Opinion: There’s Nothing Entertaining About Mia Thornton’s ‘RHOP’ Script

When Mia Thornton joined The Real Housewives of Potomac during season 6, I enjoyed his quirks. I liked that she had things that other people would hide or look aside from, from her plastic surgery to some off-the-charts happenings in her marriage. She looked like fun.

While drawing criticism from actress Wendy Osefo, I remember being impressed by the fact that she seemed relatively unbothered, smiling in tense moments and genuinely seeming just happy to have a… peach? Wait, this is Atlanta. I think this is a glass of wine in Potomac? But you know what I’m talking about. Whatever the symbol, it means you are a lead actor and you have arrived.

Watching her in season 9 was difficult, though. As her marriage to Gordon Thornton has, at least in the series, apparently fizzled out, and she has publicly moved in with a man from her not-so-distant past named Inc (aka Incognito), moving him and his children in while living in the same apartment complex with her ex-husband, it was a disaster. And even though she talks about how difficult everything has been, not knowing where her children were in last night’s episode and feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of her situation, she behaved like someone who feels quite the opposite.

Every week, she updates her cast on her situation, sometimes without being asked, describing her situation as if she’s updating everyone on the latest on a Netflix series. “Guess what you missed!” » These updates often went against what she shares on social media, as her enthusiastic boyfriend and soon-to-be ex-husband, who has spoken openly about his bipolar I diagnosis, was toasting and appearing to be in good words over photos and videos, only for Gordon to decide he wasn’t with the bull as soon as the flash went off, or so she claims.

And even if Mia has the right not to stay in a toxic relationship, married or not with two children, could she do worse? Listen, If my husband left me for a woman he had an affair with (and who was allegedly pregnant, and she had an abortion) and then moved in with that same person heifer woman in a household with my children almost full time, I would separate too. They were all filming together until Gordon declared he wouldn’t do it anymore. And the newcomer even wanted a DNA test for their eldest son. Now those are fighting words.

Gordon also continued to be a constant in her life, something she claimed she wasn’t happy about because she wanted to continue taking care of him. With his “I love yous” and out-of-bounds “The kids will be at your house at X time” conversations, even his best friend Jacqueline Blake said she felt like she was giving him false hope.

But would you watch this? While the season is still happening, Mia, in real time, announced her split from Inc and, in the midst of it, shared a photo with a much happier Gordon, smiling and posing up close. Please remove us from the group chat.

And that’s the difficulty of trying to follow a story about Mia Thornton. She spent the majority of her time portraying Gordon as a controlling, scorned ex, who she only keeps around for the kids (and not just to have the same control he craves), and now she’s cheering for a new year and a new beginning with him. at his side. Maybe she only wanted to leave her marriage if she could be with Inc and realize the grass wasn’t greener there. Maybe she just needed to get away from Gordon to miss a good thing. Or maybe it’s just a picture and they’re celebrating healthy co-parenting. As usual, we can Never say.

One reality I think about from episode to episode is how complicated all of this must be for children. And not just his.

It’s one thing to show the cameras and confuse the actors (and viewers) about who you are and what’s going on, but watching her parade around her youngest children, Jeremiah and Ju Ju (she has a teenager) in Atlanta, FYI), including a son the man thought was his, was disgusting. When his daughter said, in front of her father, that Mia couldn’t marry Inc, not only was it embarrassing, it was sad. While she was trying to move forward quickly, everyone around her was still trying to get out of it and clarify the situation.

And let’s not forget that to get around the fact that she’s saying something to women and showing something completely different to the world, Mia insulted her co-star Gizelle Bryant’s daughters, claiming that the TV personality was trying to to paint them in a positive light when they allegedly took boys to a hotel room when they were teenagers. But it was true. She said Inc was going to take a step back so she could focus on his family, then post pictures with him the next minute.

When asked to publicly apologize for what she implied about the girls, Mia pretended she had too much on her plate to do so, only to later share her apology privately. When co-star and friend (at least during the season) Ashley Darby told her that she should take full responsibility for her comments because kids should be off-limits, Mia took it as an attack. Because she’s the only one suffering, remember?

But therein lies the problem with Mia. She could very well go through hell with Gordon and sometimes with the ladies too (I disagree with Gizelle and Karen Huger calling her out on a very real issue in front of everyone in the very first episode – if that interests you, call her); Yet she struggles to take responsibility for the role she plays in his mess. And if you want to preach about authenticity, being able to say, “I probably could have done things differently,” publicly and privately, is part of it, as is changing the way you do things based on those fakes. not.

I know Mia inspires some women who believe there is something “feminine in the male domain” about her behavior (treating men the same way they often treat women romantically), but nothing t’s funny about the impact this will all have on his children. When they grow up and realize Inc wasn’t just an oft-present friend, they remember the chaos of their father’s situation, hear the conversations about DNA testing, and realize they saw things they shouldn’t have (like when Ju Ju, Gordon claims at the end of season 8, told him that she found Mia and Inc in bed together at one point), there are a lot of questions that will require further investigation. answers. If there’s anyone to be concerned about from a compassion standpoint, it’s them.

Mia was initially entertaining because she was open. These days, she’s a little too open about the bad things and not necessarily honest in her telling. Perhaps the woman who first presented herself as an open book with nothing to hide is still just that. But this particular story is one that no longer interests me.