One detail I didn’t get to properly discuss on this show is the relationship with the support staff. I made a joke here and there about how the women on the show treat their maids and nannies like background characters, but for the most part I chose to let viewers indulge in the fantasy of the bizarre lives of these expats. In reality, though, I have a lot more in common with the support staff than the housewives. I grew up with a mother who spent years cleaning houses in downtown New York City for a living, and I was one of those background characters in a rich person’s life more than once.

What I am saying is that I find it disturbing that the first time the maids, nannies, or assistants are even being talked about is in a criminal case. What Sara apparently went through is horrifying – she came back from her trip to Bali to find that a maid was deliberately covering cameras and inviting strangers into her home, apparently with the intent of selling or kidnapping her child. I have no problem with her reporting the matter to the proper authorities and protecting her child if necessary. When she told the story, I was as shocked and horrified as the cast, and I hope her sweet son doesn’t take too long to recover from any trauma he may have experienced.

I would be remiss if I didn’t address my issues with the conversation that followed. Much of it revolved around “not knowing who to trust in your home” and how, as expats, they rely on nannies, all people who are little more than sentient furniture on our screens, to provide safety and security. The real issue is that the narrative that wealthy expats need to be afraid of their domestic help is actually the opposite. Domestic workers in the UAE are routinely exploited, especially those who come from Asia (especially the Philippines) and Africa. Passports confiscated, wages stolen, sexual abuse, the whole lot – some of which I have personally heard about in my travels in the region. It is a very unforgiving and dangerous job and I encourage people to do their own research into the horrors of Emirati Kafala system and how domestic workers are exempt from local labor protection.

The only person on the cast who seemed to rethink the course of the conversation was Lesa, who eventually relented as she understood more about what Sara was going through. That’s no surprise—in this episode, she reveals more about the source of her frustrations with Caroline Stanbury and the impact of the way this show plays on real-life social stigmas. In a one-on-one conversation, Lesa explains that a big part of her resentment toward Stanbury is the fact that she publicly called Lesa an escort, a damning label for a black woman in an Emirati society where women of African descent are often stigmatized as such. While I think Lesa should understand that she started the reunion by insulting Sergio and Caroline’s business dealings (and even mentioning Epstein, I believe), she’s telling the truth about black women’s dangerous association with sex work. I know black women working on the planned Guggenheim project in Abu Dhabi who have been pulled aside on the streets of Dubai and asked simply, “How much?” It’s a humiliating shock to the system, and I’m glad Lesa has chosen to speak openly about this reality. Eventually, Caroline apologizes profusely for her remarks at the reunion and for interfering in Lesa and Ayan’s friendship, and the duo agree to a classic housewife “fake-up.”

While we’re on the subject of fake companies, Ayan is working hard to prove that her foray into the beauty world is much more than a housewife’s vanity project – and who better to prove it to her than The Queen of the Arab beauty world, Huda Kattan? To be honest, I was surprised to see her in front of the camera for Bravo – her sister Mona, known from Kayali, can be seen on the Netflix counterpart DubaiBlingand they never shot a scene together. It’s a testament to their relationship that Huda was willing to do that for her – she did Ayan’s makeup in her early modeling days and now more than ever is willing to offer Ayan advice on how to take her makeup dreams to the next level. The offer to call Sephora right away? That’s the kind of girl bossing I love to see! The black YSL power suit Ayan wore to the meeting is also the most demure look we’ve seen her in on camera so far.

The event featuring all the performers this week was coordinated by Caroline Brooks, who invited all the girls to a polo event. My only interaction with polo and horses in general is the VC Polo Classic in college, when white girls convinced me that sitting on property drinking all day while horse racing was going on a mile away was a worthwhile social endeavor. Not generally my thing, but I have a good sense of the style that should be expressed at such an affair, and while the women wore designer and couture clothing to the hilt, only Lesa actually looked like she was there for a polo match, as she wore head-to-toe Ralph Lauren. I was actually quite surprised by Stanbury’s appearance – for someone who made a big show of telling us that she dated men who ran polo clubs and went to matches with royalty, she looked pretty ordinary, but maybe she just wasn’t interested in getting her finer things out for the occasion.

Speaking of Caroline, I finally understood the dynamic that she and Sergio remind me of: Gronk and Yzma from A kingdom for a llama. Sergio gets on my nerves, but ultimately I understand that he’s just a doting idiot who wants to be rewarded for being there for his wife – just look at how seriously he takes her birthdays! I screamed out loud when he casually mentioned in his confession that he really wanted a baby because his family AND CAROLINE were going to be gone. He meant it innocently, but he doesn’t seem to realize that he’s inadvertently addressing Stanbury’s deep insecurities – she doesn’t like birthdays because she just doesn’t want to accept that she’s getting older and approaching 50. I fear the doting husband will soon have to come to terms with the reality that I’d rather give up cheese forever than he’d have a baby with Stanbury.

Next week, Lesa and Taleen will fight and we’ll see how Saba and Sara’s broken relationship plays out. Hopefully that will help me understand what prompted Saba to post that hilarious statement about ending their friendship on Twitter. See you then!

• I’m not interested in this drama with Akin at all, nor do I want to miss his modeling shoot. Why are we pretending that Sara ever married this man? We’ve all pined and regretted an Instagram model for a little too long. Let’s put this story to rest.

• The ongoing friendship triangle between Ayan, Stanbury and Lesa continues to amuse me. I understand that Ayan messed up the voicemail mess, but it seems that Ayan is ultimately right. Lesa is a possessive girlfriend who doesn’t want Ayan to build bridges with anyone else. Her comment to Rich, “Now she knows she only has one friend and that’s me,” was very insightful.

• Brooks tells us that she was actually closer to Raffi than Taleen, and that’s where she loses me. I don’t think anyone who watches the show would believe that, although I do think he owes her an apology.