We Watched Bling Empire Season 3 So You Don’t Have To
Here’s what you missed about LA’s crazy rich Asians.
The bling is back and flashier than ever. Within five minutes of screen time, we’ve already seen couture gowns, a stuffed animal bomber jacket and giant fuzzy sunglasses appear. And let’s not forget the celebrity cameos that made the final cut (looking at you, Jean Paul Gaultier and Mila Kunis!) — who knew Christine Chiu was so well-connected? From Anna Shay’s The Simple Life-esque misadventures of evading security guards and the cast seeing “woo-woo” specialists, you’ll find plenty of moments provided comic relief amongst the usual scenes of tea spilling and hot gossip.
If you can’t get enough of the show, easter eggs related to its New York spinoff are subtly dropped via mini cameos and quotes. That’s right, the rumors are true — Rich Kids of Beverly Hills alum Dorothy Wang is getting her own series y’all!
Now that it’s a rising juggernaut that broke world records at home, UK and US, Bling Empire’s third season is proof that it’s not just setting ratings on fire. It’s also the talk of TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. A longtime fan since season one dropped in 2021, the third season was the equivalent of a Battlestar Galactica Cylon ride that turned me upside down, sped and left me craving for more thrills.
As usual, spoilers ahead!
For the past two seasons, the storylines between certain cast members have segued into a climax. Case in point, Christine Chiu, who has been in the middle of a sly, gossipy web weaved by Anna Shay and Kane Lim. Fleshing out beefs fatter than wagyu, the Singapore-born real estate agent and Fenty Beauty SEA ambassador roped in Mimi Morris and Jaime Xie into the “Christine Chiu is a liar” party since he gossiped about Christine to everyone in their circle. Heck, did Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause need to hear the Christine vs. Anna feud at the hotpot at his apartment? At this point, the show should be called Everyone Hates Christine.
However, the couture-loving Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery founder isn’t the villain here. She has been trying to clear the air with Jaime over that “Anna wants to end you” phone call, make peace with the redheaded heiress and stand by her truth. No matter how many times she made an effort to settle the differences, the love wasn’t returned thanks to Kane, whom viewers see is the “actual villain”.
Despite Christine’s drama-centric storyline, perhaps the best moment was when she took Kevin Kreider to Paris for Couture Fashion Week. That was the perfect setup for a new storyline with Devon Diep, Kevin’s ex ex who became his on-again girlfriend, when Christine secretly brought Devon to Paris to surprise Kevin.
Was this drama as fake as cubic zirconia? As of press time, Jaime and Christine have already squashed their beef over an Erewhon grocery spree. Jamie has even posted receipts on IG Stories to clarify that she was set up by production to talk badly about Christine for ratings. In contrast, the beef between Christine and Kane is real as the Christine brought in Baby G’s teacher to drag him.
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Let’s start with Andrew Gray, the ex boyfriend of Kelly Mi Li. He had a good run in season one and was (rightfully) MIA in season two. To reappear again for one episode was simply a storyline wrap up and brief redemption arc for his character. Despite talking about his Christian glow up to Anna, he didn’t add much value to the show as he was there to stir drama between him and Kelly. Given that the exes are no longer active in each other’s lives, it is highly unlikely that he would be called back for season four save for a scene where Kelly might or might not give her dog away.
If there is a character who has more potential, it’s Kim Lee. Posited as Kevin’s love interest since season one, the DJ has been stuck with the same storyline since then. Although the majority of fans accuse her of gaslighting Kevin over the results of a lie detector test, I feel that she has been badly edited from the start as she has hinted at her lack of interest in him since last season. Given that seasons two and three were filmed back to back, I am proud of Kim for finally speaking up.
Though she explored therapy this season and helped Anna escape her security guards, I hope to see a new storyline fleshed out between the DJ and Mortal Kombat actor Lewis Tan, who appeared in two episodes. Next season, there is a possibility that she might get into some drama over Devon, who is now dating Kevin, or Jaime, whom Lewis was hitting on last season. But hopefully, the writers can explore Kim’s DJ residency in Vegas just like they did with Christine’s Dancing with the Starsand Kane’s Fenty Beauty gigs. Ditto with Kelly, whose storyline is tied to dating hot men with red flags for the past two seasons.
Out of all the characters who have shown progress, Kevin has glowed up the most. From seasons one to three, we have seen him go through his issues as a former alcoholic and struggling model. Now, he owns a booze-free beverage called Sans, which he pitched to Mimi and Don Morris for investment. Though he had the most amount of screen time, we’ve seen Kevin hold himself accountable over his breakup with Devon and finally getting the girl of his dreams after disastrously awkward attempts of trying to date girls within his friend circle.
As much as he had good intentions to date, his lack of boundaries was the dealbreaker for him and Kim (he tried to hit on her reiki healer). He does get bonus points for expressing regret over his double eyelid surgery as it’s so refreshing to see him start a conversation destigmatising male plastic surgery. That was the growth that viewers have been wanting to see from him.
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Now that Christine is on good terms with the majority of the cast, viewers are starting to realise that Kane might be the true villain instead. Given that he’s been stirring the pot back to back, fellow Bling Empire costar Dorothy Wang was right in warning us from the beginning. Although the show has yet to have a reunion, I hope to see a storyline where Kane will have a stand-off with Christine, Kevin, Jaime and Anna. If this happens, it will make season four bombastic as most fans — myself included — would like to see that.
We will also most likely see a new alliance forming between Jaime and Christine. Given that the former is good friends with Anna, we hope to see her build that bridge between both women to make up for stirring the pot on season three. If all three ladies get dinner together with Anna cooking at the restaurant (like she did at Kevin’s birthday), it would be ratings gold.
Related article: Bling Empire’s Kane Lim On Being Kiasu And What He Misses Most About Singapore
Apart from friendships, we hope to see more healthier relationships as Kelly and Kim have had a fair share of traumatic relationship experiences. A red flag magnet, Kelly has been put through the wringer with Andrew and John, who couldn’t pay the bill for a decent bowl of ramen. Now that she is dating someone new, hopefully history won’t repeat itself. Though Kim has been painted as the woman who led Kevin on, we are rooting for her and Lewis Tan to date on screen. But, we will never know unless the writers of the show have decided otherwise.
This article originally appeared on Her World.