Renee's world falls apart in this episode
Carla and Drita go out to New York City for a night on the town. Drita wants to meet some guys, drink, dance and have a good time, without drama. Drita feels free because of her filing for divorce from Lee. Carla says she is the “wing girl” and she spots the cute guys for Drita. Carla thinks Drita needs to brush up on her dating skills. Drita says she would love to meet a guy and go out on a date. Then she meets a guy who knows her and Lee and she gets annoyed because now Lee is going to know she was out having fun. Her night out is ruined. She has one last drink and she and Carla leave. She says it’s not easy to move on and close the door to a life.
Drita's attempt at dating isn't going smoothly!
Big Ang, Karen and Ramona go out for drinks. Big Ang talks about her Uncle Sally Dogs and Karen asks how he got that name. Big Ang says he was like a bull dog. Karen’s father, Sammy, was very close to Sally Dogs. Those were the good old days as they all reminisce over the fun times they all shared. Big Ang brings up about her past arrest and how a friend of hers wore a wire and taped her in the bathroom peeing…“the rat bastard!”
At Renee’s house, Renee checks Junior’s appointment book. Junior is going to be sentenced in a couple of months to 18 to 21 months jail time. There has to be a PSI report done. A pre-sentencing investigation looks at everything the person has done in their life. Renee says she fights with Junior for no reason and he has distanced himself from her and she is sad. He says she has mood swings because of his cheating in the past that she can’t let go of it. She feels he doesn’t love her and he says maybe it’s because of her bad attitude. She blames her mood on the fact that she is living in limbo not know what is going to happen and waiting for him to go to jail. She is afraid to lose him and she can’t handle it, it’s killing her. Junior is matter of fact about it. She wants to fix things and be happy…be happy with Junior. He says she has nothing to worry about, he will be there for her.
Bigg Ang has nothing good to say about her husband, Neil.
Big Ang and Drita are in a deli shopping. Drita tells Big Ang about her night out with Carla. Big Ang tells Drita about her husband, Neil. They are married two and a half years and after they got married things went downhill. He started staying out all night, cheating and drinking. She threw him out seven months ago. Big Ang doesn’t believe she should pay all the bills, that’s a man’s job. Big Ang tells Drita that she can’t go from a street guy to a regular guy. Big Ang’s husband is younger than Lee, only 38!
Ramona and Renee are sitting in a booth at a restaurant talking about Junior. Ramona says she has to stop bringing her past into her future. Renee tells Ramona how she feels neglected by Junior and how there is a lack of affection between them. But, Junior has been very close to her father over the years. Renee says her father called her to ask if she was alive and then hangs up. Ramona and her dad have no relationship at all. Renee says her dad doesn’t talk to her but she knows he will always be there for her. Ramona is sad because her kids don’t have a relationship with their father or their grandfather. Renee wants to repair her relationship with her father because he is 71 and hopes that one day he will forgive her.
Carla and Joe go to dinner and she tells him about a parent-teacher meeting at school . She wants him to go. Then she tells him about Drita’s idea to go speed dating and that she is going to join her and try it. He asks her if she knows what that is and she says no. Joe explains it to her and he supports her dating again. Joe and Carla reminisce about her great ass and corduroy pants.
Renee is in bed feeling anxiety, depression ad exhaustion. She is hoping that Junior understand the conversation they had because he keeps pulling away from her and she doesn’t understand it. She hopes they can fix things because of the love they share.
Renee is expecting Junior to come home after meeting with his parole officer, but she finds a letter that he left for her and she reads it. She becomes agitated and nervous. Renee calls her friends Nikole and Karen, to tell them what is in the letter. Junior has turned himself in to the Feds for brandishing a pistol and armed robbery. Renee has no clue where he is and why he says he isn’t using his old lawyer. She doesn’t know what to do or who to call. She is stressed, confused and devastated.
Renee calls Ramona and tells her Junior woke up and took himself to jail, leaving a letter for her on the nightstand. These new charges carry a sentence of seven years in prison and will be added to his old charges of gambling. In the letter, Junior writes that he loves her, he will always love her. He hopes things work out for her and that she moves on and finds someone. Renee cries and says she will never leave him and move on. She says she can’t even cry because all she can think of is that while he is in prison she won’t have to worry about him cheating on her.
Drita and Carla go speed dating and they don’t know what to expect. They are nervous. Drita is scared of meeting new guys. They meet a guy named Kevin who says he is engaged. That gets Drita worked up, like what the hell is he doing speed dating if he is in a relationship? Another guy lives out of state and she says he might as well be in prison because they will never be able to see each other. There are a couple of young, single guys who were never married and don’t have children and they also met a couple of jerks. No one was suitable. They both leave.
Karen goes over to Renee’s and Renee tells Karen everything that happened. Karen is in complete shock over the 7 year prison sentence and the whole good bye letter doesn’t make sense to her. Renee says she has nothing left, no money. Karen doesn’t know how to help her. Renee says she is losing it and starts saying, “I want to go, I want to go.” She doesn’t want to live. She is scaring Karen who tells her she has to be strong. Karen says, don’t let the government win and break you. Renee doesn’t blame the government, they are just doing their jobs. Renee’s mental state is not right. Karen begs her to be strong for AJ. Karen relates to AJ because she was his age when her father was arrested. Renee needs to find out where Junior is right now. She calls the Federal Detention Center to ask about Junior. They tell her they can’t answer anything until after midnight. Renee wants answers, so she makes her friend Nikole call and ask about Junior. This time the woman asks the inmate’s name, and Nikole says “Pagan.” The woman says Hector Pagan? And then goes to check it out. She comes back to say that he is being processed right now and that he looks well. Nikole wants to make arrangements for AJ to see his father. The woman tells her that won’t be possible. Renee’s depression kicks in and she gets sick to her stomach. Her biggest fear is being along, of growing old alone. Karen is there for her. Renee cries and screams that she can’t save her family. It’s all too much for her.
Nikole and Karen eventually leave Renee alone. Renee needs to know where Junior is to put her mind and AJ’s mind at ease. She says she has no spirit, no will no drive. Renee leaves a message for Junior’s parole officer. Then she talks to her cousin on the phone. Her cousin is at her father’s house. While she is asking her cousin questions regarding Junior’s situation she hears the police arrive at her dad’s house and terror sets in. Renee can hear what’s going on and realizes that her father is being arrested by the Feds. She cries saying she is ten minutes away and can’t get there fast enough to say good bye. Renee can’t save her family and she feels helpless. The episode ends with Renee having a serious emotional breakdown over her dad’s arrest.
MY TWO CENTS:
It’s very difficult to have any fun writing up my opinion this week when the episode deals almost exclusively with Renee’s life falling apart right before our eyes. I am thankful that what we saw last night took place months ago and that we have seen Renee fight her way back from it. Jennifer Graziano tweeted that this week and next week’s episodes were very difficult for her to watch. They were for me too. I have to admit that, when the show first started and they said it was based on reality, I was a huge skeptic and felt a lot of it was scripted. But you just can’t script these kinds of things. They were in the news and we all read it. This is as real as it gets. Renee, more than any of the other mob wives, has endured so much in the past ten months, from her horrific surgery on June 27th, battling a deadly infection, the arrest of Junior and then her father, to finding out Junior cut a deal that resulted in the ultimate betrayal of her family. And through it all, Renee has always maintained her dignity and class, continued with the show and made many appearances without skipping a beat. If that’s not a strong woman, I don’t know what is. That’s why I say, when you think of Mob Wives, you think of Renee Graziano.
Now for the show! Drita’s dating situation is looking a bit desperate. Going to a bar to find the right man isn’t going to work well for Drita. She has celebrity status and is recognizable. Someone, or more likely more than one person, is sure to know who she is. This will only be a waste of time in my opinion. Then she tried speed dating. Speed dating allows you to meet several people in the course of a few minutes, to see if you click. You spend five minutes with a person and then, if you like what you hear, you exchange numbers and meet for a drink during the week. I think that’s ok for people who are unknown, but certainly not for Drita, who will attract every jerk in the house. Here’s a suggestion for Jennifer to run with, if Drita is really available: Over the summer ask men who are interested in meeting Drita for dating and a possible relationship to submit a video of themselves and a resume. The videos must be five minutes long and reveal why they think they are the perfect match for Drita. The videos will be reviewed by Carla, Renee and Big Ang. They will pick three to five of the most promising eligible bachelor’s. Jennifer will have those guys checked out to make sure they are for real. Dates will be arranged with each guy and the whole process, from start to finish, will be filmed. It can be used as part of Mob Wives or be it’s own little summer spin off (please no Carrie Keagan as a host!). The spin off can be called, “Drita Needs A Regular Guy” or something…I can’t think of everything, I’m not getting paid.
The rest of the show is about Renee’s world crashing down around her. I was thinking about what to say this morning. Renee was emotional, but what happened is as bad as it gets for her. Next week’s episode may even be worse, when the truth comes out that Junior was behind her father’s arrest. That episode is called The Ultimate Betrayal.
I just have one comment to make about the part of the show dealing with Renee. I don’t mean it as a criticism, it’s just that I don’t understand something. I was shocked that both Nikole and Karen left Renee alone considering the state of mind she was in. Of course, they might have been told to leave, and Renee really wasn’t alone because the camera crew, and possibly even Jennifer herself, were still there. But when they are filming, they make it look as though she is at home alone. So I don’t know. I don’t think Renee should have been left alone and could have used the support of everyone around her. But, no one asked me and I am not the executive producer, so I will leave the thinking to Jennifer, since she has been doing very well without my help.
