[S16.E03: Not Social But Very Distant]

I cannot get over how this family seems to be made of the only people on earth who hadn’t heard of using masks when social distancing isn’t possible or ideal by the time this was filmed in the fall of 2020. Many kids were back to in person school with masks. My dentist and hygienist were sticking their faces right by my mouth with masks. Regular doctor check-ups were happening with masks. Haircuts were happening with masks. I originally thought they should have at least had Truely and Sol and Ari in masks in the last episode, but in this one it was even more apparent. Kody, even if you needed an N95 to make Robyn feel safe, those were available again by the fall of 2020. Slap one on, hug your traumatized daughter before you send her off to surgery without you, and keep it on when you need Christine’s help signing paperwork. They could have solved so many problems with good quality masks, like the rest of us did in the real, intelligent person world.

[Jacob and Izzy]

Their baby boy has arrived!

Very little info in that article, but it sounds like he’s here safe and sound.

[S04.E08: Part VIII]

I thought the “witchy” women were from the same group as the woman who ran the marina who introduced the spiritual practices to Percy.

[S16.E01: There’s no Me in Polygamy]

Meri’s Instagram makes it look like she has a pretty happy life with people from LuLaRoe. She’s constantly on trips with them and seems to be one of the only sellers still thriving with that company, probably because of her “fame.” Between LLR and the bed and breakfast, I think Meri is doing just fine. I don’t know if Mariah and her fiancé are still nearby the inn in Utah, but if so, I think Meri could very happily leave Flagstaff behind, other than having genuine affection for Robyn’s two youngest kids. I agree that she’s sticking it out to make Kody’s life harder, to keep the TLC paycheck, and to stay on TV because it helps her businesses. 

I absolutely feel the worst for Truely in all of this. She’s the youngest by quite a bit in her only family with just Christine, she’s never had proper attention from Kody, and she never got the experience of actually feeling like her siblings from the other moms are her true brothers and sisters. The closest kids in age to hers are Robyn’s, and she always seems like she does want a relationship with them, but Robyn uses covid as an excuse to keep them apart. Meanwhile, she was moved from Vegas to Flagstaff and now Utah, with mostly covid homeschooling during the last couple years of her life, so she really has no close friends either.

I think Janelle just wants to be settled somewhere and doesn’t want to shake up her whole life. As long as she can putter around doing her hobbies and her MLM businesses with enough money to visit her adult kids, she will be content.

[Nuclear Family]

I don’t think any of the adults are without responsibility for how sad this situation became, but I do side with the mothers at the end of the day. As a viewer, I think it’s easy to be influenced by the clips we are shown over and over again of Ry with Tom putting on plays and dancing and playing in the ocean, as well as photographs of the two together. It is important to remember that those videos and photos were all taken during approximately three or four vacations. The bond Ry (and Cade too, based on the videos and photos) formed with Tom was certainly real, but her time with him was limited, and he wasn’t part of her day to day life. It was both her moms who were doing the actual parenting and were a constant for her throughout her childhood. They were potty training her and waking in the night with her if she was sick or had a bad dream. They were choosing preschools and scheduling dentist appointments. They were shopping for shoes and clothes and choosing how to discipline. He absolutely may have been important to her, but some of that was likely the magic of this person who came on vacation and then devoted 100% of his time and attention to her. Her moms likely played with her in her day-to-day life but also had to work and pay bills and vacuum the house and cook dinner. Full time parenting is hard as hell. Tom could quite literally be her fairytale prince and make their time together about putting on elaborate make believe movies. That doesn’t make him a person who should suddenly have the right to whisk her away from her actual parents without necessarily even knowing her shoe size or bedtime routines.

It sounded to me like moms DID try to compromise. They didn’t suddenly withhold Ry from Tom. First, they asked him to see her without his partner present. He didn’t like that idea and backed off for a bit, then it sounds like he began to want to see her without her moms there, on his own terms. I 100% support their decision to say no to that. Their compromise was to say that they would accompany Ry so she could meet Tom’s family. It sounds like they continued to keep the option open for Tom to see Ry with them present. That is not unreasonable to me. He’s the one who jumped into the lawsuit because he wanted to be able to see her on his own terms. To me, that is a sign of him not actually being parental. I don’t believe he considered Ry’s feelings and certainly not Cade’s.

If I were the moms, I would have fought the lawsuit too. He was asking to be established as the legal father, giving him equal legal rights to Robin. This doesn’t just mean he secures his right to see Ry. It gives him the right to make medical decisions for her, to have a say in choosing her schools, what religions she would be exposed to, where her moms could move, how she can be disciplined, etc. It would have given him the right to try to make a case for excluding Russo from her life if he decided to say she was a bad influence for some reason. He was never meant to have that role. Did the moms make a mistake by not making sure this was all in writing when he donated his sperm? Absolutely. But this was uncharted territory at the time. Similarly, it was uncharted territory to feel out how much to have the donors in their lives once the girls started asking questions. Robin and Russo absolutely made mistakes, but I understand why they felt the way they did and reacted the way they did when Tom filed the lawsuit. Russo had ZERO legal rights, which must have felt terrifying, and Robin was at risk of having to share her rights with someone who was acting selfish and vindictive. Also, lesbian relationships were absolutely looked down on in society and the court system. Ry was/is THEIR daughter, and Tom should have acknowledged that and continued to see Ry through options the moms continued to make available to him, even if that meant never seeing her on her own and having to see her without his partner. That’s how open adoptions generally work nowadays. The adoptive, legal parents get to set the rules about the parameters within which the birth parents can interact with the child. Tom was certainly a wonderful presence in Ry’s life during those golden years when all was going well, but I believe he ultimately chose his own stubbornness and selfishness over their relationship. He was not a parental figure in the way Robin and Russo were, and they fought to protect their family.

[S06.E04: House Party]

Charlotte Awbery works for the not needing a driver’s license clue since she was “discovered” in a subway station.

[S06.E03: Group B Premiere]

Tyga did date Kylie Jenner, but he’s not her baby daddy. Her baby daddy is Travis Scott. I can’t believe I know this.

Banana Split as Katharine and David makes sense based on his piano playing and the fact that the banana’s voice is absolutely beautiful, but part of me wonders if they would think they are “too good” for this show. They seem a bit stuffy… she takes herself very seriously, and he is old school musical theater.

[Season 1 & 2 Discussion]

I thought it was 100% perfect. I will watch it again for Christmas. I loved that everything that COULD have been annoying conflict wasn’t… the player who received the scarf loved it, Jamie was able to get a gift for his teammate from Ted’s office so he still got to be part of secret Santa, Ted has a good interaction with his son even though it was a little sad, Keeley wasn’t upset about her plans with Roy changing, the Love Actually signs for Bernard weren’t mean but poignant and true, the Higgins Family was happy and didn’t panic about all the players showing up, etc., etc. Perfect for a Christmas episode… I don’t need conflict or drama in a holiday episode. Just love.

I think this season is slowly setting up conflict that will come up before the season ends. Ted is eventually going to have to see the therapist and work out his issues with therapy stemming from his marriage counseling experience and also truly accept the loss in his life and other issues he’s dealing with. Nate will eventually be called out on the changes in his attitude and behavior since being a coach. Not sure what else is in store for the other characters, but I trust that the writers have a plan.

[All Episodes Discussion]

7 hours ago, Allie123 said:

Does anyone know the name of this Dateline episode? 
A man (30-40, thin, blond) is a mechanic. A woman (I’ll call her Mary) walks into his biz one day, they hit it off right away, especially because Mary tells him all she wants is fun and sex, never exclusivity, never wants to live together etc.
He breaks up with his current girlfriend (I’ll call her Sarah) and she moves out. On the way out the door the two women briefly meet. 
A few days later Mary emails him saying the complete opposite, she wants a commitment etc. Sarah harasses this man to death, but never in person. 
In the end we learn that Sarah killed Mary shortly after they briefly met and has been impersonating her. 
it was the best episode I ever watched and want to recommend it to friends and watch it again!

I’m pretty sure it was called Scorned. It’s from 2018... Cari Farver?

[S05E06: Group A Finals - In the Nick of Time!]

They all looked/acted uncomfortable when the Orca said he had ten year olds twins. Way too much easily Google-able information. Do you think that’s why he was “voted” off?

[Mykelti]

I think Christine is just the most loving person in the family, and that explains why everyone else’s kids love her, but her kids don’t need to get any outside love beyond their own mom, so they don’t seem close to the other moms. I think Truely is close with Solomon because they are close in age, and Robyn’s two youngest kids are the only kids Truely gets to be a big sister to. There’s also a big gap between her and her other siblings. Also, because Christine really does consider herself a mom to everyone in the family, she would have passed that on to her kids, making them all naturally kind enough to make a big deal out of Robyn’s older daughters’ quarantine birthdays and naturally nurturing enough to care for Sol and Ari. Christine always strikes me as so open and warm, which is why her feelings about her role in the family are so sad. The way she openly hugged and enjoyed her time with the other polygamous family and then also Audrey’s parents during the wedding planning was so different than the other Brown adults. She would have SUCH a better life outside this mess. Someone get her some real therapy, a nice boyfriend, and an interest or hobby that would come with a set of nice friends to hang out with.

Bringing it back to Mykelti, I’m sure the baby will be fine. Everyone parents their own way, and everyone makes their own mistakes too. Nothing in that bathtub photo is alarming. They seem like a sweet, happy little family bonding with their beautiful baby.

[The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie]

I think they’ve decided not to show the kids’ faces because that’s what they’ve seen real celebrities in LA doing. They don’t actually care about the kids’ privacy or safety. It just makes Jeremy feel more like a famous person. But they’re going to have to show the girls on the show if they want to continue to be “the stars of TLC’s hit show Counting On.” There is no interest in them that isn’t mainly interest in their offspring.

[S11.E00: A New Life]

Random observations:

Henry is speaking really well now.

I have thought this since the scavenger hunt episode... even though she’s a daughter-in-law, I think Kendra is JimBob’s favorite daughter now. 

If Anna isn’t pregnant, she has gained a lot of weight. This is perfectly normal after all her pregnancies and the stress of her marriage to that nasty, awful monster, but I worry for her that she will blame herself if he strays again.

I sometimes wonder if Jana might secretly be the more difficult sister out of Jana and Jessa, but she’s just less overt about it.

I wonder if there is a particular reason Josiah and Lauren didn’t participate.

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

This is what the photographer had to say about her experience with the Dillards. Since she also photographed the Seewalds, I wonder if her line about expecting to spend her time in NW Arkansas alone in her hotel room was the experience she had with Jessa’s family. But since Jill is actually out in the world learning about socializing with different people and getting accustomed to the social graces of non-fundie society, the Dillards made her feel welcome.

[S15.E06: Different Wives, Different Rules]

I think they could get at least a season out of “Sister Wives: The Aftermath” if they finally just all broke up except Kody and Robyn. Meri could be shown running the Inn and helping Mariah and Audrey with newlywed stuff. Christine could try online dating, and her segments could also focus on what her younger kids are up to. She could still be shown visiting Janelle’s kids as well, especially Maddie’s family, as well as spending time with Mykelti’s baby. Janelle could be shown trying new fitness ventures and trying to “get outside her comfort zone.” Robyn could lament the loss of the life she thought she was marrying into and whine and cry like usual. 

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

Also, a non-narcissist would have just posted “Here is a photo Nurie sent me of herself at 8 weeks pregnant” and left out the actual text and all the best mama everrrrr stuff.

[Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events]

It almost looks staged to me, just in terms of the coloring. Some “influencers” have a thing where all their photos have a certain “aesthetic,” like certain colors and tones. Everything they’re playing with is teal blue, peachy orange, or tan, and it goes with the neutral room colors and clothing colors.

[The Other Duggars: The Lost Girls and Amy]

It’s interesting how much blonder Jennifer and Josie are than the first 6 daughters. Genetics are such wild cards.

[The Lonely Js Club: Jana, Jason, James, Jackson & Johannah]

Would it matter to them that that’s the day between Good Friday and Easter? I’m not Christian, but it feels a bit like taking away from a weekend that should be focused on things more important than a wedding?

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

I have to say, Jill’s kids look so genuinely happy these days. 

[Claire.....wait, There’s a Justin?]

I like the messy braid, actually... it reminds me of Rapunzel in Tangled, when the little girls braid flowers into her hair. What makes her look older, I think, is the teased hair to make the top part higher and fuller. If it was flatter to her head, she would look younger. Right now, the braid looks like a young bride and the top part looks like a mother of the bride style.

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

They went and masked (at least in their hotel)...

 

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

I think they chose to miss the wedding due to the estrangement and maybe chose to adopt a dog around the same time to help Jill feel better.

[Claire.....wait, There’s a Justin?]

They tied the knot!

They actually both look really nice in the photo.

 

[Joe & Kendra: Looking Forward To Side Hugs]

David Beckham has a boy Brooklyn. 
 

I too hope Joe and Kendra slow down now. She seemed a bit surprised by this pregnancy, and three kids this close together can’t be easy. I had my sons 21 months apart, and that gap is the reason we stopped at 2!