Why Peyton & Naomie's Fight On 'Southern Charm' Was Super Disappointing

The whole point of reality television is to watch people stir up drama and have fights with their friends — that’s all viewers really want to see. But what happens when the fights get pointless? That’s the case on Season 5 of Southern Charm. A storm has been a-brewing since the premiere episode, and, now, Naomie and Peyton had it out at a costume party (such a reality television sentence, no?). Except all sides of the Naomie and Peyton fight on Southern Charm were totally uncalled for.

Though the writing was on the wall in Season 4, it took until just before Season 5 for Craig and Naomie to finally break up. These two have different ideas about what they want from their respective lives, and it was smart of them to split. They just weren’t meant to be! But even though the split was basically her idea, Naomie hasn't really been able to get over him in the time since. First she put a tracker on Craig’s iPhone that let her see where he is. Then, she started incessantly Googling him to see what he was doing. Finally, she started haranguing Peyton, the new girl in town, because Naomie thought that Peyton was into Craig. Yes, they are broken up and this is still happening.

To be fair, this all started because someone mentioned to Naomie that Peyton thought Craig was cute or something. That someone was Shep, who likes to keep out of the drama except when it’s fun for him to get in it. Naomie’s eyes flashed like fire burned within her, and she was instantly angry and instantly itching to start a fight. Which she did, almost the moment she stepped into Austen and Peyton’s joint costume party. It sucks because Peyton didn’t see it coming, and it sucks because Naomie is way overstepping her bounds here. She and Craig are broken up, and she still feels the need to jump in and say that she’s protecting him and his friends from the “thirsty” girls in Charleston. Now, I don’t know Peyton's reasons for moving to Charleston, but the last thing she was expecting was to be screamed at during her own party — and she definitely didn't deserve it. Naomie may be using the argument that she’s trying to help, but really, she’s making herself look petty, like she can’t move on from Craig. She’s not helping anyone, but she is hurting herself.

Now, Naomie looks silly, when all she wanted was to mend her broken heart, and Peyton was hurt and confused, when all she wanted was to make new friends in her city. Nobody wins here. In actuality, Peyton doesn’t seem to be after Craig in a romantic sense — she just wants to make some connections in a new city. Now, she could be afraid to do that and less likely to want to engage with Naomie or her friend group. Unless, of course, Naomie’s friends start to back away from her, because, you know, it’s hard to stand by someone who is wearing a wig and screaming at a stranger.

What Naomie needs now is compassion and time to move on from Craig. What Peyton needs is compassion and the time to get to know her new home. It’s easy to throw darts at other women, but what Naomie is running from is her own broken heart. In reality, Peyton should be welcomed into Naomie’s group of friends because she is looking for the same thing the rest of they are — love, maybe, but really, the connection of belonging to a group of friends, a group of people who will have your back no matter whom you’re dating. If the Southern Charm girls’ club wants to fight the boys’ club, they’re going to need to unite first.