The ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Are Too Buttoned Up. Let Sutton Be Mean!

It’s been abundantly clear for some time now that the culture of Beverly Hills doesn’t abide by the rules of reality TV.

Everyone wants to imply, but never outright say how they feel. They’re buttoned all the way up. So the question is: How is The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills supposed to hit a home run when the cast are too scared to even take a swing?

That’s why Sutton Stracke is such amazing casting. She’s the only Housewife on this show who speaks first and thinks later—and that’s the only reason the train didn’t halt on the tracks three years ago. The truth is, our longest running Housewife is also our most incorrigible. Kyle Richards simply isn’t in a place to be an open, honest Housewife. She wants the show to be Keeping Up with the Kyles, and have everyone else fall in place.

“If Kyle is afraid of looking bad, she’s looking worse now,” Boz points out.

We’re coming off a three-week Kyle meltdown over a simple text. She’s slipping on banana peels all over the place, and if she’s not careful, she’ll fall right into the grave. As sloppy as she may seem, Kyle realizes this.

So she calls a meeting of the board of directors—as Erika puts it—to rally the ladies on her side before the next group event. Although unmentioned on screen, Kyle took a week off filming following Boz’s sisterhood serenity spa day. I’d argue that explains a lot of the newfound hostility we’re seeing from Sutton, who eagerly pops every one of Kyle’s balloons at lunch. Thank God.

It’s a great scene, one where Sutton continuously makes Kyle explicitly explain why exactly she’s sorry for last week. Kyle’s so used to a blanket apology that means nothing at all. When she actually gets pushback, she’s so stunned that she doesn’t even know what to do.

Erika’s all about kissing the ring, and she accepts the apology before it’s even offered. I don’t agree that Erika is scared of Kyle—I think it’s something a lot more pathetic. I think Erika simply wants to coast through every moment on screen, and sees it as a symbiotic relationship. If she doesn’t prod Kyle, Kyle won’t prod her.

Sutton has spent four seasons being pummeled, and by the looks of it, is going to face a brutal second half of the season. She has nothing to lose going after Kyle, so that’s just what she does.

Really, Sutton’s the least calculated Housewife RHOBH has seen in years. She’s incapable of being anyone other than herself, and her constant ability to get herself in trouble keeps the show afloat through its slower episodes.

Do we particularly care about Dorit’s divorce update? Sure, but it’s much funnier with Sutton interrupting it. Look, Garcelle’s beach house is a plane, train, and a taxi away. Those girls had to get on the road.

The RHOBH are just… so buttoned up. This is the cast who clutched their pearls over Brandi saying “shut the f--- up” in Season 3. They cannot handle anything more than a mild faux pas. It’s not their nature.

If not for Sutton, everyone would happily smile and nod along week after week while their actual problems bubble beneath the surface. The only other problem on the show is Dorit vs. Kyle, a feud that has dominated almost every episode.

And here, at Garcelle’s beach house, the two have their first true one-on-one sitdown of the season. It’s the battle of the bougie sunglasses. Everyone wants to be Angie K these days, and honestly, they’re both coming close.

It’s a necessary moment, one where Dorit asks Kyle point blank: “Are you my friend, is your loyalty with me, or are you his friend, and is your loyalty with him?”

A beach one-on-one is a California Housewives staple. While this can’t come close to Vicki and Tamra’s Big Little Lies moment, it’s a great escape from the RHOBH group drama. It’s no surprise the two have their most productive conversation yet away from all the distractions, and it’s proof why one-on-ones are so important in this franchise.

They’ll eventually slip, sure, but in this moment, they find a path forward that keeps the season from stagnating. Now we can focus on what really matters: policing Sutton’s every word and behavior so she can become as boring as the rest of her castmates.

The RHOBH midseason trailer promises some big Sutton vs. Erika, Sutton vs. Dorit, and RHOBH vs. fun drama. It also promises the return of Kathy Hilton, who has been missing in action for the past four or five episodes.

Most importantly, it promises some truly scintillating drama between Sutton’s mom and Garcelle. I truly can’t wait for the Augusta trip if it means we get to meet Reba and her diva pixie cut. Mean Southern women are so exciting to watch.

Maybe a trip down South will make Garcelle meaner too, and she’ll more openly stir the pot. Maybe Kathy’s runway stunt will inspire others to be mean, too. The ditz act has run its course, as has the cast’s proclivity to avoid drama.