KateHearts

I know there's a lot of Christine love and "rah rah; you stood up to the beast!" but I got a little irked at her conversation with Truely about the move. She had on her Christine emotional face and was using her soft, reflective voice a little bit too much (I did notice how much Mykelti sounds like her mother when she is talking about fillings and serious topics). The whole "what do you think? How do you feel? Are you ok?" was heavy-handed and it's the kind of mom-talk that makes pre-adolescents and older massively uncomfortable and tends to clam them up. Not to mention there was a cameraman (or -men) standing three feet from Truely's face. She seems like a wise and introspective 11-year old and I'm sure it didn't get past her that her being the pawn in the "marriage" dissolution makes for some great television. I gathered that Ari's little outburst regarding "Dating" was due to the fact that her parents go on "dates," as others have mentioned; not that Christine should "date" other men. She obviously has her ears tuned in when Robyn and Kody are having their discussions about the other wives (which, Robyn has told us, don't occur because they all stay out of each others' marriages. Sure, Jan). Meri and her smug, snarky face is getting old to me. Either she realizes that her hypocrisy is showing or she really thinks that Christine is a bad person for finally leaving. We all know what Meri was thinking a few seasons back. She is probably pissed that Christine had the guts to do what she can't and won't (and I'm sure most of the reason Meri "stays" is for TLC $$), and thinks it makes her look righteous and holy for sticking it out (although "it" is a non-relationship with Kody) rather than admitting that she was in Christine's shoes years ago and made another choice.

A few random observations: -who remembers way back when, the episode where Meri chastises Mykelti for wearing something "too revealing," and making her go to her room and change? Did you catch a look at the shorts on Gwendlyn? -body language 101: Robyn and her brood stand with icy stares and crossed arms while others are trying to say goodbye to Christine. Also, the minute they arrive, Kody threatens to leave because it's about to rain. At the end he says "we're outta here." His lame gestures to poor Truely were not lost on the audience. He barely hugged her and gave her a limp promise to "video chat." -Robyn during the clips from last week's porch discussion to Christine: "well, you guys don't communicate; so I don't know how what you are saying is true." HOW DOES SHE GET OFF claiming to know the state of communication between another sister wife and Kody? Weren't we told over and over through this series that sister wives don't want to know or get involved in the others' relationships with "the man"? She is so full of shit. Not to be superficial, but Janelle has the oddest body shape ever. She is like several tires stacked in the middle with tiny legs down below. That said, right now I like her best.

My take on why Kody/Robyn don't give a lot of grief to Janelle (who seems to have really seen the light, between Kody's mistreatment of her kids, his unrealistic and bendable Covid "protoculls", and his open scorn of her living in a trailer in the hopes of building her permanent home) is that she, especially in the early years, had a meaningful job and contributed a lot to the family bank account. She also worked, if I recall, as an accountant so she is probably the only one of all these knuckleheads who has a clue about keeping the books balanced and where their money actually goes. Her mistake was in thinking that Kody would treat her equitably when push came to shove and she wanted to take out a portion of what is rightfully hers. Kody seems to be one of those guys who *thinks* he's in great shape financially, when all he does in truth is rob Peter to pay Paul; taking out second and third mortgages on homes, probably extending lines of credit and opening credit card accounts that pay off others with higher rates, etc. In fact, I think I read that he has borrowed against Robyn's house (the midieval castle) more than once and there was talk (speculation?) that perhaps one of the reasons he felt compelled to flee LV a few years back was that they mortgaged the cul-de-sac homes with adjustable rate mortgages and that they were facing balloon payments. I know people who live like that (gives me agita to even think about it) but I think it's more common than we realize. And now, with Christine leaving and Janelle feeling that she doesn't need these clowns in her life anymore, the prospect of not having a TV show is making K&R quake in their boots and therefore they are "upset and angry." Drives me crazy to hear Kooky rant on about how Christine "SUDDENLY" walks out and "WON'T EVEN WORK ON THE RELATIONSHIP." We've been hearing for at least 3 seasons, ON CAMERA, Christine expressing her loneliness in the marriage and her desire to fix it - along with Kody's admission that he wasn't and isn't attracted to her. He needs to go back and watch the recordings. He also completely twisted her assertion that she was "all about the man and not the family!!!" For probably 8 seasons, her opening blurb was "I didn't want just the man; I wanted the family." I guess that having 6 of his children, raising them as well as another woman's 6, cooking/cleaning/staying home with those children, and keeping her mouth shut doesn't account for any "family" commitment, huh, Kodes? The hugging and sobbing that Robyn and Meri put on for the cameras was ridiculous. Unless they were whispering to each other, "what happens when TLC drops us? Can we sell enough leggings to make ends meet? Will I have to fire the nanny? Are trips to Victoria's Secret out of the question now? Ohh, woe is meeee!"

Although I don't doubt (after watching Kody's beady-eyed rants on the show) that he is unpleasant to be around, I would guess that Robyn prefers the camera crew to only shoot her with the other wives or in talking heads because she needs to continue to uphold her absurd Covid protoculls to keep everyone away from them. Or, maybe that she has hoarded her house to the brim with Precious Moments figurines and Medieval Times furniture, and the crew no longer fits inside.

I don't remember this; can someone elaborate?

Meow; boy, did the talons come out on Meri's porch! Meri is "angry" that, to paraphrase, Christine just "suddenly, one day decides to ABANDON THE FAMILY." The conversation between Meri and Robyn, as usual, was a whole lot of nothing other than them deciding that Janelle and Christine are no-gooders. Robyn didn't want "romantic love" but rather the sister-wives experience? Sure, Jan. I think the unspoken concern is: "what happens to our bank accounts if the show fizzles now?" Kody continues to gaslight: Christine, who he is ATTACHED TO (suddenly), wasn't loved by him because she basically was selfish and wanted to take without giving (I guess raising 15 or so kids didn't count). He isn't close with his kids and won't travel to NC for Ysabel because her mother is toxic and he refuses to ride in a car with her. Ysabel is my favorite; she is kind and sweet and has the grace and manners to make gentle excuses for her father's distance from her life- "he has kids here and yeah, there's still Covid around." I'm sure there have been many conversations between Christine and her children about Kody's alloof attitude and favoritism towards Robyn's kids. And that's ok- they are all mature and aware enough to miss and mourn a close relationship with their father. It doesn't constitute bashing him for her to acknowledge their sadness and loss.

I thought the "reunion" with Yara's mother seemed very stilted and they looked as if they were smirking a bit- total reenactment IMO.

True; still, we can't compare her interactions with them with how she could be with a baby.

Not my point at all. Meeting and bonding with kids at adolescence makes bonding and love much harder to achieve compared to bearing (or adopting) a child at birth. So her appearing "cold" with Bilal's kids (who seem somewhat reticent to get to know her as well) is not necessarily a determinant of how she would act with a child she would care for from birth. From what I recall, the same actress was used for both. In the "ugly" scenes, such as Jerry's shadowy front door, it looked as if she made herself appear to have buck teeth, had a sad expression, and they created bags under her eyes.

Eh, trying to relate to (and being pushed very early on to "play with") adolescent/teen kids isn't an indicator as to how she would do as a mother. I think she does want a baby- you can't equate the two at all. As for Bilal, he is so flat and non-reactive, I just want to shake him. Obviously, he is not interested in having a baby with her and is looking for any, ANY out. He almost seems smugly satisfied that her eggs are dwindling: "oh well... we looked into it; likely no baby for us. Sorry!" Angela is psycho. She really, really believes that she "deserves" love; she convinces herself that this was true love and that she put her heart and soul into the relationship; next minute she is vandalizing his car and screaming at him to "apologize!!!!" and give her his phone. I don't doubt that he is communicating with women, but who can blame the guy? And she uses the classic excuse, "I love him and I want to work this out, but he MAKES THE ANGER COME OUT IN ME." Libby has one of those faces (remember the Seinfeld episode?) that can look pretty in one shot and oddly unattractive in others. In her THs she has a puffy look with plastic-like hair and a double chin. Her car shots make her look pretty. Ed and Liz argue like junior-high kids and are nothing but painful to watch. I can't stand him and for her to be 29 and twice-divorced tells us multitudes. Hurling insults, fighting drunk and trying to have the last word ("you're drunk. Just go to bed") makes me so uncomfortable. The fact that he can "break up" with her 9 times or whatever the number is shows his level of maturity.

However, they have mortgages, loans on their lots, tons of property tax, numerous cars, rental properties, kids in college. I don't think it adds up- I think Kody is in the game of "robbing Peter to pay Paul"- borrowing against a heavily mortgaged house to pay for yet another rental or house, etc. Otherwise, I would bet that he would be starting construction on the dream compound he envisions- despite the fact that one wife has left, the other is doing her own thing and he's encouraging another to move back to Utah. Leggings and energy drinks just don't bring that much income. Even with the dependents down to a handful, life is expensive. Utilities on at least 3 properties, etc- adds up quickly.

Kody, in his evolving "stages of grief," is now in the anger stage. Ohh, the gaslighting this episode: "Christine has her kids' ear all the time and she makes me out to be the bad guy. I don't have their ears all the time [BECAUSE YOU ARE NEVER THERE] so it's not MY fault that I don't have a close relationship with all my kids! Their mother poisons them against me!" And then there is: "I can't stay away too long [from Robyn's house] because PEOPLE DEPEND ON ME!!!" However, didn't we hear that Kody is away from her house a lot of the time? Hmm, what, exactly, is he doing during the waking hours of the day? We never hear about a job, an office, meetings, "work obligations." But yes, the PEOPLE who depend on him are his wife, her three teenaged and above-aged children, their two younger children who have a NANNY. Does not add up. I don't understand how a polygamist divorces his/her spouse when the law doesn't recognize them as legally married. Why all the theatrics? Yes, Kody has children with Christine; she could get child support (I'm assuming) but certainly there won't be any "divorce agreement" drawn up when they were only spiritually married. Very interesting that Christine is talking about not being a member of the Mormon Church any longer (side note: for several years now, they don't refer to themselves as "Mormons" or the church as the "Mormon Church" but rather that they are members of the Church of Latter Day Saints or the LDS Church; she has been separated from the faith, seemingly, for quite some time). Makes sense that she is questioning it all at this point. Do you remember when the family used to have "church friends;" conducted prayer in their homes, prayed for guidance with tough issues? That's all gone by the wayside now. The wives used to wear long sleeves under their t-shirts and longer skirts; now they all swear like sailors and trowel on the makeup. Kody shouldn't be surprised that his idea of being the patriarch of his doting family with the wives simpering behind him and meekly following his orders has been dead for years now.

It's amusing to me that Kody just acts like he has endless money to throw up a couple of extra houses as "rental property" which he presumes will provide income; yet he doesn't seem to take into account that building a house, paying taxes on it, keeping it up, providing uitilities- are EXPENSES. I'm sure he hasn't done any math or anything to see if all of those expenses would be offset by rental income (who wants to go live on the Brown compound as tenants? Anyone?)

I disagree. I have noted that the Browns are NOT the best at maintaining/fixing up properties- I remember vividly pictures from after they "fled" the Lehi house of filthy, raveling carpets, holes in walls, and general disrepair. They seemed to leave a lot of crap behind when they left their Vegas properties as well. And now, watching the scenes (especially of Janelle's rental and Christine's house) in Flagstaff, I see weedy and overgrown lawns, dirty old carpeting, and general poorly-kept properties. I know it's not a popular opinion, but I kinda give Janelle props for doing her thing. She supported them financially for years, didn't want "stuff" like Robyn's Victoria's Secret lingerie stash, Meri's giant houses for 1-2 people, or private college education for her kids. She preferred tent camping to fancy vacations and pretty much wanted to be left to lounge on her couch and be with her children. Now three years into this Coyote Pass venture, which she went along with, she has to either buy and fix up a house that she admitted was a deal BECAUSE it was in disrepair (and which is not her end-goal anyway) or do something to potentially get her to her goal of living on that lot- and why not do what she always thought would be fun anyway (live in a trailer)? RVs are costly but they do resell and I think hers was used (they said that, although the pictures looked like it was pretty new). I think this is her way of saying "Kody, I won't further damage your fragile ego by leaving- but I'm doing whatever the hell I want because I'm sick of you blathering on about the Prairie Poop houses while doing not a thing. So I'm gonna live there; I've made my choice and here's my middle finger." Meanwhile, notice how Kody says "WE'RE moving; WE'RE going to live in an RV..." when there is not a sighting of him while she and her kids are busily piling boxes into trucks? (BTW, what do we think this family is spending monthly on storage units?) Then, because you know, Janelle now has a "tiny kitchen, a tiny bathroom..." he conveniently says "why should I stay there?" (and just holding back from saying, "when I can live in the lap of luxury at Robyn's house?") Robyn showed a little more of her fangs this episode with the comments about not needing a truck, "people" not seeing what is happening to this wonderful family (who manage to pull it together a couple times a year to throw a televised party), and sneering at Janelle's choice of living in a 5th wheel. Honestly, I'd choose that over Robyn's Midieval Times furniture and scary Precious Moments figurines. Also, she can shut up about Ari and Sol hearing the news about Christine and being "sad. So, so sad." How often did they see her during the previous year plus due to Kody's "Covid-19 protoculls"? Never, perhaps? Meri is pathetic at this point, obviously feeling alone and wondering how she, who "started this family" is now being essentially told she can ~shoo~ go away now.

I have seen 3 charcuterie boards so far this episode.

I dunno; a husband who is portrayed as in the montage on this episode (wife's lackey, lets her boss him around endlessly while she constantly guzzles slushies and runs her through drive-thrus; seems not to care that she says horrible things about people and then lies about it) seems to be too much of a pushover, no matter how cute he is. Looks like Meredith fixed her face. It was looking a little strokey last season with her frozen lips. And the armor-like chest seems to have relaxed. Speaking of chests, Jen let her boobs/nipples go out on full display in that spa pool! Yikes. I did find the LDS information helpful- I live in Utah but didn't know some of the strict regulations (i.e., you have to "ask" to leave the church and have your name stricken out of "the book"-?) and how devastating it could be to family/relationships. I am pretty new here and can say that most of the LDS people here I've met have been wonderful but it is apparent that their church is first and foremost and their beliefs are very strong. I wish there were more fun/interesting husbands on this show. I can't stand Seth, I think Whitney's husband is a snooze and John, as I said, is too much of a pushover. It's kind of sad that they constantly portray Heather as a thirsty single woman who brazenly solicits men she meets at random social events.

I have. What a huge change. In the beginning they all wore modest clothing, were soft-spoken and respectful, and heaven knows they didn't swear. Kody has become a scowling, angry, volatile and bitter man. In season 1 they welcomed a (much less worn-down looking) Robyn with open arms. The cracks started to appear a couple of seasons in.

I think one thing we kind of forget here is that not everyone's needs are the same. Janelle comes off as being a bit lazy and complacent; but let's remember that she worked and provided a lot of monetary support for the family in the early years, she birthed 6 kids who all, for the most part, are responsible and productive adults, and if she seems to be "settling" at this point, I can't necessarily blame her. She seems to put her kids first, and although she admits she isn't super touchy-feely or emotional, I can see it bothers her that Kody is stooping to a childish level when dealing w G&G and clearly is being unkind to them. As for her needing more- perhaps, but also there are many people who are more introverted, who are content to sit and read and cook, and spend their free time with their children. There are also plenty of people who don't need a lot of direct, one-on-one spouse time and care very little about sex. She strikes me as that type.

My observations: -Krystin has a beautiful figure. I like that she is self-aware enough to realize that although it takes effort to make a marriage work, she may have gone a bit too far to accommodate Mitch, especially after he told her very early on he wasn't attracted. -Mitch is so not my type. Must he use every situation to point out his self-righteous views on the environment (the "Green New Deal" t-shirt was a bit much)? -I really think Binh might be a bit on the spectrum: his focused obsession on money; along with his profound evident confusion/befuddlement on Morgan being mad and how to communicate; his constant repetition of words while looking as if he really isn't aware of what he's saying (just like last week: "I talked behind her back and lied to her face," which was verbatim what SHE had said) -Morgan is all about having the last word, having control, having the upper hand, being a victim. She has some issues. Her dramatic "I just don't feel comfortable reading my letter!" was not unexpected, but worthy of many eyerolls. -just me, but I can't stand the constant "baby, baby, babe" stuff that Alexis and Justin do. Especially when they are arguing. "So BABE, just ask me if I'm upset, don't ask how I'm doing" (huh?); "you doing ok, babeh?" ecch. Also, Alexis sometimes talks circles about what she is expecting so I can understand why Justin so often has a blank look on his face.

Did anyone say that??!

That's what I was referring to- domestic flights. Angela said she hadn't seen Mahkull in two years so I'd assume if she was traveling, it would be domestically. (And no, I did not need vaccine papers nor testing to fly within the US during COVID.)

Many of us have done it as parents; as grandparents it's very different. I adore my (3) granddaughters, all under the age of 4. At this age, it's a matter of keeping them alive and making sure they aren't doing something that will result in injury, a meltdown or a huge mess. Last time I had all 3 I'd get caught up in chasing after 1 or 2 only to remember I had to check on the baby. It is very different! Some observations from this episode: Ed is a "fer-tographer," he did "fer-tography" for 15 years. But he can't pronounce the word. He also goes "potty" and rewards his dog for peeing in the house. He is so unlikable, and therefore I find his relationship with Liz to be fake and purely for TV bucks. It's amazing how people will humiliate themselves for the TLC paycheck. Kimbaallee, you are not in junior high so you need to stop with the ripped jeans, fangirl t-shirts, matching bracelets, nicknames for genitalia and little drink-throwing rages (another one forthcoming!). To top it off, you are one of those obnoxious women who love to carry on about how FIERCELY INDEPENDENT you are; how no man is going to tell YOU what to do, and jut out your chin in defiance when your Nigerian "boyfriend" talks about a future wife #2, which you agreed to in order to hang on to your fantasy about being a fan-turned-wife of a supposed "rap star." And another thing. We really don't need you to refer to him EVERY TIME you say his name, as "Usman, AKA Soja Boy." So, so cringeworthy. I understand where Yara's coming from regarding grandparents; however, she likely came from a family where Granny lived next door and extended families were all near one another. That's a far cry from living hours away from Gwen (and that was Yara's choice, as you recall- she picked that apartment precisely because she wanted to be far from the city and Jovi's insatiable appetite for nightclubs, strip joints and unlimited alcohol). Suburbs are not cities; she can't expect to have a flourishing social life if she is isolated and she can't expect Grandma to avail herself when she is hours away. I live 5 minutes from 3 of my grandchildren and still am not expected to be there for them at any waking minute. If I were in Gwen's shoes I would likely plan a visit for several days during Jovi's travel weeks. And, as others have said, Yara can certainly reach out to other moms in her apartment complex, join a mommy and me class, etc. I think a lot of this was just TV drama. Angela is just gross and riding this train as long as she can. And she should know that lawyers charge a lot of money for consultations and think carefully about asking for (non-legal) "advice" about missing phone sex or worrying that Michael isn't asking to look at her boobs via FaceTime. For F's sake. Jenny really, really could use a neck lift. I hate to sound catty, but they film her from the most unflattering angles. I laughed out loud at the preview during which Sumit says "Jenny wants to live the retirement life but I am still young and productive." Productive how? And please, Jenny- "we can't only see each other one day a week!!!" She seriously acts like she's 12. My husband has traveled weekly for pretty much the entirety of our marriage and I just don't understand why she (and Yara, too, come to think of it) thinks it's a necessity to have a spouse in her presence every single day. People work. People travel for work. Honestly, it's like they are so insecure that they can't bear being alone, ever. When my kids were small and he was away during the week, we had breakfast for dinner, I took them on play dates, and I enjoyed having the TV remote to myself in the evenings. It's all about perspective.

I've never been asked for proof of vaccination in order to fly.

My former boss, who immigrated here from India, brought his in-laws here and has cared for them for decades. His father in law has passed away and he still houses, feeds and cares for his elderly mother in law. His parents, however, never recognized his wife as an "acceptable" spouse (they had wanted him to marry someone they had found for an arranged marriage) and to this day, don't communicate nor interact at all with his wife. It is, indeed, a very different culture. My husband worked with an Indian man who had to literally move and "hide" from his family because he declined to marry their spouse of choice for him. He had gone through the initial meeting, etc and decided against marrying the woman, after which all hell broke loose in both families. We also met an Indian couple who had had an arranged marriage. They were truly puzzled that here in the States, we marry for "love." To her, it was a matter of marrying a man who could provide for her and their future children. It was a contract between their families. And they told us that, if there were marital difficulties, they were expected to "work it out;" and if need be, the parents would ensure that would happen. We as Westerners don't understand these huge cultural differences. So in a way, although she is very rude about it, Mama Sumit's position is understandable. (Although smirking and commenting about Jenny's "fat arms," etc is completely unwarranted and vicious. And Daddy Sumit just sat there!) I agree Jenny is beyond dim; however, in her defense (I'm her same age), she was a little young in the 60s to be a "flower child." Our generation grew up in the 70s. I beg your pardon; we are not all dried up hags with no libido in our 60s.

Morgan's over the top behavior when Binh had no idea was cruel and had the maturity of two 7th grade girls having a fight. Dropping the roses, not allowing him to speak, not being specific about what he (allegedly) said to Justin- she doesn't want to make it work; she wants to be an eternal victim and if they were to stay together, would make him grovel every day of his life. Production portrayed her in the most unfavorable light- stomping around in a dress, and punches that were lame at the gym. I don't know about you, but I'm so tired of the stupid music that they play on this show. It's obnoxious. And why, when Krysten was doing karaoke, did they play over it with their own show music and not let us hear her? I realize there are probably copyright issues, etc- but I was actually looking forward to hearing her sing and all we got was a cheesy montage of the MAFS "band" while the video showed them swaying and singing something else. I find Justin to be super immature and unable to navigate a relationship at all. Hence his proclaiming love a mere few days in. And to pair him with a dominieering spouse such as Alexis just seems to bring out his childishness and confusion. While I get Morgan's anger at Binh's talking about their marriage and denying it, I kinda felt bad for him because he (like Justin) seems very unfamiliar with how to manage a relationship and it was written all over his face. And when she asked him to apologize, he would literally parrot back what she said. "You lied multiple times, TO MY FACE." response: "I'm sorry I lied multiple times to your face." The look he had seemed to be of total befuddlement, like "I've got no clue what I'm apologizing for but maybe this will make her feel better." They are most definitely doomed. I think Lindy and Miguel are on the closest track to making it. She might settle down over time (she seems to have decreased the chatter and nervous energy from the wedding day/honeymoon) and he seems like a decent guy. I was kind of hoping that when she saw him in his furry attire role-playing in the woods, she might have an entertaining reaction but we haven't been privy to that yet.