Welcome back to reality… television! It’s Kim’s 41st birthday and she has no time for celebrating. She’s got a baby bar to focus on. If she doesn’t pass this one, she will not be able to continue her law school career. Last year, fans may recall that Kim took her “closest inner circle” on “a trip to a private island where [they] could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time” for her 40th … this year, she needs to focus.
Still, that is not an option for this family. “I’m a mom, of course we’re going to do something,” Kris says. This time, it’s a surprise, a smaller gathering, and a bit more casual of an occasion accompanied by Kim’s favorite Armenian catering. Kim’s not even wearing makeup. After a lovely roundtable about BDE, Kim kicks the party out. She’s gotta study.
Kris comes over to the newly engaged Kourt’s house and she’s covering her ring because she has made a grave mistake. While folding clothes, she took off her ring, stepped on it, and broke it. Travis, being the good fiance he is, understood completely.
As it comes up every time Kourtney is on the screen, it’s no shock that Scott is brought up again. Kris wonders if Kourt should have a debrief post-engagement with him, but Kourtney isn’t sold. She says the engagement shouldn’t be about Scott – it should be about her and Travis. Through just these five episodes, it’s certainly easy to see where she is coming from.
Kris and Kim share breakfast on the morning of the baby bar. They say a prayer and send out some energy into the universe for Kim’s exam. The producer asks Kim in her confessional why she ever decided to go into something so complex and difficult. She explains it derived from her desire to “breakthrough [the] stigma” of being a reality star and being underestimated. As Kris begins to exit, Kim mentions that she knows everything she’s reviewing over breakfast and that’s an improvement from her last attempt.
Later on, Kourt asks Kim about the bar and Kim just “doesn’t know anymore.” She says she will be embarrassed if she can’t continue on. The conversation switches to Kanye and things are a bit rocky. He did an interview and claimed that SNL got Kim to say she divorced him when he hadn't even seen the papers. She explains that she sent him the monologue in advance and the papers do exist, but he just won’t sign them.
In confessional, Kim talks about the intricate dynamic of speaking about their relationship on the show. There’s a double standard when it comes to them expressing their truths: when he does it in a song, it’s creative, when Kim does it, it is exploitative. “One is respected and one is not,” she shares. As she continues her conversation with Kourtney, she goes into navigating styling herself without his guidance. She went to an event without Kanye’s fashion advice, and he sent pictures to her saying her “career is over.” (Accompanied by a picture of Marge Simpson wearing the same outfit).
Kendall and Hailey (Bieber!) Take Miami… and IV bags? They’re on their way to hang with friends and since Kendall is “obsessed with health right now” it’s the time. While having COVID, Kendall didn’t have too severe of symptoms, but post-Covid she is having a tougher time. (Something with her cortisol levels?) The pair are right, they probably will never age.
Kris invites Scott to lunch and they say they haven’t seen each other since their last family reality show. “Do we even know the name of this one?” He asks. “Kardashians, I think… we were gonna call it ‘with the Disicks’,” Kris jokes, but honestly she probably could’ve figured his response to that: “But then you felt like you don’t invite me to half the shit you do anymore anyways…”
The conversation gets excruciatingly awkward. Kris shares this is her birthday lunch, but Scott doesn’t buy it. He gets her to admit that there’s a dinner for her on Friday: “And nobody told me?” Kris doesn’t know how to navigate the conversation clearly and shares that she feels like she’s cheating on Kourtney. Scott retorts, “You told me I was your blood-related son when my parents died.” It’s an intense comment, but perhaps shows just how much this new dynamic has hurt Scott. As he continues to press on, Kris is having a hard time convincing him that there’s not an official party going on. A chef from Nobu joining? That’s not a low-key celebration; that's a soirée. “I don’t have a mean bone in my body,” she says. Scott responds without hesitation, “You do.”
“Fashion has been something I’m really into, but I’m not the creative,” Kim explains when we see her next. She’s trying to figure out who she is in the world: “Who is Kim K?” With the addition of Scott and her friend Chris, it’s a party in the closet. She’s giving a speech at her friend Simon’s wedding and she needs to run it by them. Even though she should be feeling on top of the world since Saturday Night, she feels like the stakes are even higher now. Scott explains that he finds it both interesting and surprising that even Kim Kardashian has insecurities, but knows at the end of the day she’s going to be able to find herself and thrive.
It’s a big week for Kris Jenner. She’s got a photoshoot and it’s her birthday, but… she’s still torn about her conversation with Scott at the diner: “It’s always some drama, isn’t it?” She wants to invite Scott to dinner and Kourtney says she should do what she wants for her birthday celebration. So Kris takes that as a yes, she can invite Scott – and she does!
Kris may have said her birthday wasn’t going to be a big deal to Scott… but how did she think she was going to hide Ellen DeGeneres and Portia’s attendance? The party is at Kris’ new house and it looks stunning. She has a Tiffany lamp, a piano bar, and a full closet for her Dinner China display. “It’s sensory overload,” Khloe says, in a good way.
Scott arrives and comes bearing gifts. He does wish the happy couple congrats, but everyone seems to be tip-toeing around the tension. Scott says he tried to talk to Kim last night, but she smirks, “I was probably busy.” The camera cuts quickly to Kim grinning over texts – the producer asks, “Who are you texting Kim? Does his name rhyme with feet?”
Folks, we’re arrived at the Pete Davidson romance origin story.
Scott and Ellen press on, but camera-conscious Kim says, “I’ll tell you guys later.” Okay, but keep US in the loop, Kimmy!
While the party sits down at the table, Kravis is making out. A lot. And publicly. Scott is in the room and everyone feels a bit awkward, but Kourt mentions later in her confessional they were actually holding back. This could not possibly be the case. When everyone is settled, Khloe makes a beautiful speech to her mother and they all cheer for her birthday and her new home.
Khloe gets lunch with her bestie Malika and talks about her house finally entering its final stages. She’s moving into the house next to Kris and she couldn’t be more excited. A lot is going on in her life actually; Tristan got hit at a game and had to get stitches in his tongue, they’re making progress as a couple, and life is good for Khloe.
In Kris Jenner’s new house, Kendall stops by to make up for missing her mother’s birthday. She goes to get herself a snack and begins to cut a cucumber and it’s… pretty painful, potentially eye-opening. Scott joins the pair in the back with two dogs I’ve never seen before. They’re discussing Thanksgiving and birthdays and Scott continues to ask about the whereabouts of his invites. Kendall gets defensive, “Making Kourtney uncomfortable is not part of my business,” and they begin to argue. Kendall storms out.
A new episode of The Kardashians drops every Thursday, only on Hulu.