The Valley Season 2, Episode 2 Recap: Hitting Rock Bottom

The Valley Season 2 is already bringing the drama. Episode 1 kicked off with a heated moment between exes Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, with Jax losing it after finding out about Brittany’s relationship with one of his friends. The actual fight wasn’t caught on camera, but as both of them recounted what happened, it was obvious Jax wasn’t in the best headspace—and his friends were seriously concerned.

The episode also followed how Jesse Lally and Michelle Saniei are moving forward with their new lives since their separation. However, unlike Michelle, it seems that Jesse is having a harder time moving on as he wants to purposely make her life a living hell. Meanwhile, Janet Caperna and Kristen Doute are still on the rocks after they couldn’t come to a peaceful resolution stemming from something Janet said on a podcast.

Kristen Doute Checks In On Jax Taylor

The Valley Season 2, Episode 2 begins with Brittany Cartwright and Jasmine Goode visiting Janet and Jason Caperna at their home. Janet recalls her tense meeting with Kristen Doute at Brittany’s white party the night before. The women did not get anything resolved, with Janet telling her friends, “last night went downhill fast.”

We then get a flashback to their confrontation in which Kristen was extremely upset with Janet’s comment during a podcast interview in which she stated that both Kristen and Zack Wickham did not support her pregnancy. But, knowing this group, it could have all been taken out of context.

Janet apologizes for “roping [her] in with Zack’s demonic behavior,” but Kristen didn’t accept it, claiming it was just a “gaslight apology.” Speaking to her girls, Janet is still bothered by what Zack allegedly said about her pregnancy, and not so much Kristen. A confrontation between Janet and Zack certainly feels like it’s coming later down the road.

We then head to Jax and Brittany’s home, where the former lives alone following their separation. Kristen comes over after hearing about his outburst towards Brittany. She sees the broken chair that Jax threw in a fit of rage.

“I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that mad in my life.”

“Your feelings are valid,” Kristen tells Jax. “You can be pissed, scared, f****** angry. It doesn’t mean you have to do something about it,” she adds. She’s totally right. Jax can be pissed and mad at Brittany for sleeping with a friend, but his reaction was totally uncalled for.

Jax begins to vent to Kristen, sharing that the last time he was happy was “when my son was born.” He tells her he doesn’t have a solid support system. Jax lost his father in 2017, and no longer speaks to his mother. The reality TV star clearly needs professional help, but he is hesitant to follow through after having seen therapists before.

“You know you’ve hit rock bottom when Kristen Doute shows up at your house before noon to talk about your f****** issues,” Jax says in a confessional.

Kristen urges Jax to think about his son, Cruz, whom he shares with Brittany. “I don’t understand how rock bottom for you is not right now,” Kristen tells him.

Michelle Saniei And Jesse Lally Get Scheana Shay On The Phone

We then see Zack heading over to Brittany’s place where they discuss her new-found freedom. Zack is in full support of Brittany’s new single life and if she wants to send scantly-clad photos to someone, she should. The conversation then switches over to Brittany wanting to know more about Zack and Janet’s feud. Zack calls Janet “manipulative,” even comparing her to Jax.

Zack begins to tear up, and it’s not over his friendship with Janet— he’s worried that Janet is putting a wedge between him and Brittany. Last year, Brittany was not pleased with the way Zack was speaking of Janet and her pregnancy, so she decided to put some distance between her and Zack. However, they appear to be trying to mend their friendship.

Michelle Saniei heads over to Jesse Lally’s house so that they can discuss their co-parenting schedule with their daughter. “I wish I could tell Jesse to go f**k himself,” Michelle tells the cameras. Their interaction is not goot from the start, and they fight over the visitation schedule.

“Michelle’s narrative is that I’m an absentee father who is just off doing my own thing, partying, going out to dinners, leaving Isabella with nannys and an iPad,” Jesse shares in a confessional. “The reason is I am struggling every second of the day to try and balance my work, my personal life, and my single dad life.”

Their conversation turns sours as Jesse then accuses Michelle of cheating on him during their marriage. “I’m 99% sure that she cheated on me twice,” he says. Michelle hits back at her ex, calling out Jesse’s new girlfriend for allegedly cheating on him. They call their mutual friend, Vanderpump Rules alum, Scheana Shay.

Scheana divulges that Jesse’s new love interest is sleeping with “the guy from Baywatch.” It’s a win for Michelle.

An Intervention Of Sorts

Danny Booko and Jason go over Jax’s house. They haven’t seen him in a long time and want to see what’s going on with him. Jax sees it as an intervention, and maybe it is. So far, all of his friends are in agreement that he took things too far regarding his fight with Brittany and believes this is clearly his “rock bottom.”

Jax shares with them that he looked up a mental health facility and is awaiting the call. Danny and Jason leave when they ring him. “I don’t want this to be my life anymore. I’m just angry, sad, and depressed,” he tearfully shares in a confessional. Jax learns that he will need to do a 30-day stay, which will cost him $30,000. While it may not be the money that he’s worried about, it’s leaving Cruz behind for an entire month.

Brittany, Janet and Michelle have lunch together. Brittany reveals that after going over to Jax’s house to get a few things while he wasn’t home, she found a woman’s thong with a baby wipe on top of it on the bathroom sink. Michelle then shares that Jesse’s new girlfriend has been harassing her over text messages and even threatened to sue her for talking negatively about her. This is too much for Michelle, who breaks down into tears.

“I’m already fighting to much with my ex-husband and now I have this girl literally harassing me. It’s just exhausting, I just want to get divorced.”

Brittany arrives at Jax’s house with Cruz. Jax has agreed to admit himself into a mental health facility for 30 days. The atmosphere is already thick with tension and Brittany tells Jax not to kiss their son on the face after spotting a woman leaving their former home the day before on their home camera. Once Cruz departs with the nanny, things quickly unravel. The conversation devolves into bitter accusations, with both throwing barbs about infidelity. Brittany tearfully tells Jax she no longer recognizes the man she once knew.

“You need to go get help for yourself and for our son. He cannot grow up and become a person like you,” she tearfully tells Jax. Brittany then threatens Jax if he does not complete the 30-day stay. “I’m filing right away, I’m taking Cruz, getting custody and putting a restraining order against you.”

During their back and forth, Brittany spills the truth: “You have the coke problem. Everybody knows it. Own up to it. Be real with the doctors.”

Jason arrives and drives Jax to the facility. Jax reveals that he is “scared.” He doesn’t want to leave Cruz. “The main reason I’m going to this place is for him,” he says.

This is certainly one of the darkest episodes fans have seen.

The Valley Season 2 airs new episodes on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. Stream episodes the next day on Peacock.