The drama unfolds as the Amsterdam escapade continues on the latest episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County. Shannon is still feeling the lingering effects of her space cake adventure, while Gina’s mushroom microdosing has loosened her tongue. Meanwhile, Emily is surprisingly tireless in her role as the group’s instigator. The mood takes a turn when Gretchen has an emotional breakdown after attempting to reconcile with Tamra, but it’s her social media activity that leaves everyone questioning her true intentions.

The ladies have swapped their edgy leather and lace outfits for softer floral and pastel looks, perfectly suited for their visit to the tulip fields. Heather, in a bid to enhance the vibrant experience, decides to join Gina in a morning microdose of mushrooms at 10:20 a.m., convinced it will make the tulip colors pop even more.

During the journey to the tulip fields, Tamra labels Gretchen as a “downer,” with Emily noting how Gretchen often seems to linger around Tamra. The conversation then shifts to Jenn, with Gina expressing her belief that Jenn simply becomes whatever others want her to be. The group is also puzzled by Shannon’s claim that Jenn won’t be attending Alexis’ wedding, despite being invited. It appears Shannon advised Jenn against attending, and Tamra suspects Shannon is imposing her own friendship rules on Jenn.

Amidst the breathtaking tulip fields, Gina is noticeably feeling the effects of the mushrooms. She confides in Emily about her frustrations with Shannon and Jenn, expressing anger over Shannon’s failure to throw a party celebrating her reunion with Travis. Gina feels that Shannon continuously distances herself because Gina holds her accountable, leaving Gina in the role of the perpetual bad guy.

The tulip fields are beautiful (mushrooms are not even needed to see the vibrancy, Heather), and Gina is really starting to feel the effects of the ‘shrooms. She chats with Emily about the Jenn and Shannon of it all and becomes angry. Gina wonders why Shannon did not throw HER a party to celebrate the fact that she is back together with Travis. This is a crazy thing to say. Gina feels like Shannon always pushes her away because she holds Shannon accountable, and therefore, is always the bad guy. 

The ladies sit down for some lunch, and loose-lips-Gina brings up Alexis’ wedding. According to Emily, a high Gina never STFUs, and that very much tracks. Jenn claims that Shannon never outright asked her not to go to Alexis’ wedding. Emily wonders out loud if Shannon is okay with Jenn being good friends with Alexis. Don’t her arms ever get tired from all the stirring?!

Jenn makes it clear that Shannon’s issues with Alexis are only Shannon’s issues. Although Shannon cannot dictate who Jenn is friends with, their friendship is now getting judged by Shannon. 

Gina blurts out that Jenn did not even want the shower luncheon Shannon threw. In fact, according to Gina, Jenn thought it was “ridiculous.” Jenn is appalled, but she tries to backtrack despite questionable video footage. Gina states she is being honest and wonders why Jenn is trying to foster this “fake friendship.” Shannon is beyond hurt.

Gina wonders why Shannon didn’t celebrate HER family coming back together. No one knows what the issue is, so Emily enters to try and figure out the authenticity of Shannon and Jenn’s friendship because it is totally her business — not.

Shannon is left feeling stupid, wondering where she stands with Jenn, and the group piles back into the vans. Jenn and Gretchen chat about being content creators and explain that it’s a full-blown business. Gretchen calls herself a serial entrepreneur, and she wants Jenn to get in on this side hustle, but first, she needs to drop Ryan on all her Instagram posts.

Emily thinks it is hilarious to gift the women tacky trucker hats with even tackier sayings on them. When Heather dons an “I heart c*ck” hat, we know that hell is freezing over. They split into two groups and get into hot tub boats on the canal. Emily forces Gretchen and Tamra into one “crockpot” in an effort to have them make amends.

On the other boat, Shannon thought things were different with Jenn. Jenn led Shannon to believe that she is not friendly with Alexis; therefore, she is now questioning the honesty between them. Shannon wants Jenn to understand that Alexis crossed certain lines and wonders why Jenn would think Alexis is so great. 

In the meantime, Emily is doing the most, trying to get Gretchen and Tamra on the same page. Gretchen admits to messing up the night in L.A., but Tamra wonders what intentions Gretchen had at the charity event when she confronted her with Slade. The pact they made at the beach to move on got breached almost immediately because it’s a never-ending tit-for-tat cycle. 

Gretchen realizes that Emily is being a flip-flopper in this situation. Tamra tells Gretchen she is “not relevant,” which perpetuates the cycle. Emily points out that Gretchen is guilty in this mess, and so Gretchen claims she will be more introspective. Gretchen plans on taking accountability, but notice Tamra stays mum.

Gretchen states that Tamra has yet to take Jesus Christ into her heart, so why should she change now and be an apologetic person?

As they walk off the boat, Tamra reads a headline on her phone, and she questions Jenn right away. Jenn admits that she DOES have to pay a six-figure judgment after a lawsuit for allegedly not paying rent on her studio. The modified rent plan during COVID is now forcing Jenn to pay back that money. Tamra feels like Jenn could have been better off financially if she had made smarter decisions. 

Gretchen becomes upset in the Sprinter because she feels like all of the things said over the years about Tamra and to Tamra are pretty ugly. She cries that she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but the nastiness is more of a defense mechanism. 

Because of Gretchen’s emotions, she is choosing to come late to the dinner.  In the meantime, Shannon and Jenn are making up synchronized dances in the food hall, proving that their friendship is still going strong.

As they dine, Tamra states that she is “bugged.” The ladies try to tell her that on the bus, Gretchen showed her genuine side, and this time, it seems like she really means her apology.

Gretchen eventually rolls up, two hours late, and the mood changes. Despite Gina and Emily trying to move the storyline along, Gretchen is still not ready to talk about her breakdown. She explains that it stems from pain, but Tamra points out that Gretchen keeps bringing things up. 

Although it was a long time ago, things bubbled up once again for Gretchen, and she wishes it were different. Heather reminds Gretchen that everyone has to be accountable, and Gretchen apologizes (again) for bashing Tamra for 12 years.

The next day, Gina and Emily debrief. Gina claims she is struggling with Gretchen because of something she saw on social media. About two weeks ago, Gina was at the dispensary with Tamra, and she brought up these “alarming” posts that Gretchen liked. Gretchen even commented on some of the posts, and Gina is having a hard time believing that is who Gretchen is at her core.

While the show doesn’t go into detail on the exact posts, they appear to be referring to screenshots that appear to show Gretchen liking homophobic posts on social media. Gretchen has since claimed that the screenshots that seemingly show her liking these posts are fake. 

Gina can’t let this whole situation go: “Once you see stuff like this, you gotta call it out and not ignore it.” It isn’t adding up that Gretchen would be launching hate campaigns, but Gina wants Gretchen to explain herself…

TELL US – THOUGHTS ON THIS EPISODE OF RHOC?