Punkee Recaps Vanderpump Rules: The Sobering Fallout Of Scandoval
Content Warning: This article includes mentions of suicidal ideation, and may be distressing for some readers. Helplines can be found at the close.
Episode 3 picks up at Sandoval’s “birthday party”, AKA the saddest gathering I ever did see.
The Toms sit down on the couch to discuss what happened between Sandoval and James during their heated exchange, with Sandoval bringing up the Kristen of it all and an exhausted Schwartz letting out an “Oh man…”. Sandoval is convinced that James and Kristen’s situation was far worse than his affair with Raquel (apples and oranges mate… but you’re wrong), and Schwartz is deflated. “That’s not gonna be the last time someone comes at you, and I feel like if you get really upset every time, it’s gonna have a really negative impact on your life”. Wise words, Schwartzy.
We cut to Emo Nite, where the crowd is my own personal hell.
James and Ally arrive, Scheana is getting photo opps and Ariana is wearing camo, presumably to hide from the circus that is her life. James fills the crew in about his confrontation with Sandoval, and Scheana is surprised that James of all people was extended an olive branch for reconciliation. When he brings up the Kristen comments, there’s a collective group eyeroll. “He’s become scary because he has no one around him that gives him honest feedback at this point anymore” says Ariana, as editors cut together a montage of Sandoval venting to his disinterested party guests. They wrap up the chit chat and head to the DJ booth and I repeat, this crowd is hell. But good for them. They’re having fun and James and Lala are hyping them up from the balcony. Lala reminds me why she’s my favourite cast member, admitting she has no idea what emo music is. “What band is emo? Like, Nickelback?”. God bless her.
Image credit: Scheana Shay/Katie Maloney/Instagram.
Back at the haunted house, Schwartz finds to tell Sandoval he’s heading to Emo Nite. They have a very awkward exchange and hug, and I’m uncomfortable. We see a montage of the Toms’ friendship over the years, and Schwartz is reflective in his interview. “I know he’s a douche and everyone hates him, but you don’t come by friendships like that often in life and I don’t think I wanna give up on him”. I get it. Like, I don’t, and I can’t imagine I’ll ever be in a Scandoval of my own, but I love friendship and I too would be struggling with how to handle it all.
Back to Emo Nite, Scheana’s screamo ‘Good as Gold’ mix is playing and she’s absolutely feeling herself. She cites Gwen Stefani as her inspo, and gives us a Kesha rap before screaming into the mic. Schwartz arrives and greets Scheana backstage, only to find out he missed her performance. “That’s what you get when you choose Tom Sandoval over the group, you miss the fun” Scheana tells him, and true.
Back at Sandoval’s party, Billie Lee presents him with a sad little cake while happy birthday is sung. I am sad watching, but in his interview, Sandoval shares that he is grateful for the friends who stuck by him. “These people have put up with so much hate because of what I did.” It’s all very rough, hey. Billie Lee and Sandoval chat about both Ariana and Raquel, Sandoval admitting he misses Raquel a lot and would’ve expected to hear from her on his birthday. Billie Lee tells him to focus on himself and his own healing journey, sage advice I reckon.
Well, it’s the next day, so we have a montage of the cast in their respective homes doing their mundane little activities. We land back at Sandoval and Ariana’s house, where Ann is cleaning up from the night before. She’s an ASSISTANT not a CLEANER wtf.
Katie arrives and Ariana is having a snooze on the couch with her beaut dog Maya. “Ann, do you get paid extra to clean up a mess like this?” Katie asks, and THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING. The two treat themselves to some liquid IV due to their hangovers, a service I would lobby for at local government level.
Katie tells Ariana that she is having dinner with Scheana later, and I love to hear it. The two have such a tumultuous history, but both seem eager to make things work. Katie feels as though Scheana has turned a corner, “The lights are on, someone’s finally home,” she tells us in her interview. However, the women discuss Scheana’s soft spot for Schwartz, and her habit of people pleasing and flip flopping with friendships because she tends to get sucked in easily. Something tells me there’ll be some more floppin’ along the way…
Next up, we’re at the closed down Pump. “We had a good run” Lisa says wistfully to herself, and the production crew. She rings husband Ken for a chat, before cameras pan to Sandoval walking in holding flowers. Lisa jumps off the phone, and the two have some awkward small talk and sit down. He brings up NZ again, and why don’t you just move there? Sandoval explains that he’s seen Ariana due to the living arrangement, however they haven’t spoken, with Lisa advising, “I think it’d be the gentlemanly thing to do to move out of there”. Cut to Sandoval getting defensive because he wants to stay and has drafted a letter of intent with his real estate agent and blah blah blah. Lisa is over it. “What’s the way forward in this?” she asks him. “I don’t know!!” Sandoval snaps back, “This is a lot for me”, Lisa interrupting with: “Well you created it.” Sandoval acknowledges that he created it, but that it’s still a lot.
He references his childhood friend Ali who died recently, and how the day Scheana reached out offering her support, she also released a podcast spreading gossip about him and Billie Lee, as well as chatting with an ex-fling of Raquel’s, Nema. He felt like the two were being kicked while they were down, which is fair, given they definitely were. “You know what Scheana, you know what I need from you? I need you to take a day off from fucking dragging my name through the dirt.” He and Lisa get quite heated chatting, but you can tell Lisa really cares about him. It’s very mother-son and quite endearing.
The tone shifts as the conversation moves to suicidal ideation. “I was getting to the point where I felt like, whats the fucking point?” Sandoval tells us solemnly in his interview. Lisa is visibly upset that Sandoval didn’t reach out to her during these dark times, given her own brother’s passing and she made Sandoval promise he would communicate with her. “I’m trying to help you move forward” she assures Sandoval, who isn’t sure he can repair his broken friendships. “The only way you can repair it is with utter sensitivity and contrition. Do you understand that? Just say yes you understand that without fighting me.” Handedly immaculately by Ms Vanderpump, I’m glad he has someone in his corner who is willing to have the hard chats with him.
On a much lighter note, we see Lala and Ariana shopping. They discuss attending See You Next Tuesday, which is James’ Tuesday night DJ set at SUR. “I did always feel like when James was sober he was better” Ariana tells Lala, before the two discuss the difficulty of navigating conversations about sobriety amongst friends. In her interview, Lala preaches the benefits of sobriety, “Your skin looks fantastic, you lean out and the best part is, you don’t engage with people you wouldn’t normally engage with. The amount of people I gave my number to when I was like, fucked up, is insanity”.
Lala on Vanderpump Rules reunion. Image credit: Bravo
It’s time for Katie and Scheana’s date night, the former catching the latter taking selfies upon arrival. “Katie and I used to be so close, I feel like we both genuinely want to make it work this time around, so spending more time one-on-one is first on the list,” Scheana tells us in her interview. They order mocktails and chat about Katie’s upcoming date with the guitarist from Scheana’s screamo band. Cute! Apparently they bonded at Emo Nite over the topic of tequila, which if you’ve watched the show from the jump, you’ll know is extremely important given Katie’s alter ego is Tequila Katie.
The two discuss Schwartz, with Scheana apologising for inviting him to Emo Nite. She doesn’t want to make Katie uncomfortable, which Katie appreciates, and notes it’s more for Scheana’s own sake. “It’s been four months of a lot of self realisation” she tells Katie. The two discuss boundaries, and how they only want people in their inner circle who add value. If you are new to the series, trust me when I tell you this is very mature of them both, and I love to see it.
Schwartz brings his pups to Vanderpump Dogs, yes, that is a place that exists. West Hollywood is essentially Lisa’s monopoly board at this point, and I want to pass go. Lisa and Schwartz sit down and chat, with Schwartz quite flat after news about his brother’s health issues caused by alcoholism. Sobriety seems to be a theme of the episode.
Lisa asks about Schwartz and Sandy’s, and it’s all still pretty dire over there. “I just don’t think the punishment really fits the crime” Lisa suggests, “Maybe I would feel very differently if Ariana wasn’t living her best life, but she’s kind of moved on”. The two have a serious discussion about Sandoval’s mental health and his dark thoughts, and you can tell they genuinely care a lot about this man. They’re worried that they only found out about how low Sandoval felt after the fact, and it concerns Lisa, particularly due to her brother. “If they say I’m foolish for reaching out to him, okay I’ll take it,” she shares in her interview. They both want to change the narrative, but Schwartz admits that Sandoval isn’t making it easy. Lisa tells Schwartz that the opening of “The sexiest restaurant in Lake Tahoe” AKA her next establishment is next week, and suggests that they invite the whole gang for a group trip. I’m unsure how Ariana will feel about this one, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
We move onto SUR for James’ See You Next Tuesday night. The gang arrives and all look snatched, sitting in the courtyard living their truth. Schwartz arrives and sheepishly sits with the group. “Are you just popping in or were you invited?” Lala jokingly asks Schwartz, which as Schwartz admits, is an improvement from her previously freezing him out. Schwartz has a present for Lala, telling her, “I’ve been sober-curious lately” and offering her a matcha drink he’s been enjoying. Both Ally and Scheana are also dabbling in sobriety, apparently, and we’re all bonding over it. The vibes are pretty decent.
Katie and Ariana arrive, being papped on the way in. Schwartz takes it as his cue to leave, and goes to visit James at the DJ booth. He brings up Lake Tahoe, and tells him he’s going to invite everyone, including Sandoval. James isn’t thrilled, but admits, “I don’t want to spend my days feeling this anger”, which is excellent to hear given James and anger aren’t a great match.
We cut to Sandoval walking into SUR with a mate, which probably wasn’t very fun for either of them. He tells us in his interview that he’s taken what Lisa said to heart, “I’m ready to be apologetic and humble with the rest of the group”. The group clocks that he’s arrived, and no one is happy, particularly Ariana. “I don’t know why Sandoval showed up to SUR, I don’t want him in my circle.” Sandoval and his friend sit down inside, and both seem very uncomfortable. One of the SUR waiters, Jesse, approaches their table for a chat with Sandoval. He explains why he had to unfollow Sandoval and distance himself from Sandoval’s decisions and choices, and Sandoval apologises for making Jesse collateral damage. “It’s been the actual worst, yeah…” Jesse explains, having once been close to Sandoval and perceived as his ally. The two hug it out, and Sandoval sheds a tear at the table, feeling remorseful for the flow-on effect of his actions.
James and Schwartz sit back down with the girls and flag Tahoe, including Sandoval’s invitation. “I don’t want to be anywhere near either you or my ex,” Ariana tells Schwartz. She’s not having a bar of it. “After everything that’s happened and how he has treated you, what makes you feel you need to stand by his side?” Lala asks Schwartz quite earnestly. “We have a very beautiful friendship, and right now it’s strained,” he replies, to which Lala aptly responds, “I think it’s beautiful because you’re a part of it”.
Schwartz on Vanderpump Rules. Image credit: Hayu
Ariana isn’t feeling it, dismissing Schwartz and his attempts at reconciliation. “Everything anyone says to you about any of this shit is gonna fall on deaf ears,” she says. “Don’t speak on behalf of the whole group, you’re not the queen of the group, come on. Your ego is getting a little, like… come on.” Uh oh, Schwartz, don’t bring ego into this..
“Schwartz is very clearly confusing strength and boundaries with ego,” Ariana clarifies in her interview, and I think she’s got a good point. Katie confirms that Ariana did in fact speak on behalf of the whole group given they all feel the same way, telling Schwartz, “Release yourself from this fucking torture you’ve been under”. If anyone is SICK of the hold Sandoval has over Schwartz, it’s his ex-wife. Schwartz apologies for the ego comment and doesn’t have much else to say.
Scheana walks past Sandoval’s table, preparing to ignore him, only to be stopped by him. “Hey Scheana, hi!” She’s not impressed. He asks to talk to her for a second, and they agree to meet in the back for a chat. If you’re not familiar, SUR’s back alley is essentially the Mecca of Vanderpump Rules confrontations, so this feels significant.
The two make awkward small talk over their outfits, before Sandoval brings up his late friend Ali. This kicks things off. Scheana admits that she didn’t expect to be blocked after she reached out over his death, and Sandoval explains that he wasn’t in a good place that day, and how it felt like she was just reaching out to say that she had. “I would think after 14 years of friendship you’d know me better than that,” Scheana tells him, and yikes, that is a long friendship indeed.
Scheana addresses his bad attitude, asking him, “don’t you think if you would‘ve been honest and remorseful from the beginning it would’ve been a different outcome?” GREAT question, Scheana. “Of course, I handled it like shit.” Big old understatement. Scheana suggests he starts acting as if he’s actually sorry, instead of constantly doubling down. He feels as though he has apologised to everyone wholeheartedly, but that it wasn’t heard. “I would love to talk to Ariana, I would love to, cos out of everybody, she has been 100 times less proactively vindictive, which is weird to me, because she’s the one that I did it to.” I know I’m a broken record, but FAIR. I hate to admit it but Sandoval is actually raising some valid points here.
He brings up how relentless everyone has been about dragging him, telling Scheana, “I get that you’re doing podcasts for money, but at a certain point it’s like, too much”. Scheana agrees, saying that there was a certain point at which she stopped. “Everything you’re doing is literally the definition of a narcissist,” states Scheana, before the two go back and forth about the definition of a narcissist, which is pointless given we’re all narcissists here and that’s just fine. Scheana is ready to bail, sharing her parting wisdom: “My advice to you is to just humble yourself and show some humility, ok?”She tells him that no one is wishing any harm upon him or Raquel, to which Sandoval tells Scheana that Raquel was very distraught after the Nema podcast conversation. (For some context, Nema was the one who claimed that Sandoval had told Raquel he and Ariana were in an open relationship, which caused a lot of drama as you can imagine.) The two disagree on the “truth”, and the episode ends with Sandoval lamenting on his broken friendship with Scheana.
Well, this was actually quite the heavy watch. Here’s hoping we can head to Lake Tahoe next week and bring the lols back. Written by Lil Friedmann, lover of all things Bravo and staunch defender of reality television. You can follow her at @lilfriedmann on socials.
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules is available to stream on Hayu from 31 January, with episodes dropping the same day as the USA.
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Image credit: Bravo, Hayu + Punkee