Mob Wives: Recap Ep108 Relapses, Rats and Raccoons

Junior went out and got her pumpkin seeds. Awww

Jenn Graziano tweeted that this was one of her favorite episodes, hours before Mob Wives aired. I was already looking forward to it since they did not air an episode last week. So here I sit, at the edge of my seat, wondering what is going to happen next and prepared to tell you every detail.

Ok well let me just say I was a little bit disappointed. Though I loved seeing our Mob wives again, the “sneak peak” was really the entire highlight of the show and we already saw it. It came near the end and there wasn’t much more to it. Ok here is your recap of episode 8...

Carla and Renee go out to dinner to catch up on their lives. They toast to friendship. Carla has moved past the argument and hair pulling and put it behind her. She asks Renee about dating. Renee says her therapist told her she isn’t ready to date. Renee says she is hung up on Junior, she would rather see him than a stranger. She claims she isn’t in love with him, but he is AJ’s father. She adds, she is all Junior has, he has no mother or father. Carla tells her she thinks that Renee goes overboard with Junior and she wants to see her happy. They have known each other since they were teenagers. Carla seemed to be sincere in her concern. Renee appreciates that Carla is speaking to her like a true friend.

At Karen’s apartment a call comes in from David Seabrook. Karen tells him how much she misses their daughter Karina, and he says Karina misses her too. Karen is happy that Karina is bonding with her father because he missed out on so much of her life while he was in prison. David is adjusting to dealing with society and taking care of his daughter, with help from Karen’s mother. He feels there is a lot of responsibility to being free. Karen says she was attracted to David because he was a street guy. Karen supports him, but she can no longer deal with prison life.

Joe Ferragamo is getting out in two weeks. Carla is getting ready for him to come home by doing a little shopping with her friend Etty. They are out buying sneakers for Joe and maybe some socks, but not before Carla picks out a nice pair for herself. She shares that Joe always bought her something when he went out to buy something for himself. He was “good that way.” Of course he was using money he scammed from senior citizens, but it’s all good.

Drita meets Karen for lunch as they start to rebuild their friendship. They talk about Joe coming home and Drita wishes it could be Lee. They talk about David and his being in jail so many years that it made it impossible for Karen to keep the relationship alive. Drita can relate to what she is saying about being alone. When the men are on prison the women are suffering because there is no one there for them. Drita enjoys being with Karen and sharing a few laughs.

Renee and friend Nikole visit Dr. Klapper’s office because Renee wants more work done; her ass is flat. They take 3D pictures of her from head to foot. Renee is horrified and devastated. Renee looks at the pictures with the doctor and tells him she wants everything done: boobs lifted, a waist, a tummy tuck, and take the fat from the tummy and add it to the ass. The doctor looks stunned. That’s too much surgery. He says she will need to lose weight for the best possible outcome. Renee agrees to do whatever is necessary to get her work done, but I don’t think she will visit a gym.

At Drita’s house, her cousin Sedia calls. Drita tells her about the raccoons in the back of her house. They made a big mess with the trash. Drita is disgusted. There are 6 big raccoons out there. Drita decides she is going to get a paint gun and shoot them in the ass. Personally I doubt that would keep them away permanently. She’ll just have raccoons with orange colored asses, if she hits them.

Back at Karen’s apartment her writing coach, Carmela, shows up. Karen tells her the book deal was announced in the New York Post and there has been some backlash in the media from it. The families, of the people her dad killed, are attacking her for what Sammy did. They blame her for his crimes, even though she was just a kid, just as if she herself committed them. She is getting negative comments, some of them personal like about her weight. Some say she is profiting off the death of their loved ones. She seems hurt. Carmela says she should acknowledge the victims’ families, but she is not accountable for what her father did. Karen turned out well, and the book is about her story, not her father’s.

Back at Drita’s house, Aleeya is telling her mom about school. She had a good day and her science project was good. Drita says she never told Aleeya that Lee wasn’t coming home soon. Aleeya asks about Lee’s first time in prison and Drita said he went away because of a “rat.” Aleeya asks, “what’s a rat?” Drita explains that it’s the person who tells on everyone else so they don’t get into trouble. They ruin everyone’s lives by telling. Aleeya says that Lee made good choices by not telling. Drita corrects her and says, no, if he made good choices he wouldn’t be in jail.

Renee and Karen meet for a bite to eat. Karen tells Renee not to get more surgery. Renee is still going to have it done. They look at some newspapers. Karen says that she is always being judged by what her father did. Renee supports Karen and her book. Renee feels Karen has always been loyal. Karen appreciates it.

Lee phones Drita. She tells him the raccoons are back and he laughs. The trash is everywhere. She tells him her plan to shoot them with a paint gun. He tells her that will make a big mess. She wishes he was home to help her. He asks about Aleeya and she tells him that Aleeya said she would rather that her father be in jail than be a rat.

Junior walks into Renee’s house. He doesn’t feel good and asks for chicken soup. Renee makes him some. Renee says that Junior is sending her mixed signals and she is confused. AJ comes home. AJ doesn’t like that his mom and dad are spending so much time together. He has probably seen his mother hurt many times over the years. He tells his father he is going to hang out with a girl. Renee says he is too young to have a girlfriend. Junior has to talk to AJ about his going to jail. He tells him he will take him to go get his car and make sure he has everything he needs while he is away. Junior tells him he can come visit him with the car. Aj smiles and says, “Of course.” Junior likes the soup.

Carla goes to Drita’s house to help her with the raccoons. Drita has a huge paint gun, and she gives Carla a flashlight and tells her to watch her back. They go outside. There is a raccoon on the trash can. Drita shoots and misses. Orange paint is on the can. They go back inside and talk about how hard it is being a single mom and how they really need to have guns to protect themselves.

At Renee’s house the drama finally starts. Her friend Nikole is on the phone and Renee pours her heart out about Junior. She tells her that Junior stayed over, but it was not physical. They did sleep together in the same bed and the wedding album came out. They told each other they love each other. Renee is very emotional, she is willing to put everything in the past aside to put her family back together. She is falling in love with Junior all over again and it’s affecting her badly today. She forgives him for everything, She loves him. She can’t move on because she doesn’t feel like it’s over.

Carla is on the beach with Joe and Carmen, the twins. She tells them that daddy is coming home in 11 days. The kids are excited, they are doing a calendar countdown. They still don’t know he was in prison. Joe needs to tell them. They are going to get lots of hugs and kisses from their dad. Carla just wants them to know about his prison time and to hear it from their father.

The four mob wives go to brunch. They no sooner sit down when Renee has an announcement. She is allowing Junior to move back in with her until he goes to prison so he can spend his remaining days with AJ. None of them thinks this is a good idea. They all know she still loves him. She tells them one night , when he was tipsy, he went out to buy her pumpkin seeds. Everyone is like “so what, big deal about pumpkin seeds?” But Renee explains the significance of the pumpkin seeds. The seeds mean he is sorry. The seeds are something he remembered from an early time in their relationship, something she liked. He has been telling her he loves her and other things. She slips in that they “slept” together and that he has already been staying there. The others all flip out. None of them believes this is about AJ. Renee wants her family back. Renee says Junior is trying, he made breakfast and says he doesn’t want to be with anyone else. They are angry for all the hell he put her through and then, when he is in trouble, that’s when he comes back. That’s why she can’t get over him.

Karen says people come back when they are in trouble, and she understand why Renee wants him back. Carla says, what’s wrong with her trying? The others say she will get hurt again. Renee says, she is standing by Junior, she loves him, she is loyal and she really doesn’t care what anyone else has to say.

Ok now I’ll have my say. Not much happened this episode. We were already shown the “piece de resistance” in a clip and there wasn’t much more to it. While I enjoyed watching all four of them again, this episode was a let down for me.

Basically, Karen needs to accept the fact that she is living in her father’s shadow. As long as she bears the name Gravano and writes books and appears on television programs promoting the mob, she is going to be paying for his sins and hers. The public is not kind to anyone. What she needs to realize is that it really doesn’t matter what strangers think or feel about her. She doesn’t answer to them, she has to answer to herself, to her daughter, to her family and maybe friends. She has to be able to look herself in the mirror and be happy with who she sees. The timing of her book is a perfect way to capitalize on her new found fame. Once the story is out and people realize it’s her story, not Sammy’s, maybe they will quiet down.

I still feel Carla should have told the twins their father was in prison once she agreed to do the show. How she managed to keep it from them this long is amazing. I wouldn’t have taken that chance. I would have worried that somehow they would have learned the truth from someone else. Anyway, they will know soon enough, if they don’t already.

Drita’s raccoons were funny. It would have been great had she really hit one. They seemed to have given up their hunt very quickly. I don’t think it was too wise to try and attack wild animals. They carry many diseases and they can be vicious. I would have called a professional exterminator who specializes in “varmints” of this type. See what they have to say about keeping them away. Maybe metal garbage cans or bins, that they can’t break into, might work. Then they can go and chew on her neighbor’s garbage.

As for Renee, my heart goes out to her. She will not admit that she is still in love with Junior. All she will say is that she loves him and he is AJ’s father. She is in denial. Junior takes advantage of her feelings, that is how it comes across. He knows he can always go back and she will take him in no matter what he has done. And, as long as she maintains close contact with him and keeps her hopes alive, she will never be able to move on. Someone has to make her see that the only way for her to move on is to really break off ties, unless there is an issue with AJ, and little by little, over time, she may get over her feelings. She says she is loyal to Junior, but loyalty is a two way street. You have to earn loyalty and respect. We don’t know everything that happened in their relationship, but those are the things Renee needs to consider, especially while Junior is away.

P.S. Renee is too young for all that surgery. That kind of work doesn’t last forever and over time she may end of looking worse than had she waited till later or not had it done at all. As great as her doctor is, no one can assure her of the outcome or how long the results will last. Please think about that Renee. All you really need is a decent diet and to walk 30 to 60 minutes a day. Get a treadmill at home and watch Mob Wives while you walk. If you do that for two to three months, you won’t need surgery and you can use that money to take a cruise and meet Mr. Right!

Mob Wives: The Skin Rejuvenation of Renee Graziano

Renee Graziano is a soldier.  I am not referring to her mob associations through blood relation or marriage either.  I am blogging about her braving the skin rejuvenation procedure during episode 5 of Mob Wives.  As I watched the procedure, I cringed.  Watching the laser going across her skin as if an Etch 'a' Sketch pen was bananas.

Nope this is not a film clip from a remake of The Mummy.

At first I thought, 'Oh that ain't so bad.'  Then Renee shocks me by requesting more.  I think, 'She's crazy!'  So seconds later she's screaming her face is on fire.  I think, 'So you don't say!'  What is exactly Skin Rejuvenation?  It's a treatment to resurface the skin.  Smoother, clearer and younger looking is the goal.  Laser isn't the only method used for skin rejuvenation.  Yet, it's the route Dr. Klapper and Renee went.  Now one of my clients years ago did not listen to me.  I'd begged her not to go through with lasering her face.  The results were horrific after she healed.  I am happy that Renee healed properly.  She seems happy with the results.  Let me tell you, my former client's face looked like a spotted puppy's belly.  Need I write more? 

Renee Graziano during healing phase of the Skin Rejuvenation

I caught VH1's summary of episode 8 of Mob Wives.  It looks like the Mob Wives' viewer has not been waiting in vein.  It seems there may be more plastic surgery in Renee's future.  Okay, I stand by a little botox here and there.  I can understand a lift here or tuck there.  But looking at Joan Rivers, Liza Minelli,  Priscilla Presley,  and Melanie Griffith should slow Renee Graziano down.

If those names don't work this name & picture should end Renee Graziano's plastic surgery adventures.  I hate to do it.  But as I've written before Renee Graziano has been winning me over with each episode.  This is a plastic surgery blog intervention:

Elsa Patton

Elsa Patton of Bravo's Housewives of Miami mug shot

I need not blog another word.