Princesses: Long Island - Who Are You, the Pope?

This week on Princesses: Long Island we saw friendships strengthened and broken as the girls took sides on the rift between Joey and Ashlee that has been widening since the first episode.  We also got a look at new relationships as both Amanda and Erica prepare to take things to the next step while Chanel tries to just get through a first date.  Nevertheless there was plenty of drama to go around, so let's dive right into the newest episode of Princesses, "Who Are You, the Pope?".

This week we saw Joey, Erica and Amanda create somewhat of an alliance when Joey reached out about her issues with Ashlee.  I find Joey and Erica perfectly suited to be best buds, as they share a kinship of not really caring about other people's feelings, after Joey was so apathetic to Amanda's pleads for help in the first episode, when Amanda and Jeff were being socially accosted by Joey's strange "facebook pal", I find Amanda to be a strange fit.  Joey complained about her encounters with Ashlee and went off about being so offended by being called a bad person. This is so hypocritical because she went out of her way to butt in to Ashlee and Chanel's conversation with a potential suitor and publicly said she mas mortified by Ashlee's behavior, then after everyone at speed dating was offended by Joey's actions she again publicly called them out spouting nasty comments, and finally at Amanda's launch party she walked over Ashlee, called her "Mama Dukes" and continued to accost her throughout the night.  Why is it okay for Joey to constantly say nasty things, but because she thinks her comments are funny she casts Ashlee as the mean one?  They also touched on the subject that Ashlee had sent texts to both Erica and Amanda warning them about Joey.  I think this got widely misinterpreted.  Just like Joey reached out to them, Ashlee did the same with hurt feelings and concern that Joey would turn on them just as she bullied her.  Although Joey paraphrased the text messages to make it seem like Ashlee was instructing the girls to stay away from Joey, if you pay attention to what the actual message was that is not what she said.  Instead it was a warning to her friends, so they wouldn't get hurt, rather than a rule or statement not to associate with her. 

Joey decided to try to meet Ashlee to work out their differences and I was appalled at Joey's actions.  While I think that Ashlee does come off as an elitist, as her overconfidence makes up for her insecurities about her height, I think that she gave Joey a fair number of chances before she began looking down on her.  Joey however, came off as a bully repeatedly interrupting Ashlee, putting words into her mouth, and the straw that broke the camel's back was when she called Ashlee "funny looking".  Ashlee tried her best to enlighten Joey of her mean girl ways, but Joey didn't even try to hear her out and with the attitude she brought with her I don't even know why she made the meeting if she wasn't even going to try.  She then followed Ashlee out of the restaurant, still verbally accosting her, and did a complete change of attitude from bully to victim in record time by ultimately calling Amanda and breaking down into tears.  Joey suffers from her own insecurities about coming from less money, she puts on a tough girl act and repeatedly makes jabs but when Ashlee and others don't find that personality to be charming she is severely emotionally hurt because her underlining feelings of not measuring up come out.  It didn't help that Joey's actions made Ashlee feel disgusted and like Joey was classless thus she acted in an "I'm better than you way" which resulted in pulling out Joey's biggest insecurity.  They all have issues, everyone does, but Joey needs to understand that her actions aren't helping her fit in they're hurting her and if she doesn't stop acting like a bull and charging at people more will be hurt by her words.   

With Ashlee and Casey quickly forming a bond, it was time to meet the parents.  Although the awkward environment of treating Casey like she was a new boyfriend, Ashlee's parents seemed to enjoy her company and were pleased that their daughter found a genuine friend.  While talk about Joey pursued, overall it was a good meal and a positive step towards their new friendship.

We also saw Amanda interacting with Jeff's parents and other than her non-kosher faux pas they seem to interact well with hopes of a promising family unit one day.  Since the beginning of the season we have seen Amanda and Jeff's undying love and while Amanda insists publicly that they are getting married, she doesn't have a ring or a proposal and I have never heard Jeff claim the same.  Nevertheless they seem very much in love, and they tell each other so every two seconds, even though they have only been in a relationship for a short while.  Amanda complains to Erica that her mom Babs, while fun and a friend, doesn't act like a mother figure enough.  However, when Amanda brings up the idea of her marrying Jeff, Babs takes to her role easily protesting that they haven't been together long enough and, though she likes him, it takes more time to really know someone.  Instead of seeing this as motherly advice, as being a mother means you don't always say what your child wants to hear, but rather jealously that her daughter is in a relationship and she isn't.  I think Babs' comments come from a place of love and experience and since we are yet to see any deep conversations or even a petty rift, I would have to agree that it is vital they actually talk about their needs, wants, dreams, anything instead of constantly complimenting one another before they take the plunge.    

Rather than to begin to work on their relationship issues, party less and become more committed to each other, Erica and Rob decide to move in together.  While this is a common step today amongst younger lovers, it's certainly not the step of a "princess" atop that we aren't talking about a one bedroom apartment like my husband and I started out in, Rob is looking to buy a million dollar starter house for a relationship already on the rocks.  Although Erica's faithfulness had come into question in every episode, it's a huge step forward for her to even consider this type of commitment.  Erica's comments on pregnancy prove she is nowhere near ready to have a child, even my husband who overheard her fears of pregnancy commented that she shouldn't be a mother.  While I don't want to make as broad a statement as that, if her concerns about pregnancy are as self-centered as getting fat, swollen ankles and the condition of her vagina then she has no idea how much actually comes after the birth, that loving, caring and raising children makes all your needs come last. 

Luckily Chanel's love life is looking up as her sister sets her up with the best man to be at her wedding.  While he's cute and very into Chanel, the sparks don't seem to fly.  One thing that surprised me was that there seems to be two sides to her; there is CoCo the fun outgoing bomb on the dance floor and then there is Chanel much more shy and reserved making it hard for them to strike up a good conversation.  I was also a bit taken back by the idea that Chanel (and Ashlee) aren't well trained in the home life.  Although they live with their parents now, the whole idea is to meet a man, get married and have kids.  For this they should be learning how to cook, clean and be prepared to become mothers, however not only are they naive to the concept (Ashlee can't set a table or even steam broccoli) they seem against it.  For example, when Chanel's date talks about wanting a woman to care for him at home since he works so hard, this idea seemed to disgust her and completely turn her away from him ever becoming a serious love interest.

Overall I think the telephone game is a horrible happening on these shows as everything gets misinterpreted and some always gets hurt.  I also believe that Joey needs a filter between her brain and her mouth as even I saw her actions as classless and hurtful and I'm no princess!  Chanel and Ashlee clearly need to decide which path to take; learn how to be a good housewife or decide to be a working woman and get a job and finally Erica needs, well she needs far too much for me to sum up in one sentence.  The catfights continue and I can't wait to see the result!  Watch Princesses: Long Island Sundays on Bravo and check back here for recaps, reviews and interpretations of each episode here!  Enjoy!

Princesses: Coco Loco!

This week on Princesses: Long Island we saw changes in friendships, relationships and even personalities!  "Coco Loco" didn't skimp on any of the drama we've fallen in love with, as you can ascertain by the title, and has me waiting anything but patiently for Sundays.  Let's dive right into this episode of Princesses: Long Island!

Channel's little sister's big day is coming up which has ignited mixed feelings.  While Channel is happy for her sister to be married, the pressure on her is just intensified.  This week we saw Channel, her sister, and her mother going wedding dress shopping (only one part of the enormous amount of planning Channel is at the center of).  When they introduced themselves to the clerk she asked if Channel was the younger sister, which to some might be considered a compliment but to Channel it just brought up a wave of emotions.  To top it off their mother was constantly commenting on how she's dreamt of this day and how she cannot wait for Channel's wedding day as well.  This could be interpreted as motherly confidence, she's sure that the day will soon arrive, but to Channel it just brought up more stress and was a reminder of her feelings of failure - not only by not being the first to marry, but also that she has no real prospects.  While Channel's wedding day might be a little further off than she hopes, I really do believe that she will soon find love.

With Channel being to stressed over the wedding planning, she backed out of a speed dating event and Joey was chosen to take her place.  Although I had high hopes for Casey, Ashlee and Joey, unfortunately no suitors were found and an already shaky friendship was completely shattered.  The men were nothing short of awkward, but it was Joey who took the cake on unrefined behavior that not only shocked the potential suitors but also her companions.  I understand a little humor, but Joey came off as tasteless, unhinged and "low class" with her questions about the men's penis size, their previous sexual partners and more.  It got to the point where Casey and Ashlee were embarrassed to even be associated with her.  In my original review of the show I named Joey the South Beach girl, whose attitude is a front for her insecurities from not coming from a wealthy family, and rather than breaking through that stereotype she is solidifying it.  Her strong-woman attitude doesn't make the girls see her as one of them, it makes them think she is classless.  She should just be herself and if I'm wrong and that is who she is deep down, it's not very deep as her comments are offensive and her actions don't make her part of their circle, they exclude her from it.  In total the speed dating was a disaster and while Ashlee got a date out of it, between her father Hal's meet and greet like it's prom night and the obvious incompatibility, the experience turned out to be a complete failure.    

Joey was shone in a positive light when out with Erica supposedly to help Joey meet a man, but instead she acted like Erica's babysitter trying to keep her from jumping on every man they met.  While at this point everyone has told Erica that this type of behavior is not appropriate, especially with a boyfriend, she still doesn't seem to get the picture: flirting with anyone in reaching distance and giving her number to random men she just met is not okay.  However, we did find out at the end of this episode, that after some kind of drunken binge, Rob helped pull her through and she had made the decision to actually commit, or as she puts it "after sitting on the pot for so long you have to chose whether to shit or get up and she's shitting".  While I'm happy she's finally settling down, only time will tell if she will actually tone down her partying ways or like the cheating girlfriend just become the cheating spouse. 

Amanda held an unusual launch party for the Drink Hanky that became a tumultuous evening for everyone.  A few strange things about her event were; it was held at a salon, it was totally financed by the owner, and while at normal launch parties gift bags with the product are given to the invitees, the Drink Hanky's were being pushed on everyone to purchase.  Nevertheless it was a success as they sold more than their goal.  Unfortunately, Amanda's good fortune didn't keep everyone happy for long as during the party on the dance floor Channel claimed there was a woman taking ice chips out of her cup and throwing them at her which was followed by the woman tossing her entire drink in Channel's face.  Channel went off like a switch and charged like a dog without a leash at the woman causing a plethora of people to tear them apart.  When the girls tried to calm her down, Channel was clearly disappointed by her behavior and everyone chalked it up to the stress of her sister's wedding.  Afterwards, when Channel was obviously upset and the owner was furious asking people to get out of his shop, Joey worsened the situation by acting immaturely in an attempt to give Ashlee a taste of her own medicine.  While Ashlee was trying to diffuse the situation and directing everyone to back off, Joey ignored her and pushed her way through practically walking over Ashlee to get information about what was happening from Amanda.  She is just so rude!  All in all everyone went back outside which yielded Channel fighting with the same woman compounded with Joey yelling at Ashlee, only making the situation worse, until Channel and Ashlee left while the others continued to party.  Success and failure were blended into a night that was nothing short of interesting.

This week's episode, Coco Loco, was a fusion of a never-before seen side of Channel and the obnoxious side of Joey we've become accustomed to.  I look forward to seeing if Erica keeps her word and how the dynamics of the group change with Casey and Ashlee being done with Joey.  We'll have to wait and see on Sunday's new episode of Bravo's east-coast hit, Princesses: Long Island!