‘Vanderpump Rules’ season 4, episode 19 review: Tom and Katie plan their engagement party, Jax faces the consequences of his actions

Previously on Vanderpump Rules; the breakup between Kristen and James has been messy, with James struggling to accept that it is over. Jax was arrested for stealing sunglasses while in Hawaii, and the consequences of his careless decision might cost him more than he expected. Stassi made progress in her quest to make amends with Katie. Will James take Lala’s suggestion to bring Kristen to dinner and confess his lingering feelings for her? Will Jax move past his latest legal drama as easily as he has in the past? Are Stassi and Katie going to fall back into place with each other? We think we might find out some of these answers tonight.

Katie corners Lisa Vanderpump at SUR and puts her on the spot by asking to have the engagement party for she and Tom Schwartz at Lisa’s home. She insists that she will handle all of the arrangements, and while clearly not thrilled with the idea she agrees–provided that Kristen and Stassi not show up.

Tom and Ariana get facials in preparation for his music video shoot with his band “Charles McMansion”. He’s invested a lot of time and money in this project, and is very excited.

Kristen shows up to dinner to meet James after he has pursued her relentlessly. She intends to drink a lot of wine in his company to torture him because he is trying to stay sober. Of course she will! James feels he has hit rock bottom and regrets how he treated her during their relationship. Kristen tells him that she has moved on with Carter, and is happy. She likes that he’s smarter than she is, and has perfect measurements. Deep. They rehash the past as usual, and James lets it out that he did sleep with Scheana’s friend Jenna. Kristen is stunned, but had suspected something and stopped being friends with Jenna because of her suspicions. Kristen is devastated by the admission, and James follows her outside to comfort her. He tells her he’s still in love with her and they share a hug. There is still obvious sexual chemistry between them.

Kristen is giving business a whirl with a tee shirt line called James Mae, but she’s struggling to get it off the ground after losing a business partner she had to pay off to the tune of four thousand dollars. We like the tee we saw. Very cute. Pretty zen little quote on a gray sleeveless. We would wear it. Stassi asks Kristen if the gang is avoiding her. She feels frustrated that she takes one step forward and then seems to go back two. She asks Kristen what happened with she and James after dinner. Meanwhile, Lala and James are hanging out having the exact same conversation. Kristen lies to Stassi that they only made out in the car. James admits to Lala, who is disgusted and slightly jealous, that they had sex. She advises him to focus on getting his life together and his job back. We feel that nobody should be very surprised by this revelation. Not even Carter, but we feel badly that he is being humiliated publicly.

Katie and Schwartz are with Scheana and Shay discussing their engagement party. The guys laugh about how little input they have in planning these events, despite paying for them. Katie tells them that Lisa doesn’t want Stassi or Kristen at the party. Scheana remembers her own party and the scene it caused when Kristen admitted to sleeping with Jax. She understands why Lisa doesn’t want them there. Katie isn’t thrilled about inviting Ariana and her gloomy mood if she is only pretending she wants to be around them.

Back at SUR, Jax asks Lisa for Saturday night off to catch a flight back to Hawaii where he is required to attend court in person. He isn’t sure whether or not he will be in jail. These sunglasses would have cost him a lot less had he done the morally responsible thing by paying for them, but Jax is challenged in the ways of morality. He assures Lisa he learned a lesson, but we have heard those words before and yet here we are again.

Carter and Kristen invite the gang to Brennan’s Turtle Races. Katie notices that Stassi seems to be a changed woman, and she finds it to be refreshing. She also realizes that she knows Kristen’s boyfriend Carter, as they had a one night stand in the past. Awk. Ward. They lose the turtle race, which looks like fun to us but Kristen feels it is divey and boring–but since she boned James she doesn’t really have any right to complain. Katie tells Stassi and Kristen that Lisa prefer they not be at the engagement party. They are not thrilled.

Jax and Brittany head out on a dinner date and she shows off her new boobs. She teases him that he might not be a free man for long, and he is angry and over it. They are excited about Tom and Katie’s engagement party. It leads Jax to voice his ambivalence towards marriage, and Brittany is alarmed by it. She wants marriage, and kids. She asks him if those are his goals too, since she uprooted her life to move there for him. Jax is getting the typical itch he gets when the women in his life get too attached. We suspect that Brittany has her work cut out for her.

Jax and Schwartz go drive golf balls together and Jax brings up the date with Brittany, and the marriage talk drama. Tom’s band comes up again and Jax instantly bashes it. He seems to have a problem when Tom gets any attention. Jax wonders if he will see Stassi at the engagement party, but Schwartz tells him Lisa won’t allow it.

The big day of the Charles McMansion music video shoot arrives, and it is costing Tom Sandoval a fortune. It’s set in a library and has this retro feel. Tom describes the concept as mad scientists helping people break through the prisons of their own minds. Lala and Faith are background dancers, but he chose not to cast Scheana because of her high-maintenance personality.

Sandoval and Ariana discuss the upcoming engagement party and he wonders if she will feel weird around the girls. She isn’t sure what to expect because they don’t talk to her. Schwartz is trying to build a bridge because he feels they are being unfairly left out. Ariana starts playing a dildo bass guitar, which will be featured in the video. Yes, dildos. She loves the dildos.

At Lisa’s home, Villa Rosa, preparations begin for the engagement party. Schwartz lets a pony in the house accidentally. Lisa is furious, looking fabulous as always in her white robe and full make-up. He runs over the plan for the event. She again says forcefully that she will not allow Stassi or Kristen to the house for the party. She means it.

Stassi and Kristen meet realtors to find a place of her own. The place she looked at was cute and cozy. We could picture Stassi in there decorating it. Kristen lets it be known that Lisa needs military forces to keep her away from Katie and Tom’s engagement party. If Lisa doesn’t expect this, we will be surprised. Kristen never met a blacklist she didn’t boldly ignore. They both decide they will show up anyway and expect that it will all be okay. Hmmmm. Back at SUR, Katie and Scheana give Jax advice about how to handle his looming court appearance in Hawaii. Ariana is not impressed.

Jax packs for his trip to face the music and he uses his life as a metaphor for jail, which we think might be hurtful to Brittany as she watches the show back and hears it. He feels moving fast with Brittany is the biggest mistake he’s made. We agree it was fast, but a potential felony conviction would be much worse. We have to remind ourselves sometimes that Jax is mid-30s, but we still keep rooting for him.

Next week will be the season finale! We can’t wait to see what drama will unfold! This episode did a great job moving the storylines along and perfectly set up for some pretty big confrontations on finale. In the preview, we see a few physical altercations, and Jax is present so we think things may have gone well in court. Episode Grade: B.

If you missed our review of last week’s “Vanderpump Rules,” you can check it out over here! Also, sign up at this link to get some other TV news on everything we cover, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

This review was written by Michelle Wilmot, and if you’re interested in following her on Twitter, you can do so at the link here. (Photo: Bravo.)