'Real Housewives of Atlanta' Recap: Did Apollo Forget About His Parole?

"Real Housewives of Atlanta” Season 6 seems to be using a two-part formula of provoking drama by bringing in some so-called friend to start rumors. After problems percolate, the gang then finds themselves sharing close quarters during an outing or party. So, why did the men and women of the show fall into this “Pillow Talk or Pillow Fight?” mess?

Cynthia told Peter that Kandi claims to know about his past. Of course, she conveniently forgot to mention Kandi did so in response to Cynthia and Natalie talking about Todd. Peter's gut reaction was that Kandi said he was having an affair. Huh? Cynthia glossed over it, but that reaction was really suspicious.Now, Peter is mad at Kandi and wants to confront her.

Back at the Kandi Factory, Kandi informed Todd that Natalie called him opportunistic and said he always dated up. Todd and Kandi both dismissed the rumor, but Kandi was obviously bothered to be in the midst of more gossip. With everybody up to speed, it was time to attend one of NeNe's fabulous soirees.

Agent Provocateur
NeNe matured quite a bit since her wig-pulling days, especially when her acting career took off. She still got out of control at times, but she had a growing sense of grace and dignity. Since the cancellation of “The New Normal,” she is falling back into her old ways and it isn’t pretty.

As the grand dame of the show, she keeps hosting get togethers and trips with surprise guests, like Marlo and Mynique, who tend to cause problems. Her so-called pillow talk party was a thinly veiled way for her to escalate the recent conflicts in the group. She invited everyone to a co-ed pajama party at a fancy hotel so she could play marriage counselor. Nobody seemed to mind that this didn’t really make sense for the singletons who came with a buddy instead of significant other. Instead of using light, hypothetical pillow talk questions, she addressed very specific scenarios that applied to the party goers.

Everyone sat close to the floor on beanbags while she trotted around them like an angry horse, complaining about Kenya’s lateness and barking out questions. If ever there was a time for Phaedra to, yet again!, mention breastfeeding and duck out, this was it. Instead, everyone continued to participate as the party went from awkward to hostile.

Tardy for the Party
When Kenya and her hired assistant, Brandon, finally arrived, NeNe shut the door in their faces. Kenya put on a fake smile and walked right in. She kept that fake smile on while NeNe kept yelling at her for being late without at least texting to let her know.

Things got heated when Peter and Apollo argued about their right to go to the strip club. NeNe suddenly revved it up by bringing up the winery conversation under the guise of clearing the air so everyone could be around each other without a problem. NeNe the peacekeeper? Everybody took the bait, and Christopher stood up to put Kenya in her place while his (common law?) wife, Natalie, yammered in the background.

Christopher grabbed Kenya’s arm when she charged toward Natalie, and Brandon jumped up to defend her. Gregg and Todd grabbed Christopher. Although Peter held Brandon, Apollo decided to slam Brandon right back on to his bean bag. Then Apollo and Brandon ended up brawling, losing their shirts in the process.It almost sounds funny, but it was intensely violent.

The cast and crew split everybody up, but NeNe followed Kenya and said the entire melee was her fault for getting out of her seat. Did we miss the part where flight attendant NeNe told everyone to stay seated? Why was it okay for Christopher to stand over everyone and confront Kenya? What did NeNe expect to happen between her weird guest list and hostile attitude?

Other Plots
Before the big party, this episode centered on Dwight and Phaedra’s gaudy party for Baby Dylan’s blessing ceremony. The presidential theme was so silly, that some of the guests and Apollo looked on in horror. Apollo and Phaedra’s marital discord was apparent throughout the celebration.

The other big subplot followed Kenya’s efforts to learn more about her fertility options. This felt like it was stretched out so the big party fight would spill into the season finale.

Since “Real Housewives of Atlanta” is taking the night off for the Super Bowl, viewers will have to wait until February 9 to see the finale. The preview shows Peter and Kandi arguing at the pillow talk party. It looks like NeNe might need to join Kandi's play and use her acting income to pay for damages to the hotel room.