Welcome to the Summer House Season 8, Episode 13 recap! In this week’s episode, titled “Excess Baggage,” Amanda and Kyle struggle to see eye-to-eye about Amanda wanting to do something that makes her happy. Carl just wants a little “softness and tenderness” from Lindsay, but the Universe tells him he’s dating the wrong girl. Ciara’s in her element when she and West spend an afternoon on horseback, while Jesse Solomon gets some unsettling news at his five-year cancer checkup. Here are the highlights from Summer House Season 8, Episode 13.
Kyle’s meltdown continues
Following Kyle’s big tantrum last week, Amanda tells the girls that she feels like I “just can’t win.” He’s always asking her, “What do you do all day? What do you want to do with your life?” but when she tells him, he has a meltdown.
Outside with Carl and Danielle, Kyle says he feels like he’s putting in all this effort into Loverboy for nothing and Amanda doesn’t appreciate him.
Amanda says that for the first few years in the Hamptons house, she was just “Kyle’s girlfriend.” Now, she’s “Kyle’s wife.” She just wants to be Amanda. I think she is. Literally, nobody refers to her as “Kyle’s wife.”
Kyle and Amanda definitely need help with their communication. Amanda just told him that she wanted to do something for herself, not that she was leaving Loverboy. Maybe she should have waited to talk to him when he wasn’t drinking.
Meanwhile, Jesse’s upstairs stressing because he’s worried his cancer may be back. West goes up to check on him and gives him a big hug.
He has his five-year checkup on Tuesday, but he felt “something” in his testicle when he was in the shower, and now he’s afraid it’s cancer again.
Jesse’s hoping he’ll find out he’s “fine” in two days. Then he can say, “God, I’m such a little bitch.” I hope so, too.
Carl wants Lindsay to try a little “tenderness”
The next morning, Lindsay asks Carl if they can revisit their conversation from the day before. He wants her to be positive and encouraging of his decisions, but she’s trying to be practical about their future.
“Gone are the days of ‘I want to do this,’” Lindsay says. “It’s now time to start making decisions and doing. And that’s when I will be excited.”
Carl says he feels “defeated” about his career and what he’s doing. He feels like she’s critiquing and questioning his choices, “like I can’t do anything right.”
Carl just wants a little love and support rather than second-guessing. He wants a little “softness and tenderness.”
When Lindsay doesn’t seem to understand what he wants, he offers to put together a presentation, and they can go over it together. Ouch. That was a very thinly veiled reference to Stephen Traversie (“Stravy”), Lindsay’s ex-boyfriend, who famously sent Lindsay a PowerPoint presentation on how they could better communicate.
“So now you’re mocking me?” Lindsay asks.
“Exactly. How does it feel?” Carl responds.
“What is wrong with you?” Lindsay asks. “Why are you so mean?” Eventually, the conversation disintegrates, and both parties ask, “Are you sure you want to marry me?”
Kyle gets grilled
Kyle has a conversation with Paige about his fight with Amanda. Paige asks what Amanda said that upset him so much, and he says that she wants to pursue something that makes her happy.
“And you don’t want her to?” Paige asks.
While he wants her to be happy, he thinks their business would be in a much better place if she were more involved.
“[But] wouldn’t it be so much better if she were excited?” Paige asks. When he agrees, she continues, “And if she’s not as excited, wouldn’t you want her to find something that makes her want to get up at 7:00 am [like he does] and work really hard? She wants to feel like she accomplished something and did something on her own.” Paige is pretty smart. How can Kyle argue with that?
He grudgingly admits, “Yeah, if that’s what she wants.”
“Well, she’s not gonna do it if you’re not supportive,” Paige says, “cause she’s gonna feel bad. And she’s gonna go into an even deeper shell.”
And here comes Ciara, telling Kyle, “You have to understand that she is so wrapped up in your entire world. Everything is about you. What if she has something that’s for her?”
Ciara emphasizes that if Amanda’s not truly happy, “then you’re really gonna be working with nothing. She’s gonna start giving you even less.”
But he’s not ready to hear any of this, and he doesn’t like being double-teamed. So he huffs out to go cry in his and Amanda’s room. Maybe he’ll think about what they said, and it’ll make sense to him later.
The Cookes work it out
Kyle’s still crying and packing in his room when Carl stops by. He reassures Kyle that Paige and Ciara don’t understand the risks he’s taken to build his company into what it is today. He also advises, “But you can’t let the company get in the way of the marriage.”
Carl suggests that Kyle approach Amanda as wanting to solve their issues so they can both be happy. He says they need to “bring the temperature down and just have a normal day.”
Kyle says, “I just feel completely defeated.”
But he goes out to the pool where all the girls are hanging out and says, “I feel very misunderstood, but I understand where you’re coming from. Of course, I want [Amanda] to be happy and fulfilled and excited.”
I think the company is not doing well, and Kyle is feeling overwhelmed. He feels bad that he couldn’t just say, “Sure, let’s do it,” when she told him on the boat what her dream was.
Amanda gets out of the pool and hugs him. Paige and Ciara’s words actually struck a nerve with him.
“Listen, I’m gonna be here for you,” he says.
“I know you are,” Amanda agrees. “You’re stuck with me.”
He promises to “be there for you,” and they kiss on it. Aww.
Horseback riding and not-so-good news
Back in New York, Ciara and West are horseback riding. West really likes Ciara, so he’s trying to do things she’ll enjoy. Most of all, he’s trying to be open and honest.
When they get back from their trail ride, West asks her to rate the experience on a scale of one to ten. She gives it a twelve.
Ciara says she “dates intentionally.” She wants to eventually have a family, and she doesn’t want to waste his time if they’re just having fun.
West admits he’s been afraid to get too involved in the past, but he could see Ciara as his girlfriend. But he needs “to get [his] sh*t together” before they can move forward.
Ciara’s tried to keep things casual. She doesn’t want to have sex with him cause she’d “probably catch feelings,” and she doesn’t want to get hurt again.
“I think we’re on the same page,” West tells her, and she smiles.
As they’re driving home, Jesse calls. He says the doctor felt something, so he had to have an ultrasound to check it out. He’ll get the results soon.
What Jesse’s going through really makes the rest of the fights and squabbles seem trivial. Jesse’s fight is real.
Summer House continues Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF SUMMER HOUSE SEASON 8, EPISODE 13? DOES LINDSAY AND CARL’S BREAKUP MAKE MORE SENSE NOW?
