TLDR: Skip to the end for highlights. Things kick off with Smitty shaking Martin awake from a nightmare while Anita ponders over her children and fumes about Bill blackmailing them. When Vernon asks if she regrets their path, she replies that there’s really no choice—Martin must be protected, even if it means Dani has to suffer temporarily.
At Bill’s office, he talks down to Dani, asking if she’s finally gotten everything out after she cleared his desk with a golf club. She says she is getting there, then she hauls off and slaps him in the face. Over in Nicole’s office, Ted praises Kat for her business acumen. Kat and Andre add that, given Nicole’s own story, maybe she and Ted could discuss how they manage a successful marriage. Andre gets emotional, telling them how they saved him after his parents died, and Ted pulls his nephew into a warm embrace.
Chelsea shows Naomi a social media post at the park and opens up about her plans to shake things up by starting her own purse line with Kat and quitting modeling. She’s worried about what that move will mean for their mother, Dani. Back at Bill’s office, Bill continues to be a jerk as he asks Dani what she wants. She snaps back that she’d ideally beat him with the golf club—but for now, she’ll settle for answers. When she presses him about why he’s moving to Fairmont Crest, he boasts it’s Maryland’s best community. Dani fires back, reminding him that she built him up, and he tells her to get over herself, claiming he made himself and just brought her along for the ride.
At a diner, Ashley’s mother and Mona ask Leslie what’s wrong. She admits she saw a man who reminded her of Alan—someone who left her feeling hollow—but then she changes the subject, saying she wants to hear about those rich folks they work for. They dish the tea about Dani punching Haley. She asks Mona about Nicole and if she has any secrets. She bets that she is hard to work for, to which Mona replies the opposite, stating how great Nicole is. Leslie remarks how nice it must be to be as perfect as Nicole. Meanwhile, back in Nicole’s office, Andre talks about his grief and reflects on who he might have become if not for his family—they saved his life. Kay even wants to take a picture of him, but he isn’t too fond of being in front of the camera.
On a park bridge, Chelsea and Naomi continue their conversation. Naomi tells Chelsea it’s her choice to walk her own path and not be under her mother’s control. While Chelsea is grateful for the support, she admits she’s still afraid to let go, especially with everything Dani is going through. Naomi reminds her that as children, they had to tiptoe around their mother’s moods and warns that it won’t be easy—but to gain independence, Chelsea needs to create some distance.
Dani is still giving Bill time and space in her presence by asking if he ever loved her. He admits he did, very much. She fires back, questioning how he could treat her so shabbily then. Bill shrugs, saying he needed something else—that something was Haley—and that their marriage worked until it didn’t. While Dani blames Haley, Bill points out that problems had been brewing long before Haley came along. Shocked, Dani tells him she never knew and that she tolerated his infidelity. Wavering on whether to try and win him back, she sees him step back, saying he hopes she can move on. In a burst of anger, she declares that if she could put a curse on him, she would. He warns her never to lay a hand on Haley again. Unfazed, she challenges him, saying she’s not afraid, and storms out. In the reception area, she passes Haley, pausing only to tell her the parting words that she’ll get what’s coming to her, that the past is prologue. Overwhelmed, Dani breaks down in the elevator.
Later, Vanessa, in disguise, meets up with a man as they engage in some roleplaying. When Dani joins them and asks who he is, the mystery deepens. Elsewhere, a mysterious man meets someone unknown, and they exchange a cryptic letter. Andre packs up his equipment in Nicole's office while catching up with Kat. He mentions that his parents died ten years ago and left him well off, and Kat reminds him that he uses his photography earnings to donate to charities. Over at the Dupree’s, Anita looks through family photos, clearly hating that they must give Haley legitimacy despite hurting Dani. Vernon suggests they call Bill’s bluff, but Anita refuses to risk it. They both agree not to tell Martin, admitting that they’d never speak of that night again—but also state that they would do it again. Still. they must move forward as planned.
At the diner, Monda announces she has to leave but promises that Laura will be done by 7—a detail that Leslie makes a note of. Later, Smitty talks to Martin about his dreams. He suggests that they could be tied to something he is trying to forget, but Martin snaps, suggesting he sleeps in a spare room, only to be summoned to the family home soon after. Chelsea declares she’ll move forward with her plans only after the wedding. A text calls for a family meeting, which the Richardsons also receive. Vanessa later admits to Dani that she was roleplaying, but quickly lies that she was joking when Dani gives her a curious look. In confidence, Dani confides about her confrontation with Bill—how he completely shut down on her, which only deepened her anger. Deciding she needs to escape, she plans to go to Paris after a shoot with Chelsea, only to receive a text summoning her to the family home.
Back in Nicole’s office, Laura gives Mona a bracelet, a small token for the support she's given her. Nicole tells them to take off early as a show of appreciation for the extra-long hours they’ve been putting in. Meanwhile, Naomi vents about Bill, seething with anger. The sisters are grateful to live in DC, so they don’t have to run into Haley. Naomi makes it clear she despises Bill—she was once a daddy’s girl, but not anymore—and even says she doesn’t have a father. Chelsea tries to reason with her, but Naomi just walks away.
Haley picks up a broken photo from the floor in Bill's office. She admits that she misses Naomi and knows Bill does, too, hoping she was worth his loss. Bill reassures her that she is and that he’ll never be sorry for choosing her.
At the Dupree’s, Chelsea goes live as Naomi plays the piano and sings while everyone else starts to arrive. Just as Chelsea is about to eat some junk food, Dani comes in and swaps it out for vegetables. Then Vernon and Anita burst in to announce a change in plans—Dani is supposed to be going to Paris. The family tells her they need her there because they’re going to the wedding, leaving Dani and everyone else in shock. Dani says no.
Mona is seen leaving the office while, elsewhere, Anita declares she’ll ignore the fact that Dani cursed at her in her own home. Nicole backs Dani up, and Anita insists that the Duprees do not cower. Vernon adds that they’re aiming for a strong community turnout, and Martin suggests that it would finally hold everyone accountable by letting them show their disdain on the big day. Unfazed, Dani retorts that she’d accept being disinherited, she doesn’t care—and storms out. Vernon follows her, explaining that there’s a really good reason he can’t share, and he asks her to trust him and do it for him. Though she admits she hates it, she agrees because it’s that important to him, and he thanks her. A moment later, Anita joins him in the foyer, asking if she agrees; Vernon says yes, though Dani feels betrayed all over again; but by them.
The episode concludes with Dani’s daughters asking if she’s okay. None of them really understand—and Dani doesn’t either, but she can smell Bill all over it. He has something to do with the sudden change. Her girls promise that they’ll make those responsible pay for her suffering, with Chelsea even offering to vomit on Haley’s wedding dress. They share a group hug to let her know they’ve got her back. Meanwhile, Laura is driving down a dark road, only to be tailed by a motorcycle that forces her off the road. The scene fades out with Leslie taking off her helmet once she has arrived home.
Highlights:
Andre mysteriously does not want to be photographed. He lost his parents 10 years ago and would not have survived without his uncle and aunt.
Dani is still hurt by Bill and plans to make him and Haley Pay.
Dani wants to escape, but due to Bill's blackmail, the family must unite the community and attend the wedding from hell.
Vanessa is into naughty roleplay but who is the guy if not her man?
Naomi hates Bill.
Leslie ran sweet Laura off the road and seems to have it in for Nicole.
Comments