Have Sutton and Garcelle Become the Newest ‘RHOBH’ Villains?

In Beverly Hills, the higher you rise, the farther you fall. No one understands that phrase better than the woman who coined it, former Real Housewife Brandi Glanville, whose words have long outlived her tumultuous tenure.

The pendulum always swings back, as last season’s fan favorites inevitably fly too close to the sun, and former villains become the underdogs. After four years as sardonic sidekicks to the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills elite, Sutton Stracke and Garcelle Beauvais are no longer punching upward. Now nearing the top of the totem pole, these ladies are learning what it means to be the villains—whether justified or not.

Back home from Oceanside, the ladies are stewing over Sutton’s push for “sisterhood and honesty” amid the tornadic drama all around them. That’s with the exception of Jennifer Tilly, whose comic relief is the perfect antidote to this buttoned-up group of women. I finally get what people like about Kathy Hilton now that she’s been repackaged as a slasher star whose antique clock—once owned by Cher—interrupts Sutton’s long-winded diatribes. As for the real Kathy, well, yawn.

Maybe the perfect example of Garcelle and Sutton overextending their reach is the scene at Garcelle’s updated beach house. After a tour of the house, the two sit for a balcony chat. Here, the ladies talk about how Dorit needs to pull herself up by her bootstraps during her divorce. Naturally, Garcelle sees this as a perfect opportunity to theorize about the validity of Dorit’s robbery.

No longer does she think Dorit faked it all—perhaps realizing Dorit’s displays of PTSD are too convincing for a woman who can’t even consistently fake an accent. Now, she alludes to it all being a scheme by PK. Garcelle is so kind.

Here’s the thing: spreading harmful, irresponsible conspiracies is the kind of Housewifery Garcelle often acts above doing, and it’s also something the greats could pull off expertly. The tell-tale sign will be if Garcelle actually presents this to Dorit and gives her a chance to reply, rather than constantly jabbing from the side. Garcelle might be setting herself up for a fascinating villain arc, if she has the courage to stick the landing.

The best Housewives often oscillate between villain and voice of reason, and Garcelle has long positioned herself as the latter, without always being one.

Meanwhile, after a few years of basking in villainy, Erika is trying to climb her way back to her Season 8 to 10 status: the inoffensive woman who does nothing. That’s a risky endeavor, one made better by her inability to fully commit. Even as Erika tries to lead with love, she’s still accusing Sutton of having a personality disorder and filming with a cartoon, made-for-TV therapist. It’s like how last season, Erika learned of the existence of empathy. She’s such a funny robot.

Sutton’s a funny robot, too, one whose creators forgot to teach it conflict resolution. Maybe in the next update.

At Kyle’s denim and diamonds party, though, Sutton’s a raging force of chaos. The big difference between her and Garcelle is that Garcelle comes from the Kyle school of conflict: imply, never outright say it, and feign shock from the sidelines. Sutton doesn’t have that ability, word vomiting through every scene with the gusto of a woman who’s simply incapable of making anything but good TV.

That’s why Garcelle drops the tidbit that PK “tex-es” Kyle still. It’s great gossip to deliver while wearing a rhinestone cowboy hat as a tattoo artist does your angel numbers. In one scene, Garcelle looks to retraumatize Dorit over her horrific robbery. In the next, she’s looking out for a fellow divorcée under the guise of women supporting women. That’s the beauty of humanity; we’re multi-faceted.

Such is the case with Dorit, who has spent the past few years stewing on auto-pilot, only to erupt in a series of beautiful meltdowns. Perhaps we can thank newbie Bozoma for the latest, as she does the work of gathering the ladies at Kyle’s party. I mean, this party is shockingly barebones for a Kyle Richards affair, as the veneer of events existing solely so the women can dress up and fight has never worn so thin. Where were all the extras? Meredith Marks’ bat mitzvah, it is not.

The full-time cast, plus Jennifer and former Housewife Camille, sit down for another discussion on sisterhood, honesty, and serving c---. Sutton is immediately cut off by Erika, who coins her as “volatile.” Is a woman who drinks vodka every morning and constantly switches between friend and foe “volatile” now? How dare anyone accuse me of that, Sutton thinks, before flipping a switch with volatility.

“Please don’t raise your voice, Sutton. I’m not in a place where I appreciate that,” Dorit says in reply, which is probably the funniest thing she’s ever said. This is Housewives, the most universally accepted place for women to raise their voices, but it is Beverly Hills. These women once spent an entire season arguing over being served wine in a champagne glass.

Thank God we’re now watching a feud as incomprehensibly annoying as Sutton vs. Dorit. It’s kind of surprising it took this long to get to this place given they’re the cast’s most long-winded, apology-averse members. Sutton has never liked Dorit, and Dorit has never liked Sutton. Finally, they get to drop the facade and just be openly vile to one another.

When Sutton tells Dorit, “You’re not angry at me. You’re angry at your life,” the women all react in shock—but it’s a sentiment Kyle and Garcelle share. Kyle admits that in a confessional, “but I’m not going to say that to her right now.” That’s why Sutton’s a better Housewife than you, Kyle. Please go back to being a terror on screen. No one likes a confessional warrior.

Sutton may be messy, wrong, and annoying, but at least she’s willing to do that without watching her words. Dorit, too, after years of restraining herself, has finally gone back to her old self, even calling Camille a c--- in a nice callback. These are the women keeping this show moving, and they deserve kudos for that.

As does Boz, who calls Sutton out in the moment for weaponizing Dorit’s pain against her. Maybe the newbie came to play. Do we have our very first Dorit sycophant? What an exciting prospect.

And then comes hurricane Camille, cutting Boz right off.

“Can I just? I’m sorry. I’m sorry to butt in now, but years ago, my house burnt down. I lost my house. I lost my assistant of many, many years. And I didn’t get a lot of compassion or empathy from some, especially Dorit,” Camille says, reminding the audience exactly why she gets one to two appearances a season. It’s very Britani Bateman making an announcement on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. You guys, what about me!?

It’s funny that the C-word has gone from a straight-up insult to being one often used for empowerment in the time since Dorit last uttered it—even if it’s still not journalistically acceptable to use—but her sentiment remains the same.

The entire fight is a disaster through and through, as Camille desperately throws darts, looking for something to stick. The best part is probably her forgetting Erika’s name. A close second is all the women looking on at her like the circus act she is, giving her allotted two minutes and 53 seconds of screentime before moving on.

And with that, it’s time to see you next Tuesday—well, three Tuesdays from now. RHOBH is off for a holiday break, and we must wait patiently for the big Kyle vs. Dorit blowup promised by the season’s trailer.

Should we be concerned that that happens as soon as in the sixth episode, or excited that we’re already arriving at such a big moment? That remains to be seen.