BravoThe dust has settled, the three-part reunion special has concluded, and the village idiot has gone home. It's time to say goodbye to The Real Housewives of New York City for another year.
After an eighth season stuffed to the gills with drama that was so damn entertaining it just may have been the franchise's best ever (yeah, we're talking across ALL cities), there's only one thing left to do before: Declare a winner! Which of Bravo's Big Apple ladies came out on top this season? Was it a newly-sober Sonja Morgan or the blisteringly blunt Bethenny Frankel? A laughably loved-up Luann de Lesseps or the one and only Dorinda Medler Medley?
You're going to have to read on to find out...
8. Jules Wainstein
She had our sympathies when she shared her emotional struggle with an eating disorder, but for much of her first season, Jules was either picking fights she stood no chance winning (the feud with Bethenny), displaying a rather odd sense of humor (the "joke" calzone with all the flatware and metal cooked into it), or fading into the background. In a group of personalities this strong, it takes more than that to truly make an impact. Points for rocking that gorgeous Balmain dress at the reunion, though.
7. Carole Radziwill
Look, no one loves Cool Carole more than us and we loved watching her friendship with Bethenny grow into something of a Bethenny-and-Jill Zarin 2.0, but a lot Radzi's solo stories this season were a snooze. A dog wedding with internet "sensation" the Fat Jew's dog? You know it's bad when even the Fat Jew can't be bothered to appear. A vegan cookbook co-written with her hunk of a BF Adam? So boring that even Carole's admitted to putting it on the back burner. Considering her very clear "I'm over this" attitude towards everything at the reunion, we wouldn't be surprised if Carole had one foot out the door...
6. Sonja Morgan
What a tough season for RHONY's resident kook. She was iced out by all of her friends for a good chunk of the season, she was abandoned by her friend with benefits for her roommate at the time, she was read the riot act by Bethenny over that whole Tipsy Girl fiasco. Once she stopped drinking, though, she came off clearer than she ever had, breaking our hearts in the process as she watched Luann flaunt her engagement in her face while her old bed buddy Tom D'Agostino Jr. attempted to gaslight her and re-write her version of their relationship as "delusional."
5. Dorinda Medley
Oh, Dorinda Medler. What argument between her friends didn't Dorinda have a hand in shaping this season? Girl was busy stirring that pot. Points for making it nice in the Berkshires for a second season in a row, though. May we suggest she sage the hell out of that house and never, ever invite these ladies up for a slumber party again?
4. Rey
Is Rey a Housewife? No. But for one week after the baffling, glorious appearance of Luann's obsessed and intoxicated ex at John's party, he was all we could think about. We may have never seen him again, but we'll always have that one magical week we shared. We'll never forget you, Rey. We couldn't, even if we tried.
3. Luann de Lesseps
Watching Luann fall in love and get engaged in the span of a few weeks this season was as fascinating and frustrating a viewing experience as she's ever delivered. She was smug, she was oblivious, she drove her co-stars wild—and she was all anyone could talk about. There's a reason the reunion was so consumed by the engagement, his betrayal, and her reaction to it. Her tortured relationship with the truth, however, denies her any higher placement on this list.
2. Ramona Singer
She wouldn't shut up about disliking Dorinda's boyfriend John Mahdessian (despite her friend's repeated requests to knock it off), she proved to be a true friend to Bethenny during her health scare even when cameras weren't there to make her look good (we heard more about Ramona's compassion secondhand than we saw it, which has us feeling positive it wasn't an act), and she brought the damn receipts to the reunion to take on Luann and Tom's attempts to downplay her relationship with the guy. Ramona was in rare form this season and we were here for it.
1. Bethenny Frankel
This was Queen B's season, hands down. She went toe-to-toe with John right off the bat, unwilling to let him drunkenly demean her business. She shut Sonja's attempt to explain away the decision to piggyback on Skinny Girl for her own gain like an absolute boss. She made the Berkshires excursion the riveting piece of television that it was. She handled receiving that photo of Tom in a way that seemed the most reasonable and realistic, while also making for great TV. And all the while, she acted as the audience surrogate, often saying exactly what we were thinking. Bethenny was on fire this season. This victory is hers to claim.
Do you agree that Bethenny won the season? Or are we totally off-base? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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