4.21.2014

RHOA: Wits versus Ditz.

 

Last night, the Real Housewives of Atlanta’s highly anticipated season finale aired on Bravo network.  The ladies sat on lovely blue couches dressed in their finest evening wear with their faces beat to perfection.  On the left, there was Porsha Williams, Cynthia Bailey, & Kenya Moore sitting prim and proper.  On the right sat NeNe Leakes, Kandi Burress, & Phaedra Parks.  Bravo Andy sat in the middle to officiate [Read: referee] the reunion special, with Kenya and Nene (Queen Bees?) directly across on each side.  Andy went through and introduced each cast member – starting with Mrs. Leakes, addressing her by her full government name and she appeared somewhat offended.  Her smug, condescending attitude would continue throughout the episode.  He introduced Cynthia Bailey last and didn’t have much to say to her during the intro which came off as pure, unadulterated shade. 

As the show rolled along, it became apparent that Kenya Moore has no friends amongst her castmates.  Shady facial expressions and cheap shots were tossed at her by several.  Kenya has mastered the art of destroying these women by using their own weaknesses against them and for that she is well-hated.  It appears to be a defense mechanism for her; instead of allowing the cheap shots get her angry, she simply flips it by using her wit to fire back.  Her antics are often ridiculous and repugnant but nonetheless entertaining to watch and are the basis for much of the drama that occurs on RHOA.  Simply put, she presses buttons and the less “artful” may be roused to anger.
Phaedra Parks has similar smarts but is not as malevolent as Ms. Moore – Phaedra is a southern belle after all.  She even wrote a book about it!  Even so, it is clear that she is not at all fond of Kenya; especially after the open flirtation with her husband, Apollo.  Kenya did not want Apollo – she simply drafted him to assist in her demolition of Phaedra’s ego, and Apollo fell right in line, stupidly.   If you come for Kenya, she WILL send for you and she has made that painfully obvious.  The cheap shots Moore has endured from Parks did not go unnoticed, apparently. 

NeNe Leakes’s method of operation is to form factions.  If you’re on her “team”, you’d better not consort with the enemy or cross her in any way or she will attempt to embarrass you by any means necessary.  Or simply get you “offed”.  Remember Sheree Whitfield?  I don’t either.  However, it appears she has a MAJOR ATTITUDE this time around – could it be because her RHOA throne has been snagged by another Drama Queen?   This Kenya Moore character is leaving these women feel “some type of way”, and the drama level goes to show.
Kandi Burress is too rich for all the foolishness.  Everything rolls off her back, except when it involves her money or her man.  Call her anything you want, but you won’t call her broke, or lonely.  She knows how to keep her foes at arm’s length and keeps it moving with a smile on her face.  She’s had her run-ins with a few of her cast mates, but she doesn’t hold grudges because her bank account is popping and her man is probably laying it down.  Why would she let pettiness ruin her day?  She couldn’t care less.

Cynthia Bailey is the good girl.  She is genuinely kind-hearted and just wants everyone to get along.  Unfortunately, she is on a show designed for drama and her calmness comes off as plain old boring.  The few times she tried to step out of her comfort zone to stir up drama, it backfired and she couldn’t take the heat.  She’s simply not made for the drama and cattiness.  Good girl gone bad she will never be and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Porsha Williams is a gorgeous 30-something young woman with a bright future ahead of her, if she plays her cards right.  However, her naivety leaves her looking ditzy and it’s quite unfortunate.  She’s not as dumb as she comes across on the show – she has moments in which a bit of intelligence shines through; however, her maturity level hinders her from fighting fair with Kenya Moore.  Williams has not yet mastered the ability to use words to bruise instead of her fist.  Taken, she has been through a lot in a short amount of time with her divorce and having to fend for herself after being spoiled rotten by her ex-husband.  Porsha has a good spirit about herself, though.  She has been seemingly resilient in bouncing back by taking on an acting gig for a stage play – in which she did an amazing job.  She has capitalized on her glam by starting a hair weave line and has literally found her voice – her single “Flatline” climbed up the iTunes charts.  Her persona seems to resonate well with the younger crowd and support for her actions against Kenya has been staggering.  It’s sickening to see so much support for one black woman “dragging” another on national television.  Being that Kenya’s “character” is much hated, many viewers lived vicariously through Porsha last night as she stood to confront Ms. Moore and ended up getting physical.  That does not make it right… at all.  After all, she is the granddaughter of a civil rights activist who probably cried from heaven in despair due to Porsha’s lack of tact.  Now we all have that ONE person who pushes us to want to knock them into next week but maturity teaches us that violence is for criminals and losing your composure is a sign of weakness.  No one should ever have that much power over you to cause you to risk your freedom.  It’s apparent that Porsha still has a lot to learn about life and it’s a shame her lack of judgment is playing out in such a way in front of so many impressionable young eyes.  What happened on the reunion show last night is not something to be proud of, despite the crazy support she’s been receiving on social media.  Get it together, honey. At least for the sake of your grandfather's legacy.

There is now talk that the cast members are teaming together to save Porsha’s job.  Many even feel that Kenya should be fired, ironically.  People take this show far too seriously and it’s nauseating.  Why single out Kenya as a bully when each of these women take turns stabbing each other in the back?  Kenya is obviously doing her job WELL and I hope her compensation is commensurate.   One cannot say that Ms. Moore is irrelevant because without her antics, the show would have been very lackluster this season with the exception of Kandi Burress’s familial drama.  Folk should just take it for what it is.  Were you not ENTERTAINED?  Mission accomplished.