‘Family Karma’ Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: Marriage Movements

We’re still riding the high from Amrit and Nicholas’s engagement from last week (Family Karma Season 2 Episode 7). In a continuation of the celebrations, we join the Kapai family at the start of this episode for a lavish brunch. After Amrit and Nicholas collect blessings from Amrit’s parents, Nicholas tells them that he shared the news with his parents whom he’s mentioned as unsupportive over the years. It marks a new chapter for them as they generally accepted the news, and it seems like Amrit’s mom Lavina’s advice to open the conversation with them worked. 

Lavina has quickly become one of my favorite aunties, especially after the journey she’s been on this season in accepting and supporting Amrit and Nicholas fully. She’s been open and honest about her reservations and in the end has become their number one fan. When she announced that she had already found a priest who would perform a gay marriage, my heart swelled (it is not an easy feat to find liberal Hindu priests). Amrit confirms that they’ll also be throwing a big fat Indian wedding, complete with every event (including mehndi!). If Bravo hasn’t already renewed <i>Family Karma</i> for another season, they need to do it simply so we can all participate in the festivities. 

Meanwhile, Monica and Rishi seem to inch closer to marriage everyday, and Monica won’t be satisfied until she sees her parents getting along beforehand. In an attempt to make this happen, Monica forces a dinner upon the family. I’ll admit, I was bracing myself for some sort of shady comment to be made or for someone to storm out of dinner (especially given what we’ve heard about Monica’s parents being in the same room), but it was…pleasant. Aside from some initial awkward silences, the dinner ends up being a success and forges a path forward for Monica and Rishi to one day join their families together. 

Of the other couples, Richa and Vishal seem to be in the best spirits. Richa still needs Vishal to make significant moves in order to consider putting her ring back on, but when they’re around each other, it’s easy to tell that they make each other happy. I still wholeheartedly agree with Richa, whose biggest gripe is that they both live with their parents and can’t take steps forward without getting a place of their own. I’m a firm believer that every couple should live together before marriage, if only to ensure that someone’s daily quirks don’t annoy the shit out of you. But these crazy kids do seem to be on their way back to each other, and I hope the momentum continues.

Richa’s mom Lopa Aunty is provided some dimension for the first time. While she’s been portrayed as the villain for two seasons now, <i>Family Karma</i> finally tells us why she’s had a chip on her shoulder. It’s revealed that on top of having a tumultuous upbringing (her mother died when she was seven, she didn’t get along with her stepmom, and had a failed marriage), Lopa’s other daughter is estranged from their family. They recount that Richa’s older sister met her now-husband and walked away from the family; they haven’t spoken in ten years. It’s heartbreaking to hear and clear that it has damaged her wellbeing and the way she approaches relationships. In a way, I wonder if them being on this show will be the catalyst they needed for the other daughter to reach out. 

At the end of the episode, we checked in with Brian and Monica 2.0. Brian finally tells his girlfriend that he lost his job and explains that her expectations about money and life don’t really align with what he’s comfortable committing to. Because they’re in a long distance relationship, they also argue about where they’d like to end up, neither one really budging on location. 

It’s a big decision, to move to another city for someone, and I can totally see both sides of this. Brian is worried that all of his work contacts are in South Florida and moving to Tampa would essentially have him starting at zero again. Monica, on the other hand, feels that moving to Miami would force her to restart too. Neither one is wrong. I’m rooting for these kids, but I feel like they need to have some solid conversations about the future before either of them takes the next step.

Other Observations: 

• Nicholas dropped a detail about his family hailing from Schoolcraft, Michigan, and as a Michigander myself, I did a little research. It’s a small village on the west side of the state near Kalamazoo, which is generally a more rural and conservative part of the state. 
• Anisha makes a brief appearance but drops the biggest news: she has a deal with a retailer for distribution of her new dress line! Between her and Vishal/Amrit’s underwear line, looks like they are fully leaning into their passion projects
• There was some slight aunty drama this week, but nothing to get too excited about. I feel like I’m still hoping for a big blowout, but the season hasn’t quite delivered on that front.
• Next week is the season finale! It came up quick and from the preview, it seems like we’ll get a big party with every cast member involved. Hopefully there’s some fun that goes down and sets up a season 3! Bravo Gods, are you listening?

Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in New York City. Her work has appeared on Paste Magazine, Teen Vogue, and Brown Girl Magazine. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.

Watch Family Karma Season 2 Episode 7 on Bravo