It’s Time for Kim to Admit That Her Sister Is the New Prima Donna of ‘The Kardashians’

Season 6 of The Kardashians is all about breaking boundaries, at least according to the preview trailer. One famous boundary that was drawn on the series was when eldest sister Kourtney Kardashian announced she was taking a step back from filming. Ever since she set her boundaries around filming Keeping Up With the Kardashians in Season 17 and 18, Kourtney has held firm by taking control of her filming schedule on the family’s reality series.

Lately, Kourtney prefers to keep special moments of her life, like her birthday, as something that she shares with her husband, their collection of children from previous relationships, and their new baby, what she called “my family” when describing the event to her siblings and mother in the first episode of Season 6. Kourtney has only occasionally been present at Kardashian family events or attended family vacations in recent years, focusing instead on the people she trusts around her. And that doesn’t seem to include the Kardashian/Jenner clan any longer. But that might just be because the Kardashian family has been falling apart in recent seasons, as the cool sister has been busy keeping to herself.

Kourtney Kardashian’s Boundaries Made Her the Cool Sister on ‘The Kardashians’

Kourtney’s boundaries are all about prioritizing her relationship with her husband and children, and also protecting herself from the negativity that can come from her sisters’ harsh criticisms. With her filming boundaries so firmly in place, and with her commitment to filming the reality series being considerably more limited than her sister Kim Kardashian‘s, it once seemed like Kourtney stepping away from filming might see her following in brother Rob Kardashian‘s footsteps, withdrawing from filming entirely. However, where it was once Kourtney’s delusional self-confidence and wicked sense of humor that made her the star of the series in the viewer’s eyes, now, ironically, it has been through holding these boundaries and standing up for herself that Kourtney truly became the cool sister on the series. No matter how loudly Kim talks about how busy her schedule is, or comments about how clueless her family would be without her, it seems that with her new boundaries in place, Kourtney has managed to become the prima donna on The Kardashians.

Kourtney has always claimed several superlatives when it comes to her sisters. Other than being the firstborn, Kourtney has also said she is smarter than her sisters on Keeping Up, and in more recent years she has worked hard at having a reputation for being the “most natural” of the sisters as well. Now in Season 6, Kourtney is confident in her cool status, proclaiming in a confessional “I just am cool by nature,” adding with confidence, “but that’s just, like, facts.” Over the years, Kourtney has gradually cultivated this aura of being the cool sister, and that isn’t just because she is now married to the drummer from Blink-182. Although, if you think about it, it used to be Kim that was married to the famous musician.

Kourtney Refuses to Give Into What the Family Wants

In this new era of The Kardashians, it is clear there is a reigning prima donna, and it isn’t Kim. The series may revolve around Kim and her hectic schedule in the entertainment industry, but the scenes that Kourtney has been willing to share, that show her with her husband, children, and friends, promoting her brand, or in team meetings, tend to come across as more engaging and interesting because they are completely on Kourtney’s terms. Whereas the scenes with her siblings often feel forced, like Khloé’s uncomfortable reunion with ex-husband Lamar Odom. The family may have built their fame off of the hustle that Kim showed in order to get them their contacts in the fashion and entertainment industries, but Kourtney’s firm boundaries have enabled her to remain completely cool on camera. And it seems like Kim knows it, if upcoming episodes are any indication.

In Season 3 and 4, controversy arose when Kim and Kourtney got into their infamous Dolce Vita feud, over Kourtney’s anger at Kim “stealing” her wedding look for a Dolce & Gabbana campaign. In an effort to take advantage of the past controversy, Kim scheduled a photo shoot in Season 6 for the sisters to re-unite in a new campaign for the brand. In a preview for the upcoming episodes, Kourtney was shown complaining about the hairstyle of the wig Kim had selected for her, and joked that her sister was seeking revenge by sabotaging her appearance. Whether it was to sabotage her sister’s look, or to stir up further controversy on their reality series, Kim giving Kourtney a wig she wouldn’t like shows that she understands she still needs her older sister to draw viewers to the show. With Kim inviting Kourtney to Italy to shoot the Dolce & Gabbana collaboration with SKIMS, it is time for the second-oldest Kardashian sister to admit the cool factor that Kourtney brings to the family’s series will always make her the prima donna of The Kardashians.