The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Recap: Poster Girl

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After three episodes, the show is finally giving us taglines, and they were well worth the wait! Honestly, these are some of the best we’ve heard in a long time. Meredith’s tagline, delivered in her usual tone, is, “While you drop lies, I’m dropping the beat,” which hints at her new storyline as a DJ. Angie playfully states, “I’m Greek, and the rest are just a tragedy.” But the best-and most truthful-tagline might be Mary’s: “I’m just here to eat, drink, and be Mary.” Absolutely!

The episode starts after a quick, pretty shot of Lisa setting up for a Sundance party. We then see Bronwyn having lunch with Todd, who seems unintentionally caught up in filming the show. She shares that her parents are facing health challenges: her father recently moved into a memory care facility, and her mother is recovering at home after brain tumor surgery. To make matters worse, Lisa Barlow is giving her a hard time, but Todd advises her to ignore it. However, I found myself distracted by a strange close-up of Todd adding a Splenda packet to his (likely) iced tea. This led me to notice how the drink level visibly changes throughout the scene due to editing. These kinds of continuity errors are a reminder that skilled people are working behind the scenes, and it’s a mystery why they chose to highlight that Splenda packet.

When Bronwyn and her mom are back home, Bronwyn discusses cleaning out her childhood house in preparation for selling it. She mentions how her father seems to dwell on parts of their past that she’s not particularly fond of. Bronwyn acknowledges she managed to overcome those difficult times and get back on track, but her mother quickly points out that she wouldn’t have been able to do it without Todd and his financial support. I believe this will be the last time Bronwyn allows her mom to be filmed for the show.

Regarding family, Angie is spending time with her father, and he’s showing her pictures from when he was younger. He explains their serious faces in the photos, saying, “We were serious because there was nothing to smile about,” and then shares the difficult story of when Germans came to his village and destroyed it. This experience gives Angie a new perspective. She contrasts this with her own worries, admitting, “Some of my biggest concerns of the day are, I need to get microneedling so it heals up in time for my next event.” She also expresses a desire to share this family history with her daughter and keep their traditions, such as working in her father’s garden, alive for future generations.

But Elektra doesn’t seem very interested in all of these traditions, or at least that’s what Angie tells Heather while she’s over painting her new home office in a glamorous style. When Angie excitedly shared that she’s working on getting her Greek citizenship (she even found a fork in the kitchen!), Elektra didn’t show any enthusiasm. “You’re really taking this Greek thing really far,” Elektra tells her mother, and while it *is* her heritage, it seems like Angie has been embracing it more since being on the show. After all, everything is about personal branding. The pair (Angie and Heather, not Angie and her daughter) also discuss Heather’s lunch with Lisa, and even though they’re allies, Heather is still annoyed that Lisa said they live very different lives. “We’re sitting at the same restaurant, we’re both wearing thigh-high boots,” Heather points out, as if those are the key things they have in common. Maybe they are! On a completely different note, I’m really curious how much of that home office actually got painted by the end of the scene.

The scene quickly changes to Lisa holding a gun, but don’t worry – she’s at a skeet shooting range… for the time being. She organized this activity with Amy, Meredith, Mary, and Heather before meeting the rest of the group. It’s similar to a middle school birthday party where a select few girls stay for a private sleepover after the main event. “This is the A team, and the D team will be at lunch,” Lisa says, revealing she’s planning a major showdown. Thankfully, Bravo ensured she left the gun at home.

Instead, when everyone enters the lunchroom, they’re met with a surprising sight: large posters displaying court documents and newspaper headlines boldly proclaiming “DISMISSED” in large, red letters. Just as I was about to praise Lisa for being the funniest person I know, Mary interjected to criticize the posters’ printing quality. Seriously, someone get the Emmy awards ready! Among these displays, there’s also, strangely enough, a poster of her and John on a yacht and at a Utah Jazz game (Bronwyn quickly notes it wasn’t courtside seating). Lisa explains that anyone can make accusations, but that doesn’t make them true. She’s brought them all here today to separate fact from fiction. However, there doesn’t seem to be much need for discussion, as she simply denies everything – dismissing it all as a “fanciful tale” and even referencing a drink on the menu to illustrate her point.

The discussion is interrupted when Amy, who I nicknamed the Utah Socialite, finally speaks up, attempting to explain that the man with the credit card was a business associate of hers and Lisa’s. However, Lisa is confused about why this is even being discussed, and the other women claim she initiated it by questioning Bronwyn. Lisa refutes this and, at some point, mentions Anna Kendrick, which immediately made me sympathize with her. I, too, would have preferred attending the premiere of A Simple Favor 2 over spending the evening with those I consider rivals in an RV.

While Angie attempts to clarify how and why this discussion started, Lisa repeatedly interrupts her and won’t allow her to complete a thought or respond to the questions she initially posed. “I’m not the one trying to be Jen Shah,” Lisa states, as this has become a common insult within their social circle. She also claims that Angie shares the same makeup artist, eyelash technician, and nail technician as their former friend who is currently in prison. The resulting list of shared services feels somewhat like a beauty-focused version of the children’s song, “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”

Then a really lovely moment unfolds. Britani, who hadn’t said much up until now, spots a chance to shift the focus to herself, and thankfully she does. She overheard the term “brow girl” and became interested, so she asks if it’s the same person who, last season, was reportedly receiving direct messages from Jared. However, her question is completely overlooked.

“Excuse me, are you ready to order?” a waitress – incredibly brave, even more so than our troops, it seems – asks through all the commotion. Amazingly, she manages to get things moving, and Amy, who’s really good at getting people organized, helps her convince everyone to finally place their orders. Honestly, even after hearing her speak for just a few moments, I already admire her positive attitude. She reminds me of Rita Wilson.

When Meredith jumps in to support Lisa, the other women quickly remind everyone that this is different from the camping trip, where she didn’t say a word throughout the discussion. Meredith strongly disagrees, claiming they’re only trying to create conflict, and Lisa accepts her explanation. I think this is especially noteworthy, considering Lisa was upset last week when Heather mentioned Meredith’s silence. Since then, Lisa has changed her mind and now trusts Meredith. To be fair to Meredith, she did eventually suggest they shouldn’t talk about it until they could all discuss it together with Lisa. It’s not a particularly strong argument, but it’s a start.

When Whitney wants to confront someone, Lisa immediately attacks her unsuccessful business, pointing out a clear case of hypocrisy. She mentions people complaining about Whitney’s venture on TikTok, which only reinforces Lisa’s image as someone who searches for damaging information. Things escalate when Whitney accuses Lisa of lying to hide her own mistakes. At one point, Lisa resorts to calling Whitney “Redhead!” as an insult, which seems to really upset her, and they both start yelling over each other. It’s a chaotic scene, almost like dramatic entertainment. Eventually, Whitney throws her napkin and angrily leaves the luncheon – a typical reaction for a Real Housewife. And, predictably, Bravo ends the episode with a “To Be Continued…”

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2025-10-01 05:59