KateHearts

You are assuming that Lana is a real person. As many have said, she is likely a composite of a bunch of people who sit at computers and answer desperate men who want to chat with a Ukrainian woman. How the men interpret it is their issue; but let's face it. There is NO woman out there named Lana who needs to be afraid that David is "stalking" her. She doesn't exist, her purported address is fake, she is fake. You can't stalk a fake person and a fake person doesn't need to fear someone is going to knock on her door.

There we go.

Taylor was definitely in this for her five minutes of fame. But I am sure there are lots of clauses in the contract they all sign about filming behavior, camera-time expectations, etc. He decided at some time to put up his middle finger to production and the fact that he agreed to play this out on television. As in any reality show, I am sure there are moments that the cast is annoyed, feels invaded, gets fed up. Well, reality shows aren't a new concept. If he isn't into that he shouldn't have agreed to do it. As for his job, he's in sales. Salespeople do well when they are engaging, personable, flexible, agreeable. He is none of the above. If he were representing my brand (remember when he described himself as "Mr Personality"?) I would think long and hard about having him as my sales guy. I'm sure there are plenty of moody, petulant, volatile sales reps out there- but that he can't contain his outbursts would not sit well in that line of business.

On a superficial note: -Meka has a great figure and looked amazing -Dr. V has the gummiest smile I've ever seen -Mindy looked wonderful. I don't think she's too skinny and I am glad she stuck with what is obviously a style she is comfortable with -Pepper looked a little bedraggled.

So again we have the long, drawn-out, commercial-spiked decisions. I think everyone knew where it was going. My quick takeaways from all of this: Taylor and Brandon: Brandon is a smug, manipulative ass who just won't bow out gracefully. Just has to put a monkey wrench into everything to prove he has the "upper hand." Going to the bathroom during taping? He's really weird. Good riddance. I DO think the "experts" did not call Taylor out on some of her own bullshit, though. Don't complain on social media and then noodle with the guy on the couch. Jess and Austin: predictable and formulaic. Meka and Michael: he is another manipulative liar. He can't keep blaming his childhood for the fact that he can't be straightforward about ANYTHING. And the ending where he's all sad? His nonsense comments about how hard he was working? Go away. Meka is a smart girl who has shown she can be fun. He just brought out the worst in her. She will be fine. He, on the other hand, needs intensive therapy. Katie and Derek: Ugh. She was so into having the "upper hand," talking about how she is missing the passion and blah blah blah. I don't think they will last. Derek doesn't realize that there are lots of other women out there who will accept him as he is and consider him an equal, not just someone who constantly needs to jump through hoops to keep them happy. Mindy and Zach: I just wanted to punch his smug, smirking face right through my TV screen. I did enjoy how, as he babbled on and on in his usual nonsensical way, the editors panned to the "experts" as they shifted in their chairs, exhibited puzzled faces, rubbed their noses, etc. I just WISH they would have said "Zach, you are really just a total bullshitter and we are happy that Mindy got out when she did." He is awful. Mindy didn't need to tell him he is good husband material. He is not.

I would buy this if she really had made an effort- ANY effort- to try the 1200 calorie diet; I don't think she gave it one single day. The other thing is that, as he said, when one is in a caloric deficit, the body can burn fat for energy (which she has plenty of). Thus his speech about "4 years worth" on her body (which she took to mean "you don't need to eat for 4 years." But 1200 calories, while MUCH less than she was used to consuming, is enough to sustain her as long as she starts using her fat stores for any other needed calories to sustain her activity.

I had high hopes for this woman- for the first segment. She had decent clothes, she walks, she wore shoes, she had a cute child to motivate her, she had supportive family and friends. That went downhill really fast. I am stymied by the excuses such as "I haven't had time to start the diet;" (you have to eat, how about just eating something on the "allowed list"?); "my daughter has needed breathing treatments so she's my priority right now;" (but you still have to consider your nutrition so just make better choices); "I'm not eating."

There's something hard-looking about Christine in the couch sessions I can't put my finger on. I think it's because she is naturally very fair and she's gone more dark on the makeup, which has aged her. In old episodes, she has very light brows/lashes but now they are drawn in darkly and she looks much more aged than she has in the past. I am impressed with most of the Brown sons- especially Janelle's boys. Say what you want about her being a slug; at least she has had legitimate jobs along the way and I think she has instilled a work ethic in them that overall is not a Brown attribute. I sensed a little bit of panic in Kody as he narrated his "check in" with Gabe ("I run to the houses and count to make sure none of the kids are missing", more like). He rather nervously explains that he was more of a social/schmoozy guy and "my kids are smart." I think he's seeing that pretty soon they will be putting two and two together and won't be worshiping at the Altar of Kody anymore. A few of them have already gotten there. I stopped watching as Maddie's water broke because it was late and I just couldn't wrap up my peaceful weekend listening to her scream in labor. I guess that's all they had to put out there for their season finale- in addition to Robyn whinging about how being polygamists makes getting a mortgage so harrrrddd (because, victimization), there was pretty much nothing this episode.

In my eyes, he does. Because he was not honest with her as they were building the relationship. A lie of omission is a lie. And this was a big big thing. Not like "oh, I hate anchovies."

In the intro episode, I wanted to like Ed. He's a guy with a genetic anomaly; thus, he's weird-looking. But he works a couple of jobs, has a cute dog, rides a scooter, has a great relationship with his mom! But he is helplessly ignorant and naive and it's starting to become obvious that he's been incredibly sheltered his entire life. He didn't google what life is like in Rose's hometown? He didn't think that he might not have his ultra-luxe sheets and air conditioning? At this point I feel like he's just embarrassing himself by his complete inability to adapt to ANYTHING- even walking in mud. He makes big horrible baby faces, he complains in hugely exaggerated terms ("sleeping at Rose's was the worst night of my life!") and thinks he is being debonair by doing creepy things to a very young woman who he barely knows like rubbing her feet. He also insults her family by acting repulsed by everything they have (pig farm, bucket shower, etc) and making no bones about letting them know it ("I'm going to make hotel reservations as soon as I can to get out of here.") He's horrible. As for Steph/Erica, I think Stephanie uses her illness any time she feels cornered or called out. And he kept accusing Erica of "making her feel" pressured/persecuted/whatever because it's such a convenient excuse. I think she thought bisexuality was a fun avenue to explore, presented herself as a fun-loving wild girl, and then was way over her head when Rainbow Girl was herself. I'm glad Erica called her out and I didn't have any sympathy for her crocodile tears. She should just go home and go back to her phony YouTube personality.

Kody has a business? I haven't heard mention of it since about season 3 when he got a "bonus" convertible from his job to drive his wives on dates with.

Watching him, he has so many "tells" of a liar- the avoidance of eye contact, touching his face, etc.

If I look up "wet blanket" in the dictionary I think Michael's face would appear. He is so expressionless, flat, and dull. The "apple picking excursion" was painful. He was not interacting AT ALL. And he will not make eye contact. I just don't understand his insistence (in words taken from a self-help book) in making the relationship work. There is, in fact, no relationship. Katie obviously feels she is totally running the ship. As if it's up to HER to decide whether they will stay together. She can criticize him (he's a BOY!), she can always expect that if they fight HE will apologize, and she will always keep score while he continues to scramble to try and please her. As someone whose husband has traveled extensively in our 36 years of marriage, I can honestly say that Jessica is making a mountain out of a molehill- whether for the cameras or in reality. It's not the end of the world. I get that Austin is tired of talking about it. He's not being sent on a secret spy mission with no communications for a year. All the theatrics of Taylor's friends had me rolling my eyes. It's like they were all auditioning. How many times do we need to hear "leap of faith" or "it's a big decision"?

Was this played out on the show? Anyone know what the falling out was about? The worst is when it goes another step further and becomes "Kody and I's relationship .." And on some other shows the prevailing painful error is "me and my mom are headed to Houston."

I tried to watch the first episode of a show on Netflix called One man three wives (or something like that). The wives were all in the bedroom with one who was delivering a baby; one of them was lying in the bed with her and caressing her face. In another scene there was a wife and a prospective wife on a bed together holding hands. Very odd.

UGH, yes. I have stated here before that their entire existence and reason for all their actions is based on their perceived victimization. That has become their knee-jerk excuse for everything they do(especially the stupid decisions like moving in the middle of the night). I just finished reading Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer (sp?) It explains very well how this mindset prevails.

My jaw dropped when he said (I'm paraphrasing) that he doesn't really want anything to do with her but he has a "moral obligation." In their religion that translates into being more God-like/closer to God. The fundamentalist Mormons believe (and I heard Meri say this as well) that a man having many wives brings them all "closer to God." For the most part, what Kody says was a bunch of word salad but I did extrapolate that he felt like he got ripped off because Meri isn't what she presented to be (I don't know many people who don't change throughout 20+ years together, esp when they started out together as teenagers); she is too defensive and he's sick of trying; and he's resistant to trying to fix anything. Way to be a pseudo-husband. I can't understand for the life of me that the "only other option" for Robyn is a house halfway to Sedona. She says this pulling her usual constipated face. So because she absolutely must have 100 bedrooms, there cannot be a compromise of, say, having a little bit of a smaller house? And apparently, this season, no episode is complete without some sort of u-haul activity, a complaint by Kody about how hard it is to be "needed" by so many people; some education about labor and its terms (and a lot of predictions about when a baby will arrive, which all mean nothing); Meri discussing her "walls;" a tearful plea to God for a rental; and Christine gazing adoringly at Kody on the couch.

He is a photographer (shown in his intro episode) and an interior designer, which he mentioned in the same episode. Is there anything else? And speaking of Ed, his whole way of speaking to Rosemarie is just... creepy, in part because it's so parental. "Take your robe off, please" sent true shivers down my spine. And when they woke up in the morning, his singsong "good morrrning... you look so pretty" sounded like a dad saying to his four year old, "time to get up for daycare!!" Just ick. And he has expressed over-the-top emotions several times now: "I'm dying and I need air conditioning," and "there are exposed wires; I'm scared." C'mon Ed; your friend told you flat out what to expect. You really are surprised at the conditions there?

Oh, but in his interview episodes he described himself as "Mr. Life of the Party!!"

What I found disturbing was Brandon's body language, in-your-face dares, the "yeah try to come at me" and his repeating of phrases over and over again ("don't touch me; don't touch me; don't touch me") that seemed to show that he has anger (normal) that he can't express well or handle in a way that isn't either self-destructive or threatening towards others. He was almost wanting the crew to start a fight. And if he's not right there in the face of who he's angry with, he sulks and retreats.

I thought the whole "stolen golf cart" and paddleboat scene was completely cringe-worthy. I think Derek is a good guy but his over-the-top act of trying to be the "bad boy," while actually saying "yeah, I'm a bad boy" made him look stupid and desperate. And all the video of the two of them doing their "daring" activities as if they were reinventing the wheel was just stupid.

The entire scene at dinner where Katie was making faces, rolling her eyes, and left the table (not once but TWICE) reminded me of a couple we knew in college who ruined every party by having a big fight which usually resulted in her running off dramatically while crying hysterically, expecting others to rush after her and comfort her, and him standing there while everyone else just felt awkward. And I did say in college. Katie is young but if she wants to be married and expects Derek to treat her well she needs to do a lot of growing up. Her scene with all the girls rushing around and her exclamation "HE DOES NOTHING!" was just over the top and stupid.

But they did pair mixed-race couples. Davina and the nurse guy. And the black man with the woman of Indian descent with a criminal record. I think she's one of those people who is so into "I am of value" that she takes it two steps further as "I am more valuable than anyone else." I think a lot of people can misinterpret the idea of self-worth, prioritizing oneself and one's mental health that they are chronically defensive, seeking offenses that aren't really there, and demanding to be treated respectfully even when they don't act respectful themselves.

Let's be fair though; she was 90. I think it's a stretch to blame medications- or doctors- or even the daughter- for the fact that she died at 90 (91?) On another note, was there ever a lot of pink in their house? It reminded me of Gypsy Rose Blanchard's house in Mommy Dead and Dearest. I also was a little put off by the weird comic faces on car seat covers. No way could I face that every time I got in my car. In the early bio segments, she was markedly heavy even as a toddler and small child. That, and to have tiny little houses.

I'm 30 minutes in and so far, Megan has a lot of plusses in my book: She's articulate She's clean She's nice to her mother She has a little insight into her abuse of food and how it is affecting her health and her aspirations She HAS aspirations She wears shoes She has nice hair She is pleasant. I hope she doesn't let me down.