We’re only two episodes into season 5 of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” and already a major plot line is developing: The battle between Whitney Rose and Lisa Barlow, and the collateral damage inflicted on anyone who stands with either of them.
As the Housewives examine the aftermath of Lisa’s “Besos” party, which filled the entirety of the first episode, episode 2 also gives us strong introductions to two of this season’s newcomers — Bronwyn Newport and Britani Bateman.
After the ‘Besos’ blowup
The episode starts out with Lisa and Bronwyn riding in Lisa’s SUV, talking about the “Besos” party the night before, and the way Whitney flipped the bird at Lisa and stormed out.
Lisa’s still upset at Whitney, and she’s also not happy with Angie Katsanevas, who broke Lisa’s confidence by telling Whitney that Lisa was angry over Whitney giving an interview to a podcast in which she called Lisa the show’s “villain.” So Lisa is surprised when Angie calls and asks to meet for a one-on-one.
Lisa and Bronwyn pick up Heather Gay, and head off to Lisa’s happy place: The Wendy’s drive-thru. After loading up on nuggets and fries, Lisa asks whether they — Lisa, Heather and Meredith Marks — ganged up on Whitney at the party. (Clips from last week provide the answer: Yes, they did.)
Heather isn’t sure what to make of Bronwyn’s snarky comments. Memories of season 4′s new face, Monica Garcia — who was revealed to be operating an online rumor mill targeting the Housewives — loom large.
“I’m wary of people,” Heather says in a confessional, “who have strong, harsh opinions of people they’re just meeting for the first time.”
(Bravo) Bronwyn Newport, listening to one of her castmates in a moment from "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."
Getting to know Bronwyn
Bronwyn and her financier husband, Todd Bradley, are seen in their home, where they have lived for a year and a half, though much of their possessions are still in boxes. One box, opened after the arrival of Bronwyn’s decorator, contains a sculpture by British artist Carl Hopgood — four stacked wooden chairs, with neon signs with the words “you changed my life” hanging between the chair’s legs.
Bronwyn tells us about Todd, whom she met 10 years earlier, when she worked in finance. Todd, Bronwyn said, was once the CEO of Palm — makers of the PalmPilot and subsequent (and now obsolete) PDA devices — and now works in private equity, which requires him to travel to New York two or three days a week.
Also living in the house is Bronwyn’s 17-year-old daughter Gwen. Bronwyn was 19, going on 20, when she was pregnant with Gwen — and Bravo publicists say she got kicked out of Brigham Young University because of it. (Premarital sex is a violation of BYU’s Honor Code, which all students agree to uphold to stay in school.)
(Bravo) Meredith and Seth Marks make shakshuka during a date-night cooking class at Salt Lake Culinary Education, in a moment from "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."
Meredith wants a bat mitzvah
Meredith Marks and her husband, Seth, enjoy a daytime date, a cooking class at Salt Lake Culinary Education (SLICE), where they chop peppers and garlic for shakshuka — poached eggs in sauce.
The dish is often associated with Israel, which is very much on Meredith’s mind these days. She tells Seth that she’s been thinking about her Jewish heritage, and the wave of antisemitism rising in the country. (The episode was filmed in February, a few months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.)
Meredith, at age 52, has decided to do something she didn’t do when she was 13 — study for her bat mitzvah, the coming-of-age ritual for Jewish girls. Seth’s in shock at first, but clearly moved.
Meredith later tells their kids, Brooks (who was 24 when the episode was filmed), and Chloe, 22. They’re supportive, though they give their mom a gentle razzing. “I didn’t think people did that at your age,” Brooks says, while Chloe asks, “You’re not doing it for the party and the coins?”
Lisa and Whitney regroup
Lisa meets Angie for drinks at Franklin Ave. Cocktails & Kitchen, a swanky wood-paneled bar in downtown Salt Lake City. Angie tells Lisa she didn’t get a lot of sleep after the “Besos” party, because she thinks Lisa and the others ganged up on Whitney.
Lisa’s still mad that Angie told Whitney about the private conversation Lisa and Angie had about Whitney. Angie’s reason for doing so, she says in a confessional, was so that Whitney could prepare an apology to Lisa — which is not how things went down. Angie says this in confessional because Lisa isn’t listening, bulldozing the conversation and then walking out.
“I’ve seen this movie before, starring Lisa Barlow. You’re expected to just agree. I’m not going to do that this time,” Angie says in confessional, hinting at more arguments to come.
Meanwhile, Heather meets Whitney for shopping at Crystal Journey, a boutique in a converted house at 309 E. 900 South, near Salt Lake City’s Maven District. They’re also worked up about the end of the “Besos” party, and Heather is concerned that Whitney’s current “healing journey” is making her careless with her friends’ feelings.
Whitney takes Heather’s comments to heart. “If three of my friends are telling me something, that means there’s something I need to look at,” she tells Heather.
(Bravo) Britani Bateman talks, and gets talked to, in a moment from "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."
Britani bounces back
Heather and her friend, Britani, go to Provo’s Grandview Park for pickleball — a game Britani doesn’t know well, requiring a producer off-camera to tell her where to stand to serve.
Britani is still back-and-forth with her sometime boyfriend, Jared Osmond, nephew of Donny & Marie. Britani’s situation — twice married, twice divorced and often coupled — reminds Heather of her own upbringing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Mormonism creates women that prize the romantic relationship above everything else,” Heather says in a confessional. Heather, long departed from the church, tells Britani during their game that her life is going well, so “why would I screw that up for a man?”
Britani is the topic of unkind comments from Bronwyn and Mary Cosby, still put off by Britani’s comment at the “Besos” party that their couture coats — from the fashion houses of, respectively, Yves Saint Laurent and Dolce & Gabbana — were “costumes.”
Bronwyn — who jokes to Angie that Britani “couldn’t spell YSL” — says Britani reminds her of the BYU classmates who judged her when she got pregnant. “Women like Britani are the reason I struggle to make strong female friendships,” Bronwyn says in confessional. “I’m always waiting for someone to let me down.”
Mary offers a more succinct put-down: “She’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. She’s not even the sharpest spoon.”
(Bravo) Mary Cosby takes on a ropes course at ZipLine Utah, in a scene from "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."
Relationships on the ropes
The episode’s climax is a bonding experience Heather arranges, a rope obstacle course at ZipLine Utah, near Heber City. Wearing harnesses and helmets, and secured by guide hooks and a team of instructors, the cast walk on cables many feet in the air.
Meredith sits this one out, claiming a case of tennis elbow from churning butter last season. Mary — who refused to participate in most group events in season 4 — takes to the ropes with enthusiasm.
After the climbing is done, the Housewives get Mexican food from a food truck Heather (or the producers) booked and sit down for more conversation.
First, Britani declares she and Jared are “Instagram official” — causing the others, particularly an annoyed Mary, to opine that Britani is giving Jared too much credit. Bronwyn calls Britani “unhinged” and “chaotic.” Heather chastises Bronwyn for those comments, and Bronwyn wonders in confessional why her friend Lisa isn’t defending her.
Soon, Lisa and Whitney are back to exchanging insults, until eventually Whitney relents and apologizes for what she said about Lisa on that podcast.
Whitney has a reason to make peace. She’s inviting everyone on a girls trip “to continue the bonding.” It’s a two-day jaunt by private jet to Milwaukee, where Whitney’s friend, the drag superstar Trixie Mattel — proprietrix of the Palm Springs motel that was the location of season 4′s first girls trip — is co-owner of a gay bar.
(Fred Hayes | Bravo) Meili Workman, left (with Whitney Rose), is one of the new "friends" appearing on season 5 of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."
Odds and ends
• The third new face this season, “friend” Meili Workman, again got scant screen time. The one thing of note about Meili’s appearance was the number of times she called the others “sis” for encouragement during the rope course.
• Angie — who, with her husband Shawn, owns 10 Lunatic Fringe hair salons in Utah, Idaho and Ohio — spilled the secret of their success: “Thank God people in Salt Lake City are so vain and like to get their hair done, because business is booming.”
Next week’s episode is scheduled to air on Bravo on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 9 p.m. Eastern time — and airs at 7 p.m. Mountain time on DirecTV and Dish, as well as at 10 p.m. Mountain time on Xfinity. (The show streams the next day on Peacock.)
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