Sister Wives

There is coming a new monument to the United States, similar in theme and design to Mount Rushmore, that of the oracle of wisdom Kody Brown. His carved image will, as always, be surrounded by the lesser images of four women all fawning over him like lemmings.

In the arena of the genre of so called "reality" TV, there is a vast wasteland of garbage and idiocy. However, some of these reality TV shows manage to slither into sewers and crevices even lower than the rest. Sister Wives, featuring Kody Brown the holy oracle of polygamy along with his patriarchal empire, is the epitome of moronic reality shows.

If this sloppy mess of distressed emotions and constant social conflict was meant to put polygamy in a good light, it fails miserably. Kody can make up phrases like "multiple marriage" to legitimize his world of confusion," but the reactions of his four wives (one legal and three he calls "spiritual") belie his false pretense of harmony and success. And multiple marriage means exactly the same thing that polygamy does.

Nothing is ever calm in the four neighboring households "on the cul- de-sac" that defines Kody's realm. None of his kids seem happy, and one by one are moving as far from him as they can get. The women are griping all the time, and of course, instead of blaming his royal highness they stage childish cat fights among themselves to increase his ego of having women fighting over him. Listening to their carefully prepared speech is irritating too; you can just see Kody's disheveled hair and squinty eyes staring at them threateningly while they talk.

One could go on and on about how trashy these people and their arrangement are. Suffice it to say there are many other TV channels you could be watching instead of these imbeciles.

This is the story of five people who don't seem to like each other, do nothing but complain about each other and the choice they have made. Its getting too negative to watch anymore. They keep complaining about where they live, move, then complain about where they've gone. You know what they say, you can move but you take your problems with you.

This family has always been a fascinating sort of train wreck. I have been engrossed in every season and grew to really like the individual people, and always hoped for more follow up seasons to keep up on the Brown family, but I'm not sure I can watch much more unless these two things are changed:

1. The catfishing situation and the Meri/Mariah situation has been beaten to death and is still going... and going... and going... still being dragged on endlessly even though it happened 4 years ago- I can't watch any more of that because now it's just incredibly annoying. Meri was my favorite one in the beginning back in 2010 because she was so down to earth and relatable, but she's SO victimy now and always suspecting that everyone in her family is out to get her, and she can't seem to see how her behavior in her relationships is often quite toxic and inflammatory, and she really needs some intensive therapy on her own to get herself through this midlife crisis and out of this major victim mode. I feel like she changed at the time of the divorce and turned into a completely different person... and has felt like the left out, abandoned victim ever since. But please, no more catfish stuff. That dead horse has been beaten down to nothing and you're killing us regular viewers with it.

And...

2. This show is SOOOOO far behind real life that I have looked things up online to get details. The current episodes aren't current at all. So Axel should only be a few months old according to the episodes playing now but in reality he's almost two. Meri didn't JUST open the B&B, it's been open for more than a year, and there's been another wedding and another pregnancy, and a major relocation several months ago, but we probably won't see that until 2021. It's so far behind real life. I wish they would try to catch up, at least a bit. I could understand being a few months behind but not this far behind.

I have to say that Christine keeps me watching. She's down to earth and I love how she puts Kody and all of his gigantic attention-seeking narcissism in his place (like "this is NOT about you Kody"). She seems so real. I love how she goofs around, even tackling Meri, because she makes the show fun. And her honesty is refreshing- the best part of the show. Janelle is a sweet lady but so emotionally detached that I don't see how she has any relationships at all, and I hope she can heal from whatever childhood trauma made her so entirely afraid to be vulnerable and connected to other people, because she obviously has a good heart. Robyn is nice and seems sincere too. Polygamy is clearly a miserable way to live, no matter what the show's intro script says. Holy cow. Never in a million years could I live that way. But still, a train wreck that is interesting to watch. Take out the catfish, get Meri individual counseling, catch up a bit (seriously!), and then keep it coming!

It's hard to tell if the drama is real or if it's for the sake of ratings..?? If the point in going public was to prove that polygamy works, this show fails. Miserably. The women are ALWAYS at odds crying, pouting and complaining about something. They keep track of what the other wives get for birthdays and anniversaries. Jealousy is front and center at all times and they have a therapist on call, if that tells you anything.

All of the wives have a specific role. Meri is the old friend (well, was the old friend). Janelle is the cash cow. Christine is the mother hen that raises the kids. Robyn is the bedroom wife.

If you've read that Robyn is the favorite, that is accurate. Kody only cares about Robyn, especially in the later seasons. The family seemed **somewhat** happy in the 1st season before Robyn came along. Everything fell apart after that. Robyn cries non-stop and acts like she's been the #1 since the beginning. She acts like she knows Kody better than anyone. She would be thrilled if the other wives just disappeared. She is now the legal wife, her kids are legally bound to the family and she has the biggest and nicest house. Kody spends all of his time at Robyn's house and complains that the expanding amount of jealousy of the other wives "ruins" his time with Robyn.

Meri is annoying af. She whines that she doesn't have more kids then whines when Kody wants more kids then whines that she doesn't want more kids. She really sucks attention from her infertility. She had the option of fertility treatments AND a surrogate. She turned them both down after a YEAR of "thinking about it" then went back to crying in every interview about being an "empty nester". She demands to live in 5+ bedroom houses even though she lives alone. I would be livid if I were a sister wife spitting out kids for Kody like a brood mare and Meri lives like a queen in her mansion. Alone. The catfishing incident is also pretty stupid. She found a man online she wanted to leave Kody for. She was making plans to leave the family and was building her own life and income with the B&B. Her online lover turns out to be a woman and now Meri wants the fam to reassure and comfort her. Make her feel wanted again. She repeatedly talks to them about it like she expects them to console her while she grieves the loss of her make-believe boyfriend. You can't make this stuff up.

Christine is a good mom. Seems very insecure, but I can see why. Kody uses her to raise the kids. Kody has no interest in her and she knows it. So does the viewer. Kody makes little to no effort with Christine and it is obvious throughout the entire show. She is constantly trying to adjust her personality to appeal to him. She has a kind-hearted spirit and she is soft-spoken. She really seems like a great mom.

Janelle is the business partner. She helps Kody support all 57 of his kids and wives. Very independent and seems emotionally checked out most of the time. From what I've read, her kids are all going on to earn masters degrees. Clearly, she is also an amazing mom despite the Kody/Robyn/Meri mess. Her older kids seemingly have had enough of their dads obvious favoritism towards Robyn.

The bottom line? Polygamy seems absolutely miserable. I don't condemn their lifestyle, it's their choice. Nobody is being forced to be unhappy.

From day one of this show, Kody gave me the creeps. The hair, the metallic pink car he had, the whole Mr. God's gift to women Peter Pan syndrome. I watched out of curiosity, out of sympathy for the wives and kids, then out of I cannot stand how this guy treats his wives and kids until a few years ago when I started throwing bricks at the TV screen every time his oh poor me botoxed face was on the screen until I couldn't take it anymore. I'm no psychiatrist, but can anyone just scream Kody is a Narcissistic a-hole with me? Good grief. HE is the problem and has now destroyed his "marriages" and his relationships with his children. He has also destroyed several of his children emotionally. I can now barely tolerate the commercials for the show. The only place his face belongs is on the south end of a north bound horse. Buh-bye Toady Kody!