Dash Dolls kicked off Sunday night with equal parts fashion and flesh. But the show is about more than the daily running of the decade-old shop, because co-managers Malika Haqq and Khadijah Haqq McCray (who are already familiar faces thanks to Malika's prominence on Keeping Up With the Kardashians) were busy trying to rekindle their acting careers—though from the outset they clearly had different ideas about the best way to do that.
Meanwhile, the KUWTK spinoff wasted no time introducing the main squad, many of whom not only worked together, but lived together as well. (What could go wrong?)
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Several of the Dash Dolls lived in the Dash Dolls House, which, for lack of a better term, was basically a party pad—though some girls liked to party more than others.
Melody Kandil, Durrani Popal, and Nazy Farnoosh seemed to be the mellower girls in the gang, while Taylor Cuqua and Caroline Burt appeared a bit more… wild. It was quickly established that Durrani and Nazy had a special bond because they were both raised Muslim and speak Farsi, while Taylor openly declared herself to be a party animal. Though they have distinct personalities, day-to-day life seemed marked by standard roommate drama: the discovery of a gray hair (on Durrani), the discovery of a dirty thong (by Taylor), and griping about having to clean up after others (Melody).
Star-Crossed Lovers Durrani and Shalom
Durrani clearly fell fast for Shalom after meeting him at a gas station and going on a dinner date. Though at first they both bonded over having attended religious schools, it turned out their religious schools were quite different—because he was Jewish and she was Muslim.
Several other Dash Dolls watched with sheer glee as Durrani and Shalom made out on the front steps when he dropped her off at home.
"I don't know if my family will accept me for dating a Jewish man but I respect my parents and their wishes so it's a really hard situation," Durrani explained to the camera. But knowing her parents might not approve wasn't enough reason for her to put on the brakes.
"He gives me butterflies," she told the girls, giggling. "I feel kind of guilty, but I really don't want to think about it right now." (For what it's worth, even though her parents wouldn't approve of Shalom, Taylor most certainly did.)
When Shalom pressed Durrani to be exclusive during a subsequent date, however, she rethought that whole "not thinking about it right now" thing. "If my parents find out he's a Jewish man, they will disown me," she lamented to the camera.
She told Shalom she needed time to think about it, but he didn't like that very much and she ended up crying about the situation to Nazy outside a nightclub shortly thereafter.
Ultimately, Durrani consulted with married Khadijah, who advised her to "not overthink it" and just go with it. And that meant that when Shalom invited Durrani to join him in Las Vegas, she happily accepted.
Naked and Afraid
When a field trip to the Playboy mansion led to a meeting with Chris Fortuna and the twins, Malika jumped at the chance to shoot with the famed photographer. Her sister was less enthused, however — because the pictures would be in the nude.
"We're not children anymore," Malika reasoned of the potentially racy photos, which she thought would help their acting careers.
Khadijah cited two main reasons for her hesitancy. First, she felt her body wasn't where it used to be before giving birth, and second, she wasn't sure her husband would be jazzed about her showing the world her lady parts. To her credit, her instincts weren't wrong.
"No. It's just not what we do," he said when she ran the idea past him after trying to soften him up with champagne. "I value your judgment and I think that you would do the right thing." She chose to give the shoot a go—though there was no follow-up as to what her hubby thought of that.
After some slightly more clothed shots, the time came to drop trou completely — but Khadijah backed out. "I've always been uncomfortable doing something nude," she told Malika, who said she was "embarrassed" by her sister's "unprofessional" behavior. A fight ensued and Malika ended up doing the nude shots on her own.
Party Down
Melody, Durrani, and Nazy were rather nonplussed to find requisite party girl Taylor hosting a booze-soaked get-together at their house. Again.
"It's not okay that you keep bringing these people over," Durrani told the bubbly blonde of her gang of random friends seated around a large table stacked with Solo cups. "This is too much. You guys need to get the f— out of here," Durrani said. At that point, Taylor did as she was told.
"F— this. We're going," she said to the crew, who started to leave when Durrani added, "Take all those beers with you. It's disgusting."
The next day, the tension among the Dash Dolls was palpable at the store, and they were sent to the back to work out their issues. After a five-minute chat in which they acknowledged they needed to have boundaries and better communication, they kissed and made up (metaphorically speaking)—and the world made sense again.
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