Summer House Season 8, Episode 11 Recap: Carl Comes Clean

Welcome to the Summer House Season 8, Episode 11 recap! In this week’s episode, titled “Witchin’ and Bitchin’,” Paige and Craig have a picnic in New York, which turns into a talk about their future. West admits to Jesse that he’s still talking to other girls even though he’s romancing Ciara, while Jesse shares that he’s going for his five-year cancer checkup after next week. Carl gives Lindsay the edited version of his chat with his parents in New Jersey, but following a talk with Kyle and Amanda, he realizes he’d better give her the full version before she sees it on TV. Here are the highlights from Summer House Season 8, Episode 11.

Craig and Paige have a picnic

Paige and Craig are having a picnic on a blanket by the river. It’s either the Hudson or the East River. Paige is not good with geography.

“Chips, cured meat, three types of cheeses, and a little fruit,” Paige says as she pours champagne. “I’ve never done anything like this for anybody.”

“This is big for you,” Craig says, feeling honored.

Paige says she realizes that he’s put up with a lot from her, and she appreciates his patience.

“Yeah, you’re not easy,” Craig acknowledges.

“Nothing worth having is easy,” Paige responds with a giggle.

“I’m self-aware enough to know that I am not the most openly emotional person,” Paige says in a confessional. “But I’m dating someone who is exceptionally emotional, and I do have to remind myself sometimes to be a little kinder and sweeter.”

“Sometimes, in my head,” Craig says, “I’m cool with this whole ‘let’s wait a little bit to get married.’ But there’s also benefits about not waiting too long … I’m thirty-five. I would like to have my first child by forty.”

“I feel like Craig so knows what the next step in his life is,” Paige interviews. “[But] for the first time in my life, I don’t know what my next step is. Being married and being a mother, I’m not ready for that yet. So I’m putting a band-aid on things ’cause I don’t want to deal with it until I can figure out what the f*ck is going on in my life.”

Carl tells Lindsay about his visit home … sort of

Over at Radhouse, Lindsay asks Carl how his visit with his family went.

“It was good,” Carl responds. “I really enjoyed hanging out. I always enjoy seeing my mom, obviously.”

“Did they give any advice?” she asks slyly.

“Um, trying to think,” Carl says, meaning he’s trying to phrase it so Lindsay won’t lose her sh*t. He makes a vague response about them being worried about him stressing about the wedding.

“I can’t be mad at my parents for being real with me,” Carl says in an interview. “But what I do with that from here … I’m trying to figure that out.” Carl’s scared to rock the boat.

“I like hearing from my parents,” he finally tells Lindsay. “But I’m gonna do what I want to do. No matter what.”

“What were they saying?” Lindsay asks.

“They just want to make sure that we’re in a good place before we get married,” Carl hedges. “I just know that I love you, and I’m still gonna do what I want to do.”

Lindsay looks sus. “Were they, like, telling you that we should break up?” she asks.

“No, they just want to make sure that we’re ready to get married.”

“That concerns me to hear that they’re worried for you to [marry] me,” Lindsay responds.

“Worried that we’re not in a good place,” Carl corrects her, referring to the fights they’ve had in the last couple of months. “If you and I aren’t in a good place, then the wedding stuff is a lot of pressure.” He’s leaving out a lot of the conversation (understandably). No wonder she was so “hurt” when she saw the episode on TV.

“Well, it won’t be awkward at all when I see your mom,” Lindsay laughs.

Lindsay’s Bridal Shower

Gabby’s helping set up Lindsay’s bridal shower. When the bride-to-be walks in, everybody cheers.

“I never thought that I would be here,” Lindsay interviews. “It’s a really special moment with the strong women who have been in my life to celebrate this new chapter.”

As Lindsay’s speaking to her stepmom Caroline about how she and Carl “have issues,” Carl’s mom Sharon, who’s sitting on Lindsay’s other side, whips her head around, like, “Hell, yeah!”

Lindsay has her back to Sharon, talking to her stepmom, so finally, Sharon puts a hand on her shoulder. Lindsay finally turns around, “Hi!”

“You can scoot closer,” she tells Sharon. “We’re just having some mommy/daughter talk. You wanna join?”

“I don’t know if I should get mixed up in mommy/daughter,” Sharon says. “That’s very important stuff.”

When Lindsay mentions to Sharon that she talked to Carl, and he brought up that his parents had some concerns, I’m worried that Sharon will spill the entire conversation.

Lindsay says it “broke my heart a little bit.” Sharon makes a distressed face and throws her arms around Lindsay.

“I’ve never been in a relationship with anyone … dealing with addiction,” Lindsay explains. I try to do the best that I can, and I try to support, but it’s new to me, too.”

“I’m so looking forward to having you in the family,” Sharon says, hugging Lindsay again. “You just have to love that boy.”

West makes a big reveal

Jesse and West are in the car together on Friday afternoon. West asks him about his “big visit” with the doctor this coming Tuesday. Jesse shared earlier in the season that he has had testicular cancer twice and lost a testicle to the disease.

“On Tuesday, I have my five-year checkup, which is a big deal in the cancer community,” Jesse interviews. “If you make it past five years, the chances of it reoccurring are extremely low. So, it’s a big milestone. I’m trying not to let it get me down, but obviously, it’s all I can think about.”

Over in Ciara and Paige’s car, Ciara says she hasn’t seen West since last weekend since she was out of town all week. She misses him “a lot” and is looking forward to seeing him.

In the guys’ car, West asks Jesse if he would immediately stop seeing other girls if he met the right girl.

“Absolutely,” Jesse answers.

“Really?!” West exclaims in surprise. “Dude, I’m, like, so afraid of that.”

“Well, haven’t you done that currently?” Jesse asks, referring to West’s relationship with Ciara.

“Uh …” West doesn’t answer, and they both laugh. My heart just sank for Ciara.

Later in the backyard, Lindsay coincidentally asks West if he and Ciara are exclusive.

“No,” he says. “I just think it’s like a weird pigeonhole to be like, we’re not having sex, but we’re exclusive.” Okay, I get that.

Meanwhile, here comes Ciara to hug her “boo thang” since she hasn’t seen him in a whole week. Awkward! He’s right, though. Until they have more of a relationship, she can’t expect him to stop talking to other girls. I just don’t want to think about him sleeping with anyone else while he’s pursuing Ciara.

Carl gets advice from Kyle and Amanda

Carl starts telling Kyle about the conversation with his parents when Amanda walks in looking for her shoes. Amanda says Lindsay was downstairs saying how she felt “rejected” because Carl’s mom has concerns about them getting married.

“Not at all,” Carl says. “But there’s certain things I’m not gonna share with Lindsay. Like, that’s my mom.”

“When you don’t tell Lindsay everything, [is it] to protect her feelings?” Amanda asks.

“Yes, of course,” Carl says. Plus he doesn’t want to wake the dragon. “Concerns are okay. [But] if anybody had concerns, it’s my stepfather … He’s an ordained minister, and he’s married people for thirty-five years … As it stands, if he was doing our [pre-marital] counseling, he wouldn’t marry us.”

“How’s that make you feel?” Amanda asks.

“F*cking horrible,” Carl says.

When Carl confesses that he didn’t tell Lindsay what Lou said, Amanda asks, “But isn’t she gonna … see this?” Amanda just broke the fourth wall. Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!

“At the end of the day,” Amanda continues, “Lindsay’s gonna find out what was said, and it’s better coming from you than later down the road.”

“This is so hurtful,” Carl says. “I don’t want to hurt her any more than she’s already been hurt by her f*cking biological mom [who abandoned her].”

“I honestly don’t think it’s hurtful,” Kyle says. “Your mom’s coming at it from where any mom would.”

“Obviously, I need to talk to her,” Carl admits. “But there’s so much other sh*t on our plates.” Carl has a “massive amount of anxiety.”

“The thought that my parents have questions about her, it’s really hard,” he concludes.

Carl spills the full conversation

When he finally joins everyone at dinner, Carl tells Lindsay, “I think we should probably chat at some point.”

“Shall we just go talk now?” Lindsay says.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Carl agrees.

“I would hate to be in Carl’s position right now,” Amanda says in a confessional. “I totally get why he hasn’t told Lindsay yet. It has to come out, but if I were him, I’d just … I’d run away. You would never see me again.”

Carl and Lindsay go back in the house and sit down. “When I went to New Jersey,” Carl begins, “I talked to my mom and my stepdad. They’ve been concerned [about] the fact that we’ve been fighting.”

“I know, babe, we talked about it,” Lindsay interrupts.

“I don’t want any secrets from you,” he continues. “When the conversation … with my parents plays on TV, so you’re not … caught off guard, I just want to make sure that you know what Lou told me. He said, ‘As it stands … right now, if you were a couple that I was working with, I would not marry you’ … But they both love you. That’s not a question.”

Lindsay looks stunned.

“I should have just told you from the beginning,” Carl admits. “I just wanted to talk to you to make sure we’re [both] on the same page … and I just wanted to make sure we’re clear. My mom and stepdad f*cking love you. I just wish that I had told you sooner.” Carl struggles with difficult conversations. He gets nervous, plus he’s terrified of Lindsay’s temper.

“I’m just feeling overwhelmed by it all,” he says.

Summer House continues Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.

TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF SUMMER HOUSE SEASON 8, EPISODE 11? WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT LINDSAY DIDN’T GET ANGRY?

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