The villains are on a redemptive streak in ‘Bling Empire’ 3
A REALITY show without a villain might as well be cancelled.
After all, who wants to watch a cast of goody two shoes meander through their dull existence? Not me.
I’m here for the drama. I’m here for the catfights. I’m here for the backstabbings.
That’s why I gravitate towards offerings like Selling Sunset, Selling the OC, Indian Matchmaking, Love is Blind, the 90 Day Fiancé franchise, The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, The Real Housewives franchise and, of course, The Kardashians.
These offerings provide the perfect escapism. As such, I was super excited when I saw the third season of Bling Empire return on Netflix.
With Christine Chiu and Anna Shay going for the jugular since season one, I wanted to see where things stood between them.
Then there was the fallout between BFFS Kane Lim and Kevin Taejin Kreider over Kim Lee. Kane was being protective of her, while Kevin found his behaviour meddlesome and, well, it didn’t end well in season two.
For streamers unfamiliar with the show (have you been living under a rock, like seriously?), it follows a group of insanely wealthy inner-circle of East and Southeast Asian Americans living in Los Angeles.
In other words, they are the real-life version of Crazy Rich Asians.
Over the seasons, several members of the cast have endured personal struggles and vanity meltdowns.
Anna, who is Japanese-russian, comes from old money. She doesn’t suffer fools easily. And she has no filter.
If you are in her good books, she is a real mother hen. If not, it’s best you run for the hills.
Kane is a trust-fund kid. But his parents don’t entertain his whimsies. He is forced to prove himself, hence his departure into real estate.
And in the latest season, he has
been flexing his modelling muscles after Rihanna approached him to be the face of the beauty brand, Fenty.
Christine has been living it up this season amid dealing with being painted as a troublemaker. Her journey on season 13 of Dancing with the Stars, among other highlights, stole the spotlight.
And her husband Gabriel continued to stand by her through thick and thin. Also, an unlikely friendship formed between Christine and Kevin, so much so that they went to Paris Fashion Week together and she played matchmaker with him.
Meanwhile, Kelly Mi Li, on the back of her turbulent relationship with
actor Andrew Gray, threw her toys out of the cot when he resurfaced after Anna extended an invitation to him for one of the group events.
Kim Lee, a DJ and model, finally makes peace with Kevin after making him jump through hoops to date her – only for her to tell him he’s not her type. Ouch.
Fashion blogger Jaime Xie, who is normally like Switzerland on issues, has a fallout with Christine this season.
Mimi and Don Morris get some screen time, but they are probably the couple with the least drama in their lives.
Back to the agent provocateurs: Christine and Kane.
They redeemed themselves this season. First, these two love expensive things. So it’s unsurprising to see that they have a killer wardrobe and fashion sensibilities.
But they are not as vain as they have come across in previous seasons.
Kane is a caring person. His love language is gifting people. So if you are in his life, he will spoil you rotten. That’s not to say he doesn’t have his own stuff to deal with. But his intentions are sincere.
Christine is family-oriented. She likes to be surrounded by loved ones. Yes, she has a tendency to wear her wealth on her sleeve and name-drop, but who cares? Everyone in this group is about glitz, glamour and attitude.
In Christine taking Kevin under her wing, so to speak, she showed a playful and fun side that’s not often seen.
That she bagged a photo shoot with one of the most coveted photographers in town was another feather in her cap.
All in all, season 3 of Bling Empire delivers on the entertainment value, but it also has more heart this time around. Also, in showing their fallible side, the agitators are more likeable.
And if the kumbaya ending is anything to go by, the spin-off series, Bling Empire: New York ups the ante with the drama. Brace yourself!
¡ Bling Empire 3 is streaming on