S06.E08: More Girls than Kody can Handle?

[Galloway Cave]

 

Kody spends time with the young girls after admitting he relates better to his boys.

In other words, an hour of back talking to his internet critics regarding his lack of parenting skills. You're still a crappy dad, Kodouche.

 

Janelle's tears did seem real for the over-due kiss and make-up session. Interesting.

 

Just shut up Robyn.

[alt0233]

Wherever I watch the opening credits I can't help but roll my eyes. You'd think they'd re-do the quotes they each have to be more congruent with what we're actually seeing on the show.

[Misslindsey]

I agree Janelle's tears seemed genuine, since she is not one to wear her emotions on her sleeve. Somehow Meri making Janelle wait four months for an answer cracked me up. It is just so ridiculous. I guess Meri was too busy chatting up her catfish to get back to Janelle.

 

Was it just me or did Gwen and Savannah seem pretty quiet when they were doing their couch sessions with the other girls? Some of those girls seemed so starved for some attention from Kody, and not just the ones that are always hanging on him....cough.. Aurora..cough.

 

I was so rooting for Kody to fall off that mechanical shark. The annoying surfer accent that he kept doing made me shabby, but that is generally how Kody always makes me feel.

 

 

 

[LotusFlower]

It pains me to say this since Maddie has always been my favorite, but I was glad to finally see a repercussion to Kody's self-serving decision to exploit his family's privacy for reality TV fame and fortune. May this be the start of more repercussions for them - only next time, I hope it's the adults who get targeted.

[salvame]

Um, Kody, if you are taking 5 daughters with you on a trip, it is the 6 of you, not the 5 of you.  I guess his lack of math skills explains a lot about this family!!

[3girlsforus]

Does it strike anyone as odd that supposedly wonderful family is constantly seeing a therapist?

[Celia Rubenstein]

 .... so ..... Kody remembered the surf board, but he "forgot" the ankle strap and the wax and whatever else was needed to actually use it.  Riiiiiight.

 

I think Kody just didn't want to make an ass out of himself by trying to actually surf in front of an audience.  

 

A bigger ass than he usually makes of himself, I mean.  

[mlsmit7]

Maddie not being able to join the Mormon Church is the best thing that ever happened to her. I'm an exmormon, it's a very demanding religion with a lot of frivolous rules.

[scrambled eggs]

This episode annoyed me the least of any this season, most likely because it had a minimal amount of Robin. I think Gwendolyn is my favorite of the younger kids. Also, I never noticed until tonight just how much Madison looks like her mom. 

[elb]

Why does Kody compare taking his daughters on vacation vs his wives?! It's weird and he does it more than once.

 

"The absence of the relationship politics here, you know, wives versus daughters, this trip is going to be easy on me because there's not going to be any relationship politics. 

 

First, would he say that about his sons? 'Oh, well, taking my sons on a trip is going to be a total breeze since there's not going to be any relationship politics.' Yeah, I highly doubt it.

 

"All my daughters know I love them and they're not comparing whether somebody's getting more love than the other."

 

I don't know what's more depressing: that Kody doesn't realize his kids probably already do that, or that he knows his wives do and seems to only see it as an annoying hindrance he has to deal with. And as much as Robyn wants Kody to have deep conversations with the girls, I highly doubt Kody has any kind of a meaningful relationship with any of his kids, boys or girls. That just doesn't sound like Kody's MO. He's the FUN! dad and doesn't have the time to deal with anything as complicated as messy emotions.     

 

"I was looking to see what was wrong and I sorta discovered what was right." -Kody

 

AKA: Everyone needs to get off my back because I just proved how awesome of a father I am and always have been.

 

Also, the fact that he seemed completely serious about not falling off that 'bull' is proof, to me, of just how big of a narcissistic douchebag this guy is.

[bichonblitz]

I still don't know what the problem is and has always been between Janelle and Meri. Can someone fill me in? 

[LotusFlower]

Maddie not being able to join the Mormon Church is the

best thing that ever happened to her. I'm an exmormon, it's a very demanding religion with a lot of frivolous rules.

That's what I've always heard about the Mormon Church. It stood out to me when Janelle said she was surprised at what Maddie told her, because the Church's teachings were so loving and accepting.

And as much as Robyn wants Kody to have deep conversations with the girls, I highly doubt Kody has any kind of a meaningful relationship with any of his kids, boys or girls. That just doesn't sound like Kody's MO. He's the FUN! dad and doesn't have the time to deal with anything as complicated as messy emotions.

Lord help me for agreeing with Robyn, but I do think that boys and girls are different in this way. Boys don't like talking - they bond with their dad by hanging out, having fun, goofing off, sports... Girls like to have fun, too, of course, but I think bonding with their dad means talking about stuff, doing something more meaningful than watching TV or goofing around. I think it would have been nice, and again - meaningful, if Kody had used the time away with the girls to spend some one-on-one time with each of them. Frankly, he should do that with all his kids, all the time. But of course he barely makes the time to give enough attention to his four wives, let alone 17 kids. And of course that flies in the face of his message in last night's episode - ppl. need to stop criticizing him for how many kids he has. Anyway, he seemed to regard the trip as a success, but to me it looked like yet another group activity that the families do all the time at home, with no bonding done whatsoever.

[ghoulina]

I'm glad the younger girls got to have a nice vacation. That little house they stayed in was super cute and they looked like they had a fun time. Would Kody have ever done this without the show, the viewing audience, being called out? I don't know. All the cheesy music and slow mow scenes on the beach aren't going to make me think Kody is a wonderful person. 

 

The weirdest thing about it all was how Kody kept comparing his relationships with his daughters to the ones with his wives. He mentioned how his wives would be more jealous if they all went on a trip together. And how his wives try to boss him around, but his daughters only try to boss each other around, and that's easier to deal with. Just creepy. 

 

I love Ysabel, she seems like a really sweet little girl. And looks JUST like her mom. Savannah is a cutie as well. She totally has Jenelle's DGAF attitude. Gwendolyn is a fiest. 

 

I think it really sucks that Maddie's church won't allow her to be baptized since she won't denounce her parents. That's what's wrong with organized religion - everyone has to be "right", there are no other options. I am a Christian, but I haven't attended church in years. I think people should do whatever makes them happy, whatever gives them a purpose. I can believe in my God and the Bible without thinking that everyone else is wrong, doomed, an idiot, etc. Maddie believes in something, but she's being shunned because she accepts her family for who they are? That's just really screwed up. 

 

It's kind of odd that Meri and Jenelle are going to work on their relationship NOW, when Meri's only kid is out of the house, and she seems to have one foot out herself. But I liked how they said their relationship precedes even Kody and they owe it to THAT to try and make it better. I thought their hug/tears seemed very genuine - unlike fake Sobyn Robyn. 

[Granny58]

 .... so ..... Kody remembered the surf board, but he "forgot" the ankle strap and the wax and whatever else was needed to actually use it.  Riiiiiight.

 

I think Kody just didn't want to make an ass out of himself by trying to actually surf in front of an audience.  

 

A bigger ass than he usually makes of himself, I mean.  

because obviously in a coastal town you simply cannot buy surf equipment.  Dodged a bullet there I think.

[Granny58]

1.  Another poster above beat me to it, but to restate....boys and girls, men and women, process relationships differently.  Kody THINKS that all this activity is what bonds girls but it's not.  It's what bonds boys.  10 minutes sitting on the beach chatting with each girl singly would have a huge impact.  My own dad, for as GOOD  a provider and a GOOD person he was, completely misunderstood how much male attention meant in the formative years and that frankly had a huge impact that I still deal with emotionally.  So I'm glad to see time spent with his girls, doing anything at all because just the effort to do it speaks volumes....but Kody please don't think it ends here.  When you're just running to the store ask one to join you.  Car time is great talk time.  Small gestures that show them INDIVIDUALLY that the relationship is not all about you.  

2. Four months!?!?!  WTF?

3.  In the previews when Robyn states she's happy to be pregnant, boy, you wouldn't know it with the sourpuss she's pulling. 

[Adiba]

The beach trip looked fun, at least--looked like there was minimal squabbling. I agree that the trip was mainly to show critics what a good dad Kody is (?)

I hope I don't sound like a Kody fan here, but I do think it's unrealistic to think that he would have individual heartfelt talks with each daughter. That's not him. He can't even deal when one of his wives gets emotional-- he shuts them down, generally. My dad was the same way. You could do " fun" things together, but don't expect a lot of emotional support. As i got older, I came to accept that it just wasn't in him. I compared it to expecting to buy a quart of milk at Home Depot--it's not gonna happen. It's somewhat sad, but accepting what you can and cannot get from some people is freeing, actually.

[DeusExMaraschino]

I hate myself for even saying this, but this episode made me feel kind of bad for Kody.  Polygamy (at least religion based) can be terrible for women.  For the many many reasons we've all stated on this board.  But it is terrible for men too.  It is unrealistic to expect 1 man to be able to juggle multiple relationships.  Each of the women have a vested interest in choosing alliances and manipulating each other to come out on top.   How could you ever really trust what your wife was saying when she may be trying to influence you for the sake of/at the expense of a fellow sister wife?  It's a sick game of Survivor. 

 

Also, I will give Kody some points for at least attempting a girls vacation.  Even if he didn't do it exactly the way the moms would, I don't know of a lot of dads that would do this.  I'm sure the cameras played a big part, but the older girls said that he used to do dates with them all the time when they were younger.  I think polygamy is a disaster, and as the family grew, it just became more unmanageable.  At some point, (like Meri probably) even if you wanted to get out of the polygamous lifestyle, you stay just because it's too complicated to leave. 

 

I do not have a lot of goodwill towards the LDS church, but turning someone down because they refuse to publicly denounce their family is pretty shitty.  Even for a corrupt corporation I mean church like LDS.  Sure Maddie could attend without being baptized, but she would be a second rate citizen at best.  She'd be miserable with all the nasty comments about the "true" members etc. 

[mythoughtis]

I don't understand why Robyn would think that Kody was going to have 1-on-1 time when there were 5 girls on the trip.  What's he going to do  - repeatedly send 4 of them off on their own in a strange town while he talks to one?  1 on 1 time happens where it's just you and 1 other, hence the name.  Girls don't have heart to hearts with their Dad with 4 sisters around, and also not in front of a camera. 

[CofCinci]

To paraphrase one of the daughters: "He won't have anything to worry about, like workouts or meetings.  His sole purpose will be us."

So is that what Kody does all day?  Workouts (belly in full-effect this episode) and meetings?  Does he even have a day job?

 

Janelle's youngest daughter is a mini-Janelle.

 

Here's a parenting tip for Kody --- you don't have to travel 1000 miles to bond with your neglected daughters.

 

is converting to LDS similiar to Judaism?  Where they turn you down a few times to see how true your intent/drive to convert actually is?

Edited October 12, 2015 by CofCinci

[Galloway Cave]

I seriously doubt it was four months between Janelle's request to work things out and Meri getting back to her. The show just wants you to think they are spreading out the shooting schedule. More than likely it was two weeks.

 

I hope Maddie finds a nice, non-dom church that accepts everyone and she lives happily ever after.

 

I think polygamy is structured so men don't HAVE to think about relationships, period. All they have to think about is making babies and serving their god and prophets. It's only these 21st century TV plygs that are being forced to have relationships by their wives and TV producers. The wives think they can have monogamous relationships with all the trappings and the producers want the draaama. 

[Granny58]

I seriously doubt it was four months between Janelle's request to work things out and Meri getting back to her. The show just wants you to think they are spreading out the shooting schedule. More than likely it was two weeks.

 

I hope Maddie finds a nice, non-dom church that accepts everyone and she lives happily ever after.

 

I think polygamy is structured so men don't HAVE to think about relationships, period. All they have to think about is making babies and serving their god and prophets. It's only these 21st century TV plygs that are being forced to have relationships by their wives and TV producers. The wives think they can have monogamous relationships with all the trappings and the producers want the draaama. 

a non-denom church works well for mainline Christian thinking, but Maddie said her beliefs align only with Mormon thinking so I don't think that's an option for her.  

[winsomeone]

I didn't care for this show at all. Why would Cody take the girls to an amusement park, when two out of the five don't do rides?  I thought Savannah was a bit too mouthy to her father..the same thing last week with Gabriel and his mother. Chirstines kids seem the best mannered and behaved out of all of them..maybe because she always stayed at home, and the others worked at times?

[ghoulina]

I hate myself for even saying this, but this episode made me feel kind of bad for Kody.  Polygamy (at least religion based) can be terrible for women.  For the many many reasons we've all stated on this board.  But it is terrible for men too.  It is unrealistic to expect 1 man to be able to juggle multiple relationships.  Each of the women have a vested interest in choosing alliances and manipulating each other to come out on top.   How could you ever really trust what your wife was saying when she may be trying to influence you for the sake of/at the expense of a fellow sister wife?  It's a sick game of Survivor.

 

I agree, it's not great for the men either. This stood out more to me with My Five Wives, since Brady has, you know, an actual job. He had little down time, little me time. The wives get several nights off, but he never does. But, at the end of the day, they all chose this, so I can't feel that bad. Then again, for some I think it's so religiously ingrained in them that they would never choose any other way. 

 

Here's a parenting tip for Kody --- you don't have to travel 1000 miles to bond with your neglected daughters.

 

This is true, and not feasible for most families. But, the beach trip was something Ysabel had really been wanting. And I'm just glad the girls got some serious alone time, without all the other moms and kids around.

[algebra]

I am actually skeptical of the whole Maddie's-LDS thing. Probably wanted the family and the TV crew to attend her Baptism and the LDS said no.

Got a kick out of Robyn saying she wanted her daughter(s? I still can't figure out whose kids are whose) to bond with Kody (now that she's alienated her (them?) from their real father, because then they'll get love from a father and won't be seduced by a man who just wants the wrong thing (sex)

Sex is the ONLY thing polygamous men are interested in, fool!

You married a guy who is only interested in sex.

[mlsmit7]

is converting to LDS similiar to Judaism? Where they turn you down a few times to see how true your intent/drive to convert actually is?

No, they baptize anyone they can. They have like 60,000 missionaries out every year all over the world. They give a few lessons about their church and then try to baptize as fast as possible without telling people the full truth.

[Zahdii]

Just speculating here, but I doubt that Maddie is telling the truth about why she can't join the regular Morman church.  I doubt the church said she'd have to renounce her parents, just publicly say that she wouldn't be in a polygamous marriage.  The Brown family has shown that they have no problem lying when it suits them, but for Maddie it might be easier to lie to people and not the church.  Which leads me to wonder if her future husband has already said something like "We'll try a monogomous marriage, but the Lord might lead me to polygamy.  I won't marry you unless you understand and agree to that."

 

I hope Maddie isn't going to get in the situation that Meri got into.  Meri didn't want a polygamous marriage, but only agreed because she wanted Kody, and look how well that turned out.

[3girlsforus]

 

Here's a parenting tip for Kody --- you don't have to travel 1000 miles to bond with your neglected daughters.

 

 

This was my thought throughout the whole thing. This is what I think happened. Kody discovered that people think he's a crappy dad. He discussed it with the wives. I'm torn as to whether or not they agreed. But they probably said things like spend time with them, talk with them, go to their activities, eat dinner with them, ask them about their day, etc. Kody says 'ugh - that will interfere with my workouts and primping'. I know I need another vacation!!! So off they go to California. I'm not sorry the girls got to go but it isn't how you bond with kids you don't normally spend time with. 

[Zahdii]

No, they baptize anyone they can. They have like 60,000 missionaries out every year all over the world. They give a few lessons about their church and then try to baptize as fast as possible without telling people the full truth.

 

Ain't that the truth.  The Mormons have posthumously babtized as many of the people killed in the Nazi death camps as they could.  Just find a name and they do it.  Doesn't matter that those people probably never heard of the Mormons, or might have preferred their own religion (or none at all).

 

The baptisms were supposed to be carried out at the request of Morman descendants of the deceased, apparently under the assumption that if great grandson of so-and-so found that great grandfather wasn't baptized as a Morman, the church could just do it years later.  But Anne Frank, who was Jewish, died without bearing children, yet the Mormon's continue to try to 'officially' baptize her.  As you can imagine, Jewish leaders aren't happy with this, and have secured promises from the Mormon church to stop, but it still keeps happening.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/mormons-posthumous-baptism-anne-frank_n_1292102.html

 

I've told my kids that if they choose a religion, they do not have my permission to 'baptize' me after death to their religion.  If I'd wanted to join that religion, I'd have done it when I was alive.

[Adiba]

No, they baptize anyone they can. They have like 60,000 missionaries out every year all over the world. They give a few lessons about their church and then try to baptize as fast as possible without telling people the full truth.

Forgive me if this is ignorant, but don't Mormons baptize deceased relatives/ ancestors as well? Since the dead can't take lessons or give consent, it puzzled me as to why Maddie couldn't be baptized.

Edited: just saw the above post

Edited October 12, 2015 by Adiba

[Twopper]

 

 

I think it really sucks that Maddie's church won't allow her to be baptized since she won't denounce her parents.

 

 This confuses me.  I would think it would be enough if she were willing to tell the LDS that she and her husband would not live a polygamous life.  Or is the problem with LDS that her parents have not only been polygamous, but they have also advocated that livestyle on tv? If it is the latter, I think that is unfair of the church.  And I can't imagine the LDS permitting TLC to film a baptism for any show.  Was she not baptized previously? and is that not recognized by the LDS?  But then LDS baptism in not recognized by most (or all?) other churches. Isn't Maddie Janelle's daughter, and didn't Janelle go from LDS to polygamy? I can see Maddie going from polygamy to LDS to non-demoninational Christian rather easily--especially if LDS treats her this way.

[3girlsforus]

Forgive me if this is ignorant, but don't Mormons baptize deceased relatives/ ancestors as well? Since the dead can't take lessons or give consent, it puzzled me as to why Maddie couldn't be baptized.

 

As with everything else about the Browns that doesn't make sense, I'm sure there is way more to this story and what we are being told isn't really true.

[algebra]

The LDS baptizes dead people, they aren't picky. the mods don't approve of discussions about the religion, but the show is about their religion. It is the foundation of the whole premise, that this is their religion. So the religion should be fair game.

LDS calls up the dead to be baptized, and calling up the dead is prohibited in Deuteronomy 18:11 and Leviticus 19:30.

LDS says they will be married in heaven, but Jesus said nobody will be married in heaven, in Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25

And St Paul went on at length that a man should not have more than one wife. (Corinthians and Timothy) and that has been the standard for Christians for 2000 years.

Many years ago I met an ordained clergyman who had looked into the Mormon teachings and declared "they aren't Christians." I thought he was exaggerating. No, he wasn't. They aren't Christians. Christians believe people, male or female, are saved by faith. It is Christ who gets you into Heaven, nobody else. Mormons believe it is a woman's husband who gets her in, by pulling her "through the veil." If she hasn't been a good wife he won't let her in. These poor women believe that even an abusive husband is better than none at all, because she needs that guy to get into heaven. We all wonder why these wives are putting up with this creep, but they aren't going to leave unless they have another husband on deck.

[toodles]

Every episode just digs a deeper hole for KOdy. He is such an ass to most of his wimmin folk. It doesn't matter if they are his own flesh and blood or a wife he's tired of. Even truley is on to him. I hope for the baby's sake that it's a boy. Despite the fact that it's Robyn' s kid, she will be thrown in the pile with the rest of them sooner rather than later.

They can yap all they want that people make a big deal out of their family size, but this is still a man who is the father of a bizillion kids. It looks like he is doing a piss poor job to me.

[Kellyee]

We've seen the same thing on every TLC large family show. A few of the kids have strong relationships with the parents (usually the oldest and/or youngest kids), and the rest are just there to fill space and fill the quiver. At least with polygamy, only 6 kids have to share each mom. Each mom seems to have a pretty good relationship with all of her own kids on this show. Its still ridiculous, but at least they have one strong parent relationship each.

 

When you have 17 kids, some of them are going to barely know who you are. That's just the reality. What makes me angry is that Kody wants even more kids, when he can't spend time individually with the kids he already has.

[Oldernowiser]

This was my thought throughout the whole thing. This is what I think happened. Kody discovered that people think he's a crappy dad. He discussed it with the wives. I'm torn as to whether or not they agreed. But they probably said things like spend time with them, talk with them, go to their activities, eat dinner with them, ask them about their day, etc. Kody says 'ugh - that will interfere with my workouts and primping'. I know I need another vacation!!! So off they go to California. I'm not sorry the girls got to go but it isn't how you bond with kids you don't normally spend time with.

I don't think Kody gives a rat's ass whether people think he's a good father. What he cares about is that the TLC money keeps rolling in. So TLC has some poor unpaid intern trolling the internet for story possibilities that might keep this sad mess afloat while they find replacement freaks for the BooBoos and the Duggars. They told Kody he was going to go on a "vacation" with the girls. Kody aligned his three brain cells long enough to say, "Vacation good! Me like!" and off they went.

That's my theory, anyway.

[3girlsforus]

I hope this comes out right. I was really upset by the teaser for next week. They certainly implied that Meri has cervical cancer. If this isn't true this is REALLY low. Obviously I don't want Meri, or anyone, to have cancer. But what bothers me is the possibility that she had a basic test with no real result and they used it for a dramatic teaser. Cancer and cancer scares are not funny. They aren't acceptable fodder for ratings. If she had a real scare then I feel horrible for her and I really hope she doesn't have cancer. But if it was manufactured or exaggerated because of the show I'm going to be really angry.

[DakotaJustice]

My opinion on the LDS/Maddie "scandal".

I think just like the museum in Nauvoo where the Browns and the docent out and out lied and said they weren't allowed in because they were plygs (the real reason appears to be the fact that it's a very small building and they would not allow filming) the producers figured they would never be called out on the actual reasoning.

I believe the real reasons are 1) Maddie's fiancé isn't LDS, he belongs to Church of Christ or Assembly of Christ which still follows the Book of Mormon - why should Maddie go to the effort of joining a church that her future husband doesn't belong to? Especially if they follow the same philosophy. And 2) just didn't want to go through whatever the hoops required to join.

Don't get me wrong, Maddie seems like a nice person, but like most of the Browns including her mom - she lacks real motivation. The evidence is clear in that she only managed one year of college before dropping out.

[Tabbygirl521]

Does anyone know if the LDS church would require a convert to renounce his/her family for reasons OTHER than polygamy? I ask because my brother converted, and he didn't have to renounce anyone. None of us are polygamists but there are other behaviors not in keeping with LDS beliefs.

Also, when Sister Wives first aired, my (LDS) SIL and I were both shuddering at the idea, and my husband innocently asked about the origins of polygamy in early days, wondering if it had been inspired by the need for family farm workers. My brother got testy and treated us to a bit of a lecture about sacred origins. Seemed a little defensive. I mostly blocked it out because it made my brother seem like an alien. I might mention that he's in his third marriage, so maybe he's doing serial polygamy. Aieeeeeeee.

I know Maddie said that only the LDS church fits with her personal beliefs, but if they really did reject her, I hope she keeps exploring and finds something else that works for her.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Tabbygirl521

[rck]

I believe Maddy's story about what happened. The LDS church baptizes a lot of people, but there are some requirements. A past abortion or history of homosexuality requires special permission from the mission president, for example. If anyone has been involved in polygamy they have to denounce it to be baptized--the LDS church is very leery about being associated with polygamists. 

 

Bycommonconsent, an LDS blog, had a post about Maddy's situation: http://bycommonconsent.com/2015/10/11/polygamy-and-baptism-policy/

 

There are a lot of comments from people who also knew people trying to get baptized after being associated with polygamy in the past and having a really hard time with it. The commenters all seem to disagree with the church's decision in Maddy's case, too. (Bycommonconsent does tend to attract a lot of fairly liberal Mormons who disagree with the church on various issues.)

[zenme]

Ok, this is going to sound weird, but I was a young girl once and had crushes on older guys, but I kinda think Aurora has some kind of crush on Kody, and it happens that her mom married her crush...and now he is her "father."  It's strange.  I think Kody is oblivious to it, and Robyn thinks the kids need a father to take the place of Jessop.  OR it could be that Aurora is just happy to be in her real live Brady Bunch lifestyle, and Robyn really sold her a bill of goods.  In any case, Aurora is going to be one messed up young lady.  I hope not, but she just seems so much needier than ALL of the others. 

 

I shed tears during the Meri/Janelle exchange.  It's about time they buried the hatchet and learned how to live together.  I mean, if you can't even share a kitchen, how can you share a husband? 

[3girlsforus]

I don't think Kody gives a rat's ass whether people think he's a good father. What he cares about is that the TLC money keeps rolling in. So TLC has some poor unpaid intern trolling the internet for story possibilities that might keep this sad mess afloat while they find replacement freaks for the BooBoos and the Duggars. They told Kody he was going to go on a "vacation" with the girls. Kody aligned his three brain cells long enough to say, "Vacation good! Me like!" and off they went.

That's my theory, anyway.

 

I don't know.  He seemed pretty irritated when he talked about the implication that he needed to work on his relationship with his daughter. I don't think he cares the way we would expect a man to care. I don't think it ever occurred to him that anyone was right that he needs to work on his parenting. I think he cares that he was challenged because his ego assumes that he is perfect in all things. 

[ghoulina]

They can yap all they want that people make a big deal out of their family size, but this is still a man who is the father of a bizillion kids. It looks like he is doing a piss poor job to me.

 

They seemed to want to be congratulated on ONLY having 17 kids, as that is apparently fairly small for a family with 4 wives. I was not moved. 

[deedee2]

I agree, it's not great for the men either. This stood out more to me with My Five Wives, since Brady has, you know, an actual job. He had little down time, little me time. The wives get several nights off, but he never does. But, at the end of the day, they all chose this, so I can't feel that bad. Then again, for some I think it's so religiously ingrained in them that they would never choose any other way. 

Maybe it's not great for men nowadays because the women tend stand up for themselves, or have demands and expectations, rather than merely "keeping sweet" all day and all night.  Yeah, polygamy is still all about the man, but now he's gotta deal with women who get feisty and lippy, complain about the state of the marriage (Christine), have online affairs (Meri), have huge meltdowns (Nonnie), and even walk out (Janelle).

 

As for Brady ... where to begin? I disliked him orders-of-magnitude more than Kody. Kody is a self-centered doof, but Brady's narcissism and phoniness was intolerable to me. The fake sweet-talking ("mmwwaah, love ya!"); the fakety-fake-fake concern for his wives ("oh, is that today?" - wife's hospital test for cancer); the remote, checked-out, dead eyes; and don't get me started on his going back to school for a philosophy degree. Brady made me spit nails and throw objects at the screen. I don't think I've ever had such a visceral reaction to anyone else on tv. LOL

Edited October 12, 2015 by deedee2

[deedee2]

 

Ain't that the truth.  The Mormons have posthumously babtized as many of the people killed in the Nazi death camps as they could.  Just find a name and they do it.  Doesn't matter that those people probably never heard of the Mormons, or might have preferred their own religion (or none at all).

 

The baptisms were supposed to be carried out at the request of Morman descendants of the deceased, apparently under the assumption that if great grandson of so-and-so found that great grandfather wasn't baptized as a Morman, the church could just do it years later.  But Anne Frank, who was Jewish, died without bearing children, yet the Mormon's continue to try to 'officially' baptize her.  As you can imagine, Jewish leaders aren't happy with this, and have secured promises from the Mormon church to stop, but it still keeps happening.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/mormons-posthumous-baptism-anne-frank_n_1292102.html

 

 

Whaaaat?? I've never heard of this. It's an outrage! Many of my ancestors were murdered in Nazi death camps - are you telling me some religious zealot could have found their name on a list and "baptized" them into the Mormon Church? That's criminal chutzpah.

[JoannKB]

They seemed to want to be congratulated on ONLY having 17 kids

And their defense is that there are 5 adults. But that's still 3.4 kids per adult, which would mean the equivalent of 6.8 kids in a two-parent household. That's still a lot, especially if the majority of the adults in their household do not have full-time jobs.

[MonicaM]

I felt like slapping Robyn when she said dismissively that Kody was merely going to have fun with the girls, rather than have deep one on one conversations and bond.  Having fun together is a way to bond - that's why dating couples go out all the time to have fun and enjoy one another's company.  When my kids were younger and still living at home, we had some great times with various activities and part of our family bonding time was discussing some of those fun times even years later.  I did have some great one on one time with each of my children and some deep and meaningful conversations, but those happened naturally and in various situations.  I never sat any of them down and demanded that we ponder the mysteries of the universe together.  

 

That said, it gets on my nerves no end that Kody always gets a trip and all fun times have to center around him.  While some or all of the wives sit at home taking care of his flock of children, he won't let anyone leave town on an adventure unless his thinning blond hair is right in the middle of things.

 

On a humorous note, my youngest son was home from college this weekend and came in the room while the program was airing.  He'd never seen it before so he stopped to watch for a while.  His first comment was, "Why are all the wives overweight?"  Then when Kody fell off the shark ride and he claimed he deliberately launched himself off, my son and I both collapsed into hysterical laughter.  I think it was a great mother/son bonding moment and we didn't have to leave the house!!!

[Kohola3]

Or is the problem with LDS that her parents have not only been polygamous, but they have also advocated that livestyle on tv? If it is the latter, I think that is unfair of the church.

 

Organized religion in general cares little for fairness with their arbitrary rules.  Since the LDS is so secretive about their bizarre rule book, who knows the truth. Having been raised by a bunch of lying grifters the truth is also unclear when it comes to what any of the kids have to say any more than their parents.  They may have been schooled to speak creatively to avoid "religious persecution for polygamy" which seems to be the Kody Creed..

[CofCinci]

The scene between Janelle and Meri felt like the most genuine moment within the entire series --- but then Meri RAN out right after the hug saying that they'd schedule something.

When the gravy train runs out of steam and all the children are out of the house, I could see Janelle and Meri living together.

[preciousperfect]

And their defense is that there are 5 adults. But that's still 3.4 kids per adult, which would mean the equivalent of 6.8 kids in a two-parent household. That's still a lot, especially if the majority of the adults in their household do not have full-time jobs.

His response was so ridiculous. "Some would say having 17 kids on a planet that already has 6 billion is irresponsible but that's just like your opinion man."

[Tabbygirl521]

If only someone had asked how he would be supporting this hoard without TLC $$.