Monday, June 18, 2012

Mob Wives Chicago: Recap “The Aftermath” Ep 102

Nora waves Pia's hair around like a flag!


The fight between Pia and Christina continues. Renee is embarrassed. Christina feels that Pia got up in her face and says, “no one disrespects me.” Nora finds some of Pia’s hair on the table and waves it around. Christina feels she has the upper hand. All the women get kicked out of the classy restaurant. Pia is offended at being kicked out because it was Christina who started the fight. A feisty Pia tells the security guard she isn’t afraid of him. Christina is upset because Pia went crying to her about what Nora said and then makes her look like an ass by telling her to stay out of it. Pia leaves with Nora and Nora tells her she never liked Christina, she is a “nitwit.” Christina and Renee leave together in the other limo. Pia is upset because she is the one who brought Christina into the group.

At Renee’s house, Nora and Renee discuss what happened at girl’s night out. Renee thinks it was disgusting. Nora feels bad because she was the one who put the gathering together and there was a terrible fight. Nora blames Christina’s behavior on too much alcohol. Renee says a friend should never put a hand on a friend. Renee says that Pia confided in Christina and brought her into her issues with Nora. Nora wants to talk to Pia and Renee calls Pia to invite her over to talk and have coffee. Renee also wants to tell Pia what she thinks of her.

Pia is feeling ambushed, what kind of invitation is this?

Pia arrives at Renee’s house to meet with Nora and Renee. She says she was shocked by Christina’s behavior, but before she can say any more, Renee warns her to be on her good behavior, she doesn’t want trouble like there was at the restaurant. Then Renee tells her that she isn’t used to being around people like Pia; she has never associated with a stripper/dancer “whatever you are” before. They have no class. Pia feels ambushed. This was supposed to be a meeting to discuss the fight. Renee tells Pia that she got up at the restaurant and that made Christina go on the attack. Renee thinks Pia should apologize to Christina. Pia says, No, Christina physically attacked her. Nora says it was embarrassing, she should nip it in the bud, and cut her ties with Christina. Pia doesn’t want anyone telling her what to do.

Christina is torn about the fight; part of her is embarrassed and the other part is glad she stood up for herself. Christina meets Leah and tells her all about the drama, about how Pia chose to address her issues with Nora at the restaurant. She tells Leah that Nora told her to stay out of the discussion. Pia was “flappin’ her gums,” and then Pia got up in her face. Christina says, that’s when she grabbed her. Leah is not happy. She says she wishes she had been there, she would have put that b!tch in her place. Christina doesn’t know what to do, stay friends and work it out or cut ties with Pia. Christina wants an apology.

Nora and Renee are driving to the cemetery. Nora wants answers regarding her father’s burial. She says the government took her father’s body from the funeral home the day he was supposed to be buried. The government says they returned the body and it was buried, but Nora never saw it. Nora and Renee go way back, they were friends for many years when Nora’s Dad and Renee’s uncle had business dealings. They get to the cemetery and it’s closed. Nora needs closure and she wants to exhume the body and find out who is in the casket. Renee supports Nora, who needs to find out what happened.

Christina never imagined she would be going through all this in her life; living with her ex-husband because of finances and lying to her nine year old daughter about their divorce to protect her. She sees a therapist. She tells her she feels like a bad mother living a lie and that in the end everyone is going to get hurt anyway. Then she tells the therapist about her physical fight with Pia. The therapist says she doesn’t have to apologize to Pia in order to bring it up, she just has to say she wants to clear the air. Christina says the trust she had with Pia is tainted now.

"So what if they deleted you on facebook? Throw a party!" Leah's good advice!

Christina and Leah meet up for lunch. Christina tells her she went to the therapist and cried about her daughter. Then she says Pia deleted her from Facebook and Nora deleted her too. Leah tells her so what if they deleted you, have a big party. Christina says she is confused because she didn’t do anything to Nora. Leah then tells her about an incident where Nora was very disrespectful to her. It happened at a gathering with family and Leah put her arm around her, in a friendly way, when Nora turn to her and said, in a nasty tone, “take your arm off me.” Leah says she would have beaten her within an inch of her life right there, if there weren’t other people present. Leah tells Christina that Pia is not a friend.

Renee and Giana meet and Renee apologizes for the argument they had over Giana visiting her father in jail. Renee has been under a lot of stress because her ex-husband is suing for custody of their 10 year old daughter, Isabella. He wants Isabella to live with him. Renee can’t bear the thought of that happening. Giana says he is just trying to make her life hell. Renee hopes the justice system protects Isabella from her father. Giana says there is no way any judge will rule in his favor. Giana comforts her mother and tells her to be strong.

It's all a facebook "glitch," says Nora. But is it?

Christina meets Nora to discuss being deleted from facebook. She wants to know what the problem is between them. Nora doesn’t know why Christina wants to talk to her, but when Christina tells her about the facebook issue, Nora says it must be a glitch, she hasn’t even been on facebook. Christina is skeptical and says, “since when does facebook have a glitch?” Nora says she has more important things to worry about than facebook. Nora has an issue with Christina. She tells her she is sick of hearing people call her father a “hit man.” Christina did it at the restaurant. Christina says she was just repeating what she heard other people saying. They discuss the fight. Christina says she was just defending herself. Nora says it was more that that, she had Pia in a headlock. Nora tells Christina that she is not a friend of hers, she is just an acquaintance. Christina is offended by her remark.

Pia goes to Nora’s apartment. They have made plans to go to the funeral home to get some answers. Nora wants to know where her father is buried. She hasn’t spoken to her family since his burial. She is now looking for a paper trail, who signed and authorized his burial. She is feeling anxious and wants the truth. Nora then tells Pia she talked to Christina and that she will not apologize to Pia because she feels justified in defending herself. Pia is now pissed because Christina went to Nora to talk about the fight before coming to see her.

Leah goes to Christina’s house. Christina tells Leah about meeting Nora to discuss the facebook issue. Nora denies deleting her. Leah says Nora is nuts and likes to cause trouble. Christina says she will meets up with Pia and ask her why she went after her at the restaurant. Christina says if she goes after her again she will defend herself.

Nora moved to Chicago for answers and she goes to the funeral home to get some. She introduces herself and is handed a large, manila envelope. Someone in the family called the funeral home and told them to just bury her father and they couldn’t be bothered to be at the burial. Nora looks at the paperwork and her sister’s signature is there. Nora is furious and feels betrayed by her sister.

Renee is getting ready for her court date for the custody battle for Isabella. She is scared. She calls Nora for support. Nora says everything will be fine. Renee says she has to fight for her baby.

Christina and Pia resolve nothing! 

Christina says she will make the first move to meet Pia. Pia says she is meeting Christina just to stop her mouth from running. They meet. It’s awkward. Pia tells her she is upset because she met with Nora before coming to her. She feels stabbed in the back. Christina says that makes no sense. Christina tells her she was trying to encourage Pia to stand up for herself at the restaurant, she had her back and then, Christina says, all of a sudden she had to watch her own back. Nothing is settled. They can’t agree.

Nora is headed to Renee’s house to ask about the custody hearing. Renee tells her it’s not looking good, nothing is making sense. She thinks they will take her daughter away from her. She gets hysterical crying. Renee screams it’s about money and power. Nora wants to get her a good lawyer to help her fight. Nora promises to always be there for her.

MY TWO CENTS

Still trying to get used to the Chicago accents, but I’ve had a chance to watch episode one again and now, episode two. Something does not sit well with me about this “fight” and I feel my old skepticism about “scripting” rearing it’s head again. The facts are that Nora insulted Pia at least three separate times in episode one. The first time is when Pia comes to visit her with a gift to welcome her back to Chicago and Nora is very judgmental about her “pole dancing.” The next time Pia hears from her cousin, who isn’t likely to lie to her, that Nora referred to her as a “whore.” The third (and fourth) time was at the restaurant when she sees the silver shoes and Nora says something like how could she wear those and look like a “whore” like Pia. When Pia confronts her about what her cousin told her, Nora denies it and says let’s forget about it. Then Nora adds that she always tells the truth when she drinks! BUT, instead of the fight being between Pia and Nora, as I would expect, the fight ends up being between Pia and her good friend, Christina, who was there to support and defend her against Nora’s insults. On top of that, Renee, Nora’s other good friend, also insults Pia, unprovoked, by saying “a rat is a rat is a rat” for no reason. I think that is why Christina, who went to the dinner angry at Nora, ends up saying, “I keep hearing from people that your father was a hit man.” She wanted to get her own dig in there, at Nora, for Pia. Why Pia suddenly dropped her issue with Nora and decided Christina was the “bad guy” I don’t know. Maybe Nora didn’t want to get into a physical altercation so the producers turned it around to have the fight between Pia and Christina instead? Pia and Christina can always make up, they have a history. So let’s create some early drama and then patch things up later when we get some new drama. I just can’t buy this fight no matter how you package it. I’ll just blame it on the alcohol for now. They made sure we saw them all take several “shots” when they first got there.

The good news is that no one is really happy the fight took place. The rest of the episode consists of several meetings between pairs of women to discuss the fiasco. Nora blames Christina and alcohol. But Renee seems to think Pia is to blame for bringing Christina into her issues with Nora and for getting up at the table and making Christina feel threatened. No one blames Nora for insulting Pia.

When Pia gets invited to Renee’s house to talk to her and Nora, she goes right over. There is a huge “What The Hell” moment, as Renee immediately insults her as she walks into her house! She tells Pia she doesn’t want any trouble. Who invites someone for coffee and then “ambushes” them? Pia and I were both stunned by that greeting. Renee wants Pia to apologize to Christina. Nora wants her to cut her ties with Christina. Pia can’t believe what she is hearing and neither can I. This time they can’t blame the alcohol!

Leah is a good friend of Christina’s and is always there to advise and listen. Leah is a firecracker. She has a strong personality and is very passionate. She also has some bad blood with Nora and I wonder what will happen if those two are ever in the same room. Nora has a habit of blurting out insults and Leah is more than ready to take her on.

Now I have to get into the whole Facebook issue before I die laughing. Christina is upset because Nora and Pia deleted her from facebook. I don’t know how Leah listened to that with a straight face, but I busted out laughing. I know plenty about facebook and unfriending people and it’s not that earth shattering. How are we going to take these women seriously if they get upset about facebook? Anyway, Christina seems to think it’s okay for Pia to unfriend her because they had a fight, but she had no issue with Nora, or so she thinks. She forgets that she called her father a “hit man” and Nora is sensitive to that, but whatever. Nora tells her maybe it’s a glitch because she hasn’t even been on facebook. Christina doesn’t believe in facebook glitches. That tells me that Christina doesn’t use her facebook much either. Facebook is famous for glitches. However, the timing of Nora’s “unfriending” is suspicious. I agree with Leah, that Christina should throw herself a party. She doesn’t even like Nora, so what if she deleted her from facebook, she did her a huge favor. Later, Christina decides to meet with Pia to try to resolve their differences, but because things got physical, neither one of the ladies are ready to makeup.

The other two storylines need to develop  more. Nora’s quest for answers about her father’s body and burial seems to get resolved at some point because we now know she was able to get a court order to exhume his body. We will just watch as this all plays out over the season. She should finally get her closure.

The other storyline is Renee’s custody battle for her younger daughter, Isabella, age 10. I am finding it hard to swallow than a court would consider granting full or partial custody to an ex-felon who spent time in prison for God knows what. I think her ex-husband would be lucky to get supervised visitation, if that. On top of that, we are supposed to believe that a judge would allow the child to be removed from a stable and loving mother and home and placed with a father who has a criminal past? Is it me or does this seem a little too outrageous? The father has no job, but he does have money. Doesn’t that make him a bit of a flight risk? He could take his daughter anywhere if given custody. We don’t exactly know all the facts about the case, but based on what Renee has said, it seems very unlikely that she has anything to worry about.

I am getting a better understanding of who is friends with who, but the loyalty, trust and respect between friends is on some shaky ground. The solid friendship I see so far is Leah and Christina. Pia and Nora are supposed to be long time friends, but Nora says too many things that a friend wouldn’t say. Renee and Nora are supposed to be good friends, but we saw a preview where Nora says to her “I hope you lose your daughter!” Ouch! Pia and Christina…even after the physical altercation, I think they will patch things up. Why? Because I am not buying the fight and I think it was for our (the viewers) benefit.

What do you think? Have anything to add? I’d love to know!


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I definitely agree w/u on EVERYTHING. I dont think Nora knows who's side she's on.Shes flip floppn on that 1.Renees x getting custody?? Nope don't buy it.But she seems 2 b the voice of reason w/these ladies.I think the only 2 comin out of this as Friends r going 2 b Leah,who is funny & Christina..Can't see Nora & Pia staying friends after all the jabbs she takes @ Pia.Especially the fact that Christina&Leah r from Taylor St. We r very loyal friends from Taylor St they will prove that.So the remark Nora made about them being from Taylor she will see how Taylor St girls r. Can't wait 2 see how this season PLAYS out.

Chiara Soprano said...

Nice to get a Taylor St Rep to comment. Don't you think Pia and Christina will make up if the fight was "staged." They really didn't have an issue until that "fight" broke out. They were both upset over Nora's insults to Pia.

Anonymous said...

Chiara your Two Cents was right on. I feel the same way about this fight. It looked to much like a Jerry Springer fight. And this thing with Renee I and her kid I feel is scripted too. What judge would take a kid out of a perfect home and put her with an ex con. It don't make sense. I feel Jenn Graziano had to do a lot of scripting with these ladies for drama and ratings. Their chemistry is not like the NY wives. Its not real it feels fake. I'll stick with the show cause there is really nothing else to watch. The only one I think is real is Leah. She needs her own show. She's got such personality!

Kathy Cummings said...

I'm going to be honest... I am losing interest in this whole "mob wives" thing. This past season of the original cast was all about fighting, he/she said b.s. And now Chicago is doing the same thing. While I know drama gets ratings and people tune in to see a fight I feel like the show has become VERY scripted. Especially after watching the reunion. Things that could have been easily taken care of weren't. I tuned into this whole thing because of course I figured there would be some drama, but I was mainly interested in what the show was supposed to be about, the struggle these women face because of their husband/fathers actions. If there is gonna be a fight id like to see the women band together and take on a bar or something, not each other.. It's all become too much like high school, I'm glad I'm not in high school anymore and really don't like watching 40+ year old women fighting like they're still in high school. At least with the original cast we got a good background and sense of each woman
Before they started killing each other and they had better storylines. Hopefully things get better on the show because if it stays this way I'll just tune in to one of the 100 "wives" shows that are all about the bitchy catiness

Chiara Soprano said...

Kathy thanks for commenting and I can understand how this type of drama is not for everyone all the time and it can get old. I watch to analyze what is going on and for the fun of it. It gives me something to blog about. I'm sorry you aren't enjoying the show though.

Anonymous said...

I believe pia and Christina will be just fine. I also think that all the girls minus nora are all getting closer. Nora is a flipping idiot if you ask me and she will pay for the comment about people from Taylor st. Also I love how she does not like people to talk about her old man being a hit man, but she was the 1st person to use that to her advantage back in the day with bars and any drama she got herself into! She is a nitwit and a liar!

Leah said...

I don't know what it is, but the entire show felt forced. Maybe it was the bad acting. Renee did not shed a tear with the fake storyline about her custody battle. The editing is all over the place. I noticed it was Spring and Winter all in one episode. I don't think I will be watching this one. I'll wait for the original next season.

Deana3452 said...

I agree with EVERYTHING in your two cents part, Chiara!! It looked strange somehow..but, so far, I am tuning in just for Leah! What a hoot! And what a perfect word for her...firecracker! lol

vai said...

Great recap Chiara and like always your 2 cents are spot on.

The fight was crazy. It was clear to me that Christina was trying to get Pia to stand up to Nora the annoying n most fake one but Pia turned on Christina. I think Pia somehow scared of Nora. Like you said Nora kept insulting Pia she was totally fine with that but once Christina said F u guys Pia attacked her like wtf. I don't like Nora she's two face and had no loyalty to her so called friends. Renee I like her she tells it like it is. Shes very judgmental but other then that I like her. I'm not digging Pia so much but I like Christina and Leah. Leah's like Ramona, loyal n not scared of anyone. I think this ladies besides Leah n Christina don't know anything or two about loyalty. They said something else on tv bit their tweets last night made me confused who's friends with who. They're like everywhere. Oh n about the Facebook drama was hilarious. It was too funny like really Facebook LOL. Love Christina though she's funny n gave her props for at least considering Noras fake ass to be het friend.

Chiara Soprano said...

LOL Vai, I am trying to wait and see how these personalities develop. I see Ramona in Leah too, she is very protective and she uses her Italian expressions like Ramona does with her flip floppin's crumb snatchin' floozie words LOL. I think the problem with Pia is that she feels everyone is judging her without giving her a chance, so I want to give her a chance before judging...we'll see!

Anonymous said...

Your 2 cents pretty much summed up what I feel. I am so confused, as I thought Nora was more than happy on episode 1 to knock Pia around verbally, and they are friends for how long? I get it if Cristina wanted to help, but the minute Pia and Nora made up she should have stayed out of it, it was between them 2 to decide to make up or not. Think someone wanted a fight? Renee should not be so judgmental about others , especially in her situation.

vai said...

I agreed..I didn't hear Christina judge her for what she does for a living. Few more episodes that for sure one of them will block me lol.

Anonymous said...

I think Leah, Big Ang and Drita should all be in a show together. All this fighting is played out and boring... def seems staged.

Anonymous said...

Love, love,love the ladies of the original Mob Wives. For some reason, I agree that the new show feels staged for excitement value, as plot and the stories behind these women are pretty lackluster. These ladies are boring, classless and in some instances come across as down right stupid. I will however continue to watch, in the hopes that this show may eventually grow on me.

Anonymous said...

Chiara,
Your summary of episode 2 of MWC is dead on. Being that I’m from Chicago, I really wanted to cheer for the home team, but I’m somewhat disappointed because the show appears to have been thrown together with little thought. Overall, there’s something missing here when it comes to authenticity. The fight between Pia and Christina just didn’t add up and seem staged. As I watched the whole thing unfold, it reminded of the comedy skit: “Who’s on first?” Seriously, Pia needs to grow a pair and deal with Nora who, by the way, is a total flake and wouldn’t know loyalty if it bit her in the ass. So far, Leah is the only strong personality and my favorite. Although I had to take a few points away from her for that hysterical Facebook thing, Christina is a close second. Renee seems intent on conveying that she has ‘class’, but then she talks about her oldest daughter’s father being a low-life who’s incarcerated for murder, and her ex-husband being a non-working scumbag with money that retained 2-3 lawyers. I don't know. It’s still early in the season, so I will keep watching to see if the show improves, otherwise the show should be renamed to Mob Wives – Springfield. At any rate, I can hardly wait for the premiere of Big Ang!

Anonymous said...

I have to say that in Cook County (Chicago) I had to fight tooth and nail to get custody of my 4 yr old daughter for 2 yrs. Her father never paid child support, had a long criminal record - one of the charges was kidnapping but the judge doesn't care about the past....
The only way I ended up getting custody is when he died of an overdose.. Cook and Lake Co courts are BS.. That's why we moved to Phx near Karen Gravano

Chiara Soprano said...

To the last Anon, that's for shedding light on that issue. The justice system seems to rules in ways that aren't compatible to basic common sense. Renee's story line with the custody battle may be valid after all.

Anonymous said...

I think Nora needs to see a therapist, not Christina...how is it that she was so close to the family but afterwards, they had a falling out? How is it she was so close to her sister then all the sudden, their dad dies and it's divided? What could've Nora done or said to cause that division and vice versa?

Lots of chunks missing.

Hey you said...

There have only been 2 episodes so far and each one had different issues. I don't know about everyone else buuuut I'm looking forward to seeing episode 3. Do things move along or what.....well it seems every1 can't get over Pia dancing/ stripping. Chiara, I like your 2 cent. MOBWIVES CHICAGO!

Kel said...

This show is confusing. It doesn't seem like any of these women know what loyalty or respect is (leaving Leah out of it since she hasn't been too involved yet). Friends don't physically attack their friends! Christina's argument that she reacted because Pia got up in her face is flawed. I've had heated arguments with my friends before but it's never gotten physical. There is an unwritten rule between friends that you know you will never intentionally hurt each other. Christina has no excuse and should apologize. Shes a grown ass woman and she chose to turn a heated verbal altercation into a full blown physical attack. Just because someone gets up to yell at you across a table does not mean you have the green light to hit them. She's a woman in her 40's and has a daughter, she should be able to express her thoughts with words. I also think the moment that Pia and Nora said: ok we're over it, Christina should have dropped it. As for Renee, I feel sorry for her. No loving mom should be put through that... at the same time though, she really seems to have very poor test in men. Show is still new, I'm still trying to get a good feel of it before deciding how I feel about it.

Angie said...

I love the original Mob Wives, but just can't seen to get into the Chicago Mob Wives. I watched the 1st episode, but it was a total turnoff. So boring.