Kenya Moore says her doctor told her to tone down the drama.

She tries. Really, she tries. But Phaedra Parks pushes her button one too many times on the Vegas trip. The battle ultimately does not hit boiling point because Kenya is dealing with Phaedra, who is not the type to go into absurdist attack mode a la  Kim Zolciak, Sheree Whitfield or NeNe Leakes. (And Marlo Hampton, too.) Phaedra will just say nasty things behind your back and make crazy faces.

For this trip (and after the cancer scare) Kenya is mentally prepared to play nice, even with Porsha Stewart and Phaedra, her two frenemies on the cast this season. Porsha has more or less buried the hatchet from their conflicts earlier this season and they seem to be cordial with each other. But Phaedra is still peeved that Kenya mocked her at a party and copied her video exercise idea. But rather than clear the air, she goes passive aggressive, throwing little digs at Kenya. Kenya tries to get her to talk honestly about what she did wrong, but neither side is willing to take a step back and accept their responsibility for what went wrong. The result: they stuck  in awkward stasis.

The Vegas trip features a bus ride from Los Angeles that takes longer than expected. The women play games and at one point, Kandi Burruss talks about orgasms and farting. Seriously.

NeNe has to work so she flew first class to Vegas and ends up beating them to Planet Hollywood.

When Porsha finds out one of the destinations they are going to is a strip club, not a burlesque club, she expresses queasiness.

"I don’t want to go to a strip club. Kordell would not be okay with that."

The other women are flummoxed by her rationale. It seems like she is using Kordell as an excuse for not doing something. (It's unclear if he'd truly be upset if she went.)

NeNe is not pleased by Porsha's decision. She organized the trip and wants everyone to participate. She used to be a stripper, too, so I think she takes a little more offense by Porsha's feelings than she otherwise would.

"You can still be an independent woman and make decisions yourself," NeNe says.

The women feel Porsha's husband Kordell is too controlling. This has been evident in past episodes, too. Kandi, who has been an independent woman her entire adult life, just doesn't get Porsha at all.

"Every woman here has worked hard for every accomplishment. We didn't just marry well. One day, if she's lucky, she'll get it,' Kenya says.

The next day, NeNe sets ground rules: all the women must participate in whatever they do.

Porsha says she's just not comfortable with strip clubs and begins to pull the Christian card. Phaedra doesn't like that. Going to a strip club "doesn't make you a sinner. If sitting in a  pew is going to get you to heaven, my darling, you are quite wrong."

Porsha has to defend how she lives, saying Kordell is traditional and that's what drew her to him. "He's not the king. That's traditional b******," NeNe advises her.

"I don't feel like he's controlling me. He helps make me a better person. I help make him a better person." She says she feels she has to subsume some of her needs for Kordell's and she' sokay with it.  She also feels proud that he actually let her go on this trip. (Kenya mocks her by saying she needed a "permission slip' from Kordell.)

Porsha understands the other women hae more life experience than she has: "I respect their opinions but I wish they would stay in their lane and worry about their own problems."

After visiting  dancers at Jubilee at Bally's (where Kenya showed off her boobs to the other women), they shop at a jewelry shop (where Kandi pondered engagement rings) and then have a party at the hotel where Kandi shows off her product line, including kegel balls, used to help strengthen the uterine muscles. Porsha feels shy when asked to do the sexiest bite into a strawberry.

When Kenya attacks the strawberry in the sexiest way she can, Phaedra throws some shade, implying that Walter wasn't into that.

Kenya is super peeved. "I was trying to be a good sport and a team player. I really had enough."

So during the next game, she confronts Phaedra directly about why she tried to be her friend, hurt her, then acted like nothing ever happened?

Phaedra, face contorted, says: "I thought you intentionally hurt me. You chose to come to a party dressed up in a way to ridicule me. At the end of the day, I'm a grown woman. I don't have to do childish stuff like dressed coming as you."

"That was to prove a point," Kenya responds. "One of the hurtful things was saying someone like me may possibly have a mental illness."

Phaedra does not apologize for saying that, which was indeed hurtful. Rather, she goes back to the issue of being ridiculed. "You think you're perfect. You're not," Phaedra adds, getting a bit off point.

"I am never going to say I'm perfect but I'm big enough to apologize."

Oddly, we never hear Kenya apologize for ridiculing Phaedra at the party or stealing her video workout idea.

"You want an apology?" Phaedra asks.

"B****, I don't need an apology from you. You've already shown me it's going to mean **** anyway."

Neither side is going to budge.

It's a Mexican standoff without the guns.

QUOTES

"I despise them basically. I don't want to tell them something personal and hurtful to me. I learned my lesson about exposing myself to Phaedra. I will not give her any more ammunition against me." - Kenya, bitterly relating her feelings to Cynthia.

"I'm a southern belle. I can be polite to anyone. I hope Miss Kenya can do the same. She won't ruin the trip with her dramatic antics." - Phaedra, about Kenya.

"I'll put on my Miss USA behavior and play nice with phony Pha Pha." - Kenya, about Phaedra

"I love to make it rain!' - Kenya, about strip club tipping.

"Not everyone can be a doctor or lawyer. What makes the world go around, you need a few dummies." - Phaedra, on Porsha.

TRAILER

Kordell finds a pregnancy test in Porsha's bag. He then gets upset with her about wanting a nanny if they have a baby. He expects her to raise the child full time. Kandi holds a housewarming party. And Peter invites Walter to a party, aware this might upset Kenya.

RATINGS

"Real Housewives of Atlanta," after an Oscar break, came back for episode 15 with improved ratings of 3.1 million viewers, about average for the season after two shows that drew below-average numbers.