Sometimes it takes something really heavy to put everything into perspective. On this episode of The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City, the petty fights and drama are trumped by a more serious topic. Mary gets called out for not acting like herself, but that is because she is busy fighting another battle: one with her son and his addiction.
Heather and Whitney are deeming themselves the camp leaders for their upcoming camping trip they have planned. Because of the recent tension, the cousins decide to invite the group for a Girl Scout chic event. Whitney wonders how she can be in the same room as Meredith after the whole situation at Mary’s house. Bronwyn is on the invite list, despite the history between her and Heather. Heather still thinks Bronwyn is sneaky; however, she is willing to start fresh with her.
Meredith is appalled that Mary yelled at her and “picked on” at her brunch. Despite that, Meredith has invited Mary to a gallery to discuss what went down. However, Mary is busy battling her own personal struggles. Her son, Robert, Jr., is clearly going through something and Mary realizes that whatever is happening with him can no longer be ignored.
Meredith is left waiting 40 minutes for Mary as Mary tries to get in contact with her son. When she finally arrives to the gallery, things go awry, as Meredith is annoyed by this out of character behavior Mary is demonstrating.
Meredith explains that she no longer felt welcome at Mary’s home, which is why she walked out. Meredith believes that Mary was “harboring hostility towards” her and feels like Mary used her for the last 3 years. Mary points out that Meredith is not always the victim and that Meredith is the one who severed their friendship. After all, if Meredith does not know what she is currently going through with Robert, then she is NOT a true friend.
Lisa and Angie bring their kids Henry and Elektra to an aquarium. It’s ironic that these women spend some time in the snake exhibit, considering how their friendship has dissolved as of late due to sneaky behavior. Angie states that their fractured friendship has been a loss to her and Lisa explains that she created distance because she was hurt. Lisa become emotional, wondering why Angie hasn’t had her back. Lisa doesn’t want Angie to change her relationship with Whitney, but rather hear her and be there for her.
Angie talks about her mother’s struggles and how she never felt safe. When things became chaotic in her life, Angie always tried to stay calm and shut down, much like she does with Lisa. The friends hug it out, a sign of a clean slate.
As Mary packs for the girls’ trip, she admits that she has not talked to Robert, Jr. for days, which is incredibly unlike him. Mary desperately wants her baby back, but it feels like he is slipping through her fingers.
Heather explains that the theme of this camping trip is “Troop Beverly Hills.” None of these ladies have much camping experience, but Heather is hopeful that getting them all together will alleviate the recent problems. On the way there, Mary and Angie discuss how Meredith left her brunch, but not before grabbing a parting gift. This issue between Mary and Meredith is getting uglier and uglier as they each relay the meet up to their company.
Watching this group attempt to be outdoorsy is actually cringey, but Meredith finally lights the fire. Mary rolls up (late) again, but this time she has Angie with her. Once everyone settles in, Heather makes the intro, gifting each woman a whistle and a crown.
Lisa points out that she saw Britani on Instagram with Jared. Looks like they are getting back together and that they are “better than ever.” Britani explains that she was dating 10 guys when she was broken up with Jared, but Mary is bored by this conversation. Luckily, Heather whips out the good old potato sack race for the ladies. Team Heather takes the W for the race and then they begin their potluck meal.
The ladies begin talking about their girls’ camp memories and Britani talks about going to the wilderness when she was a little girl. Britani claims that she is still a practicing Mormon, but this takes Angie aback, as Britani got angry at Angie bringing a bottle of wine to her party when Britani clearly drinks. Mary calls Britani as two-faced and refers back to manners.
This in turn allows Mary to point out that Meredith walking out of her house as rude. When Britani tries to butt in to remind Mary that she asked Meredith to leave, Mary, queen of manners, tells her to shut up. LOL. Angie points out that when Meredith stormed out, she did grab a parting gift.
Because when things get tense between a few of the women, everyone needs to get involved in this franchise. Bronwyn throws Whitney under the bus when she outs her for saying Heather wouldn’t have her back because Heather wants to be good with Lisa. Whitney is annoyed with Bronwyn because she gave her a chance.
Angie blurts out that maybe Bronwyn should “borrow Meredith’s hearing aids and turn them up” (wait- Meredith wears hearing aids?!). According to Angie, Lisa hurts other people to make herself feel better. Lisa tells Whitney that she is lying, but Mary jumps in to say that behavior with Lisa is true. Mary calls Lisa the “fakest person” she has ever seen in her life. Mary points out that Lisa is a “copy-cater hot mess” and Lisa goes on to name-drop all the people she sat by at the fashion show. Mary refers to Lisa as a dingbat and things seem to be going well.
Mary admits that she has a lot going on with her son and right now, Lisa does not matter. Meredith is offended by people making fun of anyone’s disabilities and calls Angie out for the hearing aid comment. Angie tells Bronwyn to STFU because this has nothing to do with her and this in turn causes Bronwyn to storm off. Mary mumbles that she should have never left her house. So much for a bonding trip.
A day later, Meredith is looking forward to a peaceful Shabbat dinner with her smaller group of friends. This includes Heather, Britani and Jared, and Bronwyn and Todd. LOL @ Heather calling Bronwyn’s husband Allan. I almost forgot that Heather never met Todd/Allan before, considering she was not included on the Palm Springs trip.
Lisa and John arrive, rounding out the group. As Meredith’s Bat Mitzvah is approaching, she is truly embracing the traditions that come with the religion. When the discussion of DNA comes up, Todd states that he did a background check on Bronwyn when they first started dated. I’m sorry, what?!
The ladies talk about the “cutting sh*t” and Bronwyn points out that Angie got feisty because Bronwyn threw her under the bus. However, Todd/Allan doesn’t like that Bronwyn admits to being “snarky c*nt.” Bronwyn claims to be a truth teller, whether the ladies like it or not.
Lisa feels like Mary crossed a line the day before. Meredith is upset by all of Mary’s behavior and states that she is now seeing a side of Mary that she doesn’t know. Even Britani suggests that perhaps they give Mary some grace- maybe something IS going on.
Cut to Mary’s house. Mary finally gets that one-on-one time with her son. Robert bravely admits to taking Xanax to help “chill him out” and then an Adderall to bounce him up. This translates to abusing pills. He shares that when he gets high it’s like he “added seasoning” to life. Robert explains that he has been mixing Xanax with acid and cocaine and was taking ten pills at once.
Mary tells her son that she will not judge him and that she will help him. Mary feels disappointed in herself since she trusted Robert to pull back from the hard stuff. Mary reminds Robert that he is blessed to wake up each day and Robert admits that he felt like this world was not for him. Mary was the only reason he did not kill himself. This is an absolutely raw and touching moment.
Mary tearfully explains that Robert was the only thing that has ever made her happy. She begs Robert to recognize this problem, own it, and change it …because he can. Mother and son exchange a hug leaving many of us teary-eyed.
