The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Recap: Gout of Order

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Last week’s episode ended with a spooky, found-footage scene of the Housewives in a haunted forest, but thankfully everyone made it out okay – maybe not to Lisa Barlow’s liking! Meredith pointed out the network wouldn’t risk anything happening to them, but knowing Bravo, things are never *completely* safe. Honestly, I’m surprised the women actually spent the night crammed into that small RV with what barely resembled comfortable seating. And unsurprisingly, Lisa Barlow wasn’t about to participate – she wouldn’t even consider flying anything less than first class!

At breakfast, a strange meal of steaks is served, and everyone struggles to eat it with plastic forks and knives. Heather shares that she’s looking forward to having an empty nest, while Bronwyn admits she isn’t ready for her daughter to leave. Just when it seems like they’ll connect over this, the conversation shifts. Heather feels judged for being excited about her daughter’s independence, but really, they’re both experiencing the same bittersweet emotions – just in different ways.

It’s good to be back! We rejoin Lisa Barlow as she meets Heather for lunch. Heather shares that Lisa was a frequent topic of conversation during their recent trip, even though she wasn’t there. Lisa downplays the lawsuits brought against her by Bronwyn, calling them insignificant and saying they’re either already dismissed or will be soon. In a confessional, she famously quipped, “People don’t sue those with nothing, they go after the top,” a line that’s quickly become a fan favorite.

The main thing everyone was discussing wasn’t the argument itself, but who supported whom. Heather knew Lisa would ask about it, so she made a point of strongly defending Lisa during the fight so she could tell her she did. She also mentioned that Meredith offered a little support but mostly stayed quiet, while Angie actively joined in the criticism. Seeing Lisa hear all of this, especially at the beginning of the season, was more upsetting than I expected.

At one moment, she suddenly asks if Meredith said anything at all, and immediately bursts into tears. While we’ve witnessed similar disagreements before, this feels different. She doesn’t seem angry, as she often is, but completely drained. It’s as if she’s reached her limit and can’t face another year of constant scrutiny and conflict surrounding herself and her company.

However, it appears the story is going in that direction, as the next scene shows Bronwyn and Whitney meeting to discuss the cases in more detail. The lawsuit claims Lisa didn’t deny owing the money, but instead responded with a facepalm emoji and the word “OVERWHELMED” – which sounds typical for her. It also alleges she didn’t want her husband, John, to know about the debt.

Mary and her son, Robert Jr., recently had a very open and honest conversation about his ongoing struggle with addiction. Similar to a discussion they had last year, it was sometimes difficult to watch, but also very revealing. Robert talked about how hard it is to be back home, where he used to party, without relapsing, and how lonely he feels now that he’s distanced himself from those friends. He admitted to dealing with that loneliness in unhealthy ways, specifying that he’s been smoking marijuana. It’s a sensitive and challenging situation, and it raises questions about whether it should be shared publicly. While it’s unclear if it’s appropriate to watch, it’s evident that Mary is being an incredibly supportive mother, and the hope is that sharing their story will help others facing similar challenges.

It’s hard to connect what’s happening next to what just happened, but now Bronwyn and Heather are grabbing lunch. Bronwyn tries to explain the disagreement they had about how they’re both feeling with their kids growing up and leaving home. It turns out Heather is actually transferring her own worries about being an empty nester onto Bronwyn, assuming Bronwyn feels the same way. Luckily, both women are very self-aware, so they quickly realize what’s happening and resolve the issue.

The core issue still to be resolved is why Bronwyn relentlessly confronted Lisa during the camping trip, particularly after trying to reconcile at the reunion. Bronwyn claims Lisa continued to target her, effectively ending their attempt at a truce. Despite this, Bronwyn wants to maintain her friendship with Heather, and they share a toast to that. However, with Lisa Barlow caught in the middle, a resolution doesn’t seem likely.

Just when you thought there were already too many people, we’re being introduced to someone new: Amy Steele, described as a “Utah socialite” – which is a bit of an odd combination of words! She’s hosting a lavish party, and everyone is attending, including the person everyone’s been talking about. Lisa Barlow enters the party and immediately seeks out Meredith after a brief, awkward greeting to Angie, wanting to discuss what happened on their recent trip.

Meredith avoids specifics, hinting that some unpleasant things were said but refusing to share details. Thankfully, Britani immediately jumps in and recounts everything that happened. She reveals that Bronwyn made things up, and even compared Lisa to Jen Shah! I’m completely captivated by Britani – she’s the most entertaining thing on TV, maybe ever. She fearlessly shares what she’s heard, even with the others standing right there, and Lisa immediately goes to confront them. Oh, and throughout all of this, there’s a man in a bolo tie and a woman in a huge fedora standing behind them. They don’t really factor into the drama, but I’ve been noticing them the whole time, so I had to mention them.

As Lisa started to confront Angie, Bronwyn overheard and tried to get involved. Lisa quickly shut her down, telling her she wasn’t welcome. This unintentionally set up a funny moment in Bronwyn’s later interview, hinting at a lawsuit joke. It seemed like Bronwyn was upset that Angie was having the main confrontation, especially since Bronwyn had initially brought up the possibility of lawsuits. Lisa seemed to be intentionally ignoring her, at least for a while. When Bronwyn refused to leave, Lisa repeatedly yelled, “You’re loitering!” which was hilarious. Then, Lisa called her a shockingly offensive name, and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Whitney was surprised to learn gout isn’t always in the feet, which led to a shocking conversation about who pays for Lisa’s American Express bill. Lisa claimed she doesn’t receive financial support from a mysterious man, and instead accused Bronwyn of having a relationship with Todd in exchange for him covering *her* AmEx expenses. It became a chaotic back-and-forth accusation game. The drama was so intense, it made me wonder if Amy orchestrated the whole situation, hiring everyone as a form of twisted entertainment instead of booking a typical party act. And honestly, it was money well spent.

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2025-09-24 05:57