Mob Wives: Recap “Time And Punishment,” Ep 308

                                                  First what we didn't see!
                                     Drita, the way we love her best, as a Mom!


Renee and Drita meet and hug at Riggiano’s and get a bite to eat. Drita wants to tell her about some gossip concerning her new boyfriend…Lee! She tells Renee how they are all so happy. Renee could not be happier for Drita. Drita tells her she and Lee have made amends and she wants to try and make it work. She doesn’t want to look back years from now wondering if she should have given him another chance. Renee tells her AJ is doing great, he is working and still with his girlfriend. Renee tells Drita that she told her father about her addiction and he was worried about her. Renee says she still has to deal with the urge to have a drink or take a pill, but she is fighting it every day of her recovery.

If they have a problem with me coming there, then they don’t have to come. Carla

Bg Ang and Carla meet at the Monkey. Carla tells her she met Raquel and it was good. Carla complains that she has done very little Christmas shopping so far. Ang announces she wants to have a holiday party for all the girls. Carla wants to know what she means by “all the girls?” Ang says she wants to invite Love, Renee, Karen, Ramona, Drita and Carla. Carla is not too happy and says she will go for Big Ang, even though no one talks to her except Ang and Drita. Carla says she heard that Love supposedly has a problem with her now. Carla adds that is Renee can keep her cool and doesn’t bother her, she will be fine. She doesn’t want any drama (you mean like butter knife attacks?)

Does she need a piano to fall on her head? Love

Love and Karen go food shopping together. Karen says she is not a cook and likes to get prepared foods. Love says there was no good food in Arizona until they started dumping all the big criminals there. Karen tells her she needs to go to Arizona and speak to Dave. She already has her plane ticket. She is angry because he is disrespecting her in her own house. Love says she would have taken care of that situation with a little violence by now, but she says Karen has a daughter and has to handle it differently for her sake. Karen gets a call from her business partner, Storm. They make a dinner date. Love is happy because she says Karen needs some action. But Karen is confused as to whether they made a “date” or a business meeting. Love insists it’s a real date and Karen needs a piano to fall on her head if she thinks it’s not. Karen doesn’t even know when a guy is flirting with her.

Ooooh, your getting a lot of things, cars, boobs, rims, pregnant, says Big Ang

Drita and Big Ang go for new rims for her car that say “Lady Boss,” the nickname Lee gave her. Drita wants to get Lee completely set up; he gave her the world and now she wants to help him to get back on his feet. She wants to get him a new car and new boobs. Big Ang thinks Drita is going to get pregnant. Drita says she isn’t ready for that right now, she has too much going on. Drita says the halfway house is like jail, there is no sex life right now. Lee got a job at a funeral home through a friend. Big Ang volunteers that she had sex in lots of places, like the bathroom of a plane. “Very small, very tight, very cozy.” Good for Big Ang!

If we grind together we can shine together. Karen

Karen’s goes on her date with Storm and she has butterflies. Karen lost her voice and is a little rusty in the dating department. Sparks are flying. Karen wants to know if this is a business meeting. Storm asks her what she wants it to be? She asks if he has a girlfriend. He says he is playing the field. Karen enjoys Storm and is having a good time. They talk about their kids and laugh.

Ramona picks up her engagement ring from her bank. She hasn’t worn it because she has been afraid the Feds  would cut her finger off to take the ring. But now that the lawyer says she can wear it, she will. She says Joe “gets her” and they knew they belonged together from the minute they met. Ramona calls Karen and leaves a message that she needs to talk to her. She wants to tell Karen about her engagement before anyone else knows. She doesn’t want to hide it any more She is excited to tell Karen and she thinks Karen will be happy for her.

Your fairy tale became a nightmare because the Feds took your Prince Charming away. Karen

At Ramona’s apartment she takes out the ring and tries it on. Karen arrives and walks right in. Karen is concerned because she is afraid Ramona has bad news, but instead, Karen finds Ramona smiling. Ramona starts telling Karen the news that Joe may get out of prison for a week to take care of some things, but he will need an armed guard and that’s expensive. One of the things he intends to take care of is marrying Ramona, and Ramona shows her the ring he bought. Karen is stunned by the news. Ramona says he bought it for her the last time he was out of prison and he told her where to find it. She has kept it a secret. Karen can’t believe it. Karen doesn’t think that Ramona understands how long and hard it will be to be married to someone who is incarcerated. She tells her that her fairy tale became a nightmare the day the Feds came and took Joe away. Ramona says that Karen is saying everything she doesn’t want to hear. Karen tells her she waited 10 years for Dave to get out of prison because she didn’t listen to her father. She has seen her own mother go through it and she doesn’t want Ramona’s life to end up the same way. She tells Ramona she is thinking “stupid.” Karen is trying to give her a dose of reality because she loves her. Ramona is mad because she feels that instead of being happy for her, Karen is basically giving her the finger. Ramona feels that just because Karen is with the “music man” now, that Ramona is the “black” sheep because she is with someone in prison. She doesn’t get what Karen is trying to tell her.

Love gets a call from an old boyfriend, Fate. They haven’t seen each other in two years. They chat and reminisce for a few minutes. There is still some chemistry there. But Fate lives in Las Vegas and Love lives on the east coast. It is too hard for them to have a long distance relationship at this point…or is it?

That's my news, that's my parade -no one shinin’ on it! Ramona

Ramona invites some girls to her friend’s house. Alisa Marie is a fur designer who makes coats, hats and leather bags. Ramona plans to announce her engagement and hopes Karen, “Debbie Downer,” doesn’t ruin things. Karen and Ramona haven’t spoken since their last meeting about the engagement, and are both still angry. Big Ang is in love with all the merchandise. Even though Karen and Ramona aren’t talking, Karen comes to the party to support her. They make snarky little remarks to each other. Then Renee starts talking about incarcerated men and their women. Karen takes this opportunity to ask Renee what she got out of waiting for Junior when he went to prison? Renee is a firm believer in waiting for your man if you love him, but ultimately she thinks every woman needs to do what is best for her and her family. Ramona now thinks that Karen told Renee her engagement news and is pissed. Renee says she never talked to Karen about anything. Ramona announces her engagement. Karen tells her to show everyone the ring if she is so happy. Ramona shouts Karen down and says she is happy. Renee says she is happy for Ramona. Big Ang doesn’t think this is a good idea because Joe is facing serious charges and jail time. Everyone is kissing and congratulating Ramona and Karen feels like she is in the twilight zone. Karen says it’s not about the wedding. She feels that Ramona hasn’t even accepted the fact that there is going to be a trial. Renee says it’s Ramona’s decision and she should follow her heart. Ramona says Karen ruined her engagement. Karen tells her if she felt it was the right decision she wouldn’t have kept it a secret for so long. Ramona says she really feels she should go through with it because she loves him. Renee tells her if she feels it in her heart and soul then do it. The ladies all congratulate Ramona again. Karen says she loves Ramona and if there is a wedding she will support her and go with her to look at dresses. Renee says, about the ring, “Hold that shit real tight cause you can hock it when he's gone.”

At Big Ang’s house the day of the holiday party has arrived. Renee calls and says she is not coming. She has to take herself out of stressful situations that are not good for her recovery. Being around Carla is a problem for her. Renee feels that Carla using her disease against her still make her want to “snap her neck.” Then Love calls Big Ang and tells her she is sick as a dog with the flu. Love says “Carla is saved by the flu.“ She can’t go to the party. Ang is pissed, she has been cooking all day and everyone is cancelling. Ang says back in the day, when someone got sick, they would drink a shot of whiskey and keep going.

MY TWO CENTS

Well that was some episode! It was great to see Ramona and Karen actually have the spotlight, but sorry for the circumstances. It looks like a few “situations” are being introduced in this episode too. Let’s get those out of the way first…

Love may rekindle her relationship with Fate, or not. But why else would they show the phone call? I’m going to bet money that he will be making a little appearance to see if they can get back together, long distance or not. Also, Love has an issue with Carla and that may be developed in future episodes. Karen is back on the dating scene and I expect we are going to see where this new relationship leads. However, I have to say, it’s not always the best idea to mix business and pleasure. If there is a personal relationship and it goes sour, it will make the business relationship messy. I hope Karen thinks about that. Speaking of messy, Karen is going out to Arizona to speak to Dave. I hope the cameras are going there with her. That is going to be one explosive scene for reality television! I hope they don’t edit much of it out.

One of the main ongoing situations is Lee coming back home. So far he is still at the halfway house, so it’s not like the family is living together yet. They are in a “honeymoon” period right now. Everyone is happy and excited. I hope it stays that way, but you know life isn’t always peaches and cream. Lee is going to go through a big adjustment being on the outside. Let’s hope, with Drita’s help, he can do right by his family and make up for lost time. From everything I have been hearing and reading, it looks like we will not be seeing Lee this season.  I know everyone wants to see him, but I don’t think it’s in the cards. Maybe they can take a family portrait and show us that? What do you say Jenn? You know a family portrait is a great idea.

And now for the main event, Karen and Ramona! Where to begin? Karen is the kind of friend that everyone should have in their lives. Someone who is strong, loving and always looking out for your best interests. Someone who isn’t afraid to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Someone who is always there for you and puts your happiness ahead of their own. Ramona knows what kind of friend Karen is already. She is a “ride or die” friend for life. But, Ramona still gets mad at Karen for speaking the truth. I am not blaming Ramona. She had her life and her future all planned out. Maybe her mind isn’t ready to accept that her world is shattered and she can’t put the pieces back together. She is still in denial and wants to stay there. Karen can’t let her make this huge decision without at least trying to get her to see the truth.

The way I see it, when Ramona told Karen she had been keeping the engagement and ring a secret from her, it had to hurt. As close as these two “cousins” are, and for all they have shared together, I’m sure Karen was blindsided by the news. I don’t understand why Ramona kept it from Karen either. If there is anyone who is loyal and trustworthy on that show, it’s Karen. Karen would not have told a soul had Ramona confided in her. So why didn’t Ramona tell her best friend? I think it’s because she already knew what Karen would say about the engagement and wedding and she didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t want to be talked out of her “fantasy” and wanted to keep it as long as she could. Karen is a realist. She has been down that road. Karen’s mother has lived that life too. Karen knows what it means to be loyal and put your life on hold when someone is in prison. How can she be happy about Ramona’s news knowing the heartache that will come with it? How can she be the good friend she is and say nothing to warn Ramona that she could be making a huge mistake? She wants Ramona to open her eyes and take a good look at the road she is choosing before it’s too late. That’s what a good friend does. That’s what Karen did.

Does anyone think it was easy for Karen to rain on Ramona’s parade? I don’t. Karen doesn’t want to be the cause of Ramona’s pain, she is trying to spare her pain. When all the other ladies are congratulating Ramona, it’s almost more than Karen can take. They are feeding into the “dream” and fueling Ramona’s fantasy, while Karen is trying to get her to see reality. And who cares about Ramona more? I don’t think there is any question that it’s Karen. Even Big Ang, who has been through quite a few things in her day, said she didn’t think it was a good idea. Maybe she should have said it louder so Ramona could hear it.

Maybe it’s a good thing the cameras recorded it all. Ramona can watch it again and see that all Karen was doing was looking out for her. Karen has her back. And in the future, if Ramona goes through with the wedding and things don’t work out the way she envisions, she won’t be able to go to Karen and say, “why didn’t you warn me, or I wish I would have known.” Karen did her best and it’s in Ramona’s hands now. I hope Ramona thinks about it and appreciates what Karen is trying to do for her. I do.

P.S. The last thing I heard was from next week’s episode! Drita says to Carla, “If you pulled a butter knife on me I would have shoved it down your throat.” After I heard that, my whole mind almost went blank on last night’s episode! Can’t wait for next week!

Video Credit: VH1

Big Thank you to @carmelacorleone for picking out her favorite quotes of the night!