Welcome back for one last time to our recap for The Valley finale, Episode 12: “Opening Bars, Closing Chapters.” In last week’s episode, fans watched as the group ended their trip to Big Bear with a splash. The gang dressed up as their partner’s fantasy, with Jesse rocking the Harry Styles look and Nia dressing as herself since the ranch dressing costume failed to arrive on time. Thanks, Amazon. This week’s season finale showed the group celebrating the opening of Jax and Brittany’s new bar. Sadly, the season will end on a somber note as two couples come to grips with their failing unions.
Jax’s Studio City
Jax and Brittany are just three days out from opening their mini-bar, and the man looks stressed. The place is so brown — it desperately needs a pop of color! As Brittany tries to think of ideas like flowers and plants, Jax looks like a deer in the headlights. He finally tells his wife, “You have no idea how stressed out I’ve been.” However, as stressed as this man is, he is doing a great job hiding from participating in the “succulent wall.” While Ali, his business partner, is worried they aren’t going to meet their deadline, Jax notes, “We got the girls to work.”
Brittany did get her revenge as she flew in Jax’s sister, Jenny, for a grand opening surprise, which brought the villain to tears. Production perfectly flashed back to the prior week when he yelled at Brittany for allegedly having a drinking problem. Let me tell you, wives always know how to stick it to their annoying husbands. Jax noted, “I made a mistake.” But when Britt tried to reiterate how frustrating it can be dealing with those accusations, Jax shut down again. However, in a foreshadowing moment, Brittany says, “I don’t want this for our future.”
Zack is back
Zack and Jasmine meet up over pottery for their Ghost moment. Jasmine makes it clear she never wants to go on a babymoon again, which puts Zack’s mind at ease. The former Jets cheerleader noted that she and the other girls often stuck up for him when it came to not getting an invite. But Zack is still hurt and not at all sorry for acting petty with his social media posts. Zack doubled down, saying, “It was a joke,” and that it wasn’t his fault Janet felt stressed.
Janet has been hiding her ulterior motives regarding Zack, and the man is over it. He notes that his pregnant friend is “giving shady boots. If you don’t like me, then just say it.” Jasmine concludes that Janet just doesn’t like Zack anymore, with the Patrick Swayze wannabe noting, “Oh, there is going to be a talk.”
Tensions come to a head
Jesse and Michelle are not doing well, and maybe it is because of the father-of-one’s constant headband use, but their talk didn’t go well. Jesse tells Michelle he thought she “had strong family values that you would do whatever it takes to fix the problem. And not just abandon the problem.” The conversation is calm but super serious. In fact, it took me a minute to realize they were actually talking about their own separation.
“I’m being honest that I lost a lot of those feelings for you,” Michelle quipped. It is clear now that Michelle and Jesse were on two different sides of their relationship, with the whole point of the summer being to try to reconnect. Jesse is distraught as he tries desperately to cling to what they once had. But Michelle drives the nail home, noting, “I want to be in love with you the way I used to be. But I don’t know if I can.”
Grand openings
Situated between a Bed Bath & Beyond and a mobile store sits Jax’s Studio City. As the guests start arriving, Zack notes, “This bar has Brittany written all over it. To the point that it should be called “Brittany’s.” For a split second, I forgot Kristen and Luke were even on the show. But thankfully the queen is back for the finale and ready to show support for her Jax’s new bar. The soft opening is here, and Jax can’t help but gush that he and Brittany “make a good team.”
But the drama kicks off almost immediately with Janet and Zack butting heads. Janet reveals she was always planning on inviting Zack to Big Bear, but the communications expert isn’t buying it. As voices are raised, Zack screams, “Get the hell out of here; you don’t want to talk!” Jason then steps in.
Now, I was not prepared for meek, reasonable Jason to come in this hot. But with a finger in Zack’s face, he screams, “ Don’t ever talk to my wife like that! I will wreck you, dude.” Will you, Jason? I highly doubt it. Thank God for Zack’s intense eye-roll and hand wave. The levity of the drama was pretty iconic. After this fight, I am seeing Janet for who she really is. She didn’t tell Zack about anyone else listening to the phone call, and she sent Jax to do her dirty work. It’s textbook mean girl behavior.
All stories have an end
The blows keep coming, with Kristen finally standing up for herself, telling Michelle, “Janet started it all! Janet started the sh*t storm of lies.” Janet is coming across as this major puppeteer with the strings of her minions finally being cut. According to Zack, “Janet likes to plant these seeds of drama everywhere. It’s all behind the scenes. But now every single person is seeing it.”
Flash forward six months, and fans see Jax crying on a couch as headlines of his breakup flashed before his eyes. Brittany tells the girls that Jax would come home drunk and have these horrible hangovers that made him “mean as a snake.” How the tables have turned. Over the years, Brittany has been cheated on, disrespected, and humiliated. Enough was clearly enough for our Kentucky Muffin.
Michelle told her husband three days after filming wrapped that their marriage was over. Jesse is stoic in the home he formerly shared with Michelle as fans witnessed their first exchange of Isabella and Malibu. The Boston native noted that he “felt blindsided and blind.”
In her confessional, Michelle shared, “There is no question if I made the right choice.” The only thing they don’t fight about is Isabella, so I suspect Season 2 will show a lot more of the growing pains.
Ultimately, the dream was not the reality in The Valley. But I can’t wait for Season 2!
The Valley is available to stream on Peacock.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE VALLEY FINALE? DO YOU THINK WE GOT ALL THE DETAILS ABOUT THE IMPENDING DIVORCES?
