Mob Wives: Recap “Reunion Show Part 2” Ep 219

Joy advises: "Don't get up and fight!"

The fight from part 1 continues…Renee wants them to talk about the party, Drita walks out, Carla tells everyone to talk nice and not be disrespectful. Joy wants everyone to talk and not get up. Talking is not harmful, but fighting is. Drita swears she will never fight on camera again. Ramona says Drita is a misfit who likes to fight. Drita says Ramona is a gang member who stabs people. Karen yells at Renee to keep quiet so Joy can run her show. Joy asks Drita why Ramona couldn’t be the referee during the balcony fight. Drita says it was a bad situation and they weren’t getting along. She felt corned and thought she was going to be jumped. Ramona says regardless o what she thought, Ramona was genuinely trying to stop the fight, she wasn’t there to jump her. Karen says Drita is afraid of the truth so she will change her story or fight.

Joy addresses some “hot topics” that concern all the mob wives. The first issue that comes up is clearing the air about the definition of “friendship,” that has been an ongoing battle between Karen and Drita. Joy wants to know what they mean by friendship? Karen says when people are her friends, they are friends for life, unless there is some kind of falling out or you hurt someone I love. Drita says she and Karen used to be friends, but if you don’t see someone or keep in touch, the friendship is over. Right now they agree they are not friends, by either one’s definition. They have called a “truce,” but they are not hanging out together. They have agreed to a pact, like Carla and Ramona, to call each other if they hear rumors on the street that one of them said something about the other. However, Ramona speaks up and says she heard that, “Carla has been talking smack about her” after they made their truce. Carla accuses Ramona of talking about her off camera. "Roll the tape." They both deny breaking the pact.

Next up is Joe Ferragamo and Dave Seabrook! Joy wants to know what it’s like behind bars. Dave says he went to prison for some bad charges, like attempted murder, and the worst part about being incarcerated is missing his family and loved ones. He says he was a product of his environment. Joe went to prison for wire fraud and tax evasion, in other words white collar crime involving money issues. They all heard that the prisoners love the show, Mob Wives. Joe says he wasn’t too happy when Carla first told him about it, and thinks their behavior and cursing is over the top, but after seeing it he thinks it’s okay.

About the girlfriend's age, Joe says, "I didn't ask for her pedigree."

Cheating issues…they have all had them. Lee, Big Ang’s husband Neil, Joe, Dave’s been dating, and of course Junior. Joy asks Joe if there is anything romantic between him and Carla; he answers no, it’s just a friendship. They are good friends. In fact, he adds that Carla is #1 and his girlfriend is #2 and it’s always going to be that way.  Joy doesn’t buy the fact that Joe and Carla don’t have romantic feelings for each other. Carla says she is okay with the girlfriend, and thinks it won’t be long before she is gone. Carla thought that when Joe came home they could build on their friendship and getting to like each other. Joe says he is 43 and his girlfriend is in her 20’s, he made sure she was of age before he did anything. Carla called Joe “the single man” when they were married because he liked to cheat on Carla all the time, going from girl to girl. Carla says they never had sex after they split up because she didn’t want to bring Joe in and out of the kids’ lives. He says it would not bother him if Carla found another guy. Renee wants them to get back together. Carla still says there is hope for them in the future. "Never say never." But Joy says, “A serial cheater does not change his stripes, remember that.” 

Hmmm, Does she look like a younger version of Carla?

We'll just call her #2, for now.

Joy asks Dave if he is moving back to New York. Dave says no, he has a good job and is doing well in Arizona right now. Karen says Karina, their daughter, is coming to New York to live with her. Dave says for the summer. Karen says no. Joy wants to clear up something Karen said on the show about Dave sleeping with another woman in her bed. Dave said that’s what she said, but that never happened. He added, it would be disrespectful and he cares about Karen too much to do that to her. Joy wants to know what Karen meant when she said Dave put it down in the bedroom. There is some laughter and hesitation and then Ramona says, “he lays the pipe down.” More laughter and they move on. Joy says we have seen two sides of Dave, the “hot under the collar” side and the “sweet” side. Which one is the real Dave? He answers the “hot under the collar” side. Dave explains the reason he and Karen had issues is that he went to prison for 10 years and when he got out he had to restart his life. The time apart created a distance between them. 

Joy says that Ramona’s father will not talk to her because she didn’t marry an Italian, but Karen went outside her culture and her race. Karen explains that she was not taught to be prejudice and she judges Dave as a person, period. Renee wants them to get back together. Dave says he sees a couple of more kids in their future. Drita says her thoughts go back and forth on Lee. She can’t forgive him for cheating, but he is being nice to her and that makes it hard for her to stay mad at him. They are still friends. Everyone on stage thinks that Drita and Lee will get back together. Big Ang married a sanitation worker who is very handsome and looks like Russell Crowe. He cheated on her too.

Ramona says that she visits her boyfriend, Joe, in jail every week and he doesn’t want her to wait for him because he is facing some serious charges and jail time. Ramona says she has known Joe her whole life and that’s how they got together. Renee jokes that she wants a criminal for a mate, so that when they lose their job they still know how to support the family. Everyone laughs.

Big Ang tells the story of when she was in prison. She got in trouble and was charged with the possession and selling of cocaine. At the time she was struggling as a single parent. The outcome was that she was placed on house arrest after spending a day in jail. It turned out that a close friend of hers wore a wire and recorded her.  One day, on her way to meet a date, Big Ang was surrounded by a group of cars. The Feds let her hear the tapes and told her that her friend made them. Big Ang says it’s always the closest friends that do these kinds of things. Big Ang is more upset at the betrayal of her close friend than being arrested. Big Ang says, never be a rat, never forgive a rat. She says the Feds wanted her to rat out other people, but she refused to do it. Karen says she was arrested in Arizona for selling ecstasy, but her father took the brunt of the blame for the family and was sentenced to 20 years.

Next topic, the child rearing challenges for mob wives. They seem to overcompensate because the men are always in jail. The question arises about bringing kids to jail for visits. Is that appropriate? Karen says it doesn’t matter where you bring the child, it matters who they are going to see. Ramona says she wants her kids to know that people who are incarcerated are good people who made bad choices. Renee says that AJ has been going to prisons since he was 5 years old to visit his father and grandfather. Aleeya has been to visit Lee, and Ramona’s daughter has been there to visit her boyfriend, Joe. 

Joy talks about their temper and rage. Aren't they afraid they will turn they children into "rage-aholics?" Drita says she is not that way with her kids. She doesn't ask them to "get a Mother F*ckin' bowl of cereal." Joy asks who has cursed the most in the show. This question is followed by many, many clips of Renee saying the “F” word. The final tally is Renee using the “F” word 407 times and she wins for the dropping the most F bombs. Renee says, “My mother is gonna be really upset now!” None of them curse like that in front of their kids, except Renee.

On to other projects! Drita becomes a rapper. They show clips from the studio. Joy asks if she makes it big as a rapper, will she leave the show? Drita laughs. Karen says Drita nailed it. Carla thought she did a great job. Joy asks if she would write a rap song about her co-stars? Karen says she calls them crickets. Drita says, no, she calls the "real haters" crickets. Those that don't want her to succeed. As for Karen, she published a book. Regarding Karen’s book, Drita says she didn’t read it, but she heard Lee wasn’t trashed in it. Karen says if she wanted to trash Lee she would have done it 14 years ago. Karen adds, the book was about her life and she didn’t feel she could leave out parts of it because she had to be true to her story. Karen also has a spa now.

Ramona says to Drita: "You saw me in LA and took off like a G6!"

Drita counters with: "In LA? You were stalking me!"

On to the Drita and Ramona conflict, which has gone on all of season two. A large number of clips are shown, with both Drita and Ramona saying pretty bad things about each other. Joy wants to know if Drita did say that if Ramona was five feet in front of her she would punch her?  Drita doesn’t want to go there. Drita says she knows Ramona because she was friends with her sister and Karen years ago. The issues between them both started when Ramona came back a couple of years ago. Both Drita and Ramona heard that the other one was talking about them behind their backs. Ramona heard that Drita was trying to block her from getting on the show, Mob Wives. Drita says she heard that Ramona was going to start something about her that wasn't true, on the show, and that she was trying to prevent it.

Carla is cool as a cumber. Joy says she’d rather tangle with the Taliban than with Ramona.She comapres Ramona to the Godfather, quiet, cool and deadly. Another Drita and Ramona issue had to do with what was said about Junior. Drita said that she heard Ramona said Junior only married Renee for her father. Ramona says she never said that. Joy wants to know who Renee believes. Renee says she believes everyone. Renee believes this was some kind of misunderstanding or miscommunication and that all the ladies have her best interests at heart.

Joy wants to know if Drita and Ramona can ever be friends. Drita says there are too many issues between them. Ramona says she can be cordial, but will never forgive her for attacking Karen.

MY TWO CENTS:

First of all, part 2 of the Reunion was definitely a lot more subdued than part one. I was expecting fireworks and none really took off except in the beginning which continued from last week. It went downhill from there. If I were to give last week’s episode a 10, I would give this week’s episode a 5 or 6. Even the questions weren't intense, they were just so, so. Sorry, I even watched it twice, and that’s the best I can do. It was borderline boring…and so are my two cents.

The fight at the beginning was explosive. I just wish I could have heard every word. Joy looked like a scared rabbit. I don't think she will be doing it again next year. Drita will never accept the fact that Ramona really did go out there to stop a fight from happening. I believe her. She didn't have to say she respected Drita as a mother, and didn't want her to get hurt. Ramona speaks the truth, good or bad, she has nothing to gain or lose. It's clear that she never liked Drita, and if her intention was to attack her, she would have done it instead of saying this is not the time or place.

On the friendship definition, we have heard too much on this already. It's been discussed to death. What I would have liked to get into was what Ramona and Carla had to say about who was saying what behind each other’s backs. That peaked my interest. A lot goes on behind the cameras that we don't see, this might be one of them. There were some strong feelings of “dislike” on both their parts for the breaking of the “pact” they made and I want to know was said. 

Joe and Dave seem like two very likable guys. They have charisma, there’s no doubt about that. Joy was right to call Joe a “serial cheater.” He cheated on Carla many times when they were married. As much as Carla might love to be back with him, I doubt she will ever be able to trust him out of her sight. If they ever get back together, I don’t think it will last. Joe likes young girls, Carla seems to like younger guys. At least that’s something they have in common. Maybe they can arrange a play date for their “side dishes?” Joe’s girlfriend can bring her Barbie Dolls and Carla’s boyfriend, their G.I. Joes. Oh, I almost forgot and maybe Joe did too. Joe didn't mention the stock fraud he committed (unless the catch phrase is wire fraud), swindling many old people out of their life savings by selling them worthless stock...that really irks me to no end. Especially when both Carla and her mother said they didn't consider that a "bad" crime. I wish Joy would have probed into that with Joe. How could he live with himself knowing he made so many old, vulnerable people penniless?

I was hoping that Dave was going to agree to move back to New York. I agree that Karina needs to be with Karen now. She did the right thing, not to turn her daughter’s world upside down, while she was trying to get herself established here in NYC. But now that things are going well, it’s time for mother and daughter to reunite. It will be a big change for Karina, but kids adapt fairly quickly. And, besides that, Karen will be taking Karina back to Arizona often to see her family and friends there. Dave and Karen still have feelings for each other and I hope they get the chance to “rekindle” their relationship and get to know each other as the people they are today. Dave sees more children in their future, so we already know how he feels. 

Ramona might be in over her head with her boyfriend and his serious legal issues. Maybe she is confused about what to do, or is waiting for the outcome of a trial to decide. Hopefully, we will learn more about this in season three. In any case, she doesn't seem like herself the past few weeks and hasn't even been on the show much. I hope she gets more air time next season. I love Ramona.

She did get one thing right, I am a lady!

Joy talks about some of the successes a couple of the mob wives have had outside the show. Drita, for instance, has made her rapping debut. Does she have a potential career as a rapper? Who knows? Anything is possible. However, when Joy asked her to write a song about her co-stars, and Karen mentioned “crickets,” and that hit a nerve. The word, “cricket” is what Drita reserves for her “haters,” (people who don't want to see her succeed) and she counts me as one of her biggest. She tweets that I write about her all the time, which is not true. I don’t consider myself a “hater” because, in my opinion, I am just telling the truth or poking fun at it. It's what all the parodies do. I even make helpful suggestions, like anger management, which the show seems to have taken to heart. I'm happy for Drita's success and wish her nothing but the best. But, you can’t please everyone, so I’m going to please myself! Drita did all but admit she was wrong about Karen’s book. It didn’t trash Lee, or so she heard. She could have settled that issued a long time ago had she taken the time to READ chapter one and the book, but no, that would have been too easy. If I were Joy I would have asked Drita if she feels she owes Karen an apology for jumping to conclusions about the book and what would be in it? (Maybe she owes Ramona one too for jumping to conclusions that she was going to jump her?) I think she does.

The Ramona and Drita storyline is explosive. The clips said it all. These two cannot have a civil conversation if their lives depended on it. Drita, with her extremely short fuse, is ready to misinterpret anything Ramona says and turn it into an insult. Ramona, who says she can be cordial, is carrying too much animosity towards Drita for attacking Karen. If Ramona didn’t like Drita before, she is beyond accepting her now, except for the sake of the show. The show must go on. 

And so ends season two. I can’t wait for season three! How about you?

Picture credit:  Twitter, Drita's Facebook