To quote Elphaba in Wicked, 🎶 "Something has changed within me, something is not the saaaame" 🎶 And guys, that thing is my feelings toward Kyle Cooke. I have been harsh on him, I have called his tears crocodile tears and said they are Ramona Singer-adjacent. I have said many things. But here I am, 13 episodes into this season, and I'm feeling softer toward our Cookie Crumb. I am suddenly seeing where he is coming from, and.. yeah, let's just get into it.

So we picked up right where we left off: Kyle losing his mind at the dinner table, Amanda Batula crying, everyone else looking uncomfy.

And then it hit me. I get where Kyle is coming from. The man needs a fucking hug, $4 million dollars, and for his fiancé to take some of the stress off of him. He takes things on 100% of the time, and at 100% intensity. That is who he is. And Amanda is just the opposite. She is someone who is way more relaxed. She seems like someone who when she doesn't want to deal with something, she buries her head in the sand and just waits for it to either a.) pass or, b.) someone else to handle it for her. Either way, she avoids confronting the issue, whatever it is.

And I get that, I really do. I have tendencies to do that, too. But when the love of your life is exploding and having a mental breakdown, maybe don't say how embarrassed you are by it and instead, go comfort him, or at the very least, talk to him.

But you know what I did notice? The OG crew stuck by Kyle. They were there to try to talk to him and talk him off the ledge while he sat on a merry-go-round unicorn. It was very Kyle. It just emphasized to me that this show really did start as a real friend group who were friends outside of this show, before the fame, before Loverboy. And that is what Lindsay Hubbard was trying to get across to Hannah Berner last year at the reunion; Lindsay she gets they are on a show, but they are real friends and real people so maybe don't go around and talk shit on podcasts. Suddenly, a lot started to make sense.

One other thing, we also got an INSANE Carl Radke montage blast from the past... I knew he was a fuckboy in the past and said and did some things that weren't great, but wow. So with that, and the juxtaposition of him being the one to calm Kyle down, it really made me so proud of him and how far he's come in his sobriety and overall journey.

Moving on... Paige DeSorbo was 100% right when it came to Andrea Denver Nuggets and his heartbreak over this girl Lexi. He's gotta CALM DOWN. When you start developing rashes and your sunglasses are permanently glued to your face, you have to maybe take a step back and take a Xanax, start therapy.

Listen, we have all been there. When your heart is broken it fucking sucks. But dude, we have to try to compartmentalize and figure it out. I feel like something else must have been going on behind the scenes or something, or something from his storyline was edited out because this outpouring of raw emotions really just feels like a lot for someone he dated for two months, and hasn't seen all summer. WHAT IS THE TRUTH!

Guys, I don't what's in the water, my coffee, or what, but I also grew to kind of like Alex "Trap City" Wach... I think he is way too normal and sweet to be on this show and but he really did grow on me this episode. Maybe with him gone those episodes it made the heart grow fonder, but I kind of loved his "studs on studs" prom lewk, and how he was there for our Italian Prince, Andrea.

And I don't know about you guys, I am watching Lindsay and Carlito like a damn hawk 🦅 Every single interaction, I'm watching their body language, their eyes, their facial expressions. EVERYTHING. I can't get enough because it's been such a build-up to when they ultimately get together at the finale.

They really do seem like best friends, but they also have amazing chemistry. It's a perfect combination for friends-turned-lovers. And Carl taking pictures of her at the prom on the steps... I TEARED UP. They are just so cute together, and each other's hype man.

Say what you want about Lindsay, but she is a woman who lives her life truly out loud, and that is someone I respect on a reality show. Sure she comes off as mildly unhinged from time to time, but what more could you ask for in a reality television star!

I also respect how quickly she is able to let go of things and move on and that is something she has learned to do like her relationship with Ahmed, for example. She is able to accept the rejection and just move on. Also, her drunkenly going into Paige and Ciara Miller's bed just shows me that she really does seem to try with them and they are just not interested.

So, as I'm writing this I discovered that Craig Conover blocked me, unsure when or why, well, I can take a guess as to why, I haven't been his BIGGEST fan over the course of his tenure at Bravo. But! I was starting to come around. And even despite this great blocking of 2022, I will say, him surprising Paige at the prom was super sweet and cute. Poor Andrea though, literally standing there with no date. He can not catch a break.

Overall, I felt this episode was... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. I think it perfectly set up the finale next week, when we finally get Amanda and Kyle's wedding, four years in the making! And of course, the return of Austen Kroll, and we get to see Carlito and Lindsay tell each other that they have feelings for one another! What more could you ask for!

P.S. – In honor of Craig blocking me, please read this at your leisure: Men You Think You Love, But Shouldn't: Craig Conover