Strains have been drawn. Sides have been chosen. And the Brown household is significantly damaged.
And the one one that doesn’t appear advantageous with that association is the one particular person most relations agree is the rationale for the estrangement.
To date, season 19 of Sister Wives has been a testimonial to the horrors of divorce. Filmed over the course of the vacation season on the finish of 2022, followers have watched because the Brown household navigates life as 4, particular person households, relatively than one massive plural family.
Some are doing higher than others, however producers appear to be making an effort to concentrate on Kody’s relationships together with his youngsters, each estranged and in any other case.
Whether or not this was a call made within the wake of Garrison’s passing is unclear.
However what’s clearly evident is that Kody’s youngsters fall into two classes of their father’s eyes: loyal or disrespectful.
Grandpa Kody Meets The New Additions
One of many few older youngsters who has maintained a relationship along with her father is Mykelti. Within the fourth episode of season 19, she invitations her father and his final, remaining spouse Robyn over to fulfill her new child twins.
It’s an unusually tender second below extraordinarily tense circumstances. Robyn explains in her confessional that Mykelti appears extra of “the truth.” Because of this not like a few of Kody’s different siblings, Mykelti doesn’t place the blame or harbor ill-will in opposition to her father for a way the household has imploded.
Nonetheless, when Kody means that Mykelti transfer to the Coyote Cross compound and construct a home close to him and Robyn, her response echoes that of many different relations.
“No way in hell,” she says.
Whereas she might have forgiven her father for his previous misdeeds, Mykelti’s clearly bored with bringing her younger household into that individual fold once more.
As Christine places it “She’s not afraid to ask for what she needs. All the kids just need to take a page out of Mykelti’s book.”
The Ache of Covid Lives On
For the primary time this season, followers meet up with Gabriel, Janelle and Kody’s oldest son.
He visits his mother at her condo simply earlier than Christmas and so they share a heartfelt dialog over breakfast. The subject? Kody and Robyn.
“After the COVID scare was over and we all went back to our normal lives, we still couldn’t reconcile as a family because Kody felt like the boys needed to give an apology to him and to Robyn. Especially to Robyn.”
Followers will recall that through the pandemic, Kody insisted on very strict laws inside the household. Moreover, for a lot of that point, he refused to go to with any of the opposite wives and youngsters exterior of his residence with Robyn.
This included lacking his daughter Ysabel’s backbone surgical procedure. He additionally decreed that the older boys, together with Gabe, transfer out of Janelle’s home after Garrison supposedly obtained everybody sick after seeing his girlfriend.
By way of Janelle’s youngsters, it seems like Savannah is the one one who can “meet him where he’s at.” Gabe, who admits to seeing a counselor about his emotions, can’t do the identical.
“He texted me and said ‘I forgive you, please forgive me.’ I was like, forgive me for what?”
The Blame Recreation
The stark distinction between Mykelti and Gabe’s relationship with their father was fairly completely summed up later within the episode.
All of it comes right down to Robyn.
Mykelti has embraced Kody’s fourth spouse. She even went as far as to incorporate her within the start of the twins, a lot to the discomfort of her precise mom, Christine.
Gabe, alternatively, cannot abdomen Kody’s blatant “favoritism” of Robyn and their youngsters, as he places it. Subsequently, he’s unwilling to present Kody what he actually desires, and that’s timeless loyalty.
“If she actually believes that we were mistreating her or her children in any way when she was constantly getting favourited by dad and we were always working on our relationship with her kids,” Gabe explains.
“If she actually believes that, then there’s no chance of me having a relationship with Robyn ever again.”
Janelle provides, after Robyn joined the household, Kody’s strategy to his relationships modified. Somewhat than in search of “ love and charity,” he demanded “loyalty and respect.”
And she or he has a degree. If one have been to deal with this episode like a consuming recreation, when the one rule was to drink each time Kody talks about “loyalty,” they’d be within the ER earlier than seeing the promo for subsequent week for certain!
Crying At Christmas
However all this discuss of Robyn is sort of ironic, on condition that out of everybody, she appears to be the one particular person clinging on hope of fixing the household.
Janelle could be very clear: she desires peace for her youngsters, not reconciliation. Christine has greater than moved on, steering away from even discussing Kody in favor of gushing over her new identify, David.
And Meri, who was the more than likely to stay issues out, is now greater than ever thrilled she obtained her launch (aka a divorce via their church) as Kody has performed nothing however trash discuss her to anybody who will hear.
(Meri can be somebody apparently who was not “loyal” to Kody, however that appears to be code for she couldn’t maintain her mouth shut in regards to the cut up and advised the church…)
At 1 AM, on Christmas Eve morning, Robyn movies a tearful confession from the lavatory flooring. Despondent and clearly depressed, she laments over the truth that Meri refuses to return for Christmas day and that when once more, the entire household received’t be collectively for the vacations.
However what about Kody?
“When he’s not doing his anger stuff, he is vulnerable. He misses the family experience,” Robyn admits, which appears to be true when it’s issues like having one-on-one time together with his new grandkids.
Kody appears extra involved in investing of their marriage and their “special” connection than residing prior to now.
“Let’s move one,” he says. “Let’s let go. It was never meant to be. It was never meant to work.”
However can she? Given all of the discuss of a divorce, it won’t work out as Kody hopes.
Time will inform, although!
