S11.E05: A Not So Merry Christmas

[smarty]

I think if all the wives left, Kody would be a monogamist the next time around.  It doesn't seem like he's as religious anymore and he know by now it's nicer to have only one home base.

[xwordfanatik]

I'd like to think so, but I kind of doubt it, just because Kootie is a selfish pig.  He felt entitled enough to deprive three men of a potential wife.  

He may be content just hanging with ball-busting Robo, that's true.  I agree also that he's not religious now, if he ever was.  It was a convenient excuse, when it suited him to use it.

[Elbow]

On 2/5/2020 at 2:18 PM, KateHearts said:

Interesting. I really get the impression from Janelle (and did in the early seasons as well) that she really isn't warm and fuzzy, likes sharing Kody with the others so she doesn't have to be very affectionate, and got her kids out of him.  And that she is the "business end" of the dynamic.

Completely disagree.

Janelle is the only one of the wives who repeatedly, overtly and rather inappropriately (per their own family rule of none of the wives & Kody displaying sexual/romantic affection in front of the other wives and, presumably, per the conservative mores of the AUB/FLDS for women to never speak lewdly) sexually objectifies Kody. She's remarked upon his ass with a level of reverence, often brought up how his hair in a pony tail turns her on and has made a variety of other comments specifically about how much she likes his body. She's completely into him sexually. He may view her as more of a buddy, but she's made it perfectly clear that she finds him dead sexy.

What she's, also, made clear is that she much preferred working to taking care of children. I don't think she actually much likes children and, now that her youngest is a teen, she sure doesn't seem to have much drive for working. Obviously, they did (and should still…) need money, but I think her lack of any discernible "real" job for the last couple of years goes to show that she had much less of a desire to work than she had an aversion to dealing with kids.

And, it seems to me, that her enthusiasm for the one big house idea is multifaceted, but that none of those facets have anything to with a love for 'living the principle': 1) She can get on & stay on Kody's good side by outspokenly supporting what he wants; 2) She's frugal and one property, even with building expenses, is cheaper in the long run than all these ridiculous McMansions; 3) She's on the verge of being an empty nester, has seen how Mariah leaving played a big part in cutting Meri out of Kody's rotation and is canny enough to realize that a shared house will prevent him from being able to get into a pattern of ignoring her, except, like Meri, when they might see one another in a crowd at family events. She's being smart and protecting her own interests. I don't think she minds being alone, the way Meri clearly does, but I do think that Kody is the draw for her and has always been the draw for her in this situation, enough so to agree to become a polygamist and that she will not let go of him without a fight. Even when she moved out on her own, he was coming over to where she was living to spend quality time with her, while Meri and Christine were still in the shared house elbowing each other out of the way for scraps of affection. She broke up with the family during those two years, but has explicitly stated that she and Kody were not separated.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Elbow

[DakotaJustice]

I think you're spot on, @Elbow.
Janelle has always had the hots for Kody - she divorced her first husband for him! - but he doesn't feel the same for her, but he's doing his duty, just like Pedro in Like Water for Chocolate:

 

 

[deirdra]

Janelle sexually objectifies Kody in front of the other women and the camera verbally, but not physically.  It is usually Kody that tries to give her an awkward peck on the cheek before running off to the next wife.  Christine hangs on her "wonderful man" acting cutesy in her kitchen in front of the camera, but not the other women.  I think both are trying to make monogamists think plygs have "normal" famblies and relationships.

[LuvMyShows]

On 1/28/2020 at 12:08 PM, Kyanight said:

I call Bull.  I'm not buying that at all.  Kody is lazy, he's not going to even bother finding FOUR houses suited to each wife and her brood of kids if it's pointless from the start and he's not even going to suggest the idea.

Plus, if he really had done that research and lined up 4 houses in St George, then he would likely have done the same for Flagstaff.

On 1/28/2020 at 1:41 PM, Onceafan said:

Does anyone remember that cheesy ad that Kody did to pimp out the las vegas homes in March 2019, where you could meet him if you came to their open house? 

That sounds golden...how can we see it?!

On 1/29/2020 at 10:01 PM, Sandy W said:

Maybe they did it on the 24/25 then took that mountain of gifts back and re-wrapped them and acted all surprised all over again.  

There was a weird thing that someone said, I think it was Kody, something to the kids about "Look at all the presents you're getting.  That's because you're getting presents from each mom."  That's absurdly wasteful and unnecessary.  But what made it funny, was that earlier there had been a voice-over of one of the moms trying to downplay all the gift excess by saying something like if each child gets one or two presents, it looks like there's a lot.  I believe Kody in this case.

On 2/6/2020 at 8:56 AM, Roslyn said:

Maybe just coincidence, but trauma can bring repressed issues festering to the surface (yes, personal experience...)

Sorry for your trauma, Roslyn ☹️