[I Saw The Signs: A Rewatch Thread]

17 hours ago, Natalie68 said:

Aspyn was the tucker inner.  And they never mentioned on the show early on Christine worked at night but she mentioned it later.  So really, she worked harder than anyone.

And the kicker about finding out that Christine was watching the kids and then going to work before their bedtime was that we find out about that only recently...back in the early days this was not mentioned on the show, just that Christine preferred to be the home mom.

And...if memory serves there is a scene early on with Kody going and making a good night rounds with the kids...and him saying that he likes to touch base each night with all of them. So yea...there was quite the blizzard snow job in those first seasons.

[Christine Brown Woolley: Nacho Sister Wife Anymore]

21 hours ago, Kellyee said:

So Gwen was bullied by Paedon, who it appear may have had serious issues and been out of control. Paedon has also admitted on social media that he was rude to Robyn and her kids early on, and he implies that it wasn't really warranted, at least with the kids, who were mostly younger than him.

And now we hear in the last episode that Mykelti apparently had a difficult time with her older siblings as well, which is what led her to become close with Robyn. 

So we know that Kody can't be bothered to parent, but where was Christine in all this? Was it just too many kids for her to take care, so that she didn't have time to pay enough attention or intervene? And they claim that Meri is too harsh, and disciplines too much, but now we are hearing that perhaps a bit more discipline to keep the siblings from bullying each other would have been a good thing. I remember one episode a long time ago where Meri did intervene between some of the siblings when they were on an outing, but I forget the specifics.

Early on there was a couch talking head with the older kids talking about absorbing Robyn's littles. They complained that Brianna was always crying and that they were more tender than the Browns kids. Logan the peacekeeper said that they were just raised differently. Maddie explained that when they were little they were expected to work it out amongst themselves and not bother the adults unless a bone was broken. She said they were also expected to amuse themselves and "be creative". Since she is in the original kid pack of 5/6 that could have gone as they all developed their own pecking order etc or some version of Lord of the Flies.

[The Brown Kids]

A side note to the comments about the kids seeing clips while filming their talking heads.

Gwen was asked in one of her recap videos and she described the couch time as the producers behind the camera would say "do you remember when you did "abc" ? How did that make you feel ? Can you talk about "x" ? etc.

Often it seems like Kody just saw a clip because his anger is so intense...but according to Gwen it is just the producers promoting them to talk about certain things or to explain further.

After hearing Alton Brown describe reality television as "producers poking amateurs with sticks" it does add a new layer watching Sister Wives talking heads.

[S18.E09: Battle Lines are Drawn]

6 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

Also - Meri, Just Jenn and Just Jenn's Husband's comedy routine can take a few seats.  Not sure what we were supposed to get from Jenn showcasing the gap between her husband's shirt and his pants while he stretched up to remove a cabinet.  And what's with Meri asking JJH if he was "jealous" that his wife had a plyg friend?  Who is he supposed to be jealous of?  Meri?  Why?  Certainly not Kody.  I didn't understand a single portion of any of their segments.

Meri and Jenns interactions remind me of my daughters 13th birthday sleepover party. Giggling and more giggling about things only they knew...and more giggling.

[Christine Brown Woolley: Nacho Sister Wife Anymore]

18 hours ago, Cherry Styles said:

Didn't Paedon slap Gwen One time? When they were kids? Is she really that fragile? If he was going around hitting people as an adult, yeah, not good. But as kids, well, siblings do that.  

The approximate time of the hit/slap/smack...what ever it actually was, Gwen was 12/13 and Paedon was 15/16. He was close to his full height which is 6'6" and he is a big guy, easily over 200 pounds.

Gwen doesn't go into details but she made an off hand comment that "it was every day, it was relentless".

Everyone is focusing on the (possibly) one time that his hand made contact with her body. However, her reactions to him to point to more. Paedon comes off to me as a shit stirrer, a winder-upper. The kind of kid/teen that just pokes and pokes and pokes until they get a reaction of some kind. Gwen has really big reactions, she goes from calm to hyper pretty quick so she probably gave him the reactions that he was seeking...making him feel like a big boy by having her lose control of herself. He was seen on camera way back in the honeymoon episode in S1 standing in an aggressive pose over Aurora because she sat in his chair near the fire when he stood up and his finger pointed inches from her nose. Sure...kid stuff, but Logan had zero reaction and told him to just sit in another chair...so it wasn't anything new...standard kid stuff that Daddy Logan dealt with all the time. He was the kid squealing in audio while Kody hit/poked him in the eye in retaliation for Paedon poking Brianna in the eye that led to Meri gathering them all up to give them a "what-for" that the cameras caught.

Christine laughed it off...and that reaction may be why Robyn kept her kids from being watched by Christine, because the bullying wasn't being addressed to her liking. Christine has said that Paedon is her dear, sweet and darling boy...so she may not come down on him as she should have just because he was her only son. Gwen has kinda inferred favoritism to Paedon from Christine. They brought up on camera that Paedon bullied Dayton in the beginning before he accepted him and then they became friends.

I have read over and over about how "its just sibling stuff jeez". Some people grow up and physically fight with their siblings and think it is just how it is and they came out fine as adults...that doesn't mean it is that way in other families at all. Christine knew it was an issue to the point where Paedon and Gwen could not be in the house together if she wasn't there. Gwen has a strong reaction with just hearing his voice and does not want to talk about it to complete strangers who pay her money to "spill the tea". To her it was something else. Something deeply traumatic.

[S18.E09: Battle Lines are Drawn]

2 minutes ago, LotusFlower said:

Good question.  Also, can someone explain the gift exchange thing?  Meaning, how exactly is it done via Zoom?  Coordinating the exchanges?  I’m only asking because I’m trying to figure out how Robyn got involved and how it provoked the fight.  (Gwen’s explanation was confusing to me).  

Way back when they explained since there are so many kids that they pick names for the kids to buy one present for one other child vs each child being responsible for a gift for each of the 18 siblings.

Kinda like all names in a hat and you pull out the sibling you will be buying/making a gift for that year. Garrison said that they have done it that way for 20 years, so that is well before the show began.

The Zoom thing was from Robyn. We really don't know who actually brought up the gift exchange in the group chat because three or four people have been mentioned on the show...so who really knows. However the short version is that when the chatter was going on in the chat group Robyn brought up that she wanted either to have the discussion of the gift exchange or the choosing of the names to be done over Zoom. Seeing that there are 18 siblings...that is a lot of people to line up for a zoom. Robyn's reasoning was because "Ari doesn't know who you guys are..."

It is confusing because we are only getting bits and pieces here and there and trying to piece it all together. But it's apparent that the siblings were just doing what they do...and Robyn came in with a giant wrecking ball with "Victim" written on it and just blew it all up. Then she declared that her part of the family is NOT participating in the whole gift exchange AND she isn't speaking to ANYone anymore (insert a hair flip and a grand flounce) but I guess she didn't say that herself, but had Logan(neutral) and Mykelti(flying monkey) to pass her declaration on to everyone else.

As an add on. Listening to Brianna tell it...it is very obvious that Robyn told them that everyone else is having Christmas without them... when it was the other way round.

[S18.E09: Battle Lines are Drawn]

So. For years and years we have watched this show and listened to their pontificating about how their polygamy was just as wholesome as our lowly monogamy. They did the tap dance and kept the viewers tuned in then... wow. The masks were torn off and the real show began. I feel like we should be seeing Dr. Frank N. Furter appearing before us to break into song.

[Season 18 Live Chat]

Screw him. It's not worth it.

Truer words have not been said about Kody Brown.

[Season 18 Live Chat]

So. Christine forced herself into the family? Like with a shotgun ? Marry me or else !

[Season 18 Live Chat]

Just now, mythoughtis said:

Kody doesn’t love his earlier kids- otherwise he wouldn’t say the crap he says.  

I don't think that Kody can actually love at all. Not real love.

[Season 18 Live Chat]

Just now, altopower said:

Gabe looks to be hurting. He's very quiet.

Yea. Garrison is talking, but you can clearly see the pain on his face. It is very raw with him.

[Season 18 Live Chat]

Listening to the two sides of the story with Robyn's extra input...wow. These people just can NOT communicate at all. Robyn isn't communicating directly to the other women...everything is filtered through Kody's skewed opinions with a twist of Victim Robyn.

[Christine Brown Woolley: Nacho Sister Wife Anymore]

3 minutes ago, Elizzikra said:

I just assumed puberty hadn't fully hit yet and she will have a growth spurt at some point?

Also is Christine particularly tall? Where does the height come from - both Christine and Kody look to me to be average height.

 

On 10/10/2023 at 3:48 PM, Elodia said:

I found a picture on reddit. Almost all the OG kids were there, only Gwen is missing (on the pic, maybe she was there)

Going by the recent wedding photo, and it seems like most of the girls are not in high heels, Truely comes up to Christine's nose. She is 13 and has more growing to do. My husband hit his growth spurt at 12 and grew 12-inches in 12 months, he has paid for it with life long back issues.

I think Ysabel is the tallest daughter, and we know that Paedon is 6'6". It has been mentioned that Christine's father was tall, so she does have a height gene. Her daughters also all have her gorgeous hair gene as well.

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

I love when I can fit a quote from The Office into other interests in my life...

Robyn wanted the Browns with their 12/13 children so that her children "could have 13 friends and none of them could say no to being their friend"...

Robyn wanted the Browns with the three other wives so that she "could have three female friends and none of them could say no to being her friend"...

Robyn wanted Kody and the Browns' teevee show so that she "could shop and shop and no one could say no to paying her bills"...

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

1 hour ago, MamaMax said:

Perhaps I'm fooling myself but I feel like there are moments in the show that I read as "real" and "unscripted." None of them are good actors.  And the moment in the car when Janelle makes it clear on the way to the restaurant that its not "all better" bc he got a rez at a nice place, I thought he visibly shut down.  I do believe he thought this was going to be like all the other times she left - that a cooling off period + a somewhat thoughtful gesture + a night of sex would return him squarely into Janelle's good graces for another few years. Then he would be making R happy by still being "plural" as well as hanging on to J's money.

I think for HER, it was an experiment to see if he would really talk to her about what she needs and wants, and she saw it in the car, that wasn't happening. He was 100% thinking he could manage her per usual and that's when she was like NOPE. 

Yes. He did just that. You can see the spark leave his eyes and he looks directly in the phone camera that is on the dash between them. His game of flirting with Janelle isn't working now.

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

Okay. I am really perplexed. Robyn whinging endlessly about Meri not "leaving" the family. Is she really that thick? It is absolutely cruel to manipulate Meri to believe there might just sorta kinda maybe be a bit of a little spark in Kody that if Meri just keeps hangin on...he might reach out to her. Jesus...what kind of a mind game is that woman playing ?

Is Meri her emotional polygamy support animal ?

[Season 18 Live Chat]

Just now, Cancun said:

The barndominium is where Kody stores his car that he only drives in the summer, and where he stores his wife that he only spends time with…never, I guess?

 

Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve ?

[Mykelti]

3 hours ago, General Days said:

No, not from what Mykelti said, but who knows? She essentially said something like they stay up with her at night, then her mornings are baby-free. I'm not sure if that includes Avalon or not.

lol

I got "child free" time when my kids were little. It was called a bed time. They got tucked in and I got the remote control in my hand and a big bowl of ice cream to celebrate the peace and quiet.

[Robyn Brown: She wanted the family, but got stuck with the man.]

3 hours ago, General Days said:

 

 

Are you talking about the Season 8 episode, "Meri: Behind the Scenes"?

If so, while the episode is not listed on the IMdB Sister Wives Season 8 page, it seems to be available for streaming if you go at it just right. It's just a little tricky.

For example, I subscribe to Discovery+ through my Amazon Prime account. On Amazon's Discovery+ page for Sister Wives season 8, S8 E101: "Robyn - Behind The Scenes" is listed at the end of all the season 8 episode, and Meri's episode isn't there, like so...

 

However, if you click on the "Extras" tab above all the season 8 episodes, it brings you to the Meri episode (and with my subscription, I did not need to pay to play it, despite the "More Purchase Options").

I didn't watch the whole thing, I just tested out whether it would play, so I don't know if it's the episode that features Logan giving Meri the campus tour.

 

 

Similarly, if you have MAX (fka HBO Max), go to Sister Wives Season 8, and then go to Extras. There, you'll find both the "Meri: Behind the Scenes" and "Robyn: Behind the Scenes" episodes. 

 

Bingo!! Thank you. 😁

So. Since I have nothing else to do this afternoon except stir the three gallons of pasta sauce simmering on my stove...I re-watched it.

We were all right in a way. Yes, Meri signed up for two fall classes and then dropped them. AND there was B-roll footage while she was talking that showed Logan and Meri on campus. AND then she said that she signed up for a Spring class and was planning to take one class at a time.

And since this is actually the Robyn thread...I will then mention just how much talking Robyn does on the couch in the "Meri" episode. 🙄

Also...wow. It's such a big difference watching them after these last seasons since the Covid season. Whatever has gone on in their lives off camera has made all of them guarded with those walls up and razor wire on top. Just. Wow. The biggest changes are in Robyn and Kody...but Christine is noticeably different as well.

[Robyn Brown: She wanted the family, but got stuck with the man.]

22 hours ago, ginger90 said:

I thought Logan gave her a tour, she registered for 2 classes, but dropped them before the semester started. Or am I mixing it up?

Oddly I can't even go back and recheck. There were filler episodes before the "divorce" storyline dropped called "All About __insert wife__". Two are available on my Prime and I have never saw the other two until I subscribed to Discovery+. The "All About Meri" episode is now no where to be found on either. And Robyn's episode is now "Robyn behind the scenes". 🙄

I used to be able to rely on my recall...but these days not so much. Ugh.

[Robyn Brown: She wanted the family, but got stuck with the man.]

18 hours ago, dariafan said:

Ignoring all her many faults , one thing I really hate about her was how she got meri to no go back to school. 

That's just it tho. Meri did go back to take classes at UNLV. At least one, maybe two, but that was all. About a year later that she jumped with both feet into Lularoe.

It was only briefly mentioned in one of the filler episodes that seem to come and go on streaming sites called "All about Meri". Meri mentioned that she did go back, but not that fall. And during the catfish era, Meri was in class doodling "Samuel Cooper" in her notebook and sending a pic to JO aka "Sam".

[S18.E07: Throwing in the Towel]

4 hours ago, ezzy4 said:

I mostly agree with you, but here's the thing i think that's missing....

Sobyn truly identifies as a victim.  It seems to be in the core of her personality.   She isn't "playing" a victim.  She truly feels she is one.  (Like people can "play" ignorant to avoid responsibility vs people who truly are ignorant.) 

And victimhood creates anger.  These things just go together.  If you are a victim, then someone is victimizing you, therefore, anger.

Sobyn has been ramping Kody up since the day she met him, that he's being victimized too.  And Kody's rage has build as he's embraces the role of "victim".

Of course, we ALL can see that neither Kody or Sobyn are actually being victimized by anyone.  But they can't see it that way.  Since they ARE victims then someone MUST be victimizing them.  Initially they could place all that blame (and anger) on Christine...but now that Jenelle is checking out they can blame her too.  And certainly ALL the "other" children are victimizing them too.

The original three wives are in agreement that Kody's personality has changed.  They agree his anger has been ramping up.

My whole point is...this is what happens when you bring a person who at the base of their personality identifies as "a victim" into a group.  Sobyn isn't INTENTIONALLY manipulating.  She is just trying to explain her dysfunctional reality.  And she is paired with a weak willed man who is willing to grasp at anything to make himself feel better even at the expense of those around him.  Apparently victimhood/anger make Kody feel better.

It's really a shame.  Sobyn broke the family.

I think this is a really poignant theory. I think this is also why Robyn did a few odd things in the beginning of the show. She mentions in the book talking to the producer (Tim?) that she already knew everyone would hate her and she needed a "soft edit". Also, after they all joined Twitter and would tweet while live watching the show, Robyn was actually active on Twitter. There was a time when she announced she would answer questions...and she truly truly thought that she could explain to everyone her point of view and settle the debate that she was actually a loving and sweet person.  It was an absolute disaster. And one more being when she opened a like page on Facebook with the lovely Kendra as admin. Anyone still around from CJ's blog days may remember the catastrophe that was the Facebook/Twitter days that was also ended up tied in with the catfish eventually.

 

As for my point of view...again I am at an unusual loss for words. My one take away is wondering if the local governing bodies in Flagstaff would approve of a drainage catch pond being used in the off season as a quad runner race track. I live in the country and had a "neighbor" over the mountain a good mile away run dirt bikes and quads through trails on his property. It makes a hell of a noise...even far away with lots of trees... and it makes a mess of the property. I really don't think they should be destroying the banking/grading of the pond.

And if that was Brianna on the mini bike...it looked like her first time.

OH! A thought...Lots of people have noticed on Christine's social media that she seems to be posting snarky jabs at Kody... After her giggly teen girl style lunch with Janelle it is pretty obvious she is really ready to pick and jab at him in general. It just reinforces that Christine is not love and light but can be mean girl right back.

[S18.E06: The Understatement of the Year]

6 hours ago, Kellyee said:

I found it fascinating that Kody really seems to want Janelle back and has some kind of emotional connection to her (or seems to). I got the vibe that he genuinely misses her. I think at one point they had a real friendship and connection. 

With Christine, I don't think Kody ever even liked her, and he sure as hell doesn't miss her. Keeping her around was just about power. With poor Meri, I feel like Kody would step over her dying in the street without a second thought. Neither Christine or Meri were cut out to share a man and live polygamy, but Janelle really seemed okay with the sharing aspect. I don't think it really bothered her until Kody tried to kick out her sons.

I suspect Janelle was Kody's "buddy wife". He didn't have the dread of being confronted by those pesky wimmin's emotions when he went there, they could have real conversations about both religion as well as business/finance/politics. His sons were in her house and were those manly types that also were into politics and sports for him to relive the glory days of high school wrestling. Janelle was his buddy. What happens physically has been speculated, but the one thing I have learned in my post 50's life is that there are many kinds of intimacy and emotional intimacy is just as powerful as physical intimacy.

Also speculation, but Kody has given enough clues that he has been online in the hateful women hating groups. So even his buddy Janelle is getting the vitriol that he is filling his head with. Losing her means losing his (truly) best buddy that has stuck by him all these years. She may have pushed back, moved out for a bit, butted heads with him, but in the end she always went back and followed him, until now.

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.

[Spoiler, Speculation and Social Media]

22 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

Well, we know that all of that was just Meri's hot air since two years later nothing has been done.  A commercial kitchen?  Seriously?  And I bet that shed is still crammed with crap.

A commercial kitchen means commercial zoning and commercial hook ups. Not an expense you would go through for a wedding or two in 5 years time. Sounds like a talking point/storyline moment to me.

The caterers I have worked for/with that travel and set up on site usually have their own portable facility. Usually a trailer that is set up on site, kind of like a food truck that you pull vs. drive.

[S18.E06: The Understatement of the Year]

9 hours ago, mbaywife123 said:

Why is Kody so scared of ice water?

He could not have moved that glass any quicker or with more distain.

I guess the devil doesn’t like to be cooled down.

Teeth problems ?

 

I have a sinking suspicion that Kody didn't realize that he did not call Savannah in any way until Janelle told him at that table. He had zero come back. But naturally had much to say in a talking head. I would love to know the actual dates that he did finally "bring her some Christmas". Who, besides Robyn, phrases it that way ?