Just Wondering

Totally agree. These marriages ended long ago (probably just they way we think they did) but the show was still called Sister Wives and they owned some sort of entertainment company based on that, so they figured, what else are we gonna do? And they have to honor their contract by supplying parties and holidays and gatherings for the show, so why not dredge up ancient drama, figure out new drama ideas from SM, fake cry, jump around porches, walk dejectedly in a field, put up memes about never giving up, let Paedon see if he can make a career “leaking” info, and see if they can sell enough MLM products to make this all worth it.

He sacrificed by letting go of his disgust for her, the resentment he felt at having to marry her after changing his mind, and he sacrificed by losing the opportunity to “marry” a woman he was actually attracted to. What a selfless man, what a lofty mind!

This episode surely does contain some incredibly poor acting. I almost gut chuckled when Robyn earnestly demands Meri’s pledge of fealty. And Kody’s abysmal, screaming porch performance must have taken 30 takes. Bless Christine, who appears to be chocking back laughter. I’m beginning to wonder if Robyn is deliberately looking so stale in order to avoid being so dislikable. This new season is on track, like the last one, to cater to the anger of viewers and bring this scam full circle.

What are the topics of discussion on Fridays? I watched the first one and can’t remember anything substantive or humorous, so there was no reason to watch again. If Meri can’t talk about the things for which she is known by her fans, what IS allowed? Advice? B&B updates? Sales? I’m not really busting Meri though because there are a couple of people on YouTube who vlog their shopping hauls and I am fascinated.

The Fresh King Benjamin on TikTok is Kody Brown’s nephew. Sorry if someone has mentioned this. Apparently there was a bakery on the ranch we always hear about. Check out The Year of Polygamy podcast for his interview.

Maybe they just needed them for their lilac downline. That’s not considered stealing; right?

I read some of the comments and it looks like it was someone’s writing project and the characters are fictional.

Selling Plexus.

Is it possible that Meri struck out at Christine over the cooking show because Christine and Janelle are now lobbying and posturing for a show of their own, one that may even compete with SW for good time slots and ratings, ultimately? It looks like there was already resentment over J & C’s rejecting the Thanksgiving portion of filming last year. Seemed like J & C felt they didn’t have to just do as they were told anymore since they might have other options. Perhaps it was just their MLMs that gave them this freedom, but it’s highly probable new show negotiations are ongoing. Because I no longer think these folks are worried and fighting about nonexistent marriages but about business opportunities - and possibly sibling/parent visitation. Although my nightmare scenario is that they are all still in biz together and still sharing whatever J & C do on their own.

No offense to Meri specifically, but is a desperate Costco stalker’s opinion of beauty any real standard to judge by? Is this the flag anyone wants to fly when stealth bragging? A clueless creep thinks I have pretty eyes? Stalkers just can’t leave me alone?

Way to make someone else’s birthday about yOu.

Exactly. I’ve become fairly certain that Kody divorced Meri, Janelle, and Christine at the same time - thAt long ago - and all the parties just stayed linked in a business partnership. They either kept the divorce from TLC as best they could (which is a stretch, I know, since that seems impossible) or TLC helped them out in order to keep a popular show going. It may be why the seasons grew shorter - because the entire family (mostly) only gets together for fulfilling the contractual requirements for the show. Hence the trouble over T-day and X-mas. Everyone had their own lives and opinions about the pandemic, but had obligations to film certain events for the show. I can’t imagine a couple willingly laying their divorce out for public consumption unless it was well past the fact and they had mutually agreed on a narrative. I do believe portions of the truth are in there - I just think it’s old news to people who have since moved on. Hence the reason Christine gave us those stale tears and fake collapses. It explains why Meri was looking for love, not cheating. It explains the move to Flagstaff. Kody and Robyn could do as they pleased and the other business partners just had to come along for whatever business decision was in play. It also explains why Kody wasn’t going from house to house during the pandemic — because it was just how things were. Maybe Robyn wanted Kody to curtail visitation because of the pandemic, or maybe Kody was steadily growing away from his children like some divorced men do, or both, and got caught at it. But these marriages being over well before the pandemic is the conclusion that makes the most sense - to me. They just have to own it now since junk leaks out and it’s hard to keep ahead of it. Plus it’s done wonders for the show. I’m sure there are some better arguments for the opposite opinion, but I had an AHA moment when Kody barked to the tell-all interviewer that Meri was cheating. It didn’t fit or gel or ring true, especially in light of their 10-year sexual separation. Kody knows good and well she wasn’t cheating. He’s just playing his role. ::Whispers:: As a liar. And Robyn’s left with no other defense except the one that makes her look like an idiot. ::Whispers:: And a liar. In fact, y’all…

I feel like the quality of FWF may have cost Meri a TLC cooking show of her own. Then again, one may have to actually leave Kody and get tons of viewer support to merit such an invitation. Whisper:: But it would still be fascinating to watch.

No mention of Kody in that bed.

Since Christine and Kody were “married” longer than Robyn and Mr. Jessop, does that mean the statute of limitations has run out on Christine getting her purity back?

Janelle may have been reticent to become close to Robyn because, perhaps, being friends with Robyn means she gives Kody full reports on your business.

I’m assuming the Browns are contractually obligated to film their holiday gatherings. But since Kody was at Robyn’s for nine months enjoying his COVID R&R and resting his genitals, his formerly desperate housewives can no longer be counted on to just show up to help the business out. Now Kody and Robyn are like, oh, shit. They have a meeting to railroad the recalcitrant board members into keeping the train on track, but Christine and Janelle are withholding their presence from the festivities. Maybe they said, if you want us there to swell your numbers and fill out the season with the required episodes, we want an incentive/bonus or all y’all are getting is Christmas. We’re not doing anything for free anymore. So now Kody changes tactics and is suddenly over at Janelle’s house ordering the boys to leave so he can show Janelle just how rested his genitals are. At first, I couldn’t figure out why Kody blatantly and obviously avoided his family for months then suddenly got uber upset that no one wants to get together for the holidays. Especially after he enjoyed that quiet birthday for one of Robyn’s daughters. Maybe he wanted to give the film crew the assurance they would be safe for filming while meeting the quotas, but the outside moms or the boys or both were now saying, LOL to your BS. On a side note, Janelle might as well have just said “Kody and I aren’t having sex.” Because if a mARRied woman can’t definitively say she’s sleeping with her hUSband without couching it in euphemisms, then I don’t know who can. But really I’m just kidding about the marriage part. I’m going to take Robyn’s lead and just decide “in my mind” who’s married and who’s not. So Janelle and Kody aren’t married. Unless of course they can produce a marriage license - in my mind.

V-Day needs. Does that include relationship advice? How to please your man (once every ten years)? Romantic activities (from what I can remember)? Spicing things up in the bedroom (by finding him another partner)? How to make wise romantic choices (between internet predators)? How to rekindle the flames after long years (of being tricked into a divorce)?

Meri sells “clothes”, “runs” a B&B and “stars” in a show. Why does she always have to act like there’s so much more to come? Like her dreams are going to set the world on fire - like space travel or an art show is next - like she’s working on a new flavor of Pepsi in the lab - like she’s collabing with Elon Musk. Would we even be interested in the culmination of her dreams? Will we gasp at the realization of her goals? Why do we have to be impressed that she plans on selling more leggings to her downline?

Watching Kody pretend to be surprised that Christine was apparently separating from him was difficult to watch. He obviously didn’t know she had turned in her little revelation, and that it would be shown first. It was a bit like watching one of those CSI episodes where the real killer sticks to their script while playing the long game. As dramatic as that sounds, I feel it better describes the level of sinister I’m seeing in Kody. I’m also appALLed that Christine went to bed and Kody stayed up while nothing got resolved in a definitive manner. Was Christine not allowed to express herself further? Did she have to just quietly accept this edict without confronting him face to face? Was she not allowed to ask for the truth? Or tell him to get out nOw? She had to pack his boxes out of his sight and let them speak for her? These women have no liberty. The only thing Christine was free to do was leave. Furthermore, for Kody to think this particular treatment of Christine (dangling intimacy) is preferable to a more mature, honest, and merciful treatment is stunted and ugly in every way. Has he been playing a part out of fear that the show would suffer from the loss of a “wife”? Or that he would have to do all the things a divorced dad does, like support and visitation? Nothing else but that makes sense in this whole apparent scheme to keep stringing Christine along. Same with Meri. Looks like the minute these ladies became solvent, the mask was off.

What in the cat hair are they gonna need all these peeled trees for? If Kody runs his sons off, Robyn and Janelle sure can’t help with a barn raisin’. What with all this talk about greenhouses and uses for homegrown lumber, I’m wondering if they’ve started plans to build an apocalypse compound. And doesn’t Kody have a convenient supply of weaponry?

I just got around to watching this ep. Brutal. I need to process other thoughts for a bit, but my immediate take away, because it’s the last thing I saw, was Kody actually trying to come over to Christine’s to visit his kids after telling her he was done with her body. When monogamous couples can no longer stand sleeping together they split and have separate visitation with children - even during COVID. But Kody thinks he can avoid bringing Christine’s filthy children to his happy home by visiting them at the ex’s house for convenience and protocol’s sake. If this doesn’t speak volumes about the disrespect he has for women, I don’t know what does. If you’re leaving a woman, leave her - and stop trying to trick her and the god you claim to serve.

While commenting on a FB post about The Browns’ separate holidays, I realized something: Most of the guests at Kody’s T-day were women. Solomon is a child and Dayton is neurodivergent and may not pick up on certain disturbing behaviors, so Kody’s king-like bestowal of blessings on his “loyal” guests went unchallenged. Is it possible that Kody so desperately wants Janelle’s sons to leave now because they are not fooled by Kody’s deplorable, controlling behavior towards women in a vulnerable position and present a challenge to it?? I now see this technique as an unavoidable outcome of polygamy, so it must go on in countless families, making it one of the reasons for lost boys.

I’m assuming Meri isn’t staying around just because she’s hoping Kody will accept her again. Obviously, like everyone has stated, she’s staying for the income. But I’m wondering now if Kody freezes his old gals out so hard because he wants all extras off the show and therefore off the payroll. There would be more money for fewer people. He figures Christine and Meri have a separate income source that Robyn and Janelle don’t have (despite Janelle’s work with Strive, which can’t be as much as Lularoe) and he can keep the show if he has (technically) two wives left. It’s got to bug him that C & M get the show dollars AND the various MLM dollars AND the Cameo dollars AND the best-selling book residuals AND the random appearance dollars - and whatever else. I know he has some sort of gun business, but he now may have to pay some sort of child support - especially since it’s on record that he clearly doesn’t have joint custody of Truly.

Kody was possibly trying to get away with not having to pay child support for as long as he could. Maybe he figured if he could fool C and J long enough to whittle down his list of dependents, he could save a few dollars. And maybe he thought he could avoid having all that post-divorce visitation take place at Robyn’s heavenly abode.