Where Does ‘The Valley’ Go After the Season 2 Reunion?

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[This story contains spoilers from The Valley reunion part three.]

The sophomore season of Bravo’s The Valley has come and gone, and the three-part reunion left its audience with a few major revelations and unanswered questions. 

During part one, Brittany Cartwright recounted the domestic situation with her estranged husband, Jax Taylor, discussed throughout season two’s entirety, while also divulging new information about his alleged assault. At the top of season three, they admitted that during one instance, Taylor got angry and flipped a coffee table, which bruised her knee.

However, during part one of the reunion, Cartwright alleged that Taylor broke her Stanley cup, phone, laptop and threw her into a bush. He denied her claims, though she cites having footage of the alleged assault via her Ring doorbell camera. 

The Valley’s reunion was filmed on May 2, as both Kristen Doute and Nia Booko were pregnant, and only a few episodes of the season had been released to the public. A lot has changed since the special series of episodes were shot, most notably being Taylor’s exit ahead of season three (he cited he was stepping away to focus on his “sobriety, mental health and coparenting relationship”), Michelle Saniei’s breakup from her then-boyfriend and the arrival of Doute and Nia’s daughters. 

At the beginning of the reunion, Cartwright revealed that Taylor had “called me the other day and said that he didn’t know if he was going to get kicked off the show, so he was prolonging [our divorce] in case he needed to get alimony from me.” 

Fast-forward to modern times, the formerly fired Vanderpump Rules cast member has now departed The Valley, so it’s even further unclear where the state of their divorce stands. Cartwright will surely share that story as season three gears up to begin filming, though next season will differ from the past two installments without Taylor’s point of view. 

Part three of the reunion dove deeper into the conflict surrounding Danny Booko inappropriately grabbing Jasmine Goode’s partner, Melissa Marie, on Halloween before filming for season two began. Janet Caperna was widely criticized by some of her castmates (and viewers alike) for bringing up the incident on camera after Danny, Goode and Marie had conversations about the situation and settled on moving forward. 

Janet affirmed that she was “glad I talked about it a lot because it’s happened multiple times since.” Andy Cohen, who hosted the reunion, asked, “You’re saying he’s touched other women’s butts?” to which Janet replied, “He’s been inappropriate and made women uncomfortable multiple times since as recently as the Super Bowl.” 

“Until the behavior stops, I don’t feel bad talking about this stuff, and there’s a couple people on this stage that know about it,” Janet added as she called upon Saniei to reveal that Cartwright “mentioned that you felt uncomfortable on your birthday around Danny.”

In a joking tone, Brittany confirmed, “Well Danny, you did get pretty drunk and you were following me around for a little bit, but you didn’t like touch on me or nothing. His personality just very much changed and he started being very flirtatious. I don’t really know how to explain it, but it wasn’t that same thing as what it was on Halloween.” 

The cast discussed Janet, too, saying that Danny “sexually assaulted” Goode and Marie during one of the final running episodes of the season. Doute argued that it felt like Janet was “attacking Danny and Nia” over a situation she had no involvement in, though she stood ten toes down in her stance on the matter.

“And I felt like, I’m not attacking somebody, this guy did something pretty horrible and I think we have to address that. So I thought it was serious, she [Jasmine] thought it was serious and I used the legal term for the definition of what he did,” Janet said. “I think that if you put your hands on women without their consent, you have to own up to that.”

Janet’s message isn’t wrong; she’s just not the right messenger to deliver it. The audience has found fault with her dispute with Danny primarily because the incident involved Goode and Marie, not herself. Plus, viewers have been quick to note that Janet and her husband, Jason Caperna, have been avid supporters of Taylor, who allegedly assaulted Cartwright, which juxtaposes her stand on the inappropriate activity inflicted upon Goode and Marie by Danny. 

The final reunion episode highlighted some of season two’s lighter moments, mostly centered around Doute and Luke Broderick’s engagement and baby on the way (who has arrived in real time, though Doute was pregnant while the reunion was being shot). While Janet and Zack Wickham feuded throughout the majority of the season, they also decided to leave their problems in the past, though it’s uncertain if their truce will last. 

Part three of the reunion doesn’t answer any questions surrounding the fate of The Valley, mostly because it was filmed before the bombshell announcement of Taylor’s departure. If he keeps his promise made to Cartwright in part one of the reunion, season three may see her grapple with an even messier divorce (including an alimony dispute).

When speaking with The Hollywood Reporter about next season just a few weeks ago, executive producer Alex Baskin remained tight-lipped on the show’s future. 

Did Taylor leave the show because of fan backlash to his behavior on season two? “It’s hard to say whether or not he would have made that decision on his own but for the influence of the audience,” Baskin responded. Are they leaving the door open for him to return if he gets help? “We’re not having those conversations at this point,” he added.

Baskin also didn’t say if it really was a “done deal” for Vanderpump Rules cast member Scheana Shay to join The Valley after revealing her husband’s infidelity (like the tabloids suggest). (When asked about Shay’s involvement at the time, he told THR, “We’re making our plans for next season.”)

Going into season three, what’s certain is that the cast of The Valley is more than aware they’re filming a reality television show. Gone are the days where their predecessors on Vanderpump Rules were ignorant in the ways of reality TV. Now, the cast of The Valley is hyperaware that they’re on camera, and that any and all of their personal matters can (and will) be used against them for storyline purposes.

Season three will fare fine without Taylor, as Baskin points out that during season two, “We did spend half the season without him, and that period of time was really full and rich.” What will be interesting to observe as the next iteration plays out is if the cast is going to use their narrative savviness to self-produce the show and if producers will tap Shay and any other axed Vanderpump Rules stars to infiltrate The Valley cast as Lisa Vanderpump moves forward with a new cast for season 12. 

As one of Bravo’s latest breakout hits, the cast is at an awkward point closing out season two, a narrative that viewers certainly want to see play out on their screens. Alliances have formed, the cast is now comfortable on camera and there’s no shortage of storyline for the future, promising a potentially dynamic third season.

Moving forward from season two’s intensely dark plot lines, the cast has proven there’s no subject matter they’re willing to shy away from. Heading into season three, it’s eat or get eaten on The Valley, which in simpler terms means voice your own story and expose your personal vulnerabilities on your own terms, or another cast member may spill it all on camera for you.

The Valley season two is available to stream on Peacock.