The Anonymous Episode 7 Recap: No One Is Safe

Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network via Getty Images

Just when we thought we knew what to expect from The Anonymous, here comes DANI throwing a wrench into everything. Our favorite AI hostess just can’t stop being chaotic. In The Anonymous Episode 7, “Plot Twist,” the players got thrown for a loop, as suggested by the title.

After a high-profile player got cut from the competition, DANI told the surviving players there wouldn’t be a regular challenge this week. Instead, they got thrown right back into Anonymous Mode for more undercover, cutthroat gameplay, and we’re here to break down all of the shady strategies that went into motion.

The Big Brother takedown

Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network

Last week, DANI left us on a cliffhanger and teased that either Dillian or Xavier would get the chop. Either way, we were going to be heartbroken. But, it really seemed like the axe was about to fall on Dillian because, in Anonymous Mode, Xavier chose to nominate himself. That powerplay should have given him a clear path to winning the power of The Anonymous. Somehow, it didn’t work out that way.

With everyone on the edge of their seats, DANI announced that Xavier, the winner of Big Brother 23, had been kicked out of the game. Shocker!

“Took y’all long enough,” Xavier said without missing a beat.

In a flashback, we learn that it was Lilly who won the power of The Anonymous this week. She got her first taste of power, and she’s come a long way from crying about constantly being up for elimination. In her hideout, she explained her reasoning behind taking this shot at Xavier was to split him up from Jack. That duo is a little too dangerous.

Back at the dial, Xavier shared some parting words with the other players. When he announced he was Scissors, no one seemed shocked. That explains why he didn’t get The Anonymous under that avatar. They all knew. However, when he said he was playing as Fish earlier in the game, that reveal got a big reaction out of everyone.

On the way out, Xavier wished everyone the best of luck. He also reiterated that if he hadn’t gone home this week, he felt confident that he would have won the entire game. That’s what they all say.

Back to the drawing board

Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network

Obviously, Xavier’s elimination sent a shockwave through the house. Getting such a strong player out of the way was a win for everybody. But now, the next question: who is going to be next?

For most players, they decided to pivot back to the previous targets of Victoria and Christopher. They know they have to split up that showmance, one way or another.

Meanwhile, some of the other players settled on a new target—Jack. In an eye-opening side conversation, Marcel and Christopher agreed that Jack might be the most powerful person in this game. Everyone watching at home knows they are 100% correct.

In a confessional, Nina said she was also fully aware of Jack’s power in the game, but her goal was different. She wants to play both sides of the fence. On one side, she wants to keep Jack close to her since he is so powerful, but she also wants to go along with the “herd” to ensure she has numbers on her side.

All of this strategizing is good in theory, but with all of the tricks up DANI’s virtual sleeve, it’s nearly impossible to get too ahead.

The nonstop Anonymous Mode

Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network

The first plot twist of the week arrived when DANI revealed there wouldn’t be a challenge this week. There wouldn’t be any weighted puzzles and no colorful balls. Instead, the contestants got thrown right back into Anonymous Mode. Let the messiness commence!

Once again, the Anonymous chat immediately popped off thanks to Dillian as Popsicle. He gets the party started every time. Casually, he dropped into the chat, “Jack you’re going up for elimination this week.”

With that out in the universe, Jack couldn’t just sit back. He replied suggesting Christopher get up for elimination. Bismah agreed.

Although Jack and the lovebirds were the primary targets in the chat, hardly anyone got out of this round unscathed. Once the votes got tallied, there were more players up for elimination than not. Here’s a look at how everyone voted:

• Robot voted for Nina, once again for no clear reason.
• Eagle voted for Marcel.
• Cactus voted for Bismah in another betrayal from within the girls’ alliance.
• Flamingo voted for Christopher.
• Popsicle voted for Jack, as promised.
• Fire voted for Lilly.
• Lipstick voted for Lilly.
• Snake voted for Dillian, like he always does.
• Lightning voted for Dillian.

That means seven of the nine players are at risk of elimination. It could be anyone, right? Wrong. DANI had another twist for them in the form of a face-off challenge. Yes, another one.

Face-off gets a facelift

Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network

When DANI announced that the group would be doing another face-off, there was definitely an impulse to hit the fast-forward button. Although this show is wildly entertaining with its fast-paced gameplay, this shtick of watching players sit in a circle and open boxes isn’t great. It slows everything down. To do it three times now? That’s a choice.

Fortunately, DANI raised the stakes this time around. With so many players up for elimination, she revealed there would be three boxes with safety, leaving four players with the “at risk” boxes. On top of that, the players wouldn’t reveal the contents of the box. DANI decided to save this information for later. She’s sneaky like that.

After the players got their boxes in the face-off, DANI sent the players right back into Anonymous Mode to try to match each other to their handles. That meant that whoever got the power of The Anonymous would have no idea which player won the safety. They might take a shot at someone and then have it nullified.

What’s in your box?

Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network

The players took their test, someone got picked to be The Anonymous, and DANI reassembled the players at the dial to learn their fates. This whole time, the players up for elimination have been carrying around their little face-off boxes. Finally, DANI revealed who had what inside of their boxes.

She started with the at-risk players. In a flashback, we see that Nina, Dillian, and Bismah all had at-risk boxes after the face-off. Jack and Lilly won the safety. Lucky ducks.

That left Marcel and Christopher’s fate up in the air. One of them had safety while the other remained at risk. Normally, this is the point when the credits would start to roll, but in a change of format, DANI dropped the news that Marcel had been chosen by The Anonymous to go home. However, don’t think we’re getting out of this episode without a cliffhanger.

As the credits started to roll, DANI had Marcel open his face-off box. If there’s safety inside of the box, he’ll be immune from elimination and this “plot twist” of an episode would have been all for nothing. We’ll see what happens next week.

The Anonymous airs new episodes on USA Network, Mondays at 11/10c. Catch up by streaming on Peacock.

TELL US – WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE ANONYMOUS EPISODE 7? WERE YOU SURPRISED TO SEE XAVIER GET CUT FROM THE COMPETITION? DO YOU THINK MARCEL HAS THE SAFETY IN HIS BOX?

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Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, Episode 16 Recap: Snuffing Ellie’s Candle

Photo Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo via Getty Images

Welcome to Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, Episode 16 recap! In this week’s episode, called “Chain of Command-ment,” Gael and Nathan patch up their misunderstanding, while Aesha helps Sandy plan for her proposal. The new stew fits is a welcome addition, but Aesha finally has to have a talk with Ellie about overstepping her role as the second stew. Here are some of the highlights from Below Deck Med Season 9, Episode 16.

Gael is insecure about her feelings for Nathan

Photo Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

Last week as the yachties returned from their night out, a misunderstanding between Nathan and Gael sent her into a tailspin. She thinks Nathan is just like all the other guys she’s ever dated, and he’s just going to “treat me like sh*t” again. After crying things out with Aesha, she says she wants to go to bed. So Aesha takes her and puts her in Nathan’s bunk. Huh?

But Nathan’s clueless about why Gael’s upset. Sadly, men aren’t mind readers, so she needs to explain.

“What’s wrong with ya?” he asks.

“Nothing,” she says. It’s better to wait until tomorrow anyway to talk things out, after the alcohol has worn off.

“I can’t wait to travel with you,” he whispers. “Seriously.”

“You don’t have to say that,” she tells him.

“I want to say that,” he responds. “I want you, and I love you more and more.” Uh oh. Did he just let the L-word slip? I hope he means it.

Apparently, he did, cause the next morning, Nathan’s still talking about looking forward to traveling with Gael. He’s looking at hotels on his phone.

Ellie feels slighted … again

Photo Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

Aesha meets with her crew before the guests arrive. She congratulates Bri for doing so much better in the laundry. Then she praises Ellie on her table decorations, calling them “absolutely amazing.” She adds, “You’re nailing it!”

Though she appreciates the praise, when Aesha thanks Carrie for clearing the pantry in “half the time it’s been taking,” Ellie silently wipes away tears. It’s always sad when someone takes praise for a coworker as a personal snub.

“There’s been a palpable shift in Aesha’s behavior towards me ever since Carrie got on board,” Ellie complains. “Here I am, like, ‘What about me? Remember me?’” Girl, she just said that you were “amazing.” Take the win and be gracious about sharing the glory.

Aesha then assigns Bri to make up the guest cabins and Ellie to give the stairs “a good vacuum.” But when she radios Ellie to ask her location, she’s in the cabins helping Bri.

“I asked Bri to do that and you to do the stairs,” the chief stew responds. “Just do what I’ve said.”

When Aesha checks the cabins, she notices fingerprints all over the cabin door. “Ellie, Ellie,” she radios, “this door has got finger marks on it. If you’d just give it another little look-over.”

But when Aesha walks by the crew mess, she spots Ellie goofing around. “Did you not [hear] anything I just said?” Aesha interviews. “It’s like she’s trying to piss me off.”

She finally gets Ellie’s attention and puts her back to work. The guests arrive in 25 minutes. No time for messing around.

“I feel like I have to check out a little bit,” Ellie confesses, “because I don’t like how I’m being treated. I fully understand that Aesha wants the highest yacht standards, but the way she’s going about it, she’s achieving the opposite effect.”

Chef Jono welcomes “part of my community” to Below Deck Med

Photo Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

When the charter guests arrive, Ellie and Carrie work together making espresso martinis. Ellie kind of throws her weight around a bit, but Carrie doesn’t take it personally. She just came out of a high-stress situation, so she’s happy not to be in charge.

The guests are a group of six gay men, and ironically, Aesha served them on a previous charter in Australia. She’s so happy to see them again because they were fun guests.

“I’m still pinching myself,” the primary tells Aesha. “I’m like, ‘Oh, my God!’ I feel like, where in the world are we gonna meet next?”

For his part, Chef Jono is excited to have these guests on board. “I haven’t met many gay or Black people in the industry,” he shares. “I’m a gay, Black person, so I’m, like, a double minority. Having a group of guests that are all queer, it’s really important for me to feel that energy … These people are part of my community, and there’s nothing I want more than to make sure that they’re extra happy. I made that flavor, flavor, okurrr?”

While two of the guests discuss which of the deck crew is cuter, Tony says, “I have a pretty good idea which one is actually ‘family.’”

“Oh, the chef?” Giovanni asks.

At the end of the meal, when Jono appears to see how they enjoyed their dinner, he says, “Can I get a ‘Hey, girl, hey?’” I love it, and so do the guests. They also loved his food, which is good news for Jono. I’m so glad he didn’t get fired earlier in the season or after almost killing someone.

Carrie has the laundry covered

Photo Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

While Bri’s on break, Ellie heads down to the laundry to see if Carrie needs any help. Carrie’s got it covered and tells Ellie she doesn’t need her help cause she doesn’t want to mess up Bri’s system. “Too many cooks spoil the stew,” she says again.

Ellie retreats but interviews, “That feels ‘amazing’ as a second stew, having the floater tell me what to do at this point. At the same time, I’ve been kicked out of laundry, but now Carrie can do laundry all of a sudden? What the f*ck is going on?”

When Bri comes back from her break, Carrie tells her about the interaction with Ellie, adding that the laundry is almost done.

“It’s like the laundry just seems to be flying at this point,” Bri interviews. “Having the color system implemented actually helps a lot. But also having Carrie around gives me the time to actually focus fully.”

Meanwhile, as the deck crew celebrates the last time they have to pull up the slide for the season, Ellie decorates the table for dinner. “Table décor, at this point, is the only thing bringing me any sort of joy on this soul-sucking boat,” she says. Yikes. Attitude much?

Ellie doesn’t know boundaries

Photo Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

While the guests enjoy their fabulous dinner, Sandy gets a text from her girlfriend Leah. “Hey, baby, just landed. I’m here!” She has no idea of the surprise in store for her. Sandy’s so excited to see her and propose.

As dinner concludes, Aesha radios Carrie to go down to the pantry and help Jono with the cleanup. Immediately afterward, Ellie radios, “Carrie and Bri, I need your help decorating, please.”

Aesha reminds her that she just radioed Carrie to clear the pantry. “F*cking A, girl,” Aesha exclaims in frustration.

“I do not understand what Ellie is playing at,” Aesha interviews. “I think she’s [trying] to tell Carrie, ‘Hey, bitch, I do have a little bit of power here.’ But guess what, Ellie? I’m gonna swoop in, and I’m gonna put out your candle. Sssss! Poof!”

A treat for Bri, she gets to leave the boat!

Photo Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

The next morning, the guests prepare to leave the boat for a day excursion to Poseidon’s Temple. Iain gets to go since he hasn’t been on a day trip yet. When Aesha gives Bri permission to go, she’s so excited she gives her boss a big hug.

“You’ve been doing so well in laundry the last couple of charters,” Aesha says, “I just wanted you to have a little treat before the season finishes.” Aww. Nice.

Bri is so happy she’s actually sobbing!

With the guests off the boat, Aesha takes the opportunity to meet with Sandy and go over a few details for the planned proposal tomorrow.

“Are there particular flowers that you would like?” she asks. “How would you like them arranged?”

She wants the flowers “lined up along the dock,” Sandy says. “And then a table, a violinist, and champagne.”

“And what do you want?” Aesha asks, knowing Sandy doesn’t drink alcohol.

“Peach tea in a champagne glass,” she requests.

In a confessional, Sandy admits, “With less than 24 hours before I propose, my stomach feels a little funny. I don’t want to get it wrong … I just want it to be absolutely perfect.”

“Can I watch … from afar?” Aesha begs.

When Sandy says sure, Aesha admits, “Oh, my gosh. You just made my whole day!”

Ellie continues overstepping and irritates Aesha

Photo Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

While talking to Jono in the galley, Aesha overhears the girls. She’s annoyed by Ellie bossing Carrie and Bri around.

“How’s this conversation still going?” she asks Jono, who just laughs.

Aesha goes upstairs to check on the party decorations. “Can you just leave them to their little rainbow project?” she asks Ellie.

“I have noticed Ellie kind of overstepping her role,” Aesha interviews. “Ellie thinks that being a chief stew is just walking around the boat telling people what to do. [Bri and Carrie] are pretty capable of putting balloons in the right places. Thanks, Ellie.”

A bit later, Aesha asks Carrie, “Do you feel like Ellie’s been overstepping with you girls?”

“At times,” Carrie admits. “I would say yeah.”

“That kind of sh*t’s not cool with me,” Aesha replies. “When I’m here, I’m delegating … It’s confusing for you guys.”

“If I had to do a whole season like this,” Carrie continues, “I’d be really struggling to bite my tongue.”

“I know how to handle it,” Aesha tells her.

Enough is enough for Aesha at this point

Photo Credit: Bravo via YouTube

After dinner, Aesha radios, “Jono, Jono, clearing.” Seconds later, Ellie radios the same message, confusing Jono.

Aesha reminds Ellie she’d already informed Jono they were clearing. “I can take care of all that,” she says.

“This is the straw that broke the camel’s back for me,” Aesha interviews. “It’s too much.”

Later, Aesha meets with Ellie. “I just want to have a word with you,” she says. “After the dinner stuff, calling Jono …”

“I apologized,” Ellie whimpers.

“I know,” Aesha says. “[But] I feel like you’ve been overstepping as a second.”

“Really?” Ellie says, stunned.

“The job of a second is to delegate when I’m not around,” Aesha adds. “When I’m on the floor, you’re not delegating. I’ve noticed it quite a lot over the last few days.”

Ellie claims she would “never disrespect you like that.” Au contraire! Production is kind enough to show us clip after clip of Ellie doing just that, over and over again.

“It’s to the point now,” Aesha interviews, “where you have disrespected my position for your own ego so much that I don’t really give a sh*t.”

“I don’t know why Aesha’s just blaming me for everything,” Ellie interviews. She thinks Aesha’s making her a “scapegoat.” Ellie needs to work on her listening skills.

“Throughout this season, I’ve had to coddle her,” Aesha adds. “No more of this sh*t. I’m sick of it. It’s just really frustrating.”

So what’s she going to do? Fire her? It’s the end of the season. We’ll find out next week.

Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.

TELL US –  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF BELOW DECK MEDITERRANEAN SEASON 9, EPISODE 16? WHAT IS AESHA GOING TO DO ABOUT ELLIE?

The post Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9, Episode 16 Recap: Snuffing Ellie’s Candle appeared first on Reality Tea.

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Tamra Judge Reveals RHOC Producer Told Her To Watch Her Drinking

Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images

Another day, another drinking story from the Real Housewives of Orange County. And this time it’s not Shannon Beador in the hot seat, but Tamra Judge. The RHOC star and Two Ts In A Pod host revealed that she was asked by producers to watch her drinking. Pot calling kettle, anyone? Tamra has literally spent all of Season 18 counting each and every drink Shannon has consumed. Still, it’s interesting she did not share this information while filming. So what made Tamra decide to finally spill the tea now?

Tamra Judge says she “drank more than normal” due to the “pressure” of returning to RHOC

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Does it matter to you if Taleen asked Brooks to get her on #RHODubai or not? #RealHousewives #TwoTsInAPod #TeddiMellencamp #TamraJudge

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After a brief hiatus, Tamra roared back into our lives on a Harley Davidson for RHOC Season 17. And love her or hate her, she makes the show entertaining. It’s hard to believe Tamra could get cold feet about returning, but even seasoned veterans can get nervous. 

Tamra decided to share her story of drinking more than usual during her podcast with Teddi Mellencamp. The besties were chatting about Real Housewives of Dubai’s Caroline Brooks. Caroline came in hot during Season 2, and the cast was concerned about her drinking. So much so that during the reunion, Taleen Marie apologized for calling Brooks an alcoholic. Any takers Tamra will do the same for Shannon during their reunion? 

Teddi brought up Andy Cohen breaching the subject with Brooks. She said, “Andy asks Brooks how her state of mind was during the first half of the season. I appreciated Brooks in this moment.” Tamra agreed, “Yes, she did admit to the fact that she was drinking more than usual.”

Teddi stated, “I was actually surprised that Andy said producers even told her that.” Then Tamra decided to spill the tea. She said, “That must have been a problem during the time of filming. My first season back last year, actually, I was so nervous cause I felt so much pressure on me that I drank more than normal. I remember Luke telling me, ‘watch your drinking.’”

Well, Tamra might have listened to producers last year, but this season she was dancing up on a bar Coyote Ugly style. Perhaps this revelation will inspire Tamra to give some empathy towards Shannon, who also continues to drink.

Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.

TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED PRODUCERS ASKED TAMRA TO WATCH HER DRINKING? 

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Jax Taylor Admits He Is a ‘Narcissist’ Who Used ‘Gaslighting’

Photo Credit: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

Jax Taylor is all about discussing his mental health these days and now, he’s come to terms with the fact he’s a “narcissist.” He started a 30-day stay in a mental health facility in July. While there, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Now, The Valley star is sharing what he’s learned about himself with listeners. In addition, Jax has been self-diagnosing some of his problematic tendencies. He shared his findings with listeners during a recent episode of his podcast.

Jax had to “humble” himself in order to dig deeper and realize he was a “narcissist”

According to comments made during his When Reality Hits podcast, Jax revealed that he had “no idea” he was a “narcissist.”

During a Q&A with listeners, Jax replied in the affirmative when asked whether he considered himself a “narcissist.”

Jax claimed to have “learned probably five new terms” regarding personality disorders that he’s “never heard” of before. “I’ve done them all for years and I had no idea,” he shared.

“I am a narcissist, yes,” the Bravolebrity continued. “I breadcrumb, I love bomb [and also] gaslighting. I’m missing some but I do all these things. I had no idea there were terms for these things.”

Jax started to “look up the definition” for certain words in the psycholocial vernacular. He found several that he feels describe him perfectly.

“So yes, I have to humble myself and say, ‘Do you think you’re a narcissist?’ And I do,” he explained. “I don’t know how I became one. [But] I do believe I’m a narcissist.”

The Valley star admitted he took Brittany “for granted”

Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo

The Vanderpump Rules alum acknowledged that these statements are only his musings, and he hasn’t been diagnosed by a medical professional.

“I am not a doctor, so I can’t say that for sure,” Jax said. “But by just looking up the definition, I have to agree.”

He continued, “And I’ve been this person for years and I had no idea. I was never held accountable for my actions for many, many years until recently — until people have had enough.”

His estranged wife, Brittany Cartwright, filed for divorce in August. Jax speculated that she became “tired of walking on eggshells.”

The reality TV star admitted that he took Brittany “for granted.” She was pushing him to seek help for is anger issues for years, and Jax told listeners he was “sad” it took him “this long.”

“Brittany has been asking me to do something like this for a very long time and I just come from a background where we just really don’t ask for help,” Jax shared.

Most importantly, Jax is “hoping” to better himself for his three-year-old son Cruz. He wants to “break that cycle” when it comes to parenting. However, Brittany doesn’t want to share custody.

“If he needs help, he can ask,” the Bravolebrity said of his son.

TELL US – DO YOU THINK JAX IS A NARCISSIST? WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO HIS COMMENTS?

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