‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’: Meredith Has a Meltdown for the Ages

Meredith Marks is fed up with the projection, deflection, and lying from her castmates. Our most embattled Salt Lake City Housewife is done being a punching bag. Now, she’s punching back.

Dressed in some Dynasty garb, Mother Marks has many scores to settle at this Real Housewives of Salt Lake City reunion, the biggest of all with… Bravo itself. This is her dynasty, and she’s ready to ascend Andy Cohen’s throne.

Part 2 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City reunion takes the focus off Bronwyn (thank God), allowing for us to revisit the land before time: Season 4. Angie vs. Meredith is the most consistent feud on RHOSLC, one that largely stems from the he said/she said of if Meredith alleged Shawn Katsanevas is gay or not.

Shawn—who apparently loves and supports the LGBTQ community so much that he follows alt-right fitness influencers simply to keep tabs—still feels strongly that Meredith said all this at Apres Ski, despite her claim it was Monica. Nothing says Apres Ski like gay rumors, to be fair. The girls were just doing their due diligence.

The battle goes round-and-round in a circle we’ve seen dozens of times before. Then Meredith pops on her shawl and gives the gays a moment to talk about. Accuse Meredith of being anti-gay and she’s going to give you a diva moment that proves exactly who’s the mother here.

When Andy pops up with “this seems like a huge waste of time, I’m sorry,” Meredith loses it. And she snaps even further when the messy queens in the control room side with Angie. Demanding Bravo roll the tape, Meredith gives Andy an ultimatum: Air the proof I’m right or I’m out—for good.

It’s such a classic Meredith moment. It’s one that I probably would’ve rolled my eyes at in annoyance four years ago, but having grown accustomed to her quirks and eccentricities, all I can do is look on in awe.

No doubt, Brooks was smiling ear-to-ear backstage. Meredith used that outfit right to her advantage, huffing and puffing in that shawl like the star she is. And guess what? Those apres ski flashbacks lowkey vindicated her. Meredith may be a huge fan of implying and never saying things that she very likely had a hand in just off-screen, but you know what, she’s innocent until proven guilty.

Meredith may be the most beaten down Salt Lake City Housewife, having faced an onslaught of rumors she cheated on her husband, faked her father’s memorial to sic the feds on Jen Shah, and has a severe pill addiction to the point she throws up into the night.

Sure, Shawn was accused of doing circle j---s and all, but that’s not so bad in the grand scheme of things. The Katsanevas should take their win and let Meredith slink away. Instead, Angie continues to call Meredith a b---- knowing full well Meredith has hearing problems and couldn’t even discern that.

“Well that’s abusive according to your husband, so I guess you’re an abuser,” Meredith tells Angie. She’s so funny.

When the conversation switches to Bronwyn and Todd’s marital struggles, Meredith still catches a stray bullet. In the aftermath of the boat ride in Mexico, Bronwyn, Angie, Heather, and Whitney gleefully giggled while spreading rumors that Lisa and Meredith relate to cheaters because they’ve had affairs. Naturally, Meredith wants to circle back to that, dismayed by the insinuation.

Don’t let this distract from the fact that this scene, once again, shows Bronwyn’s proclivity to lie and then weaponize her lies. Back in Mexico, Lisa and Meredith “seeing both sides” and advocating for Todd was pinned as anti-woman, pro-cheater behavior. Now, Bronwyn wonders why anyone would even think Todd cheated. Just because she said he did doesn’t mean you should believe her! Haven’t you all figured that out by now?

It’s an exhausting part of the Bronwyn experience, one that proves exactly why Lisa and Meredith were smart to act cautiously in the moment. Maybe they’re just lucky in hindsight, or maybe they don’t trust a shifty liar. Poor Heather gave her an eat, pray, love monologue just to have Bronwyn turn around and bob her head up and down while proclaiming Todd’s innocence.

Bronwyn loves to lead with therapy-speak to purport herself as a champion for women, but don’t get it twisted. Her hot-mic to Todd during the break says it all.

“That was unnecessary for [John] to tell you to watch your mouth. He’s the one who needs to watch his. And he needs to watch his wife’s,” she says, to which Todd replies, “I think I made that clear.”

I guess when you marry a man from the Boomer generation, you might just inherit his views on women. Meanwhile, Lisa is a proud advocate of women worldwide, hiring glam in countries across the globe. That’s class.

The episode closes on Mary’s two big storylines of the season: her son’s addiction and her fallout with Meredith. It sounds like Robert Jr. is doing well now. Yay!

Had you told me in Season 1 that a Mary reunion segment would have the entire cast, and Andy, breaking down in tears, well, I don’t know. It just goes to show that Real Housewives are real people, multifaceted in every way. Even those who get caricature edits have a lot more than meets the eye. We should all keep that in mind next time we hate on a pretty girl named Britani Bateman. She, too, has a story—and we can only hope Bravo is brave enough to tell it.

Finally, the conversation turns to Mary and Meredith. It’s certainly a wild shift that Mary’s sitting on this couch, praising Angie for helping her open up while she and Meredith remain on the outs.

Instead of breaking down, these divas have a breakthrough—even if Meredith’s Aubrey Hepburn bangs catch a stray first. The two embrace in a warm hug, as Mary tells Angie, “You’ve got to get it straight with her. I love her.” Unsurprisingly, Angie looks less than thrilled. Could this be a hint at some Season 6 conflict? They say three’s company.

Anyway, I’ll leave you on the finest quote Meredith’s ever delivered.

“I have been called a drug addict, a bulimic, a cheater, homeless, mentally unstable, next level psychotic dissassociation, multiple personality disorder, a snitch, a liar. My appearance has been made fun of. My hearing aids have been made fun of. I’ve been insulted as a mother. I’m a grudge holder, a whore, and I play the victim. And those are the ones I can ruh-membaghhh.”

I would never insult you as a mother, Meredith. My third eye is wide open and I see you for exactly the Mother you are. You are the OG of the SLC. Everyone else is just a copy. Mazel!