Time for takeoff. Apollo Nida‘s sentencing day finally arrives, but he refuses to leave peacefully — terrorizing Phaedra Parks down to the very last minute.
Claudia Crashes
Claudia Jordan is still having trouble fitting in. After her explosive Dish Nation party confrontation with Porsha Williams last week, Claudia is overwhelmed with how petty her Rickey Smiley Morning Show affiliate can be.
“It just reminds me of high school,” Claudia cries to Kenya Moore and Cynthia Bailey. “I don’t deserve this.”
During a meeting, Claudia expresses her Porsha problems to Rickey Smiley. He’s shocked that the two women can’t get along. Claudia says that the beef is one-sided.
“We’re on the same page,” Claudia tells Rickey, who says that one of them needs to be the bigger person and apologize. “We want it to be peaceful. But it really needs to be that, not fake.”
In an effort to create that peace, Rickey calls Porsha into his office.
“My nerves be getting bad, because sometimes I can feel the tension,” Rickey tells the ladies.
Porsha denies that there’s any tension between the two — but doesn’t deny that she’s not keen on becoming Claudia’s friend.
“We’re not cool. We’re not friends. We don’t work together. We work in passing,” Porsha reminds Claudia. “Please stop trying to create stuff.”
After some gentle persuading from Rickey’s end, Claudia says that she’s able to move forward and disregard anything said before today. Porsha agrees, saying she wants to “squash whatever negativity that has come into the workplace.”
Rickey ends the conversation — and hopefully, their feud — with a prayer circle. Amen!
Apollo Accuses Phaedra of Cheating
On the evening before Apollo begins his eight-year prison sentence, he spills to friend Peter Thomas about his problems at home. Apollo is convinced that Phaedra’s having an affair with an African man named Chocolate.
“They’re doing a countdown on when I’m going away,” Apollo tells Peter, showing him the incriminating texts. “‘This time next week, I’m off the plantation.'”
Apollo says that Phaedra maintains that the texts are innocent, and that Chocolate isn’t in the United States.
“She was caught cheating, having an affair,” Apollo gripes in her confessional. “Instead of trying to address it, she runs off with the children again.”
Peter asks if Apollo threatened Phaedra, and Apollo doesn’t deny it.
“I did say that people kill people over s–t like this, Apollo admits. “It’s called a love crime.”
As soon as Apollo departs, Peter goes home to share the tea with wife Cynthia Bailey — who’s in shock.
“If Peter…saw the texts with his own eyes, of course I believe him,” Cynthia says in her confessional.
Trouble in Kandi Land?
Welcome to Hollywood! Todd Tucker helps wife Kandi Burruss land a role in a new movie, Second Chance Christmas, so the newlyweds head to Los Angeles to film. A change of scenery seems necessary, as things in the Burruss-Tucker household have grown tense.
Kandi’s first gripe — Todd’s time away from home. She’ll only be in L.A. for a day, but Todd tells her that he’ll be staying there for the whole week.
“You’re not working on the weekends — are you trying to stay an extra day to party with your friends?” Kandi questions. “I’m always trying to rush home to get back to you guys.”
Kandi’s still complaining when she returns to Atlanta, too. She tells best friend and personal assistant Carmon about a big blowup that the two had on set.
“You know we want to produce a movie. I was asking questions to one of the network people. He started getting all pissed off about it,” Kandi recalls. “Don’t think you’re the only one who’s getting irritated around here!”
Sadly, things are waning in Kandi’s bedroom, too.
“We don’t even have sex like that anymore!” Kandi (the notorious super freak!) tells Carmon…which doesn’t improve the couple’s chances of getting pregnant.
“We may do it once a week. I initiate it,” Kandi continues. “The amount of time we have sex once a week, it seems like somebody’s cheating.”
She tells Carmon that Todd insists that he isn’t. Kandi says that Todd asked her what advice she’d give a friend going through the same problems that they’re going through.
“If I was giving me advice, I probably would say either y’all need to go to counseling or you’re going to be on your way to a divorce,” Kandi says. “We’re just going to have to work it out.”
Prison Breakdown
Phaedra returns home after Apollo is scheduled to report for prison. Instead of spending time with her estranged husband before he begins his long sentence, she opted to take her kids to a resort.
“Apollo threatened to do all kinds of horrific things,” Phaedra explains in her confessional. “I was afraid for our safety.”
Phaedra has specialists come over to change all of the locks and reprogram the garage in case Apollo left his keys in care of someone else.
“I probably need to go to the firing range and freshen up on my shooting skills,” Phaedra tells her assistant, Kalisha. “Apollo said he’d burn down the house. He’s been punching holes in the walls. It’s been like a nightmare on Elm Street.”
While Phaedra’s consulting with a garage door repairman, Apollo pulls into their driveway — and raises all kinds of hell. He starts yelling and slamming doors, so Kalisha asks if she should call the police. Phaedra says no.
Apollo demands an explanation on Phaedra’s decision to change the locks, and gripes about the money wasted on their original renovations.
“Every dime I put in this house is right here in the bucket,” Apollo tells Phaedra. “I might leave you with nothing, ‘cause I built this motherf—–g house, since you want to talk s–t. This is my s–t! I told you to stop playing with me.”
Phaedra calls Apollo’s friend, Bun, who tells tells Phaedra that Apollo just wants to see the kids. But Phaedra says that Apollo saw the boys for hours that previous night, sending Ayden into “hysterics” by telling him that the police officers were going to kill him.
“He’s doing the same song and dance to gain sympathy from anyone who would listen to him and believe his crazy lies,” Phaedra says in her confessional.
Apollo drives off…but then comes back and grabs a drill. With the power tool in his hand, he approaches Phaedra — who asks him to get away from her. Phaedra tells Apollo that though she doesn’t want him to get in any trouble, she may not be home when he returns after his sentence.
“Well you’ve always left me,” Apollo reminds Phaedra. “You left me for my sentencing, you left me when I was supposed to report. You should [pray for me]. you took everything from me!”
“Make sure you mail me my key and my fob. Make sure you do what’s right, and have what’s available to me when I come home, please,” Apollo tells his wife before riding off…hopefully, for good.
