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The Real Housewives of Atlanta Recap: Escape Room Explosions

Season 15 Episode 6 Editor’s Rating3 stars ***

Photo: Bravo I was shockingly close to giving this episode four stars despite my declaration last week that RHOA is on life support, and if I could give half stars, I would. There were glimpses of the spark the show once had amid the otherwise dreary muck of filler scenes we must trek through to find real entertainment. Thanks to the producers, who have honestly been carrying the episodes more than the cast, there are numerous receipts and timelines to add context to the season’s biggest storyline thus far.

As shown in the montage that opened the episode, Kandi and Marlo have had a contentious relationship over the last twelve years, with numerous ups and downs (emphasis on the downs) and a brief period of reconciliation. The producers provide an extended version of the never aired footage of Marlo discussing Quentin’s death with Kandi. In one of their warmer periods in 2020, Marlo filmed with Kandi at her home while Riley was packing to go to college. According to the producer’s time stamp, this was one day after Marlo texted Kandi about Quentin.

This extended scene, which we previously saw only a snippet of, shows the empathy Marlo claimed to be missing from the exchange. It’s also important to note that Marlo never used Quentin’s name, at least not in this particular footage, so it’s plausible that Kandi didn’t know which nephew Marlo was referring to. In her dry Kandi way, Kandi did show compassion for Marlo, both in person and in her confessional, where she touches on her own close relationship with her cousins. She even opened up about her brother, who died at 23 in a car crash, a subject we rarely hear her or Mama Joyce speak about. His name was Patrick Riley, so we can only assume Kandi’s daughter is his namesake.

Kandi’s brother passed when she was 15, and she tells Marlo the tragedy numbed her, perhaps giving us some insight into why Kandi comes off as dry and cold. I don’t remember a time Kandi has ever been this vulnerable or personal on the show, but when Marlo recollects the situation, she says Kandi “had a look” that said she didn’t want to talk about it. Then, back in this season, we get to witness Marlo and her yes-men spinning a narrative in real time where Marlo is an innocent victim, and Kandi is selfish and untouchable, once again whining about the lack of flowers and going even further, saying OLG should’ve catered the funeral. The main argument Marlo has landed on for her side of the narrative is that when it comes to herself, the women never sugarcoat or mince their words, always bringing up her past. But with Kandi, she feels that people tip-toe around her business and that Drew using the word “incident” is a prime example.

I’m a little sick of all the armchair diagnoses happening in Bravoland right now (I’ve heard Vanderpump Rules’s Raquel is everything from a sociopath to a narcissist to someone who has PTSD), but Marlo is a textbook example of how trauma follows us into adulthood. We don’t need a degree in psychology to note that during her time on the show, virtually every issue she’s had with the ladies involves her not feeling seen, heard, and loved, all the things that were missing in her childhood. She wants everyone to cater to her and expects even more love when she’s acting out, perenially a child who chooses bad behavior to get attention. Marlo would throw mud in someone’s face and then get upset when that person, muddied face and all, didn’t hug her and ask why she was misbehaving. But Marlo is no longer a child, and these women do not owe her the love she didn’t get from her mother or foster parents, especially not when Marlo spews her venom at them. As Lala said about Raquel on WWHL, I don’t think reality TV is a conducive space for Marlo to heal and find the love she needs and deserves. And, frankly, it’s not fun to watch; it feels exploitative.

Through a game of telephone that starts with Drew, who tells Kenya about her fight with Marlo after Candiace’s show, Kandi is debriefed about what Marlo has been saying about her. It immediately rattles her because it’s not the same version of events she remembers and because Marlo has interacted with Kandi numerous times, on camera and off, in the last two years without once bringing it up. She says that she believes that Marlo is trying to worsen the situation happening with Kandi’s cousin at Blaze by connecting Quentin’s shooting directly to Kandi.

Things come to a head at an escape room excursion planned by Corny Cousin Courtney. The women gather as a full group for the first time in weeks; Drew hasn’t seen Marlo since their altercation, and Kandi is seeing Marlo for the first time since learning of Marlo’s narrative regarding Quentin’s shooting. The tension is palpable — I know I caught some flak with my astrology analysis last season, but Marlo said it herself: Kandi’s Taurus energy is unmatched. Taurus is represented by the bull, who is best not to be provoked, just like Kandi Yams. They’re known for stubbornness, and their dense, impenetrable energy is hard not to notice when they’re upset, as each of the ladies felt the moment Kandi walked into the room.

Getting straight to business, Marlo suggests a side conversation between herself, Drew, and Kandi. Things escalate quickly, Kandi’s levels of anger slowly climbing until she reaches heights we haven’t seen since Pillow Talk. Marlo rehashes her version of the story while Kandi interjects with her confusion. The intensity is already at its peak since the ladies have been fighting for weeks, and both women are aggressively defensive, shouting out their side of the story with a perplexed Drew standing between them. Marlo vocally questions Kandi’s character, basically waving the red flag in front of the bull’s face, and it gets so heated that the rest of the women intervene.

Towering nearly an entire foot over Kandi, Marlo wraps her arms behind her body while still leaning toward Kandi as she yells, which is quite the metaphor for how she plays victim and villain at the same time. Kandi starts pointing her fingers in Marlo’s face, a sign of impending physical contact, so Kenya goes to hold Kandi back as Sanya and Shereé grab Marlo. Kandi tells Kenya that if Marlo “pops off,” not to hold her back so she can beat Marlo’s ass, while Marlo mocks Kandi for crying. Kandi says the only reason she’s crying is because she couldn’t choke Marlo. She’s definitely her mother’s daughter.

The group splits in two, with Kandi, Kenya, Monyetta, and Drew exiting the building and Sanya, Shereé, and Courtney staying with Marlo. Marlo then explains that during the altercation with Drew, she wasn’t even aware of how much the weight of her nephew’s death weighed on her, and it was a subconscious outburst. Once outside, an irate Kandi starts talking shit about Marlo’s past; the very thing she once said shouldn’t define Marlo’s character. But who can blame her? Marlo has made it her mission to take Kandi down at any cost, even after Kandi tried to fix their friendship. Monyetta, Kenya, and Drew unanimously agree that this is a situation Marlo is using for her storyline since it hasn’t been mentioned in the last two years.

Back inside, Marlo rallies Shereé, Sanya, and Courtney around her, venting about Drew being an instigator and how her criminal history continues to be brought up. To be fair, Marlo has notoriously brought up their pasts (well, rumors that she believes are true) in attempts to shade them — she’s repeatedly said Kenya has slept through Hollywood and that Kandi was/is a sugar mama. What she says is other people tip-toeing around Kandi actually seems more like Marlo’s jealousy of the many people who genuinely like Kandi. Team Kandi decides to leave, refusing to participate in a team-building exercise with Marlo, and Team Marlo goes through with the escape room, drawing a stark line in the sand between the cast.

Peach Tea To-Go

• Marlo interpreting Kandi’s facial expressions as menacing is such a reach. When Drew brought up the shooting, Kandi’s face was clearly just her not wanting to speak on a legal situation, not her threatening to sick the Kandi Coated Clique on Drew.

• Shereé as a glam-ma is fun to watch! Kairo made a beautiful baby, and he seems to be a very hands-on dad; it’s sweet to have witnessed his transformation. I wonder if he ever got that Cynthia Bailey backpack.

• I’m growing tired of Sanya’s family issues. They need to buy houses next to each other and leave us out of it. Ms. Sharon looked absolutely stunning in her confessional, though.

• Drew running around in circles around the fight, yelling, “She’s being aggressive!” and saying Marlo can’t keep her hands to herself shows how much of a pot stirrer she can be. Although both women were definitely heated, I loved the producer’s receipts of Marlo’s hands behind her back. But if we let Drew tell it, Marlo was lunging at Kandi with her fists ready.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta

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