Is anyone actually going to be on this cursed TV show by the end of Season 3? This week, after Jennie Nguyen’s racist, far-right and anti-vaccination Facebook posts received widespread backlash, Bravo announced that Jennie has been fired from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City in the middle of Season 3 filming. This was the right call, though it certainly calls into question Bravo’s vetting process. (These were public social media posts a random person uploaded on Reddit. It didn’t exactly take the FBI, or Meredith Mark’s PI, to find them.) Mary, who has her own controversies surrounding racist comments, ditched the Season 2 reunion and almost certainly is not coming back, and Jen could very well go to jail in the middle of filming. By this point next year, every episode might be Whitney trying to remember what her skin care company is called while Lisa takes a road trip to visit every Sonic in Utah. (Honestly, I wouldn’t complain.)

Who knows what the already controversial Season 3 will look like, but as Season 2 approaches its final episodes, the cast is gifting us with some god-tier reality TV. At the beginning of the series, you could still feel that (most of) the women were testing out their relationships and getting to know each other. Now, especially after the trauma bonding in Vail, the cast has a natural intimacy that raises the emotional stakes. Last week, that meant the Housewives actually enjoyed each other’s company for the first time in recent memory. This week, it means the gloves come off in some particularly personal confrontations.

At the beginning of this episode, the good vibes are (tentatively) still intact. The Housewives are hungover after their night at the club (read: blacking out in an Airbnb basement.) Meredith thinks she was “very level-headed and tame,” so of course the editors flash back to her kissing Whitney in the hot tub. In the light of day, there might not be any more friendly kisses, but everyone’s feeling pretty good about turning this almost disastrous girls’ trip around. In an act of hubris, the women divide up into unexpected groups for the afternoon. The first half of the episode felt like a sitcom in its fifth season trying out some subplots with characters who don’t normally talk to each other. (This is a compliment, by the way.) 

Perhaps the most unlikely duo is Heather and Lisa, who go horseback riding on their “first date.” This excursion seems to be a total success. They both get to live out their horse girl fantasies— before leaving, Heather demonstrates to Whitney the difference between a gallop and canter— and over a lunch of popsicles, they both seem to recognize that their early rivalry was petty even by Housewives standards. With her new bestie, Lisa discusses the long-simmering tension with her old bestie Meredith. Heather, who earnestly relates to TikToks about being an empath, tells Lisa that she feels for her and Lisa replies, “I feel for me too.” If you can’t feel bad for yourself, how the hell are you going to feel bad for someone else? Lisa’s mistrust of Meredith goes deeper than I realized, and Heather and Lisa discuss, yet again, the timing of Meredith’s dad’s memorial. They stumble on what they believe to be bombshell news—Heather and Lisa claim Meredith told them different days for the memorial. In my eyes, there are several plausible, non-nefarious explanations for this, but Heather is convinced she’s found more evidence that Meredith isn’t telling them the whole truth. 

As Heather and Lisa gallop off into the sunset, Whitney and Jen muscle through their hangovers to drive an ATV, led by a guide who’s wearing a T-shirt that reads “let’s do something dirty.” Whitney has decided to move forward with Jen since her indictment, but she hasn’t appeared to invest in the friendship as deeply as Heather or Lisa. (I am still haunted by the fact that Lisa and Jen used to talk for three hours a day. Three! Hours!) Still, these two usually have fun together, and after their ride they also gossip about the woman on everyone’s minds. Whitney is also suspicious of Meredith’s father’s memorial (sigh,) but her theory that Meredith’s hatred of Jen goes far deeper than some out-of-pocket Tweets is much more plausible. Jen, meanwhile, feels ganged up on, because of course she does. They are also frustrated that Meredith continues to defend Mary, who is arguably the most openly rude person in the group. At this point, the circle of finger pointing is pretty tiresome, because every single cast member either has major skeletons in their closet or is defending someone with major skeletons in their closet.

Meredith, Jennie and Mary, realizing that sharing a house with Jen is more than enough adventure for one trip, head to the spa. After their massages, they share a painfully awkward snack time as Meredith confronts Jennie about spilling information to Jen about the PI she hired. On the one hand, Jennie was wrong to go behind Meredith’s back. On the other hand, Meredith should know by now that anything she tells the group will leave the room faster than Lisa Barlow could down a 32 ounce Big Gulp. (Meredith doesn’t know that Heather was even more explicit to Jen about the PI.) After Jennie apologizes, the three try to shift to small talk about their husbands. We learn that Duy won’t go to therapy, because he’s the worst. When Jennie tries to ask Mary about Robert Sr., Mary cooly rebuffs her, even though she could have very easily given a generic answer and moved on. Knowing about Jennie’s previous anti-Black comments certainly places the dynamic between her and Mary in a different light. Still, you don’t have to defend Jennie to acknowledge Mary’s own rude (and racist!) behavior. At this point, I’m relieved both of them will be off the show.

Back at the villa, Jen is hoping to rekindle the magic of Club Zion with an elaborately themed Cinco de Mayo party. (She says the theme is in honor of Mary comparing her to a “Mexican thug.” I need to lie down.) Before the festivities even begin, Meredith provides a dose of reality by asking Whitney who exactly is paying for this ill-advised fiesta. She reminds Whitney that Jen has told federal authorities that she has zero assets, and Meredith worries about the ethical and legal ramifications if Jen paid this from her own pocketbook. Whitney believes that the husbands footed the bill, which means all Meredith has to worry about is watching a bunch of white women try to pull off Frida Kahlo flower crowns. 

As dinner begins and the mariachi band starts playing, everyone is trying (a bit desperately) to keep the fun going. After a cringeworthy attempt at a conga line and some high school Spanish vocab practice, Jen gives everyone the diamond snowflake necklaces she bought with Stu Chainz (!) all the way before Vail. (Apparently, Meredith has less moral qualms about accepting diamonds than quesadillas.) The spirit of giving quickly dissipates, though, when Mary continues to be an ass to Whitney unprompted. Everyone besides Meredith is tired of having Mary around, and everyone is familiar enough with each other to know exactly what buttons to push—all it takes is one margarita and a stray passive-aggressive comment. Mary sparks it all with a dumb dig about Heather not having a husband. Heather, who’s usually hard to piss off, responds with “Fuck you, Mary Cosby. Who’s your husband? It’s your step-granddaddy.” Lisa, who is still nursing resentment against Meredith, points out to her that Mary isn’t being kind, and Jen calls Lisa out for having a double standard or something, and I’m honestly exhausted on Lisa’s behalf. Lisa, too, says that she’s at her “breaking point” with both Meredith and Jen. When Mary denies Lisa’s claim that she’s friends with everyone, Lisa goes in. This inspires a truly iconic confrontation which includes Mary criticizing Lisa’s diet (Justice for my Taco Bell queen, though remember to eat local too,) Lisa saying that everything about Mary, including her church, is fake (I mean…) and Lisa saying “Lisa Barlow is an amazing human being.” (Again, I can’t fault the self-confidence.) 

After more back-and-forth about why Mary mistreats everyone in the group even though she leads a Christian church, Whitney backs up Lisa and asks Meredith why she defends Mary. As Meredith tries (and mostly fails) to explain herself, Lisa quietly walks away. At the table, Whitney again directly asks if Meredith’s father’s memorial actually happened. I don’t know if Whitney is savvily stirring the pot for screen time or if she genuinely believes she’s Nancy Drew (probably the former,) but it’s pretty galling for her to once again confront Meredith about this when the cast has barely reckoned with the serious, credible allegations of crime and abuse against Jen and Mary. Nobody learned their lesson from yesterday, and a once again scary mad Meredith storms off with Mary.

Meanwhile, Lisa is furious that Meredith doesn’t stand up for her. Behind closed doors, we get a genuinely explosive hot mic moment. (Who knows if Lisa knew that the cameras were picking up her statements or not.) She suggests that Meredith’s family is fake, says that Seth changes jobs so much that the family doesn’t own a house and calls Meredith a whore (more specifically, a “fucking piece of shit garbage whore” who has “fucked half of New York”) multiple times. After Lisa literally throws her microphone off, the rant is over, but it’s hard to see how these one-time best friends can come back from this.

Random observations:

• Jen kicks off the Cinco de Mayo party by telling the private chef “don’t be scared.” Always a great sign for the night!
• Before the party, Mary calls Robert Sr. and asks what she should wear. He is unhelpful and pees in the middle of the phone call. Heartwarming!
• Besides her feud with Mary, most narrative threads involving Jennie have gone dormant, and it’s extra hard to care knowing that she won’t be back for next season.
• Lisa yelling “I love Taco Bell!” as Mary rambles about nutrients is Exhibit A of why this delights me.

The Mission, a documentary premiering at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, represents the first time the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (most commonly referred to as the LDS or Mormon Church) has given a non-LDS film crew access to missionaries throughout the entirety of their mission. The church’s mission program sends tens of thousands of teenagers and young adults around the world to proselytize and convert new members for two years. The Mission follows four of these missionaries sent to Finland. 

While the level of access might be unprecedented, that might not mean much. Most of what we learn about LDS missions and missionaries is not particularly revelatory for anyone familiar with the religion. Those who are not familiar might find the mission experience novel or discomfiting. LDS church members will likely find a number of scenes in the documentary to be edifying and faith-affirming (or nostalgic if they, too, served a mission). That said, the separate messages taken by each of these groups might be better delivered if sought elsewhere. 

The lens of the documentary most closely aligns with the perspective of those not familiar with the intricacies of the faith and its culture. The impetus of the documentary, as described by director Tania Anderson, began with a “chance encounter” with two missionaries on a cold night in Finland in 2016. Anderson says, “I happened to pass two young men speaking English. I immediately recognized their suits and aimed to press on before they saw me,” which is how many Finns in the documentary reacted to seeing missionaries proselytizing on the street. Instead, Anderson found herself eavesdropping on their conversation about “temptation being everywhere.” She says, “For the first time, I could see beyond the attire that so officiously differentiate them from other teens, and clearly demarcates them as representatives of their church. And in that moment, I caught a glance at two unique 18-year-olds with high hopes, and deep fears, trying to keep out the cold and mundanity of everyday life.”

The Sundance documentary inspired by the encounter keeps that focus—presenting the experiences of teenagers, who believe they are called by god to serve far from home, without commentary. The result is something of a coming-of-age story about the four missionaries at the core of the documentary: Elder Tyler Davis, Sister McKenna Field, Elder Kaii Pauole and Sister Megan Bills. On their own for the first time in their lives, in a foreign country, with a tenuous grasp on the language, a divine mandate, and expectations far from reality, we see all four of them forced to develop and learn more about themselves and become more entrenched in their faith.

As they say goodbye to their families and as they meet their first companions in the field, the missionaries’ inexperience, naivete and unrealistic expectations are on full display, which might inspire sympathetic anxiety in a mature audience. Elder Tyler Davis has never ironed his own dress shirts before. Sister Field takes literally the church leaders’ promise of spiritual blessings for going on mission. She believes those blessings will inspire her family members to return to practicing the LDS faith, which they have disavowed. Sister Bills doesn’t know how she’s going to live for two years without rocking out in the car with her sister to their favorite music (the church requires missionaries avoid entertainment or other activities common to this age-group as long as they are on their missions, so they can focus entirely on the work of serving and of teaching others the LDS gospel.) For his reason for going on a mission, Elder Kaii Pauole cites the church edict that “every able young man should serve a mission,” attributing it to scripture, although he isn’t sure which scripture it’s from. That could be because it’s actually taken from talks by former LDS church presidents. LDS President Thomas S. Monson said, “Every worthy, able young man should prepare to serve a mission. Missionary service is a priesthood duty—an obligation the Lord expects of us who have been given so very much. Young men, I admonish you to prepare for service as a missionary.” (Young women are not required by the faith to go on a mission but can choose to do so regardless.)

The documentary succeeds in showing the naïve, vulnerable and, at times, scared teenager behind the tell-tale LDS missionary name tag. These are just kids, after all, and they arrive in Finland out of their depth with only their faith at the end of the day. Perhaps inadvertently, the documentary also exposes an issue with which the church’s new messaging and guidelines are at odds with its deeply rooted culture. 

Elder Davis reveals to one of his companions his mental illness. He explains that his depression and anxiety and “bipolarity” have become more and more of a struggle to manage the longer he stays on his mission. He expresses particular anxiety around “transfer calls,” when a missionary must move to a new area and work with a new companion every few months or so. He says he had sessions with a “mission therapist,” which appears to be the same counseling offered to church members by LDS Family Services (a faith-based counseling arm of the church which discloses notes on the patient to their church leaders). Still, Davis’s health continues to deteriorate until he suffers some kind of seizure. With seven months left to serve, Davis’s mission president sends him home early. 

While the church has tried to soften their messaging around missionaries who don’t complete their mission, Elder Davis’s reaction to the news shows that the messaging from the church’s culture and membership has some catching up to do. “I would rather stay here for another seven months and die serving the people of Finland than go home early and live another 60 years,” he tells his companion. His mission president assures Davis that God wants him to be healthy and whole and does not love him any less, but that message must combat a lifetime of pressure and expectation from church and family to complete a full-time mission. Months later, when we see Elder Davis at the homecoming events of his fellow missionaries, he still appears despondent. “You’re really quiet now,” Pauole tells Davis.

Because the documentarians do not offer commentary on the experiences of the missionaries,  the audience is left to ponder themselves a question posed by a Finnish high school student to Elder Pauole: “Do you feel like your life as a teenager is being limited?”

The Mission premiered the fifth day of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and, as of publication, has not been acquired for distribution. 

ABOUT THE MISSION DIRECTOR TANIA ANDERSON
Director and Writer Tania Anderson is a British, American and Swiss emerging filmmaker, based in Helsinki, Finland. She has also worked as a writer and journalist with over 10 years of experience of working in the media, most recently as a writer for National Geographic, where she discovered her passion for telling ordinary people’s extraordinary stories. A conversation she accidentally overheard between two young missionaries in dark, wintery Finland sparked the idea for The Mission, which is also her first feature-length documentary film.  

“You are an expert on safety, but you no longer feel safe. You have just moved to a small college town to teach architecture, but you realize that your nightmares have followed you. And now, uncertainty lies around every corner.”

Egress, which will premiere in Utah at Salt Lake Acting Company next week, is described by playwrights Melissa Crespo and Sarah Saltwick as a “provocative psychological thriller” that draws the audience into the mind of a woman struggling to face her fears.

The story follows the main character, You (Reanne Acasio), an architect and professor who specializes in egress, meaning exits and safety in a building. You had a traumatic experience a year ago and moves to a small college town in Texas for a fresh start, while two other characters, Man (J.C. Ernst) and Woman (Vee Vargas), push her to make a choice that will hopefully put her traumatic stress behind her.

Director Colette Robert says You is a character that will speak to individual audience members—literally. Over half of the play’s dialogue is directly addressed to the audience.

“I hope they go on a journey with You. I hope they connect to her,” Robert says.

Crespo and Saltwick address contemporary social issues through You’s story.  Robert says the play tackles the theme of gun violence  as You struggles with the idea of safety and how it relates to gun ownership.

“No matter what you believe in terms of gun control, I hope you can connect to the story and potentially see a different side that you didn’t think about before,” Robert says.

Continuing their tradition of partnering with local organizations whose missions align with the themes of specific productions, Salt Lake Acting Company is partnering with the Gun Violence Protection Center of Utah for Egress.

The new play recently received its world premiere at Amphibian Stage in Dallas, and was initially presented to Utah audiences through Salt Lake Acting Company’s virtual New Play Sounding Series Festival in March 2021, directed by Robert as well.

The New Play Sounding Series Festival gave the play the legs it needed to move forward. Robert says she fell in love with the play last year, but that it has been so much better working with the play in-person and returning to live theater.

“It’s been really awesome to have a play that I already really loved and to be able to bring it to life,” Robert says. “I’m excited for audiences to come and see it.”

In-person performances for Egress will be performed in Salt Lake Acting Company’s Upstairs Theatre from Feb. 2-20. The production will then stream on SLAC Digital from Feb. 21-March 6.

For tickets and more information, visit SLAC’s website. Read more about SLC theater.