S19.15: Faith Can Move Mountains

[ragingpixie]

I've been wavering a little, but this episode put me firmly in the camp of those who think Meri still harbors feelings for Kody (and probably Robyn), at least at the time of this filming. I did follow her on IG for a bit but have since unfollowed her due to the insipid hashtags and filters. Of course it's possible that time has lessened her feelings, but this season's episodes don't convince me that she's "over him."

Maybe it's the hysterical laughter over the lamest innuendos. Maybe it's the constant wearing of shirts with "witty" sayings. Maybe it's the things she says or does in the company of friends that I have sincere doubts she'd do alone. (I honestly don't see her destroying that metal sign without urging from production.) I truly think she was hoping for a last minute declaration of love from Kody when she texted him about the spiritual release. She appears rightly indignant over the way she's been treated, but she hasn't done a good job of convincing me that finally leaving the marriage was because she woke up.

It was because there was, quite literally, absolutely nothing else to do.

[Jeanne222]

I agree!  Meri still loves Kody.  I saw it when he helped her move then held her tight and cried.  She was joyous at that tiny bit of caring.

What she saw as caring I saw as Kody being so happy she was gone!

[Gramto6]

5 hours ago, Jeanne222 said:

I agree!  Meri still loves Kody.  I saw it when he helped her move then held her tight and cried.  She was joyous at that tiny bit of caring.

What she saw as caring I saw as Kody being so happy she was gone!

Yeah, I think there is still an ever so small lingering "love/longing for times past" in Meri, but I think she does deep down know it is done/dead/finished forever.

Kody is so happy Meri is gone. But I think he thinks the show of tears and hugging are his one chance to hurt her. A stab into her heart for that one final opportunity to have power over her.

[AZChristian]

7 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

A stab into her heart for that one final opportunity to have power over her.

And the potential for the stab to be more lethal than a knife to a kidney.

[OldWiseOne]

On 12/31/2024 at 7:44 AM, RoxiP said:

I imagine, for Robyn's daughters, having been raised in a church where you had to hide from society because of the stigma associated with your denomination, being in a church where people are openly and joyfully worshipping must have been a meaningful experience.

But they've never had to actually hide! They were raised by monogamous parents initially, then joined the Brown family just as the tv show was starting and the family was going public. There was no hiding from stigma for these two.

[SemiCharmedLife]

On 12/31/2024 at 11:08 AM, smarty said:

Until Christine left and was allowed to still be a prime part of the show, it was probably expected that if you left the family/marriage you'd be off the show completely.  No one was clamoring for a Meri spinoff around the time of their legal divorce or the catfishing scandal.  Meri would have been excommunicated from the family and erased if she had left.  That's a lot to ask of a person if you aren't really really sure life would be better on the outside - and the cherry on top would be watching your family on tv going on without you. Accepting crumbs but still being included probably seemed a good tradeoff to Meri, especially since it sounds like she had a dysfunctional marriage from the start anyway.

I agree that being part of the tv show and the money it brings in had the wives staying longer than they might have otherwise done.  I think that is why Kody and Robyn became unglued when Christine announced her departure.  They were afraid of losing their cash cow.  Once she left and the show carried on, Janelle and Meri had more options.  They didn't have to continue with the charade of a marriage/relationship and pretend that Robyn wasn't being favored.  

[Absolom]

I'm watching Sunday's episode and I can hear Simon Cowell in my ear going self-indulgent self-indulgent.  There are three extremely self-centered alleged adults.  I haven't seen Janelle yet.

Christine's wedding dress doesn't fit from the get go.  She needs Spanx before she tries to wear it for real.  It's wrinkling across her abdomen right there in the shop.  Notice the straps are on top of her shoulders where they were designed to be not shoved halfway down her arms.  I don't like the way it goes from plunging on top to the mermaid rear end hugging below the waist.  It's too much.  Then there's the poof of fabric going into the train.  She said she picked parts of five dresses and it shows.  It isn't a cohesive dress.

[ButterQueen]

I can’t help it, I find Meri’s laugh infectious.

[js9548]

I admit I only half watch so I may have missed the point. Why did Christine and David take off their shoes and toss them at the end of the party?

[laurakaye]

20 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

Kody is so happy Meri is gone. But I think he thinks the show of tears and hugging are his one chance to hurt her. A stab into her heart for that one final opportunity to have power over her.

And I may be in a camp of one, but I 100% think Robyn coached him on what to do.  No way does Kody think of that on his own.  That man is a bottomless cesspool of rage, so his tears were as fake as Robyn's, IMO, but he somehow managed to draw a few drops of actual liquid from his face.  Robyn should take notes.

[smarty]

5 hours ago, js9548 said:

I admit I only half watch so I may have missed the point. Why did Christine and David take off their shoes and toss them at the end of the party?

I think they were playing the shoe game, where the bride and groom sit back to back holding one bride shoe and one groom shoe.  The announcer asks a question then the bride and groom hold up either the bride shoe or the groom shoe as to who fits the question.  For instance "Who likes nachos more"?  and they'd both hold up Christine's shoe.  The funny part is to see if they agree on the answer.  I'm guessing Christine lost, hence the shoe throwing.  

[GeorgiaRai]

Kody & Robyn earned equal cringe points from me with his "all the men will think you're single and be after you" and her "I'll just tell them I'm married" finger-wag.  I think she convinced him she (a) was in high demand when he met her, and (b) would be in high demand now if she got her scent out. So gross.

 

[laurakaye]

2 hours ago, smarty said:

For instance "Who likes nachos more"?  and they'd both hold up Christine's shoe.  

And I fully believe that was one of the questions, since Christine has to constantly remind us how very much better at everything Dave is than Kody.

Some other questions might have been: "Who loathes Kody more?"  "Which one of us doesn't give a crap that we're moving way too fast?"  "Whose idea was it to get a boobie tattoo and then wear one-sleeved shirts forever to show it off?"  "Who wants to launch Kody into outer space more?"  'Who adds extra cheese to their nachos at every opportunity?"

[applewood]

On 12/31/2024 at 4:18 PM, BAForever said:

So many good thoughts on this thread, lots of viewers who have watched from beginning must be armchair psychologists. 

Meri has grown on me tremendously the past 2 seasons. Glad to see her so happy.

I'm thinking (maybe more hoping) that she is a lot more self-aware of the damage Robyn brought to the family and how whipped Kody was and still is. She just chooses not to let it impact her. She has money, is doing a job she likes and has a good group of friends. 

She can let her past with Brown family eat her up, or move on successfully with her future.

That is my New Years Wish for Meri.

 

I like Meri a lot more than in the beginning of the show. It's nice to see that she has a life and friends outside of the Browns.

In the previews for next week it shows Robyn asking Kody again if he thinks Janelle will reconcile with him. Also, in the episode where they were discussing dividing up the land Robyn said in a talking head interview that she still had hope that Janelle and Meri would build on the land. Why the heck is Robyn so hell bent that Janelle reconciles and/ or build a house next to them? She was never close to Janelle. Janelle even said at lunch w/ Kody in that attic/restaurant that she didn't have much in common with Robyn.

[surfgirl]

^This^ insane questioning of whether Janelle is really done or not stems from the fact that K&R have no story line without the OG 3. So they keep opining the same drivel even though it's a non starter. I wish TIIC would cancel this show and start a new OG 3 version. No more paycheck for KodSob

Edited January 2 by surfgirl

[Natalie68]

On 12/30/2024 at 6:38 AM, laurakaye said:

And furthermore, Robyn proclaimed that she kept insisting that Kody fix his relationships with her beloved sister wives and "their" kids.  When he refused to do that, why did she stay with him?  If this was supposedly so important to her, why not tell him to either fix things or she was out?  Rhetorical question, of course, but she sure seems to have looked past a lot of very questionable behavior from her husband even as she insists otherwise.

There sure were some odd tidbits from this episode, though....

Kody tells us that the day Meri signed away her legal marriage, he and Meri probably went home and knocked boots (I refuse to use the words he used) afterwards.  Cut to Meri being all, "say what now?  He would NEVER say something so intimate about Robyn."  Meanwhile, I sat in my chair having involuntary full body shudders with the knowledge that Kody probably did let Meri visit with lil' Kody after she had a nervous breakdown signing those papers, after which he ghosted her for 15 years.  He is such a gigantic massive scumbag.

Kody also gave a quick throwaway line about how his dad didn't even bother coming to Kody's wedding with Christine.  I found that super interesting.  I strongly believe that Kody jumped into polygamy with both feet (and with lil' Kody) to please his father, and yet Wynn doesn't show up to Kody's third wedding?  Could that have been what soured Kody on Christine from the very beginning?  I need more information on that.

And my gosh....what was Aurora cosplaying as when she went to church?  Those pinwheel curls and that floral dress circa 1987?  And then she cried to Kody telling him about the church while he sat there with his "DUH" caveman face.  Those girls have the most awkward and uncomfortable body language when they are talking on camera with their parents.  I feel like there's something below the surface there, but I can't/don't want to guess as to what it is.

Also, Christine is getting married, did you know that?  I hope I didn't spoil it for anyone!

 

I got lost in the deets.  Which one of these girls wanted to sing at church?  Isn't Aurora the musician? Or do they want to start a family band? Sol could play the spoons.

On 12/31/2024 at 5:51 AM, laurakaye said:

I hope Kody's head exploded when he watched the part where Robyn was chatting with the pastor, who - IMO - was lightyears better looking than Kody.  And what with Robyn being so desirable and all, it's a wonder that Mr. Pastor didn't immediately get down on one knee until Robyn blinded him with her blinged-out wedding ring.

 

So she can try to convince us that she rilly rilly wanted to be a sister wife and none of what happened is her fault.  If I had to choose between Kody or Robyn as to who tells more bold-faced lies, it would be a toss-up.  They're both horrible revisionist historians and I'm not sure they even believe their own lies anymore.

She was sitting like a trucker. 

[Kellyee]

I think Meri offered to divorce Kody because she secretly wanted Kody to refuse and declare his love for her and his commitment. The whole thing is just sad. Didn't Kody and Robyn even take a second honeymoon after the divorce was finalized?

I don't believe Christine on all things, but I believe her that Robyn brought up the divorce idea early on. For someone supposedly so devoted to Meri, Robyn didn't bother to call her during Covid or keep commitments to spend time with her. Christine is right that Robyn's words never match her actions. 

I feel bad for Aurora and Breanna. I think they are forced to film this crap because their parents need the money and have no other storyline. They should be allowed to go to church without their mother. I went to college Christian Fellowship for several years and it was a great way to make new friends. And my mother didn't need to chaperone it. 

[Elizzikra]

Quote

Why the heck is Robyn so hell bent that Janelle reconciles and/ or build a house next to them? She was never close to Janelle. Janelle even said at lunch w/ Kody in that attic/restaurant that she didn't have much in common with Robyn.

I think if Janelle builds on the land - or at least commits to building on the land - Robyn feels like she doesn't have to worry about Janelle pushing to sell the land. Though why Robyn cares so much about the land is a mystery to me since she keeps buying increasingly larger and more expensive houses that are already built.

[kassa]

On 12/30/2024 at 8:55 AM, Shelbie said:

 I think she is furious that nobody envies her as the favourite wife and her bullshit isn’t believed. Instead of directing the huge family to do her bidding she is stuck with Kody and has to pretend to listen to his never ending pronouncements. She is the embodiment of the saying “ be careful what you wish for “.

The Wallis Simpson phenomenon - once a man gives up everything for you, you can never, ever leave.  

On 12/30/2024 at 11:11 AM, Yeah No said:

I don't have time to think this through right now but somehow Christine was able to overcome all that guilt and didn't blame herself after a while. ...In many ways even though Christine can be very immature she is miles ahead of Meri on this point. 

I think Christine had adult children (biological and otherwise) who explicitly called out the family dynamics until she saw/acknowledged/disavowed them herself.  No way those siblings would let Ysabel's surgery debacle go unchallenged.  Meri just doesn't have the same kind of family support system. 

I suspect they got her into therapy, too.  She handled Kody in those break up conversations like a pro - she picked up those skills from professional guidance. 

On 12/30/2024 at 6:09 PM, OlderThanDirt said:

What was Robyn's point in saying Kody doesn't want more wives but she would be open to plural marriage if she had 'guarantees'?

I cut her some slack there. She's obviously being grilled to categorically state that she would or wouldn't ever live polygamy again, and the answer she gave basically said in a perfect world she believes in it, but she doesn't trust it to work out after what they've been through. So, she's not done with it because it's wrong, she's done with it because it's hard, and too painful when it fails.  I'd expect a similar answer from somebody bitter about a failed monogamous marriage saying if they had guarantees of fidelity they'd do it again, otherwise no (knowing there's no such thing).

[65mickey]

15 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

I think if Janelle builds on the land - or at least commits to building on the land - Robyn feels like she doesn't have to worry about Janelle pushing to sell the land. Though why Robyn cares so much about the land is a mystery to me since she keeps buying increasingly larger and more expensive houses that are already built.

When they paid off the land I wonder is Kody and Robyn either took out an equity loan on their lots or refinanced the lots that had just their names on them and used these funds as a down payment on the new $2,000,000 house. And maybe  Robyn doesn't want anyone to know about this. Kodi was acting really strange when Meri said that she wanted an appraisal done on the property.

[ragingpixie]

On 12/30/2024 at 3:09 PM, OlderThanDirt said:

What was Robyn's point in saying Kody doesn't want more wives but she would be open to plural marriage if she had 'guarantees'?

What Robyn doesn't realize is that a "guarantee" that another marriage wouldn't fail is completely up to Kody. (And herself as well, but I put the responsibility for maintaining an effective plural marriage mostly on the husband.)

KODY is responsible for all of these marriages disintegrating. KODY is the reason that Robyn could manipulate him so easily into ditching his other wives. Any guarantee she is searching for would be his job to maintain.

He just doesn't have the moral fortitude to do it.

[Kellyee]

I really hope we get some talk back episodes for this season. I would love to hear their opinions on what each of them is saying after the fact. 

[EastCoast4Life]

The crazy part is, that Robyn is great at manipulating people, but when you down to it, she's not rilly smart. She has one skill set. Oh whoops, and hoarding, and walking like a duck.

[Gramto6]

Watching a rerun as background noise.

Wow! Just noticed Aurora when crying on the porch, has Robyns exact crying routine down pat. Squeeze out a tear, look upwards head back as wipe at eye, then look at finger as she looks back down.

I still wonder what they are looking for on their fingers

 

 

!

Edited Saturday at 04:51 AM by Gramto6

[smarty]

Just noticed that the outdoor sign as Robyn, Aurora and Breana are entering the church says Easter on it.  So when was this segment filmed?  We are up to September 2023 in Christine's timeline with her wedding shower and some ambiguous spring/summer time for Meri's BnB party. 

[Denize]

13 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

I still wonder what they are looking for on their fingers

Presumably mascara clumps, though now Robyn needs to look for fake eyelashes too.

[applewood]

On 1/3/2025 at 9:13 AM, 65mickey said:

When they paid off the land I wonder is Kody and Robyn either took out an equity loan on their lots or refinanced the lots that had just their names on them and used these funds as a down payment on the new $2,000,000 house. And maybe  Robyn doesn't want anyone to know about this. Kodi was acting really strange when Meri said that she wanted an appraisal done on the property.

I've not been on top of the Brown family news lately. Been busy with Christmas and New Years. I was just reading about this over 7000 square foot home that Kody and Robyn just purchased. Holy crap! What do they need all that space for? Are they assuming that Dayton, Aurora and Breanna are going to be living at home for a long time? So, are they not going to be building on "The Land" that they've been talking about for years?

[Gramto6]

24 minutes ago, applewood said:

I've not been on top of the Brown family news lately. Been busy with Christmas and New Years. I was just reading about this over 7000 square foot home that Kody and Robyn just purchased. Holy crap! What do they need all that space for? Are they assuming that Dayton, Aurora and Breanna are going to be living at home for a long time? So, are they not going to be building on "The Land" that they've been talking about for years?

🤷‍♀️ Who knows with those two.... The only thing for sure is they have some plan to get all the $$ if they can. I feel sorry for those kids it feels like they are being held "captive". I can' believe at least the adult ones are aware of a world outside of the Kody Kingdom, with so much to offer.  Mansion living or not, it would feel like a prison to me at their ages.

[LilyD]

Well, they'll need all the extra space to store their precious "art" and figurines, won't they? Plus the garage is overflowing and a while ago they also had U-hauls full of crap parked somewhere. 

Oh and Kody's inflated ego probably needs more space to live in too.

Edited Sunday at 04:27 PM by LilyD

[kassa]

I hope they film Kody giving Sol and Ari HIS lost cookie speech. 

[Orcinus orca]

12 minutes ago, kassa said:

I hope they film Kody giving Sol and Ari HIS lost cookie speech. 

And the swapping saliva one as well.

[SemiCharmedLife]

7 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

And the swapping saliva one as well.

Primetimer needs a "vomit" emoji!!  This forum would put it to good use.  😂

[RoxiP]

Y'all are all discussing these deep topics and all I can take from this episode is that they have to walk down that long, sloping walkway to get to their cars...I would be so annoyed!  Plus wouldn't that be rather dangerous in the winter?

[Natalie68]

18 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

Y'all are all discussing these deep topics and all I can take from this episode is that they have to walk down that long, sloping walkway to get to their cars...I would be so annoyed!  Plus wouldn't that be rather dangerous in the winter?

RIGHT???!!!  It would be a slip and slide with a side of broken hip.

[Roslyn]

4 hours ago, RoxiP said:

Y'all are all discussing these deep topics and all I can take from this episode is that they have to walk down that long, sloping walkway to get to their cars...I would be so annoyed!  Plus wouldn't that be rather dangerous in the winter?

It's a really bizarre house for sure. To avoid walking on the slope you could just walk down the stairs and through the garage filled with stuff to get to the parking area.

I've always been perplexed at how you drive up and there is no clear "front door" and the door that they use to enter via the kitchen has a little door to the left that opens into a closet....from the outside.

[Denize]

6 hours ago, Roslyn said:

It's a really bizarre house for sure. To avoid walking on the slope you could just walk down the stairs and through the garage filled with stuff to get to the parking area.

I suspect the garage was filled to the rafters, with no room for cars or even a space between the hoard to walk through.  One photo, that was deleted from Zillow after people commented on it, showed the 2nd smaller garage accessed from the back yard near the trampoline. The door was up when the photo was taken and that 1-car garage was filled to the rafters with nowhere left to stuff one more piece of junk or walk. 

[Gramto6]

16 hours ago, Denize said:

I suspect the garage was filled to the rafters, with no room for cars or even a space between the hoard to walk through.  One photo, that was deleted from Zillow after people commented on it, showed the 2nd smaller garage accessed from the back yard near the trampoline. The door was up when the photo was taken and that 1-car garage was filled to the rafters with nowhere left to stuff one more piece of junk or walk. 

That explains why they were outside scraping snow off the vehicles to get the kids to school. That is what a garage prevents in snow country, Dumb A$$!!

Edited 17 hours ago by Gramto6
typo

[Roslyn]

18 hours ago, Denize said:

I suspect the garage was filled to the rafters, with no room for cars or even a space between the hoard to walk through.  One photo, that was deleted from Zillow after people commented on it, showed the 2nd smaller garage accessed from the back yard near the trampoline. The door was up when the photo was taken and that 1-car garage was filled to the rafters with nowhere left to stuff one more piece of junk or walk. 

I remember that Zillow photo of the back of the garage! I will admit that I watched the video that someone took when they toured the house when it was up for sale. I was amazed that they didn't clear out all those statues and prints before having people tour the house. Yes, the garage area was packed with stuff and boxes.

[Quof]

9 hours ago, Roslyn said:

I was amazed that they didn't clear out all those statues and prints before having people tour the house

They cleared out the stuff they thought made the house cluttered; I'm sure they thought the stuff they left was tasteful and classy.