Mob Wives: Recap “Reunion Show Part 1” Ep 218

Things start off nice and calm...for a minute!

Joy welcomes viewers to the Reunion Show and jokingly says she didn’t think she could get all the ladies in one room without a subpoena! No time for laughs, we get into some serious issues.

First they discuss Junior’s betrayal, with Renee and Jennifer, after we see several clips from this season. Joy asks if they could talk to Junior what would they say to him. Renee says she has nothing to say to him. Jennifer says she would ask him why he did this to her sister and she would tell him that she is very angry. 

Renee reveals that she miscarried in January, that’s why she was in the hospital. That was a new revelation we hadn’t heard before. Joy says Junior needed to save his ass and so he copped a plea. Renee says he proposed to her and even asked her father for her hand and so she got pregnant thinking they had a future together. But, Renee says, she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to have a baby. Joy asks if they ever considered to stop the filming because things got so personal. Jennifer says, she did ask Renee if she wanted to stop because it was becoming emotionally overwhelming, but Renee wanted to keep going. Renee says she committed to putting her life on television and this is her life.

At first, Renee says she felt that Junior was cheating and that was why he was acting strangely. But it turns out he was wearing a wire in his watch. So Joy asks, maybe that’s why he didn’t have such a great reaction to the new watch Renee bought him for his birthday. He was already wearing a watch that was wired by the Feds so he couldn’t stop wearing that one. Joy asks Big Ang if she believed the rumors about Junior, and Big Ang answers yes, the rumors are usually true. Drita found it hard to believe Junior was cooperating because he was on the show. Jenn says she was surprised he asked to be on the show more because it would discredit him with the street guys. Joy asks if they know where he is now. Renee says she heard he was rejected from the witness protection program because he lied. Joy asks Renee if she feels guilty about what Junior did to her family. Renee says, yes she does, and she becomes emotional over it. Jenn says she doesn’t feel guilty and doesn’t think that Renee should either. Jenn leaves the set.

The next issue is the colorful language all the women use in the show. They play several clips. A series of clips where everyone is saying they are “DONE” with all the drama. Joy says, let’s get real, no one is done with the drama. They try to explain that everyone on Staten Island speaks the “same language” expressions like “going to war” with someone means you have a problem with them and “come out your face.” Joy says she would be scared if anyone said those things to her and would move out of the neighborhood. Karen’s famous line, “I’m comin’ for you, b*tch!” makes it into the discussion too. 

Joy introduces the two new mob wives of season two. Her favorite is Big Ang, who is always around to keep the peace. They show a bunch of clips of Big Ang. Joy says asks Big Ang if she has problems with anyone? Big Ang says she gets along with everyone, she avoids drama because it would stress her out, so she just leaves. Big Ang says she has had three breast augmentations over the years and now her size is “36 J.” She says she got her giant lips when she was 40. 

Now we switch over to Ramona who has made a nickname for herself. Joy brings up Ramona’s grandfather, Lefty “Guns” Ruggiero, and they show pictures of Ramona’s handsome grandfather. There is clearly a family resemblance. Joy says people call Ramona “Lucifer” and Ramona corrects her saying she prefers “Lucifina” because she is a girl. Ramona says she is nice to everyone, but if anyone attacks her, she will attack back. Joy says she heard that Ramona threatened Al Pacino, who played her grandfather in the movie Donnie Brosco. Ramona says, that what she told him was that she wanted him to play her grandfather as a loving family man who liked to dress well. Ramona says she had no idea how involved her grandfather was in the mob until Jennifer Graziano gave her the book Donnie Brosco to read, and then she was devastated. Joy wants to know why “people come at her” (Ramona) because Joy says no one ever came at her before. Ramona answers, “I’ll have to talk to someone about that off camera.” Joy seems taken aback by her answer and Drita gets an apprehensive look.

Joy gets around to Carla and Renee and says they have one of the longest running friendships on the show, but with friends like them, who needs enemies? They show several clips of Carla and Renee fighting with each other. Renee says they fight, but they are close friends. Joy wants to know what is it about Carla that gets under Renee’s skin? Renee says it’s because she is calm. Joy says, Carla called her a “bipolar b*tch,” what bothers her more, the bipolar or the b*tch? Renee says the bipolar because she was never diagnosed. They get into the incident where Carla did not visit or call Renee when she had serious surgery complications. Carla insists she didn’t know things had gotten so bad for Renee or she would have called. Drita swears that Jenn did tell her what happened to Renee, but insisted that she not tell anyone, so she didn’t mention it to Carla. Renee says that when she said she would “crack Carla’s head open,” she was talking out of her ass.

Karen sheds light on many issues

Karen speaks up because she really needs to clarify something. Karen says she NEVER told Renee that Carla insinuated anything about Junior or Renee. Karen says she was being protective and did tell Renee to be careful about what people around her are saying, and Renee took it the wrong way. 

Soon Joy is in a state of utter disbelief for the rest of the show!

Now Joy gets into the war between Carla and Drita vs. Karen and Ramona. We get to see a bunch of clips. Joy wants to know why Carla pretended to be friends with Karen and Ramona when it’s evident that she didn’t want to be friends with them at all. Carla says that when she is with them it always turns into a Drita issue and she didn’t want to talk about Drita behind her back.  Karen speaks up again to correct a misconception. This time it’s to discusses the dinner she and Carla had to resolve their differences. Karen says they spoke about Carla’s family a good part of the time, but she won’t bring up those issues on national television out of respect for her family. Carla denies they spoke about her family. Karen insists that they did, but she won’t reveal what was said. Carla says you better not bring up my family. Ramona says that she and Carla had put their issues aside and all of a sudden Carla and Ramona are accusing each other of lying. They are both hearing things about what the other has said behind their backs to other people.  Karen gets heated and blurts out that Carla slept with her uncle for eight years and he was a married man. Carla is clearly caught off guard and makes a feeble, defensive attempt to deny it (more in my two cents about this story). Karen elaborates that the man is not Karen’s uncle by blood, but through the tradition of the lifestyle. The discussion ends with Carla calling Karen and Ramona “fools“…a couple of times. Joy calls for a break in hopes the ladies calm down.

Drita in fight mode, AGAIN!

Joy brings up Renee’s “Celebration of Life” party.” Lots of clips of the event. Drita was pissed about the whole affair. She says she went there for Renee. She wanted to pop in, say hello and leave. She didn’t want to talk to Karen. She didn’t ask to talk to Karen. Big Ang takes the blame for trying to get Drita and Karen to talk to each other. Karen tries to once again state the truth and clear up misconceptions. Karen says she wanted to talk to Drita all summer, but Jennifer kept telling her Drita was not ready. Drita says she never heard that Karen wanted to talk to her. Jennifer is called up to the set and asked what happened. Jenn says Karen did ask to speak to Drita several times and Drita kept saying she wasn’t ready to talk to Karen. Drita was ready the day before Renee’s party when she texted Karen. By the time Karen received those texts she was pissed herself. Drita wasn’t ready to talk for weeks, she spread rumors about putting Karen in the hospital and now, the day before this big party, she suddenly wants to talk? Karen didn’t answer the text messages and figured she would see Drita at the party. Jenn says they agreed to talk at the party and they both promised Jennifer there would be no fighting. Karen says she was angry because by the time Drita was ready to talk she had been hearing all summer that Drita and Carla were going around saying Drita put Karen in the hospital. Drita says she understands where Karen was coming from.

Ramona tells Drita off!

Drita felt that she was railroaded into talking to Karen. Joy brings up the fact that Drita threw the first punch. Ramona says she didn’t want anyone to fight. She went out there because she could see, from the body language, that things were getting heated and she was trying to protect both Karen and Drita. She knows how they get when they fight and they were on a balcony. She tried to diffuse the situation. Carla thinks that Ramona was wrong for interfering while Karen and Drita were talking. Drita says she felt set up by everyone. Ramona says she respects Drita as a mother and she likes her kids. Drita says they weren’t getting along and she should have never butted into their conversation. And Drita is offended that Ramona said she respected her as a mother! Karen is dying to talk again, but Drita and Ramona are yelling at each other and cursing. Renee screams “No! We’re gonna talk about the party and that’s it!” Drita says she will bring in her people and “unleash the beasts!” Ramona says she will bring in her people and they will “light up the place!” Jenn comes in to try to calm everyone down. Joy has lost control of the discussion. Drita walks off.

Jenn tries to calm the situation

Renee screams "NO" to the fighting!

Preview of next week show: Drita says to Ramona, “After the show, we’re fighting!” Joy covers her mouth.

MY TWO CENTS

The Reunion Show Part 1 delivers the goods! I would like to subtitle this “The Truth Exposed” because a lot of things have been brought into the light. I have a lot to say, but will it make any sense? Let’s see. Oy vey.  I’ll take this topic by topic, and focus on the highlights.

In the discussion about Junior, Renee reveals for the first time ever, that she was in the hospital in January because she suffered a miscarriage. Now we have more reasons for Renee’s extreme emotional reactions to everything. Pregnancy releases hormones that can affect ones mood. And suffering a miscarriage was another tremendous loss for Renee. I was surprised to hear this and felt very bad for Renee, having had a miscarriage myself many years ago. Obviously, Renee wasn’t thinking clearly at the time, if she allowed herself to get pregnant, knowing that Junior would be going to jail soon. Even if she thought her future was with Junior, she admits that he wasn’t acting right and she even suspected he was cheating. On top of that, there were her health issues which hadn’t been resolved yet. She still needed more corrective surgery and I’m not even sure she was healed enough physically and emotionally for her body to go through a pregnancy. In any case, Junior has hurt Renee time and time and time again. I think Renee should order a case of blue balls and place them all over her house.

We saw many clips of every mob wife saying she was “DONE” with all the drama. I’m glad Joy said “let’s get real, no one is done with the drama.” And where is the proof? Just a few minutes later a war breaks out on stage between feuding couples Drita/Carla and Karen/Ramona. I just wish I had a freakin’ transcript. These women talk so fast and with the bleeps, it’s almost impossible to get a direct quote out of anyone, except Big Ang, who talks nice and slow. The first sign of an “issue,” that I notice, comes from Joy’s question to Ramona, “Why do people come at you? No one ever came at me.” Ramona’s cryptic answer, “I’ll have to talk to someone about that off camera.” And then Ramona smiles and we all know what it means. Joy is suddenly speechless and afraid to probe further and Drita has a “scared” expression on her face, as though the comment was meant for her. Was it? I think so. Ramona was looking and smiling in her direction. Stay tuned for Reunion part two!

The rehashing of the Renee and Carla fights with more video clips is nothing new. What is new, is that Karen finally gets the opportunity to address a serious misconception that many had. When Karen and Carla met, Carla said some things about Junior and Renee, to which Karen said in the green screen, “I don’t know what Carla was insinuating.” Karen says she never said that to Renee. I believe Karen. Why would Karen get Renee even more upset than she already was, by telling her something that Carla said, when she didn’t even know what Carla meant? Everyone was accusing Karen of telling Renee, but no one stopped to consider that there is an entire film crew who heard the conversation and maybe one of them told Renee? Renee basically confirms that Karen didn’t say anything. Good for you Karen! The truth always comes out. And there is a lot more truth to come out too.

Now we get into the season two “war” between the feuding couples: Drita/Carla and Karen/Ramona. Joy is right, Carla was pretending to be Karen and Ramona’s friend. There is no way Carla wanted to go to the Poconos, but someone convinced her to do it. Why? They needed some drama to go down maybe, or Carla needed a few extra dollars for shoes? Whatever the case, anyone with eyes could see she wasn’t a “happy camper.” Carla’s answer to Joy is that it always turns into a Drita issue when she talks with them. Another truth comes from Karen at this point. I can see the frustration in Karen’s face to have to constantly be correcting Carla. Karen says when they met to resolve their differences, they spent a good deal of time discussing Carla’s family. Carla says no, it was all about Drita. Of course, that is what we saw as viewers, thanks to poor editing. Karen seemed to make a 180 degree turn around about Carla on the screen, but so much of that conversation was edited out it never felt believable. Karen says they did discuss Carla’s family, but out of respect for them, she will not bring up the issues on national television. Carla is very tight lipped about her family and has been from the very beginning. But, it’s been said that Karen’s father, Sammy Gravano, was allegedly instrumental in intervening on Louis Facciolo’s behalf with the mob many years ago, and in so doing, saved his life. Maybe Karen believes that their family history deserves some loyalty and respect that Carla clearly lacks? 

Then all hell breaks loose! Carla and Ramona start calling each other liars! Karen, still upset that Carla lied about their discussion about her family, blurts out another truth, “And you f*cked my uncle for eight years” and he was married. Karen quickly clears up the fact that the man wasn’t related to her by blood, but he was an “uncle” in the tradition of the lifestyle they were raised in. Renee races off the stage. I ask myself why? Is it to avoid being around another fight? Or is it that she doesn’t want Joy to question her about what Karen just said? After all, Renee knew Carla, they were close friends, and if anyone would know the truth about this, it would be her. Never mind, the truth always comes out! And soon too...

Well I was on twitter last night, where truths often come out, and am going to fill in some of the blanks for you now. The “uncle” Karen was referring to was Michael “Mikey Scars” DiLeonardo, a close associate of her father, Sammy. You may recall seeing his name in other blogs, such as Carla Facciolo’s Scars. Carla was “Mikey Scars” mob mistress for some years. If there was ever any doubt about that, there isn’t now. Why? While I was taking notes for the recap, I popped into Twitter and who do I see tweeting? None other than “Mikey Scars” ex-wife, Toni Marie Ricci, who was married to him at the time and is a friend of Karen’s . She has nothing nice to say about Carla, as you would expect. Yet, she can’t give too much away because she is doing an episode of “I Married A Mobster” in June, and who knows what details might be revealed in her story. Personally, I can’t wait to watch and blog that show! So another truth comes out, that Karen sheds light on. A truth which Carla, the liar, denies. Carla, the same hypocrite mob wife, who is angry at all the other women that Joe cheated on her with, was once one of those women herself! Interesting right? I hope Joe’s girlfriend is reading this blog, she may need the facts! Moving on…

In the Celebration of Life party discussion another lie is exposed by Karen! This time it’s Drita, who has a selective memory. Karen is utterly frustrated saying she was trying to talk to Drita all summer, but was told Drita wasn’t ready. Drita demands to know who told her that! This is the first she is hearing of this! Karen is totally exasperated. She asks Jennifer to please come forward and clear up this issue. Jennifer says, yes, Karen asked her several times to talk to Drita, BUT Drita wasn’t ready to talk every time. Who is lying now??? Drita “forgot” the several times she was asked and doesn’t want to call Jenn a liar? Right! Jenn backed up Karen, Drita doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Ugh, by now I am feeling so bad for Karen, who has had to deal with lies all season long without being able to speak up and tell the truth. Karen is the real deal and has nothing to hide!

Now for the last of it. Ramona saying she respects Drita as a mother and likes her kids AND Drita going into “fight mode” because she is offended by that compliment, saying, “don‘t bring up the fact that I am a mother!” WTF moment right here! You can bring up all the fights she has had in the past, all the people she put in the hospital, the fact that she curses worse than a sailor, that she raps to lyrics she wouldn’t want her children to hear, that she promotes fighting and some of her “fans” emulate her violent attitude, but whatever you do, DO NOT compliment the fact that she is a mother and has two beautiful girls! Thems fightin’ words! Come on! If there was ever any DOUBT that Drita looks for excuses to fight, this has to settle it once and for all. Oh and by the way, KUDOS to Ramona for acknowledging that Drita is a good mother and has wonderful children inspite of her she feels about Drita herself. That’s someone who is being “real.”  How does it all end? Drita and Ramona get up screaming over this mother of a complement. Drita wants to bring in her people and “unleash them like beasts” and Ramona’s people will come in and “light up the place.” Jenn comes on the set to try to calm everyone down…good luck with that. Joy is paralyzed in her seat. Drita walks off the set. I drop my pen and try to resuscitate my hand, which has had a seizure from writing. 

Next’s week’s preview: Drita says to Ramona, “After the show we are fighting!” Joy covers her mouth. 

I’m getting a front row seat. I know I missed something along the way. My head still hurts, but I know some people are dying for the recap. What did you think?