LOUIS' WINNER: Kyle Richards

Yes, really. Before this season, Kyle has always been too wishy-washy to dominate: Her refusal to pick a side ended up making her look two-faced. But when the drama was focused solely on Kyle and Kim — two sisters who have battled it out to varying degrees of hysteria since the series began — Kyle was easily able to emerge on top. And that's thanks to a major assist from Kim, who fell under Brandi's vampiric thrall and emerged as a nasty, mean-spirited Renfield, eager to throw vague accusations at everyone and subtly disinvite Kyle to Kim's daughter's wedding. Basically, thanks to Kim's descent into pure villainy, Kyle has never looked better. But Kyle also stood her own, refused to let Kim's cruelty go unchecked, and called Brandi on her relentless stream of bullshit. This season couldn't have been easy for Kyle, but she handled it like a pro.

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LOUIS' MOST IMPROVED: Lisa Vanderpump

Personally, I've always been a fan of Lisa's distinctly above-it-all persona, and her ability to maintain a certain level of class no matter what was being flung at her. That's why watching her crumble last season (following an orchestrated attack against her) was so unpleasant to watch. In her tagline this season, Lisa promised, "Throw me to the wolves, and I shall return leading the pack." And dammit, she did! Reconnecting with Kyle, who's at her most sympathetic, was a smart move. Like Eileen, Lisa was a perpetual voice of reason, but she also managed to mostly stay out of it. When she did finally lay into Brandi at the reunion, it felt like she'd been waiting all season to strike. And she never even broke a sweat.

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IRA'S WINNER: Eileen Davidson

The moment Eileen Davidson leaned across that table at Kim and spoke in her best soap opera tone: "Beast? How DARE you!" my heart melted. I was expecting Kristen DiMera and Ashley Abbott to rear their heads on the show. Maybe Eileen would be overly dramatic and villainous in real life, I thought. But what I actually got was a respectful, levelheaded, and hilarious woman who invited us into her home and still managed to throw down with these crazy heffas with some class and grace. She was the only one who was making sense during the reunion, calling Kim out on her double standards and telling Brandi she needed help. She was also a great friend to Lisa Rinna, who needed one with the roller coaster of emotions she went through all season. I can now add RHOBH to Eileen Davidson's long list of flawless roles.

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IRA'S MOST IMPROVED: Kyle Richards

I am the last person on earth to be a Kyle Richards fan. I mean, during the reunion, I wanted to pull out a classic Teresa Giudice line and shout, "You're the devil. You're wearing red!" But thank god for Flotsam and Jetsam (Kim and Brandi) this season, because they performed the insurmountable task of making Kyle likable. I still find her oblivious and petty, but how could you not feel for someone with a monster like Kim — a woman who keeps bringing up the past to hurt her, would reference other people who are "better" than her, and claims to not have had a relapse even though we saw it happen on camera — raging against her? Kyle finally stopped taking Kim's shit and came into her own as a person. This season was dark AF — hopefully we can get back to the self-centered Kyle of previous seasons, and maybe she'll be someone I love to hate instead of just hate.

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