Mob Wives: Recap “The Gathering Storm,” Ep 305

First what we didn't see!

Ramona and her daughter shop for make-up

Ramona is planning a birthday party for her girls who are only a year apart. She meets Karen at Big Ang’s store to shop for gifts. One of her daughters wants to invite Aleeya to her party. Ramona tells them she has to call Drita and ask her if she will let Aleeya come. Karen doesn’t think it’s a great idea considering all the history they have between them. Ramona just wants to make her daughters happy and will do whatever it takes. There is no way of knowing whether or not Drita will agree.

Renee says, "There is no forgiveness."

Renee is in group therapy, she feels angry and says she can’t trust people. The therapist tells her addicts don’t know any other emotion except anger. There is no forgiveness for Renee. Renee says she flips out. Then a woman says she has no time for fighting and holding grudges. Renee confronts her for talking about her. Renee says that “little blonde” runs her mouth and she heard her talking about her behind her back. Renee tells her you don’t know me, so my name shouldn’t be coming out of your mouth. The therapist says Renee is projecting her emotions on someone else.

Big Ang tells Neil, "You drink diet Coke, that's what you do."

Neil walks into the Monkey and Big Ang wants to know what he is doing there because she threw him out. The reason she is upset with Neil is she can’t depend on him to do anything. He dropped her off for foot surgery and left her there. She says she has to do everything and all he knows how to do is drink diet soda. He is trying to work his way back in, but Big Ang is done…goodbye.

“Last time I saw Ramona, I wanted to put her head through a F*cking window,” Drita recalls.

Ramona calls Drita and tells her her daughter’s birthday party is coming up and her daughter wants to invite Aleeya. Ramona tells Drita she would like to meet with her to talk over a couple of things. Drita agrees to meet Ramona, but her guard is definitely up.

Karen meets with her friend Storm at his studio. Karen wants to invest some money in the studio, but she know nothing about the music business. Karina likes to sing and she wants to do this for her daughter. Since Karina doesn’t want to move to New York, Karen feels the studio might help change her mind. Karina will see the studio while visiting for Melina’s party.

Ramona says,  “Do I really wanna hang out with Drita? Um, definitely not.”

Ramona is going to meet Drita, but Drita is in shock and still suspicious. Ramona says she isn’t scared of anyone, but God. They sit down and Ramona says both she and Drita aren’t afraid of anyone and they both have egos. Ramona says they don’t have to fight. Drita tells her she feels certain people in their inner circle caused problems between them. This is actually the first time Ramona and Drita are talking on their own. They can clear the air. The rehash the balcony fight and Ramona says they can be ladies from here on in. Drita says she doesn’t want any problems with anyone. Ramona is done. Drita is seeing Ramona as a mother more than as Lucifer. Drita says she is happy Aleeya was invited to the party and she will bring her. They end by making a deal that if each of them hears anything about the other they will call each other…Peace Achieved!

Carla is at the gym with Drita. Drita drops the bombshell that she met with Ramona. Carla thinks it’s a joke. Drita says she was taken by surprise, but Ramona’s girls are having a birthday party and Aleeya was invited. Drita said she met with Ramona and no one else was there. Carla says Ramona knows she was wrong and doesn’t have the balls to apologize.(excuse me, but is this starting trouble or what?). Drita says she would rather have peace than arguing. Carla doesn’t trust Ramona. Drita wants to forget, forgive and move on. She asks Carla how is she doing with all the girls. Carla thinks she is good with everybody (really? I can hardly believe my ears). Carla tells her to have fun at the party.

“Oh my God, that is cold!” Carla says.

Back at Carla’s house, Joe comes by to discuss something. The kids are having lunch with Carla’s parents so they can talk. Carla doesn’t know what is so urgent. Joe sits down and seems a little nervous. He is probably afraid of Carla’s reaction. He tells her he went to see a divorce attorney. He says he is out of jail, his past was so negative that he wants a fresh start, a clean and positive future. He tells her she needs to get a lawyer so they can move on this quickly and expeditiously. He wants to make sure that everything is outlined in the documents. He wants all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted and nothing to be open to her volatile nature. If they agree, for example, that he has the kids for 10 days a month, he doesn’t want her to be able to change her mind when she gets pissed off. He says she took his dog, Elvis. He wants Carla to admit that her nature is more volatile than his and he needs to protect himself from her whims and moods. She says she will find an attorney and he can’t have the dog back. He says good because the papers are coming.

Ang is at the Drunken Monkey because she is having issues with the day workers and the customers. While she is there checking on things, a fight breaks out and drinks go all over the floor. She breaks up the fight. “Drunken idiots!,” says Big Ang. Another fight quickly erupts and this time Ang needs help…enter Neil to the rescue. Neil goes in and breaks up the fight and makes the men leave. Finally he is good for something. Now the cleanup!

Happy Birthday, Melina and Anissa!

Birthday Party! The party is at a club with a DJ. It’s going to be off the hook. Ramona went all out on everything, even calling Drita, to make her daughters happy. There is a little red carpet for the guests. Karen arrives with Karina. Love arrives and is told that Drita is coming with her daughter. Love says it just goes to show you how much they love their kids to put their differences aside for them. Drita and Aleeya walk in. Drita feels weird when she sees Karen and Ramona at the bar. She goes over to them and Drita is greeted with open arms by Karen and Ramona. Karen says she wishes Renee could have been there too, but she dropped her off at the airport and she is in rehab. The Ramona presents her daughters with a tiny, white puppy. The girls are beyond excited.

Carla goes to see Big Ang. Ang tells her about the recent bar brawls and Carla asks if she heard the news…Drita and Ramona made up. Big Ang says yes and she is happy about it. So Carla moves on to Joe, who asked her for a divorce. Big Ang says that makes her sad. Carla isn’t sad, but she thinks Joe is rushing it because he is about to become an “old fart” (Joe is three years younger than Carla) and he wants to marry and have children before his balls dry up…(I think she said that). Big Ang wants to hook her up (pft! I’ll get to this). Carla says she has to start her life (is it time for my two cents yet?).

Karen takes Karina, Melina and another girl to show them the studio. The girls love it, who wouldn’t. The girls have been working on a song and there is a vocal coach there to listen to them. He stops them a couple of times for being off key and not showing enough emotion. Karen is excited just listening to them. She tells them they can use the studio a couple of times a week.

Congratulations Ramona, on your engagement. 

Ramona goes to see her boyfriend Joe’s lawyer, Tim. She is following up on his case. It’s been over a year since his arrest. The lawyer tells her it’s a Federal case and they can take a very long time. He has no idea when the case will go to trial. He believes they are doing everything they can to force him to become an informant. The Feds still have Ramona’s jewelry because they claim it was part of his criminal activity. Ramona tells Tim she has been secretly engaged to Joe, but she is afraid to wear her engagement ring. No one knows she is engaged, just her girls. Tim tells her she can wear her ring, Joe bought it with legitimate money, and if anyone gives her a problem about it she should tell them to speak to him.

Renee is in Miami and calls Drita to check in. Renee says she is doing great, but they have her in anger management. Drita doesn’t think Renee needs anger management. Drita starts telling Renee that she feels like she is dating Lee. She says if things keep going the way they are, she can see her family getting back together. They discuss Storm Sandy. Drita is worried, she lives near the water and wishes Lee were there to take care of things. Drita says she lives in Zone A and has to evacuate. She is scared. She gives Renee the details of what is going on. Big Ang is concerned about Drita and Carla. Ramona says, at a time like this, they have to put their differences aside and be there to help one another. Renee tells Drita to check in on AJ, but her family is looking out for him. Karen leaves her apartment, she is also in Zone A. Carla sits watching the news of the storm on the television with her children. We end with all the mob wives, one by one, asking people to help by donating to Tunnel to Towers which is raising money for Sandy victims.

MY TWO CENTS

I know why they called this episode The Gathering Storm, because I felt like I was spinning around inside a tornado. Wow. We were all over the place in this episode. And there was no drama to speak of, it was a little flat for me. But, that doesn’t mean I have nothing to say.

There were two storylines that were noteworthy, Drita and Ramona’s burying of the hatchet and Joe and Carla’s raising the hatchet to break their marriage contract, which is really like a business arrangement. The other scenes/situations speak for themselves.

First of all, I am not sure what to make of the reconciliation between Ramona and Drita. So much bad blood was between them all of last season. Now because of a birthday party they are willing to put their differences aside? I am wondering how the girls became such good friends when their mothers could not stand the sight of each other? It puzzles me how that came about. Nevertheless, I don’t think it was impossible. Karen and Drita struck a truce and I think they are both over the issues that once created all the friction between them. They have both pursued other business opportunities and focused on the positives in their lives. So there is really no reason for Ramona, who had Karen’s back, to keep the argument going at this point. Drita and Ramona both have much bigger issues ahead of them. Drita is on cloud nine because of Lee, and yet she is worried because she has been betrayed and disappointed before. Getting back together with him could wind up devastating her children if he doesn’t stay on track. Ramona has the opposite problem. Her life and that of her children, are in limbo. There is no telling when Joe will go to trial, and when he does, there is no telling how much time he will get. She is engaged to a man who may never be part of her family. So neither of them have time and energy to waste fighting over nothing. I agree with Love, who said it best when she said it shows how much they love their children that they put their differences aside. They did look sincere to me, so kudos to both of them for doing that.

Joe and Carla. Let me take a few deep breaths first. Okay, done. Joe is perfectly within his rights to ask for a divorce. Carla has been with Handy for a long time. Joe wants to distance himself from all his bad past behavior and start over with a clean slate. He can’t move on if he is still “married” to Carla. The good news is that Carla didn’t say no, or that she would fight it. The bad news could still happen depending what conditions or expectations she places on Joe after she meets with her own lawyer. Now, when Carla goes to see Big Ang, she says she thinks Joe is rushing into marriage. I don’t see it that way. Joe and Raquel have been dating a year, they have been living together for months, they can’t get married till the divorce is final. Getting the divorce can take up to two years, if it’s not amicable. So I think they aren’t rushing into anything. Then she says the reason Joe is in a rush is because he is becoming “an old fart who is afraid his balls will dry up?” I think Carla was absent the day the reproductive system was being taught in biology 101. Women typically go through menopause in their 40’s and their eggs are as old as the hills by then. A man’s sperm is always freshly produced and viable, and men can have children much longer than women can. And, if Joe is becoming an “old fart” at 43, what is Carla becoming at 46? Just sayin’. And Big Ang wants to hook Carla up? She spent Thanksgiving with Carla and Handy and I am sure she knows they have been together since before season one started. I think that’s why Carla chuckled when she said it. Carla says she wants to move on with her life. I got news for her, she already did.

P.S. Carla thinks she is good with everybody after calling Renee a “junkie” and waving her butter knife around? After talking about Love behind her back? I would do a little rethinking about that conclusion if I was her.

Video Credit: VH1