All the Braxton sisters return to a life of reality stardom and brand-new feuds.
Family drama sells so it’s no surprise that WE’s reality series, Braxton Family Values, turned into a breakout hit for the cable network last year. When the series premiered, most people were only familiar with singer Toni Braxton from her singing career and money woes. But the series changed all that and turned her fellow singing sisters and mother, Evelyn, into personalities of their own making for a brand-new dynamic at the start of Season Two.
First off, Toni and her kids have relocated to Los Angeles to deal with her lupus, divorce aftermath, and career. Tamar, the youngest and brashest (aka spoiled) Braxton is also in LA with her manager/hubby, Vincent. After her standout performance last season as the remorse-less mouth of the family, Tamar is striking while the attention is hot pursuing lucrative endorsement deals and moving forward with a solo album… unbeknownst to everyone except Toni.
Not long after Toni moves into a new mansion in LA (and this is post bankruptcy!), Evelyn and Maryland-based sister Traci arrive for a visit to take in the new abode and discuss the plans for the long-simmering Braxton Family album project. Shadow sister Traci is looking forward to jumping on their new notoriety, but Toni quickly squelches the fun when she shares that Tamar is looking to do her own thing. Toni advises that when you split focus on music projects in LA, it’s akin to career suicide. Traci is not happy, nor is momma, that Tamar is jumping ranks to go solo so they decide to summon her over and see if she’ll spill about her plans and intentions.
Meanwhile back in Atlanta, Trina and Gabe are still on thin ice with their marriage. In their 7 years of marriage he’s admitted to cheating for five of them and Trina is still trying to work out if any love is still there. Amongst the personal drama, Trina has invited her sister Towanda, her ex Andre and their two kids to live with them under one roof until they can get their lives sorted. Towanda is grateful, while Andre is more concerned about the cereal selection in the house. In his home office, Gabe is going nuts with the house noise, the lack of privacy and the fact that his wife’s house guests aren’t providing any rent or expenses. To be honest, Gabe’s gripes aren’t out of whack so I was on his side up until he went to his wife’s band rehearsal to demand that she give her sister a deadline to move on. It’s there that Trina reveals Gabe is just being cheap and more importantly, jealous and controlling about the time she spends with several (male) band members. She’s pretty livid and basically says “Kettle black” to him and tells him to go home. Trina refuses to set a timeline for her family, which prompts the couple to return to their marriage therapist, Dr. Sherry. In just a short session, the good doc determines the couple is a mess and that they should focus on their issues without distractions in their own house. Trina and Gabe agree and take Towanda and Andre out for breakfast and ask them when they plan to leave. Everyone agrees that 30 days would be fair, even though Andre and Gabe both acknowledge to the camera cynically that it’s going to take a lot longer.
Back in LA, Tamar shows up to Toni’s and with the help of an off-the-cuff piano ditty about bumpin’ uglies, gets her oldest sister to admit that she’s been dating her ex-husband again. Not long after, Toni, Tamar and Evelyn congregate in the kitchen to discuss future plans. When the family album comes up Tamar initially lies about her own album until Toni throws her under the bus. Caught, Tamar asserts that she’s over background singing which in turn insults her fellow former background singer sisters. Feeling picked on. Tamar walks out while her mother is still speaking and that is a big no-no in this family.
Evelyn, in a word, is pissed and appears at Tamar’s the next day for breakfast. Evelyn says her youngest is spoiled and all the sister’s have helped turn her into the selfish person she’s become and that’s not going to cut it. Frustrated by Tamar’s constant defensive prattling, Evelyn explodes and threatens to her baby, “If you disrespect me one more time, I’m gonna slap the piss out of you.” Just looking at Evelyn’s fiery eyes – no one wants that… no one, not even Tamar. Aghast at how mad her mom is, Tamar tries to talk with Vincent but he can’t get a word in either as Tamar tries to convince the air and everything around her that it’s her time and she’s doesn’t want to fade into the Braxton background again. By episode’s end, nothing is resolved and the situation is primed for another face-off.
Braxton Family Values as a show feels a bit over produced at times, but to their credit the women do come off as real sisters with all the relatable, complicated alliances and perceived slights that come with family, Toni’s the sister with the most fame and you can see how the new, evenly divided reality attention has triggered some long time issues amongst the ladies. It’s heated, at times funny, and a bit sad to watch what ego and limelight can do. Luckily, Evelyn is on the case and she’s not going to let the green-eyed monster wreck her girls if it’s the last thing she does. Watch out Season Two, you might get one hell of a smack this season if you mess with the Braxton’s too much!
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.