Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City’ Season 5 On Bravo, Where Everyone Is Against Whitney Rose

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is only going into its fifth season and the show has already given fans so much. Aside from Jen Shah‘s legal drama that was documented in the second and third seasons, Season 4 delivered one of the most epic finales in Bravo history when Heather Gay outed Monica Garcia for running Reality Von Tease, an Instagram account that was used to relentlessly troll the cast members. But now, Shah, who caused most of the drama in earlier seasons, is in jail — and Garcia was put on pause after her first year. So, will Season 5 be able to live up to the hype of previous seasons? We watched the premiere episode and it was a doozy.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY SEASON 5: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: In the chilling (albeit incredibly cinematic) cold open, a drone camera takes the audience through each star’s Utah-based mansion, where their narrations explain what it’s really like to be on a reality TV show. Following a montage of fighting clips from this season, the camera focuses in on Heather, who’s sitting in front of a screen playing the dramatic Season 4 finale. “When we disappoint each other, we go back to where we started. We remember what connects us. And pray it won’t happen again,” she says.

The Gist: The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 5 premiere largely takes place at Lisa Barlow‘s “Besos” dinner party, where Whitney Rose finds herself in the hot seat with many of the other women. For instance, Meredith Marks and Whitney face off after the latter starts selling bath bombs, which Meredith —  who famously loves her baths —  claims was her thing first. Plus, Lisa goes after Whitney for calling her the “villain” of the group on a recent podcast.

What Shows Will This Remind You Of? The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City will remind you of any other Real Housewives show — but better.

Our Take: The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City has quickly become one of my favorite franchises. Since the early seasons mainly revolved around Jen’s blowout fights with the other women, I wasn’t sure how the show would hold up with her in prison. But in walked Monica, who created some next-level drama when her role in running Reality Von Tease was exposed during the cast trip to Bermuda. When Bravo announced that she would be taking a break this season, I had the same fear that I had after Jen left the show. However, I was once again proven wrong. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 5, Episode 1 has everything a Real Housewives series should have: petty fights over bath bombs (Meredith v. Whitney), a cast member with utterly unfiltered thoughts (Mary Cosby), and a dinner party from Hell (Lisa’s “Besos” dinner).

By the end of the episode, Heather, Meredith and Lisa all gang up on Whitney, who ultimately gets kicked out of the event. Angie Katsanevas, who spars with Meredith over their unresolved issues, decides to leave with Whitney, seemingly outlining how this season’s alliances will go.

And while we can sit and talk about newbie Bronwyn Newport’s fashion all day, it’s also worth mentioning the new “friend of” Britani Bateman, who has a hilariously difficult time reading the room as she calls Newport’s extravagant outfit a “costume” and implies Mary grew up “poor” like herself.

Watching The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 5 premiere, my jaw was on the floor one minute and I was LOLing the next. Despite the show losing some of its most polarizing characters, it seems as though Whitney will be delivering just enough messiness to keep the drama train moving.

Sex and Skin: The most sex and skin in the episode is a quick frame of Meredith soaking in her bathtub.

Parting Shot: The episode ends on a tense note. A screaming match between Lisa and Whitney results in the latter getting kicked out of the dinner party — but not before she flips everyone off and declares herself hilled (healed).

Sleeper Star: Angie might’ve busted out a scroll listing Meredith’s wrongdoings, but Lisa did break a glass so we’re going to have to crown her this episode’s sleeper star. But let’s be real, Lisa is always a star.

Most Pilot-y Line: We simply can’t complete this review without a Mary Cosby stinger. As Meredith and Whitney hash it out over skincare products, Mary hilariously asks, “Why are you guys fighting over a bath bomb? And why are you fighting over tubs? I don’t trust baths. I don’t sit in bathtubs. I don’t want a yeast infection,” proving that she will once again be the one to say what we’re all thinking this season.

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 5 is only one episode in and it’s already shaping up to be another dramatic year for this group of women.

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 5 premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 9/8c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.