5
All of Luke’s scheming and planning is about to pay off on this episode of The Valley. As he prepares to pop the question to Kristen, Danny and Nia take the reins on the Hawaii trip to be sure Detective Doute suspects nothing about the engagement. But the group is beyond fractured. While Danny and Jason seemingly make up, Janet and Nia butt heads. Jesse continues to question Michelle‘s infidelity, and Brittany keeps her distance from Jax as best she can.
It’s almost time for *the* Hawaii trip, you know, the one where Luke proposes to Kristen. She is completely in the dark, just the way Luke wants it. He has brought on Danny and Nia to assist, and they will “host” the trip to Hawaii in an attempt to keep the proposal a surprise. When Nia and Danny meet with Zack and Benji, they immediately know that Zack is in on the secret, too.
Nia knows it would be weird to invite Janet, so she puts that task on Zack. Things have been less than peachy between Janet and Nia, which should make for a really smooth trip. Not. They shoot a few text messages inviting the group to Maui, and Zack FaceTimes Kristen to tell her about the “end of summer” trip they are planning. Kristen is stoked and is not catching on to the surprise at all. The sleuths are amped that they are able to pull this off.
Jesse’s life coach has volunteered to lead a men’s group with his buddies, which is a brave move considering the attendees. We have Jason vs. Danny, Jax vs. his internal demons, and Jesse vs. Luke… a conflict from so last year that has already seemingly been squashed. Danny thinks this is great timing, considering they are going on this group trip and their issues are just boiling over.
Jax explains that he has declined the Hawaii trip, and the life coach introduces an exercise where the guys “clear a list” with each other. Jesse volunteers first with Luke, followed by Jax and his tears. Once again, Jax talks about his anger issues, but the life coach reminds him of the importance of vulnerability and the opportunity to start fresh.
Danny clears his list with Jason, claiming that he loves him, despite saying the fresh things about Janet. Jason states that he is not quite ready to let all things go, but he is ready to take the chance to move forward. Jesse fills the life coach in on Danny’s “drinking problem,” and Danny admits that he hides drinking. This implies dishonesty, and Jason and Jax look on with “I told you so” faces.
In the meantime, the girls get together for some Mexican and margaritas. As they squeeze into a booth, Nia and Janet are on opposite ends, which is probably a good move. According to Nia, Janet is too focused on everyone else’s relationship, yet we never hear about Janet’s marriage. Interesting. Speaking of relationships, Aaron is coming to Hawaii, but Michelle is unhappy with the recent chatter about him. Michelle thinks Kristen brought their friend Jenna around (who also happens to have slept with Aaron years back) to stir up drama. But the reality is that it was Zack being messy.
The gang-up-on-Kristen train continues to plow through her when Janet jumps in on the action. She reminds Kristen that she called Michelle a cheater behind her back (last year), and it is clear that Janet is just loving this drama.
Kristen is aghast, as she had no malintent with Jenna, but Michelle does not buy it. Janet feels like Kristen is the “sniper from the side” doing all the dirty work. Janet goes on to say that Kristen can’t stand the word “accountable,” and even Jasmine realizes that this version of Janet is doing too much.
Kristen reaches her limit during the “intense” conversation and leaves, which only makes Janet feel bigger. Nia gets emotional, but Janet rolls her eyes, saying, “It’s always tears when it’s intense. You’re not gonna say my husband’s taking his ring off when your husband’s a*s grabbing.” Ooook, Janet.
Melissa and Jasmine have organized an elementary field day event in hopes of everyone getting their aggression out. Love that Jenna is a referee for the event — totally does not look like she was invited on purpose…
Janet hates field day, and she REALLY hates being on a team with Kristen and Luke. To make things even more uncomfortable, Brittany has to be around Jax fresh after serving him with divorce papers. All the tension seems to fade as the challenges begin.
The minute they get a chance to rest, Janet talks to Brittany about the impending divorce with Jax. Janet is still salty with Kristen for throwing suspicions out about her husband, and when Nia started crying at the restaurant, it set her off.
Later, Luke heads to the jeweler, Kyle Chan, under the guise of dropping his gecko off while they are in Hawaii. Sure, Kyle will gecko-watch for Luke, but the real reason he is there is to pick up the engagement ring. As much as Luke is trying to keep his head straight throughout this, he is a mess because on top of the proposal, his grandma is battling cancer.
As the group preps for Hawaii, Janet knows she owes Nia an apology, but she says she felt gaslit by Nia. Nia is mentally preparing to rule her atmosphere, and Zack is concerned about the group’s behavior. Kristen explains to Luke that she is done with Janet. She has zero plans of talking to her at all in Hawaii, and she even wonders why Janet would even want to come on the trip at all.
Before she leaves, Jax has set up a meeting with Brittany at a restaurant, a nice public space. However, after Brittany keeps Jax waiting, he eventually gets in touch with her only to find out that she will not be showing up. Brittany is p*ssed because she woke up to a flood of DMs talking about how drunk Jax was at the bar with a bunch of girls. Although Brittany understands she has to coparent with Jax, she does not have to spend her free time chatting with him. Jax tries to justify his behavior by saying that what he does on his own time is nobody’s business now that he is getting divorced.
The friends (a term I use loosely) arrive in Maui. They drop off their bags, and Aaron admits to stressing about being around Jesse. When they settle in for their pool day, Danny and Jason decide to squash all the beef. They call their wives over so they can work out their issues, and shockingly, Janet apologizes, claiming she had too much to drink. Rich coming from a lady who constantly picks on Danny for drinking… Nia cuts her off, stating, “That early in the night?!” Nia is not quite ready to believe that Janet’s apology is genuine, but they decide to move on.
Jesse’s issues with Aaron are deep-seated. He doesn’t like that Aaron spends time with Isabella and has yet to set boundaries with Jesse. He doesn’t like that Michelle is being “short-sighted” with this relationship. And he really doesn’t like that in his mind, Michelle cheated on him with Aaron. The tension is certainly mounting. Not great…
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE VALLEY?