Part three of the Vanderpump Rules reunion is being called the “shocking finale.” Maybe it’s because Lala and Scheana expect Ariana to put on a front so they can continue to film for future seasons. Or maybe it’s because the whole cast is watching the last episode of the season live, for the first time. That’s right, live.
The whole Lala blow up over Ariana and Sandoval commenting “it’s good for me” doesn’t age very well, especially as the cast side-eyes Ariana as it all unfolds before them.
Sandoval and James are in the midst of a heated moment. Sandoval teases that he is keeping his mouth shut about things he has heard about James that “add up,” but James is not concerned. After they both sling insults that should never be repeated, the topic gets pushed aside.
There are bigger issues to tackle, like the pain Ariana was in all season, according to Brock. Ariana explains that at this point, she doesn’t feel comfortable being in the same room as Sandoval. Lala was referenced as saying harboring resentment towards your ex is poison, but Ariana tries to explain that the only way past it for her, was to go through it- her way. She was barely given any time to process the affair since filming picked back up quickly and she feels like she was pushed to be further along in the healing process than she actually was.
“In happier news, I want to talk about Jax Taylor.” Andy does a wonderful job of shifting the focus to everyone’s favorite villain, who, I might add, is not even on VPR. Yet, here we are- talking about him, which is beyond me, but I digress. The dynamic between the Toms and Jax hasn’t changed much over the years and Jax, as a person, has also clearly not changed. When it comes to the cheating rumors, Katie doesn’t hold back and Lala adds in that there are “a lot of them.” Reality Blurb gets a shout out in regards to the separation of Jax and Brittany and Lala points out some recent beef with Brittany.
Apparently Brittany acted “out of pocket” on the day of Lala’s gender reveal. She reached out to Lala’s mother and questioned her for hiring their nanny. According to Lala, Brittany had Jax yelling at her, but a nanny and a babysitter are two different things and Jax should fight his own battles before bringing Lala’s mom into it.
Sandoval claims he did not PURPOSELY block Summer Moon, just that he blocked all accounts associated with Scheana. Brock, however, is still blocked. LOL. Speaking of Brock, he reminds us that Scheana has fought with most of the ladies (minus Ariana) and the one person who has had her back (and has helped her bank account) is Sandoval. Ariana lets Brock know that she has always been in Scheana’s corner, but Scheana admits that she has felt distant from Ariana even going into the season.
Andy brings up WWHL with Ariana and how she felt some of the things Scheana has said during the season were a little mean. Scheana points out that Ariana is not watching whole episodes, rather clips of the show on TikTok. When taken out of context, it’s not the same.
Scheana claims there is no jealousy towards Ariana, but she doesn’t like feeling left out. As Ariana got all the opportunities, she wished she was on the “journey with her.” According to Ariana, Scheana is family, even after all was said and done this season.
Katie and Sandoval will never get along, as proven again at this reunion. Katie feels like Sandoval is partly to blame for her divorce to Schwartz, but Sandoval feels like once Katie got involved with Schwartz and Sandy’s, things got bad. Katie tells Sandoval to “choke, I don’t care,” and when Andy says “your chemistry is undeniable,” Sandoval retorts, “yea, we’re gonna go bang it out.” Um, awkward.
Ariana explains that Dan skipped many of the group outings in San Francisco because he is not getting paid. Andy points out that Brock didn’t get paid in the beginning, but I guess there are just some people dying to get on TV::cough, cough Brock:: and Dan isn’t one of them.
Andy shares that the group intentionally did not see the finale episode, so they could watch it together to get their real-time reactions. The faces are a mix of embarrassment, disgust, confusion, and panic. When Ariana hears what Lala has to say about her, she looks perplexed. When Lala says, “I have never in my life experienced any one who gets cheated on and is suddenly God,” Scheana side-eyes Ariana. They all get a little teary watching the past season snippets, but when Lala starts going off, the mood changes.
Sandoval shakes his end upon hearing his infamous closing line, “I love it. It’s good for me,” leaving us to wonder if he regrets it. Ariana calls a lot of it hurtful and tells Sandoval that she doesn’t know him well enough to know if his water works real. She points out that when he didn’t get what he wanted, he went off in their group, trying to drag her. Sandoval showed Ariana exactly who he was and she tearfully tells him that she just wants him away from her…be gone. And she no longer wants to be in a position where she is forced to be around him.
Sandoval lets Ariana know that is their job (which it is). She feels used and likened the moment to his crying in Miami scene seasons back. Ariana lets Sandoval know these are the consequences of his actions and he, for once, does a pretty legit apology, from the bottom of his heart. Ariana continues to let him know he is responsible for it all and that she needs space.
Ariana cries even harder when she discusses the Lala aspect of the finale. She believes that she is living authentically when she walked away and insists what she did was real. Scheana understood Lala’s frustration and Lala jumps in to relate this to what happened with her ex, of course. Lala is annoyed because everyone has said certain things about the way Ariana has changed and Lala claims to feel isolated, having conversations by herself that were talked about off camera.
Lala is doing a great job making this about her and states she was livid and will stand by what she said about Ariana. She repeatedly says she loves filming with them all, but wonders why Ariana got to dictate how this all went down. Lala was left navigating her break up with “he who shall not be named” without any deals or support and feels like if she didn’t speak her mind at the end of the finale, it would have essentially flopped.
Katie is getting annoyed and raises her voice to Lala because she is tired of Lala acting like Katie’s a liar. Everyone has questioned Sandoval and Ariana’s relationship at times, but Scheana tries to save face by saying there have been times they’ve been all over each other, to which Sandoval retorts, yea… “Rolling at a music festival.”
Lala stands up and begins to walk off because she is fed up with the off camera chatter, especially when Scheana doesn’t come clean about all the sh*t she has said about Ariana not being there for her. Scheana tries to clarify that there has been no event that Ariana did not show up for, but did feel like there were times when Sandoval had her back more.
Andy likens this situation to LVP leaving Beverly Hills because she couldn’t do it anymore. LVP explains how she had no interest in reuniting with the ladies. She goes on to say that Ariana walking away doesn’t mean she is not showing up and that “sometimes it’s ok to walk away.”
Scheana is curious if Ariana understands why Lala was so frustrated at the finale. What Ariana does not understand are “the insults” Lala flung. No one is quite sure how to make this better now and Scheana runs to Lala’s side. Katie embraces Ariana, who is crying on her shoulder, until Katie’s earring gets stuck in Ariana’s hair. It’s a welcome moment to lighten the dark mood.
Final thoughts begin. Ariana feels like friendships will vary with each person and Sandoval is unsure how he fits into the group moving forward. Lala’s honesty may have ruined her friendships with Katie and Ariana, but she’s “ok with that.” Scheana is a mess and calls Lala her rock. She admits that she has expressed frustration with Ariana and talks about the distance between them. She apologizes to Lala for not speaking up enough, hoping she can save face with Lala, for sure. Katie seems lighter this season and DJ James Kennedy has a residency in Vegas. Schwartz reminds everyone on stage that he loves them all because they are family.
Tonight’s toast is with literal toast…some sammies from Something About Her …delivered by Kyle Chan and Ann, the world’s best assistant. Sandoval makes a lame joke to Ann about cleaning up afterwards and Scheana worries if what she did was enough to back Lala.
After they exit the stage, Lala can’t get over that Ariana got to walk away from the show when she was uncomfortable, but she’s creating a life and no one would let Lala walk away from the set. She doesn’t feel like it’s an equal playing field, especially after LVP rode hard for Ariana.
Lala doesn’t care that she hurt anyone’s feelings and Scheana stands there listening, which is very telling. Lala just wants to live a “f*cking happy life” and Sandoval catches her on the way out to let her know he has nothing but respect for her after that reunion. Is this it? Are the “best days of their lives” coming to an end after 11 seasons?
TELL US – THOUGHTS ON THE VANDERPUMP RULES REUNION FINALE? ARE YOU TEAM ARIANA/KATIE OR TEAM LALA/SCHEANA?!
