It’s a morning show showdown! Real Housewives of Atlanta’s newest Housewife, Claudia Jordan, barely unpacks her boxes before fueling a new potential feud with none other than demoted Housewife, Porsha Williams. The two should have plenty in common, since they both work for Atlanta media heavyweight Rickey Smiley — Claudia’s on his morning radio broadcast while Porsha films his Dish Nation TV show — but Porsha gives Claudia a less-than-warm response when Claudia tries to make conversation at the radio station, virtually ignoring the newbie while she gets her makeup done.
“I do think that she wanted the TV job, but that’s not what happened,” Porsha snipes. “My check has a whole ‘nother name than hers…and amount.”
Claudia finds friendship elsewhere and meets Cynthia Bailey and Kenya Moore for a little rainy day shoe shopping — and team building, possibly? In her confessional, Cynthia admits that she’s intrigued by Claudia — “she’s tall, she’s pretty…she’s my kind of girl!” The trio quickly hit it off after they realize they have a common frenemy in, yes, Porsha.
“I went to [Cynthia Bailey’s] event with Kenya…and ever since then…she’s acted sort of cold with me,” Claudia tells the girls.
Surprisingly, Kenya, of all people, suggests that Claudia attempt to work things out with Porsha.
“I think it’s worth trying,” Kenya says to Claudia. “Let them see the sweet side, but if you have to bring out the sour, then you have no choice but to.”
So much for rest and relaxation. When Kandi Burruss meets Phaedra Parks, NeNe Leakes and Porsha for a spa day, they do more debriefing than decompressing. Porsha fills the girls in on Cynthia’s “robot read” from last week — “where you just sit there and go off of a list that your husband tells you to go off of” — and compares notes with NeNe, who vows that her friendship with Cynthia is over for good.
“I wish her the best,” NeNe insists. “I have no hate for her and her afro at all!”
NeNe also expresses her doubt towards Kenya’s innocence in Apollogate. “I don’t believe it for one second,” she tells the girls. “I think he’s just trying to be mean to Phaedra.” Kandi is still willing to give Kenya a chance — and an apology — but Phaedra vows to keep Kenya at the “bottom of [her] to-do list”…for now.
At Peter Thomas’ Bar One, Apollo tells Peter that he’s “freaking out” about his impending eight years in prison, as well as his crumbling marriage to Phaedra. Apollo reveals that Phaedra used to visit him when he got out of jail his first go ‘round — while they were still dating!
“Phaedra used to be down,” he laments in his confessional. “I know everybody grows and we elevate, but damn…you abandoned me at my time of need.” His pity party is short-lived, though, when he jokes with Peter about Kenya.
“You think she’s going to come see me?” he wonders. Sigh — will he ever change?
Claudia meets Porsha for lunch following their frosty encounter at work, and the drama arrives before their drinks do. Porsha denies that there’s any bad blood between the two. Claudia, feeling lucky, falls flat after trying to use the opportunity to make peace between Porsha and Kenya.
“You don’t need to know nothing about my relationship with Kenya and what went down,” Porsha tells Claudia. “You’re a whole ‘nother person from her.”
Porsha changes the subject and toasts to moving along. “Choke, bitch,” she jokingly tells Claudia as they raise their glasses. Mazel!
Don Juan, Kandi’s manager, has a major meltdown at the Kandi Factory. Kandi’s not thrilled with his progress at work. Don Juan thinks that Todd influences Kandi’s opinion way too much — even though Don “was here before [Todd] was here,” he says.
“I walked in there like I know Kandi Burruss. I walked out like I don’t know Kandi Burruss-Tucker,” Don Juan says.
Todd confronts Don Juan about his less-than-stellar comments about him.
“Kandi is the big bitch around here,” Todd tells Don Juan. “I feel that way because that’s my wife…the vision is very local. She should be more visible. How do we get to the next level?”
At the end of the conversation, Don Juan accepts Todd’s criticism and they agree to work with each other…"as long as…we put him on stepstool so he can look at me in my eye,” Don Juan says. Teamwork makes the dream work!
Kandi and Kenya meet at a kickboxing class to duke it out — literally and figuratively. In between stretches, Kandi apologizes to Kenya for believing Apollo’s lies about the flirty affair.
“Even though I tried not to side with anyone, I believed them before I believed you,” Kandi admits.
She tells Kenya that some of the other girls think that Apollo is lying about lying, and Kenya reaches her breaking point.
“I get sick of this s–t,” Kenya tearfully tells Kandi. “I don’t f–k around with anyone’s husband!”
Kenya rushes to the restroom in tears and requests that the cameras leave. She tells Kandi how much Apollo’s accusations have affected her…about how her nieces call her up and ask why she did it, about how she’s been called “every whore in the book.” She a?lso admits how much being ostracized by the other girls hurts. “They’re evil, Kandi!” she exclaims.
“I just getting kicked, but I’m just gonna keep getting back up,” Kenya tells Kandi before leaving. Looks like the gloves are off…for good.
