Southern Charm Is About to Have Its Most Dramatic Season Yet

Forget everything you remember about Southern Charm, because it's a whole new game in Season 5.

Every single character -- excluding Shep, whose life is as outrageously stagnant as ever -- is in a completely different place than where we saw them at the Season 4 reunion. Craig and Naomie have split, as have Austen and Chelsea (the former of whom is now unemployed and the latter of whom is now an official cast member). Making matters more complicated, Austen even has a new girlfriend -- one of Chelsea's friends! And Austen isn't the only one whose new relationship is causing trouble. Thomas has moved his new girlfriend, Ashley, across the country to Charleston, right as Kathryn seems to have grown comfortable enough in her new life to get back to being the fearless rabble-rouser we knew from the early years. Meanwhile, Cameran is nearly nine months pregnant with her first child and Landon is gone completely -- not that the show is feeling her absence much.

Even the side characters have gone through huge life shifts over the hiatus, with Danni ending things with her fiancé and Patricia entering into her own serious romantic relationship. Meanwhile, JD and Elizabeth have separated amid JD being forced to shut down The Gentry after being evicted and sued over unpaid rent.

And that's just the drama that happened when the cameras weren't filming!

All these upheavals create wonderfully fresh dynamics in the new season, which has followed the same central friend group since 2014. And after everything that's happened in their lives lately, the women of Southern Charm are freshly fed up with good-ol'-boys culture of Charleston that often rewards (or at the very least excuses) the men's bad behavior while villainizing the women for any little misstep. Refusing to stand for it any longer, this season will see a divide form between many of the men and the women of the group, setting up a high-octane battle of the sexes.

Southern Charm Is Low-Key the Best Show on Bravo

That's not to say that the male and female cast members won't ever get along (as always, Cameran and Shep's friendship remains a truly heartwarming respite from some of the show's nastier fights), but new alliances will be formed. And in a wonderful twist, Kathryn will find herself with an actual support system this season, and we're not just talking Shep and Craig's unsteady aid. The mother-of-two will grow closer with the other single women of the group this year, some of whom will even be willing to fight on her side against Thomas and Ashley. And trust us when we say Kathryn will need all the help she can get.

As always, the best drama this season is poised to center on Thomas and Kathryn, who are still struggling to respectfully co-parent their two children together. And the introduction of Thomas' new girlfriend -- who met Kensie and Saint only a week into her relationship with T-Rav -- basically kills any chance these two had of making things work peacefully right now. Fortunately for viewers, all these fireworks were caught on camera, with Thomas never even introducing Ashley to Kathryn until the cameras were rolling to capture every side-eye, snide remark and clever quip.

Based on what we've seen from Ashley thus far, Thomas definitely has a type. The nurse, who left behind her life in California to be with the disgraced former state treasurer, seems to have no issue speaking her mind or fighting dirty, at one point even calling Kathryn nothing but "an egg donor."

Adding even more intrigue going into Season 5 is the possibility of a T-Rav and Patricia falling out. The grand matriarch of the Bravo series has always been publicly on Thomas' side, as well as outwardly against Kathryn. However, it appears as though Patricia may have changed her allegiance or, at the very least, opted not to align with anyone any longer.

According to Thomas, the woman running Patricia's fan page has allegedly harassed his new girlfriend Ashley and launched a smear campaign against her. These accusations have resulted in many of T-Rav's fans attacking Patricia on social media over the hiatus. However, it's important to note that Patricia herself has not spoken out publicly against Thomas nor his new girlfriend -- although she did second a fan who stood up for her amidst the accusations -- but there is apparently enough real bad blood between Patricia and Thomas that he released a statement on the matter saying he's "deeply saddened and disappointed with Patricia's recent actions."

It's Time for These Real Housewives to Say Goodbye

Patricia so rarely gets involved in the fray that we can't imagine much of this feud will make it to the screen, particularly given that her son Whitney is an executive producer. However, even the slight possibility of catching a whiff of this duel in Season 5 should be more than enough to get any Southern Charm fan to tune in and search for clues as to the cause of Patricia's alleged side swap.

With all this going on and so much more (if you thought Craig and Naomie's split meant we would be spared their cruel sniping, you're a fool), Southern Charm's new season is poised to rival Season 3's dinner party from hell and we absolutely can't wait to watch.

Southern Charm returns Thursday, April 5 at 9/8c o Bravo.