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I Saw The Signs: A Rewatch Thread


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What I always found a very peculiar scene: When they’re all together after Meri and Kody’s divorce and discuss the upcoming marriage of Robyn and Kody. And suddenly it appears the two of them had already sneaked off to the registry office to get it sorted….

The devastated looks on the faces of Meri, Janelle and Christine! They truly couldn’t understand why such an important family event had happened without them. I guess it was Kody and Robyn’s  first real course of action to detangle themselves from the big family. And of course they had no desire to share this intimate loving moment with the other three (who then still firmly believed in polygamous marriage) 

 

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3 hours ago, LilyD said:

The devastated looks on the faces of Meri, Janelle and Christine! They truly couldn’t understand why such an important family event had happened without them. 

They were probably horrified that their husband was off having cookies without their knowledge ... for how long?

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For a while, I have wondered about Kody’s erratic and vicious behavior. But when you look back over the years, you actually see a beast in the making. When you rewatch the episodes you can clearly see an erratic but happy (still despicable)human being evolving into the self-centered monster he is today. Also, when looking back, I can’t help but wonder about the part the wives played in this. The more I think about it, the more I feel that they raised and nurtured this beast.

In Lehi, life evolved around where Kody was. Even when he wasn’t with a wife, he’d still be in charge e.g. when he barged in to tuck them in for the night (effectively deciding when it happened.) The wives could bathe and dress them, he’d do the easy and fun thing and left. He decided to move and how it happened. What a disaster and no one called him out on creating that mess! Then there was LV. In more than one occasion, a mom would tell the kids they couldn’t do something that evening because dad would be home. That implies to me that family life came to a halt because dad would be there. So, it always was about Kody in the first place. And even when the wives disagreed, it happened….

Don’t get me wrong, I have no empathy for this beast and consider him an utter failure and despicable human being, but I am starting to wonder whether the wives should look up the meaning of You reap what you sow….
 

 

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The episode on Solomon’s birth: Janelle’s kids and Mariah sat together discussing the new baby. The only one who was genuinely excited was Mariah. 
Possibly because Meri was a bit closer to Robyn back then and she was the single child. Both Hunter and Maddie were totally against it. They were literally like “we’re happy for her, but we have too many kids as is.” Hunter specifically said things like “more than we can handle” and “How can you love someone you don’t know” 

I guess that sums up the kids’ attitude towards Robyn and her kids quite well! Maybe they did quickly identify her as a wicked step mom stealing their father?

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1 hour ago, LilyD said:

The episode on Solomon’s birth: Janelle’s kids and Mariah sat together discussing the new baby. The only one who was genuinely excited was Mariah. 
Possibly because Meri was a bit closer to Robyn back then and she was the single child. Both Hunter and Maddie were totally against it. They were literally like “we’re happy for her, but we have too many kids as is.” Hunter specifically said things like “more than we can handle” and “How can you love someone you don’t know” 

I guess that sums up the kids’ attitude towards Robyn and her kids quite well! Maybe they did quickly identify her as a wicked step mom stealing their father?

There was another episode where one of Janelle’s boys sternly corrected Sol when he (Sol) tried to hit someone. It wasn’t well received but I took that as another sign that her boys, in particular, weren’t thrilled with Robin. Not to mention, the camping episode where Robin was making everyone wait on her while she applied her make up. 

 

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1 hour ago, Awfarmington said:

There was another episode where one of Janelle’s boys sternly corrected Sol when he (Sol) tried to hit someone. It wasn’t well received but I took that as another sign that her boys, in particular, weren’t thrilled with Robin. Not to mention, the camping episode where Robin was making everyone wait on her while she applied her make up. 

 

That was when the fahmbly was on vacation in Hawaii. Sol hit Gwen, iirc, and Garrison corrected him and then received a tongue-lashing from Kody. This was also where Kody tried to park cars at a restaurant, and Christine (plus Kody?) told Mykelti she didn't want her to rush into marriage, and Meri decided to make paintings for each of the other adults, to make amends for the catfishing. (I'm pretty sure that was all in this episode, but not 100%)

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10 hours ago, Teafortwo said:

Sol hit Gwen, iirc, and Garrison corrected him and then received a tongue-lashing from Kody.

I couldn't remember who it was, thanks.

Yet he was fine with Meri jumping in and yelling at Christine's children, because Meri was defending Robyn's kids.

There's arguments to be made about who is allowed to discipline whom and I'm not trying to start that fight...we'd probably each do things a little differently.

My point is just that Kody's "rules" appear to be that anyone can correct or yell at the children of the lower wives, Christine and Janelle, but no one had better have even a cross word to say about Saint Robyn and her spawn.

If Meri jumped in and did some similar disciplining of Robyn's children instead of Christine's, Kody would bite her head off. And, Meri would never do it in the first place, because there's an unspoken class system in this family. To some extent that class system is still in place today, even though Meri and Kody's relationship is basically over...and by that I mean, it exists within the children of the mothers. Think about if you really believe Kody will hold Princess Mariah to the same Covid standards as Hunter, for instance.

10 hours ago, Teafortwo said:

That was when the fahmbly was on vacation in Hawaii.

In regards to the waiting while Robyn applies her makeup - it was also an issue on a camping trip as @Awfarmington said. I remember Hunter getting angry and Janelle telling him he didn't get to criticize the adults...he was angry that they were all waiting around while Meri and Robyn both fussed with their makeup.

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11 minutes ago, SongbirdHollow said:

@Sasha888 Has Kody had anything to do with Mariah since she came out? Between that and the sins of her mother, I’m not sure I’d call her a princess anymore. 🙁

I found it very telling when Mariah and Audge left Chicago and stopped by Meri's for 2 weeks with neither party picking up the phone.  Kody could have called to ask if they had arrived yet but more onus IMO was on Mariah to call him and say ---Hey we're here.  A stupid stalemate resulting in hurt feelings all around.  

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4 minutes ago, SongbirdHollow said:

@Sasha888 Has Kody had anything to do with Mariah since she came out? Between that and the sins of her mother, I’m not sure I’d call her a princess anymore. 🙁

It's a matter of opinion, I suppose, but to me, the answer is yes, he has definitely had at least something to do with her. Especially considering we are talking about a douche who for the most part has no time for non-Robyn children.

He went to Meri's to do a joint phone call with Mariah in regards to her leaving Chicago when the pandemic hit. Mariah was present at Kody's birthday party when she announced her engagement. There was a scene where he is on the phone with Mariah discussing Covid and the economy. He was playing the big Father of the Bride role when Mariah looked at wedding venues...he made the trip to Utah to do that.

That's just a few recent examples I can think of. She isn't going to be treated as well as a Robyn kid, but probably better than a Christine kid.

 

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I did not really like Kody from the jump.  He had that same braggadoccio I saw when I watched some older documentary.  The smug smile and they "I got 3" or something.  But it turned to full-on hatred during some party, possibly the recommitment ceremony.  They are all lined up for photo and Kody is yelling at everyone, all pissed-off anger and then immediately flashes the toothy smile for the camera.  The phoniness was unbelievable.

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13 hours ago, Teafortwo said:

That was when the fahmbly was on vacation in Hawaii. Sol hit Gwen, iirc, and Garrison corrected him and then received a tongue-lashing from Kody. This was also where Kody tried to park cars at a restaurant, and Christine (plus Kody?) told Mykelti she didn't want her to rush into marriage, and Meri decided to make paintings for each of the other adults, to make amends for the catfishing. (I'm pretty sure that was all in this episode, but not 100%)

Garrison trying to correct Solomon was in one of the Alaska episodes, IIRC.  Garrison said that comforting Sol was wrong, and Janelle & Kootie told him that he wasn't the parent, and wasn't allowed to correct what he probably saw as a bratty thing to do (and I agree with Garrison) but he caught hell for saying it.  Garrison also said (paraphrased) that Sol was going to be a narcissist.  Left unsaid IMO, was "just like his father."  😜

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4 hours ago, Sandy W said:

I found it very telling when Mariah and Audge left Chicago and stopped by Meri's for 2 weeks with neither party picking up the phone.  Kody could have called to ask if they had arrived yet but more onus IMO was on Mariah to call him and say ---Hey we're here.  A stupid stalemate resulting in hurt feelings all around.  

Mariah didn't even stay for the whole two weeks, perhaps to avoid Kootie.

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I’ve gotten up to Season 7 in my rewatch, and Kody’s treatment of Meri started being noticeable to me during the building of the Vegas compound. Having her be over budget with just one child to budget for, and then the whining over not getting IN the house right away….well, that annoyed ME. And I could see him less and less able to control his annoyance, and then anger, that she was so needy all the time. 

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Just curious, @MelissaMinion, was there any mention during the building of Meri being asked to stay away from the build site? Or stop asking for changes?
 

I have a memory that Meri was so controlling during the building of the Vegas houses that she was asked by the construction crew to stop coming by...but it's fuzzy and unclear. I don't know if it was asked to stop coming by the construction site, or asked to stop trying to make changes to the plans, or what.

I also can't recall if it was mentioned on the show or if it was something I read here on the forum.

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S1 E3 You can see that Meri is truly unhappy in polygamy and unhappy with Robyn joining the family.

Meri says, "I do think I don't want to do this. I am comfortable with Janelle and Christine.  You know, they get me.  I don't even know that I want to stay sometimes. You know the only thing that even wants me to stay is my commitment level and my daughter.  You know, this is her family and I wouldn't ever do that to her. "

That was 12 years ago.  She's still unhappy and still hanging on.

Edited by Ms.Lulu
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3 hours ago, Sasha888 said:

Just curious, @MelissaMinion, was there any mention during the building of Meri being asked to stay away from the build site? Or stop asking for changes?
 

I have a memory that Meri was so controlling during the building of the Vegas houses that she was asked by the construction crew to stop coming by...but it's fuzzy and unclear. I don't know if it was asked to stop coming by the construction site, or asked to stop trying to make changes to the plans, or what.

I also can't recall if it was mentioned on the show or if it was something I read here on the forum.

The realtor (Myra?) brought it up, and explained that making changes and bugging the crew would slow down construction and add cost. Meri explained that she was out there all the time taking pictures for her scrapbook. Kody was also out there with the other wives, checking progress and making helpful suggestions. They were banned from random appearances and told they might not be in by Christmas if it didn’t stop.  Followed by Meri’s righteous indignation when mistakes were found during a walk through, like the wall for Christine’s library and the wrong windows in Robin’s bedroom.

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22 minutes ago, Ms.Lulu said:

S1 E3 You can see that Meri is truly unhappy in polygamy and unhappy with Robyn joining the family.

Meri says, "I do think I don't want to do this. I am comfortable with Janelle and Christine.  You know, they get me.

 

I think what she meant is that she felt she had Janelle and Christine firmly under her thumb.  They "get" her and know their place.

Her spidey senses were starting to kick in with Robyn "you know" and correctly predicted that she would not be able to control Robyn.

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30 minutes ago, Sandy W said:

I think what she meant is that she felt she had Janelle and Christine firmly under her thumb.  They "get" her and know their place.

Her spidey senses were starting to kick in with Robyn "you know" and correctly predicted that she would not be able to control Robyn.

I agree.  I think she was unhappy in what she saw as her lot in life.  And that said, she was able to control Janelle and Christine so she didn't want Robyn to threaten her HBIC.  But it is lonely at the top so she also wanted to bring Robyn in as a friend/ally.  For Meri, friend/ally = wife. It was a miscalculation for the ages.

Edited by Ms.Lulu
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I remember one of the early episodes in somebody's kitchen and Robyn was talking (not flirting or anything) but Kody was smiling and fixated on her with love in his eyes. The other wives all had blank looks or looks of dread on their faces.  They knew what was happening.

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Thanks @lindalouwho.

I would be so embarrassed to basically be officially told I was a huge pest. These people. 🙄

4 minutes ago, Sandy W said:

I think what she meant is that she felt she had Janelle and Christine firmly under her thumb.  They "get" her and know their place.

Her spidey senses were starting to kick in with Robyn "you know" and correctly predicted that she would not be able to control Robyn.

Agree. I think she also realized around this time that Kody was WAY more smitten than she ever dreamed he would be. I always think of the scene at Robyn's birthday party. She opens a gift from Meri, and Kody, stupid, insensitive ASS that he is, says with a giddy, lovestruck smile on his face, "I'm not the ONLY one in love with Robyn!" and Meri looks like she wants to crawl in a hole and die.

It was pretty arrogant, to believe that no one could replace her as top dog.

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4 minutes ago, Sasha888 said:

It was pretty arrogant, to believe that no one could replace her as top dog.

More blind as a bat...  

She must have completely underestimated Robyn. Despite her insecurity and misery, she was Queen of the Brown Kingdom: The only legal wife and mother to the only true princess. What threat could that divorced, single-mom of three with huge debts possibly be? In Meri's mind, Robyn must have been the epitome of the failed wife and mother, and Kody would surely see that too. Meri would lovingly take her in as 4th wife and have her as ally against the other two.

Boy did that backfire....She never realised Robyn's full potential and conveniently forgot that Kody's very few brain cells are not in his brains but deep down below in his pants.... 

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52 minutes ago, Sasha888 said:

She should have known that at least the "divorced" and "in debt" parts weren't going to bother Kody! 😆

It might have been an attraction - he could pile on more debt and then participate in a 4th bankruptcy.

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6 hours ago, Sasha888 said:

Just curious, @MelissaMinion, was there any mention during the building of Meri being asked to stay away from the build site? Or stop asking for changes?
 

I have a memory that Meri was so controlling during the building of the Vegas houses that she was asked by the construction crew to stop coming by...but it's fuzzy and unclear. I don't know if it was asked to stop coming by the construction site, or asked to stop trying to make changes to the plans, or what.

I also can't recall if it was mentioned on the show or if it was something I read here on the forum.

Yes Mona the realtor, had to go and get onto them for going to the homes while crew was on site.  

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6 minutes ago, nosedive said:

Ewwww!  Gag!  Barf!  I'm going to print this out and tape it on my refrigerator and read it every time I'm tempted to cheat on my diet.  

😆

If you ever think you've ingested poison, just remember that a romantic, waxing poetic Kody is a great way to jump start a vomit. 

"Transfixed by her spirit"...yeah, I'm sure when she walked by you thought "Look at the morals on that girl! ", right Kody?

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Currently watching Season 8, where we go one we go all ... so obvious Robyn instigated this move!!  She must think we are all blind. It infuriates me how she puts herself ahead of the rest of the family. Talk about selfish!

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On 1/2/2022 at 5:33 PM, Pooky said:

The day Robyn joined the family it was down hill from there for Christine. The signs have been there for awhile, and the scene with the wedding dress when Kody revealed he had picked it was when Robyn was exposed in my eyes. How sneaky! Christine was devastated and walked off set and I read it took days for her to return too, not the 5 or so minutes we saw. Robyn is a snake and always will be. Another scene that sticks out is when they snuck off to " sign paperwork" it was meant to be no big deal but you could see how ecstatic they both were to be legally wed. Imagine being another "wife" and seeing that.

I watched this clip yesterday and before he said he picked the dress he paused and did a side eye towards Christine and he knew he was about to hurt the shit out of her. Even Janelle was upset in a way about it. Number one because he didn't do that with them and number two because the deceit had already begun. And Robyn no matter what she carried on about was bullshit. She had taken the wives dress shopping to seem like they were part of it and in the end it was all about what Kody wanted. Which is crap anyway. It just seems like from the very beginning everything was a totally different experience for Robyn and they had every right to be upset. He was a dick back then but now he is a freaking bag of digs. This dude is seriously fucked in the head and Covid just was the final nail in Christine's coffin and because of the surgery. 

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Has anyone else noticed that several times Sobbin has said I'm not going to give my opinion I want to hear what the rest of the family has to say first... Why?  What difference does it make to her... it seems odd behaviour to me. Shows her conniving side. 

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Flirting with Flagstaff... watch Robyn's face when Meri says her and Kody preferred Cottonwood over Koyote Pass!! She was not impressed and of course they went with what she wanted in the end.. it's her way or the highway.. she also commented she was never moving again and going to plant Kody there and that is where he was staying. Guess she really did.. in her own backyard too 😀 Edit: sorry about all these posts these reruns are coming fast and furious here on Netflix in Australia...however we still don't have the current season yet!!!

Edited by Pooky
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14 hours ago, Pooky said:

Has anyone else noticed that several times Sobbin has said I'm not going to give my opinion I want to hear what the rest of the family has to say first... Why?  What difference does it make to her... it seems odd behaviour to me. Shows her conniving side. 

It's called controlling the narrative.  She wants to hear what everyone has to say so that she can then spin her input to "appear" either neutral or "going with the flow".  However, she usually just then goes back to Kody when it is just the two of them and crafts her opinion so that it seems as though it is his idea. It is very conniving and manipulative, but subtle.

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20 hours ago, toodywoody said:

I watched this clip yesterday and before he said he picked the dress he paused and did a side eye towards Christine and he knew he was about to hurt the shit out of her. Even Janelle was upset in a way about it. Number one because he didn't do that with them and number two because the deceit had already begun. And Robyn no matter what she carried on about was bullshit. She had taken the wives dress shopping to seem like they were part of it and in the end it was all about what Kody wanted. Which is crap anyway. It just seems like from the very beginning everything was a totally different experience for Robyn and they had every right to be upset. He was a dick back then but now he is a freaking bag of digs. This dude is seriously fucked in the head and Covid just was the final nail in Christine's coffin and because of the surgery. 

Kody was giddy while bragging to the wives that he picked out the dress.  You could tell that he could not contain his excitement.  It was a cruel and heartless thing to do.  It was made worse by announcing it to America on National television.  And he was so besotted with Robyn he did not even realize that he was acting like a buffoon.  Even before marriage Robyn had Kody choosing between her and the 3 original wives and Kody stupidly allowed it and wholly participated in her efforts.

Edited by aimlessbird
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On 1/7/2022 at 4:35 AM, Roslyn said:

It's called controlling the narrative.  She wants to hear what everyone has to say so that she can then spin her input to "appear" either neutral or "going with the flow".  However, she usually just then goes back to Kody when it is just the two of them and crafts her opinion so that it seems as though it is his idea. It is very conniving and manipulative, but subtle.

Its unbelievable how she manipulates Kody so easily! It's like watching a cat playing with a mouse 😂

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On 1/7/2022 at 9:20 AM, aimlessbird said:

Kody was giddy while bragging to the wives that he picked out the dress.  You could tell that he could not contain his excitement.  It was a cruel and heartless thing to do.  It was made worse by announcing it to America on National television.  And he was so besotted with Robyn he did not even realize that he was acting like a buffoon.  Even before marriage Robyn had Kody choosing between her and the 3 original wives and Kody stupidly allowed it and wholly participated in her efforts.

He really threw Robyn under the bus! What a cow thou to set the other wives up that way. She is a liar and there are several examples one was while trying Aspyns wedding cake samples and saying she loved the almond.. but really she hated it. In her own words it was a harmless white lie.. hmmm.. 🤔

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13 hours ago, Pooky said:

He really threw Robyn under the bus! What a cow thou to set the other wives up that way. She is a liar and there are several examples one was while trying Aspyns wedding cake samples and saying she loved the almond.. but really she hated it. In her own words it was a harmless white lie.. hmmm.. 🤔

Oh, “white lies”: very rarely are they ever “innocent”—even over something as small as cake preference (except maybe children—that dinosaur drawing is great!). Anyway………

If you say you like it when you don’t, eventually it’ll come out and be more hurtful (just like ⬆️).   I had a white lie come back and bite me—nowadays, if I don’t care for something, I simply say so, politely. The initial hurt will be far less painful to the other person than them finding out later you lied about something. 

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18 hours ago, Pooky said:

Its unbelievable how she manipulates Kody so easily! It's like watching a cat playing with a mouse 😂

Yes. The subtle dynamics is what got me interested in watching the show in the first place. If Christine would insert words for Kody to use he would snap her down in a heartbeat, and he has. Kody talks over ALL of them, "we think", "we would", "we feel" etc, and they just let him get away with it. Robyn spits out "let me talk for myself" and he shuts up and lets her talk. With a broody look on his face, but he has given Robyn a very different and obviously respected voice that the others do not have with him.

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When Meri first was talking about the bed and breakfast she said Annie was going to help her run it, wonder what happened to change that?  I hope we get the tell all this season as well, that's where many of these questions are answered. 

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11 hours ago, Pooky said:

When Meri first was talking about the bed and breakfast she said Annie was going to help her run it, wonder what happened to change that?  I hope we get the tell all this season as well, that's where many of these questions are answered. 

Poor Annie seemed to have lost in a shuffle.  She was so looking forward to the assignment, it was written all over her when Meri took her for a preview of the BnB.  My unsubstantiated theory is that Meri's mom sold her own home at the same time that Meri was scrambling for funds to purchase, so she may have contributed the proceeds to the BnB.  

When the idea of Meri's mom acting as hostess first came up, Meri dismissed the idea, saying that Bonnie was too shy and retiring for the role but that Annie would be ideal.  As it turned out, Meri underestimated her mother and from all accounts, Bonnie was a gracious hostess, but Meri hired outside help for the breakfast preparation and cleaning/changing bedding.

Annie disappeared from the show without any explanation and I have heard that she is living with another daughter, hopefully in Utah so Christine and her kids can re-establish contact.

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Season 9. A breaking point.  When Robin's daughter has the melt down  over the house being sold... and Kody has to carry her upstairs like a big hero...How is she going to cope in the real world?  Life is full of disappointment and things happen that you have no control over. I think she needs professional help

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12 hours ago, Pooky said:

Season 9. A breaking point.  When Robin's daughter has the melt down  over the house being sold... and Kody has to carry her upstairs like a big hero...How is she going to cope in the real world?  Life is full of disappointment and things happen that you have no control over. I think she needs professional help

I can understand her frustration with all the moving and things she has no choice over. She might have just reached an emotional breaking point where enough was enough, they JUST moved and now they’re doing it AGAIN. Add in someone with an anxiety disorder/panic attacks, it can be much worse and the littlest things can be upsetting. 

I have panic disorder (and autism and ptsd) and meltdowns are incredibly humiliating, especially public ones. The only way to mitigate them is to avoid situations I know may lead to a meltdown or panic attack. Luckily, I have a mindful and understanding circle of friends and family. The worst thing someone can do to a person having the meltdown is to ask them how they’re gonna deal with the real world, because they may choose not to one day. Professionals made me feel worse about myself, not better, so I have major distrust now about seeing anyone. 

Here’s to hoping she’s doing better nowadays. Sometimes, a loving and patient family can help a person to learn how to handle their triggers better. 

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