[S18.E08: The Writing is on the Wall]

2 hours ago, MamaMax said:

so there's chatter on other sites that Kody's been somewhat "indoctrinated" in the "manosphere" and that's what has caused this alleged change in his personality. 

It really makes me wonder if Robyn genuinely doesn't want to be left alone with him?  I can see her thinking she can NOT have a 2nd divorce but that she cant hack Kody 24/7 and with no one else to direct his anger at.

I am starting to come around to this way of thinking, just a little bit.

I still think she is the Dark Queen, and I think she had a multi-step plan to get exactly what she thought she wanted - sole control of Kody, with the OG3 on the sidelines wishing they had what Robyn had (besides cold sores).  She wanted to be HBIC and needed Kody to dismiss his other wives to make it happen, but she may have played her cards too well.  I wonder if she counted on Kody becoming the massive douchecanoe that he has turned into.  Her plan only works if the other wives want Kody too.  Turns out, there's actually a limit on how much they can take from him and they're starting to bail, leaving Robyn with a manosphere-influenced rage monster.

I mean, bravo for Robyn for setting her sites on Kody Brown and winning him away from his other wives and children.  She accomplished her goal.  But in doing so, she helped completely destroy the entire family to the point where everyone seems happier outside of Kody's reach.  And since we know that man lives to be worshipped and admired, he's no longer getting that from his family, except that Robyn still has to play that part.  I'm wondering if she's actually starting to become scared of him.  And now, there's no one else to take some of the crazy off of her hands.  They're all gone.

This is actually rather fascinating.  Marry a sociopath with a narcissist and watch what plays out.

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

I cannot stand those staged photos where Jill holds her phone out to capture her and Dave kissing.  So much for modesty - does she think we want to see that?  He's yours, girl, don't worry!

I think it was this series of photos/videos where Jill says that they are on the pier with a "Pier" sign behind her, and then she pans to the ocean and tells us it's the ocean.  She's wasting her time shilling Plexus, she should open her own travel agency.   

[Christine Brown Woolley: Nacho Sister Wife Anymore]

13 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Those are some seriously beautiful and happy women! 

[S18.E08: The Writing is on the Wall]

19 hours ago, Chicklet said:

"Meri is still part of Kody's big PITCHER."

Robyn is the dumbest woman on earth.

Sure go live in a barn, Meri, shows you how much Kody thinks about you.

Which is it, Kody - you want Meri to live in your barndo or you want her out of Flagstaff altogether?  He said both in this last episode.  I think he mentioned the barndo and RV knowing full well that Meri would not be on board, and then he could whine that he had ideas but she shot them all down.

And Janelle, too - she was so happy to go out with Kody for her birthday and spend time with her lover-man, but also, she didn't think she could even hold his hand.  If this is her not wanting to show physical affection to a man that has written off her kids, then why go in the first place?  Because she missed him?  Why?  The Kody she's missing is long gone...this one is just play-acting to keep her on the hook a little longer.  But what was with his giddy flirting with Janelle?  Was he just excited that Robyn let him out of the house for an evening?  How can he treat their kids together like absolute crap, but then be all "gee, like I'm jonesing for a kiss from her and I got all dressed up and stuff!"  

From scene to scene, the actions of these people makes no sense, and they literally contradict themselves multiple times in the span of 45 minutes.  As was pointed out in an earlier comment, nothing they do makes sense.  They are so twisted in the webs of lies they've spun to keep this show on the air, they can no longer sort out what's fact and what's fiction.

If there's a tell-all, I need it to be hosted by either Leah Remini or someone on this board.  I need answers.

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

13 hours ago, YupItsMe said:

It looks like he’s wearing swim trunks and she might be in modest swim clothing. I have a similar swim top. If she is, I want to know why her children can’t also have pretty, modest swim dresses.

Because she wants to use her inappropriately modestly dressed children as a spectacle to the heathens so she can scream "persecution!!" if anyone suggests that it might not be safe or sanitary to swim in layers of street clothes?

Or she's just cheap.  Or both.

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

I sometimes imagine what the other unknowing hotel guests think when they come out to relax by the pool or hot tub and are encountered by these two.  It must be a bit jarring to come upon two fully-dressed adults squished up against each other while the woman holds her phone out to narrate her surroundings and then pans around to capture anyone and everyone who happens to be nearby.

Given how these two travel, someone in this thread is bound to run into them somewhere, sometime.........😬

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:44 AM, LilJen said:

Because of course you take a photo centered on your stubby fingernail, holding garbage in that hand and pointing at a fuzzy scene and post it on social media…

On 10/8/2023 at 10:51 AM, DXD526 said:

Does she point because she thinks no one will know where to look otherwise? Telling your audience you don't think they're intelligent enough to view a photo properly without your help, isn't a good sales technique. 

It cracks me up how she will go into a hotel room and Hot Dog Finger Point at a closet (!) or go into a restaurant and show us where people sit (!!), or go to an ocean and show us where the water is kept (!!!).  I mean, this is riveting stuff.

[S18.E08: The Writing is on the Wall]

When Robyn was performing her couch soliloquy about how Meri supposedly begged her to help Meri keep hope alive or something like that, I so badly wanted a cut of a Meri talking head saying, "yeah, that never happened."  But bravo to Robyn, she tried rilly hard to squeeze some liquid out of her eyes in that little scene but alas, 'twas not to be.  At this point she should keep some eyedrops hidden under one of her boingy curls to quickly squeeze in her eyes when production isn't looking.

I could not believe that I was spending my time watching Meri, Kody and Robyn in Meri's kitchen all looking at each other and barely speaking.  Robyn was all, "ummm so tell him what you were gonna tell him Meri" and Meri was like "ummmm like I don't know what you're saying, Robyn" and then Meri would giggle and be all "gee Kody I can't think because I'm lookin' at your ring" and Robyn would stare at Meri, and there was some profoundly awkward silence and Kody was just sittin' there staring into space, wondering when the crazy orange lady was going to stop talking so he could go home and hide in his closet amongst his purple shirts and play with his Legos.  

This stupid show....that I cannot stop watching. 🙄

[S18.E08: The Writing is on the Wall]

9 hours ago, goofygirl said:

Douchie thinks he can be in love with Janelle again but he feels like an "object"...

Yep.  That object is a dingleberry.

Aww, poor widdle Dingleberry feels like an "object?"  You mean, kind of like him wanting to store Meri in a barn with the other crap from his life that he doesn't want to dill with?  Like that, you freaking asshat?  Just checking.

 

8 hours ago, ezzy4 said:

Sobyn: "Meri, Kody still loves you and wants you in his life"

Meri: "Rilly? 'Cause he doesn't act like it at all"

Kody: "Ug Meri, why are you still here?  I don't want you in my life.  But you insist on being here could you stay in the back of the garage where i keep things i don't want?"

Sobyn:  "Seeeeee Meri! Kody is making room for you in the back of the garage!! Yay!"

Meri (under her breath): "WTactualF"

This was the scene where I shouted something out loud - I think it was a four-letter word combined with a guffaw.  Thankfully no one in my house heard me.

I don't know if the editors are having fun this season trying to make Robyn look like an idiot or what, but the intercut of Kody telling Meri she could sleep in the hayloft of his barn followed by Robyn dry-crying, "see?  He wants you thurrrr, Meri!  He's tryin'!  There's still somethin' thurr!  Don't give up on us!" was hysterical.  

Other comments:

Janelle?  You can "compartmentalize" the various abuses and neglect done to your children by their father in order to go out on a hot date with Curly Sue to the best restaurant in Arizona?  Take several seats.  He's clearly still got the hots for her - he seems to somehow enjoy the idea of having a wife at home but some bow-chicka-wow on the side.  That's not polygamy, though, that's having an affair.  Hey, whatever works for those two, I guess, but for them to pretend that they were on some sexy date night after the crap that Kody has dished out to Gabe, Garrison and Savanah made me ragey.  Enjoy, Janelle, you do you but you can shove your "compartmentalization" rational.

Meri talking about having two houses...she was like, "you know who else has two or more houses?  Polygamist men."  Damn, Mere!!  I just wish the Meri on the couch would match up with the simpering wuss we saw during the conversation (if you can call it that) with Kody and Robyn.  

Kody - there are 14 other places to sit at Meri's house.  "I guess I'm gonna sit here on this chair but you're gonna have to move this stupid book."  Also, Kody and Robyn driving up in two separate vehicles, but one right behind the other?  Stop.  Seriously, stop wasting gasoline, you morons.  Save your pennies so Robyn can buy another retired Dickens Village house off of EBay.

Christine - you go, girl.  That is all.

 

[Christine Brown Woolley: Nacho Sister Wife Anymore]

16 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I love this look for Christine's wedding day - she has that ethereal goddess look about her and it fits her personality.  I especially love her hair, it suits her.

It seems that once you marry Kody, you slowly start to look 15+ years older than your age, your face gains a permanent frown, and your shoulders hunch from carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.  Christine is proof that by jettisoning 180 pounds of ratty extensions and raging ego, you can indeed reverse those effects.  Good for her.  I never once thought that she would be the first of the OG3 to bail first - I love that I was wrong!

[S18.E07: Throwing in the Towel]

On 10/5/2023 at 2:09 PM, mythoughtis said:

Robyn made a point of saying in this episode that she had begged Janelle not to tell Kody to come get his stuff. 

Kody could go to Janelle's to pick up his box of hair gel and all his "books", dump them in the middle of Robyn's living room and leave them for years before she even knew they were there amongst the plethora of figurines, pill bottles and Amazon boxes.

Did Janelle comment on this supposed phone call?  Sometimes I doze off or organize my sock drawer when SW is on.  Eventually one of the OG club is going to call Robyn face to face on her complete BS.  Meri came close this last episode when Robyn dry-sobbed while asking Meri if she'd be around, and Meri was all - "yeah, but you have to CALL ME."  I cheered just a wee bit for ol' Mere that night.

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

FFS, life is one big vacation for these two. And while they stuff their faces, their kids probably barely had enough to eat. 

I'm hoping KayJon or maybe Teidi stopped by with some KFC or Panera for the kids, promising them not to tell.

Or maybe, now that I'm thinking of it, Jill actually expects her older kids to pay for and feed the younger ones while she and Dave are off exploring history so the littles don't end up wandering over to one of their Amish neighbors asking them if they have anything to eat.

I mean, we know Jill doesn't prepare and freeze dinners for her kids while she and Dave are away - we'd have seen it on Instagram.

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

7 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Oh my. Jill thought this hotel room was something special? Or was this her subtle way of saying they vacation of the cheap?

I think she thought it was pretty special.  Watching her pan around a perfectly ordinary motel room narrating like it's the most awesome place she's ever seen makes me laugh.  She even had to ask Dave if the chair was "so pretty"...his response was "yeah."  

But I also hate that she's in Maine, that's on my list of places to visit.  It irks me whenever these traveling fools get to go somewhere I really want to go.

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

Semi-serious question...what is the reason that pre-married Fundies are only allowed the occasional side-hug with their betrothed, with everything else being off the table in the name of Modesty.  But after marriage, we are treated to various horrors like Jim Bob and Michelle's mini-golf sideshow, this picture of Dave and Jill violating a poor innocent tree, and constant close-up kissing selfies (thinking of Jill and Derrick).  Does post-marriage modesty suddenly take a back seat to making sure anyone and everyone understands that this married couple is boinking as fast as they can to start producing babies?  What is behind their constant PDA's, and how is this considered modest?  Jill can dress in 14 layers of hoodie blouses and leggings down past her feet, but she can grab Dave by the head for a make-out anniversary photo?  It doesn't really make sense.

[Janelle Brown: Smarter Than Your Average Brown (Maybe)]

On 10/3/2023 at 4:15 PM, General Days said:

The farm-to-table restaurant dream had me in stitches. She doesn't even cook. Okay, Janelle does very basic cooking.

Aw, but we used to have so much fun when Janelle would post a picture of that night's dinner and we would take turns guessing what it was!  Are those potatoes?  Brussel sprouts?  Bagged salad marinated in nutmeg and ghee?  Meat?  If so, what kind?  Good times, y'all.

 

On 10/4/2023 at 10:10 AM, 65mickey said:

Why these idiots thought that this land was a good investment is beyond me.

Well, there were all those angels singingk...and the huge draw of watching Kody strip to his skivvies for a dive into a potentially hazardous plague-ridden drainage ditch pond - which ironically is now all dried up and being used by Brianna to do donuts on her new minibike.

[S18.E07: Throwing in the Towel]

I wonder why we never see Robyn sittin' down with Janelle one on one and demanding that she not give up on the family, or begging her not to leave, or any of the other crap she throws at Christine and Meri.  Have we ever, in all 47 seasons, had a segment with just Robyn and Janelle?

Personally I think Janelle knows where all of Robyn's financial bodies are buried, and Robyn is terrified of Janelle.  But that's all the more reason why I want a lil' sit down at the Casa Salsa/Hot Lemon Water restaurant between those two in particular.  Let's see if Robyn can turn on the fake waterworks while Janelle sits across from her and Kody isn't there to save her.

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

13 hours ago, Tdoc72 said:

Jill—Thanks for warning me about Kenny Rogers. I SERIOUSLY was about to start wearing pants and smoking crack after hearing “You Decorated My Life”. 

So this is Jill and Dave's "song" event though Kaylee made the disclaimer that Big Daddy grew up in an "unsaved" home, hence being familiar with this song.  But if the song is so unholy, why is it their song, and why is it being played over the creepy black and white picture of Dave and Jill making out?

Are we modest or are we not?  If we are modest, don't play that heathen song and show us a picture of two adults grinding against a tree.  Nothing about any of this makes any sense, including newlywed Kaylee Girl writing a missive on what marriage is all about.  She must've drawn the short straw from BME and it was her turn to pen the slobbering post to her wonderful parents.

Next anniversary I expect to hear Blue Oyster Cult's "Burning for You" played against a picture of Jill and Dave in bed, for crying out loud.  

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

13 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Screenshot #1 had me LOL-ing...Jill's sausage finger pointing at what, exactly?  An empty restaurant?  The "Water" sign?  Did she spot a hussy with blue hair enjoying a coffee?  

Screenshot #2...what do we have going on here?  A flowy polyester blouse circa 1990 and a chunky necklace from the 2003 bargain section of Claire's.  A shockingly short and tight black skirt, made modest by the addition of a dust ruffle sewn to the bottom - never mind that she can't bend over.  And what fresh hell are we wearing on our feet?  Black orthopedic sneakers?  Stunning.

Screenshot #3 - hahahaha, no way is Dave having a cup of soup for dinner.

Poor Hannah.  Hopefully she and Tessie whisper long into the night planning their eventual escapes.

 

[S18.E07: Throwing in the Towel]

1 hour ago, Joan of Argh said:

Princess Mullet and King Sol sound like 4 yr olds.

I do not understand what it is exactly about my profound discomfort watching those two particular kids doing couch interviews.  Maybe it's because they are the products of two raging narcissists and I feel bad for them for many reasons - having to live in what appears to be a hoarder house, having had cameras in their faces since exiting Robyn's womb, being asked to comment on things they don't understand, etc.  I also think the dynamic between them is odd - Sol seems like a deeply thoughtful boy and Ari is always right up in his face and talks over him.  And while they are sometimes hard to understand, I think they both speak in ways that make them seem older than they are.  Some of the things Ari says make me wonder - how is this child running around with a pacifier, yet can explain in detail the reasons why she should be allowed to ride one of those stupid minibikes or what goes into making a crepe?  Part of it is that I don't expect her to be able to form complete sentences, yet she sits there and spars with Sol like a pro.

Does anyone else feel this way?  As much as I snark on these people, I don't blame Sol and Ari for how they act - Sol was born to be the family's savior (an impossible burden), and Ari is clearly being infantilized by Robyn, maybe in an effort to shut down her baby factory.  Their half-siblings are expected to rearrange their entire lives for their benefit - also not their fault.  They are being used as the excuses for their dumbass dad to ignore the rest of his kids, so there's probably resentment there that they have no concept of.

Long way of saying, I feel bad for the Tenders.™

Also, why Robyn cannot style Ari's hair into something not resembling Billy Ray Cyrus circa 1992 is beyond me.

  

[S18.E07: Throwing in the Towel]

2 hours ago, dariafan said:

And she looked weird in her scene with meri.  Like she was trying to sit up and not bring attention to her neck 

So many times when there's a conversation between two of the wives, it looks incredibly stilted and awkward.  I'm sure a lot of these meetings are probably semi-scripted in that they are told to get together and discuss a certain thing for the cameras, so it's weird anyway.  But especially with Robyn and Meri, they look like they're both made of thick cardboard and are having trouble adjusting their limbs.  You're right about Robyn, she was just sittin' there on Meri's couch looking like she was balancing on one butt cheek while Meri kept trying to pull her size XS navy LuLaNo jacket over her shirt, as one does when one is inside one's house.  And if it's not that, it's them meeting up on someone's snow-covered driveway while one of them is dressed for summer and wondering why it's so cold.

It was a hilarious dichotomy between Janelle and Christine talking semi-naturally while enjoying nachos, and Robyn and Meri who looked like two cantaloupes trying to have a conversation.

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

Jill's Make Your Life Count Magazine, Issue #1

 

How to find the very most modest hoodie blouses on a budget - or even for free!! (styling tips included)

Eyebrows 101: Bringing back the '80's one daughter at a time!

White chocolate wafer meal ideas - not just for melting anymore!!

Our National Parks and Monuments - where we've been, what we've climbed!

Social Media tips and tricks - filtering, posing, and makeup that will get you noticed while remaining demure and holy!!  Bonus: how to take video of your entire church's congregation without getting in trouble, hahahaha!!

Care and Feeding of Husbands - how to keep him dipping up for more!!

 

Annual subscriptions only - $149.95 for one year.  Issued monthly.  Sometimes we might skip a month.  No refunds!!

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

Who is printing this rag magazine?  Hunk only knows how to do tracts.  The boys have been speed-trained to feed those tracts through the big ancient noisy machines without losing any fingers.  Are they capable of learning how to handle full-sized magazine pages of Jill posing without sticking a staple through her head?

[S18.E07: Throwing in the Towel]

On 10/2/2023 at 4:00 AM, Yeah No said:

I also think she realizes that it was HIM that sold her the bill of goods about the "happy family" to get her to want to marry him, but she hasn't admitted that publicly.  When she says she feels "tricked", who is tricking her?  She is quick to blame the other wives for that, but it's really HIM that tricked her.  Either she is in denial about that or unwilling to admit it and shifting the blame to the other wives.

Loved your entire post but this is a very interesting take.  I have zero tolerance for Robyn and her constant sob-stories about how she's the real victim in all of this family drama, but if your thought is true, this puts her in a bizarre situation.  If she's of the mind that Kody tricked her, and he was her ticket out of single motherhood, then she might feel like she absolutely cannot blame him for it - she HAS to blame the other wives.  If she confronted him about it, she potentially ends up just like the OG3, with a very part-time husband and a father who takes out his anger on the kids of whatever wife he's currently the most pissed-off with - she's watched it happen over and over again.

She might just be well and truly f****** being married to Kody Brown, but wow, are they two peas in a pod.  She's certainly not helping in any way to heal this family, and now she gets Mr. Ragey-Eyes all to herself.

 

21 hours ago, SongbirdHollow said:

Christine was a leeetle too gleeful about Janelle’s separation. 

I love her glee.  I always thought she was the least likely OG wife to leave.  The fact that she clearly got some therapy to deal with her husband's raging narcissism and left him first is quite the surprise.  Watching the show where it is (early '22, maybe?), she's extricated herself from most of the tangled Brown family web and feeling fine.  Now, she gets to watch as the other wives take a look at their own lives and find out for themselves if they'd be better off with Kody.  It's like Christine did the really hard thing first and came out spectacularly on the other side - now she can watch Janelle do the same.

 

9 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

Meanwhile, Janelle wants a sign from God to know that leaving Kody is the right thing to do, and that He would be alright with it.  God has been giving you signs for a long time Janelle, in the form of Kody. You just have been ignoring them.

THIS!!

 

I would also prefer keeping Sol and Ari off my screen.  Sol seems very well-spoken and smart for his age, but I can't help feeling like he isn't comfortable being interviewed - maybe I just feel bad for him.  I had to rewind Ari's portion three times and I still don't know what she was saying, but I gave up.  Leave the Tenders out of it, I'm sure they have plenty to deal with just living in that house with all that drama and dysfunction.  They don't need to sit there recounting past events and trying to make sense out of it.

[S18.E06: The Understatement of the Year]

20 hours ago, Roslyn said:

After the Christmas story of Kody showering Christine with Christmas presents while Meri sits quietly with nothing...I am more convinced that Kody brought Christine in to 1.) Stick it to Meri and 2.) take Meri's focus off of Janelle. He is only angry that she left him because she had always sucked it up for the family before and she played him financially and won.

So, let's tally this up, shall we?

Kody married Meri because she was a blank slate wallflower who was rilly into him, and that fed his ego.

He married Janelle because she had a "vision" or something that she belonged with him and that further fed his ego.

He married Christine because she was plyg royalty even though he couldn't stand the sight of her, but needed someone - ANYONE - to get in there and keep Meri and Janelle from ripping each other's throats out.  Also Christine rilly had the hots for the Kodester and an ego, once fed, demands more.

He married Robyn on Meri's suggestion, and was like - whoa.  Skinny.  Cute.  Adores me.  A damsel in distress.  A place I can escape to when the Big Three are driving me insane.  Cool!  Also, a free wedding and honeymoon from TLC!

I will always think that Kody married the first three because they wanted him, proving to those high school doubters what a desirable manly-man he was, not necessarily because he was called to practice polygamy or was actually in love with them as much as he was with himself.  It just so happened that his parents joined a faith that feeds the kind of ego Kody has.

Then he had a bunch of littles who also adored him.  But it's clear that once any member of his family gets past that adoration stage and starts to see who he rilly is, he's got no more use for those people.  In the end, he will be stuck with Robyn, Aurora and Ariabelliobla.

 

[Season 25 Live Feeds Discussion]

Is it too much to ask that AG & Co. learned from Beast Mode Stalker and made some changes to............yeah, never mind.