Happy Wednesday, kids! Please forgive my absence the last few days. I'm working on something really exciting for me, personally, and once it's all worked out I'll definitely share it with you. Suffice it to say, it's something I should have done a long time ago, and now I'm going for it. Turning 30 has really put a fire under my ass to accomplish everything I've ever wanted to do, and I'm excited to see where that takes me.
But let's get back to the ladies of New Jersey and the lost footage episode. I was happy to see some lighter moments and some emotional ones, too. I was less than thrilled to see more ugliness from the reunion. At this point, I think I may have PTSD (just kidding). So I'll take it scene by scene. Join me?
Scene 1: Joe Giudice doesn't apologize for saying Greg has a loose butthole. Seriously. This was a conversation actual adults had on national television. Joe Giudice says that he and his friends used to call each other the f word (derogatory term for homosexuals) and it wasn't bad because they knew they weren't gay. Um, ok. Not really digging yourself out of the hole with that, Joe. I will say Jacqueline was becoming a nuisance with her commentary throughout this whole scene - and it was unnecessary. Anyone can plainly see Joe thinks he said nothing wrong, even when Andy pointed out that it might have been offensive. Joe claims his gay friends thought it was hilarious. Whatever you say, Joe. I'm done with you. Teresa was defending her husband, no surprise, but I would hope that she's as tired as I am of having to hear this same conversation every reunion. Gay slurs are not ok. Ever. No matter who tells you it's funny. It's not.
Scene 2: The Tank Pull Fiasco. This whole scene annoyed me. Teresa can't shut up about wanting to win and Caroline fed right into the stupidity and got a bunch of Army guys to be on their team. With the sole purpose of beating Teresa. At least Caroline said that was her goal. In a way, I get it. Sometimes it feels really good to make the sore loser lose just to shove their face in it. It shuts them up for a few minutes. But it was definitely childish. I got so mad when Teresa told the Wakile kids they didn't need to pull because she had a bunch of people on her team already. WTF!! I was so glad Rosie told her that the kids were gonna participate. Jeez Louise, I can see being competitive, but shutting your cousin's kids out because you think you have better people to do the job? Come on! Teresa's team lost, but I don't think it was because the Army guys "pull tanks all the time". I think the universe was sending Teresa a message: "Be Humble". This was for charity! For crying out loud!
Scene 3: This segment from the reunion was all about the kids. Milania got some special recognition for her antics on the show. The kid is funny. And of course, so are the rest of the kids. Milania just has a way of grabbing the spotlight with the things she says. I'd venture to say, Teresa isn't happy about some of the stuff that comes out of her mouth, like "Daddy's sleeping in his own room" and "You're not a cooker, you're a hooker", for example. Teresa stated at the reunion that she never said the word "hooker" in front of Milania before, so she has no idea where she heard it. (Maybe her father? Just saying.) Jacqueline, right on cue, decides to scoff at this and says she's tired of listening to Teresa lie. She says that Teresa is trying to paint this perfect picture for the show, but she's not buying it. Well, Jacqueline, again, we get it. We don't exactly need a play by play from you, but thanks for thinking of us. Andy asks about Jacqueline writing in her blog that Milania acts out to get attention, and Jacqueline stands by her statement. Then the room agrees that all kids do that, so that whole conversation was pointless. Melissa decides to tell us that Joey is her problem child and he's got all the "Gorga" characteristics. I was half expecting Teresa to accuse Joey of copying Milania, but no such luck there. Chris Laurita reflects on the Manzo boys acting up on the business trip, but says they're more professional now, and adds that he acted the same way when he was their age.
Scene 4: Bookstore Drama. Teresa can't figure out why a specialty bookstore doesn't carry her books. Because. They're. A. Specialty. Bookstore. The cashier was clearly annoyed with Teresa and her badgering him to order the book. Ain't gonna happen, Tre. Stick with the chain bookstores.
Scene 5: Teresa's Magazine Apology. At the reunion, Andy brings up Teresa's apology in In Touch magazine, citing a source who said she was paid $6,500 to do the story. Teresa says the magazine asked her if she wanted to a story ABOUT apologizing and she said yes. She also said she wasn't paid. I highly doubt Teresa did all of these magazine photoshoots and articles and interviews for bupkiss. I believe she was paid. Just my opinion. It's also my opinion that she should OWN IT and say, "YAAASSSS BITCHES! I got paid to talk shit about you then I got paid to apologize to you! Welcome to 2012!" But again, just my opinion. However, I did find it interesting that Jacqueline said that Teresa never returned phone calls or texts, but had no problem addressing "letters" to each cast member in a magazine. Caroline interjected that Lauren did a story about herself, not bashing anyone else, to which Teresa proceeded to bash Lauren for not losing weight naturally. Here's what on that. How people choose to lose weight is their business. Teresa should have absolutely nothing to say about it. Period. Caroline was getting very upset at this point and that's when she told Teresa to shut her goddamn mouth. And Teresa squeaked out a "Wow". I'm thinking this is after she lost her voice?
Scene 6: A very nice scene between Jacqueline and Chris in Chicago. Very sweet, but kinda boring. No shade, but shade.
Scene 7: Jacqueline looks for wedding dresses for her fake wedding picture. I'm almost certain this is the fake wedding picture she was thinking of doing for a magazine then eventually decided against. Am I right? Either way, this is a fun scene. Just seeing Jacqueline joke around and be silly was awesome. She really is a kooky lady, and given the right setting, is a lot of fun to watch. I'm glad she decided not to do the fake wedding picture. It felt wrong and unnecessary.
Scene 8: Father's Day Festivities. The Giudices have a nice Father's Day, wherein Teresa gives Joe a ring, and he says, "I don't wear rings much, but it's nice." So, yeah. He doesn't wear a wedding ring very often, I'm guessing. Am I the only one who got super sad when Teresa said the rumors in the magazines about Joe cheating have really gotten to Gia? That broke my heart. I can only imagine Gia sees the magazines at the store or maybe at school? But I'm just saying, Gia and her sisters need to be protected from all of those articles. Honestly, they shouldn't even be featured on the covers of those magazines ... just my opinion. Back to the scene at hand. The Wakiles and Gorgas get together to remember Kathy and Rosie's dad and also Melissa's dad, who have passed away. It was a touching scene with lots of emotion. I liked that they were all together supporting each other, on what must have been a tough day.
Scene 9: Kim D's commentary backstage at the reunion. Oy vey. This woman is nuts.
Scene 10: Napa Trip Cook Off. Some friendly competition between all the RVs - Manzos, Wakiles, and Gorga/Giudices - resulted in the most amazing cook off ever. All of the food looked fantastic. Teresa and Melissa won, and it was nice to see them celebrate their victory together as a team. I didn't like that Teresa had to point out in her interview that Melissa's family doesn't cook. There's nothing wrong with not cooking. Or maybe I'm just saying that because I don't ... whatever.
Scene 11: Dina Returns. At the reunion, Dina is brought up once again. The fact that Teresa went to Dina after the fight on Jacqueline's deck is a big deal for Caroline and Jacqueline, because they feel that Teresa's intention was to have Dina on her side against them. Which is plausible, but Dina's a grown ass woman, and if she's going to choose her friend over her sister, there's gotta be more there than just Teresa. There are definitely more issues there than meets the eye. Teresa maintains she was talking to Dina about the fight as a friend just like she would with any other friend, and for the record, I believe her. I don't think she thought twice about venting to Dina. To her, it was the most natural thing in the world. I'm not sure she had a malicious intent behind it. It was good to hear Caroline admit that Teresa isn't the entire cause of the rift, but maybe just a part of it. That seems a lot more accurate. Now, here's where we have to talk about Jacqueline's issues with Dina. I have to point out that Teresa has a big mouth. So when Jacqueline accused Teresa of telling Jacqueline what Dina was saying about her and vice versa - which could have only made things worse. My question is: Why wouldn't Jacqueline OR Dina wake up and realize that it would be so much easier to TALK TO EACH OTHER? Take Teresa out of the equation completely and handle the situation between the two of them? I guess that would have to mean that both parties were willing to talk. If Dina refused to engage in a conversation with Jacqueline or Caroline, that explains the stalemate. When Teresa claims she never said bad things about Caroline to Dina, I have to laugh. Of course she did. Believe me, we know how women are, don't we ladies? And it doesn't help that Teresa did throw Caroline's problems with Dina in her face at the Season 3 reunion.
I am so glad this season is over. It was too long and too depressing. What did you think of this episode? Tweet me!
