Season 3 of Southern Hospitality is starting strong! In the premiere last week, we met the new AGM Michols, who celebrated his 22nd birthday with the cast. He also had some tension with TJ after they shared a kiss in an Uber. Maddi and Joe Bradley are in the honeymoon stage, although he fails to console her when Michols’ birthday balloons fly away. Joe also tried confronting TJ for the Luann of it all, but TJ wouldn’t bite. Emmy insists she and Will are still on the track for marriage and babies, but he allegedly keeps running his mouth about her at Republic. In a flash-forward, the cast confronted Will over rumors he cheats on Emmy at law school. Quite a start to the season! Here’s what went down in Season 3 Episode 2, “Cash or Store Credit.”
What happened on Southern Hospitality Season 3 Episode 2, “Cash or Store Credit?”
Joe is still furious at TJ. In addition to the Luann stuff, he claims TJ used to tell people he was gay. Both Austin and Maddi confirm they heard those rumors about Joe. Meanwhile, his former friend can’t get on the same page with Michols. Maddi and Grace Lilly make music, with an ill-timed cameo from DJ James Kennedy. Bradley continues flirting with the new girl Lake. He says he’d walk blindfolded in a room of Legos for her, which has to be one of the more romantic things said on this show so far. After hearing rumors from Siobhan and Molly, Emmy has a full-on meltdown at work. Will is no help, and it only leads to more gossip about their relationship.
TJ and Michols have a heart-to-heart
The episode starts with the group recovering from Michols’ party. The birthday boy got super drunk and cried to the point where no one could understand what he was saying. And with that, I just had flashbacks to my own 22nd birthday…
Michols also licked cake off the face of (and more or less made out with) a guy named Preston. TJ tells pal Taylor Ann Green that watching this made him jealous. It seems his feelings for the AGM are stronger than he assumed.
The pair get a pedi to clear the air. TJ admits his jealousy, but it only confuses Michols more. In response, Michols explains that he’s extra sensitive to rejection due to his mom distancing herself when he came out. Now, she doesn’t even call him on his birthday.
Michols also gets serious about how hard it is to date Charleston when you’re gay and a person of color. He feels used by the men he likes, who hook up with him but ultimately date white guys. He accuses TJ of the same pattern. TJ is hurt, but counters that Michols doesn’t know everyone he’s dated because some of the guys are still closeted. It’s a powerful conversation we’d never see on this show’s predecessor, Vanderpump Rules.
Michols says TJ was his first gay friend. He wants to go back to the way they were, which means platonic. Considering his stronger feelings, TJ is disappointed. I’m rooting for these two to work past their issues so they can be friends, at least for now.
Maddi makes music (featuring Grace Lilly)
Despite the balloon fiasco, Maddi and Joe are still head over heels. But Maddi stands her ground and refuses to cut Joe’s enemy TJ off as a friend. She also refutes TJ’s gay rumors, confidently saying that Joe “likes p*ssy.” Shout out to the editor who added the cat sounds to her confessional. Meow…
In addition to her relationship, Maddi is also optimistic about her music career. She praises DJ James Kennedy as a mentor. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m surprised his cameo was left in the episode. Considering his recent arrest, it seems like poor timing.
Maddi invites Grace Lilly to vocalize over some of her tracks. It’s a bit chaotic, to say the least. The whole scene brings me back to the early days of VPR, like when Scheana Shay first tried to get her music career off the ground. Maybe Leva was right to call Southern Hospitality its heir apparent.
Austin tries to find his place
Last week, we saw Republic newcomer Austin struggle a bit at the bar. His “weird” dirty martini got a bad review, and he annoyed fellow newbie Molly by pronouncing espresso as “ex-presso.”
This week, Michols decides that bartending isn’t Austin’s forté. Instead, he has Brad train the newbie as a VIP Server.
Austin explains how he unexpectedly got into the hospitality industry. He initially planned to join the military and signed up right after high school. However, before he was supposed to go to Afghanistan, he was diagnosed with general epilepsy. So, he switched gears. He loves helping people and serving others, and hospitality seemed like a natural fit.
Molly mixes things up
We also learn more about Molly this week. In addition to working at Republic, she also plans weddings and events. Molly gets along with most of the girls at Republic. She and Maddi bond over their huge crushes on Justin Bieber. And she lives with VIP server Siobhan. But things are frosty with Emmy. The feeling is mutual, as Emmy calls Molly an “insecure b*tch.” Molly theorizes Emmy is so standoffish towards her because she bartended with Will.
As it turns out, she’s not the only girl with Emmy issues. Some of the girls claim Emmy told a group of NFL players visiting Republic that she was single. Also, Emmy talks a lot about her store credit discounts. The other girls theorize that she used that to buy their VIP dresses, but still changed them all full price, so she could make a profit. Siobhan decides to ask Emmy about this.
Emmy has a meltdown to end all meltdowns
I don’t think any of us thought this meltdown would come this early when we saw the Season 3 trailer. But Emmy’s freakout after being asked how she paid for the girls’ dresses is one for the history books. Siobhan clearly had no idea Emmy would react like this when she brought the issue up.
Molly jokes that her co-worker is accurately named because she gives an Emmy Award-worthy performance. Seriously, it’s like watching Claire Danes on Homeland or Sydney Sweeney on Euphoria. Emmy immediately hyperventilates and has tears of mascara streaks down her face. She screams, “This is what I get?! For being a good person?!” She runs to everyone else on staff to tell them the news, which only escalates the situation. Brad makes it worse when he brings up the NFL player rumor. When Emmy tries to explain what happened, he mutters under his breath, “I don’t really care.” Everyone says the same thing – this outsized reaction makes Emmy look guilty.
Will does everything wrong. He asks Emmy if she did it, and is stunned she’s offended. When her meltdown escalates, he avoids going to comfort her because he doesn’t work at Republic anymore. And he sends Joe in his place because Joe is good at comforting people? Joe?! Who was no help during Maddi’s balloon meltdown just last week? Throughout this whole sequence, the constant cutbacks to Will nonchalantly on his phone are brutal.
Was Emmy’s freakout really about Will?
This week, we hear more rumors about the nasty things Will allegedly says about Emmy. Maddi brings it up to Brad, who says it got so bad that clients came up to him to complain. Yikes! In fact, Brad is nervous to see Will at the Republic at all, and that’s before Emmy starts to lose it.
When they discuss (and try not to laugh about) Emmy’s meltdown, Molly and Siobhan also bring up her relationship troubles. Molly is especially bothered when Siobhan tells her that Will calls Emmy “anorexic.” As she explains, it’s never okay to say anything rude about a woman’s body. Especially if that woman is your girlfriend! The girls aren’t Emmy’s biggest fans, but they still think she deserves much better.
Southern Hospitality airs Thursdays on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SEASON 3 OF SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY SO FAR? WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO EMMY’S MELTDOWN?
The post Southern Hospitality Season 3, Episode 2 Recap: Emmy’s Emmy-Worthy Meltdown appeared first on Reality Tea.
from Reality Tea https://www.realitytea.com/2025/01/09/southern-hospitality-season-3-episode-2-recap-cash-or-store-credit/
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