RebeccatheWriter

To be fair, all of the married couples do indulge on some pricey things to some extent. Josie and Alyssa seem to like going out to eat a lot. Erin and Chad are constantly redecorating and going on little mini-vacations to different places that are in driving distance. Carlin and Evan go to a lot of fast food sorts of places. Whitney and Zach tended to go out early on quite a bit too, including local places for steaks or hamburgers. Whitney and Zach probably seem the most budget conscious, but I think that stems from buying a house and working real world jobs. It'll be interesting to see how life is for them after the pandemic/social distancing thing decreases. I'm learning that I don't have to do so much take out, as I am not as bad at cooking as I once was in my 20s. And coffee at home can be made just as well as the more expensive stuff. The birthday stuff for the little girls drives me insane. Callie's birthday message last year was horrible with Gil going on about how she would be a wonderful mother someday. Gil's message to Allie was bad this year because basically it was all about what Allie does for him. I will say I was happy to see that she received real toys and things for her birthday. Back in the early days of the Bates, the girls never seemed to have real toys. The boys would get sports stuff and the girls were always shown working, holding a real baby, etc.

They aren't horrible, especially for an upper channel cable channel that isn't available everywhere.

Every other show focuses on them all getting together. Seriously, that is more than I get together with people I like let alone family. And given that in the timeline Trace and Chaney were officially dating/courting only recently, what other announcement was there going to be for that family? And in terms of that announcement. Why was Josie confused? She already knew, as Tori had told her and was supposed to keep the news a secret. Yet she even interviewed that she didn't know what it meant and thought someone was making am movie. I hope that the group birthday thing is just for acknowledgement for the whole family and doesn't disallow something smaller on individual days. Some of the girls seem to only like babies and small children only because they "have to do so" under their assigned gender roles. Michaela truly does seem to like kids and want to be around them. While I wouldn't want to see more children raised in such a dangerous and unhealthy mindset as those that the Bates have, I do feel bad for her in the way she and Brandon have struggled to get pregnant. So much of a woman's worth in their belief system and family is wrapped up in her ability to birth a bunch of kids. I have to think her emotional well being is probably hit hard by it all. LOL at Josie's definition of some place nice for their anniversary. Chesapeake is a nice family dining kind of place - or as my chef friends say, a turn and burn place. However, it was like they were there before dinner (probably so they could be filmed and not have to worry about too big of a crowd) and were seated in that big booth for a crowd rather than a table to two.

I'm glad they did address her previous breakup. One of the first episodes where we see him, he sings her a song he wrote about her and it has lines about someone not appreciating her and that he will.

There is a corporate filing in Texas under his name. It doesn't list the type of business though. There is also a mug shot that looks an awful lot like him online.

The episodes with the purity rings always creep me out. Carlin always comes off as trying to hard to be connected and emotional. I still shudder at the way she acted with Erin in the very first episode. They were shopping for prizes for the games at Whitney's baby shower. We had just been told for the fifth time that Erin had a miscarriage with the baby due around the same time as Bradley. Erin is leaned over the cart counting the number of prizes only to be interrupted by Carlin who keeps saying things about being proud of Erin. She did the same when Zach graduated from the academy, jumping front of her parents and siblings to take pics with him and tell him how proud she was of him. Same thing with Trace, Josie, and Tori graduated. When the boys went to basketball camp, she was telling one of the middle boys that she was cheering for him louder than anyone and how proud she was of him. I'm not saying it is bad that she is proud. It's just a bit awkward with how it comes off each time. It doesn't seem true or genuine. It seems to be more about her putting on the face of someone who is trying to show a deep connection with her siblings. Anderson County is really more suburban with some farm land in between rather than small town. They try to present it as very folksy and rural, but I grew up with family there in Clinton, Rocky Top (then Lake City), and Oak Ridge. There wasn't anything missing as far as shops, food, movie theaters, etc. They claim to be into the whole southern charm thing - I don't know what they are doing, but it isn't southern. Then they claim to be into cowboys and westerns. Those aren't really southern either.

His website describes a sliding scale for patients. He links the news magazine stories where he appeared with the Bates - Nightline specials and 20/20. He must give them a good sized discount. That said, the hospital where they give birth isn't going to honor the same discounts. I know too many people in hospital and healthcare PR. They honestly don't care a thing about "free publicity" from an upper channel reality show. Many hospitals won't allow filming on premises for such things due to privacy of other patients and the possibility that a camera might catch something that leads to a lawsuit. I noticed that the site does mention birth control, but doesn't link it like many of the other services. His site gives adequate or an abundance of information for potential patients on other services, but that is merely mentioned in a small box with no links for more information.

It was oysters. His cockiness annoyed me to no end. He was all the time showing up on the Food Network. Confidence is admirable. His was just plain condescending, chauvinistic, ego.

Usually there is at least one interesting thing about it. This past episode was pretty much rehash and faked scenes. The Tori/Josie walk for one. Does anyone really think that they would have wasted time filming that without Tori announcing her pregnancy? I'll give the Bates girls credit. They are better at faking small talk than the Duggars who sound like they are reading cue cards.

She just had her 4th this past fall. Probably going to announce the fifth around Thanksgiving. Tori and Bobby announced this one with a photo of Made wearing a hat saying big brother.

They had Whitney sitting there like she had never heard such a thing in her life.

I adore Kevin and try to eat at one of his restaurants (when we aren't in quarantine) at least twice a month. I just picked up his garlic potatoes and bacon wrapped meatloaf, as well as a breakfast casserole for home this weekend. I could have stopped on the side of the road and eaten them. I can't say I was a fan of his during the Vegas season of Top Chef. I liked his cooking, but he was friendly with Eli who I found to be annoying, condescending and rude. He and Mike Isabella were horrible in terms of personality. While Kevin wasn't behaving like them, I did have a bad taste in my mouth that he hung around them. I guess I saw it as him silently agreeing with their treatment of Robin and other women on the show. I got to know him a little bit better through his restaurants after he opened one of them near me. He was not at all what I feared he would be and I admire his determination. He was truly near death after his surgery. He had horrible reactions to the pain meds and almost died a few times. His staff absolutely loves him and it shows.

Last night's episode was a snoozer. Did they get a special deal on a doctor's office room for us to have scenes of Carlin/Evan and Gil/Kelly Jo and their respective doctors? Seriously? For a family that swears the siblings are so close they are like best friends, these sisters don't know each other at all. You can't tell me that Erin, the overshare princess (Kelly Jo is queen) of the world, never told her sisters and Whitney about he blood clotting disorder and the treatments. Carlin and Evan just seemed so fake shocked, right down to Evan assuming that Carlin would have to come into the office twice a day for shots rather than giving them at home. Kelly Jo and Gil are nearly as bad with their stupidity about his shoulder injury. First of all, he's too old to be acting the way he does. You can't tell me that they were so shocked by the idea he would have to rehab after surgery. He used to do college and high school sports. He freaking knows people who went through similar. Just more evidence they are isolated and self involved. Tori sure doesn't act like she loves being a mom. Her entire attitude on the show is more like she just puts up with life in general. I commend Bobby for trying to learn a trade rather than work in ministry that doesn't always pay very well. It's a smart move to learn something practical. I do feel for him though because it is clear that it isn't where his passion lies. The problem is the more kids they have the farther away a dream of ministry and his own church will be for him.

The previews for tonight show Dr. Vick talking to her about it. I know that Kelly Jo said the girls were tested. I remember at the time wondering if all of them had been or if it was just the ones who were marriage age at that point. If it is simply a blood test, which is the indication, I don't understand why they wouldn't test them at least in their teens. At the very least they should get the test when they are planning their weddings to avoid early miscarriage that would be hard to face. The breast cancer gene mutation runs in my family. I had the blood test to check and see if I had it. I will admit it was nerve wracking. They go through this whole long list of counseling questions with you and you end up talking about family members who have died of the disease. There are weeks that go by before you receive the results and those weeks are so long while you wait. P.S. I am an anomaly in that both of my parents have a mutation and I did not inherit it at all. Very grateful. I said all that to say, that given these girls family history and how much the family places value on fertility and procreating...get the dang test before you start trying to conceive.

That's what gets to me. I get producers changing things in editing to make a story flow better or to fill the time better. I work adjacent to that industry and can understand that completely. What I can't get is how Kelly Jo, Gil, Carlin, Evan, etc. can justify in their heads that it is okay to lie. It's not like they are filmed and then shocked by the end result. They are actively participating in saying things that are not true. It just seems highly hypocritical when they are so strict in other areas they deem important for morality.

Tori had an issue with progesterone being low. That is very common and usually just needs medication in pill form not shots. Kelly Jo went through that with later pregnancies. Edited to add, I didn't realize Gil said Tori had a clotting disorder too in the latest Facebook Live thing. That would be 3 of the 6 married girls having it. Alyssa has had three kids with no issues. Josie has one. Michaela has fertility issues, but they don't present as this disorder. Kelly Jo specifically stated after Erin's diagnosis that each of the girls were tested. Now they have backtracked and have it as a surprise with Carlin. Given how quickly Erin miscarried, one would think the girls would test early. Carlin says she found out she was pregnant in June. She told her family after Willow was born in July. We know she announced on September 4 to the world and said she had the disorder. Seems that she was tested after announcing her pregnancy to the family and before September 4 since she is shown telling Erin. That seems a bit reckless given what we know of Erin's issue and timeline.

Good points. Remember though that in their cult like culture, the men marrying the daughters are supposed to be in charge and able to control the household after marriage. It doesn't happen as much because the girls tend to be like Kelly Jo and whine and wheedle what they want. However, for the non-Bates guys, I have a feeling there is a bit of a feeling like, "if I put up with Kelly Jo and the rest, I can eventually marry ______ Bates and move off with her." They don't necessarily feel like they are going to be stuck with the other 18 siblings. When most of these girls have gotten married, there are multiple examples of Brandon moving Michaela to Chicago, John and Alyssa in Florida, and Bobby and Tori in Nashville. For a little while, Erin was the only girl close to home after marriage. So you could see that Evan and Kelton might see the parental involvement as a temporary thing. Girls coming into the family aren't as free. Ashley and Chaney have both been bullied by Kelly Jo and the older sisters about moving to Knoxville area. It's over and over and over again. These girls realize they are having to step into an already dysfunctional scene and give up privacy for a guy who they don't really know. I'm not sure any of the Bates boys would be worth it to deal with that crowd. I think the next Bates boy to get married will be one who strikes out on his own away from the family. They can't work for Chad or as a constable. They are going to have to find a real job and not plan to bring her home to live in Anderson County. You might have one pull a Zach and go for a girl who is willing to be molded into a fundy appropriate girl but has a more secular background. But I tend to think Gil and Kelly Jo have closed ranks on such things.

I am not sure, but I have a feeling that the timeline was muddled by the producers there. Willow was born July 19. So that puts them closing July 21. July 21 was a Sunday. So let's say they closed on July 22. I'm guessing they probably filmed a little when they started the process of remodeling. My guess is that Josie was only there with Willow for a few minutes to be seen on camera and then went back to the apartment. I don't know when Carlin and Evan announced her pregnancy to the family, but we know the picnic with the pinata was announced after Willow's birth. So my guess is that the filming of the painting was even later than the filming of the demolition and not at the same time. Otherwise it doesn't make sense for Carlin to talk about being pregnant within days of Josie giving birth. ETA: I looked back and at the picnic, Josie or someone has Willow on her hip. So that would indicate that it wasn't in July or early August. We know they went to Charleston in late August and announced the pregnancy to the world on September 4. My best guess would be that they filmed the painting scene in September. I have been vocal that I was curious about how Kelly Jo would react to a potential daughter-in-law. She bullies the boys who date her daughters terribly. Clearly she is the same way with the girls who have interest in her sons. Judson and Jed were not even close to being ready to be chaperones. Chaney and Trace were basically babysitting instead of having a date. These Bates kids need to learn to say back off to their parents. While I believe that they certainly knew her and knew of her before the "I Love You Day" party, I still think they are horribly presumptuous and rude to her. She is trying to get to know Trace, not the whole family. Just like there was no need for Brandon to have to get to know the whole family like Kelly Jo wanted, there was no need to Chaney to have to either. Heck if I'd gotten to know my extended family, I wouldn't have chosen to be a part of my family either (if it was a choice). If they are going to insist on chaperones, Trace should have arranged for some double dates with the married siblings. Dinner with Erin and Chad (probably a bad idea) or movie night with Zach and Whitney. It would have been a lot more lowkey and less obtrusive. Sure the siblings could have called each other and gossiped about who had or hadn't met her yet, but she would not be subjected to it. If I was her, I would have said something to him about pulling in his family. He should have stood up to his mother and sisters and said, no to the modeling with everyone present and questioning/teasing her. _____ That brings up another thing. So the other week Kelly Jo tells everyone she doesn't want to intrude on her daughters'/children's lives with things. It was in response to telling Josie things about childbirth. She is notoriously all up in their business all the time. The big example this episode was her being the one in charge at the photo shoot. Last I checked it was the Bates Sisters Boutique. She is not a sister or even a sister-in-law. She's the mother. Let the girls do their thing and stop trying to be one of them. Good grief, Kelly Jo! You are 53 not 25.

Kevin has temp closed his restaurants and is selling at home meal components that can be picked up tomorrow. He has did he will feature a dish he did on the show going forward. I am curious. I may order something.

I grew up next to a woman named Rebecca. Around the neighborhood she was Big Becky and I was Little Becky. However, outside of that I was Becky and later Rebecca. I assume most people were not confused. It would make sense of they were using the same name as someone else (Kade going by Robert or Bobby), but they aren't. I first picked up on it when they decorated Kade's nursery. Tori, Kelly Jo, Erin, and the others kept referring to him as Baby Kade. "I love Baby Kade's crib." "I think we need to shop for Baby Is a nursery." " I am planning to be there she Baby Kade is born. " It seems redundant. I hear It now with Erin's kids - each with that title until the Layla and Willow seem to get that reference too. It is a minor thing that bothers me. i cannot say I have never referred to a baby that way. It is just sort of one of those things that results in a twitch from me like their grammar. At the same time it seems to speak to the family's reliance on labels and categories.

I am a complete Kevin Stan. I live near Revival and love it.

My pet peeve this season and the last few is the word baby in front of the names of the grandkids. Baby Willow and Baby Kade. Seriously, do they do that to remind themselves?

I don't follow them either. I simply looked it up to confirm my guess about all the lies that I detected in one episode. It's one thing with producers and editors switch stuff around to make the story more cohesive and understandable in smaller bites. I can accept that and have had to do it myself in my job. What I can't and don't condone is the fact that several of the family members, including Kelly Jo and Gil will blatantly lie while branding themselves as some wholesome and religious family. If they are going to lie, it would be better to at least stick to the same story. Last season was the season of product placements with the Cheerios segment that Zach and family did, the chicken products episode of Valentines, and the Top Golf segment that they must have been paid by the mention. Those are just a few. I guess this season will be the one of lies.

Or you can look at Carlin's social media. They got married May 25. May 26 the photo is their hands and passports. Next pics are at the resort. Pics of them returning home are June 4. Charleston pics are posted at the end of August. On August 28 she posts a pic of herself in Charleston and says it is their first time there and wants suggestions on what to see.

I assume it is producer driven. They were at a resort for their honeymoon. I remember they posted pics on Instagram that included Carlin wearing jeans and both of them holding their passports. It was within 24 hours of their wedding. There is no way they went to Charleston first. Carlin and Evan even said on Instagram that no film crew was with them on their honeymoon. People were joking about all the pics they were taking of themselves on the beach and places, wondering if they propped their phones up strategically or harassed every resort employee to play paparazzi. Most of those resorts don't allow filming so the show seems to like to stage a honeymoon for the couples more local that can be filmed. They did it with Josie and Kelton too with Asheville. You could tell it was after their honeymoon because the leaves had changed colors and when they got married in October of 2018 the leaves hadn't changed yet in that area. Josie and Kelton basically had the same conversation about being able to kiss and be alone, as did Tori and Bobby on their honeymoon episode. You'd think the show producers would want something new. My issue with both of these is that they don't just film these other trips and have people assume it is the honeymoon. That would be one thing, but they don't just show them on vacation. They have them say on camera that they took a trip before the honeymoon and have stilted fake conversations about how strange it is to be alone together when they have been married for a month or two when it is filmed. For people who claim to want to be so virtuous, they don't seem to have a problem lying. From a story perspective, it would have made more sense for the first scene we saw of them is them coming home to their first home together. They could do their talking heads that they had a nice private honeymoon and shown a picture or two. Then show them at home and excited about their new "normal" life together. They can still show Charleston but do it in the appropriate timeline and not faked as something it wasn't. It's lazy storytelling and very disingenuous. With them being so blatant about the lying and inconsistencies, it is hard to believe anything they say as anything other than branding for the their family show and all their little side businesses.