S18.E07: Throwing in the Towel

[Kellyee]

Quote

If Robyn wanted to keep Meri around she would have kept in regular touch with her.  Meri said she barely heard from her during the pandemic.  I believe everything out of Robyn's mouth is bullshit.  However, I do believe Cooter is being a dick to Robyn also.  I think he wants some strange.

Yeah, Meri made a huge deal over how upset Robyn would be that she was leaving, and then she admitted that Robyn barely reaches out to her anyway. I do recall that Meri was basically totally alone during the pandemic. I think Meri inflates her place in the Brown family out of proportion because the truth is too painful. Meri really needs therapy. Her ideas are way out of whack. Like being worried that Kody would think she's giving up on the marriage, when its totally obvious to everyone he doesn't care about her at all and just uses her as a friend/sounding board/someone to appease to Robyn with. 

 

 

 

 

[laurakaye]

I wonder why we never see Robyn sittin' down with Janelle one on one and demanding that she not give up on the family, or begging her not to leave, or any of the other crap she throws at Christine and Meri.  Have we ever, in all 47 seasons, had a segment with just Robyn and Janelle?

Personally I think Janelle knows where all of Robyn's financial bodies are buried, and Robyn is terrified of Janelle.  But that's all the more reason why I want a lil' sit down at the Casa Salsa/Hot Lemon Water restaurant between those two in particular.  Let's see if Robyn can turn on the fake waterworks while Janelle sits across from her and Kody isn't there to save her.

[mythoughtis]

47 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

I wonder why we never see Robyn sittin' down with Janelle one on one and demanding that she not give up on the family, or begging her not to leave, or any of the other crap she throws at Christine and Meri.  Have we ever, in all 47 seasons, had a segment with just Robyn and Janelle?

Personally I think Janelle knows where all of Robyn's financial bodies are buried, and Robyn is terrified of Janelle.  But that's all the more reason why I want a lil' sit down at the Casa Salsa/Hot Lemon Water restaurant between those two in particular.  Let's see if Robyn can turn on the fake waterworks while Janelle sits across from her and Kody isn't there to save her.

There have been a few Robyn and Janelle sessions.  Robyn went to see Janelle at the rental house ( so that was in 2020), but I don’t remember what was discussed. 

Robyn made a point of saying in this episode that she had begged Janelle not to tell Kody to come get his stuff.   Which i don’t believe for a minute.  Janelle is done with Robyn interfering.  I doubt she’d  even answer the phone at this point. 

[ButterQueen]

I’m still doing the rewatch 🤷‍♀️👀🤯🙇‍♀️🤪🧐, and since it seems the wheels are falling off, I hope I can ask a few questions here for you eagle eye viewers.

*There was a scene at Janelle’s house, not sure which house, but I believe Maddie was in the bathroom and pregnant.  Right outside the bathroom door was a dresser with a mirror, and there was what appeared to be a mop like blonde curly hair piece hanging on the side of the mirror.  Is that Janelle’s or Cody’s?  🧐

*I do not for one minute believe the Browns do all the packing and unpacking for their many trips and moves.  They also must stay in hotels.  No way they all fit in 2 RV’s.

*Why do I need to see Kody’s bare feet all the time?  For Heaven’s sake, buy some damn socks!

*And finally, and most poignantly, when did Kody turn into such a selfish and arrogant ass?  He’s never NOT had an inflated man head, but he seemed kinder to his wives and less argumentative in the early seasons.

Mods, if this doesn’t belong here, please delete. 🌼🌺

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LilyD]

3 hours ago, ButterQueen said:

And finally, and most poignantly, when did Kody turn into such a selfish and arrogant ass?  He’s never NOT had an inflated man head, but he seemed kinder to his wives and less argumentative in the early seasons.

I fully agree with your observation here. It probably didn’t happen overnight. It’s more like a gradual process where he slowly lost control over his wives and kids; something he couldn’t handle. Kody needs to feel in control and he needs to be “loved” and “worshipped”.
The big turning point was the move to Flagstaff. The older kids didn’t follow him which was a blow to his ego. The wives spread over town, so he couldn’t control them as easily as he had. He was forced to spend more time in their houses  if he visited them because they were so much further apart. (In Vegas he could simply pop in for a short visit and pretend he was involved) The wives became more independent and discovered they didn’t really need him, which annoyed the heck out of him. And eventually, they all abandoned HIM. 
He literally felt how his control and influence waning, together with the respect and love he always took for granted. He couldn’t handle that, which turned him into an angry and very nasty monster…

 

[natyxg]

1 hour ago, LilyD said:

I fully agree with your observation here. It probably didn’t happen overnight. It’s more like a gradual process where he slowly lost control over his wives and kids; something he couldn’t handle. Kody needs to feel in control and he needs to be “loved” and “worshipped”.
The big turning point was the move to Flagstaff. The older kids didn’t follow him which was a blow to his ego. The wives spread over town, so he couldn’t control them as easily as he had. He was forced to spend more time in their houses  if he visited them because they were so much further apart. (In Vegas he could simply pop in for a short visit and pretend he was involved) The wives became more independent and discovered they didn’t really need him, which annoyed the heck out of him. And eventually, they all abandoned HIM. 
He literally felt how his control and influence waning, together with the respect and love he always took for granted. He couldn’t handle that, which turned him into an angry and very nasty monster…

 

I don't even watch this show really, but occasionally watch clips and I genuinely wonder if he got a midlife crisis and is taking steroids of some kind that are making him crazy. He reminds me of this SNL sketch.

 

[altopower]

3 hours ago, LilyD said:

The big turning point was the move to Flagstaff.

This, for all the factors you listed that I didn't copy :) And then Covid came and all hell broke loose. Kody basically shut down house hopping, what little he was still doing, and stayed in the mansion with Robyn and the littles and their older sibs. Kody had no control over the OG wives or their children, who all had access to real world reports about how to protect yourself against Covid. Oddly enough, those didn't match Kody's, er, Robyn's rules. Kody doesn't seem to remember he has a cell phone and can call people, so they felt free to do what they felt was right. Plus a bunch got vaccinated, unlike Kody. 

The move to Flagstaff was about when I stopped watching because things were so deadly dull.

[Absolom]

I'm finally watching the episode.  I was out of town.  My summary is Kody is major jerk.  Robyn is a jerk.  Kody and Robyn are lying to themselves and everyone else.  Meri is about done with lying to herself except when she thinks she and Robyn understand and care about the fambly.  Robyn cares about Robyn and her children only as they are extensions of her.  

Christine is seeing much more clearly and Janelle wants to but something is holding her back.  I can appreciate though that she wants to take her time, think about it, and not let Christine influence her or let one fight determine the rest of her life.  

[JayDub1987]

Not a ton to add that hasn't been covered.

The only wife Robyn gives a shit about leaving is the one that Kody can't stand. That's not an accident. Meri being around lets Kody keep his "plural marriage" routine while Robyn doesn't have to worry about him parking his car in another garage. 

Robyn says that all of this has left her "angry and depressed." Good! Truly, good. I wish nothing but utter misery for her and Kody. If this isn't making her happy, I hope it drags on even longer. 

[MamaMax]

this episode really brought it home for me how cruel Kody and Robyn have been to Meri. I was never too sympathetic to her, but I gotta say, she tugged at my heart this time. 

His refusal to cut her loose and Robyn's keeping her on a string, wow. Really cold hearted shit.  I think its taken Meri so long because,  how heart breaking would it be to walk away from a family after 30+ years and literally have NO ONE give a shit? 

Now, you could make an argument that she made her bed - she's been mean and nasty, the catfishing etc., but even a tiny bit of human compassion for someone would be to cut her loose.

[surfgirl]

17 hours ago, LilyD said:

Kody needs to feel in control and he needs to be respected “loved” and “worshipped”.

FTFY!

[laurakaye]

On 10/5/2023 at 2:09 PM, mythoughtis said:

Robyn made a point of saying in this episode that she had begged Janelle not to tell Kody to come get his stuff. 

Kody could go to Janelle's to pick up his box of hair gel and all his "books", dump them in the middle of Robyn's living room and leave them for years before she even knew they were there amongst the plethora of figurines, pill bottles and Amazon boxes.

Did Janelle comment on this supposed phone call?  Sometimes I doze off or organize my sock drawer when SW is on.  Eventually one of the OG club is going to call Robyn face to face on her complete BS.  Meri came close this last episode when Robyn dry-sobbed while asking Meri if she'd be around, and Meri was all - "yeah, but you have to CALL ME."  I cheered just a wee bit for ol' Mere that night.

[mythoughtis]

2 hours ago, laurakaye said:

Kody could go to Janelle's to pick up his box of hair gel and all his "books", dump them in the middle of Robyn's living room and leave them for years before she even knew they were there amongst the plethora of figurines, pill bottles and Amazon boxes.

Did Janelle comment on this supposed phone call?  Sometimes I doze off or organize my sock drawer when SW is on. 

No Janelle didn’t comment.   I would have liked to have heard her do so.    

[Chris Knight]

On 10/5/2023 at 1:16 PM, ButterQueen said:

*And finally, and most poignantly, when did Kody turn into such a selfish and arrogant ass?  He’s never NOT had an inflated man head, but he seemed kinder to his wives and less argumentative in the early seasons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will always love the name Butterqueen ! "I lost Butterqueen, haven't I suffered enough  ?!"

I think all the Brown adults were on their best behavior in the early seasons because they really wanted the show. I think TLC vetted them all before agreeing to proceed. Even TLC wont promote a show starring an abusive deranged asshole, hints of which we see now. Think back a few years to the Josh Duggar scandal. Josh and his criminal parents were off the air ASAP, and no reruns either, I don't think. 

 

 

[zenme]

On 10/2/2023 at 10:33 PM, BnJJ said:

Why does Robyn - divorced Robyn - have such an incredibly impossible time understanding how other people can get divorced?   She's constantly saying that the others just 'need to work their stuff out' that things 'can't be so bad that they can't be resolved', etc.  Then why isn't she still married to David (is that his name?)?

I have no idea if she's claimed physical abuse by David but, regardless, not everything can be worked out as she well knows firsthand.  She needs to shut it.

And Meri going on about how only she and Robyn are willing to have the hard conversations that are needed to repair this family?  Oh my lanta, I've never encountered a group of less self-aware people in my life.

 

Who is she kidding? Meri is famous for “putting up walls” during difficult conversations. Just ask Janelle.

[Quickbeam]

For me, the key issue is that Christine was fine to raise 13 kids herself with Janelle’s financial support. But Robyn gets “child care help”? For two babies and 3 mostly grown kids. That demonstrated that one of these things was not like the others. 
 

Every time Robyn opens her mouth, a lie pops out. 

[nosedive]

On 10/4/2023 at 8:12 AM, laurakaye said:

Also, why Robyn cannot style Ari's hair into something not resembling Billy Ray Cyrus circa 1992 is beyond me.

 

LOL!  You give her more credit than I do.  To me it looks like the hairdo of a 1950's housewife.  I'll bet at night Robyn sets the curls in the front with criss cross bobby-pins. That's how my Great Auntie Rose got that look.  

[Absolom]

Robyn didn't even ever have two babies at home with her three older kids.  There are years between Sol and Ari.

Edited October 9, 2023 by Absolom

[Gam2]

I think I have to mention the elephant in the room and bring up Meri’s hair. How can she appear on camera with that mess on her head? Does she even own a MIRROR?

[Elizzikra]

3 hours ago, Absolom said:

Robyn didn't even ever have two babies at home with her three older kids.  There are years between Sol and Ari.

I thought just two???

[Scarlett45]

17 minutes ago, Elizzikra said:

I thought just two???

I think @Absolom was getting at by the time Ari was born Sol wasn’t a baby any more. 
 

edited- there are 4yrs between Sol and Ari. 

[Absolom]

7 minutes ago, Elizzikra said:

I thought just two???

October 2011 to January 2016.  So over four years between them.  Yes, Sol was well out of babyhood by the time Ari came along.  

[Elizzikra]

6 minutes ago, Absolom said:

October 2011 to January 2016.  So over four years between them.  Yes, Sol was well out of babyhood by the time Ari came along.  

Oh! That’s more than I thought…

[Absolom]

1 minute ago, Elizzikra said:

Oh! That’s more than I thought…

Kody and Robyn seem forever treating Sol and Ari as younger than they are and referring to them in inappropriate terms to make them seem more in need of care than is normal.  

[xls]

Sobbin can start a water-proof eyebrow business & become a billionaire like Kylie Jenner!😢🤣

[Kellyee]

Quote

Kody and Robyn seem forever treating Sol and Ari as younger than they are and referring to them in inappropriate terms to make them seem more in need of care than is normal.  

Robyn appears to be a helicopter parent. From the start, she and the other wives had nothing in common. It was a bad fit from day 1. Janelle and Christine raised their kids together, so their parenting styles evolved together and meshed. Meri was separate as a parent, but because they had all been together so long, they had mostly found ways to make it work. Adding anyone else to the mix was always a recipe for disaster. 

I hope Janelle finds out soon that Kody swapped out his wedding ring. 

 

 

 

 

 

[altopower]

2 hours ago, Kellyee said:

I hope Janelle finds out soon that Kody swapped out his wedding ring. 

At first I thought Meri would tell her, but nah. She doesn't care about Janelle to tell her, and would rather she figured it out herself. I wonder if Janelle noticed on their date and if she did, if she just kept it to herself and didn't make a big scene about it. 

But removing your polygamist wedding ring is a big sign that you don't care about any of the wives who wore only that same ring. Sobbyn, of course, is special. Blech.

[xls]

Speaking as someone whose father deserted them. 

When people say "He didn't leave you, he left her"

its the biggest falsehood you can say!

YES HE DID LEAVE ME (THEM) TOO!

 

I mean Kodi's a bastard; saying 'he left her' lets AH's like him off the hook.

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by xls