Tonight’s Southern Charm was a return to form after the tragic passing of Olivia’s brother, Conner, put everyone’s BS on hold last week. Now the group is trying to balance supporting Olivia in her time of grief and putting on a good show. So JT modifies a party he’s hosting for his Airbnb business to a sophisticated dinner “out of respect.” Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, given that this cast can act up in any setting (ex. the pheasant dinner from hell.) As expected, this formal feast quickly turns into a debate over Taylor’s nudes.
We begin this episode with Shep and Taylor going for a walk on the beach with their respective puppies. And unfortunately, I’m beginning to admire Shep and Taylor’s friendship. (Don’t hold me to this!) While Shep started off this season nagging Taylor about her salacious behavior, he seems to have let go of his feelings of betrayal. Now, he’s offering her advice on how to mend things with Olivia. And, dare I say, I was kind of awestruck watching Shep offer his ex good advice without shaming her about her fling with Austen. The bar for men is extremely low on this show, but it’s hard not to rejoice in their rare displays of decency.
Then we have a random boys’ night at Whitney and Patricia’s house with this season’s sprawling male cast. We spend a good 20 minutes watching everyone walk in and play with Patricia’s expensive antiques. When the guys all sit down, they don’t have anything that urgent to discuss. Whitney asks Rod about his pursuit of Olivia despite his friendship with Austen. Austen hardly seems threatened by this man.
Speaking of which, we’ve had more scenes of Rod expressing his affection for Olivia, at this point, than the two of them displaying any real, mutual affection. So far, this whole Austen-Olivia-Rod love triangle the producers have tried to set up seems to be a total misfire. Unfortunately, I just think Rod is too well-mannered.
Craig and Austen are so bored with the new guys that they go to the kitchen to discuss Austen’s therapy session about Olivia. Craig, who occasionally has some nuggets of wisdom to offer, thinks it’s a terrible idea that his friend is trying to force himself back into Olivia’s life at her most vulnerable. Last week, I didn’t want to be too skeptical about Austen’s attempts to trauma-bond with Olivia. But now I totally think he’s using their shared experience of losing their siblings to make her forget about his past treatment of her. That’s not to mention that he’s made every conversation about Olivia’s pain about him.
Unfortunately, in the next scene, we find out that Austen is actually making progress in his attempts to win Olivia back. She and Rod meet up for another totally chemistry-less “date” at a bar. And Olivia explains that she’s gotten over her beef with Austen for pursuing Taylor because she doesn’t have any expectations for him. Meanwhile, she’s still pissed at Taylor because their relationship is more genuine.
I understand this logic to an extent. And I do believe Olivia values Taylor as a friend more than Austen. But I’m already annoyed at the optics of Taylor being crucified for her actions while Austen gets a pass because he’s a renowned jerk with no morals. It turns out that when you’re a tall, white man in the South, people will just excuse your awfulness on the basis that you’re irredeemable!
Before JT’s event, we check in on Madison and her new husband, Brett. I still have no idea what these two talk about or have in common. But Brett is cute, quiet, and gainfully employed, which is exactly what Madison needs. In the middle of them talking about nothing, her son Hudson runs into the house with bruises and bite marks all over his body after getting his ass kicked by another kid. Madison is predictably rattled. So she explains in her confessional about how tough it is to be a mom and watch your child in pain.
Finally, everyone gets ready to go to the launch event for JT’s new “Clubhouse” rental that his mother ripped to shreds last week. The theme is Charleston prep—as if this cast needs an official memo to wear pastel blazers and ascots. Everyone’s dressed like their usual selves—only Taylor, who’s never really displayed good style, shows up in a white-and-black tweed jacket and an olive green cutout dress that doesn’t match at all. Whitney, who thinks that he’s 20 years younger than his actual age, is wearing a mustard suit with his shirt unbuttoned way too low. I kind of understand Paige constantly dragging everyone’s wardrobe in Charleston now.
So they all arrive at this party-turned-dinner that’s still very much a party. Venita is overly giddy to discuss this nude photo Taylor sent to Whitney. She’s also still upset that Taylor implied that she wasn’t Olivia’s close friend when they all met up last week to cheer her up. (She’s not!) Venita’s also omitting the fact that she tried disinviting Taylor for being unhinged essentially. As much as I’m happy that Venita’s found a way to involve herself in this season’s drama, she’s being overly harsh towards Taylor. The same goes for Madison, who spends their entire dinner putting Taylor on trial for sending a nude photo to Whitney.
The conversation about this nude photo over dinner is fascinating, in that it feels like some producer filled the cast in on revenge porn before cameras went up. In last week’s episode, it seemed like everyone was prepared to make a joke out of it. But now, Craig is calling Whitney “fucked up” for showing him Taylor’s photo. Shep shockingly defends his ex’s right to send explicit photos to whoever she wants. There’s even a confessional montage of everyone admitting to sending nudes to relieve Taylor of any shame. Of course, executive producer Whitney just gets to sit at the table and grumble to himself.
When Madison’s slut-shaming doesn’t work, she tries to confront Taylor about betraying Olivia—still to no avail. Olivia jumps in and says that she’s pissed at Taylor but isn’t interested in a cast gang-up. Honestly, I think Madison is just upset that Taylor isn’t receiving the same ridicule that she’s experienced for her sexual behavior from the men. And while I would be annoyed too, I think this anger is totally misdirected.
So Shep starts telling Madison to calm down, and she hilariously snaps back at him, “Read a scripture and go to bed.” Then JT, the show’s designated ally to women, jumps up from his seat and reminds everyone that all of this drama is rooted in the men’s bad behavior. Then he starts instructing them all to respect the women at the table. Initially, everyone ignores him, so he keeps repeating himself until he’s literally shouting at Shep to “grow up.”
Shep brushes him off again and says that “everything will come out in the wash” a bunch of times. I know this phrase isn’t used as a threat. But from Shep’s mouth, it sounds like one. Now I’m wondering if JT isn’t the standup gentleman he’s presented himself to be this entire time and has some deep, dark secret. I can only hope there’s more to this short, impassioned man.
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