The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 11, Episode 2, is another really good one. Two episodes in, Potomac is the show I’m actually enjoying right now. I’m in Los Angeles on a work trip, not a vacation, so we recapped on Tuesday instead of Monday, right after my sit-down on Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald. Tia finds out Rob has done the dating-app thing before, Gizelle tries to clean up her part in it, Karen dresses up as Sofia from The Color Purple, and the word I told you about last week finally makes it to camera. Let’s get into it.

This Wasn’t His First Time, Tia

The episode picks up with Tia telling Wendy and Stacey that she confronted Rob, and he admitted he’d been on a dating app for a year. His reason: he was lonely and looking for attention. She had to ask him to delete it. She says their daughter Sienna is a daddy’s girl, and she knows how she handles this is teaching Sienna how to be a woman. Wendy gave her good advice there: telling the kids is not her burden, that onus is on Rob. Then, sitting with Gizelle later, Tia reveals she caught him on a dating app once before, when she was pregnant with Sienna. That changed my mind completely. If you did this almost 20 years ago and you’re doing it again now, what else are you doing when I’m not around? I don’t believe he never talked to anybody. And “I was lonely” is his way of putting it on Tia instead of saying, I wasn’t man enough to tell you I was unhappy. I want to see this profile. How many pictures? What did the prompts say? When did he last log in? Tia says Courtney’s story about coming back from infidelity inspires her. Here’s the difference: Rob did the same thing twice.

“She’s learning from me on how to be a woman.”

Gizelle Is Not 20 Years Old, Y’all

Gizelle goes hiking with her friend and hairstylist Cal, and first of all, Cal, those shorts were a size too small and your business was all in our faces. On that hike, Gizelle admits she sent the photo of Rob’s profile to Cal before she ever sent it to Ashley. Cal says he thought it was AI, then asks the obvious question: you sent it to Ashley and didn’t think it would get out? Everybody’s praising Cal for holding her accountable. This was a cleanup conversation. Then she takes Tia flower picking and says she didn’t bring it to Tia herself because she’d be accused of going after marriages again, so she was thinking of herself. Tia accepts the apology way too fast. I’m not falling for it. We saw her grinning at Ashley at that OG lunch. Gizelle is a grown woman who knew exactly what she was doing, and Ashley telling Tia she’s “learning to be softer” is the same spin. But here’s the part I called. When Tia says the group should support Wendy, Gizelle says she’s not a scammer or a criminal. Tia says Wendy hasn’t been convicted, then says in her confessional that even if you have the thought, don’t say it out loud. So you had the thought, Tia.

Sofia Went to Jail for Saying No, Karen

Karen throws her own release party and names it Sofia’s Home, from The Color Purple, my favorite movie of all time. She shows up in a gray wig and a frumpy old dress, says Sofia went to jail and came out stronger, and says, that’s me. Karen, Sofia went to jail because she refused to be the mayor’s wife’s maid. She didn’t do anything wrong. You did. I laughed, because that’s Karen, but I’m never going to forget why she went to jail, and watching her act out how she walked out of jail had me saying, sit on down. Then the women arrive in Bowie acting like they’re in the middle of nowhere. My DMV chat set me straight: Bowie is in Prince George’s County and is one of the wealthiest Black communities in America. On a Black-centered show, they chose to dog it instead of teach the audience. That’s irresponsible. Still, Karen turned a health center into a real spa, with a cellulite treatment for Gizelle, a massage for Wendy and a liquid IV for Robyn because she’s thirsty. Robyn asks why Karen isn’t wearing her ring, which is fine, but Karen keeps coming for her and Robyn still has nothing back. Inmate Huger. Sally Hemings. It was right there again.

That’s Not Your Friend, Wendy. That’s Your Enemy.

Wendy visits her mom, Susan, who makes sure we know she’s a devout Catholic and has portraits of herself on the wall that are almost life-sized. After last season’s kitchen scene, this felt like damage control. Wendy calls this the darkest moment of her life and says she thought it would kill her, and I believe that part. I don’t believe the marriage-in-trouble storyline, though. Those matching pink outfits at the picnic told me everything. Bonnie and Clyde are riding for each other. Her lunch with Robyn went better than I expected. Robyn says she can’t defend how Gizelle and Ashley have been acting and agrees to change how they talk about Wendy’s case on Reasonably Shady. Then at Karen’s dinner, Tia tells Wendy that Gizelle called her a scammer. Wendy says it’s not cute or funny and it’s giving enemy. And minutes later, Gizelle asks Wendy for advice on going to D.C. to advocate for the brain tumor society, and Wendy says sure. Why didn’t you call her out right there? Then Wendy calls Karen disingenuous for preaching about helping women in jail after skipping the reunion. Karen says she was sick, Wendy brings up rehab, and Gizelle says the word is “nohab.” Should Tia stay, and is Gizelle any different this season? Let me know. Here we go.

Disclaimer: This post is based on publicly available information and credited sources. All allegations are unproven