Bravocon Thoughts
Bravocon weekend came and went. I watched all of the silly little videos of the panels on my silly little phone and managed to still get excited by an event that really didn’t deliver any surprises or unexpected news. The highlight for me, of course, was the trailer for the upcoming Ultimate Girl’s Trip: RHONY Legacy. Hearing Dorinda slur-deliver a line like “Eagles don’t fly with pigeons” really gave me a rush of dopamine. I’m excited by the previews we got for Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard and Southern Hospitality. Erika Jayne is getting her own two-part spinoff next year - Bravo, like me, was like “what plane crash victims?! Tom Girardi, who’s that??” The sneak peak of next season of Vanderpump Rules confirmed my fear that this next season is going to be a huge flop. Below Deck officially replaced Captain Lee with Captain Kerry for the upcoming season. I am in the process of talking to lawyers about an elder abuse claim on that one. Kyle Richards actually used the word “divorce” when talking about Mauricio in interviews. Andy Cohen hinted at some big cast changes on Real Housewives of Atlanta. Brynn Whitfield got her red-bottoms stuck in an escalator and continued being iconic. Jenna Lyons was a no-show, which supports the obvious conclusion that she is not returning for RHONY season 15. If we are to believe all of the boots on the ground reporting from randos, the hot Captain Jason from Below Deck Down Under was spotted getting cozy (individually, not all at once) with Lala Kent, Ashley Darby, Luann DeLesepps, and Taylor Green. Heather Gay implied that we finally find out how she got a black eye this season on RHOSLC. Vicki Gunvalson was awarded the Wifetime Achievement Award that was presented to her by other OG housewives from RHOC. Paige Desorbo wore a white button-down and a bedazzled diaper. Lisa Barlow did major spon-con for Wendy’s and passed out peppermint frostys lol. The Southern Charm cast (rightfully) dragged Austen Kroll to hell and back during their panel.
For what it’s worth, I listened to Erin Lichy’s mid-Bravocon interview on Deuxmoi’s podcast and Deuxmoi teased a huge bombshell she heard about one of the other RHONY cast members. She said that if this comes out next season, it would be very “validating” for some of the cast. She also said it’s the craziest rumor she’s ever heard about a Real Housewife, which I find hard to believe. Anyway, my guess is that it must be something about Sai’s marriage. Hopefully we eventually find out.
A few Bravocon 2023 looks I enjoyed in a sea of very confusing fashion choices:
Some say that Bravo, and therefore Bravocon, is a paradigm of everything that is wrong with society in the year 2023. I take issue with this for a few reasons. First, it’s almost certainly an inherently sexist criticism. Second, why draw the line at these specific reality television shows? The celebrity behind major sports leagues, movie franchises (Marvel, I’m talking about you), and music artists doesn’t receive the same judgement. In my experience, Bravo fans have a reputation of being dumb and one dimensional (and there are some out there that the shoe fits…), but I believe that the lens we use to think about these people, the women especially, can teach us a lot about human behavior and relationships. The point of watching and enjoying Bravo is not to hold these women (and men) up as examples of what we all should be striving to be. We have to be responsible enough with our viewing to realize Vicki Gunvalson is a hypocritical Christian with bad politics, Dorinda Medley is a raging alcoholic with massive anger issues, and Jen Shah is a bona fide criminal who scammed hundreds of elderly people. These things and the fact that they all make incredible television can all be true. Every piece of entertainment we enjoy doesn’t have to fit cleanly into a morality standard. I guess my main thesis on this boils down to: let people enjoy the trash they enjoy! There are so many brilliant people writing about and podcasting about Bravo shows (I should know, I listen to most of them) and they prove that there are so many things to take away from watching and loving these shows. Just ask Ruth, an 84-year-old Bravocon attendee who got to meet Andy Cohen at Bravocon and told him that Bravo brought her joy while she cared for her sick husband.
We’ve all gotta cope with the horrors of the world somehow.
See you Thursday for the RHOBH recap - the previews made this episode look like a banger. A Sutton Stracke meltdown is always welcome around these parts.
Happy Dua Lipa album 3 (DL3) single release week to all who observe (me)!