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Theres been an exorcism onThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Now, more than three years later, theres been a spiritual cleansing.
Her new persona has made her more sympathetic and, frankly, less scary than shes ever been.
Ruthlessly lashing out at her enemies, both legitimate and perceived, she lost control of the narrative.
It may not have catapulted her back into being a fan favorite, but shes certainly on her way.
With the lawsuits (mostly) behind her, Erika has moved her focus to image rehabilitation.
But throughout the season, Erika has shown herself to be less a fence-sitter than a voice of reason.
And I have stamina.
This shit is exhausting.
Shes picked the side of being consistently entertaining.
This isnt just very expensive furniture; its a very expensive metaphor.
To be able to start over is a big deal, she shares in a confessional.
Im excited about life again.
Much of the work of crafting a successfulReal Housewivesnarrative is in recontextualization.
Erikas season-14 tagline In Beverly Hills, money buys a lot, but my independence?
Priceless certainly helps in that regard.
But Erika has also been able to re-contextualize the divorce itself.
In doing so, Erika can also give herself some retrospective grace for her darkest moments.
And while she may be discussing Dorits rage, its clear shes also explaining her own.
None of this would work as well as it is if Erika werent pairing it with some overdue self-awareness.
You didnt get a pizza party because your divorce wasnt clean, Dr. Jenn notes.
Or, as her therapist puts it, made it worse.
As the person whos been investigated the most here, I dont like that shit, she explains.
He taught me a few things.
The reality is that when Erikaistapping into her power, shes captivating.
You have to go,hold on a second, the price of poker has completely changed.
For the time being, however, Erika can take a beat.
