It’s honestly sad to say goodbye to Luann and Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake. The Real Housewives of New York spinoff truly saved me during my summer TV drought. Not only that but watching Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan goof around every week became the absolute cure for the Sunday Scaries.
Unfortunately, Bravo aired the finale episode of Welcome to Crappie Lake this week that brought the ultimate spinoff to an emotional ending. Luann and Sonja had to make it through the Benton Follies to truly mark a successful summer in Benton, Illinois. Here are three of the main takeaways from the latest episode “The Grand Finale.”
The rehearsal from hell
It was the day of the Benton Follies and Luann and Sonja were as ready as they could be, which is to say they were minimally prepared. The ladies went into performance day without finalizing their farewell song to Benton and its residents. “We really need to get on the same track because I feel like we have a broken record,” Luann remarked. The Countess decided to fly in her Broadway connect Richard Jay-Alexander to aid the ladies in finalizing their number. However, the Broadway legend (whom Lu and Sonja kept reminding us worked with Barbra Streisand) ended up playing referee.
Luann and Sonja argued through their finale rehearsal, curlers in hair and all. Lu even stormed off the stage at one point and did a little fourth-wall-breaking. “Either reel her in or I’m out,” she demanded of her co-star. Lu (relatably) calmed down after a sip of Diet Coke and hugged Sonja to get back on track. “I know we have pressure on us but what’s most important is that we’re here together helping others,” Sonja remarked. In true hot-mess fashion, Lu’s hoop earring got caught in Sonja’s earring as they tried to continue rehearsing. These women truly are my icons.
Luann and Sonja’s job well done
Despite the rocky road to showtime, the Benton Follies went as well as it could have. Paula Abdul showed up to support and they ended up successfully selling hundreds of tickets to the show. While the show was entertaining, that’s not to say it was professional. Sonja walked on stage with food in her mouth more than once and Luann had to ask mid-monologue for the stagehand to hold up her cue cards higher. The town of polite Midwestern folks were eating it up.
In the end, the ladies’ finale song was a lovable disaster. Luann had to shoo the mayor off the stage to start the performance and Sonja was reading lyrics from a piece of paper, slightly off-beat. However, the audience loved how personalized the song was to the people in town. “Could it have been better? Sure,” Sonja said at the end. “Was it fine? Absolutely.”
An emotional goodbye
The next day, Luann and Sonja packed up their motel rooms and bid farewell to Benton. They were both sad to be leaving the place. Sonja soothed her sorrows with comedy by singing into a vibrator while packing up the truck. It surely lifted Lu’s spirits.
Luann and Sonja received their own surprise when the people of Benton gathered in the town center with signs to say goodbye to the ladies. Sonja and Lu burst into tears as they had no idea about the gesture. Many of the locals were even crying when thinking about Lu and Sonja’s impact and how much they’d be missed.
“I feel like we really did shine a light on the town a good one,” Sonja said. “It could have been a sh*t show, obviously.” they’re just really good people.” Bravo, give us 10 more seasons of this NOW. It’s the kind of pure chaotic comedy the network needs more of.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE ENTIRE SEASON OF LUANN AND SONJA: WELCOME TO CRAPPIE LAKE? ARE YOU SAD TO SAY GOODBYE TO THE GOOFY SPINOFF?
