On the latest installment of Jax and Brittany Take Kentucky, Jax Taylor is doing one hell of a tap dance to convince the family that he really does intend on moving forward in his relationship with Brittany Cartwright. Only one tiny little problem with that: no one’s buying it. Winchester might not have cell service or wifi, but they do have cable and looks like they have been watching Vanderpump Rules.
We resume with Don getting nowhere fast by talking to Jax about his intentions with Brittany. Jax is pushing the narrative that the “Brittany Spark” is gone, which he thinks is a little bit of a depression. She is sleeping late, eating a lot, dating a complete loser that’s not good for her, you know, the usual signs of losing your spark/mild depression. But Don isn’t impressed with this theory and when he accuses Jax of trying to get out of moving forward with his daughter, Jax couldn’t be more obvious about being caught in a lie. His eyes get big, he turns red, and he stumbles over his own reassurances that he has every intention of being with Brittany but darn it, he is a perfectionist and he guesses that holds him back sometimes.
Don looks at Jax like he just got served a pumptini but Jax claims it’s lemonade: something’s not adding up. Plus, Jax is a 37-year-old bartender at SUR whose most recent business venture is a chunky sweater line that never got off the ground. I think it’s safe to say that if Jax was a perfectionist, we wouldn’t be here right now.
Once they leave Don’s house, Brittany takes Jax on a stroll down memory lane in downtown Winchester. She tells Jax about her beauty pageant days and how they would shut down Main Street so she could parade through with her crown. Jax absentmindedly responds that there must not be a lot of girls in this town. Ouch.
They meet up with Brittany’s brother Wes so he can tell them about the upcoming fundraiser they need help with. Wes and his wife Melisha aren’t able to have kids naturally so they are going to try and do IVF, which comes with a hefty price tag. The fundraiser will help them get the $20K needed to hopefully start their family. Always bringing it back to himself, even at the most sensitive of moments, Jax wonders how much he has spent on condoms trying to avoid having a family. A whole lot of SUR tip money is the answer to that.
Brittany is excited to meet her girlfriends out in Lexington and they hit the club. Jax is buying bottles left and right since they are only $150, as opposed to the $600 he would pay in L.A. But he barely has time to enjoy his cheap bottle service before Brittany’s single mom friends are all pressing him about having a baby with their best friend. According to Jax Facts, 99% of her friends are either divorced or have illegitimate kids.
To shift the focus off the pressure he’s feeling, Jax makes the mistake of telling Brittany’s best friend, Cara, about the Lost Spark of Brittany and how it’s worrying him. Cara, like Don, knows better and doesn’t let Jax off the hook. He bobs and weaves, talking about how he won’t tolerate divorce and doesn’t want to be in a bad situation, but not that their situation is bad or anything! Just stop talking, Jax! But he can’t and keeps digging himself a deeper and deeper hole as he tries to maintain any lie that will support his story of not being able to immediately settle down for marriage and kids. As annoying as it is to watch him throw Brittany under the bus as being responsible for his inability to commit, I (begrudgingly) have to side with Jax on this one – no one wants to go into a marriage before they are ready and I think it’s fair to say he doesn’t want to get divorced.
After a heavy night of drinking, Brittany and Jax meet with Wes again to help set up for the fundraiser. Wes shows off the garage they cleaned up to make a party space and all the donated items they have to auction off. Jax wonders why they don’t just set up a Go Fund Me page, but helps nonetheless. Too bad he just can’t keep his judgements to himself and starts griping to Brittany about Cara and her lifestyle of having illegitimate kids.
Brittany recognizes how hypocritical this is of Jax, considering he admitted to getting a girl pregnant while cheating on then-girlfriend Stassi Schroeder only a few short TV seasons ago. All this time, I thought these little nuggets of information about what a horrible person Jax is were lost on Brittany but apparently, she just chooses to overlook them because of love.
The fundraiser starts and the people are filing in, including Mamaw, who came to party. And by party, I mean buy six raffle tickets and dance with Jax a few times.
Sherri arrives, lips frostier than a cold winter morning, and Jax immediately pulls her aside to do some damage control before Don can tell her what an insincere slimeball Jax is. He wants Sherri to be aware of the fake problem he created as a diversion so he doesn’t have to propose. He tells Sherri about Brittany’s penchant for waking up at 1 pm, then moving to the couch and eating. Sherri muses that Brittany was underweight when she left Kentucky and Jax assures her he is more attracted to Brittany now than ever. They stop dissecting Brittany’s weight long enough for Jax to explain that this is a problem he needs to fix before he can propose. Sherri is confused since this is quite a different tune from him showing off an engagement ring design only a few short days ago.
Don does his own investigating by asking Brittany if she’s homesick or maybe…depressed? Brittany clearly has no idea what he’s talking about and tells him how happy she is. Don believes his daughter and it only reinforces his belief that Jax is a lying scumbag, trying to string his daughter along on national TV.
The fundraiser continues and Wes grabs a mic to thank everyone for coming and tell them how excited he is to be able to make a baby with the money they raise. Since Jax can’t bear to have anyone else in the spotlight, he requests the mic and announces that he will match anything they raise for the night. Sure, Jax says he was touched by their struggle to start a family but also, he wants to win points with Don and the rest of Brittany’s family.
As the night wears on and the donations roll in, Jax starts to regret his heroic offer to match. When the total gets to almost $12K, he breaks into a sweat and yells to everyone to stop donating.
At a side table nearby, Don is ready to talk to Sherri about his thoughts on Jax and asks Sherri if he came to her with the same concerns about Brittany. Sherri admits that Jax did come to her but while Don is suspicious, Sherri remains D-list star struck and can’t seem to see Jax for what he is: disingenuous. Don says only time will tell and I guess we have a few more episodes to find out if he’s right.
TELL US -IS JAX A SOFTIE DEEP DOWN? WILL HE EVER ACTUALLY MARRY BRITTANY? OR IS HE LOOKING FOR EXCUSES NOT TO?
Photo Credit: Bravo
