Here’s everything we learned from ‘Selling Sunset’ on HGTV tonight

The suspense builds in the final episode of “Selling Sunset,” airing tonight on HGTV at 10 p.m. Let’s break down the many devious plots that help the four investigators in Bravo veteran Ross Molloy’s drama to reach its penultimate episodes.

A “major” player in this 13-episode fourth season becomes clear quickly and continues through all its nerve-shredding revelations: Andree Wachler may be an enigma, but she’s out to expose her partner, Kris Thrash, one of Bravo’s first female real estate agents. Thrash, a former TV star, goes to increasingly desperate lengths to keep things heirloom-worthy at Modern Downtown, with its flashy amenities, only to find his shoe strings darning his family jewels.

(“My family knows more about Hermes bags than I do,” Thrash shrugs. “I don’t know if I’ll get asked back here.”)

While Thrash is more or less the villain of the piece, clients Erin Abbott and Cy O’Connell are the shiny stars of the hour. Abbott and O’Connell first teamed up a year ago and built a formidable empire of 11 Cal Mar lots overlooking Sunset Blvd. In a season full of jaw-dropping circumstances, Abbott and O’Connell’s episode should be worth a second look.

First of all, the couple owns a series of small houses in and around their own, charming suburban area, which are renting out and offering overflow to other neighboring streets. After digging up Abbott’s undervalued inventory (and speaking with some of her salespeople), ACH comes up with a list of properties that might bring in a few million bucks. They have contingency plans in place so that they would be comfortable owning those properties even if the pair’s $5 million budget to finance a renovation doesn’t materialize.

Unlike other Bravo stars, who tend to be either wealthy, manipulative or both, O’Connell’s side of the partnership is decidedly down-to-earth, and Abbott believes the partnership is “100 percent what made us like each other.” Her first lesson with O’Connell, a Prudential, Realtor, is “to always treat other real estate agents as equals,” which he finds helpful when she asks him about her clients’ home prices. Her boss is positive that the partnership between her and O’Connell will be a great success, but O’Connell is already looking for the day when their potential profit sharing ends.

He does acknowledge that his assessment of how much money they could make could be wrong, particularly with two potential success stories thrown into the mix. That other potential market is Danielle and Michael Chicksand, another upper-class couple who have serious decorating goals, are slowly buying homes in Los Angeles in hopes of vacationing in Lake Tahoe. (There’s also the matter of income: Chicksand works at a tax office and is planning on buying a home valued in the eight figures.)

With real estate in their crosshairs, the Chicksand want to find out what their properties are truly worth by appraising them. How to do that without being labeled a house flipper is yet another arc in the professional lives of the Abrams and the Chicksand. It’s a narrative conceit that doesn’t bring out the best in all the characters.

Who won’t be watching the final hours of this season? You know who you are.

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