RHOSLC Season 5 Premiere: Five Biggest Takeaways

After last season’s Reality Von Tease drama, more eyes were on the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 5 premiere than ever. It was clear producers knew this if the RHOSLC ultra-dramatic pre-credits sequence was any indication.

In the Season 5 premiere, it’s been nine months since Heather Gay’s big moment in Bermuda, and two months since the reunion. Lisa Barlow set up a “Besos” themed Galentine’s Day party for all her girlfriends, including the three new RHOSLC cast members. It’s not a “Monica Garcia is Reality Von Tease” level twist that the night ended in screaming matches instead of sisterhood and solidarity.

Ahead of Season 5, viewers worried that it’d be a letdown. These fears were stoked when Monica claimed that producers wanted her to come back. But Lisa and Meredith Marks both insisted this is actually the best season ever. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case. The premiere certainly gave us a lot to talk about. Now, let’s unfurl our scrolls like Angie Katsanevas and look at the biggest moments from the episode.

Who’s the real RHOSLC villain, Whitney or Lisa?

With Monica off the show, viewers wondered who would take over as RHOSLC’s villain. In early February, Whitney Rose threw Lisa under the bus on (what else) Nick Viall’s podcast. The show played a clip of Whitney declaring, “Lisa’s always been the villain!” Obviously, this didn’t sit right with Lisa, who decided that Whitney was actually the villain.

Lisa was mad at Whitney for even showing up (who’s gonna tell her that Whitney would never miss filming the first group event of the season). Whitney didn’t say hi to Heather- as we know, all is not well between the cousins. Bad Weather is over, it’s Bad Leather now. Whitney even made a snarky comment to Angie about how Lisa and Heather are now the best of friends.

Lisa repeatedly called Whitney a liar. And, as we saw in the preview of the season, Justin Rose eventually steps in to tell her to stop that. She also accused Whitney of using her “hilling” journey to feel morally superior. Meredith and Heather also brought up past issues with Whitney. By the end of the party, Whitney started to feel ganged up on. At least she had an ally with her friend Meili Workman. And Angie K, which Lisa and Heather were very mad about. We got an indication of what led to Angie and Lisa’s feud.

Whitney was certainly very bold at the party. She called Lisa “self-absorbed” and left after giving her the finger. But Lisa should remember that lots of viewers don’t like it when one cast member gets ganged up on. So, it’s not set in stone that Whitney is the villain just yet. In fact, Lisa just named another woman as the ultimate Season 5 villain.

Meredith talked about the bath bumps bombs on the RHOSLC premiere

We all know that baths are Meredith’s thing. In case anyone forgot, the opening footage saw Meredith taking a bubble bath in her new home. After coming for Meredith’s bathtub last year, Whitney launched a bath bomb as one of her business ventures. Since baths are Meredith’s situation, she was peeved. While Meredith accused Whitney of copying her, RHOSLC’s Wild Rose insisted otherwise, and a new petty feud was born.

But, of course, it wasn’t just about the bath bombs. Meredith was still angry over the way she was ganged up on last year. And she didn’t feel satisfied with how they left things at the reunion.

Angie K also wasn’t over it, as we saw with her scroll (shout out to editors for giving the scroll its own music cue). Angie brought up the rumors and nastiness, the Greek mafia gossip, and Meredith telling Monica she could sue Angie. It’s clear that Whitney and Angie are a team this year, and Meredith is not a fan. The opening teaser also showed Meredith screaming at Whitney for going through her cell phone.

Mary Cosby is playing nice (…to a point) so far on RHOSLC

Maybe Mary Cosby’s return to full-time came with some conditions. Such as, she had to at least pretend to want to be friends with the other women. Because in the premiere, Mary acted sort of…friendly?

At the Season 4 reunion, Mary was asked if she liked any of her co-stars. Naturally, she said Meredith, although we know from the trailer that those two have a falling out. She also said she liked Angie K, which took RHOSLC’s Greek goddess by surprise. Turns out, that was the start of a beautiful friendship! They even showed up to Lisa’s party with matching purses and sunglasses. As Angie recalled, it started with her telling Mary she had lipstick on her teeth. Then, Mary invited her to Kathy Hilton’s Christmas party, and the friendship was born. “Life is weird” was essentially Mary’s explanation.

Mary also complimented Heather for maybe the first time ever. And Heather knew exactly why that was. Especially since Mary body shamed her on Watch What Happens Live last year. “I’ve gone from inbred to pretty and thin,” Heather said, wondering if this was the start of another new Mary friendship. However, there was a limit. Mary wasn’t a fan of Heather’s friend Britani Bateman. Or her coat, which Mary read for filth. Or her admission that, as a child, she stored rolls in her purse.

Bronwyn makes a big impact on RHOSLC

All eyes were on Bronwyn Newport as she made her entrance- mostly because you could see her giant heart-shaped coat from miles away! Mary, continuing to play nice, complimented her coat, and defended Bronwyn’s look as fashion, not a costume. Bronwyn also wore a fluffy red dress in her first confessional. The new Housewife joked, “I am fully dressed like a Tim Burton character and I feel amazing, thank you for asking!” Bronwyn’s outlandish style already earned her a lot of attention ahead of the premiere. She called her aesthetic “funny chaos.”

Lisa gushed over her friend, calling Bronwyn “super fun, super smart, super witty.” She also called her “over the top” which feels very apt. Especially as the show cuts to Bronwyn wearing a matching puffy coat, bra top, hot pants, and boots, all while carrying a duck-shaped purse. Just as I was wondering what the weather could possibly be that day, editors showed it was 37 degrees.

It’s not just her wardrobe that’s over the top. She also has six dogs, all named after House of Cards (the USA version, not the UK original) characters.

Monica was never the (only) problem on RHOSLC

The episode’s opening minutes showed Heather admitting that casting out Monica wasn’t the end of the friend group’s problems. She called out the group for being obsessed with receipts (and surely implied proof, screenshots, and timelines). Clearly, her assertion to Monica that everyone else in the group is genuine friends (not to mention that group hug) may not hold up to scrutiny.

The dramatic ending, which set up the rest of the season, also proved this. And maybe gave an inkling that Monica will show up (or at least get mentioned) later in the season. Heather was heard chastising one of her cast mates for reaching out to their “sworn enemy.” Whitney then said she needed proof of something. Did she reach out to Monica, who sided with Whitney after the premiere? It also seems like the Reality Von Tease reveal made the Real Housewives on high alert. One of the ladies gets accused of recording the others. And we already know that Heather is suspicious of Bronwyn.

It surely seems that, despite what Whitney said, Monica wasn’t the only one with a “dirty-ass little secret” in this cast. Thankfully, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City are keeping mum about this season, like they did last year. We’ll have to wait and see if that means a similarly mind-blowing finale.

RHOSLC can be streamed on Peacock.

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