamea becoming a full-time Housewife, and Shamea still harbors resentment over Porsha not attending her African wedding in Kenya. Angela explains that Shamea doesn’t want to be perceived as Porsha’s sidekick but fears confronting Porsha about their friendship issues. In her role as the season’s standout performer, Angela extends an invitation for a tennis match to Porsha, repeating the sentiment that Shamea feels like she’s in a one-sided relationship and doesn’t want to be seen as Porsha’s pet or lap dog.

Shocked that her close friend Shamea shared their relationship issues with someone not as close, Porsha breaks down, struggling to hide her pain and shock from Shamea’s actions before leaving. It’s quite ironic that Porsha, who rarely shows genuine emotion, displays it so clearly due to Angela’s actions, considering how poorly Porsha’s performance has been compared to Angela’s successful debut. This evening, Porsha orchestrates revenge against Drew by allowing Ralph a chance to undermine his estranged wife’s credibility. However, she presents this situation quite differently; if we trust Porsha’s version of events (which is highly questionable), she just happened to have dinner with Shamea, and coincidentally, Ralph was there. And if we believe Shamea, who will go to great lengths to defend Porsha, she innocently invited Ralph for dinner to discuss his new podcast project since she had hosted his old one. In reality, it seems like a plot to put Drew in her place while maintaining an innocent image on camera. After a brief mention of the podcast, their conversation quickly turns to criticizing Drew.

Porsha reveals a message from Dennis stating he wouldn’t sleep with Drew, and instead, Porsha should pay him money. Although she claims she shared it to prove there was no physical relationship between Dennis and Drew, it seems like Porsha might be suggesting that if Drew had the chance, she could have used sex as a form of payment for Dennis’s services. To deflect suspicion, Porsha humorously questions Ralph about rumors surrounding his own actions, not Drew’s. Ralph, intent on maintaining his victim narrative during his divorce, is put in a tough spot and must either admit to being involved or concede Drew’s innocence. He chooses the latter but persists with the smear campaign as Porsha and Shamea provoke him to share more details about Drew’s alleged relationship with Ty.

In simpler terms, it seems that Porsha’s dinner party was a subtle way of getting back at Drew, suggesting a tit-for-tat approach due to Drew’s involvement with baby daddies. However, Porsha doesn’t openly admit this (she claims she’s “grown” and no longer confronts Drew directly). Instead, she seems to be manipulating the situation from behind the scenes through Shamea, which isn’t as entertaining as direct confrontations might be. Unfortunately, her strategy doesn’t appear to be working effectively, as this storyline lacks humor or authenticity that Porsha is known for.

In their heartfelt conversation with Angela, it’s clear that Porsha’s genuine side mostly surfaces within her relationship with Shamea. Their long-standing friendship struggles, like those many of us can relate to from our school days, run incredibly deep and can be quite challenging to address. It seems easier for both women to maintain the status quo rather than engage in uncomfortable discussions. However, the cracks in their friendship are hard to overlook when under the public eye of a reality show, suggesting a dramatic fallout might occur soon.

Disappointingly, Porsha continues to avoid conflict resolution by claiming she’s too busy, a recurring excuse this season that seems designed to sidestep engagement. It’s Angela and Kelli who are stirring the pot (thankfully for some excitement) that ultimately leads Shamea and Porsha to confront long-standing issues in their friendship, particularly the fact that Porsha missed Shamea’s wedding. During what appears to be a promotional event for Pampered by Porsha sheets (though it seems like an attempt to gain free publicity), Kelli updates Shamea on Porsha ending her conversation with Angela in tears.

As a movie buff, I’d rephrase it like this: Kelli seems to have learned bone-collecting tricks from Shereé Whitefield’s school, because she dumps information in such a muddled way, stirring up more trouble rather than helping ease the situation. Poor Shamea is frustrated because her concerns got twisted through Angela’s game of telephone and instead of talking things out with her directly, Porsha chose to believe the worst. Overwhelmed by her feelings during the group meditation at the event, Shamea couldn’t hide her frustration, prompting Kelli to check on her and add another bone to the pile by telling Shamea that everything she shared with Angela ended up being told to Porsha.

After the meditation session and Lauren’s prompting for a sisterly discussion, Kelli persuades Porsha and Shamea to talk things out face-to-face, explaining that the group feels Shamea is overshadowed by Porsha and can’t fully express herself due to Porsha not letting her be her best. However, Shamea clarifies that such words were never used by her and that she addresses her issues with Porsha openly. Although Shamea acknowledges difficulties in their friendship, what bothers her most is that Porsha doesn’t support her as fiercely as she supports Porsha. Unsurprisingly, this statement provokes a response from Porsha, who switches from passive to confrontational (since she dislikes anything that makes her appear villainous), involving Angela in the conversation.

Fans of the show can celebrate as it turns out that Angela was responsible for creating the chaos in the first place, and moreover, she manages to get Porsha to unintentionally reveal one of her past falsehoods. Going back to season nine, Porsha and Shamea were trying to move on from the aftermath of Porsha and Phaedra’s lies. While the most serious lie against Kandi certainly stood out, it’s essential not to overlook that Phaedra falsely accused Shamea of sleeping with every man’s husband while Porsha remained silent, yet another example of unreturned loyalty. Instead of making amends during her season ten redemption arc by being a good friend, Porsha skipped out on Shamea’s wedding using a questionable medical excuse that wouldn’t have allowed her to take the flight to Kenya. After all these years, Porsha finally admits she didn’t book the ticket because they hadn’t been speaking, further supporting Shamea’s argument about Porsha’s poor communication skills.

Shamea reluctantly backs down, silencing any counterarguments as Porsha stumbles over her speech while attempting to retract an earlier falsehood about the flight. This behavior mirrors their ongoing problematic dynamic, with Shamea preferring harmony over confrontation and not holding Porsha responsible for her actions. Angela encourages Shamea to be firm and persist in challenging Porsha, but Shamea retreats into her submissive role. She admits that they won’t find resolution during the event, but she will extend grace to Porsha. As we approach the final episodes before Phaedra Parks re-enters the scene, we’ll observe how much of that grace Shamea still possesses.

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2025-05-12 06:27