"We've found the fatal flaw in The Real Housewives of Sydney TV show."

A Real Housewives uproar is nothing new. In fact, I dare you to google any franchise, for any episode, in any season and not find a critical article (or 50) declaring the show has taken it too far this time.

Listen: Laura Brodnik and Tiffany Dunk discuss the one fatal flaw in The Real Housewives of Sydney.

So with critics lashing out at The Real Housewives of Sydney in recent weeks, you could probably take it with a grain of salt. Because the show and its cast trade in headlines. In fact, they actively welcome them.

But when formerly loyal Housewives fans start threatening to tune out – and that seems to be an increasing rumble in the Twitterverse – you know you’ve got a problem.

So what are the Sydney set doing that sets them apart from their franchise sisters?

When you think of The Real Housewives of, literally, anywhere, there are multiple common threads.

First, in each location you will have a group of women who are never happier than when throwing around their money publicly or finding an opportunity to boast about their huge bank balances and designer wardrobes.

Almost all the women will have a staff of people on the payroll to sort out all of life’s inconvenient problems like cooking, cleaning, driving and anything to do with their children.

There will be at least one glamorous getaway where the women will wear inappropriate clothing for the location and disrespect all kinds of cultural boundaries.

There will be enough botox, implants and fillers to tide over an entire city.

Each episode will contain at least one screaming match. The good ones more than one.

There will always be a villain, a “Jatz crackers” one, a sex-obsessed one, a punching bag and a peace maker (usually labelled the 'boring' one) amongst the cast.

But – and here comes the part that has let the Sydney Housewives down – while they fight and bitch and shade throw to their heart's content, when push comes to shove these women will have each others’ backs in times of tragedy and need.

For the first few episodes it was easy to laugh along as Athena X came under fire for her, quite frankly, delusional statements. Ditto Lisa Oldfield, who also played the villain to an absolute V in those early days.

But as the weeks have gone on and the animosity between the women has built, the lack of a core character in the franchise has spoiled the delicate dance the show plays between light-hearted entertainment and hard-to-watch nastiness.

We are missing our peace keeper. And it turns out they play a far more crucial role than they’re given credit for.

Last Sunday we watched Athena X break down over dinner and reveal a horrifically sad family secret. She sobbed as she recounted her father’s abusive treatment of herself and her mother growing up. It was hard to watch and even harder not to feel empathy for her.

It’s at this point which, in any other franchise, we would wish the other women stop their self-obsession long enough to huddle around their fellow housewife.

Even if only for the one night.

But without a peace maker to prod them along, this didn’t happen with the Sydney girls. Instead they used the opportunity to either continue sniping at a clearly distraught Athena X or to turn the spotlight back onto their own woes.

And that may prove to be the fatal flaw for the Real Housewives of Sydney. Because you need the occasional appearance of sisterhood amongst all the cat-fighting. It’s often the only thing that makes us feel slightly less guilty about watching it.

As a proud Sydneysider, as well as a Real Housewives super fan, I want my Harbour City sisters to come through for us. So here’s hoping one of the women can step up into the role. Melissa Tkautz, can you read my lips?

You can listen to this week's full episode of The Binge, here: