Kim Richards and Andy CohenTonight was the third and final installment of the reunion for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It started where we left off last week with Taylor Armstrong revealing more horrific details about the abuse she alleged endured from her deceased husband, Russell Armstrong.

While it was awful to hear how he supposedly hid surveillance equipment in her car and in their home, and how he committed various other atrocities against her and some of their friends, Brandi Glanville really said it best when Andy Cohen probed her, "It freaks me out ... because he can’t defend himself." Exactly.

We also saw a brief and annoying appearance by semi-Housewife Dana Wilkey who added exactly nothing to the show or reunion. She made an attempt to make people feel sorry for her because of her rich/poor background, but just came off as more ridiculous than ever. Moving on ... hopefully for good from her.

The real substance of the episode came when Kim Richards showed up fresh out of rehab to talk one-on-one with Andy Cohen.

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She looked amazing and acted like a new person. Gone was the weird eye blinking, and the bizarre head and hand movements were no more. She was calm, collected, and likable. When she said she didn't recognize the person she was during much of the season, I believed her. It was difficult to reconcile the two.

When asked why she went to rehab, she was blunt, "Yeah, I’m an alcoholic. I drink. I drank."

She said she started out the season sober. And while it's hard to remember back then since we've seen her go so far in the other direction since, she was the voice of reason back in Colorado when Taylor started melting down, as Andy reminded us. I'd honestly forgotten that. After that, she said her addiction spiraled so far out of control that she couldn't even bear to watch the show.

It’s just sad. ... It wasn’t me. The voice wasn’t me. The mannerisms weren’t mine. Nothing about that person was me.

Ultimately, she said she knew she needed help. "I just didn’t like me anymore. And I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror anymore."

While she has plenty of regrets, she says she will never forgive Brandi for accusing her of doing crystal meth and she does NOT give Brandi any credit for helping her get sober. She said she may owe her an apology for hiding her crutches, but that what Brandi did was too horrible to be forgiven.

She and her sister, Kyle Richards, however, have reconciled, and Kyle came out and joined Kim and Andy toward the end. She echoed the sentiment about Kim being a new person since becoming sober, "This is the real Kim, this is the Kim that I grew up with and I love. And that was a different Kim." 

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While there is still some deep hurt there, you could see that old loving bond between them that's been buried by all of the problems for so long.

Kim did say this was her third attempt at rehab. So if it will work this time is, of course, a question. But she believes it will, because she's ready this time. "I just really want this. I’ll work really hard for it every day," she said. Let's hope she gets it.

Were you surprised at how drastically different Kim Richards seemed on the reunion tonight? Do you think her sobriety will last?


Image via Bravo