In the decade since Shannon Storms Beador joined The Real Housewives of Orange Countyevery year brings new challenges for Bravo’s unhappiest housewife. Was it a mistake to assume that season 18, filmed just months after it drunk, she was driving her car in a house, would it be different? Aside from the fallout from the drunk driving arrest, the show was also reintroduced Alexis Bellinonow engaged to Shannon’s ex, John Janssen, a move seemingly designed to push her over the edge. But while Shannon certainly had a tough run of episodes, filled with inevitable crying fits and dramatic storms, she emerged in her strongest position ever on the show. Judging only by viewer responsethis could end up being what Shannon got away with so badly: her first good season.

For many of us, Shannon’s new status as a fan favorite came as a pleasant surprise. For Tamra Judge, another Orange County housewife, it’s been less than pleasant. One could argue, as she likely will in the upcoming reunion, that her incessant attacks on Shannon and her alliance with Alexis came from the heart, but her moves were always more calculated than that. Tamra thought she knew where the wind was blowing, only to find herself completely sidetracked, and Heather Dubrow’s late-season beef with Shannon also fell flat. Heather was right, however, that Shannon was creating a narrative, something all longtime Housewives have learned to do. It turned out to be very effective.

Real Housewivesin all its iterations, is a show about conflict and resolution, but just as important are the women’s individual stories and the ever-changing roles they play. After years of defending — what Tamra might call “playing the victim” — Shannon reached her lowest point yet, and she spent this season climbing back up. This is the narrative she strives to perpetuate: as she tells Tamra during a session: “I’m digging myself out of a hole, and I feel like you’re one of the people trying just pushing me back in there. .” And it’s this narrative that fans have latched onto. We don’t like a drunk driving arrest, but we do like a comeback story. We love a diva down, because that means a diva gets back up. Shannon’s background allowed her to redefine herself. “I feel like I draw strength from within myself,” she says in a confessional. “I know I’m a survivor. I am not a victim.

Of course, crafting one’s narrative is easier said than done — just ask any number of Housewives whose apology tours have been roundly rejected. Shannon can’t control the audience’s response, but she did her part to invite compassion, starting season 18 from a place of shame and contrition before asking for forgiveness. “I’m so sorry and humiliated for disappointing you,” she tells her daughters in the season premiere. “What kind of example am I at 59? » Later in the episode, she tells her lawyer that she wants to “accept responsibility” for what she did, calling herself a “total hypocrite.” There is no doubt that Shannon owns these scenes, and as a former The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Star Lisa Rinna knows it’s essential housewife behavior.

But there are many things in Shannon’s narrative that are beyond her control, no matter how much Heather and Tamra try to paint her as a master manipulator. Here, it was his castmates who gave him the biggest boost. Former enemy Gina Kirschenheiter became a fierce ally, graciously accepting Shannon’s apology for never letting her experience her own drunk driving. “I’m seeing Shannon be honest for the very first time,” she says in a confessional, giving viewers permission to accept and embrace Shannon’s new leaf as well.

On the other side of the spectrum is Tamra, who spent the entire season yelling at Shannon for being an alcoholic. Even though viewers agree with Tamra on some level — the editors making sure to include every instance of Shannon ordering a drink certainly seems pointed — they don’t like the way she expresses herself. (“Everyone Hates Me This Season,” Tamra said People in August.) As Gina says in another confessional: “It’s not up to Tamra to decide if Shannon is an alcoholic; it’s not Tamra’s place to berate her and make her feel worse than she already feels. Tamra’s relentless cruelty only helped Shannon, as did John Janssen’s. $75,000 lawsuit against her and Alexis’ constant beatings. Because Shannon started the season with her tail between her legs, these attacks feel like a punchline and put the audience on the defensive on her behalf. When she calls Tamra’s behavior “a true example of kicking someone when they’re down,” we’re inclined to agree.

The onslaught of bad cards dealt to Shannon is another piece of the successful narrative puzzle. She may reject the label “victim,” but there is no denying that she is someone who has been repeatedly victimized by life’s circumstances. Her reactions to this over the years – which include more abrupt exits from scenes and emotional confrontations with production than any other Housewife – have presented her as a fragile, vulnerable, broken bird. That’s why Gina says in the first episode, “I can’t help it, I still feel bad for her.” It’s much easier for the audience to embrace the comeback narrative when they’re attached to someone who appears to be in desperate need of victory.

And while the end of season 18 left Shannon dangerously close to a flashback – with Tamra exposing Shannon’s role in digging Gina and Shannon confusingly arguing with new housewife Katie’s husband Ginella – the emphasis was on progress. In the finalGina and Jennifer Pedranti, other collateral damage in the Tamra vs. Shannon war, point out that despite Shannon’s flaws, she is “working on herself.” This grace is a fitting conclusion to his season arc. After nine years of Shannon never having a good season, there’s a welcome catharsis in seeing her pick up the pieces and declare the penultimate episode“I know who I am and I have taken on such responsibilities during the most difficult year of my life.” Ultimately, we want to support her, and ironically, her worst decision yet has created the perfect path to do so.

It would be quite easy to say that The Real Housewives of PotomacKaren Huger of should follow Shannon’s example. Like Shannon, Karen was involved in a car accident between seasons and was arrested and cited for driving under the influence. But in the first five episodes of season nine, Karen seems to take a very different approach: where Shannon has acknowledged her background, Karen calls herself “totally blessed” and offers a dismissive “accidents happen.” There are major mitigating factors here, including the fact that Karen’s case is ongoing and it would be legally unwise for her to publicly accept any responsibility. Even if she could speak freely, it is unlikely that she would ever attempt the narrative that Shannon used to her advantage. On the one hand, Karen has never been a broken bird – she is the Great Ladya nickname she has proudly used as a sign of her status as Queen Bee since the show’s first season.

The roles that the women on these shows spend years cultivating, whether intentionally or not, limit their narrative possibilities. That’s not to say there isn’t room for a course correction – Karen’s nemesis Gizelle Bryant suddenly learning to apologize this season is a good example – but that a sudden personality transplant doesn’t seem sincere. For Karen to have entered season nine of Potomac with humility and shame would be completely irrelevant. These dramatic about-faces can be disorienting for viewers, and given that Karen endeared herself to audiences by showcasing her royal persona, it’s not an act she wants to abandon. At the same time, being the Grande Dame has put her in a difficult position, one that she may have a harder time navigating as the season goes on.

So far, Karen is doing herself a disservice, treating her alleged infraction as a test of loyalty. “This is your opportunity for you guys to swing the way you want to swing,” she tells her friends at her birthday lunch for the season premiere. “I want to see who Karen Huger’s real soldiers are, because I sure don’t want any fake bitches around me.” She went after Jacqueline Blake’s friend – an incompatible fight that makes it seem like Karen is the one doing the knocking – because Jacqueline said people shouldn’t judge until the matter is over. resolved and accused Karen of calling her while drunk. And she alienated potential allies after inviting actors to double-take by attending her nebulous awards ceremony when they had already said they were going to an event honoring Gizelle’s late father . Karen has been accused by several classmates of being deviant, with Gizelle noting, “I’m not even deviant.” I still know, Karen, that you have a lawsuit.

Like Shannon, Karen faces her co-stars on offense, but the Potomac the type of tint is normal and notably goes in both directions. Ashley Darby giving Karen Uber gift cards and Gizelle naming a mocktail the Grande Dame don’t provoke the same public reaction as Tamra berating Shannon for the 19th time. On Potomacthese women are equal. Karen even says, “I’d be upset if Gizelle didn’t turn out to be a mess.” That’s what makes me love him. She also has the “soldiers” she’s looking for: new full-time housewives Stacey Rusch and Keiarna Stewart. At worst, Karen is at a standstill with Mia Thornton, who continues to demand that the Grande Dame “own it.” You don’t need to be a lawyer to understand why Karen isn’t able to own anything.

Maybe Karen will sing a different tune once her case goes to trial, but filming wrapped months ago and it still hasn’t happened, meaning the upcoming season will likely stay a challenge for her. As frustrating as this may be for Karen, it raises an interesting question: Does it matter? As tempting as it is to compare how Karen and Shannon react to each other’s incidents, they are ultimately two very different housewives on two very different shows. Karen doesn’t need a win like Shannon did – even if this ends up being her worst season, and it’s still too early to tell, it doesn’t seem like something she won’t cannot overcome.

And while crafting the right narrative is important to the longevity of housewives, that doesn’t mean all housewives should sing and dance the same way. In Karen’s case, stubbornness and bravado have made her a star for nearly a decade, so perhaps she’s right that being the Grande Dame is the story she must continue to tell – whether or not it frustrates the audience with its deviation. “People judging me are the least of my worries,” she says in a confessional, and she may be talking about the viewers with her castmates. “When have you ever seen the Great Lady collapse?” Never, and it won’t happen.