S18.E22: Look Back: How It's Going (Special Episode)

[Scarlett45]

Description TBD

 

Air Date: December 31, 2023

Mod Note: According to my research the episode is to air the typical time, 9pm Central, with the episode thread to unlock towards the end of the episode. The Live Chat episode will be open during the airing.

[Salacious Kitty]

Bumping...

[Gramto6]

So is that it? Is it the End?  I think they even beat the Look Backs to death...knife in the kidney! Not much else they can show after Christine's wedding.

 

[General Days]

Hey, the Live Chat closed a little early (because the episode began and ended at funky times). This is where we're discussing the most recent episode.

[goofygirl]

I think it would be a great idea for Douchie to shut the fuck up.  Every time he opens his mouth, some more ridiculous shit comes out.  He literally cannot help himself.

Meri, honey; this is when you get a surveyor.  This is the only way to do things fairly.

Edited January 1 by goofygirl

[goofygirl]

And Douchie, your kids don't come to see you at your house, why would you think they'd all want to come to your "recreational lot"??  Dingleberry.

Janelle, just stop worrying about your damn "estate"...  You're only 53 years old.  Go get a job, buy some lottery tickets, do SOMETHING yourself FOR YOURSELF.

[albarino]

1 minute ago, goofygirl said:

And Douchie, your kids don't come to see you at your house, why would you think they'd all want to come to your "recreational lot"??  Dingleberry.

Janelle, just stop worrying about your damn "estate"...  You're only 53 years old.  Go get a job, buy some lottery tickets, do SOMETHING yourself FOR YOURSELF.

Yes!  Thank you!

[Absolom]

Kody is never going to do anything with that lot and the holding "pond."  They've had years and they've never even had a family cook out on the plague plot, have they?  The kids have moved out and on and they aren't going to be drawn to his glorified drainage ditch.  It's just a way for him to claim more of the property in his name.  He's simply greedy.

[Gramto6]

2 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Kody is never going to do anything with that lot and the holding "pond."  They've had years and they've never even had a family cook out on the plague plot, have they?  The kids have moved out and on and they aren't going to be drawn to his glorified drainage ditch.  It's just a way for him to claim more of the property in his name.  He's simply greedy.

And I'm sure Crybrows is whispering in his ear about the land. She has already said her "estate" will go to "her" kids and as legal spouse, she will get it all at this point. Unless the OG3 can get some claim on their parcels.

[goofygirl]

In my mind, they just bought a big old hunk of land and had to pay it off BEFORE they could divide it up.  Is this right?  Because if so, it's STILL just a big old hunk of land and a SURVEYOR could and will HAVE to at some point, divide up the hunk.

[General Days]

In re: "Just a knife in the kidneys, over all these years. The sacrifices that I made to love you. WAAAAY-STEAD."

Tonight, Kody said:

Quote

There was a woman that I was courting for a very long time — before I married Janelle. Her and Meri were friends. After I married Christine, she still wanted to be in the family. Christine shut it down the first time, because, you know, Christine and I were friends. She says, 'You know, I'd never marry you, if you'd marry her'. And then Christine had no interest in having her in the family, after Christine had come in the family.

So, is that the girl that Kody and Meri took a shine to, that they had to wait until she was 18 to court? Is that the girl that called off the wedding, a week prior to the wedding? 

ALSO THOUGH,

Do you all remember Christine talking about how some woman used to call up Kody? She wasn't interested in talking to the wives, just Kody, and so Christine shut it all down?

Do we think it's all the same girl?

[goofygirl]

Welp, I'm glad to see the OG 3 getting their TRUE thoughts & fillings out on this lookback.  I kinda think this may be the end of it.  The Christine wedding special and then HOPEFULLY they'll pull the plug on this shit show.

Hey! It's almost 2024!! HAPPY NEW YEAR PEEPS!!!😊

[Gramto6]

Yeah, Crybrows last comments really did sound like a summing up of the situation and the final end of the family.  Hope she and Kootie are "happy together" forever!! That should be just about enough punishment to CB for all the sadness she has caused.

 

ETA: But the sadness she caused to create her Queendom actually is turning into much happiness for the OG3!!

Gotcha CB!!

Edited January 1 by Gramto6
added on to post

[General Days]

The "She [Meri] beat the love out of me," thing pisses me off. He was a 22-year-old man, who married a 19-year-old girl. She beat the love out of him? Why? Did she expect you to act like a GD married man?

[goofygirl]

3 minutes ago, General Days said:

The "She [Meri] beat the love out of me," thing pisses me off. He was a 22-year-old man, who married a 19-year-old girl. She beat the love out of him? Why? Did she expect you to act like a GD married man?

His assholery started really early, apparently.

[Elodia]

4 hours ago, General Days said:

Do we think it's all the same girl?

Whoever that girl was, she dodged a bullet for sure!

 

Happy new year everyone! 😊🎇

[Auntie Freeze]

Thank you, editors, for finally giving us a clear shot of Kody's patchy dome. *chefs kiss*

[MsMalin]

Hate to beat a dead horse but for Gawds sake does Robyn ever not cry?  For the 2nd time last night she just couldn't watch a clip because it was too emotional. And she was close to breaking down in the reading if the mission statement. I swear she is going to end up in a mental institution.

[MsMalin]

Man, Kody has the most bizarre thoughts. I'm talking about him saying Meri beat the love out of him after 1 year of marriage. WTF? Asshat has no idea of what marriage is . In the polygamous world he says he had to get a second wife to dilute the marriage. In a monogamous marriage it would be called cheating on your wife because you're sick of her and really should get a divorce NOT marry a second,third or fourth time. Does he think we all agree with this way of thinking?

Edited January 1 by MsMalin

[Sharla]

10 hours ago, goofygirl said:

In my mind, they just bought a big old hunk of land and had to pay it off BEFORE they could divide it up.  Is this right?  Because if so, it's STILL just a big old hunk of land and a SURVEYOR could and will HAVE to at some point, divide up the hunk.

They bought four lots initially.  Two they paid for and two the owner carried a loan that was due last year.  They did have to have all four lots fully paid before they could petition to change the parcels.  Kody's name and I believe Robyn's name also are on all four existing lots along with another wife's name on at least two of the lots.  Kody's game plan appears to me to be to cheat the original wives out of as much money as possible.  

[TexasTiffany]

10 hours ago, General Days said:

The "She [Meri] beat the love out of me," thing pisses me off. He was a 22-year-old man, who married a 19-year-old girl. She beat the love out of him? Why? Did she expect you to act like a GD married man?

I almost choked on my coffee. He spins everything to blame someone else. In this case it's Meri's fault. He said she was such a bad wife that he had to get another wife fast. What a wuss! Did Meri ask you to put the seat down?

I really liked when Janelle called him a bastard. Too bad she's years way late on that comment. 

 

[Shelbie]

Robyn’s crying jags and panic attacks must be what she uses in her non-filming life to manipulate Kody and her kids.

I think the original wives and kids got sick of placating Robyn and saw through her behaviour fairly quickly. Kody (who thinks of himself as a brilliant man) refuses to believe he could ever be manipulated but is still left with this hysterical woman he has to give way to in order to have any peace and so blames everyone else for her fits.

I do wonder though if even Kody is getting a little bit sick of Robyn’s act. It was telling to me that neither Meri nor Kody followed her when she did her usual fake crying and ran off when they were at the picnic table.

[Orcinus orca]

Every single time he opens his yap, Kootie makes himself look more mentally ill.  

We are looking at him reacting to some of the original scenes and then see him talking in circles to make it all about him and how he was working SO HARD for the family but was BETRAYED.  Never once did a lightbulb go on to indicate he finally figured out who the real villain is in this fiasco.

I would like to see him viewing these last three episodes - just a split screen and his face as he views what is being said about him.  I don't want to hear him spew any more crap, I just want to see his head explode.

Seriously, this dude needs some time in an institution for counseling and steriod withdrawal.  Plus no access to the manosphere.

I am begging TLC - no more kidney knives or front porches.  Seven million replays of those scenes was way too many.

[NoWhammies]

Robyn's summation at the end was fascinating because of what production shows: 

Robyn: "We didn't communicate." (quick shot of the adults at a dinner table in Flagstaff when Janelle invited them to see if they all still wanted polygamy and Robyn made it about her)

Robyn: "We weren't looking at each other with charity and love." (quick shot of adults reading at the recommitment ceremony)

Robyn: "We weren't following our family mission statement." (continues the shot from the commitment ceremony)

Robyn: "We let the ease of being apart drive us apart from each other." (shot of Christine's family at Janelle's house during COVID standing 6 feet apart and sending hugs to one another, all of them looking overjoyed to see each other)

Robyn: "We let Covid drive us apart." (quick shot of Kody and Gabe in their last convo on Coyote Pass)

Robyn: "We held onto our grudges and didn't let them go" (quick shot of Kody and Meri looking mad at each other in Meri's LV living room), 

Robyn: "We let fear drive us." (quick shot of the moving truck as during Fleehi)

Robyn: "We let jealousy drive us." (quick shot of Christine leaving the couch after Kody's dress reveal),

Robyn: "We let selfishness drive us." (LONG lingering shot of Kody and then another LONG lingering shot of Robyn).

(Shot Back to Robyn on the couch) "We failed. We screwed up."

Seriously, all the other shots were quick, but on the "we let selfishness drive us," there was a long pause, and the camera seriously lingered first on Kody on Coyote Pass and then a second lingering shot on Robyn on Coyote Pass. I suspect there's a message in there from production. 

[Orcinus orca]

9 minutes ago, NoWhammies said:

Robyn's summation at the end was fascinating because of what production shows: 

Great observation!

I don't know how Kootie treated the crew but I suspect not too well.  They seem to be showing Kootie and Sobbyn in the worst light.

[Gramto6]

Just now, Orcinus orca said:

Great observation!

I don't know how Kootie treated the crew but I suspect not too well.  They seem to be showing Kootie and Sobbyn in the worst light.

It's about fracking time!! Actually they are not showing them in the "worst light", they are finally showing the truth about them!

[65mickey]

Kody screaming about his wives "You can all fall in line or get the hell out." Other than making him look like an out of control angry bully what was that statement suppose to accomplish? I have to wonder if he ever watches these segments and thinks that he looks like a complete fool because I am sure the vast majority of viewers think this. 

[goofygirl]

1 minute ago, 65mickey said:

Kody screaming about his wives "You can all fall in line or get the hell out." Other than making him look like an out of control angry bully what was that statement suppose to accomplish? I have to wonder if he ever watches these segments and thinks that he looks like a complete fool because I am sure the vast majority of viewers think this. 

I doubt he thinks he looks like a moron.  Self reflection isn't really in his wheelhouse, now is it?

[Shelbie]

He can only see his reflection in a fun house mirror. The one that shows him having six pack abs and a full head of glorious hair.

[NoWhammies]

15 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

Kody screaming about his wives "You can all fall in line or get the hell out." Other than making him look like an out of control angry bully what was that statement suppose to accomplish? I have to wonder if he ever watches these segments and thinks that he looks like a complete fool because I am sure the vast majority of viewers think this. 

I don't think self-awareness is Kody's strong suit. So, I suspect he thinks it makes him look masculine and strong. Somehow I doubt toxic masculinity is something Kody knows about. 

[NoWhammies]

Also Kody's comment, "Sadness makes me angry." WTF?

M'kay... sadness makes me sad. Maybe in Kody's pea-brained belief that he is hypermasculine, anger is just sadness leaving the body (much like pain is just weakness leaving the body). Twat. 

[SunnyBeBe]

3 hours ago, MsMalin said:

Man, Kody has the most bizarre thoughts. I'm talking about him saying Meri beat the love out of him after 1 year of marriage. WTF? Asshat has no idea of what marriage is . In the polygamous world he says he had to get a second wife to dilute the marriage. In a monogamous marriage it would be called cheating on your wife because you're sick of her and really should get a divorce NOT marry a second,third or fourth time. Does he think we all agree with this way of thinking?

True! When he said that about Meri beating the love out of him, I literally made a vocal sound!  Like WTH?  So, what did he mean?  Not saying he was right.  He’s wrong to say cruel things, but I wonder what he meant, because when the show first came on, I thought he was crazy over Meri and that she was the preferred wife.  

[zamp33]

I liked that Meri admitted she was not being completely honest after the knife in the kidney monologue - I think we all suspected it but it was nice that it was confirmed.

Robyn sure got off easy from production - she did not have to watch any clips that gave her "panic attacks" and in the talk back she was not given any questions directed at her. I really don't like that she got the last word, but I think production, as @NoWhammies so brilliantly broke down, showed us that it was indeed mostly Robyn and Kody who betrayed everything that Robyn listed. I think Robyn must be aware of her culpability in the demise of the family and does not want to face the truth and would rather continue spinning lies and gaslighting the viewers. 

And just wanted to share this..My son came in while I was watching the episode this morning and said "what is up with that guy's hair?

[nosedive]

Like half of the US, last night I celebrated the incoming new year with a feast from our local Chinese food restaurant.  I believe the fortune I found in my fortune cookie was intended for Kody Brown:

"Hungry is the man who finds salvation in a cookie."  

Edited January 1 by nosedive
typo

[Auntie Freeze]

My hot take after watching Kidney and Crybrows in these episodes is that they are in a state where their mental weaknesses feed off each other and multiply. Totally co-dependent and unhealthy. I don't get the impression that they've ever had a properly bare bones, honest convo about how they really feel about the family imploding. It's all smoke, mirrors and words that say nothing or flat out contradict. They're also both stuck in the roles they played to woo each other when they first met - they don't feel to me like they really know each other any more than Kody ever knew the real Christine, for example. Robyn is the fragile bird prone to fits of the vapours who treats Kody as her best customer and Kody is her valiant, manly saviour fighting imaginary battles to keep her safe. But we know she's not that fragile and he wouldn't know manly if it tugged his Shirley Temples. Neither seems willing to self reflect and tell the truth even if only to each other. So even their soul-mate relationship is based on at the very least fibs cos they can't even just say out loud that it all turned out for the best in the end - they're doomed. Whether they stay together or not.

I feel hellish for the kids in that household. Sol particularly. He strikes me as a thinky kid, like Gabe. How does anything ever make sense with that pair running things?

 

Edit: Janelle and Christine should learn video editing etc or get a couple of the kids into it. There's good money to be made having a vlog style Youtube channel. Just don't shill your crap on it, keep that separate. Then you've two herds to milk. You're welcome.

Edited January 1 by Auntie Freeze

[MsMalin]

1 hour ago, nosedive said:

Hungry is the man who finds salvation in a cookie."  his wife's turkey

 

Edited January 1 by MsMalin

[xwordfanatik]

Crybrows never disappoints.  She's right on cue for what she calls panic attacks, and sobbing while tearless.  What a phony.

I thought Kootie was going to have a stroke.  He was so red-faced and angry!  Has he always had those 2 little black spots on the left side of his face?  Those angry eyes would give me nightmares, and I'm thankful it's only on my TV screen.

Have fun in marriage hell, you two nutjobs.  I'm sorry for the kids living under the roof of that ugly brown house.  I see therapy in their futures.

[UsernameFatigue]

It is interesting revisiting the scenes where Meri unselfishly offered to divorce Kody so that he could marry Robyn and adopt her kids. Now of course we know that Kody was done with Meri already, to the point of melting down his wedding ring to symbolize that he was done with her and their marriage. 

Then we have the current scene with Kody, where he claims that Meri no longer being the legal wife changed something in her, she started to pull away from the family and got catfished. Of course, Meri pulling away could not have been a result of Kody kicking her to the curb, all the while pretending to the viewers that he hadn't. STFU Kody. We have your number, and it is a big fat zero. 

I wish when the wives were looking at the scene of the retreat in Sedona, at least one of the wives, rather than blabbering on about where Kody chose to stand or where they thought he should have stood, would have pointed out that he was not only standing beside Robyn, but holding her friggin' hand! And wasn't this retreat facilitated by the wonder therapist Nancy? WTF didn't she point it out? Argh! 

I do now chuckle whenever Robyn breaks into tears, or claims that she is going to break into tears, or claims an oncoming panic attack. I just play the scene in my head where Christine talks about Robyn and Kody's love of drama. Indeed.  A knife in the kidney to be sure. 

[altopower]

18 minutes ago, UsernameFatigue said:

And wasn't this retreat facilitated by the wonder therapist Nancy? WTF didn't she point it out? Argh! 

Wonder therapist Nancy indeed. I thought at the time that she was worthless but honestly, she was worse than that. I always thought that Kody was paying her on the side to not help the wives at all.

[Canadian Girl]

13 hours ago, altopower said:

Wonder therapist Nancy indeed. I thought at the time that she was worthless but honestly, she was worse than that. I always thought that Kody was paying her on the side to not help the wives at all.

I always thought Nancy kinda did the best she could, considering she was probably told to operate as if leaving polygamy was not something they were going to explore. So all she could really work on was getting them to understand each other better or communicate better. She couldn't address root problems/reality, they weren't there for that. 

[laurakaye]

On 12/31/2023 at 11:43 PM, General Days said:

Tonight, Kody said:

So, is that the girl that Kody and Meri took a shine to, that they had to wait until she was 18 to court? Is that the girl that called off the wedding, a week prior to the wedding? 

ALSO THOUGH,

Do you all remember Christine talking about how some woman used to call up Kody? She wasn't interested in talking to the wives, just Kody, and so Christine shut it all down?

Do we think it's all the same girl?

I think it's the same girl.  It's impossible to know what to believe with these people, but I lean towards believing Christine in that by the time Kody asked the mystery girl to come into the family, she was like - thanks, but no thanks.

Because let's be rill, there cannot possibly be that many women who were willing to marry Kody Brown, right?

And yes, I would pay to watch this woman's YouTube where she discusses how she narrowly escaped this side-show.

 

On 1/1/2024 at 9:49 AM, MsMalin said:

Man, Kody has the most bizarre thoughts. I'm talking about him saying Meri beat the love out of him after 1 year of marriage. WTF? Asshat has no idea of what marriage is . In the polygamous world he says he had to get a second wife to dilute the marriage. In a monogamous marriage it would be called cheating on your wife because you're sick of her and really should get a divorce NOT marry a second,third or fourth time. Does he think we all agree with this way of thinking?

He's disgusting and that's putting it mildly.  He supposedly was "duped" into marrying Meri, whatever that might mean, and then she beat the love out of him so he had to grab Janelle to dilute (gross/yuck/blech!!!) his marriage to Meri.  Then, when - shockingly, Meri did not take well to her husband having married her ex-sister in law, and the two women butted heads, he found a gross, nacho-eating, homely, awful woman named Christine to throw into the garbage disposal of his life because he thought she would act as butterfly-princess liaison between those first two screaming shrews.  The fact that this man refused to ever work on any of his relationships except to add another wife is so beyond the pale, I can't even formulate words.

But I LOVED Meri coming at Kody at the picnic table summit, telling him point-blank - you were once in love with me, and you know it.  And then having Janelle and Christine say the same thing.  Bravo, ladies.  Well done.

 

23 hours ago, Shelbie said:

I think the original wives and kids got sick of placating Robyn and saw through her behaviour fairly quickly. Kody (who thinks of himself as a brilliant man) refuses to believe he could ever be manipulated but is still left with this hysterical woman he has to give way to in order to have any peace and so blames everyone else for her fits.

This is a perfect summary.

23 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

I don't know how Kootie treated the crew but I suspect not too well.  They seem to be showing Kootie and Sobbyn in the worst light.

Hopefully TLC was paying everyone on the set overtime for the insane amount of times that production had to be shut down so Robyn could finish up with her theatrics.  Most of the crew could probably pay off their homes with that paycheck. 

[Quof]

None of these latest episodes are available in Canada. Sister Wives is only on Discovery Plus, through Amazon, and for reasons known only to them, they haven't loaded anything since the last One on One. 

So I'm reading along with the comments, trying to follow the chronology. And I'm doing a rewatch, since I barely paid attention to the early seasons.  Had I watched them in real time (was PrimeTimer even around then?) I wouldn't have been able to abide by the "don't disparage children" rule. Because these kids are insufferable from the very first episode (except Logan, Logan is a puppy dog). It's odd to watch the sanctimonious one, the hysterical crying one, the know-it-all one, etc.  knowing how the next decade plays out.  

 

[Roslyn]

I finally caught a bootleg of this episode on facebook. I have only one thought after watching all of this.

May Kody forever and for all eternity lie down in the bed of his own making with his thread bare quilt of his own bitterness.

[UsernameFatigue]

1 hour ago, Quof said:

None of these latest episodes are available in Canada. Sister Wives is only on Discovery Plus, through Amazon, and for reasons known only to them, they haven't loaded anything since the last One on One. 

 

 

That's odd, as  I live in Canada and I get Sister Wives on TLC, including the last four episodes since the One on One episodes. I didn't even know the series was available on another site as I have always watched it on TLC. 

 

 

[Quof]

Should have specified - in Canada, if one doesn't have cable , these episodes aren't available. 

[IvySpice]

Damn, does Robyn ever respond to a stressful situation without a fit? She's a 45-year-old mother of 5! It's creepy and manipulative if she's faking it, but it would be pretty bad even if all those crying jags were real. Some people can't help getting choked up, but getting choked up is not the same as getting hysterical and running away. She has had YEARS to get used to the idea of each sister wife leaving. It's one thing when (allegedly) bad news is fresh, but if you can't handle talking about it months or years later? That's not normal for a grown-ass adult. And if you're faking that degree of helplessness, you are a weapons-grade drama queen.

You have to love Robyn interrupting Kody to say "We're so happy for them" in the wedding episode preview. She knows damn well he looks like an embittered fool when he goes off on his rants.

Quote

The sacrifices that I made to love you. WAAAAY-STEAD

Imagine thinking that providing love, care and support to the stay-at-home caregiver of your 13 kids was WASTED.

On 12/31/2023 at 8:24 PM, goofygirl said:

stop worrying about your damn "estate"...  You're only 53 years old.

I'm on a different page about this. At 53, single with six kids, and (no shade, just looking at chronic health conditions) overweight, she's smart to be worried about her family's financial future, especially given this show's possible demise. I'm 48 and childless and actively planning for retirement. None of us knows when a health problem will keep us from working or when a child or grandchild will have an emergency requiring support. I respect Janelle a lot for being concerned about this.

I want to bring Kody's attention to the fact that if plural marriage was a horrible experience for him, he might turn some of that anger toward Joseph Smith, his own dad who joined the AUB, and the other patriarchs who set this system up, rather than the women he chose to marry?

Quote

he's going off because the wives indicated they'd have a better relationship when he was dead.

That was actually insightful on the wives' part, and I have no doubt that it would have been true. Too bad Kody had to see this as the wives' failure rather than as revealing part of the truth: that the reason they didn't get along was partly because they didn't feel he was treating them equally. If they didn't have to fight for scraps of his attention, they'd be fine.

Edited January 2 by IvySpice

[laurakaye]

2 hours ago, Roslyn said:

May Kody forever and for all eternity lie down in the bed of his own making with his thread bare quilt of his own bitterness.

May I add...and wake every morning to find that another one of his precious ringlets has abandoned his scalp and lies forlornly on his rock-like pillow made of rage.

[Kellyee]

Quote

She has had YEARS to get used to the idea of each sister wife leaving.

Meri wanted to be part of the family, and appears to show up whenever Robyn and Kody invite her. Yet in this past season, Robyn left Meri out of Easter. According to Meri, Robyn never contacted her about coming for Easter or participating in anything. And Robyn didn't fight to include Meri in that Christmas #2, possibly because Mykelti doesn't like Meri. So how much does Robyn really want Sister Wives and want to work things out and have one big family?

BFF Jenn implied that Robyn often doesn't show up for her plans with Meri. I think Christine is right that Robyn says one thing, but her actions speak very differently. 

 

 

 

 

[ginger90]

From what I read elsewhere, TLC will release these episodes to MAX etc, after the 2 episodes of Christine’s wedding air, which is January 7th and 14th. I’m sure there’s some type of strategy in that, if that is indeed what they are going to do.

[goofygirl]

If TLC just stuck a fork in the whole show, it would be all right with me.