"You ever call me a liar again, I'm coming for you."
Warning: this article contains spoilers.
We all got into binging a variety of things over lockdown, and for many people, that meant being introduced to the wonderful world of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
The Bravo hit has previously aired this side of the Atlantic on ITV2, but caught more attention last year with the increased popularity of Hayu, and when early seasons of its most popular franchises – Beverly Hills, New York and Atlanta – were added to Netflix.
Now on season 11, Beverly Hills is back to being a fan favourite after a number of iffy seasons and cast shake-ups. The secret to this season's success? Viewers have a thing for when the mighty have fallen.
The main storyline of this season has been the investigation into Erika Jayne's ex-husband, Tom Girardi, who is accused of embezzling millions of dollars won in lawsuits from clients that include orphans and widows of plane crash victims.
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The impact the split and federal investigation is having on Erika has played out on-camera as her cast mates dare to question the degree of her involvement in Tom's alleged crimes, what she knew, when she knew it and whether her legal problems will become theirs.
Erika, who has been defensive both on the show to her cast mates and on social media to viewers, has maintained her innocence mostly through a refusal to wear waterproof mascara, telling tales previously untold about the harsh realities of her marriage, and lashing out at anyone who confronts her with their concerns.
This has, in typical Housewives style, led to multiple dramatic sit-downs, stand-offs and mascara-stained cheeks – the most dramatic of which took place between this week and last.
Last week saw the ladies head to a dinner party hosted by Kathy Hilton – as in the mother of Paris Hilton, and the sister of Kyle (as she had to tell the butler who for some reason didn't seem to know who she was).
It looked exactly how you'd imagine a Hilton dinner party would look: butlers and chefs, $950 candlesticks and designer party favours. Well, until the housewives started screaming blue bloody murder at each other before the coffee course could be served.
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The argument, which continued into this week's episode, saw Erika get into it with Sutton, who several of the women pushed to address her (and their) concerns about their names and reputations being attached to Erika's legal issues.
Kyle told Sutton to "be honest" about not 100% buying Erika's stories (which she was) and about accusing Erika of lying (which she did).
Three years ago, Erika told the ladies on-camera that Tom had gotten into a minor car accident that left him with a broken ankle and big-baby demands. Then, a month prior to the dinner party, she told them (again, on-camera) the car accident actually involved him driving off a cliff – from which he sustained brain damage and was left unconscious for 12 hours.
Whether or not she had good reasons, Erika lied about the accident. Which is what Sutton said, and what ultimately sent Erika off.
She accused the women of "torturing" her, told Sutton to "shut the f**k up" and pointed in her face. When Sutton told her not to speak to her that way, she hissed "or what?" through gritted teeth, and Kathy Hilton looked like she was never about to invite these ladies round for caviar pie ever again.
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Erika asked Sutton if she'd like to get sued, which the other women quite naturally perceived as her threatening to sue Sutton. She then implied it was more of a warning that Tom – the man who supposedly has no money for spousal support – could bring a lawsuit against her.
When Kyle and Dorit agreed that that statement only gave credence to Sutton's concerns about becoming entangled in the legal issues, Erika told them "I'm about to really lose my s**t on all of you," as if she hadn't done so already.
The other ladies tried to calm her down, she took a few breaths, and just when you thought she collected herself she whips round to tell Sutton "you ever call me a liar again, I'm coming for you." After some dramatic cuts of everyone's reactions, she menacingly adds "trust me," and assures her it's not a threat, it's a promise.
By the looks of things, it's not just Sutton who should be worried.
https://twitter.com/erikajayne/status/1433270396866871296?s=20
It's going to be interesting to see how Erika "gets to that" at the reunion, especially as it's recently come out that she only considers Rinna her remaining friend of the cast.
