After an explosive Season 10, the Bravo reality series began filming Season 11 three months after the reunion in the hopes of capturing the aftermath of the Tom Sandoval cheating scandal. Instead of allowing the drama to play out organically and letting fans watch the cast work through their residual issues revolving around the affair, producers seemed keen on pushing a redemption arc for Sandoval. Thankfully Vanderpump Rules are smarter than that and didn’t fall victim to the desperate attempt.
Rather than focusing on any of the other stories going on in the cast's lives (like Kent’s fertility journey), the producers continued to push this redemption arc which quickly began to aggravate the very fanbase that made the show a hit. I didn’t think things could get any worse but then the finale aired and we witnessed Madix get ambushed by her coworkers and producers who were desperate to get her to sit down with her ex. Thankfully, the new Love Island USA host (taking over for Sarah Hyland) refused, later saying in her confessional:
Whatever Tom is trying to get from me, is not for me. It’s for him.
I think Madix is so right, but that didn’t stop all hell from breaking loose when she walked out of the party without compromising her morals. Sandoval threw a temper tantrum which encouraged both Scheana Shay and Lala Kent to air their frustrations with how the Dancing with the Stars contestant handled this season.
Watching it all go down was almost as sickening as the initial cheating scandal news. With so many people quick to turn against women who get cheated on, I was worried that fans were going to see the last few minutes and realize that Sandoval did deserve some slack. Thankfully, that was not the case. In fact, his little outburst that ended with him saying that he loved the drama and that “it’s good for me” only made fans hate him even more.
After eleven years of watching the group interact with each other, there is no fooling the diehard fans. Social media was immediately flooded with comments going off on not just Sandoval, but also Shay and Kent for their misguided loyalties and blatant hypocrisy. Take a look:
- Lala hates Ariana. Tom Sandoval is a narcissist, a cheating, lying, narcissist. Tom Schwartz is pathetic, but not as pathetic as Scheana. Brock is trash. Katie and Ariana are the only real and loyal ones and I’m so happy they’re thriving now they’ve dumped the Tom’s #PumpRules - @djpisces_
- Lala’s ending rant is so full of hatred and hypocrisy. “You have to be truthful even when it’s uncomfortable” says the woman who hid her boyfriend for YEARS and physically threatened anyone who brought him up. #VanderpumpRules #pumprules - @TheBravoWatcher
- The season finale ending with Sandoval saying he loves it and it looks good for him that Scheana and Lala are turning on Ariana, genuinely makes me sick to my stomach. Screw all these people. #pumprules - @thatbmyopinion
- Ariana fighting for her boundaries to be respected and walking away from a potential interaction with her narcissistic ex is actually empowering and 1000% better than forcing her to have a conversation with Sandoval. You don’t owe the person who hurt you anything! #PumpRules - @nosmokenomore
While it’s easy to blame the cast for the actions (and we absolutely should hold them accountable) I feel the producers really are the ones to blame here. X User @mmmcintyre said it best, tweeting:
Ya know who tanked #pumprules? The producers. They made such a tremendous mistake by choosing to center this season around a Sandoval Redemption. If they would have encouraged the women to FINALLY hold these terrible men accountable, this would have been a great season.May 8, 2024
Here’s the thing, this isn’t the first cheating scandal that has threatened this group. But it’s the one that could have changed the way they navigate things like this. For years, Vanderpump Rules has let the men get away with everything. Jax Taylor was allowed to cheat left and right without consequences, Tom Schwartz has played up his quirky personality to get away with his own allegations, and now Sandoval is trying to do the same thing by buying his way back into the group.
Season 11 could have been the one that changed everything. The one that let the women hold these men accountable for their despicable actions. Instead, we witnessed Kent become the season’s villain championing a man who ruined her friend’s life, despite knowing all too well what it feels like to be in that position with her ex Randall.
Thankfully, Madix had some people in her corner like Katie Maloney and occasionally James Kennedy. But even with those strong allies, it wasn’t enough to get the producers to fully back off. It’ll be interesting to see how the reunion pans out considering it’s already being described as explosive.
As big of a Vanderpump Rules fan as I am, I really hope this is the final season of the show with this cast. Madix deserves better than to be gaslit into believing her cheating ex is a good person and the fans deserve to be treated as intelligent viewers instead of ones who would fall for a lame redemption arc.
The three-part reunion begins airing on Tuesday, May 14th at 8 PM, or catch it the next day with an active Peacock subscription.
