We Didn't Need To See a Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom Reunion

The title of the second episode of The Kardashians Season 6, "I Don't Erase What Happened," is a quotation from Khloé Kardashian's reunion with her ex-husband, Lamar Odom. It's an appropriate title for an episode featuring Khloé, considering she has always been the most forthright of the Kardashian sisters, and the daughter most likely to force confrontations when something is awry in the often evasive family. Viewers watched Khloé in full wife-mode with Lamar from 2009 to 2013 in Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and in the two seasons of the couple's spin-off special Khloé & Lamar.

Khloé filed for a very public divorce in 2013, but she also helped to nurse Lamar back to health after he suffered multiple heart attacks and strokes in 2015 as a result of his drug use. Khloé has always been the sister who, willingly or not, has shared her personal life authentically, even when her life involved publicly dealing with Tristan Thompson's cheating scandal with another woman. Where her sisters were overly focused on the facade of their own perfection, Khloé was usually the sister sharing her life authentically, while pointing out the newly developed obnoxious traits the family started to exhibit in their newfound notoriety. In Season 6 of The Kardashians, Khloé once again stepped up to the plate to share a raw reunion with her ex-husband on the series. But considering their tumultuous history together, and Khloé's clearly unprocessed anger, was this a scene that viewers needed to see?

What Reason Could Khloé Have For Filming the Reunion With Lamar?

The reunion between Khloé and Lamar seemed forced, and she even appeared resentful about having to go through the awkward meet-up. The personal items Khloé was returning to Lamar could have been given back at any time, and Khloé wasn't exactly thrilled about having the conversation, so it's strange that the scene was filmed in the first place. But the family's reality series has gained a reputation for being overly produced, and sister Kim Kardashian has expressed well-documented ire with her siblings over their lack of commitment on the show, since it puts more pressure on her to fit even more filming into her busy schedule each season. So, it is possible this was a motivating factor in Khloé scheduling the meeting with her ex.

Scheduling this reunion with Lamar was Khloé's contribution to filming more personal footage this season. Khloé has been vocal about remaining single, and it seems to have been a Herculean task for Kim to get her to agree to live her life beyond the gates of Calabasas. Khloé has expressed she is happy with her rigid routine with her children, which provides consistency for them, but would be monotonous if played on repeat for viewers. So, a reunion with Lamar hosted by longtime family friend Malika Haqq provided Khloé a filming opportunity to share something personal, that wasn't a party for one of her children or an event for one of her siblings. Even if it has been almost a decade since she and her ex-husband last spoke.

The Reunion Was Raw, But Without Resolution

It was clear that Lamar wished he could erase his years of misbehavior when he was married to Khloé, at least from what he expressed once he was able to get over the awkwardness of facing his glamorous ex-wife once again. During her conversation with Lamar, Khloé did her best to keep civil, without giving off the impression that there was room for the kind of close relationship she and her ex once shared. But when it appeared like the NBA legend was making excuses and dancing around taking accountability for his actions during the years he was using drugs, viewers got to see a glimpse of Khloé's alter-ego persona "Khlo-money" come out. After years of dealing with lies from partners like Lamar and Tristan, Khloé was clearly holding back some barely repressed anger just below her surface level nicety.

Which raises the question if this reunion needed to be shared on the series? While it was nice to see Khloé's resolution to set firm boundaries with her ex, Lamar's lame attempt to gloss over their intense problems in an effort to renew their connection was uncomfortable to witness. It felt unfair to see Lamar minimize the severity of the hurt he caused during his period of addiction in his bid to reclaim Khloé as his wife. Considering the meeting was organized to give Lamar personal belongings Khloe held on to, she could have easily arranged them to be delivered to him versus an awkward lengthy meeting filmed for viewer fodder.

Khloé clearly has unprocessed anger and probable trauma that could have been resolved if Lamar came with a different agenda entirely, prioritizing Khloé's mental health over his own wishes. But by pressing his agenda to have Khloé and her big heart back in his life, Lamar overstepped by glossing over the moments when Khloé had to help him through some truly terrible times in their marriage, arguably sacrificing her own emotional well-being in the process. Viewers didn't gain much insight from this conversation, so it would have served Khloé better if it wasn't filmed, so she and Lamar both could have expressed their emotions freely without having to worry about being judged by the world.