Tough Room

Hello Orange County fans. This week everyone was trying to work through their issues/growing pains/angsty comments from their children. While some 'Wives built a bridge to their future, others saw their bridges to each other pretty much torched (looking at you Tamra and Alexis). Let's recap shall we?

Sticks and Stones
We open with Vicki finding solace from her fight with Briana in some mindless photocopying. Thankfully Brooks also swings by to bring her some coffee and breakfast (eating is low-priority in Gunvalson-land), and most likely a sweet love note (we didn't see it, but I imagine it was hiding in the bagel bag).

Over coffee, Vicki explains just how terrible their chat was -– and ponders the deeper reasons for B's anger. The sticks, stones, and words have hurt Vicki. She feels it's unfair how difficult it is for Brooks to date her, especially when her kids are doing things like call him an "opportunist."

We’ll have to see how many cards and love notes it takes to keep these two afloat in this troubled time. And if there's a Hallmark greeting or candygram to get Vicki and Briana on the same page.

Heather, Mrs. Dubrow If Your Nasty
Would a Heather by any other name be a sweet? That's the question, as Heather struggles with the concept of finally taking Terry's last name. She has lunch with her fellow thespian friend Dina Waters (loved you in Six Feet Under girl) to discuss making Terry's moniker her own. Heather's worried because people are always saying "do-brow," and indeed I do agree with her that it doesn't evoke the classiest connotations. However, what can you really do about other people's poor pronunciation skills? Love finds a way.

And so she trucks her fancy pants over to the DMV and finds that most of the staff is in less than jovial spirits. One would think they’d appreciate a little comedy in their long days, but hey Heather will just have to take her comedy act elsewhere.

But all that DMV drama (and lost laughs) was worth it. Sweet Terry was all choked up looking at her new name in print. Why is this couple the cutest? Seriously, the Dubrow unit just gets more and more precious. Kudos to you lovebirds.The Hangover
Meanwhile in a fashion-forward robe on a porch in another part of the O.C., Gretchen and Slade are discussing their future. Gretchen wants to take Heather's advice and see a therapist to discuss their issues. Gretchen's upset because she doesn't know how to help him, and so why can't she help him help himself, you know? And so after a very sweet handhold the kids hop into the car and speed off to enlightenment.

Enlightenment is a bumpy road it turns out, with Gretchen and Slade bickering through traffic to their appointment and then over if Slade accidently introduced himself as doctor. (Dr. Slade does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it? It sounds very General Hospital to me.)

The pair immediately begins discussing the fiscal issues, and Slade does his best to assure Gretchen that things will get fixed. The reason for the hold up? Slade admits that he can't focus fully on his business because he's bogged down in Gretchen business. She's upset because she doesn't want him to feel that he has to do those things for her, and carves some time out for the business of being Smiley. And so we shall see if 10 am to 2 pm is enough time for him to focus on his business and get them ready for a life together.

Working on her Fitness
Speaking of businesses, Tamra is getting in gear to build her dream gym. Inspired by her father's own successful business, she is ready to rock and roll with her latest venture -- meeting with folks and folding Eddie into the process to make it that much more successful.

She even takes some time to interview trainers that can do pushups while chanting her name, strip, or, strangely enough, accentuate their vaginas with pretzel poses. . . Maybe she should keep interviewing trainers for a bit. A perfect business isn't built overnight.

Destination Costa Rica
I'm going to be honest, I didn't see the point in writing a recap of this episode without including Vicki's reaction to Gretchen's voicemail message.

If this is any indicator of the trip to come, Costa Rica is going to be amazing. Why wouldn't you want to go to a place that has monkeys and water and is really amazing (at least according to Vicki's sell)?

Phony Home
Alexis is continuing her balancing act, this week wearing her Alexis Couture hat for a magazine shoot. Alexis is proud that she's growing as a model -- and a designer. Once again, Alexis Bellino is driving the bus to greatness.

Unfortunately, along the route is an interaction with Tamra. The gals decide to sit down and hash out their issues before the big trip, but seems like they'll still be packing some baggage. Tamra makes the executive decision to be brutally honest, and brutally honest she is -- going straight for the jugular and calling Alexis "an extremely shallow person."

She even invokes Terry's comments about her. The conversation ends with Tamra saying she doesn't give a s—t about Alexis or her husband, so Costa Rica should be fun right! Never travel abroad angry, isn't that the old axiom.

Next week it appears everyone else decides to give Alexis their two cents (or colón) as well. What did you think of their chat? Was Tamra a little too honest? Or did Alexis need to listen up? Leave your thoughts in the comments.