Punkee Recaps Vanderpump Rules: This Season Broke Everyone
GUYS! WE DID IT! We made it to the end of season 11. And what a season it was.
If there’s one thing I took out of the show’s final episode, it’s that Vanderpump Rules will never be the same. Yes, that sounds dramatic, but bear with me.
We land back on James and Sandoval bickering like school kids, and Andy quickly wraps their shit up and shifts focus. “Brock, you were taken aback by how triggered Ariana was at the water tasting,” Andy addresses the big man before we see flashback footage of Ariana going ham on Sandoval, aka “the dog murderer”.
“It was just really tough to see her respond like that,” Brock admits before Scheana adds, “It was hard to see how much pain she was in that moment, and that was heartbreaking.” Andy asks Ariana if she thinks she’ll ever be in a room with Sandoval again and be able to have a civil conversation, to which she responds with: “At this point, no, I don’t feel comfortable with that.”
“James says that he thinks you should release your anger towards Sandoval. Lala said that harbouring resentment towards your ex is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. What do you say to the people who think you should’ve moved on by now?” Andy asks her. “Well, by now? Now is March 2024. This is summer of 2023, three months later. I think the only way past is through it,” Ariana tells him.
“Last summer was really, really difficult, and I felt like as much as I think people were coming from a place of care, I felt like I was being pushed to be further along than I was ready for.” While Ariana has been stoic during the season, it’s been nice to watch her letting her walls down during these reunion episodes and reflecting on her experience.
“Well, in happier news, I wanna talk about Jax Taylor,” Andy tells the group, who laugh and roll their eyes. “Who here has continued the hang with Jax and Brittany in the years since they left the show?”, the guys have been seeing Jax and the girls are more inclined to see Brittany. When asking the Toms about their current relationship with Jax, Sandoval responds, “Um… nothing below the waist” because he thinks he’s hilarious. Andy giggles. DON’T ENCOURAGE HIM, ANDY! Sandoval vents about his confrontation with Jax on the show, telling Andy that Jax thinks he knows his psyche. Takes a moron to know a moron, I guess.
Say hello to VPR’s enemy number one. Image credit: Hayu
“Katie, Jax was furious with you for supposedly spreading rumours about him cheating on Brittany. What were the rumours that you had heard?” Andy asks Katie, who details that she’d heard about Jax hooking up with a waitress and having sex in public bathrooms. “Brittany has his passwords and she’s gone through his DMs and found nothing,” Scheana adds, with the group reacting to her and Brittany’s naivety. “They weren’t texting cheating, it was him rolling into a bar and we’re gonna go have sex in the bathroom. You’re not gonna find that in texts,” Katie says. “There’s no time to text,” James adds. “He’s dipping in and dipping out,” Brock remarks.
“In this day and age, there’s no way you can get away with that,” Schwartz says, with Sandoval agreeing. Alrighty guys. “From my experience, if you’re not fucking him, someone else is,” Lala tells Andy. When he asks whether Jax and Brittany’s separation was due to cheating, both Schwartz and Scheana clarify it wasn’t. Lala shares an anecdote that recently Brittany aggressively contacted Lala’s mum because she thought they were stealing her babysitter, noting Brittany stated, “I have Jax yelling at me.” Ehh, divorce already guys.
“Sandoval, you and Scheana have been through a lot since the affair. Have you unblocked her on Instagram? And more importantly, have you unblocked Summer Moon?” Andy asks Sandoval. He denies ever blocking the little darlin, explaining that when he blocked Scheana on Instagram, all associated accounts were collateral damage. “I’m also still blocked,” Brock notes, laughing. “Brock, you said that you had seen Sandoval being a better friend to Scheana than Ariana has been. What have you seen?” Andy asks.
“I think Scheana has really fought with a lot of women in here from the beginning. Not from Ariana, but from everybody else. And the one person that I have seen firsthand is Sandoval, having her back,” Brock answers. “What you’re saying about Scheana’s journey in this group is absolutely true, but I have been in her corner and supported her since day one with that. Obviously, this year was a little bit more difficult for us,” Ariana explains.
“I mean, she’s busier than she’s ever been. Even before we started filming this season, I did feel distance, so I don’t think it was only because of this season,” Scheana jumps in. “When I’m going through, like.. I also isolate as well, and that’s my fault,” Ariana admits. “Yeah, and I know that about you. I know you’ve done that with other people in your life who are very close to you as well, so I know it’s not just me. I’m sure things this summer added on to it,” Scheana tells her.
Ariana shares that seeing clips online and trailers of the show weren’t helpful. “Well, you intimated on Watch What Happens Live last week that you’ve seen things that have made you go, ‘Hmm, that’s interesting’,” Andy adds. We see a clip of Ariana on WWHL saying that she loves Scheana dearly but a lot of the things that were said have been very hurtful.
Ariana and Katie with their matching shoes on Watch What Happens Live. Image credit: Watch What Happens Live
“There was, like, something I saw when you were saying that he was, like, more sad about you than me, and I know you didn’t mean…” Ariana tells Scheana, referring to Sandoval. “I was asked that question,” Scheana clarifies defensively, “You haven’t watched the show. You’re watching clips on TikTok, so it’s hard for you to get a full perspective, and there were so many longer conversations that I wish you did get to see,” Scheana tells Ariana. The two are very calm in this interaction, you can tell there’s a lot of love there.
“Have you dealt with feelings of jealousy about the level of opportunities that your great friend has gotten?” Andy asks Scheana. GREAT question, boss. “I don’t think it’s jealous. I think it was a feeling of being left out. Call me a ‘Pick Me” or whatever the fuck you wanna say, I do like feeling that validation, not just men, but from my friends, and so it’s like, as she was getting all this opportunity, I just didn’t want her to like, forget about me. I wanted to be on the journey with her,” Scheana explains. “Scheana’s family, you’re never not gonna be family,” Ariana concludes.
Switching gears, Andy turns to Katie and brings up Sandoval’s apology to her during the season about how he treated her during her marriage breakup. “How much do you think he contributed to your divorce with Schwartz?” he asks her. “I mean, when someone speaks so negatively about you to your spouse over years and years, how could they not start to think the same? I think that contributed to Tom’s opinion of me,” Katie tells Andy. “It didn’t!” Schwartz protests. Bullshit. “He just doesn’t like me,” Katie says of Sandoval.
“I felt like the opposite to be honest, and I feel like our whole relationship went south, which I knew would be a bad idea getting involved with the Schwartz and Sandy’s situation,” Sandoval explains. “It was south before then because you didn’t like me,” Katie responds. “Katie, I mean, obviously we’re different people, and the way you handle certain situations, just like the way I handle certain situations, might annoy you. It really hurts to have you diminish me to, like, a subhuman, like, thing that doesn’t deserve love,” Sandoval tells her.
“Well I don’t think you’ve treated me very humanely either,” Katie replies, which is 100% true. “Katie, how do you think you treat people on a regular basis?” Sandoval asks her condescendingly. “Well when people wanna play in my face, I’m gonna treat them exactly like how I see it. Choke, I don’t care,” Katie claps back. “Well your chemistry is undeniable,” Andy tells them, which makes me laugh. “Yeah, we’re gonna go bang it out,” Sandoval adds, which makes my skin crawl.
Andy brings up the San Francisco trip, specifically Ariana’s new boyfriend Dan attending but choosing to not attend most of the group activities. “Why did he come out if he didn’t wanna go out with the group?” he asks. Ariana explains that he’d initially flown to LA to hang out with her, and the San Fran trip came up last minute. She also adds that filming isn’t really his thing.
Ariana, Dan and Scheana in San Fran. Image credit: Bravo
Andy asks Lala if she thought this was a little suss. “No, I felt like it was already such an awkward dynamic that was happening. I’m like, girl, you gotta figure it out. He’s only there when you come home and go to bed, get dicked down. I’m like, this might work for me,” Lala responds. This might work for me too tbh.
It is at this point, Andy puts his producer’s hat on and we shift the tone of the episode.
“Well, the season ended in a powerful and fascinating way. You guys have seen all the episodes this season, but we intentionally didn’t send you the last few minutes of the finale episode. You’ve all been through such an interesting shared experience being on the show for over a decade that we wanted you to watch this ending together as a group and then get your real-time reactions after you see it. So we’re gonna play the tape.”
We watch as the group watches back the final moments of the season finale. If you recall, Ariana had walked off, refusing to film with Sandoval. Sandoval lost his cool, telling their friends that Ariana doesn’t even like them, and Lala ranted furiously about Ariana’s new “God” status on the show. There’s a montage of the highs and lows of the series, which makes the majority of the cast tear up watching the footage from the reunion stage, and Lala’s interview plays over it, venting about how the show only works when every single cast member is prepared to be transparent and honest. The very final audio of the episode is Sandoval in San Fran saying Ariana’s walk-off was good for him.
“Exactly,” an emotional Ariana says, referring to Sandoval’s admission, while Sandoval shakes his head. “What’s your reaction to that?” Andy asks her. “Um, a lot of what was said was really hurtful. That is me being my honest self. The hurt that I felt, I felt so deeply, and I’m… I’m not here for him putting on the waterworks thing,” Ariana tells Andy.
“You know me well enough to know that this is not acting!” Sandoval tells Ariana “I don’t, though. I don’t,” Ariana responds. Both are crying at this point. “You knew me, Ariana,” Sandoval exclaims. “I don’t believe that! I don’t believe that, and when you didn’t get what you wanted, what you said about me to try to triangulate…” Ariana says, with Sandoval cutting her off. “You were saying it about me this whole summer!”
“What was I going to say about you this summer?” Ariana asks him. “What would I have said anything other than that about you this summer, given what I experienced three months beforehand? You proved me exactly right!” Ariana says, the two speaking over each other passionately. “All I wanted, I just wanna… I just want you away from me. I just want you gone, and I don’t wanna be in a position where I’m being forced.”
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“That is our job! And I’m sorry. I did come to you off camera numerous times,” Sandoval insists.
“No you did not come to me off camera, and when I came home from San Francisco, you were sitting there on the fucking couch eating takeout, and I was in the kitchen doing something. And by the way, that had never happened the whole time we were living together, we didn’t really cross paths. Whatever needed to be said in San Francisco could have been said right there in that moment and wasn’t said,” Ariana tells him.
“But that’s the thing. It’s always having the one conversation with the one person you don’t wanna have it with. Like Lala said, that is what we do,” Sandoval explains. “I’ll have that conversation with everybody else, but I am not in a place to have that conversation with you. And then that last little thing, ‘Well it’s good for me’, it’s right there, that I was in that moment about to just be used. This wasn’t gonna be his crying in Miami moment with me,” Ariana notes, as we see a flashback to Sandoval tearfully rehashing his breakup with Kristen. Gosh, he’s an ugly crier.
“That was completely different. You know, it’s one thing if I’m like, acting like I’m crying, and there’s no tears coming out. Like, I’m a very emotional person. You know this about me. You at least know that I’m right-handed and have brown eyes. Like, there’s things that you fundamentally know about me,” Sandy tells Ariana. Katie chimes in and reminds him that he was living a double life for seven months and fucking her best friend, so she probably doesn’t really know him. “I’m sorry that that’s something you have a hard time with, but that is the consequence of your actions towards me,” Ariana adds.
“I just wanna say to you that I am sorry. I’m not asking you to forgive me, I know you won’t. I know you don’t wanna be around me. Whatever our relationship was, the good, the bad, whatever you did, whatever I did, it doesn’t matter. You didn’t deserve that. And I’m really sorry from the bottom of my heart, Ariana. I regret it every fucking day. I wear it as a badge of shame, I did the thing that I said I would never do to you, I did it and I dishonoured you,” Sandoval tells Ariana. I’m not sure if this man is genuine, but this is the closest I’ve come to believing him.
Ariana references Raquel and how fucked up it is that she still has to deal with Raquel constantly talking about everything, which Sandoval apologies for. “And I just, I just wanna be away from you,” she tells him. “I understand. I wish you the best and I will definitely give you your space. We’ll figure everything out, we’ve got our lawyers. Don’t worry about it. I understand,” he says, despondently.
“So, I guess the other thing that I was curious about is your reaction to what Lala said,” Andy asks Ariana. Jeez, give the woman a breather! “It hurts my feelings a lot, it really does, because I was trying so hard. And I feel like it’s our job to live our lives, and I’m living authentically by walking away from that,” Ariana cries. “I think the walk-away was earned. I agreed with Lala when it happened, now I feel it was well earned,” Schwartz adds. “I could have done it for the show, but I don’t think our show thrives when things aren’t fully real, and that would not have been real on my part,” Ariana tells the group.
“Scheana, what’s your reaction to that conversation that you had after Ariana left?” Andy asks.
“Right when I saw Tom approaching and she darted off quickly, I immediately knew we need to let her go. With Lala, I completely understood her frustration, and I know she needed support in that moment, and I didn’t want her to feel alone because we were both frustrated,” Scheana answers.
“But I, and granted my ex was not on the show, when he did what he did, I was questioned on, ‘Well, we’re really sorry that he did that, but, like, you probably should have known’,” Lala jumps in, as we see a clip from the season 9 reunion where the cast fail to empathise with Lala during her breakup with Randall. “Like, ‘Sorry about the seven-month-old that you’re fighting for but like, you shoved him down our throats so like, why did you do that if you hate him so bad now?’” She adds that while she’s glad Ariana didn’t have to cop that behaviour, she’s “a little fucking annoyed”.
Lala, Katie, Ariana and Andy at the Vanderpump Rules reunion. Image credit: Bravo
“And it was wild to me seeing that everybody has said certain things about the way Ariana has changed, ok? And I tried to convey this to her,” she gestures to Katie, “And I would get shut down and I felt isolated cos no one else wanted to speak up on this and I really felt like I was having conversations by myself.” Lala passionately discusses the show and how she’s grateful for the opportunities it has provided for her, but that she’s busted her ass for everything and it wasn’t just her cashing in on any scandal, a narrative Sandoval loved to push this season.
“I’m happy that Ariana has been catapulted into opportunity, however, I will be damned if one person doesn’t step up to the fucking plate, so that at least if you don’t give a fuck about, like, your position on the show, cos you’re thriving, I’m gonna need you to give a fuck about mine,” Lala exclaims. “I was livid that night. Livid. And I’m sorry if I hurt you but I stand by what I said.”
“Damn,” says James, recovering from Lala’s monologue. Damn indeed!
“I probably didn’t say it the most eloquently but this was days and days of me, Scheana saw me, I was sobbing on a regular basis. I fucking love filming with you guys, even when you fuck up and I want to torch you off,” Lala continues. “So, you’re saying you felt let down by everybody because the true story that you were getting wasn’t the true story when they were filming?” Lisa asks her. “I understood where Ariana was coming from but I was like, why does she get to dictate how this goes down when I’ve never gotten to dictate?” Lala explains.
“What is your response to this?” Andy asks a completely dejected Ariana. “Um, I don’t think I’m Beyonce. I don’t think I’m God. Talking about sobbing on a regular basis, yeah, I don’t do it in front of Scheana, I do it on my own. And arguably, if you wanna talk in show terms, me walking away from that conversation was a lot more interesting than me sitting there and having it. Was that not a better ending to your season to give you another season for another paycheck?” Ariana answers. “Had I not spoken my mind, it would have ended with you walking out the door,” Lala adds.
“Lala, you said Tom and Ariana were not honest about their relationship until the affair broke. What were they not honest about?” Andy asks. “I have just heard a lot of things, I’ve heard it from a lot of you guys, so…” Lala shares. “Tom has said it himself” Katie points out. “You have too!” adds Lala. We’re shown a flashback from season 10 of Katie having lunch with Lala, Lisa and friend Kristina Kelly. “Tom and Ariana tend to present themselves one way on the show. They don’t tend to fight on the show, they tend to like, present themselves as like, having, like, a perfect relationship,” Katie tells them over lunch.
“Scheana, did you think that the truth of Tom and Ariana’s relationship was being portrayed on the show over the years?” Andy asks. “Being so close with them, like, yeah, I would see moments where they weren’t great, but then I would see moments where they were fucking all over each other, making out in public. Every relationship has those roller coasters, you know?” Scheana shares. “Rolling at, at a music festival though,” Sandoval adds. Fuck OFF. “Well, whatever, but I’m saying I saw both sides of that relationship,” Scheana responds.
“Scheana, Sandoval also said to you guys that over the years, it was him that went to your things and supported you off camera and not Ariana. Is that true?” Andy asks. “I don’t think so. I think they’ve both shown up for me, so I don’t know,” Scheana tells him, which pisses Lala off.
“Scheana, you have said that shit to me off-camera. Can we be done? I’m like fucking done!” she exclaims, getting up and starting to walk away. “You have stated it a million and one times that he has been a better friend to you!” she shouts at Scheana.
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Lisa tries to get her to calm down and rejoin the group. “No, I don’t wanna do this anymore. This is not fun for me to look around, I’m the only one that I feel has been honest at all, and now you wanna sit here and talk to me about being honest?” she tells Lisa emotionally. “I haven’t finished talking!” Scheana explains. “You just denied it!” Lala snaps. They argue about the semantics of Andy’s question. “I’m getting, I’m getting, annoyed. Everyone wants to live their real life, I wanna live my life now!” an exhausted Lala shares, sitting back down.
“Can I think of a specific event where Tom showed up and Ariana didn’t? No. Can I think of several events where I felt like Tom had my back and rode harder for me than Ariana? Yes,” clarifies Scheana. “Did you agree with what Lala was saying in the last episode?” Andy asks her. “I was very frustrated, yes, and that’s why I didn’t want her to feel alone in that moment,” Scheana explains. “And let me be very clear. I love Ariana, but I was so frustrated by the end of this season,” Lala tells Andy. “And that’s what I’m saying. I was as well!” Scheana adds.
“You had been frustrated with Ariana at times because Scandoval even happened, and then all of a sudden, I don’t know what happened. Everyone’s living in the comments section, but you have also expressed many times that there wasn’t much being given before this happened,” Lala tells katie. “But there wasn’t anything to give,” Katie responds. “If you would’ve abided by Ariana’s rules, none of you, nobody would have ever filmed with me,” Sandy insists. “I never told anyone that there were rules about filming with him,” Ariana confirms.
Andy turns his attention to Lisa, drawing parallels to her exit from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and asking her to weigh in on where the cast finds itself.
“When I left Beverly Hills, you go to the reunion with the intention to reunite. I did not want to reunite. I didn’t want to see any of them again. If you wanna fight because you think you wanna go forward, then fight for it. If you wanna say, ‘You know what? I’m fucking done,’ then that’s ok too,” she tells Andy. “So, you have a point, that maybe people haven’t been exactly honest, but if Ariana is walking away, at that point, nobody can tell me she hasn’t shown up. She has shown up. If I’d been in that situation, I wouldn’t have shown up with my husband and his mistress or whatever. So yes, she has. Sometimes, it’s ok to walk away.” Ariana looks shocked but grateful for the Matriarch’s hot take.
Andy asks if anyone else wants to share any reactions before they move on. “I am curious, just, Ariana, if you after watching that, if you understand why she was so frustrated in that moment?” Scheana asks her friend. “I understand the frustration. I don’t understand the insults,” Ariana says. They take a quick break from filming, and Ariana cries on Katie’s shoulder. Scheana goes to comfort Lala, however things are tense. Finally, we’re offered a moment of levity as Katie’s earring gets stuck in Ariana’s hair and there’s a whole crew required to untangle the two. That’s bestie status right there.
Andy wraps the group up, asking Ariana where she thinks she and her friend group go from here? “I think it differs with everybody. I think that there’s some things that are better than others,” Ariana tells him. “Tom, how do you see your place in this group moving forward?” Andy asks Sandoval. “I don’t know. I mean, this has been a lot this year. I’m just kind of overwhelmed today, so again, I really appreciate everyone who’s at least given me somewhat of a chance,” he responds.
“Lala, do you think your honesty has put your friendships with Katie and Ariana in the ER?” Andy asks. “Um yeah, and I’m ok with that,” Lala tells him bluntly. “Scheana, how do you feel leaving tonight?” Andy asks Scheana, who has been quietly crying since they all sat back down again.
“Like, it was the most challenging summer I’ve ever had with this group. It was very difficult to navigate, and I just want to acknowledge that Lala was my rock, and I don’t think I could have done it without you,” she says tearfully. “We’ve had so many conversations where I have expressed frustration, like Ariana was my person, and there has been so much distance before we even started filming. And I just want to acknowledge that, and I’m sorry if I don’t speak up enough, if I’m not loud enough. Because just navigating all of this has been very challenging, and I don’t always like to speak up because I’m afraid of what everyone’s gonna say. But I couldn’t finish this and not say that.” Awww, Scheesh! She’s such a sweetie.
“Katie, you seem lighter. It’s nice to see you and Schwartz sending each other memes and being friendly kissing the same girls!” Andy jokes. “I can’t wait to meet your new girlfriend, Tom. She’s hot, you said?” Katie smirks at Schwartz, who laughs but also is probably legitimately worried Katie will steal his girl. Andy also shouts out DJ James Kennedy, who proudly boasts about his Las Vegas residency. Very well-earned, young man.
“I just wanted to remind everyone on stage that I love you guys. You guys are my friends, my family. There’s been a lot of talk about the show and a job, and it’s valid, but I just, you guys are my fucking family,” an emotional Schwartz announces, before turning to Ariana. “I know we’re not in the best place, but I still love you and I miss you.” Schwartz is a fucking clown, but it’s moments like this that remind you why he’ll never be the worst Tom in the group. “I agree with Schwartz, I feel the same way,” James adds.
The reunion wraps with Kyle Chan and Ann (ANN!) bringing out Something About Her sandwiches to toast with, which is a batshit crazy sentence to write. “You can clean up afterwards, right?” Sandoval jokes to Ann. Too soon, mate. Everyone is keen to get the fuck out of there and look exhausted. “I just think she’s mad at me,” Scheana tells Brock, referring to Lala. “You did the right thing honey, I’m proud of you,” Brock tells his missus.
We cut to everyone getting changed into their comfies and debriefing what just went down. Scheana is comforting Lala in their dressing room. “Like, I think in that moment of watching Lisa defend so hard, when it’s like, season nine reunion, I did not wanna fucking be grilled about my ex who did me fucking filthy. But instead, I was greeted with ‘You lose ‘em how you get ‘em’!” Lala cries.
“And then just now, Ariana got to walk away, I’m creating life and I don’t get to walk away when I’m feeling uncomfortable? Don’t fucking sit here and tell me that it’s even playing fields for everybody. So yeah, I’m a little fucking annoyed. You think I wanted to show up that day? No! I just don’t feel like it’s fair at all,” she sobs to Scheana.
Schwartz comes in and tells them he’s leaving but that he loves them, and then we cut to Ariana telling Katie, “You’ve been your most authentic self day in and day out,” as Katie bitches about her integrity being questioned. “I just want to live a fucking happy life,” Lala tells Scheana as they prepare to leave. Sandoval stops her in the hallway. “I fucking ride hard for you, it was fucking awesome. Respect, fucking respect, ok?” he tells Lala. We see them all get into their cars and drive away.
FUCK. Ok. Lots to unpack.
We found out at the end of last month that production is pausing over the American summer (which is when the season is historically filmed). The cast are exhausted, and producers want to give everyone some breathing space to move past Scandoval and rebuild their lives.
While I’m devo there’ll be a delay getting VPR back on our screens, watching this reunion made me realise just how broken down this cast is from filming this season. Lala feels gaslight, Scheana is a shell, Ariana has to grapple with her newfound fame and even Sandoval probably deserves a vacation from being public enemy number one.
Producers are insisting that this is not the end of the series, but after so much fourth wall breaking, there’s no way the show can go back to what it was before. Glamour’s recent article How Fame Ruined Vanderpump Rules explores how dramatically the show has evolved since we were introduced to this young group of messy, wannabe-famous hospo workers.
“Over time the show had to grapple with the fact that its stars weren’t a bunch of nobodies with big dreams and small checking accounts anymore. They were reality TV stars, and as they started to display the fruits of their new kinds of success (multimillion-dollar homes, nice cars and clothes) the show started to feel less real.”
I believe there’s an incredible 12th season waiting to be filmed, and I’m putting my trust in the hands of the cast and producers to lean into the new normal and show us what rebuilding a franchise looks like.
Because if anyone can give us an innovative, entertaining, groundbreaking reality tv mess, it’s Lisa Vanderpump and her former SURvers.
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.
Image credit: Hayu + Punkee