‘Summer House’ Recap: ‘The Aftermath’ Has Answers

Many Bravoholics have the fantasy that they would just never stop filming our favorite shows, and we could enjoy them all year round. Summer House: The Aftermath is like if that were a reality. Though up to the technical standards of Bravo fare, you could tell that this was a basic concept with only a few filming days turned around on a tight schedule (and probably quite affordable as an extra added bonus to the network). Still, it packed quite the wallop, and because it was happening almost in real time, it could react not only to the season but also to the reunion, to the revelations that have happened since then, to what is going on with this whole scandal in the press. This is less like an episode of a show than the people on the show unpacking the show as we all do by listening to podcasts, texting our friends, and going over every single detail of someone else’s relationship at brunch as if there is nothing nearly as important going on in our own lives. (There isn’t.) They even got a picture of Amanda spitting into West’s mouth in Italy in there. This is as current as you’re going to get while still keeping the sheen and quality that we’ve come to expect from Bravo.

I was skeptical of the format, which seemed like it was going to be three rambling podcast episodes stitched together. But we know from West’s podcast that he and Kyle filmed for three hours, so to distill all of those conversations down to the best bits is what made this totally different. I also think it shows how a reunion may not have been the best venue for fans to get the information they wanted out of West and Amanda. A reunion is inherently confrontational; not everyone thrives in that environment. We didn’t need the whole group weighing in from two couches; we just needed Lindsay Hubbard with four bottles of rosé (one already opened) and a sectional. The result is more real, more emotional, and more Beta Blocker-free than what Andy got in 10 hours. Suddenly, I want an Aftermath special for every single reunion.

The first conversation between Lindsay and Amanda is by far the best of the evening because not only do we get more answers out of Amanda, Lindsay also says the things that many viewers wanted to say to Amanda right to her face: that she shouldn’t have betrayed Ciara, that she is delusional if she thinks there is a future, and that this man is embarrassing her already. Andy can’t do that, and Lindsay doing it to Amanda under the guise of being her big sister is much more effective than her shouting it across the room at a reunion, trying to score points with viewers or book future brand deals.

What Lindsay got out of Amanda is less of a timeline and more of a how and why this whole thing happened. As Amanda tells it, West was the one who was heavily pursuing her and always inviting her out in group texts, including those with her childhood bestie Katie DeLuca. Katie was always saying yes, but Amanda was always saying no and choosing to stay home. (Why don’t we see more of Katie? She seems like a blast.) After the split with Kyle, Amanda was sick of sitting at home alone and started saying yes to going out with West and his friends. Amanda says, “Going out, I felt young and in my 20s and fun again, and I think maybe I confused going out with West and falling in love with myself again and remembering who I am with feelings.” I’m more sympathetic to Amanda after this explanation than I was after three hours of her staring dead-faced at the reunion.

However, I also agree with Lindsay, who replies, “But that doesn’t excuse going for the one guy that has broken Ciara’s heart multiple times.” Amanda says that it was because she was being selfish about her feelings of euphoria post-breakup and that she was overwhelmed by a guy actually liking her again after the emotional drought of her relationship with Kyle. Lindsay also tells Amanda that when West talked to Ciara (I’m assuming this is either after the summer or when the rumors were swirling but before the announcement, but we know nothing other than it happened at PJ Clarke’s), West told Ciara that Amanda was obsessed with him, had a crush on him, and was pursuing him. This seems to be unwelcomed news or, as Amanda put it, “fucking bullshit.”

Lindsay lays out a great case for Amanda on why being with West in the long term is not a good idea, though Amanda says that they had lots of conversations about what their relationship would look like and how she wants to settle down and have kids sooner rather than later. Lindsay says that he cheated on her with Meija (and cheated on Meija with her), that Amanda “fucked up so bad we forgot how bad of a husband Kyle was,” and that she should feel stupid for putting West before her friend. Amanda, in the moment, seems convinced. When Lindsay says that he needs to go, Amanda seems ready to call it off. But isn’t that the most Amanda thing of all, letting whoever is in front of her tell her how to live her life? This is almost in real time, but we all know that he hasn’t gone. That they’re still together. That, even after hearing all of this, Amanda still chose him.

There’s something we see from both her and West in his convo with Kyle about them almost trying to prove to the world that the decision they made was right. It’s like if they can make this last for the long haul, then all the anxiety that Amanda describes and the adrenaline that West talks about would be worth it. Like he did at the reunion, West owns all the ways that he has been terrible in his relationships with women. He again says that Meija thought they were in a committed relationship when he knew they weren’t. But the way that he draws boundaries with women seems crazy. He says that by telling Meija he wouldn’t go home for Christmas to meet her family was him telling her he didn’t want to be serious. He says that even though he made out with Ciara after the summer, leaving her birthday party early showed that he didn’t want to be her boyfriend. Oh, honey, the signals are mixed. While those are small indications of his intent, that he kept being physical with both of them sort of trumps it all. Whatever it is that keeps West from honestly communicating with these women and setting concrete boundaries is going to continue being a problem, no matter what relationship he’s in.

West tells Kyle that he’s had feelings for Amanda for quite some time, but Kyle wants to draw the distinction between loving her and being in love with her, the Platonic love and the romantic love. West says, “My relationship with Amanda is the first time it’s ever come from a steady three-year friendship where there is nothing performative about it, no one is trying to prove anything. I know who she is, and she knows who I am. I regret so many fucking things, but the one thing I can not regret and I can’t take back is my feelings for Amanda and developing feelings and caring for her.” It’s the line of thinking that if this relationship lasts, then it’s worth it, and it’s still unclear to me if they want it to work or are trying to force it. It’s probably unclear to them. It’s something we won’t know the answer to for decades, if we ever get one. Heck, if Trista and Ryan Sutter got divorced tomorrow after getting engaged on The Bachelorette in 2003, we’d still be like, “See, all these reality show relationships are fake.”

There are two small things I took away from their talk that have little to do with the scandal. The first is that when West first sits down with Kyle, he says that his time on camera is over. That means even a few weeks after the reunion, he knew he wasn’t coming back, though it’s unclear if that was Bravo’s idea, his idea, or a combination of both. (Amanda’s fate on In the City is still unclear, but if Ciara’s back on Summer House, I bet she isn’t either.) The other is that Kyle talked Amanda out of leaving town to do a podcast before the reunion aired to “tell her truth.” Okay, which podcast? This had to be The Viall Files, right? Who else is going to get Amanda on there to talk reality TV mess? Kyle talking her out of it seemed like the right choice, considering she probably made more money and got a better venue here on Bravo.

The final conversation between Ciara and Meija feels right at the end of the episode because it is the least explosive. I’m glad that Meija finally gets to be on camera, use her own voice, and talk about her and West’s relationships rather than having Ciara and Kyle do it for her. However, we don’t learn that much about what Ciara went through, how she was feeling about the whole thing, and what life was like post-scandal. (I know Meija is new to this, but couldn’t the producers have given her five questions to ask?) What we do learn is that West texted her after the reunion to say, “You win?” But what did she win? Did he think she always wanted to be on TV, and she got her wish? Did he think she always wanted to be public with their relationship, and now she got her wish? Did he think she wanted to ruin him, and now she got her wish? What did she win? What was the prize?

Meija says that she and West have still been in contact, and Ciara, like most of the audience, is amazed she hasn’t blocked him. She says that after the reunion taping, he called and talked to her for six hours. Six hours?!?!? I thought the kids were scared to talk on the phone, but to spend the majority of a workday talking on the phone? Is that even legal? Do either of them have a phone plan that supports that? Did Meija get a bill from T-Mobile that said, “Sorry, any call over four hours is insane, and we are taxing you for being mentally unstable. Please bring $49.63 to the nearest mental institution.” That’s nuts.

Meija says that mostly they talk over the phone now because of Amanda. This brings up a lot of questions. Did West finally take Dorinda Medley’s advice of “Say it, forget it; write it, regret it,” and doesn’t want Amanda to see the texts? Is he trying to have another side girl that he sneaks around with? I didn’t get the correlation. But I also don’t understand why she’s still talking to him. Meija says that West taking Amanda to Italy was a “fuck you to everyone around him.” But why? He’s already chosen her. He picked her. This is her final straw? If Meija is still talking to him and hoping for some kind of relationship, then that is on her. Yes, West’s communication in the past was terrible, but he seems to be very clearly communicating his choices now.

Luckily, it doesn’t end with West or Amanda doing damage control on their life after reality TV. It’s not Lindsay trying to get shots in about West’s small dick. It’s not even Kyle cuddling an adorable dog, which I could watch all day. It’s Ciara and Meija clinking their mimosas and being glad that their despicable ex finally brought them together. That’s what this show has always been about. It’s not drama, fights, hooking up, or getting wasted in the Hamptons; it is all of those things. Those things are fun; summer should be fun. But it’s the most fun of all when you do it with your friends.