Summer House Season 8, Episode 5 Recap: Happy Campers

Summer House Season 8, Episode 5 recap
Photo: Felix Kunze/Bravo via Getty Images

Welcome to our Summer House Season 8, Episode 5 recap! In this week’s episode, titled “The Camptons,” the housemates set up tents and have a campout in the wilds of the backyard. West and Ciara take their relationship a step further, and Carl makes an excuse to drive up alone on Saturday in order to avoid another Friday Night Fight. Meanwhile, “Runaway Bride” Lindsay squeezed between the bars of the front gate and walked off down the road. Here are some of the highlights from Summer House Season 8, Episode 5.

Time to pitch a tent

“Who doesn’t fight?” Lindsay asks in a confessional. “That’s a normal thing [in] relationships. I just want to enjoy my weekend and not deal with this bullsh*t anymore.”

Tonight, the group is having a backyard campout. Danielle ushers everyone outside, saying, “It’s time to pitch a tent.”

After dinner, they play a version of Spin the Bottle. Whoever it lands on has to complete a challenge. Carl has to choose two people to kiss, and he picks Ciara and West. She’s already sitting in his lap, so why not?

Ciara leans over and plants a big one on West. “That was awesome,” he whispers when it’s over.

“I’ve been making an effort not to come on too strong this whole time,” West confesses. “But I think she’s giving back what I’m giving to her, so more make-outs to come, probably?”

At bedtime, Ciara and West end up in a tent together. “Camping is the perfect loophole to the first sleepover,” West confesses. “You don’t have to do the f*cking awkward, tiptoe up the stairs to someone’s room kind of thing. It’s a neutral place. Easy money.”

“Sharing a tent with West is a good first step,” Ciara interviews. “It’s appropriate.”

Amazingly, Carl and Lindsay got through an entire night without fighting. “It was nice to see [them] having fun and getting along,” Amanda tells Kyle, “even though they probably have a bigger conversation [ahead of them].”

Soul Cycle Confessions

The next morning, Carl, Jesse, West, and Ciara take a spin class together.

“Working out is 100% the most important thing for me to stay sober,” Carl says. I have a crazy brain. Working out and just spending time sweating, not thinking about anything—especially in these conflicts with Lindsay — is really helpful for me.”

“Think how good that would’ve been if we didn’t drink tequila and sleep in the f*cking grass,” West jokes. “We’d have crushed it.”

Jesse says, “I’d love to see a weekend where Lindsay and Carl don’t … fight.”

Carl admits, “[Last night] was very silly and … light. It was just what we needed to not be so intense.”

“Did she [apologize] for accusing you of doing drugs?” Jesse asks.

“I don’t think she really understands how hurtful that [is],” Carl responds.

“It’s sad for us to watch her accusing you of breaking your sobriety,” Ciara says. “That’s, like, a really strong accusation for how far you’ve come … It reaches that next level when there’s alcohol involved. My dad is that way. He’s a volatile drunk, and I can’t deal with him … It’s the reason we haven’t spoken in almost a year.”

Having grown up “in an unstable, emotional environment,” Ciara confesses, “I would really hate to bring my child into that same exact situation. When I see how this relationship between Lindsay and Carl is playing out … I don’t feel like that’s a situation that you bring children into. It makes me uneasy.”

“My mom finally made the decision to divorce him,” Ciara shares. “She was like, ‘I can’t have my kids see this’ … I’m not saying that … you guys shouldn’t get married. But … you have to acknowledge that this is what … the rest of your life is going to be.”

Monday night sleepover

Back in New York, West meets Jesse in a nail salon. They’re both getting pedicures, which I think is awesome. My husband refuses to do that cause he thinks it’s not “manly” or something.

Jesse asks, “Did you and Ciara have a date this week?”

“We did Movie Monday,” West answers. “So it was fun. [When] we left, we just stood on the one corner where, like, I would go that way and [gesturing] she would go that way. She was, like, ‘You wanna come see my place?’ And I was, like, ‘Yeah, sounds good.’ So, it was a full sleepover.”

“Whoa!” Jesse responds with a happy smile.

“Yeah,” West says. “We fell asleep on the couch watching TV.”

“Did you make it past first base?” Jesse asks.

“No, I’ve been on first base for, like, 10 days,” West says. As well you should be, West. If you want it to last with Ciara, you’d better take it slow.

Craig waxes philosophical

Summer House Season 8, Episode 5 recap
Photo: Eugene Gologursky/Bravo

Craig’s up for the weekend! On Friday afternoon, everyone’s in the kitchen. As Lindsay pours herself a tumbler of rosé, Craig tells Kyle, “I haven’t drank liquor since September.”

Kyle asks if Paige talked him into quitting drinking, but she says no.

“I realized there’s a difference between a fun boyfriend and a potential father,” Craig admits.“I just had to stop.”

Later as they’re outside together, Kyle again wonders if Craig’s going sober wasn’t something Paige wanted him to do.

“No,” Craig insists. “I’ve been working on my mental [and] physical health … I’m becoming the best version of myself. If we work out, we work out. But if we don’t, it’s not the end of the world.”

“What do you mean?” Kyle questions. “Do you see a world in which you don’t end up with her?”

“I mean, there’s always that chance, right? We do live in different places … She loves New York. I love Charleston, and I run a company out of Charleston … You would be naïve [to think], ‘Oh, it’s all just gonna work out.’”

“I respect that Paige and Craig have made this long-distance relationship work,” Kyle confesses. “Usually, it’s a recipe for failure … So, I’m rooting for them. But this is the first time I’ve heard any kind of doubt coming from Craig. Last summer, he was, ‘Oh, we’ll be engaged by the end of the year.’”

Kyle says he and Amanda are in a similar place. “Amanda wants to live in New Jersey, and I don’t really … She’s ready for that house with the frickin’ white fence. At some point, I will have to make some kind of sacrifice. And I hope Paige’s willing to do it, as well.”

“My patience isn’t going to last forever,” Craig admits. “That’s the risk.”

Where’s Carl?

Carl Radke for Summer House Season 8
Photo: Felix Kunze/Bravo

The guys are hanging around the pool when Jesse asks, “Do we know why Carl is not here today?”

“Lindsay told us that he’s really into the theme tomorrow,” Craig responds. “He’s ordering [something special] for the party. So tomorrow morning, he’s going to bring it out.”

“A proper excuse,” Jesse says. “But we all know why he’s not here.”

“I didn’t put it together,” West adds. “We knew he wasn’t coming. He told us after Soul Cycle he wasn’t coming.”

Flashback to Carl telling Jesse, West, and Ciara, “Honestly, to break the cycle of the Friday night fight … I think I’m gonna do something different … and come Saturday.”

“I’ve been told by people that have been at their apartment,” Kyle says, “that they might be sleeping separately there, too.”

“Dude, [that’s] not a good sign,” Craig comments.

“I’m worried for the guy,” Kyle says.

He’s just not that into her

Summer House Season 8, Episode 5 recap
Photo: Eugene Gologursky/Bravo

Meanwhile, Lindsay’s upstairs with Paige and Amanda. She mentions that Carl is “not a very sexual person.”

“How often are you having sex?” Paige asks.

“Hmmm, like once every couple of weeks,” Lindsay admits. Paige’s eyes almost pop out of her head. It’s early days for Lindsay and Carl. They’re getting married. They should be a lot more physical at this stage.

“Lindsay, what the f*ck?” Paige blurts out. “Craig and I are f*cking all the time.”

Even Amanda admits, “On year two of our relationship, [we were] every day.”

“When people talk about their sex life,” Paige interviews, “they, like, lie a little. So, if she’s telling us that they don’t have sex for two weeks at a time (girl math, carry the one), that’s six weeks. That’s alarming.”

To me, it sounds like Carl is already over Lindsay and is just trying to figure out how to escape without her killing him.

Summer House continues Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.

TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF SUMMER HOUSE SEASON 8, EPISODE 5? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CIARA AND WEST? DO YOU THINK CARL SKIPPED FRIDAY NIGHT TO BREAK THE FIGHT CYCLE?

X