Plathville Coming to TLC

[freethemall]

2 hours ago, Pecansforeveryone said:

Yes and yes. People can talk about grandparents "spoiling" grandchildren all the time but even that is not an unlimited entity. I mean if someone were raising their children vegetarian, theywould be livid if your parents snuck them a bacon cheeseburger. I do think Kim and Barry are too strict. I despise threats of hellfire and shunning. It damaged me greatly. However, if on an overnight to their grandparents my young children were say allowed to watch an R rated movie that would be the end of overnights at grandparents for a minute. 

Agreed. My mother is a grandma I have to set firm boundaries with, and at this point I've never allowed an overnight but hes still only 4. She disregards not just food rules (not that we have any really but I prefer limited sugar) but safety rules, so I wouldn't be surprised if she'd put him in a car not in a car seat. Grandparents have to respect parental rules too, as do siblings. 

[feministxtian]

19 minutes ago, freethemall said:

Grandparents have to respect parental rules too, as do siblings. 

YES!!!! I am not the parent anymore. Its no longer my rules. There are some compromises made under the guise of "only with Grandma" but for the most part it's like this...not MY kid, not MY rules. Fortunately we have a pretty open communication line so everyone stays on the same page. 

[Natalie22]

I get the idea behind they both need to respect each other's boundaries, but just remember that Ethan and Olivia are like 22 and got married at 20.  Expecting two 20 year olds with that amount of trauma and sheltering and lack of life experience to be equal at setting boundaries with two people in their 40s is just unfair.  I often work with students who are about 10 years younger than I am, but they're all adults.  I still realize my life experience and understanding how to navigate work situations is usually much more advanced than theirs.  I try to be compassionate and patient and also explain to them explicitly how things usually work and ideas of how to navigate our relationship.  I do this not because I think they're dumb or not capable, but that I understand that I have a huge advantage over them and it is unfair to just expect them to figure it out on their own (especially if you want them to figure it out 'correctly' and/or quickly).  That two parents are unable to do the same for their child is silly.

[PurpleCats]

Olivia posted yesterday-ish on her stories that she isn’t doing weddings the summer of 2022 because they “have something special planned” and I’m terrified that they’re going to have a baby.  From what we see on tv, they need to spend some more time maturing and getting past the trauma from the way they were raised.  
 

I am skeptical that their relationship will last long term, but I hope they are in a much better place relationship wise before adding a baby. Babies (especially newborns) bring a ton of stress in to even the best relationship.  I want the best for them, and I actually think they will be loving parents, but I hope their relationship is truly ready for the stresses of a child.

[JermajestyDuggar]

44 minutes ago, PurpleCats said:

Olivia posted yesterday-ish on her stories that she isn’t doing weddings the summer of 2022 because they “have something special planned” and I’m terrified that they’re going to have a baby.  From what we see on tv, they need to spend some more time maturing and getting past the trauma from the way they were raised.  
 

I am skeptical that their relationship will last long term, but I hope they are in a much better place relationship wise before adding a baby. Babies (especially newborns) bring a ton of stress in to even the best relationship.  I want the best for them, and I actually think they will be loving parents, but I hope their relationship is truly ready for the stresses of a child.

She seems like she wants to hold off on having a baby for awhile. Plus she has to be smart enough to know you can’t always plan exactly when you’ll get pregnant and when you’ll give birth. So I’m gonna guess it’s something else. Like traveling through Europe during that summer. 

Edited January 19, 2021 by JermajestyDuggar

[freethemall]

5 hours ago, PurpleCats said:

Olivia posted yesterday-ish on her stories that she isn’t doing weddings the summer of 2022 because they “have something special planned” and I’m terrified that they’re going to have a baby.  From what we see on tv, they need to spend some more time maturing and getting past the trauma from the way they were raised.  
 

I am skeptical that their relationship will last long term, but I hope they are in a much better place relationship wise before adding a baby. Babies (especially newborns) bring a ton of stress in to even the best relationship.  I want the best for them, and I actually think they will be loving parents, but I hope their relationship is truly ready for the stresses of a child.

They wouldn't know at this point if they were having a baby then and even if they were hoping to conceive I doubt she'd block off such specific months without blocking the immediate ones after. Seems more likely to be a travel plan.

She has talked about them deliberately waiting while they sort out their issues, mature, and explore.

Edited January 19, 2021 by freethemall

[llucie]

5 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

She seems like she wants to hold off on having a baby for awhile. Plus she has to be smart enough to know you can’t always plan exactly when you’ll get pregnant and when you’ll give birth. So I’m gonna guess it’s something else. Like traveling through Europe during that summer. 

Travelling trough europe this summer? that seems rather optimistic.

[JermajestyDuggar]

30 minutes ago, llucie said:

Travelling trough europe this summer? that seems rather optimistic.

What I quoted said summer 2022 not 2021. If it’s 2021 then it could be a pregnancy. But I still doubt it.

[llucie]

10 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

What I quoted said summer 2022 not 2021. If it’s 2021 then it could be a pregnancy. But I still doubt it.

Oh my bad then, i didnt think they were already making plans for 2022. Then it must be something like that because planning a baby 2 years in advance seems too odd and for a work related project it seems a lot of time to wait.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

1 hour ago, freethemall said:

She has talked about them deliberately waiting while they sort out their issues, mature, and explore.

Did she say that on social media? On the show she makes a lot of comments that suggest she plans babies pretty soon. She put the tantric teacher’s name on her baby name list. It’s odd, because they’ve been married way too long to have not used birth control; they would be talking about infertility now. But there also hasn’t been a “we’re trying to get pregnant and I don’t want Barry and Kim around my kids” storyline.

[freethemall]

12 hours ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

Did she say that on social media? On the show she makes a lot of comments that suggest she plans babies pretty soon. She put the tantric teacher’s name on her baby name list. It’s odd, because they’ve been married way too long to have not used birth control; they would be talking about infertility now. But there also hasn’t been a “we’re trying to get pregnant and I don’t want Barry and Kim around my kids” storyline.

Yes, here is the very first answer from the q&a she did on her stories (public, saved in her highlights).

[April83]

Just started watching the new series now it's available in UK. Loving seeing the older ones grow and explore the 'world' more. I find watching Lydia heartbreaking tho. The religious guilt she carries and sense of responsibility she has for the rest of the family situation is so hard to watch. Also can't believe she has a actual prayer closet. ??. 

[front hugs > duggs]

I just watched what I think was the last episode of the season, where Ethan decides to confront his parents. I found it heartbreaking to watch as a child whose parent(s) did not define boundaries and tended to victimize themselves against their own daughter. 

1. I think Ethan really needed to do this for himself. I think he was really upset with himself for not sticking up for Olivia in the past and I hope this interaction brings both of them some closure in regards to the hurt that caused previously.

2. It absolutely pained me to hear Kim and Barry continue to vilify their son and his wife, acting innocently while doing so. Ethan at one point said something like, "and this is what you are saying to me on camera, I know what it's really like when you don't have everyone watching you". Then, it angered me to see them take zero responsibility for their actions and literally put all the blame back onto Ethan and Olivia. Even if E+O have hurt the parents, Kim claims that she was hurt but is able to talk to Olivia so Olivia should be able to do the same. She needs to understand that people heal at different times. This is why E+O are trying to set up boundaries, to protect themselves and allow this time to heal. At one point, Isaac (I think? The younger son?) implored Barry and Ethan to say something nice to each other. Barry said, "I love you, even with all the vitriol you've thrown at me" and even Isaac was like WTF dad can't you say "I love you" and end it there?

I was broken hearted that all the little kids had to see this playout. The exchange between Olivia and Ethan in the car while they were driving away seemed really genuine - I think she truly is sorry that he isn't able to see his siblings and acknowledges her role. But that also doesn't mean they should bend to Kim and Barry's will, especially if they are gaslighting manipulators, which they seem to be (based on an edited version of them, I understand). It was nice to see Micah and Moriah go over and give all the kids hugs from Ethan and Olivia and ensured them all that they are loved. I'm sad to think about what Kim and Barry may say to the kids though, I hope they aren't poisoning them. Also, Ethan basically confirmed that Kim runs the show and steers Barry's head.

Every time Lydia speaks I just feel so so sad. She seems incredibly devout, but really doesn't seem happy. I think all this family turmoil is really causing her a lot of emotional pain. If anyone is still reading this novel, I'd love to hear your thoughts when Lydia said something about admiring Ethan for standing by his wife, even as it negatively affects her by putting her (Lydia) as further down the list. 

[nsgoblue]

Welcome to Plathville is back on TLC tonight...Lydia is back in the prayer closet tonight....

[QuiverFullofBooks]

“Welcome to Plathville” is back! Episode 1, “Fractured,” is footage from the second season, edited as a new episode. I don’t remember seeing Olivia and Ethan playing piano together. She likes classical, he likes jazz. They’re both good.

Strangely also episode 1, “What’s Up Sugar Bum?” (an odd title that I think wasn’t explained) begins with even more footage from last season. We pick up six months after the big confrontation. Olivia has reddish-brown hair now.  She and Ethan look really upset and don’t want to talk in their TH.

Over to Micah and Moriah’s house, where Max appears to have slept over. Moriah’s hair is shorter and dark with blonde highlights. They’re very affectionate. She still has the awful fake eyelashes. Micah and Max are like brothers. See Micah exercise shirtless! He’s single, ladies! See Micah model! He still has a day job. 

Moriah has a much better relationship with her parents now. She politely implies that she doesn’t want to fuck things up like Ethan did. Max tells Micah that he’s going to give Moriah a promise ring. Micah’s a little lonely compared to his siblings, but he’s “scored more” - I guess that means he’s been with some women?

Olivia is talking while driving. She has a nose ring. She hasn’t seen Ethan in a week and he didn’t answer her text last night. Ethan was so angry after confronting his parents that Olivia told him to go to therapy. She asks him about it before she even hugs him. He says it didn’t do anything for him, and maybe he’ll go back in a month. He’d rather work on his cars than talk about his feelings. He misses his siblings and resents that Kim tried to keep him in line by putting conditions on access to them. Olivia wants to pack up the house, even though they don’t have plans to move. She wants to go to Tallahassee, he wants somewhere rural. 

At the parents’ house, it’s Barry’s 53rd birthday. He’s wearing his high school football jersey because he was #53. Kim still isn’t coloring her hair, but it looks better now that it’s grown out more. Kim misses Ethan. Moriah wants to keep a good relationship with everyone, and also thinks that no one is entirely right in the conflict. Max tells Lydia about the promise ring and asks her to find out Moriah’s ring size. (It’s a pinkie ring, because they always pinkie promise.) Kim says they like Max, and they’ve happy for them, but she’s clearly annoyed about the PDA and misses the good old days of getting to know other fundie families and pairing off the kids. A first TH with the little girls, who giggle about the kissing. Rings are passed around at dinner on flimsy pretexts until Moriah finds a fit. Barry is happy to have Moriah and Micah at his birthday party.

Lydia is in the prayer closet, praying for Ethan and Olivia. She says she cries herself to sleep missing him. After the commercial, a scantily clad Micah exercises. Micah goes over to see Ethan and sweeps his deck. Like Moriah, he sees both of the estranged families. Micah gets Ethan to work out. They run into the woods and Ethan runs back to the house.

Moriah is making a social media video about her tattoo with help from...Lydia!! Moriah got a tattoo just after she turned 18. She had wanted it since she was “15, so six years.” Lydia calls her out on her terrible math. Surprisingly, the family was okay with the tattoo. It says “Black Heart” in black gothic script with three red lines between the words. (It’s on her wrist and they kind of look like scars from a suicide attempt.) 

Lydia’s going to the local auto shop where all of her older siblings have worked for a job interview. The owner is a family friend, but still has a cheat sheet for the kids’ names. And Ethan is there! 

Promos throughout the show tease the upcoming storylines. Olivia and Ethan are having serious problems. Max tells Moriah that her clothing is too revealing. Lydia has a long-distance boyfriend and texts him 167 times after Kim told her not to. Kim and Olivia both go to Moriah’s first singing gig and Olivia pitches a fit.

[freethemall]

I'm starting to not be able to tell what is and isnt fake on this show, more of it seems fake than not. Hoping that includes Ethan and Olivias marital woes - I'm rooting for those kids!

[Sullie06]

On 8/19/2021 at 10:37 PM, freethemall said:

I'm starting to not be able to tell what is and isnt fake on this show, more of it seems fake than not. Hoping that includes Ethan and Olivias marital woes - I'm rooting for those kids!

I follow Olivia on Instagram and I think while her and Ethan have hit some rough patches, most of this is manufactured conflict. They appear to be working on their marriage, and she travels a lot for work, but I don't get the impression that divorce is imminent.

[PurpleCats]

I have no idea what to think about their relationship.  Social media doesn’t always portray things accurately, either.  

[QuiverFullofBooks]

New Plathville episodes! There’s a bonus episode about love. In the first segment, the couples play the newlywed game and everyone is very cute and sweet. Then it’s getting ready for date night at Micah and Moriah’s. Lots of footage of him in the bathroom half-naked. She does her makeup routine. She looks like a different person without her hair and makeup done. Doing her makeup shows her hands a lot, and her nails look terrible. Next up, what does everyone like to do on dates? The same things as everyone else, pretty much. Max and Moriah like to go out for kava, the South Pacific sedative tea, which apparently is an option in small-town south Georgia. Kim loves to dance. Next up, courtship souvenirs. They’re all very sentimental. Lots of love letters and little presents. Okay, this is super weird. The Plaths have very long eyelashes, and Olivia commented on Ethan’s eyelashes so much that while they were courting, he saved his eyelashes for a year and gave them to her.

In the real episode, Lydia and Ethan say an awkward hello and hug briefly before Lydia has her interview and gets the job. She plans to graduate this year and get a full-time job. Ethan tells her he’s moving to Tallahassee. She goes home and tells Kim, who is sad. Moriah has a manager for her singing career, who has sent her an at-home studio. With Max and Micah, she tries to set it up, but they’re all clueless and no one reads any directions. No one thinks to call Issac, who is glimpsed at his enormous computer setup soon after. Lydia’s in her prayer closet (while Kim has time to play the harp). She’s praying about a guy she met at a conference who lives out of state.

Micah introduces Helena (the model from his first shoot) to Ethan and Olivia. Helena likes Olivia’s social media. The guys go outside. Ethan’s confused and frustrated. He and Olivia have been arguing about moving. It occurs to Micah for the first time that they might divorce. Helena tells Olivia that she wants to date Micah, but he wants to be successful as a model and lots of women are into him. Can they just be friends for now? Olivia says yes. In a TH, she’s not sure the marriage is working either. 

Kim tells Lydia that she’s texting her guy too much, considering that she doesn’t really know him well yet. They had agreed that Lydia should take things slow. Kim can’t take away the phone because Lydia drives. Lydia’s annoyed that her mom reads her texts. Kim offers to invite the guy for a visit after he finishes high school. The little girls are spying and giggling.

Ethan and Olivia are coming over to meet Max. He’s nervous because they seem to have put off meeting him. E&O are openly joking about how they don’t really spend time together anymore. Olivia and Max are communicating honestly and forming a good relationship. They agree not to talk about the parents. Ethan locks Moriah out of the house, teasing her like he used to.

[Sullie06]

Just able to watch the new episodes tonight. I didn't know Barry was married before. That shocked me a little. I of court tried to google some information but couldn't find anything. 

Also Kim and Barry just really really annoy me. Even down to how he sits and the way she like giggles at everything. BEC, I know but she has to be one of my least favorite people ever. 

[freethemall]

The newlywed game setup tells me the producers are emulating 19KAC/Counting On more and more, which I was already thinking with some of the other setups, just with a little more drama. 

[Chickenbutt]

Mr. Butt, who suffers thru the Duggars, the Plaths, and Sister Wives because he loves me, was watching tonight and asked "So which Duggar boy is her (Lydia's) "special friend". I laughed and said that was the million dollar question. Who is her special friend??? Spill the beans TLC!

[freethemall]

On 9/7/2021 at 10:57 PM, Chickenbutt said:

Mr. Butt, who suffers thru the Duggars, the Plaths, and Sister Wives because he loves me, was watching tonight and asked "So which Duggar boy is her (Lydia's) "special friend". I laughed and said that was the million dollar question. Who is her special friend??? Spill the beans TLC!

I almost wonder if it's one of the 2 older Rodrigues boys, only because we know she's friends with Nurie, and in the episode she talks about texting with his sisters.

What are people's thoughts on the most recent WTP episode? Olivia and Ethan really are arguing a lot, doesnt seem to be acting for the show. Moriah is still emulating the Xtina style from early 2000s. Max has more chemistry with Micah than Moriah, at least as friends (no insinuations otherwise on unmarried kids, people). Lydia is still tragic.

Edited September 9, 2021 by freethemall

[Dominionatrix]

2 hours ago, freethemall said:

I almost wonder if it's one of the 2 older Rodrigues boys, only because we know she's friends with Nurie, and in the episode she talks about texting with his sisters.

Nurie is friends with Lydia’s married older sister, Hosanna. Lydia is friends with Renee Rod, though. 
 

Still, I think (and hope!) that it’s not a Rod boy. Kim said the Plaths met this boy and his family at a family conference two years ago. Based on Nurie being in Hosanna’s wedding and an old photo somebody shared, I think they’ve known the Rods much longer than that. Plus, I don’t think the Rods typically go to family conferences (which can be pricy, especially with so many kids). They’re more in the tent revival crowd, where they get paid to sing. Plus Lydia and this boy were texting constantly, and I don’t think we’ve seen a Rod boy other than Tim with his own phone. 
 

I suppose a Bontrager boy is possible, though. The only Duggar boy still in high school is Jackson, and he seems too immature for Lydia. 

Edited September 9, 2021 by Dominionatrix
Clarity

[ihaveanexamintwodays]

On 9/9/2021 at 12:17 PM, freethemall said:

I almost wonder if it's one of the 2 older Rodrigues boys, only because we know she's friends with Nurie, and in the episode she talks about texting with his sisters.

What are people's thoughts on the most recent WTP episode? Olivia and Ethan really are arguing a lot, doesnt seem to be acting for the show. Moriah is still emulating the Xtina style from early 2000s. Max has more chemistry with Micah than Moriah, at least as friends (no insinuations otherwise on unmarried kids, people). Lydia is still tragic.

I think the marriage conflict between Ethan & Olivia is sincere, maybe with some dramatic editing and pointed questions asked to them + Micah & Moriah during THs. But there's a recent interview with the couple on Youtube (by US Weekly? some tabloid...) where they seem pretty genuinely like they've resolved some issues. Lydia is very teenage-girl in that cute-but-cringey way, and still obviously very devout and genuine. Max seems super likeable, and they do show some maturity in Moriah as well as some teenage-hot-mess-living-her-best-life lol.

While I think their situation is ripe for TLC-exploitation, so far the young adults at least are being portrayed as maturing and growing, enough that I think if the being-filmed-for-TV situation ever got unhealthy for them they'd step away. 

Edited September 11, 2021 by ihaveanexamintwodays