‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’: The Pros, Cons, and Puppygate of Season 9

By Lea Palmieri @littleleap
Published July 2, 2019, 11:00 a.m. ET

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This season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills has been a polarizing one, without a doubt. But to say that it’s been bad (and yes, we do see you saying that on the internet) is not quite accurate. But it was bougie as hell.

Let’s start with the obvious, #Puppygate. It was both a blessing and a curse that we knew this drama was coming, and while it seemed promising at the start of the season, just a handful of episodes later it was already too much. Puppygate was good for drama…but that’s about it. Who said what or texted what about Dorit giving away a rescue dog from Vanderpump Dogs was fun at first, until it was confusing as hell. In retrospect, why anyone at all treated an article on a trashy website as gospel was problem number one. In fact, would anyone be surprised if that website made it all up just to get their name on this season of the show?

What started as a fun guessing game quickly turned into a total headache: trying to keep track of two men named John that are only tangentially involved in the situation, doing our best to understand the timeline of when texts were sent and puppies were dropped off, and ultimately wondering how this stupidity could possibly cause of the end of Kyle and Lisa Vanderpump’s friendship.

We were teased with that kitchen scene at the top of the season and it didn’t take long for that moment to switch from juicy to utterly depressing. Which is perhaps the best description for the season as a whole? It happened again when Lisa Rinna and Camille yelled across the table about Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court appointment: what initially seemed like fun dinner drama was actually a traumatic rehashing of not only the events but feelings those events caused last fall. Same thing goes for the terrible Malibu fires. It would be irresponsible and nearly impossible to not include in this season, but imagine how much more fun that France trip would’ve been if it was just drunken impressions and not checking in to see if their pals still had homes.

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But overall, a lot happened this season. Was most, if not all, of it the definition of #firstworldproblems? You bet, but that’s what we count on this show to deliver. So then when it does, we can’t be angry about it.

However, we can be angry about Lisa Vanderpump’s departure from the show. This is a woman who was not operating at her highest potential after the sudden passing of her brother, so the way she reacted to Puppygate was not ideal, but it was how she was coping in the moment. But that’s not the biggest bummer. That she just stopped filming at all, especially with the other women, and skipped this year’s reunion is truly frustrating. She deserved a better send-off than that. Specifically, she deserved to give herself a better send-off. It’s understandable where she was coming from, to slink away from the drama and instead focus on the other Bravo show where she’s much more in control. But both she and we the viewers deserved a more satisfying closure to her time on the show. It’s hard to truly say who’s to blame for that (everyone?), but it’s easy to say that it simply sucks.

Now gripes aside, there were some A+ RHOBH moments this season. The genius addition of Denise Richards to this group can’t be overstated: she’s a perfect Housewife. She’s candid and silly and outspoken and best of all, has a super hot Househusband. In fact, Aaron wasn’t the only one bringing it this season, as it sure is hard to forget Mauricio ripping that costume off Kyle ahead of their Halloween party, oohwee! Once she moved past that infamous kitchen fight, Kyle did have a pretty great season, wearing her hats and getting drunk on margaritas and putting out the largest appetizer spread ever shown on TV. This season even saw the reconciliation of Kim Richards and Lisa Rinna! A years-long feud came to an end! Now, we’ll of course, for some unnecessary reason, continue to talk about Rinna’s “performance” as Erika Jayne that night for many more years to come, but hey, at least some good ultimately came from it. And tbh, Rinna looked amazing.

All the things most viewers hope for throughout a season were present this year, which is precisely why it’s not worth whining about on the internet. Dorit had a solid season, Teddi…jumped in the mix, and Camille was reliably Camille. Erika remains the beacon of glamour we all need, and Kyle and Rinna did what they needed to do and even seemed to have fun in the process. And again: Denise is a true gift from the Bravo universe.

The France trip, complete with a rental home fit for a Jonas wedding, had some rather enjoyable (read: drunken) moments, but perhaps its greatest downfall is that it was airing at the same time The Real Housewives of New York City were on their even drunker Miami getaway. Of course the comparisons are inevitable but they’re also unfair in this situation. As is stating that this was a “bad” season of the show. It was a transitional year, for sure, and if there’s any advice to be given in advance of next season, it’s to focus on the people and not the puppies.

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