Welcome to our Vanderpump Rules Season 11 finale recap! Can you believe we’re here already? Last time, the cast headed to San Francisco, including Ariana’s new man, Daniel Wai. This week’s installment, Episode 15, titled “Plot Twist,” features Sandoval meeting Daniel and Lala going off about Ariana. Here’s everything that you need to know about the Pump Rules Season 11 finale!
Brock picks a side
Brock asked Scheana how she felt after her conversation with Sandoval the previous night. As usual, this topic made Scheana emotional. She questioned if he was being authentic or if he was “playing” her.
Then Brock made a big statement. Out of Ariana and Sandoval, Ariana “doesn’t reach out. Tom reaches out.” Then he doubled down. He said in a confessional interview that Tom was “the most generous, greatest, caring friend that we’ve had of our whole friend group.”
Do we have any footage of this? Even Brock’s wife does not agree with his position. When Brock claimed that Ariana would skip out on things, Scheana still had her back. “I will never turn my back on Ariana because she has always been there for me,” Scheana said.
Lala interrogates Ariana’s new man, Dan
The group headed to Chinatown for lunch. Now Lala has the chance to interrogate Dan. All this man does is work. He trains seven days a week and bartends on Friday night with a double shift on Saturday. Dan is 40 years old and has never been married. I mean, pretty soon, Lala is going to ask for his bank records and social security number.
Lala was impressed that Dan was relaxed and answered all of her questions. Then James asked what Dan thought about Ariana’s ex, Sandoval. “Like, I don’t know him. But I know what he’s done,” he replied.
Scheana told Ariana that when she asked Sandoval about “weaponizing” Ariana’s mental health, she felt like she saw his mask slip a bit. Katie immediately wanted to know how many times people were going to think that Sandoval was remorseful.
“He’s a good person who did a trash thing,” Schwartz said. “A trash thing?” Ariana asked. “A very trash thing,” he quickly replied. “Watch how you talk like that in front of me,” Ariana warned. Awkward!
Schwartz fills Sandoval in about Dan
Schwartz went to Sandoval’s room to rave about the lunch and Dan. “Well, Ariana’s got good taste in men,” Sandoval replied. Sadly, not the worst thing Sandoval says in the Vanderpump Rules Season 11 finale. Sandoval thinks that he should apologize to Ariana for bringing her mental health into the conversation.
He also wants the tension level to go down. But then he told Schwartz that even decades from now, he will always be there for Ariana if she needs him. I can’t roll my eyes back any harder.
Stuck in the middle
Lala and Katie got together for a chat. Lala believes that Scheana needs to hear Ariana say that if she is friends with Sandoval, her friendship with Ariana won’t change.
Katie thinks that Scheana is going to be disappointed. Then Lala took a stab at Ariana, pointing out that Scheana has to abide by all of Ariana’s rules. After all, Ariana has moved on and is doing well. Katie believes Scheana wants to be the exception to Ariana’s boundaries of having no mutual friends with Sandoval.
Kyle Chan’s whiskey launch party
It’s finally time for Kyle Chan’s whiskey launch party. Scheana was blown away that Sandoval paid for his audio guy to be there for the show. This is the Sandoval that she used to know. Then she added in her confessional, “But that’s just me. Making it about me.” Shady Scheana!
Jo Wenberg arrived at the event. She still wishes that she and Schwartz could be together. Naturally, Schwartz asked her if she wanted to go over to see Katie. She would like to apologize to her.
Jo awkwardly sat down next to Lala and Katie, and with prompting from Schwartz, said that she was “sorry if” she hurt Katie. Right away, Katie said it wasn’t an “if.” So, Jo apologized again, and Katie replied, “It’s weird. You’re weird.”
Still, Jo forged ahead and asked Katie if she felt like she owed her an apology. That was a hard no from Katie. Jo said that she sent a supportive text about the divorce.
Katie was still angry that Schwartz and Jo started living together right away. Schwartz denied that the two were living together. Jo explained that the events happened months apart, not in rapid succession. Katie told Jo next time to stay with anyone but her friend’s ex. Jo replied, “Let him go!”
So, Schwartz asked Katie to dial it back, and Jo started to cry. Schwartz said that Jo just wanted to make peace, and Katie said, “I don’t want peace.” Jo left, and Katie warned Schwartz that if he truly wanted to be her friend, he needed to keep Jo away from her.
Sandoval makes his play
Scheana and Brock want to be friends with both Ariana and Sandoval. In a tearful confessional Scheana admitted, “I don’t want to lose her, but I feel like I’m losing myself.”
Schwartz was sitting in the same area as Dan and Ariana. Then, Sandoval approached. And Ariana focused on her phone.
Sandoval climbed his way over and touched Dan on the arm. Ariana never looked up. “Hey Dan, I just want to introduce myself. I’m Tom. I heard you’re a great guy. I wish you guys the best of luck,” he said. Dan responded, “I appreciate that.”
Kudos to Dan for being calm and not flying off the handle. In her confessional, Ariana shared her feelings about Sandoval’s redemption storyline. “I’m not here as like a cog in the machine of Tom Sandoval’s redemption arc,” she said.
Scheana kills it onstage
Scheana hit the stage and performed Apples. The Pump Rules cast was singing and dancing in the audience, including Sandoval.
Ariana found Scheana and gave her a big hug. They had a drink, and then Scheana brought up Sandoval’s sound guy. WHY?!
She told Ariana how Sandoval flew him out with the equipment. So, she is hoping that Sandoval will change for the better. Ariana was frustrated. Scheana is acting as if she knows Sandoval better than Ariana does.
So, Ariana asked her not to mention Sandoval’s “growth” to her again. “He is an ex-boyfriend of mine who does not deserve to be in my presence and breathe the same air as me. And that will not change,” Ariana said. She never wants to speak with him again and wants no apologies. Period.
In her confessional, Ariana pointed out that Sandoval has never attempted to talk to her off-camera, or even send a note.
Then Scheana added that she didn’t want to lose her friendship with Ariana. Ariana reassured her that she wasn’t losing her. But that isn’t what Ariana expressed about mutual friends all season.
Ariana is done
Then, who crashed the conversation? Sandoval. Ariana quickly walked away. Sandoval explained that he wanted to apologize, and Scheana told him about their conversation.
Ariana was preparing to leave when an executive producer tried to stop her. “Not happening,” she said as she gathered her things. She was very upset that Sandoval appeared out of nowhere when she was talking to Scheana.
“He does not deserve to speak to me. He does not get access to me,” she told the producer. Again, a reminder that putting firm boundaries in place as a woman should be celebrated; not lead to an attempted takedown.
Sandoval loses it
When Scheana asked him what she meant to him, he responded, “A lot.” Then she asked if it was just for filming or in real life. She warned him, “Don’t make me look like a f*cking idiot, Tom.”
After Scheana left, Sandoval sounded off to Billie Lee about how Ariana said he was “performative.” Then he claimed that Ariana “doesn’t like any of these motherf*ckers.”
Ariana and Dan left as Sandoval continued to rage about her. He called her “lazy” for collecting a VPR paycheck “for doing nothing.” So wait … is this for the show, or because he’s actually wanting to apologize?
Then he stormed over to Lala, Schwartz, and Scheana. “I’m pissed that she’s f*cking saying that sh*t because Ariana, she doesn’t f*ck with you guys,” Sandoval said. “She talks sh*t about all you f*ckers.” Talk about jumping in the deep end…
Lala unleashes her feelings about Ariana
Now Lala would like to say her piece. “The world rallied around her. She now thinks she is Beyoncé.” Lala said. “It’s bullsh*t that she can’t film with someone that she stays under the same roof … He did not kill somebody!” She added, “I’ve never in my life experienced someone who gets cheated on and suddenly she becomes God.”
Lala loves filming VPR because it is real, and it can be cathartic. But for Ariana to just dip out feels disrespectful to Lala. She feels like you have to be honest. Isn’t Ariana being honest in saying she won’t talk to Sandoval and dipping out?
Then the show flashed back to each cast member’s first confessional look, along with some memorable moments. But Lala believes that Ariana and Sandoval were never real about their relationship until he was caught cheating.
Hot mic moment
After Ariana drove away, we heard a producer on a mic say, “That’s the end.” And while the Vanderpump Rules Season 11 finale delivered some shockers, the next moment was a punch to the gut for those who might have been on the Sandoval redemption train.
Schwartz stated, “That was a f*cking plot twist.” Sandoval added, “I love it. It’s good for me.” And then he laughed. And where is the scene where the chair was thrown?
This season hasn’t given me everything I wanted. The drama’s been a bit of a rinse-and-repeat rehash. The break before filming Season 12 may be for the best.
The Vanderpump Rules Season 11 reunion begins on Tuesday, May 14 at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE VANDERPUMP RULES SEASON 11 FINALE? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE HOT MIC MOMENT AT THE END? HAVE ARIANA AND SANDOVAL BEEN HONEST ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP?
