Why Real Housewives Of New Jersey Fans Like Myself Weren't Impressed By Season 14's Finale

Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise used to house some the best reality shows of all time, providing audiences with plenty of entertainment. But, lately, the various iterations, (with one being RHOBH) have struggled to keep viewers thoroughly engaged. Now, Season 14 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey is the latest series to disappoint fans like myself, and they've taken to social media to air their grievances. All of this is thanks in large part to its lackluster finale.

Less than halfway through the season, executive producer Andy Cohen revealed that there'd be no New Jersey reunion special at the conclusion of the Season 14. Longtime fans, of course, surely know that said tell-alls are customary. Though this developed delighted Teresa Giudice and some other cast members, it was seemingly shocking for fans. Nevertheless, viewers were consistently told that it was the right decision and that everything would make sense when the final episode aired. Well, the highly anticipated episode is now available to stream with a Peacock subscription, and fans are not thrilled with the result. In fact, it only made fans, like the one below, want a reunion more in the hopes of clarifying some storylines:

Unfortunately, lackluster season finales have become commonplace in the Real Housewives world, but this one takes the cake because of how much it was hyped up. What was supposed to be an explosive exposé of a dinner where everyone would be able to speak their mind translated to merely twenty minutes of an hour-long episode.

The dinner should have been the focal point of the episode, but that simply wasn’t the case. Instead, fans received several minutes of Dolores Catania (who is set to appear on Season 3 of The Traitors) confronting Margaret Josephs about events that happened last season that didn’t resolve anything. On top of that, viewers had to listen to them all hype themselves up for this dinner and then were forced to sit through several minutes of slow-motion entrances as the women made their way to the restaurant.

Based on footage released in the teaser trailers ahead of this season, fans know that more footage of the dinner in question was shot, and yet all that aired was twenty minutes or so of the women shouting insults at each other and trying to talk each other out of leaving. Another fan shared the following thoughts on that via X:

Some fans have also been talking about other scenes teased in the trailers that weren't featured before the series ended. Check out one particular moment that a commenter posted about:

The biggest revelation of the night came in the last ten or so minutes when Jackie admitted to meeting with the estranged ex of Teresea’s husband. This latest "explosive" confession was shocking to most of the ladies at the table, and yet the woman of the hour seemed unaffected by the news and continued to pass the blame on Margaret. Maybe it’s just me but, after the truth came out, I was expecting an explosive reaction from Teresa — one that could have rivaled her infamous table flip from earlier in the show's run. The fact that she had no reaction to the news was confusing for many, including her on-screen bestie, Jennifer Aydin.

To make matters worse, the episode concluded almost immediately after that. The biggest offense that the producers committed with this the finale, though, is the exclusion of the trademark snapshot endings that provide updates on what each member of the cast has been up to since cameras stopped rolling.

As a fan, my biggest takeaway is that if RHONJ wants to continue, it’s going to need a complete overhaul like New York received. And it doesn’t look like I’m alone in that thinking either, as many reality TV fans took to social media to share similar thoughts, like the ones below:

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, there is a bonus episode of sorts that's set to air next Sunday. In a quasi-reunion of sorts, the women will be separated by a friend group into two rooms and forced to watch and comment on the finale. Perhaps this will give us the closer and more explosive moments so many of us were hoping to get from the finale, but I don’t have high hopes.

You can catch all 14 seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey on Peacock. And don’t forget to tune in to the special episode that is set to air on Bravo on Sunday, August 11th. Also, be sure to look over the 2024 TV schedule for information on other reality TV offerings that are headed your way.