Notes on a Scandoval

So, look. I know that the cross over between people who enjoy hearing about the intricacies of videogame storytelling and people who like reality television may not be the biggest overlap, but I think I do a good enough job at not inundating this channel with just as many topics on reality television as I have on video games, scripted shows and movies. Besides Kim Kardashian, I haven’t any time here at all. But you know I couldn’t’ let one of the biggest scandals of reality television to pass by without comment.

Now for all those watching about to turn this off, I do think that Scandoval, as the scandal has come to be known, is one of the most interesting types of storytelling that can exist, and one that does happen in some scripted narratives, though with varying degrees of success.

So today, I’m talking about Scandoval, the Tom Sandoval cheating scandal that hit Vanderpump Rules, but from the point of view of storytelling and fan interation with story, rather than any kind of personal take on the whole thing, or a delve into the gory details, though I will provide details for those less aware of the whole event.

In fact, I think that’s an interesting part of this whole thing. One of the fascinating things about online interaction is how niche it can be for something that spans the whole world. I have many friends who also love a good amount of online time, and are often in similar circles to me. So while my phone was blowing up with reddit threads, discord messages, tweets and everything about what was happening over on the show Vanderpump Rules, those of my friends less reality tv inclined weren’t hearing quite all the same things.

So for those less in the know, here’s the scoop. The show in question is Vanderpump Rules - a spin-off of Real Housewives of Beverley Hills. The show started as a kind of work place drama surrounding servers and bartenders at the restaurant SUR in Hollywood, a restaurant run and owned by one of the stars of the Real Housewives of Beverley Hills, Lisa Vanderpump. The show gets kickstarted by a contrived discussion between one of Lisa’s co-stars at the time Brandi Glanville and Vanderpump Rules star Scheana. Scheana had once been a mistress to Eddy Cibrian, ex-husband to Brandi Glanville.

I mention this all for an important reason. Despite all the other names about to be mentioned in this scandal, and even how the show has unfolded and been discussed by fans, Scheana is the reason this show started, and remains a strange central figure despite all the classic arguments that occurs throughout seasons of a show.

For those not in the know, Scandoval unfolded when it was revealed that Tom Sandoval, bartender who was on the show from the beginning, had been cheating for several months on his long-term girlfriend of about ten years, Ariana, with co-star Raquel.

Now, a quick note before we delve into this scandal. Because my focus today is on storytelling, I will be using terminology which relates to this, such as plot and character. This is not becasue I am unaware of the very real affect this scandal has on many of the people involved. Reality television is a complicated field of discussion because while it is very real people, it is also in many ways manufactured and produced. Cast members come to producers at the beginning of a season with their intended “storyline” for the season, which is then directly discussed by show runners and producers. While these storylines can change drastically with an alteration in a person’s life, it is also something that is approached as story. Reality television still has to follow quintessential elements of storytelling and present the audience with expected beats and moments. This is why I will be using these terms, though I do acknowledge that it has had an impact on life outside of the show.

So, let’s dig into this scandal and the story that unfolded, and why it’s so damn fascinating to so many people.

I think the first important piece of story we should talk about is how the scandal became such a huge moment in reality television to begin with. As Andy Cohen pointed out in the reunion, there are very few, if any, cast members who have not in some way participated in some kind of cheating. But in these moments, the cheating was almost always an outside source. Most notably for an exaple was Sandoval’s Miami girl, who was brought in by a cast member to confront him on camera.

The only potential differeing point was when Kristen was revealed to have slept with Jax. Though this particular moment wasn’t necessarily a direct cheating moment so much as sleeping with a friend’s ex, rather than a friend’s direct boyfriend.

There are two improtant factors that led to Scandoval being such a moment. The first is the way the character development of the primary characters have unfolded over the years, and the second is the direct onversation it has forced individuals to have about levels of production.

Let’s take the first of these. There are three primary figures involved in this case: Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss, and Ariana Madox. Sandoval’s character was always one that was in a state of flux of understanding. He flowed from being in the wrong to in the right fairly fludily, and was never a figure that was an obvious villain character, as opposed to his friend and cast mate Jax Taylor who prety solidly filled the role of villain. When Ariana came on the scene as a friend of Tom’s, the timeline of relationship in comparison to when Tomw as dating Kristen was brought into question, though Kristen and Tom’s relationship was so toxic and confusing regardless that few seemed to care enough to chase the idea further.

After Ariana began dating Tom more solidly, the character development of the two of them began to change. Tom was far less often in the wrong (though still found himself screaming at women and hating Katie for seemingly no reason). Ariana’s calm demeanor seemed to have a particular effect on Tom, and the two became a cornerstone relationship that the audience could rely on. The various cheating rumours began to fade and become far more focused on the other male cast mates.

Tom’s character as understood in the show was quietly shifting over time, and allowing him a more comfortable space on the show and in the lives of fans outside of filming. This was all impacted by his relationship with Ariana, who was seen by many audiences and fans as someone who was the most relatable and normal of the crazy collection of characters who came to have a place on the show.

Their relationship itself was rarely brought into question by fans, though sometimes there was an attempt by people such as Jax Taylor. Tom and Ariana both did a good job of either not having issues in their relationship, or in not showing these issues on the show.

While Tom’s image was one in flux, both Ariana and Raquel’s was kept fairly firm. Ariana was open with her mental health struggles, particularly her struggle with depression, which appealed to many audience members.

Raquel came far more recently, showing up as someone dating James Kennedy. She was a strange figure to introduce to the show, as all outward appearance was of a young woman who was kind and naive. Audiences flocked to her while also questioning what she saw in the rather abrasive figure of her partner. As a couple, they presented an interesting juxtaposition: loud, drunk and aggressive vs the timid, kind and quiet Raquel.

Raquel’s character development was one some would expect from a story which introduce a naive pageant girl who had newly moved to LA and seemed unaware of how the city functioned. A person who started out unaware of everything and rolls over to please her abrasive boyfriend began to grow a voice, although a still admittedly timid one. She gave James an ultimatum regarding his drinking resulting in James becoming sober for a short amount of time. Later, Raquel breaks her engagement to James on account of saying she wanted to focus on herself and realise what she actually wanted in life.

In essence, the world was backing Raquel, and was rooting for her to have her win. After breaking up with James, she announced her dream was always to work with children with special needs, a dream she had put on the backburner to live in LA with her new boyfriend. This announcement furthered the audiences view of her as a kind hearted girl caught up in the crazy schemes of the cast of Vanderpump Rules.

It is precisely this view of her that was disintegrated by the news of the cheating scandal. Prior to this news breaking, there was a small scandal of Raquel being seen making out with a cameo appearance by a character named Oliver, who turned out was married. However, the naive Raquel was easily excused: an unscrupulous cheater could easily lie about his circumstances to convince Raquel that all is okay.

But Sandoval is different, to an extent. Raquel was not only someone who personally knew Ariana, but was actually friends with her in a way which seemed genuine on both sides. Ariana looked after Raquel during her time with James, and even frequently stood by her during Raquel’s tricky newly single moments.

But as a say, this was to an extent. And this is where the second bit comes in. A reality show’s story is one that is crafted, and had many hands involved. For starters, a reality show’s success or failure initially comes form the abilities of the casting director. Characters need to be interesting, whether its scripted or not. People watch shows week after week because they are interested in the characters, and how those charactersations turn interactions into compelling plot. This is the same for reality tv.

Then there are the producers and show runners. These individuals control the story as it unfolds, whether that be in poking cast members to action at specific times, or to ensure that the storylines are run at an effective pace. Producers work with cast members to push for storylines to unfold the way the producers want them, at the times and ways they want them to.

But there’s an interesting thing that happens when someone has been on a reality show for a long time: you learn how production happens and how to produce yourself. Self production is a huge conversation in the world of Bravo, and a frequent topic on the Housewives franchise. By self-production, fans mean that cast members have become so aware of how the production works that they actively control the things they say and do in specific circumstances in order to control the way that production can display them.

The control over production, and the way that both Tom Sandoval and Raquel worked to control their image on the show throughout the affair, and Sandoval claimed that there was self production between Sandoval and Ariana for years to cover up issues in their relationship. Knowledge of this self production has invited audience members to uncover small comments and actions to study and analyse in hopes of uncovering some kind of kernel of the truth.

Which brings me to the best aspect of the storytelling about Scandoval. The invitation for audience analysis, the detailed development of storylines and character development that has unfolded over the course of ten years of content, and the large amount of knowledge and details of the cheating scandal that has slowly become known before it was unveiled on the show led to a complicated relationship between the show and the timeline.

By timeline, I do not mean the detailed discussion of what happened it which order for the relationship between Sandoval and Raquel. Rather, I mean the relationship the audience has with the knowledge of the story.

Reality television has a unique relationship to time that very rarely can compare to scripted entertainment. Dramatic Irony is the term typically used for when the audience has knowledge that is not privy to the characters, which is something that happens fairly frequently in reality television. Because there is so much time that passes between the time of filming a show and the time that it airs, there are often times that important information about the figures is already known. In the Kardashians, we know that Kloe’s relatinoship has ended before it has on our screens, for example.

In the case of Scandoval, the dramatic irony is increased in intensity. We as the audience have the knowledge that the cheating happened before the cast does, but we also know that it’s happening during the time of the events as well. So, for example, while cast members were arguing over whether Raquel should be considered a mistress because of her makeout with Oliver, the audience is knowing about the fact that she is one with Sandoval at that moment, even though that wasn’t what was being discussed, and knowing that they will find out all about it soon. So we’re arguing about something that happened, that they dont’ know about yet, but that is actually happening at that time as well.

The complciated weaving of timelines and knowledge and when this knowledge should be utilised and understood and when it shouldn’t creates an interesting weave of dramatic irony for the audience to engage with in the typical conflicts that pop up on the show. Instead of arguing over the nuance of Raquel’s relationship with Oliver, for example, we are instead arguing this point while also thinking about the more detailed and extreme issue that will be known soon, even though it was also going on at the same time.

Basically, all this leads to the fact that this is a fascinating way tot tell a story. Even for scripted narratives, dramatic irony needs to be looped on severla levels to get the extreme amount of complicated relationships the audience can have with the text, and it all just kinda fell in the laps of Bravo.

The complicated networks that tangle up the development, enjoyment, and way that the audience is receiving the narrative leads to a far more interesting story of scandal than we have received from reality television in quite some time.