Southern Charm recap: Founder’s Ball a fiasco for T-Rav and Kathryn

Things got hot under the collar Monday night when the “Southern Charm” cast got gussied up for Cooper Ray’s Founders’ Ball.

On this episode, we’re treated to classic Thomas and Kathryn, whose relationship is becoming ever more strained, a drunk Landon, a smitten Shep and a Craig in big-time trouble with his boss.

The show begins with the now-routine montage of the cast waking up. Kathryn rises hungover at Jen's house after spending the night partying for Shep’s birthday, with nothing scandalous to report, unfortunately. Craig is seen eating cereal out of a saucepan (because, like working, washing up is just not an option) and Shep is scrambling to iron a shirt on his bedside table before meeting his mother for lunch.

Frances, aka Mama Rose, gets the tour of the house Shep is having built and advises him on where certain furniture should go and that, yes, he does need to get a stove, even if he never cooks.

Moms always know best!

FANCY SEEING YOU HERE

Kathryn finds her way home, as does Thomas, who spent the night in a hotel to prep for a campaign debate, and the two bump into each other in the kitchen.

There’s a lot of uncomfortable tension and weird side hugs as they pretend everything is OK between them.

In an aside, Thomas says he’s fine with Kathryn going out now and then, but above all he needs her to be there to take care of his child. Meanwhile, he is not taking care of his child and instead puts his family on the backburner while he pursues politics. But he still hopes he and Kat can “fall back in love” after the campaign is over.

If you need to rekindle the fire after just a year of dating and a baby, that’s probably a bad sign, just sayin’.

PATRICIA’S GATOR GET-TOGETHER

Our Lady Patricia hosts a dinner party at the mansion and invites only male guests, her idea of a perfect soiree.

The party is alligator-themed, with toy alligator table decorations and alligator cookie name plates. Perhaps the gators are meant to match her outrageously expensive, one-of-a-kind alligator skin Birkin bag, purchased several episodes ago.

The menu is Southern comfort food, as in mashed sweet potatoes, coconut cake and things with bourbon sauce on them.

The evening starts out with pleasant conversation but takes a sour turn when Patricia asks Thomas how things are going in the Senate race.

T-Rav takes the opportunity to skewer Whitney for his ill-fated campaign ad, saying he went down in the polls for it.

Whitney immediately bristles at the comment, and the two begin yelling over the silverware, as Patricia squeezes a toy alligator and insists (squeak!) they retreat to the drawing room (squeak!) at once.

“Those ads got you national exposure,” Whitney tells T-Rav.

“All negative,” Thomas replies, adding that he lost $150,000 paying for the “Raise the Roof” ad.

How on Earth that little ditty of a dance scene cost that much, we will never know.

READY....OR NOT

The big event of the episode is Cooper Ray’s Founders’ Ball. He insists that everyone bring an escort of the opposite sex, which Cameran notes is ironic considering Cooper is gay.

But any occasion to get dressed up and drink is fine with our lot.

The ladies get ready as a group (dressing drinks are poured, naturally) and Shep and Craig primp -- well, Craig primps -- with walkie talkies to update each other on their progress.

Shep has a gorgeous date named Jackie, and the two seem to hit it off dancing and laughing together at the ball.

Whitney takes Patricia to the ball as his date, because, well, she couldn’t take a butler.

T-Rav shows up alone, as Kathryn was taking too long to get dressed.

It’s only practical, he says, the room is full of potential voters! He needs to shake hands with everyone, and that is just SO hard with Kathryn at his side.

Kathryn eventually arrives, with a new dress, a new haircut, and a (not) new angry attitude.

“He just left me,” Kat tells Shep. “It’s supposed to be a special night for us. And he just ruined it.”

Immune to Kat’s icy death glares, T-Rav moseys over and gives his lady a toothy grin and hello.

Kat’s not having it, and is obviously done playing second fiddle to Thomas' campaign.

T-Rav attempts to recover by saying, “I love you.”

“No you don’t,” Kat says.

Then Landon swoops in to save the day, drunkenly asking the couple, “Are y’all loving tonight? Tell me you believe in love!”

Now, everyone is entitled to give drunk advice at one point or another, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. And, she adds, “I couldn't make it work, but I really want y’all to make it work!”

Neither seem excited at the prospect.

YOU’RE FIRED

You can’t say you didn’t see this one coming. The Sunday following the Founders’ Day ball, Craig gets summoned to his boss’s house.

Akim, the boss, is a short man with a penchant for afternoon wine drinking and pronouncing the word “success” like “sussess.”

It’s hard to take him seriously, but he is dead serious when he tells Craig hiring him has been a disaster.

“I’ve got to terminate you,” Akim says.

Craig looks understanding. And also crestfallen.

The only thing worse than getting fired is getting fired on your day off.

WHAT YOU WOULDN’T EXPECT TO HEAR AT AN ALL-MALE DINNER PARTY:“There’s gonna be b**** slapping.” - Patricia. The Madame keeps her the guest list to her dinner soiree to gents only, hoping to lessen the drama, but to no avail.

HOW CAMERAN FEELS ABOUT THE FOUNDERS OF CHARLESTON: “A bunch of dead white men I could give two sh**s about.”

WHY WE CAN CALL SHEP A MAMA’S BOY: His mom still buys him clothes. “And I look like a dork,” he says.

WELL, WE CAN’T ARGUE WITH THAT LOGIC: “I don’t get dancing. Who wants to exercise while you’re drinking?” - Whitney

COMING UP: On next week’s episode, Craig takes Whitney and Shep to Delaware, and Whitney asks girlfriend Larissa to move in with him (and mom?). No surprise that she doesn’t seem to take it well.

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Southern Charm recap: Founder’s Ball a fiasco for T-Rav and Kathryn."