Madison's Son Harper Got Bitten In His First Fight on 'Southern Charm'

The Gist:

• Madison LeCroy's son came home during a recent episode covered in both bruises and bite marks.
• He was apparently in a fight, although the details of exactly what happened are unclear, and the moment was a chance for Madison and her new husband Brett to do some parenting.
• Viewers seemed to find the scene genuinely moving, in part because it seemed so real.

There's always enough drama to go around on Southern Charm, but for the most part, that drama tends to be confined to the adults. These reality TV stars are also parents, though, which means that from time to time, they do have to do deal with what's happening with their kids.

In the episode that aired on Oct. 26, Madison LeCroy and her new husband Brett were hanging out at their home when Madison's son Harper got home from school. Following his arrival, both Madison and the audience wanted to better understand what happened to him.

In the episode, Harper walked through the door with bruises and bite marks all over him, having apparently gotten into a fight. It's unclear exactly how the fight started, but it seems like things got pretty savage, and it also seems like Harper didn't do all that well.

Madison is understandably rattled by the incident, and explains in a confessional that it's tough to be a parent and see your child in pain.

The episode doesn't dwell on Harper's injuries, perhaps in part because Madison intentionally shielded him from having to talk about such a savage fight on camera. For some viewers, though, the incident was alarming, in part because it was unclear exactly what had happened to him.

"That scene with Madison, her son and her husband was so real and beautiful. You can tell Hudson really loves his stepdad," one person wrote on Twitter.

"Omg poor Hudson. And Madison having to watch her son go through that. How heartbreaking," another person added.

"When I think about all the staged scenes "showing" real family drama on any reality show, NONE come close to this scene. Watching #Madison and her hunky husband consoling her son after he had been beaten up, I teared up for reelz," a third person wrote.

Clearly, the scene was powerful for many at home, in part because it seemed to break through the veneer of reality TV and show atual reality, at least for a moment. While much of the drama on Southern Charm that happens between the various members of the cast may be drummed up or artificially heightened, the fight that Harper got in was not staged or filmed for the cameras.

Instead, Madison was dealing with something that very much seemed to be real, and the cameras were just happening to capture it. Of course, there were some in the audience who thought the whole thing was cynical or staged, but there were many more who seemed to find the scene genuinely moving.