[snip] Kyle got a ton of viewer backlash over the Game Night deal, while Lisa took zero heat about anything because she was staying far away from Brandi. By the time the reunion rolled around the reaction from the fans was crystal clear - Brandi was good and Kyle was bad. Lisa, per usual, although we didn't really know it at that point, was going to follow the fans. She had cozied up to Brandi and I think that Kyle was all kinds of pissed about the way the whole deal went down. They both admitted to having a big argument right before the reunion, but neither one has ever said what it was about. That pretty much set the stage for so much of the drama that has followed.
I think that Lisa and Kyle are similar in many ways. I do think there is a genuine friendship between the two of them. Their body language just screams that they really care about each other when they are together. [snip]
I see this differently. Lisa told Kyle to leave the whole Brandi thing alone and to just be civil at Kyle's charity event - long before Game Night (most likely because she was savvy enough to see that taking the high road would play better to the fans). That was before either of them could have any idea what fan reaction would be. I mean, Kyle seemed to think that the fans would side with her and Kim on Game Night because of the whole "doing meth in the bathroom" comment. There was no way that could have been a deciding factor for whether or not Lisa would befriend Brandi for her fan status. Lisa was defending Kyle to Adrienne in the debriefing get together after Game Night. There was no way either of them saw the backlash coming during filming.
In spite of herself, Lisa started to like Brandi as she got to know her on the Hawaii trip. She still kept her distance, but she also started giving her a chance. None of that had to do with fan reaction because fan reaction didn't come until after the season wrapped and episodes started to air.
I do think the reunion was a turning point, because I believe that Lisa felt that she was being attacked on all sides. I think she was especially hurt by Kyle joining in. She defended Kyle the previous season, especially at the reunion when it was suggested that Kyle was a bully towards Kim, and Kyle had gotten major backlash for outing Kim as an alcoholic.
But, at the second reunion, Brandi seemed to be the only person who was there for Lisa. So, it made sense that she would start to get to know Brandi and actually befriend her. And since both Kyle and Lisa did admit to an offscreen argument, I don't think the fallout between Kyle and Lisa was about Brandi. I also don't think that Lisa's initial befriending of Brandi had to do with strategy. I think it was hubris.
Lisa thought of Brandi in the same way she thought of the endless number of animals and ne'er do wells that she wants to take in and take care of. Brandi might as well have been an alopecia-ridden puppy for the way Lisa took to her and tried to "fix" her and her life. I think that Lisa thought of Brandi like she did Scheana, or Cedric. It wasn't really altruism or even friendship. It was just that she had the opportunity to play the benevolent house mother who knew what was best. And it worked. I mean, would Brandi's book have done nearly as well as it did if she didn't have Lisa's backing?
I do agree that Lisa and Kyle do seem to have a real friendship and miss each other. I also see a lot of similarities between Kyle and Lisa. Kyle stayed supportive of Taylor the same way Lisa stayed supportive of Brandi. And make no mistake, even though Brandi got a surge of popularity when she and Lisa were BFF's she had just as much backlash from people who thought she was just plain trashy and completely wrong for RHBH as Taylor did for being a con artist before Brandi and Lisa fell out.
I do think that Kyle had some issues with Lisa becoming such a fan favorite after their first season. In Kyle's mind this was her gig and she invited Lisa along for the ride. It's probably why she needled Lisa about being "jelly" in that first season. So, after that, Kyle had to be more than a little miffed that she was getting backlash for outing Kim while Lisa was getting nothing but love from the fans.
I think that both Kyle and Lisa are good for the show. I don't believe I could watch if either of them were off. I also think they work best as friends rather than adversaries. But, I do think they are both vindictive when it comes to the other because they are now essentially competing to be the queen bee of the show.
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