Keeping Up With The Kardashians Season 14, Episode 8 Recap: "Close To Home"

The celebrations have ended and it’s time for the Kardashians to get serious. Earlier this season, we saw Kim, Khloé, and Kourtney educate themselves on Planned Parenthood. In this episode, Kim takes on homelessness in Los Angeles. But first, Kris and Khloé butt heads...again.

Poor Kris Jenner has recently been forgetting things and Khloé doesn’t hesitate to give her flack for it. So, Kris strikes up a plan. While at the doctor, she has a huge lightbulb moment – she needs a scribe. Everything she says will be documented so that while she’s busy running an empire, she won’t ever forget anything. So, some ground rules: Kourtney’s first question is whether or not the scribe records what she says, too. “Everyone’s!” Kris replies.

And, of course, Khloé manages to make this as uncomfortable as possible. She talks about vaginas and holds nothing back. Kris just laughs, but obviously she’s not having it. Later, Khloé and Kim discuss why Kris would even have the scribe if it would be embarrassing. (Clearly, she wasn’t anticipating you being rude, Khlo! Also, wasn’t it your idea for Kris to keep track of things?)

The scribe rolls around on a little office chair typing everything. Kris confronts Khloé about being a brat and they get into a little argument. Khloé finds the scribe ridiculous, but doesn’t really know how to say it nicely. At one point, she manages to get a “no offence” in. Also, I don’t have a scribe following me around, so I might have missed it, but I’m pretty sure they just refer to the scribe as “The Scribe” the entire time. She tags along to family dinner and Kim gives Khloé a taste of her own medicine.

She actually brings in a basket of fungus cream, yeast infection medicine, jock itch medicine, and so much more. Afterward, Kris says that the scribe will only be for business and not family time. Then, she and scribe roll off set.

While driving through Downtown LA, Kim, Khloé, and Kourtney see a row of tents on the sidewalk. Their dad used to drive them by skid row to remind them that not everyone has it good like they do. The nostalgia and the pain at seeing people living on the street inspires Kim.

Kim consults with Khloé about their trip down skid row. Apparently, to her, there’s a lot more homeless people on the street and she’s not going to turn a blind eye to this anymore. Her plan is to meet with a bunch of organisations and see what she can do. Honestly, helping out is the least Kim could do for the community. And having this convo right after Kim talks about counting her calories is a little tone-deaf. In fact, I’d go as far to say that this entire episode could and should have been dedicated to this topic. What’s the point of using your platform if you’re going to do the bare minimum?

The first stop on Kim’s relief tour is on top of the Union Rescue Mission. Down below, you can see people lined up and tents filling the sidewalks. The statistics they tell Kim are shocking. Like how they never turn down women because there’s 800 registered sex offenders on the street. Kim hates that people portray LA as a glamorous place when there’s stuff like this going on. They then go inside and hear from some residents of the rescue mission.

One, Laquita, isn’t homeless for any stereotypical reasons. She just needs help getting back on her feet. Another woman, Latanya, just can’t afford to live in Los Angeles. As they leave in their Mercedes, Kim and Khloé reflect. “People are just good people,” Khloé muses. Kim thinks that the city needs to be doing more and that everyone should be helping.

When they get home, Kim starts googling and comes across a video of the Los Angeles City Council. Soon after she meets the speaker from the video. Nury Martinez, a representative for the sixth district tells her all about “Cabrito Road,” a tent community in downtown Los Angeles. Martinez tells her that there could even be pimps holding young women in those tents, but the city refuses to do anything.

Kim feels like she has to expose this injustice to everyone. She needs people to know what’s going on just down the street. She and Martinez get into the car and head out. Kim admits that she can’t fix this problem by herself, but if her speaking about it brings awareness, she feels she can help make a difference.

Kim wants to jump right out and start talking to people, but Martinez lets her know that it’s a much more serious situation than that. Kim, Martinez, a few cops, and the cameramen head out into the tent community and talk to people. Some have been there for months and are open to receiving help and others are not. After seeing all these injustices for herself, Kim is now ready to do something to help. Her assistant, Stephanie, has volunteered at Alexandria House, a women’s shelter in LA.

Later, Kim partners with several companies to bring supplies and plan a party for the women of Alexandria House. One resident performs a spoken word piece that describes her experience on Skid Row. Hearing all these stories really strikes a chord with Kim. She wants to make sure that everyone knows that not all homeless people are drug addicts. And it doesn’t mean they’re less deserving of aid. Use your platform for good, but please don’t exclude certain people.

The Kardashians are on a roll, though. Next episode, they’ll tackle gun control when Khloé decides she needs a handgun in her home. Kim immediately hates the idea, so we’re in for a tumultuous episode.