Kelly Dodd is Fully Resuscitating ‘RHOC’ This Season

If you aren’t watching The Real Housewives of Orange County this season, you need to be. And if you are, you know that reason is Kelly Dodd. Homegirl is having a SEASON which was only solidified by last night’s absolutely bonkers episode.

We knew we were in for a #NewKelly this year as she’s fresh off a divorce from her ex-husband Michael, doing some dating, and more than ever, giving no fucks. That’s not to say her sweet side isn’t present, as we have seen her spending time with her daughter Jolie, including a trip to a homeless shelter. Plus, she was smart to remain level-headed and not pick sides when Tamra snapped at Shannon, with Kelly encouraging Tamra to care about her friend’s hurt feelings in the moment instead of brushing it off. “Don’t say ‘too bad she’s upset,'” may have seemed like a small directive but instead of sprinkling gasoline on the rift, Kelly tried to repair it right away and stood up for what was right in a moment where heated tempers were raging.

However, the same cannot be said for her own interactions. We got one of the rawest looks at Kelly we’ve really ever had on the show when she found out Vicki broke girl code and was going on double dates with Kelly’s ex Michael and his new girlfriend. She was overcome with emotion and she let it all out, on more than one occasion, even more so than we’re used to her doing. Even for those that understood where Vicki was coming from, it was easy to back Kelly in this situation. She was crystal clear about why her feelings were hurt.

Which brings us to last night’s incredible episode, where Kelly showed up to Tamra’s party feeling feisty. Credit where credit is due, she was fairly calm when she strode up to Vicki’s boyfriend Steve to confront him about speaking to Page Six. She stated that she didn’t want to make a big deal, and Steve conveyed the same message by walking away from the table. Unfortunately for him, it was Emily’s husband Shane that made it a big deal whether he intended to or not. After briefly meeting her a mere 30 minutes earlier, Shane already located all of Kelly’s buttons and repeatedly pushed them, offending her with his “snarkcasm” and sending Kelly to another level.

Sure, it’s not nice to call another woman’s husband names such as dork, pussy, loser, twerp, and little bitch. But even after Kelly realized it was Emily’s husband she was beefing with and still didn’t back down, well that’s kind of impressive.

For a show that is dealing with a lot of heavy topics including an ugly divorce battle, a scary health issue, another divorce, and several busted feet, Kelly is the one keeping things interesting. As we saw earlier this season, no one else could go on such a boring ass date and have it turn into one of the funniest moments yet. Her outburst in this recent episode could be labeled as crazy, but that would be doing a disservice to how exciting and really, invigorating it is to see something ridiculous on this show again. And she wasn’t wrong. If someone you didn’t know said, “That’s your normal behavior? UGH,” to you, how would you react?

There’s an energy Kelly is bringing to the show this season that RHOC is so desperately in need of. It’s an honesty and a genuineness mingling with the fire inside her that, for the first time in a while, makes Kelly not only worth watching, but worth rooting for as well. She’s standing up for herself and she’s not accepting anything that doesn’t add positivity to her life, including boba tea, and from the mundane to the insane, Kelly’s the one keeping it entertaining.

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