During The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' trip to Punta Mita, Mexico, Erika Jayne got extra tipsy, and fans thought she brought Sonja Morgan energy. The Real Housewives of the New York City gang is notorious for getting drunk and saying wild things, especially Sonja. The RHOBH women are more buttoned-up and lean into the social niceties. For viewers familiar with both franchises, it was refreshing to see Erika let loose and drop the protective ice queen persona for once.
RHOBH season 11 was incredibly stressful for Erika. While Erika claimed innocence in all of the lawsuits facing her soon-to-be ex-husband Tom Girardi, a flurry of media determined to profit off the fiasco left Erika vulnerable to public scrutiny. Sutton Stracke was the boldest when it came to questioning Erika. However, she learned quickly that Erika is a formidable opponent and isn't to be messed with. In RHOBH season 12, it seems like Erika's ready to leave the media storm behind her and the legal proceedings to the lawyers. She's reaffirmed that no criminal charges are pending against her and is beginning to stick her nose in everyone else's drama.
With a change of mindset and some mixing of anti-anxiety meds and a few too many margaritas, Erika boarded her Mexican boat trip drunker than the RHOBH ladies had ever seen her. As she cautiously exited the car arm in arm with Lisa Rinna, she asserted, "I'm gonna walk beautifully like Diana Ross." Kyle pointed out Erika's heels were half the battle, but once she planted herself firmly on the yacht's tan couch, she was in the clear of at least going overboard. While semi-dozing on the couch, Erika told the cameras, "You know I used to have a boat. It was called the 'Illegal.'It was very cool. It was what they call a yacht fisher. So we used to keep it in La Paz and like fish." Erika's serenely careless commentary was delightfully reminiscent of Sonja's many drunken monologues on RHONY.
RHONY is arguably a far more fun and messy franchise compared to RHOBH. Sonja is known for always being drunk while filming, always making the audience laugh. U/Qtkelmo wrote on Reddit, "Erika being drunk on meds is giving me Sonja vibes, and I AM HERE FOR IT!!!" Before rejoining the girls for a snack, Erika went on to say, "I could live my life like this just cruising around the world. I'd forever be on the sofa saying, 'could you serve me chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, and for lunch, I would like a salad, and for dinner, I would like a protein." She then asked if there would be food on the "Gilligan's Island" three-hour tour. Some of Erika's commentary, such as reminiscing on her old life, was very similar to how Sonja would talk about her old life with her ex-husband, John Adams Morgan. The Bravo editors deserve another round of applause for putting floating pelicans in the background of Erika's ramblings and using a peephole filter to give glimpses of Erika's POV of the boat coming into the dock as the sun was setting.
Long-time fans of Erika specifically were absolutely thrilled to see her at her goofiest and lightest ever, just like Sonja. While mixing antidepressants and alcohol isn't the best idea, once it's happened and she's in a safe space, all that's left is to ride it out. What would be even better is if Erika could continue to live her life with such an airy and positive energy without being intoxicated. Even Sonja has learned to do so.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.
Source: U/Qtkelmo/ Reddit