S09.E11: Tell All - Part 1

[mamey2422]

6 hours ago, islandgal140 said:

They have never and will never link the breakdown in Kody and Meri's relationship directly to the catfish. However, Kody is acknowledging now that their problems go back 10 years. 

Robyn joined the family 7-8 years ago when the show started. I wonder what was happening the 2-3 years before that started their problems. 

[Enya Face]

2 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

I'm not trying to be vain, but I KNOW I'm a better catch them Meri. I have a great job, no kids, in great shape, funny, smart, attractive, and no sister wives or similar baggage. However I've been single for five years with no boyfriend prospects.

I always roll my eyes when people say Meri or Christine or Janelle can just leave Kody and easily find Mr Wonderful.  Especially at their age, it's tough out there.

Ok all of what you said, and a second helping!!

Ive dated a STUPID amount of utter dipshits over the last couple years. This is despite the fact that I’m a pretty fucking great person in real life (and the sack), I’m totally honest about whatever perceived “baggage” my wagon is draggin’, and in a good day, I’m cute!

And at the end of the day... FML... it’s hard out here for a cool ass bitch!

[Owwwww ma leg]

if i had to do it with Kody it would be with the man bun, not with the long charles manson look. I know, but its true

[AZChristian]

2 hours ago, Mothra said:

I have not watched this show from the very beginning, but in one of the first episodes I saw, Meri was going on a trip and wanted to take ?Sol? along with her, but his "real" mother said no, he wasn't old enough to be away overnight or something, how about taking ?some girl?  Meri was a little pissed.  

Sol was Kody's first with Robyn, and was exalted above all others.  Meri wanted to use Sol to make Kody think she was wonderful.  Robyn wasn't having it.  Meri did eventually take one of Robyn's girls on a trip to see Mariah.  Because Meri ALWAYS needs a buffer between herself and her actual blood daughter.

[UsernameFatigue]

2 hours ago, mamey2422 said:

I think an interesting dynamic with Meri is that her biggest issue is with Kody, not a sisterwife. Sisterwife relationships being fractured seem common in polygamous families, and certainly so for the Browns. Janelle knows about that - Meri was the reason she left the family, not Kody. The husband/wife relationship being so fractured seems unusual, especially to the extent of Meri/Kody. 

 

 

Bolding is mine. I thought this was rather odd so googled it. I came up with info from their book, where Janelle said that she left because she had fallen into a deep postpartum depression after having had her 5th child. She was depressed at having had 5 children in quick succession, as well as deeply depressed at their lack of financial means. She did say that she and Meri had had a particularly nasty fight, but I think it is a stretch to say she left the family because of Meri, and is not at all what she says in the excerpt I read. 

Edited March 27, 2018 by UsernameFatigue

[giaNtsandYankees]

12 hours ago, Pegasaurus said:

Different strokes and all, but I don't agree on the attractiveness of Kody. 

Any physical attractiveness he may still have is undermined by his foolish, egomaniacal , personality.

I have to concur. At the risk of sounded shallow - for years, I thought of Kody as a Keith Urban Reject. 

 

Also, Meri looked a little frightening during this season. Last episode especially when she talked about going to Utah make an offer on the Parowan house. 

I wish she'd get rid of the make up, sharpie eyebrows, orange tan and fried bleached blonde look. She definitely looked better in previous seasons with her dirty-blond hair, and without those eyebrows and makeup. 

[DakotaJustice]

8 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

Bolding is mine. I thought this was rather odd so googled it. I came up with info from their book, where Janelle said that she left because she had fallen into a deep postpartum depression after having had her 5th child. She was depressed at having had 5 children in quick succession, as well as deeply depressed at their lack of financial means. She did say that she and Meri had had a particularly nasty fight, but I think it is a stretch to say she left the family because of Meri, and is not at all what she says in the excerpt I read. 

You have to take the book with a grain of salt. It was written early on, and of course they wanted to show themselves in the best possible light. 

The fact that even though Janelle left wherever they were living at the time (it wasn't Lehi - I read somewhere they were pretty nomadic in the first 10 years) but continued to have Kody visit her, even getting pregnant and having a child during that time - says volumes - that she left because life with Meri was intolerable. But ultimately she moves to the beat of Kody's drum, as he was the one who prevailed on Janelle to buy the Lehi house for them. Note that Janelle had the entire half of the Lehi home where Meri and Christine split the other half. 

[DakotaJustice]

10 hours ago, Enya Face said:

Ok all of what you said, and a second helping!!

Ive dated a STUPID amount of utter dipshits over the last couple years. This is despite the fact that I’m a pretty fucking great person in real life (and the sack), I’m totally honest about whatever perceived “baggage” my wagon is draggin’, and in a good day, I’m cute!

And at the end of the day... FML... it’s hard out here for a cool ass bitch!

Ha! You and me both. 

It's not that there aren't guys who are interested in me but I won't settle. 

All three of the nonwives have a ton of baggage. Christine and Janelle still have minor children at home. Constant contact with an annoying ex. Followers of a fundie religious sect. Probably not much money.  Spent the past 8 years airing their dirty laundry on TV.  I mean I'm sure there are men out there who would still be interested for whatever reason but I doubt they're high quality. 

[mamey2422]

On 3/19/2018 at 12:22 PM, VedaPierce said:

Meri has zero interest in being with the rest of the kids. She's said as much and her actions have said it louder. What happened to all the pastries she promised would be layed out on the Wet Bar Of Tears, with all the happy gatherings in her giant house? That bitch goes to Disney on the regular, and has yet to take one of her 'bonus' kids with her! How do you go to Disney alone when there are so many kids right next door that are supposed to be yours too?? Then post all your fun insta pics for them to drool over? I bet she never even made one of them a PB&J. She's a selfish, self-absorbed asshole and is getting everything she deserves.

I wonder how the kids feel about this? Hopefully it's addressed in their portion of the tell-all.  You can see the kids have connections to their non-biological moms. Maddie wanted Christine around for her labor. Mariah invited Janelle to the women's march because she'd been a feminist role model for her (must have killed Meri, BTW). But I don't recall any of the kids connecting with Meri in this way so maybe her lack of desire to "parent" them is already a non-issue for them.  

8 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

Bolding is mine. I thought this was rather odd so googled it. I came up with info from their book, where Janelle said that she left because she had fallen into a deep postpartum depression after having had her 5th child. She was depressed at having had 5 children in quick succession, as well as deeply depressed at their lack of financial means. She did say that she and Meri had had a particularly nasty fight, but I think it is a stretch to say she left the family because of Meri, and is not at all what she says in the excerpt I read. 

 

1 minute ago, DakotaJustice said:

You have to take the book with a grain of salt. It was written early on, and of course they wanted to show themselves in the best possible light. 

The fact that even though Janelle left wherever they were living at the time (it wasn't Lehi - I read somewhere they were pretty nomadic in the first 10 years) but continued to have Kody visit her, even getting pregnant and having a child during that time - says volumes - that she left because life with Meri was intolerable. But ultimately she moves to the beat of Kody's drum, as he was the one who prevailed on Janelle to buy the Lehi house for them. Note that Janelle had the entire half of the Lehi home where Meri and Christine split the other half. 

I haven't read the book so my comment was based on what's been said on the show which is that the "conflict" between Meri and Janelle after Janelle married Kody was an "abusive" situation and Janelle had enough. Janelle alluded to this in the tell-all when she mentioned they didn't know how to manage conflict with their opposite personality types.  I wasn't aware that Janelle had post-pardum depression and could her mental health being a reason for leaving. But I think her decision to leave was 80% Meri and 20% other factors. Meri has shown nothing but nastiness toward Janelle and I can only imagine what she was like when Janelle first joined and there were no cameras around. 

[DakotaJustice]

24 minutes ago, mamey2422 said:

I wonder how the kids feel about this? Hopefully it's addressed in their portion of the tell-all.  You can see the kids have connections to their non-biological moms. Maddie wanted Christine around for her labor. Mariah invited Janelle to the women's march because she'd been a feminist role model for her (must have killed Meri, BTW). But I don't recall any of the kids connecting with Meri in this way so maybe her lack of desire to "parent" them is already a non-issue for them.  

 

I haven't read the book so my comment was based on what's been said on the show which is that the "conflict" between Meri and Janelle after Janelle married Kody was an "abusive" situation and Janelle had enough. Janelle alluded to this in the tell-all when she mentioned they didn't know how to manage conflict with their opposite personality types.  I wasn't aware that Janelle had post-pardum depression and could her mental health being a reason for leaving. But I think her decision to leave was 80% Meri and 20% other factors. Meri has shown nothing but nastiness toward Janelle and I can only imagine what she was like when Janelle first joined and there were no cameras around. 

 I don't think Janelle gets a hard pass. IMO she gave back as much as she got in a passive aggressive way that's typical of this bunch. I'll bet she got a lot of pleasure lording it over Meri with having the Lions share of the Lehi house and having the first baby and the first son. 

She struck me as quite nasty last week in that faux therapy session. I think she was enjoying laying it on Meri. 

And her frowny fish face during the tell all spoke volumes to me.

ETA: Janelle was actually the instigator all those years ago when she set her cap for her then brother in law and started seeing him behind Meri's back. 

"We get to CHOOSE our husbands" but she doesn't finish that sentence "... regardless of their marital status."

Edited March 27, 2018 by DakotaJustice

[Absolom]

Ratings are in and the turn out was the usual for this season: 

1.367 M viewers and a .34 rating.

[Normades]

38 minutes ago, DakotaJustice said:

Ha! You and me both. 

It's not that there aren't guys who are interested in me but I won't settle. 

All three of the nonwives have a ton of baggage. Christine and Janelle still have minor children at home. Constant contact with an annoying ex. Followers of a fundie religious sect. Probably not much money.  Spent the past 8 years airing their dirty laundry on TV.  I mean I'm sure there are men out there who would still be interested for whatever reason but I doubt they're high quality. 

You mean there aren't young, handsome, never been married millionaires waiting around every corner?? I'm shocked, I tell you --- SHOCKED!!!!

10 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Sol was Kody's first with Robyn, and was exalted above all others.  Meri wanted to use Sol to make Kody think she was wonderful.  Robyn wasn't having it.  Meri did eventually take one of Robyn's girls on a trip to see Mariah.  Because Meri ALWAYS needs a buffer between herself and her actual blood daughter.

I can never get past Meri putting Sol on the phone with that whacko and telling him he was talking to Batman. I'm sure she was giggling and thinking it was so cute. There's no way I'd let her around my kids after that. Robyn and Kody showed more restraint than I ever could have.

 

39 minutes ago, DakotaJustice said:

 I don't think Janelle gets a hard pass. IMO she gave back as much as she got in a passive aggressive way that's typical of this bunch. I'll bet she got a lot of pleasure lording it over Meri with having the Lions share of the Lehi house and having the first baby and the first son. 

She struck me as quite nasty last week in that faux therapy session. I think she was enjoying laying it on Meri. 

And her frowny fish face during the tell all spoke volumes to me.

ETA: Janelle was actually the instigator all those years ago when she set her cap for her then brother in law and started seeing him behind Meri's back. 

"We get to CHOOSE our husbands" but she doesn't finish that sentence "... regardless of their marital status."

I hope Janelle did lord her lion's share of the house over Meri. Janelle worked longer and harder than any of them and paid for most of that house. Plus she had 6 kids. I think she deserved it, much like Meri deserves every nasty thing that happens to her. I think now that she's not the legal wife and can't lord her framed marriage certificate over the rest of them and has been taken down a few pegs from the catfish, the other wives can finally let their feelings be known and stop tiptoeing around Meri.  I think it was creepy that Janelle left her husband for her brother in law, but if Meri didn't want that or to be part of polygamy, she should have left. She's had ample time and opportunity now. After all this time she either needs to deal with it or move on. It's time to stop beating that horse that's been dead for decades!

[ChicksDigScars]

13 hours ago, B3cky50 said:

The catfisher also now claims to be married to a beautiful woman, living in Paris with like 6 kids of "his" own, so I'm not sure you can believe anything "Sam" says. 

Wow. So pregnancies only last about a month in the Land of Make Believe? Six kids in two years.....

Unless "Sam" is into Polygamy, now too, of course. 

[Gothish520]

1 hour ago, DakotaJustice said:

You have to take the book with a grain of salt. It was written early on, and of course they wanted to show themselves in the best possible light. 

The fact that even though Janelle left wherever they were living at the time (it wasn't Lehi - I read somewhere they were pretty nomadic in the first 10 years) but continued to have Kody visit her, even getting pregnant and having a child during that time - says volumes - that she left because life with Meri was intolerable. But ultimately she moves to the beat of Kody's drum, as he was the one who prevailed on Janelle to buy the Lehi house for them. Note that Janelle had the entire half of the Lehi home where Meri and Christine split the other half. 

It appears Meri and Christine had one level each but more square footage per level, while Janelle had two floors but less room per floor. At least that's what it looks like in this mock-up:

[ChicksDigScars]

20 hours ago, the-grey-lady said:

Maaaan, this episode has me conflicted.

On the one hand, kudos to Meri for ditching her bizarre LLR outfits for the tell-nothing. The fewer times I have to see stripes matched with flowers, the better.

On the other, um, if she did decide to step out of the LLR cult for a night, why did she decide on a clothing theme like "glittery trash bag"? On the upside, I now know what a Hefty bag would look like if it were drenched in glitter glue, so I guess there's that.

I have a friend that's really into LLR and keeps adding me to groups so that online sales pop up in my facebook feed (no, not Meri's). That glittery stuff is also LLR. They have solids and aluminum foil looking shit like that.  I'd bank that the shirt was LLR. She sells it. No way she's not promoting her business on TV. 

Confession: I have three pairs of their leggings that I wear around the house. Small patterns, dark colors. I got them for $5 each from a girl that was selling out her inventory. I'll pay $5 for something to wear around the house with t-shirts.  I wouldn't be caught dead wearing them out, or to work!

Edited March 27, 2018 by ChicksDigScars

[Jeanne222]

Meri always looks sloppy and not well put together.  I think those flowing shirts are to hide her flab.  She always looks like she needs a good scrub and a hairdresser.  That along with 'those' clothes do not make a pretty woman.

I worry because other than Mariah's happiness with her girlfriend she seems to be going down the same path as Meri.  Kind of off putting and not really friendly with 'the family'.

I like to watch the ones that are not front and on camera.  The background family and I don't see much openness with Meri or Mariah.  I kind of get the idea they are bullies and like getting THEIR own way.

I don't see love or kindness in either of them.  I see only me, my wants, my likes and my opinions.

I watch Meri on the show the other night and noticed she loves to be on camera and explain HER role in everything.  When another wife or Kody are speaking she seems bored and can't wait for more face time.

I guess you can tell.  I don't care for Meri or Mariah much.

[Gothish520]

2 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

 I don't think Janelle gets a hard pass. IMO she gave back as much as she got in a passive aggressive way that's typical of this bunch. I'll bet she got a lot of pleasure lording it over Meri with having the Lions share of the Lehi house and having the first baby and the first son. 

She struck me as quite nasty last week in that faux therapy session. I think she was enjoying laying it on Meri. 

And her frowny fish face during the tell all spoke volumes to me.

ETA: Janelle was actually the instigator all those years ago when she set her cap for her then brother in law and started seeing him behind Meri's back. 

"We get to CHOOSE our husbands" but she doesn't finish that sentence "... regardless of their marital status."

 

I didn't see Janelle as nasty at all in therapy, if anything I think she was still being a bit easy. You can tell how frustrated she is with Meri and her passive-aggressive, whiny, what-about-me attitude. I'm not saying that Janelle is completely blameless, because it does take two. But I thought it was interesting that Robyn said to Meri "you BOTH have to work at it" when discussing Meri's relationship with Kody. Because Meri presents it as "I want it to work, but HE'S the problem" when I'm sure it's not that simple. And that just goes back to Meri's attitude that she's fine and everyone else is the issue.

Edited March 27, 2018 by Gothish520
spelling

[Jeanne222]

9 minutes ago, Gothish520 said:

I didn't see Janelle as nasty at all in therapy, if anything I think she was still being a bit easy. You can tell how frustrated she is with Meri and her passive-agressive, whiny, what-about-me attitude. I'm not saying that Janelle is completely blameless, because it does take two. But I thought it was interesting that Robyn said to Meri "you BOTH have to work at it" when discussing Meri's relationship with Kody. Because Meri presents it as "I want it to work, but HE'S the problem" when I'm sure it's not that simple. And that just goes back to Meri's attitude that she's fine and everyone else is the issue.

I love Janelle and Christine too.  They have GOT Meri's number.  They understand exactly what Meri is doing and trying to do.  I'm sure they have lots to say but production has a lot of imput into what they discuss and say.  The show must go on!

Robyn on the other hand has had so much criticism since she joined the family she lays low.  But then again she is 'first wife' so she can do whatever.

[Gothish520]

3 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

I love Janelle and Christine too.  They have GOT Meri's number.  They understand exactly what Meri is doing and trying to do.  I'm sure they have lots to say but production has a lot of imput into what they discuss and say.  The show must go on!

Robyn on the other hand has had so much criticism since she joined the family she lays low.  But then again she is 'first wife' so she can do whatever.

Oh the war stories I bet Janelle and Christine could tell!

[SuzieQ]

38 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

Meri always looks sloppy and not well put together.  I think those flowing shirts are to hide her flab.  She always looks like she needs a good scrub and a hairdresser.  That along with 'those' clothes do not make a pretty woman.

I

She really needs a serious makeover.  When she wears jeans, they look like they're going to come apart at the seams.  The too tight jean jacket (in Vegas!) hides nothing.  None of them are fashionable but she is seriously stuck in another decade.

[LuvMyShows]

7 hours ago, Onceafan said:

My issue is when I saw Janelle's size at the tell all, and I will admit that she did look larger than I have seen her before, is that she has a For Profit business with Strive with Janelle. I don't think it is fat shaming a person, when you are seeing that the health package and coaching that they are promoting does not seem to be working for them. Janelle is making money by being a "health coach." She also sells pedometers and exercise related accessories as well as "coaching."

Since she is making money off of it, and it is a business, then her weight and health can be open to discussion without it being fat shaming, but being critical of the actual results of a for profit health business.

Potentially unpopular view here...but why do we need to justify commenting on the weight of any of the women or men?  No one has raised an issue of "hair shaming" for all the disparaging we've done of Kody's hair quality/length and Maddie/Mykelti's hair color, for example.  Or "beard shaming" for disparaging comments about Caleb's beard.  Or "eyebrow shaming" for disparaging comments about Meri's and Mariah's eyebrows  Weight is a physical characteristic of the people on the show, that is changeable, as is hair quality/color, facial hair, and eyebrow shape.  These people's weights have varied, and we can comment about it here, even saying that we don't think someone looks good at their heavier weight.  I don't have to agree that all heavy women/men are or can be attractive, any more than I have to agree that hairy chests on men are or can be attractive, or that big breast enhancements are or can be attractive. 

The important thing to me is not to go beyond that, and ascribe any other guessed-about characteristics (for example, overly aggressiveness with the hairy chest, laziness with the overweight person, slutty-ness with the breast enhancements).  However, if the person actually does have those characteristics, then those characteristics are fair game for mentioning for that person, even if that has the unfortunate result of seeming to confirm a negative stereotype...the key is not to generalize beyond just that person.  To do anything differently requires preferential treatment, to NOT be allowed to mention something negative about someone just because it fits a stereotype.

[LilWharveyGal]

Just when you thought it was safe to turn the tv back on…we have a special Tell All episode.  What will everyone be wearing?  Which of the kids will participate?  Will anyone actually tell anything, or will it be as incomprehensible as listening to the Swedish Chef?  Bork bork bork!  Guiding us through these adventures is Andrea Canning.

Question 1:  “Who likes the man-bun and who doesn’t?”

Hard-hitting journalism right out of the gate!  Kody’s gotten himself a special new ‘do for the occasion, and frankly, he’s no Jon Snow.  Janelle likes it.  Christine loves it. Robyn raises her hand.  Meri says that Kody’s always doing something different, but she’ll live with it.

Question 2:  “This season Meri discovers an exciting business opportunity and a chance to reconnect with her family’s past.  But will Kody and her sister wives get on board?”

Of course we all know the answer, but just for giggles we flashback through Meri’s string of awkward announcements.  It’s a B&B!  Now it’s her mom’s house!  Abracadabra, presto change-o!  Meri tells us that a few years ago when she was dilling with all the catfish crap the family kept telling her to communicate with them.  So when she invited them over to talk about the B&B/house it was just to share her thought process, not present a final plan.  Everybody thought it was “the plan,” though, and Meri didn’t understand why they were all freaking out.  There’s a lot of laughter over this zany miscommunication.  Andrea points out that the sister wives appeared to be thinking emotionally and Kody seemed to be thinking financially.  He tells us again that he still has young children and can’t be spending frivolously.  We flashback to Meri and Kody’s tour of Parowan, including their pit stop where Kody found out that H.B. 99 passed and his resulting phone call to the reporter where he over-shared that he and Meri don’t cohabitate.  The flashback continues to their session with Therapist Nancy.

Question 3:  “Why did you feel that (the non-cohabitation) was important to share (with a reporter)?”

Kody says he was feeling a little snarky towards the law.  Meri says her fillings were mixed.  On one hand they didn’t need to disclose every little detail of their lives, but on the other it’s time to start being real and honest.  Robyn chimes in to let us know that Kody sometimes says stuff he shouldn’t say.  Andrea mentions the, “divorced couple living on the same block,” comment.  Meri says that technically they are.  Andrea asks about Kody’s stance on not being intimate with Meri.  He responds that that’s still where things stand.  Meri wants more of a relationship.  When asked what will help, Meri says two parties working together, and Kody says he doesn’t know.

Question 4:  “When Kody’s not with you, how does it change the dynamic?”

Kody has left the building, people!  The wives are alone on the couches to answer as freely as they please.  Christine says that Kody is very serious so they can goof off a lot more when the buzzkill’s not around.

Question 5:  “Will the B&B bring them closer together or pull Meri even farther away?”

We flashback to the wives’ conversation on the patio of the B&B about Meri’s family involvement or lack thereof.    Meri insists that she is involved and isn’t on her phone all the time.  Robyn says that Meri is a cornerstone of the family and that there will be a place for her for as long as she wants one.  Meri says that she doesn’t feel alienated, but she is trying to figure out what her role is.  Andrea asks Robyn for her feelings on the B&B situation.  Robyn answers that she was happy to see Meri excited about something, but she was also concerned that the family was going to lose Meri.  Robyn and Meri both get choked up.  Meri says that she’s never doubted that the wives want her in the family; it’s just been a question of figuring out their new family structure.  Andrea asks Meri how her bad relationship with Kody has impacted her relationships with the wives.  There’s a lot of crying and stalling and asking if it’s “safe” before Meri says that she tends to pull away.  Christine jumps in to help Meri out, and says that when she and Kody were going through a rough patch it was awful to see him having good relationships with his other wives. 

Question 6:  “Why is all of this worth fighting for?”

Aha, the million dollar (or however much TLC pays) question!  Meri quickly responds that it’s for family, and she loves her family.  She wants good relationships all around.  Janelle thinks she’s seen progress in Kody and Meri’s relationship because they can now be cordial as opposed to always antagonistic.  Robyn is also grateful that Meri and Kody are working on things, but says pointedly to Meri that they both need to work on it.  And now we’re flashing back to the birth of Axel and Meri and Christine’s ensuing conversation…

Question 7:  “Meri, explain to us why you were not at the birth with the rest of the sister wives.”

Meri says it was a miscommunication and due to circumstances.  Andrea asks Christine what she wanted the conversation to accomplish.  Christine explains that she didn’t know why Meri wasn’t at the birth and she wanted Meri to know how she felt about that.  Her point was that it should never happen again because they should all feel more secure with each other.  Andrea asks Meri how it felt to be described as bringing baggage to family events.  Meri says that she and Christine haven’t had a follow-up conversation and that it’s something they need to do alone.  Robyn tells us that she’s proud of both Christine and Meri.  Andrea asks everyone if their current life is what they expected when they entered into plural marriage.  Robyn wants, “more and deeper.”

Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies – Kody’s back!  We flashback through the saga of the lawsuit, and Andrea doesn’t ask a question but notes that it brought up a lot of painful memories for them all.  Kody points out that they originally won all 8 counts in a landslide, but the appeals court turned them down on the “technicality” that the Brown family was never harmed.  Kody says that they left in the night to avoid that arrest.  Then, he notes, after the appeal the legislature had the gall to tighten up the law.  Andrea asks if they would ever move back to Utah and just stop using the word “wife.”  Christine says it would be insulting to her moral values.  Meri would feel like a second class citizen.  Christine tells again how she was raised to be scared of outsiders, namely monogamists and police, and says that their 7 year “exile” in Vegas has been freedom to her because she can openly be a wife wherever she goes.  Andrea asks if they really thought they could be arrested.  Christine says that it probably wouldn’t happen but they wanted to prepare for the worst.  Janelle adds that before the show aired they met with Child Protective Services to ask about what would happen with the kids if the parents were arrested.  Andrea asks Christine about Paedon’s response to the march.  Both Christine and Kody thought that it would have been healing for him.  Andrea then asks about Utah, and Kody tells us that when their lawsuit originally won he immediately started looking at property in southern Utah.  Christine doesn’t want to go back unless there’s a “fight.”  Meri doesn’t want to move back.  Janelle and Robyn both like their Vegas lives but would be fine moving back.  Andrea asks if all these different opinions and complexities within the family are worth it.  Kody says that he personally would do nothing differently, but he shudders when others tell them that they’re getting into plural marriage or adding another wife. 

Question 8:  “Meri and Janelle, you two have a lot of history…”

After a delightful flashback to Meri and Janelle’s session with Therapist Nancy, Meri tells us that she thinks all of their issues are misunderstandings of personality.  Janelle agrees.  Andrea asks if any of it has to do with Janelle coming in as a second wife when Meri had had Kody to herself.  Meri doesn’t think that was the main thing at all.  Janelle says it’s been about how they deal with confrontation.  They’re glad to have a therapist like Nancy who can walk them through these personality differences and doesn’t blame their problems on plural marriage.  Janelle and Meri say they bonded a bit on the trip to D.C., but Janelle admits she would have cancelled if they hadn’t been able to work out their interview kerfuffle.  Kody jumps in to say that as a family they answer for and talk over each other all the time.  Andrea asks Janelle how it felt when Mariah invited her, and Janelle replies about being both a feminist and a sister wife and how she got to choose her husband and equal rights for women.  Andrea asks Meri if there has been a turning point in repairing her relationship with Mariah, and Meri answers that it was the march.    

Well folks, if you want answers to more scintillating questions you’ll just have to wait until next week, because we’re leaving the Tell All now for some kind of special episode where the Browns play a memory game that allows the producers to pad the entire thing with flashbacks.  Let’s test our skills - or our livers as we drink more, it’s entirely up to you.

We’re at Christine’s for family game night.  Buzzkill Kody thinks it’s a dumb idea.  The other families are invited over and furniture re-arranging ensues.  When they’re all assembled, Christine announces they will break into 3 teams for the game and that Gwendlyn and a bang-sporting Mykelti will be the hosts.  Aspyn’s team is called WNRS.  Ysabel and Aurora’s group are the Gladiators.  The team containing Maddie and Caleb is called….wait for it…wait for it….Team Camo.  The teams will put four players in the “hot seat” with a noise-making implement.  I’m not even drinking and I still don’t understand.  The first category is, “Kids Looking for Trouble,” and the first question asks what April Fool’s joke the kids pulled on Mariah while visiting Utah?  Mariah honks her horn and answers that they told her Hunter got arrested for drinking alcohol.  Fascinating, right?  Just in case we don’t believe her, we flashback to that storied incident when the kids were younger and the girls were naturally blonder.  Back in the present maroon-haired day, Mariah says this was her most embarrassing moment.  Next question:  What did Madison want to wear to Logan’s graduation that caused Janelle to say, “You know dad’s going to freak,”?  Aspyn’s guess of a short dress is incorrect.  Madison correctly answers a short skirt.  That’s two for Team Camo, and we flashback to a simpler time when the wives still wore tanks over long-sleeved t-shirts and Kody wasn’t interested in seeing his daughters’ nether regions.  Our final question in this category:  After Maddie got married, who was the next guy to propose?  Robyn answers that Tony proposed to Mykelti, but she is wrong.  Maddie thinks it was Mitch but she too is incorrect.  Aspyn’s team also thinks it was Tony, and everyone is confused.  Gwendolyn and Mykelti explain that it was Solomon.  We flashback to the family trip where Sol fake-married Robyn, and folks, this is what is known as the bottom of the barrel.

After the break the players are asked to dance like Kody which, you guessed it, leads to a montage of Kody dancing through the years.  Anyone who did not gouge their eyes out is now welcome to move on to the next category, “Something’s Cooking.”  Question 1 asks what Truely weighed at birth, and Christine blows her noisemaker and answers 7 lbs 11 oz.  Birth flashback.  Question 2:  What’s a thing that the Dargers share that you would not share?  Meri blows her noisemaker and teammate Asypn answers the kitchen.  Flashback to the Brown /Darger vacation where Kody solemnly declared that the Browns might never heal from having to share a kitchen.  Final question:  When we went to visit the Richards family, what was their unusual food-related tradition?  Kody clangs a xylophone and Robyn answers that they would take their first bites together looking into each other’s eyes.  The story rings a bell but I don’t remember these people at all.  Team Camo is apparently losing and their punishment is to eat a lemon.  Mariah, Paedon, and Dayton chow down without making any horrible faces, so the producers failed on that one.

Next category is, “How Many Wives?”  Mykelti asks what the very first sentence was that Kody said in the very first episode of the show.  Kody clangs in to answer, “I like marriage.”  Flashback, natch.  Question 2:  In the Bible, how many wives did King Solomon have?  Oh geez, we’re not flashing all the way back to Jerusalem, are we?  No, we’re not, we’re taking about 10 minutes to figure out who rang in first.  Madison answers 700 and is correct.  Mariah says that’s disgusting, but Paedon says they all could have left at any point.  Can I leave?  Please?

Somehow we’ve jumped to Question 5:  How many wives did Kody have in 2010?  Kody answers 4, but the other two teams protest that they rang in first.  The punishment for the losers is to do pushups, which Meri performs.  Our next category is, “Celebrate.”  The question is what did Meri say to justify cheating on the Christmas caramel cooking contest?  Robyn answers something incorrect and says, “Oh my hell.”  A bunch more people get it wrong and Mykelti announces, “Lies are always ok as long as you tell the truth later.”  Put that on a Pinterest plaque, folks, it’s the Meri Motto.  We travel back in time and see Meri and Robyn purchasing caramels at a store called Rod Works.  Next question:  The first time we went Christmas tree shopping at Mt. Charleston near Las Vegas, who got a bloody nose?  Kody answers Garrison, and we flashback to a fight between him and Gabriel.  It’s time for another punishment which consists of Christine and Meri arm-wrestling, and Meri whips off her LLR duster so we know she means business.  After what feels like about an hour, she wins.  The next category is, “Stand Up Tall and Proud,” and the question is about the name of the vehicle art installation the family visited near Topeka, Kansas.  It’s Truckhenge, and I’m sure none of us really needed to revisit it.  Question 2:  What 3 questions did the judge have during the adoption of DaytonAuroraBreanna?  (Umm, “What’s my line, again?”  “Does this robe make me look fat?” and “When do I get paid?”)  If you really want to know the answers, they were, paraphrasing:  “Are you comfortable with so many people in the courtroom?” “Are any of the kids over 14?”  “Are the other children here?”

When we return, the teams are told they’ll get a point for each country they can name whose leader is a polygamist.  South Africa is correct, Saudi Arabia is not and Tibet is not.  Mariah asks Google to check on that Saudi Arabia answer.  Morocco and Spain are wrong.  (Spain?!  Queen Leti would cut a b*tch.)  Swaziland is correct, which Meri has never heard of.  Mykelti gives the flailing teams the final answer of Central African Republic.  And we’re on to the “General Knowledge” category, and Mark Twain’s real name.  Kody gets it correct, and oh look, there’s even a flashback to the road trip through Hannibal, MO, where the family got to hear Samuel Clemens’ description of the homely Mormon women he saw in Salt Lake City.  Question 2 is something about Robyn and Solomon being weighed together, and subtracting Robyn’s weight to figure out Solomon’s.  Paedon does the math correctly.  I think this story is the most boring flashback yet.  Team Camo is declared the winners, but we’re all losers here because the game isn’t over.  Now it’s time for questions for just Kody and the wives.  The category is, “Making Dad Nuts,” and the question pertains to a disagreement Kody and Janelle had over a camping trip.  Robyn correctly answers that it was about whether to take blankets or sleeping bags.  Ok, this is a joke, right?  We’re all being monitored by researchers to see how long average humans will sit through this monotonous nonsense, aren’t we?     

I think we’re on the last segment.  When the wives went to San Fran, what awkward thing happened at dinner?  The answer is that Kody called the wives and they had phone conversations “in front” of all the other wives.  Oooooh, just as riveting as it was in 2013 or whenever.  It’s time for punishment again and Kody and Meri have to have a staring contest.  Kody wins, if anyone cares.  The next category is, “Animal Instincts,” and the question is to name 2 things that Kody found interesting about the rhinos on his honeymoon.  Robyn knows that one of the answers is that the rhinos were polygamists.  Kody knows the second part, which is that the females spend most of their time together and the male just comes around every once in a while to donate sperm.  The flashback is another snooze.  The final question is about something big and brown that bleeds huckleberry jam.  Kody gets all worked up that Janelle rang in properly preventing him from answering the one question relating to his boyfriend Caleb, who, by the way, still had hair in the flashback to his wedding.  Meri is the loser and her punishment is to give two compliments to the winners.  Janelle gets kudos for beating Meri at the game.  Christine is congratulated for pushing fabulous kids out of her womb.  Meri also likes the red in Janelle’s hair.  She likes Robyn’s new business designs.  Christine’s second compliment is for her high energy and dancing.  Robyn is thanked for her constant positivity toward Meri.  And finally, Meri loves how much Kody loves his kids.  If she came up with a second compliment about him I’ll never know because my DVR decided to cut the show off.  Which is just as well, because I can’t think of anything good to say about these chuckleheads and am feeling guarded and not safe and need to put up my walls.

Next week:  Tune in for the second half of the Tell All.  Or don’t.  Nobody would blame you.

[Natalie68]

20 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

Taco Tony: Yet another fitting nickname for him. As a side business, he could open a taco truck by the same name. 

Are you trying to ruin my favorite food for me???!!!!  WAH!

[SuzieQ]

17 hours ago, Owwwww ma leg said:

if i had to do it with Kody it would be with the man bun, not with the long charles manson look. I know, but its true

Couldn't be dark enough and I couldn't be drunk enough or dead enough!

[Natalie68]

20 hours ago, Phronsie said:

My prediction...Mykelti will demand to give birth...outside...in December.  

But will there be frisbee's?

[Jeanne222]

Honestly I'd love a season where Meri assumes the Janelle position and listens to others speak.

We've had three seasons of Meri!

The divorce season, the cat fish season and now the b & b season.

Enough of that very calculating, manipulating, ugly woman.

Surely there's something else for the writers and production to come up with!

[Jeanne222]

6 hours ago, lma said:

I was proud of her. Finally she speaks up. Now I don’t give her a hard pass either because she went and married her ex- SIL’s husband. But in polygamy, this is what they do. It is so painfully clear how much Meri dislikes Janelle and until Meri fesses up and tells it like it is and is honest about where all of it is coming from, I’m just going to call it like I see it. You’re a polygamist, Meri. Your husband is going to sleep with other women. If you don’t like it, become a monogamist. 

PS I don’t buy the religious angle from at least 3-4 out of the 5. They may believe in it as a lifestyle, but I don’t believe they have any faith in the theology behind it.

I think kodys it.  I don't think Meri has choices.  Look at her!

I think she was looking around when Sam happened along and had he/she been a real man Meri would have kissed them all goodbye!

Unfortunately Sam was pretend and they are stuck with Meri!

I also think kody knows she was looking and trying to find somebody else and that's why he's pretty much done!

[MamaMax]

Meri will never be happy because she wants two things that are mutually exclusive: to be in a plural marriage, and to have a fulfilling, loving, secure relationship.   Plural marriage is only "successful" in communities that do not value women, and do not place any importance in women's personal happiness.

Meri, you can't be a modern, fulfilled, respected and happy woman AND be a plural wife. If you choose to stay, you need to give up the illusion that you will ever be happy or have "a place"  in the family or with Kody. NOT going to happen, it can't. A man can not be a true partner or truly care about a woman's happiness if he is not 100% invested in her. Which...not possible when you have other wives.

Choose yourself, and leave Kody, but that means you have to face the fact that your religion is bad for you. You're not on the compound, you don't need Kody for money or safety.  Letting go of the idea that plural marriage "makes you better" is the first step. Stop competing with other women for a crumb of a meaningful connection with a man who only cares about himself.

[Normades]

Did anyone else find it rich that the only one of the 5 spouses who didn't want to move to Utah was Meri, the idiot who recently bought a house in Utah!!!!!

[crgirl412]

3 hours ago, Normades said:

Did anyone else find it rich that the only one of the 5 spouses who didn't want to move to Utah was Meri, the idiot who recently bought a house in Utah!!!!!

Meri is very oppositional.  Most people like her are- she is a big Cluster B in the world of psychiatry.  

https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/dsm-5-the-ten-personality-disorders-cluster-b/

It doesn't surprise me at all that she disagrees with everyone.  She is always the squeaky wheel who everyone has to cater to in some fashion.  If I were the other wives, I would be sick to death of her and be so done with her.    

Edited March 28, 2018 by crgirl412

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

54 minutes ago, Normades said:

Did anyone else find it rich that the only one of the 5 spouses who didn't want to move to Utah was Meri, the idiot who recently bought a house in Utah!!!!!

Right, because I think she had this grand plan to purchase this B & B for a lot longer than she lead on. 

[luvmylabs]

Two quick comments.  I think Meri ought to get the hell out of Dodge (or Las Vegas) and go run her B&B.  WHY do sister wives have to live near each other, be an entire 'family' or even LIKE each other?  If I was in that lifestyle for RELIGIOUS reasons I'd want my own house far away from the others as possible.  Hubby come see me every 3rd day or whatever.  Everyone else keep out of my business.

Also, when they showed Kody in the very first episode of the show, he looked not too bad.  Hair was clean and manageable.

Edited April 3, 2018 by luvmylabs

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

7 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

It appears Meri and Christine had one level each but more square footage per level, while Janelle had two floors but less room per floor. At least that's what it looks like in this mock-up:

 

 

[b2H]

On 3/26/2018 at 9:04 AM, antfitz said:

 Who is Nancy

The therapist that has, for what it’s worth, been robbing TLC and the Browns for more than a couple of years.

[Gothish520]

21 minutes ago, Mahamid Frauded Me said:

 

 

Bahahaha!

[Gothish520]

1 hour ago, luvmylabs said:

Two quick comments.  I think Meri out to get the hell out of Dodge (or Las Vegas) and go run her B&B.  WHY do sister wives have to live near each other, be an entire 'family' or even LIKE each other?  If I was in that lifestyle for RELIGIOUS reasons I'd want my own house far away from the others as possible.  Hubby come see me every 3rd day or whatever.  Everyone else keep out of my business.

Also, when they showed Kody in the very first episode of the show, he looked not too bad.  Hair was clean and manageable.

Kody was a very good-looking man back in the day. I still think he's attractive except for the hair, which really needs to go now. Age and stress have caught up with him, but a haircut would go a long way towards improving his overall look.

[kicotan]

3 hours ago, MamaMax said:

Meri will never be happy because she wants two things that are mutually exclusive: to be in a plural marriage, and to have a fulfilling, loving, secure relationship.   Plural marriage is only "successful" in communities that do not value women, and do not place any importance in women's personal happiness.

Meri, you can't be a modern, fulfilled, respected and happy woman AND be a plural wife. If you choose to stay, you need to give up the illusion that you will ever be happy or have "a place"  in the family or with Kody. NOT going to happen, it can't. A man can not be a true partner or truly care about a woman's happiness if he is not 100% invested in her. Which...not possible when you have other wives.

Choose yourself, and leave Kody, but that means you have to face the fact that your religion is bad for you. You're not on the compound, you don't need Kody for money or safety.  Letting go of the idea that plural marriage "makes you better" is the first step. Stop competing with other women for a crumb of a meaningful connection with a man who only cares about himself.

Taking my response over to the polygamy discussion thread to avoid getting in trouble here.

[Pickleinthemiddle]

2 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

Kody was a very good-looking man back in the day. I still think he's attractive except for the hair, which really needs to go now. Age and stress have caught up with him, but a haircut would go a long way towards improving his overall look.

And get into shape.  It is easier for men to lose weight than women.  My 57 year old brother can drop 30 pounds in 2 months.  I have always thought Kody was a decent looking guy.  

[UsernameFatigue]

13 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

You have to take the book with a grain of salt. It was written early on, and of course they wanted to show themselves in the best possible light. 

The fact that even though Janelle left wherever they were living at the time (it wasn't Lehi - I read somewhere they were pretty nomadic in the first 10 years) but continued to have Kody visit her, even getting pregnant and having a child during that time - says volumes - that she left because life with Meri was intolerable. But ultimately she moves to the beat of Kody's drum, as he was the one who prevailed on Janelle to buy the Lehi house for them. Note that Janelle had the entire half of the Lehi home where Meri and Christine split the other half. 

Janelle had five children in less than 7 years (6 yrs and 8 months actually). I don't know how quickly she left after the last of those 5, Gabriel, was born but is sounds like it was within a few months. Someone said she was gone for two years. She did not have Savannah until 4 years after Gabriel was born (he was born in Jan/01 and Savannah Dec/04). So it was three years and three months between when Gab was born and she got pregnant again, roughly speaking. One would think she left to get away from having more kids in quick succession (and because of their financial woes as she stated). Looks to me like her plan worked, with a break of 4 years between Gabriel and Savannah, with Savannah being her last child. 

Edited March 28, 2018 by UsernameFatigue

[Gothish520]

20 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Potentially unpopular view here...but why do we need to justify commenting on the weight of any of the women or men?  No one has raised an issue of "hair shaming" for all the disparaging we've done of Kody's hair quality/length and Maddie/Mykelti's hair color, for example.  Or "beard shaming" for disparaging comments about Caleb's beard.  Or "eyebrow shaming" for disparaging comments about Meri's and Mariah's eyebrows  Weight is a physical characteristic of the people on the show, that is changeable, as is hair quality/color, facial hair, and eyebrow shape.  These people's weights have varied, and we can comment about it here, even saying that we don't think someone looks good at their heavier weight.  I don't have to agree that all heavy women/men are or can be attractive, any more than I have to agree that hairy chests on men are or can be attractive, or that big breast enhancements are or can be attractive. 

The important thing to me is not to go beyond that, and ascribe any other guessed-about characteristics (for example, overly aggressiveness with the hairy chest, laziness with the overweight person, slutty-ness with the breast enhancements).  However, if the person actually does have those characteristics, then those characteristics are fair game for mentioning for that person, even if that has the unfortunate result of seeming to confirm a negative stereotype...the key is not to generalize beyond just that person.  To do anything differently requires preferential treatment, to NOT be allowed to mention something negative about someone just because it fits a stereotype.

I pretty much agree, especially with the part about not ascribing certain personal characteristics with outward appearance. As someone who has struggled with weight most of her adult life (and who is tipping the scales at the higher end at the moment, grrr), I think weight is as much fair game as any other physical characteristic. But, as you say, making a blanket statement like heavy people are just lazy is wrong. My mother-in-law is quite heavy, but she is one of the most active and hard-working people I know. She's in her mid-seventies, still working part-time, goes to the gym several days a week, and maintains a social calendar that exhausts me just thinking about it, lol. 

Heavy people can make the most of what they have physically, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they would not be more attractive if they lost weight. The human brain likes a pleasing symmetry, and overweight (and underweight) people fall out of the realm of that symmetry. Physical proportions also have a lot to do with that, of course.

Also, IMO hairy chests are sexy and fake boobs are gross. YMMV, lol!

[Higgins]

I had forgotten some me actually have hairy chests. Never see that on TV anymore.

[Roslyn]

So I finally watched the "Game Night" episode.  WHY do television shows waste their episodes with these things!!??  Pointless to say the least.  If we have watched the show...we have seen all of that.  The regular show has so many flashbacks and recaps that every episode is a recap show!!

So...I was busy doing other things and just had the episode playing in the background, so I was mainly listening to it.  I did note one interesting thing.  Most of the game questions centered around old seasons and what people specifically said on the show.  The core family members really sucked at remembering what they actually said and did.  NONE of the questions had answers that weren't on film.  Once again...storyline.  And Meri's inability to "remember the storylines" from so long ago. 

However...the interesting thing that stood out was the fact that Robyn was the only one who "suddenly remembered" many of these little things that had been on the show.  She remembered what was said and done (on film on the show) that the other family members just couldn't remember even a little.  It goes to cement an old theory of mine that Robyn really studied the family dynamic early on...she learned how to read the wives and learned Kody's dynamic with each of them as a group as well as one on one.  I think she has watched the show (and actually paid attention to it) and cruised around online from the beginning WAY more than any of the others. She entered an existing family with a cemented family dynamic.  She watched, she learned and she especially learned how to handle Kody. How to approach him, how to communicate with him and in my opinion how to manipulate most situations.  It's probably why up until recently she has always inserted herself as a Brown Family Expert.  After all that field study...she is.

[Kellyee]

Quote

So I finally watched the "Game Night" episode.  WHY do television shows waste their episodes with these things!!??  Pointless to say the least.  If we have watched the show...we have seen all of that.  The regular show has so many flashbacks and recaps that every episode is a recap show!!

If you ever buy DVDs of television shows and listen to the commentaries from directors and producers, they will sometimes admit that this sort of thing is added as "filler" content. They need to reach a certain time or number of episodes, so things will be added to reach the time limit or episode count. That's why we get the stupid game night and the previously unseen moments episodes. They are cheap to produce and they use up time.

[Gothish520]

39 minutes ago, Higgins said:

I had forgotten some me actually have hairy chests. Never see that on TV anymore.

Tell me about it. It really irks me and I don't understand why men shaving their chests ever became a thing. I get maybe trimming up the nethers or getting rid of back hair, if one feels they must, but chest hair and arm hair, WTF? 

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

So do we know for sure if this show is actually coming back ? Will there be another 2 year hiatus ? I don't think I can go another season with another kid wedding, even though I do like Aspyn (for now, I reserve the right to change that opinion at any damn time) . They have beaten the proverbial dead horse a million times, I bet Meri will still be "figring" stuff out, no further "safe" conversations between Christine & Meri, the bogus therapy sessions with Janelle & Meri, and Robyn the almighty knowing what is best for the fambily/

Edited March 28, 2018 by Mahamid Frauded Me
because I suck at spelling

[Morgalisa]

On 3/26/2018 at 7:00 AM, b2H said:

And Nancy has been told she will keep her paying gig as long as she maintains the lie. That’s why she will never bring it up and never get a better paying gig than this one.  If it ends, she is out of business.

They need Iyanla for some real truth telling. Iyanla please come fix the Browns.

[tabloidlover]

Oooooo!!  I would pay to watch that!

[ginger90]

1 hour ago, Mahamid Frauded Me said:

So do we know for sure if this show is actually coming back ? 

Yup

[lookeyloo]

5 hours ago, Higgins said:

I had forgotten some me actually have hairy chests. Never see that on TV anymore.

And that is a shame! I do love a hairy chest on a man. Too much waxing!

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

30 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

Yup

Obviously someone farted  to show all of them smiling at the same time