VSEPR all wet?

As a simple case in point the water molecule should assemble by sharing p-orbital electrons from the oxygen atom with s-orbital electrons from the hydrogen atoms. But the p-orbitals in the oxygen should be at 90^o angles to one another. Yet the bond angles in water are about 104.5^o. Something similar should happen in the ammonia molecule, but there the bond angles are closer to 107.5^o.

So the VSEPR model treats electron pairs as little domains on the valence level of the central atom that move around as needed to minimize repulsions but bear little resemblance to the Schrödinger orbitals we have learned about. That's where hybridization comes in. Next time.