I Saw The Signs: A Rewatch Thread

[LilyD]

17 hours ago, Sandy W said:

I fully believe Christine was lying when she seemed to be on board with accepting Robyn into the family but for the sake of storylines and their newfound source of revenue aka the Show, she went along and swallowed her fillin's.

Actually, Christine was incredibly vocal about not wanting a fourth wife. She said so on quite a few occasions during the first few seasons. She was also very honest about her struggles and jealousy. But, it’s Christine. She was the basement wife so nobody cared for her opinion anyways so she had to either be onboard or jump the wagon. Which she finally did 10 years later.

On 2/13/2022 at 9:55 AM, Pooky said:

Any other examples?

Robyn’s constant rambling about herself and Sol being high risk as she had Pneumonia as a kid and Sol once contracted RS-virus as an infant…

[WhatAmIWatching]

8 hours ago, LilyD said:

Actually, Christine was incredibly vocal about not wanting a fourth wife. She said so on quite a few occasions during the first few seasons. She was also very honest about her struggles and jealousy. But, it’s Christine. She was the basement wife so nobody cared for her opinion anyways so she had to either be onboard or jump the wagon. Which she finally did 10 years later.

Robyn’s constant rambling about herself and Sol being high risk as she had Pneumonia as a kid and Sol once contracted RS-virus as an infant…

Yes she was! She was like Nostradamus with all of it, it's eerie. She said she was worried that Kodork was going to replace his current family with Robyn's. She said this on a couch interview with the Douche right next to her. He probably ripped into her after that.

Janelle also had a one-on-one with Kody where she expressed the same worries, and he blew her off.

 

 

@Pooky When Kody and Robyn were discussing the Big Brown S'more's Adventure ahead of time, Kody asked if Sol and Arielollala would be *allowed* to go if the rest of the family followed the rules.

[SunnyBeBe]

I was looking for wedding stuff and found these photos!  Omg!  They all look so good then!  Scroll through….it’s about 14!  
 

https://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/kody-and-robyn-browns-wedding-album

 

 

[deirdra]

On 1/12/2022 at 8:29 AM, TurtlePower said:

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. 

Where will Aurora find one of those when she lives with the Triggerers in Chief who see nothing wrong with showing her meltdowns to the world?

Edited February 14, 2022 by deirdra

[Shelbie]

46 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I was looking for wedding stuff and found these photos!  Omg!  They all look so good then!  Scroll through….it’s about 14!  
 

https://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/kody-and-robyn-browns-wedding-album

 

 

The difference is mind blowing. 

[SunnyBeBe]

1 hour ago, Shelbie said:

The difference is mind blowing. 

They could have been fake smiles, but they look genuinely happy to me.  

[TurtlePower]

15 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

They could have been fake smiles, but they look genuinely happy to me.  

I suspect some of the smiles were fake and some were smiles of denial: Meri thinking bringing Robyn in would help her relationship with Kody, Christine just faking it (because she knew how bad it would get) and Janelle kind of “meh”, maybe it’ll get better. 

Mariah looked good with her natural blonde hair. 

Edited February 15, 2022 by TurtlePower
Punctuation

[SunnyBeBe]

Yeah, they really were so much more attractive back then,  Hmmmm….I don’t think it’s just age that’s taken a toll.  

[Sandy W]

20 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

They could have been fake smiles, but they look genuinely happy to me.  

They had good reason to be genuinely happy.  For the first time in 20 years thanks to Robyn being added to the family, generating enough interest to secure a show on TV, they thought they had it made.  No more food stamps or rotating bankruptcies needed and the prospect of better housing.

Fast forward 10 years and the entire family structure has shifted, 4 disgruntled wives, several alienated kids and a powerless potentate.  What price fame!

[Pickleinthemiddle]

35 minutes ago, Sandy W said:

They had good reason to be genuinely happy.  For the first time in 20 years thanks to Robyn being added to the family, generating enough interest to secure a show on TV, they thought they had it made.  No more food stamps or rotating bankruptcies needed and the prospect of better housing.

Fast forward 10 years and the entire family structure has shifted, 4 disgruntled wives, several alienated kids and a powerless potentate.  What price fame!

True, too bad they didn't save and invest at least half of their earnings and all work a real job when not filming.  Bet they wish they had that money now.

[ginger90]

A clip from when Meri and Kody’s divorce was final:

 

 

[ginger90]

 

 

 

Janelle and Meri using separate cars:

 

 

[lamadeleine]

I just watched a handful of older episodes from seasons 1-3. A couple of rando observations:

• The cold sores. So many cold sores. I'd forgot about that.
• The ladies all look so much better in these early episodes- their makeup looks nice and clean, and the eyebrow situation isn't out of control like it is now. Meri's hair- although it's never been great, is so much nicer without the gazillion pounds of hair product in it.
• Kodyn's pregnancy with Sol announcement - Janelle's face. Oof. Dead eyes. They'd just moved into all the Vegas rennals and I imagine all she could think about when she heard about the precious new addition was the rapidly dwindling bank account and no job prospects in sight, save carrying open house signs for Mona.
• Season 3, Episode 4- The Four Lives of Kody Brown. This episode should be renamed "Look at the Mountain, 1.0". Christine flat-out says that she no longer feels special; Kody is favoring Robyn and he's not giving enough time and energy to her marriage (Christine). She blames Kody for the disproportionate attention, but quickly (and unconvincingly IMO) walks back any suggestion that Robyn is also to blame. In the wives TH segment, Meri basically says she wants to smack Christine sometimes because it's essentially her fault if things aren't going well in the marriage and that she just needs to work harder. Because all of the wives are there (remember when that was a thing?), we see Christine's facial expression as Meri is saying this. She looks humiliated that Meri is saying this, angry, and also deeply chastened...you can see the struggle. Christine just resolves to "be happy"...and so her long journey continues.

[Adiba]

36 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

A clip from when Meri and Kody’s divorce was final:

 

 

Huh, why does Meri use the word “stupid” when talking about telling Kody? Why wouldn’t Kody have gotten notice about the divorce being final separately from Meri? 
I bet Robyn ran home and told Kody right away, so moot point.

36 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

 

 

 

Janelle and Meri using separate cars:

 

 

So much for “brave” and “strong,” eh, Meri?

[Pickleinthemiddle]

1 hour ago, lamadeleine said:

She blames Kody for the disproportionate attention, but quickly (and unconvincingly IMO) walks back any suggestion that Robyn is also to blame

I blame Kody.  He is the one who allowed it to happen.  He decided for whatever reason, he was going to spend most of his time with Robyn.

[lamadeleine]

1 hour ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

I blame Kody.  He is the one who allowed it to happen.  He decided for whatever reason, he was going to spend most of his time with Robyn.

I do too. I think the reasons are pretty clear- she's new and shiny at this point. They're still somewhat newly wed and she's now pregnant with their first child together. He doesn't have the baggage with Robyn yet that he does with all the other wives...and as we know, Kody is good at dividing his love, but sucks at multiplying it.

[HighlandWarriorGrl]

5 hours ago, ginger90 said:

A clip from when Meri and Kody’s divorce was final:

 

 

I couldn’t loathe Sobyn any more . . . “So that sucker (the divorce) is finalized huh?”

[all4mom2]

Where are you all watching these past seasons?  Wish they'd show them on TLC.  They'd be MUCH more entertaining than 1k Best Friends, Shauna Rae, and Stuck.

Re: Robyn joining the family, I have an unusual theory...  Meri is subconsciously bisexual and was as much in love -- or at least smitten -- with Robyn as Kody.  In fact, she was smitten FIRST.  She suggested her to him and instigated the whole thing.  She also hoped it would end the triangulation among the wives (Janelle and Christine against her) and even up the numbers, two against two, but it's also clear to see that she has extremely intense feelings for and about Robyn, even to this day.  When Robyn hurts her feelings, those are real tears she cries.  So yeah, Meri, you did this to yourself.  AND to the rest of the family.  Hope you're happy!

Adding: this would also explain why she won't leave; she'd be leaving not only Kody, but Robyn.  If she stays, she can at least be the "favorite aunt."

Edited February 18, 2022 by all4mom2

[Kbo]

24 minutes ago, all4mom2 said:

Where are you all watching these past seasons?  Wish they'd show them on TLC.  They'd be MUCH more entertaining than 1k Best Friends, Shauna Rae, and Stuck.

Re: Robyn joining the family, I have an unusual theory...  Meri is subconsciously bisexual and was as much in love -- or at least smitten -- with Robyn as Kody.  In fact, she was smitten FIRST.  She suggested her to him and instigated the whole thing.  She also hoped it would end the triangulation among the wives (Janelle and Christine against her) and even up the numbers, two against two, but it's also clear to see that she has extremely intense feelings for and about Robyn, even to this day.  When Robyn hurts her feelings, those are real tears she cries.  So yeah, Meri, you did this to yourself.  AND to the rest of the family.  Hope you're happy!

 

They’re on Discovery +

[Irate Panda]

1 hour ago, all4mom2 said:

Where are you all watching these past seasons?  Wish they'd show them on TLC.  They'd be MUCH more entertaining than 1k Best Friends, Shauna Rae, and Stuck.

Depending on your cable provider TLC website/ TLC GO

[all4mom2]

I don't get either of those.  Please continue posting clips, because that's as close as I can get (although I remember past seasons pretty well, having watched this train wreck from the beginning).

[Liddy52]

Spectrum has a lot of the previous episodes "On Demand".

[xwordfanatik]

Please, no judgement!  I rewatched the episode in season 6 where it was Mother's Day, and Kootie hosted his four mothers-in-law, plus his own mom.  What I noticed on rewatch was that RobChyn's mother has the same voice as her she-devil daughter.  It's eerie.

On a superficial note, Christine's mother Annie is the most attractive mom, just as Christine is the most attractive (ex) wife.  I hope the two of them are able to visit often, and as I also recall, Christine's aunt Kristen is rilly pretty, too.  All three have the wrinkle-prone skin type (as I unfortunately do as well) but they have it all over the others in overall looks.  YMMV as always.

[Sandy W]

10 hours ago, xwordfanatik said:

Please, no judgement!  I rewatched the episode in season 6 where it was Mother's Day, and Kootie hosted his four mothers-in-law, plus his own mom.  What I noticed on rewatch was that RobChyn's mother has the same voice as her she-devil daughter.  It's eerie.

On a superficial note, Christine's mother Annie is the most attractive mom, just as Christine is the most attractive (ex) wife.  I hope the two of them are able to visit often, and as I also recall, Christine's aunt Kristen is rilly pretty, too.  All three have the wrinkle-prone skin type (as I unfortunately do as well) but they have it all over the others in overall looks.  YMMV as always.

I see what you are saying.  Kody's, Robyn's, Janelle's and Meri's moms all look the grandmotherly type.  Nothing wrong with that, I'm a great-grandmother 8 times over, but they look like they may be able to advise you on a crochet project or a good recipe for peanut butter cookies.  Christine's mom and aunt look like you could engage them with a lively discussion on current affairs, they seem to have lived in the outside world more.  I could be off-base about Janelle's mom, I think she was a school teacher, so she may not have been as insulated as the others.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Sandy W
corrected typo

[xwordfanatik]

In the same episode, Janelle mentioned her mom was a nurse.  Wasn't Bonnie the teacher?  Too bad RobChyn guilted Meri into her dumb joolry vanity project, instead of Meri going back to college, like she planned.  

[ginger90]

4 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

In the same episode, Janelle mentioned her mom was a nurse.  Wasn't Bonnie the teacher?  Too bad RobChyn guilted Meri into her dumb joolry vanity project, instead of Meri going back to college, like she planned.  

From Bonnie’s obituary:

 

After graduating from Skyline High School, she went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from Cal Berkley. Bonnie and Bill started their married life in the Bay Area, and within a few years moved their family to UT. There they raised their seven children in the Salt Lake Valley. While her degree was in accounting, she prioritized education. She taught advanced math in the same private school where she was the principal  for 13 years. Bonnie mentored, tutored, and instilled a love of learning in many people, both young and old, even into her final days.

*I corrected the spelling of principal, they had it as principle.

[Sandy W]

6 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

In the same episode, Janelle mentioned her mom was a nurse.  Wasn't Bonnie the teacher?  Too bad RobChyn guilted Meri into her dumb joolry vanity project, instead of Meri going back to college, like she planned.  

That's right, I forgot Meri's mom and Janelle's mom both had professions.  Thanks for the memory jolt.

[Maire]

On Season 10 ep 6 and Robyn’ s labor. I would have leapt from the bed  to shut Kody up. I know they all say he’s such a good labor coach 😵‍💫 I disagree. “Don’t lock your knees or you’ll cut off oxygen to the brain.”

Men you are never the co-captain until you  feel the pain. You are assistant at best!!

 

ETA. And then passing that baby with a broken collar bone around to everyone, jeez.

Edited February 25, 2022 by Maire

[Mom2twoNonna2-3]

On 1/25/2022 at 5:18 PM, LilyD said:

I see your point, and you’re absolutely right in saying that Sol was born in the middle of the night as our sperm donor’s 14th child. But…they’re sister wives. They share everything, even the same dick(head). One big happy family remember? From a polygamous point of view (not mine!), she had an obligation to be there as one of the moms of the newborn, as support and out of love for a sister wife and out of devotion, respect, support and love for the husband. 
So, yes, I do wonder why she wasn’t there. I’d love to know if she was near when the other kids were born or right after. I still think she couldn’t be bothered. 

She did go. There is video and one of the defining moments of that was Hunter holding and bonding with Sol.

[Mom2twoNonna2-3]

On 2/18/2022 at 10:58 AM, all4mom2 said:

I don't get either of those.  Please continue posting clips, because that's as close as I can get (although I remember past seasons pretty well, having watched this train wreck from the beginning).

I watch them on HULU

 

[SunnyBeBe]

Does anyone know which episode showed the Browns leaving Utah enroute to Vegas?  I’m trying to recall if they had a place to stay when they arrived.  

Edited October 3, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[Roslyn]

6 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Does anyone know which episode showed the Browns leaving Utah enroute to Vegas?  I’m trying to recall if they had a place to stay when they arrived.  

Season 2, Episode 10 and 11 are the leaving Utah to Vegas episodes.

They had arranged for a 30 day large vacation rental house for them to land in and then began scrambling to find rental houses in Vegas from there.

...just as a side note.  People online theorize that it is possible Robyn became pregnant with Solomon when they were staying in this rental house with the whole family.

[GeeGolly]

11 minutes ago, Roslyn said:

...just as a side note.  People online theorize that it is possible Robyn became pregnant with Solomon when they were staying in this rental house with the whole family.

If that's true, Christine (and Meri and Janelle) waited 10 years too long to leave Kody's sorry ass.

[General Days]

I am not sure this question belongs here, but I'm not sure where to ask, and since I discovered it during a re-watch, here I am.

Are some of the older episode threads here mis-numbered, or did TLC renumber the seasons? Our "Meri Catfished" thread is numbered S06.E13, but on IMDb (and Discovery+, where I just finished watching season six), S06.E13 is "Boys Night Out" and "Meri Catfished" is S09.E13.

[ginger90]

3 minutes ago, General Days said:

I am not sure this question belongs here, but I'm not sure where to ask, and since I discovered it during a re-watch, here I am.

Are some of the older episode threads here mis-numbered, or did TLC renumber the seasons? Our "Meri Catfished" thread is numbered S06.E13, but on IMDb (and Discovery+, where I just finished watching season six), S06.E13 is "Boys Night Out" and "Meri Catfished" is S09.E13.

The episode numbers were a mess.

[General Days]

Thank you.

[Pickleinthemiddle]

22 hours ago, ginger90 said:

The episode numbers were a mess.

The first few seasons they had two premier's in a year.  I think that threw everything off, when they went to once a year or longer.

[DanaMB]

15 hours ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

The first few seasons they had two premier's in a year.  I think that threw everything off, when they went to once a year or longer.

They need to double up seasons so they aren’t so far behind real time. 

[TurtlePower]

1 hour ago, DanaMB said:

They need to double up seasons so they aren’t so far behind real time. 

This makes me so mad. I just stared watching Curse of Oak Island and they filmed earlier this summer, not last year. Why can’t sister wives air 5 months after filming like Oak Island does? They were probably still filming into October! 

[Gramto6]

6 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

This makes me so mad. I just stared watching Curse of Oak Island and they filmed earlier this summer, not last year. Why can’t sister wives air 5 months after filming like Oak Island does? They were probably still filming into October! 

Yeah, I don't understand the huge gap between filming and airing. By the time an episode airs, we know everything basically from SM posted by the fambly. 

[General Days]

I'm rewatching the series, and I'm up to S08.E05, "Anthropologists Move In," which features two grad students (one male, one female) who go to live with the Browns for a few days, to observe them.

When it's just the students and the crew (no Browns around), the female student says, "My initial impression of Kody is that he's a showboat.

The male student nods, breaks into an enormous grin, and says. "You noticed that as well. Yeah. Kody likes to put his best foot forward. He enjoys the fact that he has long hair. He enjoys the fact that he wears nice clothing, that he's hip and he's cool, and he likes the fact that he has four wives."

Female student: "He likes to be the center of attention."

Male student: "Yeah. Yeah, definitely."

That's a hell of an accurate first impression.

[Scarlett45]

On 11/18/2022 at 12:56 PM, Pickleinthemiddle said:

The first few seasons they had two premier's in a year.  I think that threw everything off, when they went to once a year or longer.

Yes, and then they labeled a season as a two parter- eventually Primetimer moved to what TLC said to make it easier to find the recent episodes.

[RazzleberryPie]

15 hours ago, General Days said:

I'm rewatching the series, and I'm up to S08.E05, "Anthropologists Move In," which features two grad students (one male, one female) who go to live with the Browns for a few days, to observe them.

When it's just the students and the crew (no Browns around), the female student says, "My initial impression of Kody is that he's a showboat.

The male student nods, breaks into an enormous grin, and says. "You noticed that as well. Yeah. Kody likes to put his best foot forward. He enjoys the fact that he has long hair. He enjoys the fact that he wears nice clothing, that he's hip and he's cool, and he likes the fact that he has four wives."

Female student: "He likes to be the center of attention."

Male student: "Yeah. Yeah, definitely."

That's a hell of an accurate first impression.

Somehow I always got the impression that his decision to become polygamist was less about a true calling, but more of an excuse for him to do something daring and forbidden that when questioned, he could pull the “but we’re doing this for GOD, you heathens” card when questioned. He loves the pearl clutching and persecution complex, plus all the checks and resources the single moms received for decades were prob nice. 

[mythoughtis]

On 11/22/2022 at 4:26 AM, RazzleberryPie said:

Somehow I always got the impression that his decision to become polygamist was less about a true calling, but more of an excuse for him to do something daring and forbidden that when questioned, he could pull the “but we’re doing this for GOD, you heathens” card when questioned. He loves the pearl clutching and persecution complex, plus all the checks and resources the single moms received for decades were prob nice. 

I think that Kody would not have become polygamous if his parents had not. IIRC, his parents became polygamous  while he was off on his mission period for the traditional Mormon church.  It wasn’t too long after that when he married Meri, who was from a polygamous family. Then he quickly married Janelle and then Christine.  Although I see Kody  in a very bad light, I do think his father influenced  his early adult decisions.  Especially about his second and third marriages. 

[Pickleinthemiddle]

10 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

I think that Kody would not have become polygamous if his parents had not. IIRC, his parents became polygamous  while he was off on his mission period for the traditional Mormon church.  It wasn’t too long after that when he married Meri, who was from a polygamous family. Then he quickly married Janelle and then Christine.  Although I see Kody  in a very bad light, I do think his father influenced  his early adult decisions.  Especially about his second and third marriages. 

I don't think he would have either and would have never met Meri.

[Twopper]

I think I am going to watch season 1 again.  It is giving me some whiplash.  It is interesting that the whole family gathered several times a week to have dinner together which worked because they were all in the same house. Also the kids all played together in the same yard. Kody looked pissed when Meri mentioned jealousy issues over Robyn. It was nice that’s kody tells everyone goodnight

[Roslyn]

15 hours ago, Twopper said:

I think I am going to watch season 1 again.  It is giving me some whiplash.  It is interesting that the whole family gathered several times a week to have dinner together which worked because they were all in the same house. Also the kids all played together in the same yard. Kody looked pissed when Meri mentioned jealousy issues over Robyn. It was nice that’s kody tells everyone goodnight

It's sad though, going back and seeing that with some of the new info added recently that Kody wouldn't even go downstairs to tuck in Christine's kids at night and Aspyn did it while pregnant Christine went out in the evenings to work.  I wonder what kind of job it was, since she was chasing a herd of kids all day as well.

They were trying to really make a positive impression of him back then.

[ginger90]

3 hours ago, Roslyn said:

I wonder what kind of job it was, since she was chasing a herd of kids all day as well.

No clue what her jobs were, but Paedon said she had a few jobs over the years. (Probably not his exact words, but as close as I can get in my memory)

Edited December 4, 2022 by ginger90

[OlderThanDirt]

I'm late to this party and watched a couple recent episodes and then went back to the beginning On Demand.  I think the whole premise of the series was bringing in the 4th wife to the established relationships; Without that there was no show.  So I don't believe there was any surprise.  

As always I'm loving the comments here.  

[Twopper]

2 hours ago, ginger90 said:

No clue what her jobs were, but Paedon said she had a few jobs over the years. (Probably not his exact words, but as close as I can get in my memory)

The only job I recall her mentioning was title clerk at a car dealership. She was working there when Kody proposed.