Plathville 2: The Whole Family Needs Therapy

[QuiverFullofBooks]

Episode 4: Life’s But a Walking Shadow…

Most of this episode seems to be set a day or two after the baptism. Ethan feels “stabbed in the back with a switchblade” by Moriah. Olivia is driving up to Cairo so that she can help finish the car and they can celebrate their wedding anniversary. She drives by a church and tells us they used to make out in the parking lot before they were married. They’ve missed each other. He didn’t miss her for the first three weeks (he was busy!). Olivia is more okay with the cars now because Ethan’s communicating. He’s been working on the same car since before they were married! They drove away from their wedding in it. It’s not clear why it ran then but needs work now. An exterior shot at the end of the scene shows a wild hog grazing outside.

At the Plath house, Lydia asks Issac if he sees Ethan, and he says yes. She says that Ethan was so in the zone with his car that he didn’t notice when she stopped by. He hasn’t talked to either of them about the post they made about the Kim/Olivia conflict. They’ll talk when he’s ready. Lydia feels challenged and hurt by their parents’ divorce, but she’s doing okay. She tries to get Issac to talk to her, but he doesn’t want to open up. Lydia says that they’re close in age but far apart in maturity. They try to get each other to say who they’re dating or interested in, but neither says anything.

Micah is working on his boat. He’s excited that it’s almost done. He doesn’t like doing nothing in LA. Barry joins him and they have a staged conversation telling us that Olivia and Ethan will be moving in eight days and it’s not clear where they’re going to live. They chat about the divorce. Micah hopes to stay married for life (don’t we all). Barry feels that his six daughters (a rare reference to Hosanna!) are enough ladies in his life for now. They compliment each other on their hotness.

Isaac has bought a small airplane, along with his friend Ken. They work in aircraft maintenance. Kim is there to see the plane, and she tells us that she co-signed the loan (he’s 17). Issac appreciates her help, and she’s glad that she could do it without having to ask Barry. Kim very oddly says that she and Issac should bring dates and fly to the Keys for a weekend. Issac is happy that the ladies will find the plane sexy.

Lydia and Moriah go out to the fire pit and make s’mores. Moriah’s been praying a lot. She struggles with not feeling good enough. Lydia’s very happy that she’s been turning to God. Moriah says she will be the “bitchiest Christian ever.” She’s happy to be growing closer to God and family. 

Ethan and Olivia are celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary at the restaurant where they had their first date. They reminisce about how Ethan had never been to a restaurant before and he took a long time looking at the menu. She says “you’re my lobster.” They agree that spending time together in Europe helped their relationship. He says that they worked through stuff. She says that it was good because they were away from other people (“who were meddling”) and kept their phones off. He asks about having a kid, she asks when, and he says “tonight?”

Back to Tampa, sometime in the next few days. Moriah and Barry are at a kombucha bar. Barry loves kombucha. Moriah is going to get a sleeve tattoo saying “rebel” and he’s in town to hold her hand. What would we have thought back in the first season?! He reminds her that her skin will change as she ages and she’s okay with that. She’s rebelling against “her enemy” (Satan) now. Moriah’s been reflecting on her childhood. She felt embarrassed. She’s never talked about something that happened… commercial break… she had alopecia. She lost her hair at age three and it came back later. Everyone made fun of her and she started seeing herself as different. Her parents told her she was beautiful. She was mad that no one could fix it. He feels bad that kids were mean to her. She got into wearing cute hats and clothes to make herself feel cute, and that’s why she’s still really into clothes. Barry says he didn’t realize how hard it was for her. She’s been telling herself that she’s beautiful.

Next time: The tattoo. They’re selling the house! The girls go out to eat. Ethan and Olivia move.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

The name of the moving episode is, of course, “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” We open with Moriah and Barry arriving at Ybor City Tattoo. We flash back to her previous tattoos. (The 18th birthday tattoo on her wrist, the rose on her hip, and there’s also a design behind her ear.) Barry is marveling at how he can’t believe he’s supporting this. Moriah tells the artist about what a huge rebel she is. She’s rebelling against anything that isn’t “peace, love, joy, understanding, selflessness.” Barry takes photos on Moriah’s phone. He’s working on being a supportive single parent. He asks the artist if he’s ever tattooed someone’s nose (no). Moriah loves the tattoo. She wants to get a tattoo that says “forgiveness,” but forgiveness is hard.

Now we’re in LA. Micah is bringing two groups of his friends together. His friend Ally, who identifies as queer, nonetheless finds him hot. There’s another girl in the group who he also likes. Hmm, will this be a threesome? Is that too hot for TLC? Others in the group don’t want to get married or have kids, but Micah does. His friends think he’s wholesome.

Family time in Cairo. Everyone is at the house, including Kim. Hugs all around. Kim and Barry announce that they’re going to sell the house and Barry and the kids will move to a house nearby that’s currently a rental. Presumably that will allow Kim to get some money from the house sale so that she can buy her own house. The kids are sad, but they take it well. The parents try to reassure them.

Now we’re at Moriah’s apartment in Tampa. Lydia, Amber, Mercy (9), and Cassia (11) are visiting. They visit about twice a month, which seems like a lot. The dog is away for training. Moriah makes coffee easily and cinnamon rolls from a can with difficulty. Whomp it on the counter, Moriah! She has even more tattoos now, which really messes with the timeline, since we still haven’t seen Ethan and Olivia’s move and it was supposedly eight days away during the last episode. They get dressed up to go out to dinner.

Ethan and Olivia are packing. Olivia will be missing Tampa when she’s in Minnesota in February. She will miss the relationships that she had in Tampa. Ethan is looking forward to living near extended family in a cooler climate. His grandparents love Olivia (even though they’re Barry’s parents). Ethan left Cairo for Tampa/Minnesota without stopping by the Plath house to say goodbye. He unconvincingly claims that he didn’t have time. Moriah is still blocking him.

Moriah, Lydia, and the girls go to Oak Ola at Armature Works. The girls are excited to be going out in the city. Moriah wants to protect the girls from the divorce and stay involved in their lives. In a TH, Lydia feels that she and Moriah can be united for the girls now. Lydia’s now working at a jewelry store. She tells Moriah that Ethan’s about to leave Tampa. Lydia stopped by and said goodbye to him. Moriah felt that she had to block him because he kept yelling at her and wouldn’t listen. She’s sad not to say goodbye, but she’s not ready to talk to him.

Ethan and Olivia are having a moving party. A friend brings a hairless cat (why?). Olivia is intrigued and Ethan thinks it’s ugly as hell. Olivia feels bad about leaving Nathan (who I suspect is glad to be rid of them). She says that they always had an open door to their friends, and she liked that, but she’s looking forward to having their own place again. Ethan says that the good of their time living with their siblings outweighed the bad. He doesn’t have any friends in Minnesota and he’s not good at making friends. Olivia is confident that she will make friends. The producer pushes her to talk about the estrangement from the Plaths and she refuses. He thinks that the Minnesotans will be more supportive and less negative towards their marriage.

Next time: Micah’s thinking about leaving LA; Ethan and Olivia are cozy in the snow; Kim tells a friend that she’s met somebody.

Edited November 18, 2023 by QuiverFullofBooks
typo

[JDuggs]

Olivia and Ethan finally addressed their real marriage problems in the episode tonight. It was actually a little heartbreaking. They both do love each other, and their real problem doesn’t involve the Plath family directly. They both want to have children, but they aren’t on the same page with how to raise them. The crux of the issue: religion and politics. Ethan wants patriotic, god-fearing spawn, and Olivia plans to voice her opinions on those topics to her kids. Ethan’s confused and upset that Olivia’s views on religion and politics have evolved since she was 18 years old. These two will do much better apart in the long run, and it’s a real blessing that they chose to wait before actually bringing children into the world together.

Every time Micah opened his yap, it was to diss Olivia. He thinks that Olivia and Ethan’s problems are basically all about Olivia being a controlling bitch. Micah has proven himself to be an absolute tool. His interpretation of Ethan and Olivia’s marital problems were always off base. Micah didn’t want to meet with Olivia face to face and discuss their own problems because he just doesn’t care to have a relationship with her at all. He’s a prick.

[JDuggs]

Oh yeah, Barry and Isaac (and Ethan) go out to visit Micah in LA. They are staying at a rental house in Malibu. Surprise, surprise, Barry thinks California is kind of beautiful and not just a bastion of dirty liberals. 

Edited November 22, 2023 by JDuggs
Typo

[JermajestyDuggar]

10 hours ago, JDuggs said:

Olivia and Ethan finally addressed their real marriage problems in the episode tonight. It was actually a little heartbreaking. They both do love each other, and their real problem doesn’t involve the Plath family directly. They both want to have children, but they aren’t on the same page with how to raise them. The crux of the issue: religion and politics. Ethan wants patriotic, god-fearing spawn, and Olivia plans to voice her opinions on those topics to her kids. Ethan’s confused and upset that Olivia’s views on religion and politics have evolved since she was 18 years old. These two will do much better apart in the long run, and it’s a real blessing that they chose to wait before actually bringing children into the world together.

Every time Micah opened his yap, it was to diss Olivia. He thinks that Olivia and Ethan’s problems are basically all about Olivia being a controlling bitch. Micah has proven himself to be an absolute tool. His interpretation of Ethan and Olivia’s marital problems were always off base. Micah didn’t want to meet with Olivia face to face and discuss their own problems because he just doesn’t care to have a relationship with her at all. He’s a prick.

Honestly once Olivia is gone, they will all have a hard time realizing she wasn’t the only problem in their lives. She was an easy target. And once she’s gone, they might actually have to look inside themselves and family to realize they aren’t perfect humans. 

[JDuggs]

34 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Honestly once Olivia is gone, they will all have a hard time realizing she wasn’t the only problem in their lives. She was an easy target. And once she’s gone, they might actually have to look inside themselves and family to realize they aren’t perfect humans. 

Very good point. At this point, realistically, Olivia would have no reason to ever see or speak to another Plath again. Do the kids and Barry turn all the blame to Kim now for having the gall to leave Barry? I think Ethan, Micah and Moriah are all having trouble with the fact that they are adults now, and their lives aren’t going to revolve around family life back in Georgia.  Yeah it’s nice to have good family relationships, but they also have to find other meaning in their lives: friends, romantic relationships, careers. They’ve all seemed to cultivate outside interests/hobbies at least.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

Sorry to move the conversation back to where I was in the recaps (though I did happen to catch the new episode live while traveling).  

Episode 6, “Come What Come May”

We open in Victoria, Minnesota, a sweet little town in the snow. Ethan and Olivia walk through town and talk about how much they like it. They live near his grandparents and aunt and uncle – but not his immediate family! They’re sitting in the same chair in a TH, talking about how positive the move away from family was for their marriage. Back in the snow, Olivia starts a snowball fight. She says that she doesn’t really like cold, but snowmobiling is fun, and it’s only a year. [Except that Ethan is so happy that he will want to stay…]

In their little apartment at dinner, they say that they’ve downsized and they like living alone. Olivia says that Nathan doesn’t like living alone in Tampa, and he and Moriah aren’t in touch. Ethan reports that Moriah’s still blocking him. Olivia says in a TH how sad she is about losing Moriah, but also relieved, because the Plaths were taking up too much space in her life. Now she can focus on her marriage and other healthy relationships. Ethan nags Olivia to have kids in clips from the dinner and TH scenes.

Out in LA, Micah has booked a photographer and makeup artist to get new publicity shots (but really, so that he can be filmed modeling without disrupting a real shoot). In a TH, Micah misses home, and thinks he should be near his younger siblings because of the divorce, but he also loves LA. His lease is about to expire and he’s thinking about moving home.

In Tallahassee, Isaac is at a pizza place with his redneck buddies Jake and Fisher. [Can we still say “redneck”? Regardless, they are.] Fisher hits on the girl at the counter. Issac wants to bet them that he can round up a bunch of girls in an hour. Issac likes girls and is not looking for anything serious. The other guys are jealous. Issac has learned a lesson from his older brothers, and he wants to be Micah, not Ethan. He says that his parents gave him more freedom than his older siblings [probably having learned some lessons themselves].

Back to Ethan and Olivia. His cousin Amaya is visiting. In a TH, she reminisces about how weird Ethan’s family used to be, but it was fun to have so many kids visit. She likes how friendly Olivia is. Amaya’s leaving for college soon and they talk about the possibility of Olivia going to college. Ethan glowers a little. In a TH, Olivia really wants to go to college, though she’s literally never been in a classroom. Plus, there’s the moving-around agreement that she made with Ethan.

On a beach near Jacksonville, Barry and the kids who still live at home are celebrating Mercy’s 10th birthday with an evening bonfire. Barry says that Kim is great at organizing parties, and he always went along with that, and now he’s enjoying creating different celebrations with the kids. He tells Mercy that he’s going to take her on a kayaking trip as a birthday present. They talk about how the older kids are living in different places, and the middle kids will likely move away soon. Barry reminisces about when the kids were little in a voiceover with old photos.

In Minnesota, Ethan is at a place called Downs Farm playing disc golf in the snow with his coworkers Josh and Andris. He has a job working the early shift loading delivery trucks. Ethan reminisces about the one time it snowed in Georgia, creating icicles about the size of “my [bleep] when I was 12.” He says that he doesn’t usually go out and make friends, but he has a lot in common with these guys. Josh also really likes cars, and Andris “has similar values” – he’s a Christian who wants to find a nice girl and settle down. It occurs to Ethan that he’s never had a friend his age with the same beliefs. The producer says “You still consider yourself a Christian?” and he says that he’s always been a Christian, but “Olivia, not so much – she’s kinda, um, doing her thing in religion and family, all that stuff.” He's encouraged to find other young Christians and he loves the winter wonderland and having family and friends nearby. He’s hoping that Olivia will agree to live in Minnesota for two years instead of one.

Back in Georgia, Kim is having lunch at First & Broad Pizza with her friend Alicia. Alicia is running a store in the space where Kim wanted to open her dance studio. She’s also a social worker and she worries about Kim, who is clearly heartbroken that she didn’t get to have that business. Kim says it’s not the right time while she’s getting divorced, probably meaning that she can’t afford it. Kim tells Alicia that she’s seeing someone who listens to her and cares about her feelings. She’s very excited. Alicia asks if she’s told Barry and she has. Kim says in a TH that when she originally told Barry that she wanted to see other people, he didn’t say anything, and it hadn’t occurred to her until talking to Alicia that maybe he was in shock rather than uncaring. Kim’s thinking about telling the kids, who already know the guy – it’s Issac’s friend Ken, who co-owns the airplane! That explains the odd remark about going to the Keys. She’s worried about how Issac will react, and also about facing up to Lydia’s strong convictions. She feels like she’s at the top of a roller coaster, but she needs to tell them soon.

Next time: Olivia wants to start bartending [that’s going to work super well with her early-bird Christian husband!]; Micah talks to Moriah about Ethan; Kim tells Issac about Ken.

[waltraute]

I don't think self-reflection is anyone's strong suit on this show. I'm guessing they will unite in vilifying Olivia and will see her as the cause of all their ills for decades to come, long after she is out of the picture. I just don't see them working toward a balanced view of their history without concerted outside help, which again, I don't see happening. None of the kids seem very intelligent which is a function of how Kim and Barry raised them and not on their native faculties. They were raised to be incurious and they seem to settle on the easiest answer that doesn't require introspection. 

This is a family of shallow people and without Olivia on the scene to agitate their status quo, I don't see how they'll have anything left to film.

As to Olivia, she also has a lot of work ahead of her but I think she has a better chance for growth after disentangling herself from this family. Now her focus can be on her own challenges and not so much on Plath family dynamics. 

Ethan? I think there is a chance he'll mostly go right back to the old family ways.

 

[frumperlicious]

While this season is pretty boring and I don’t find Kim particularly like able, it did resonate when she talked about Barry post divorce. Now he is all about the kids and supporting them when all their ridiculous rules were his before, but she had to enforce them. And he didn’t do any of the mental or physical labor for a big family but now is super Dad. I’d be annoyed too- I’m annoyed on her behalf actually. Because that’s exactly what is happening, Mr Understanding is a day late and a dollar short but gets a pass because Single Dad. 

[April83]

Is anyone else wondering why they are all still willing to be part of this programme which basically exposes how damaged they all are and how messed up all their relationships are? Surely the money can't be worth it. I really don't understand why they are willing to have these conversations on camera. 

[noseybutt]

On 11/29/2023 at 8:48 AM, waltraute said:

I don't think self-reflection is anyone's strong suit on this show. I'm guessing they will unite in vilifying Olivia and will see her as the cause of all their ills for decades to come, long after she is out of the picture. I just don't see them working toward a balanced view of their history without concerted outside help, which again, I don't see happening. None of the kids seem very intelligent which is a function of how Kim and Barry raised them and not on their native faculties. They were raised to be incurious and they seem to settle on the easiest answer that doesn't require introspection. 

This is a family of shallow people and without Olivia on the scene to agitate their status quo, I don't see how they'll have anything left to film.

As to Olivia, she also has a lot of work ahead of her but I think she has a better chance for growth after disentangling herself from this family. Now her focus can be on her own challenges and not so much on Plath family dynamics. 

Ethan? I think there is a chance he'll mostly go right back to the old family ways.

 

WRT intelligence, I watched only a handful of shows but suspect Ethan could have made a fabulous mechanical engineer with the right training. He's quite smart when it comes to mechanics, not so smart when it comes to people.

[Hane]

13 hours ago, April83 said:

Is anyone else wondering why they are all still willing to be part of this programme which basically exposes how damaged they all are and how messed up all their relationships are? Surely the money can't be worth it. I really don't understand why they are willing to have these conversations on camera. 

Their show has followed the same path as Sister Wives: It started out as “Yes, we’re a conservative homeschooling Christian family, but look how relatable we are!” and devolved into a messy cautionary tale.

[JermajestyDuggar]

5 hours ago, Hane said:

Their show has followed the same path as Sister Wives: It started out as “Yes, we’re a conservative homeschooling Christian family, but look how relatable we are!” and devolved into a messy cautionary tale.

It’s just how TLC works. It’s the train wreck network. They begged Jon (of Jon and Kate) to keep recording post divorce. He said no. All the 90 Day shows are full of train wrecks. They know people will watch train wrecks even if kids are involved. They don’t care who is suffering. 

[Hane]

3 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

It’s just how TLC works. It’s the train wreck network. They begged Jon (of Jon and Kate) to keep recording post divorce. He said no. All the 90 Day shows are full of train wrecks. They know people will watch train wrecks even if kids are involved. They don’t care who is suffering. 

And I sadly recall the days when it was actually The Learning Channel. Twenty-two years ago, my youngest sister came home from her ob-gyn distraught because he told her she might want to consider a c-section for the 9.5-pounder she was carrying. (She’d had a rough time with her 7-pounder.) By coincidence, TLC’s Baby Story had an informative episode about c-sections, and it put her mind at rest.

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 hours ago, Hane said:

And I sadly recall the days when it was actually The Learning Channel. Twenty-two years ago, my youngest sister came home from her ob-gyn distraught because he told her she might want to consider a c-section for the 9.5-pounder she was carrying. (She’d had a rough time with her 7-pounder.) By coincidence, TLC’s Baby Story had an informative episode about c-sections, and it put her mind at rest.

I watched a lot of TLC in those days. 

[MayMay1123]

7 hours ago, Hane said:

TLC’s Baby Story 

Does anyone remember when they had a short lived show called A Toddler's Story? One of my littles from my preschool was on it with her mother. And 4 Weddings, I think it was called... an ex of my son's was on it. She's divorced now. I always liked tlc when it was actually teaching something. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

5 minutes ago, MayMay1123 said:

Does anyone remember when they had a short lived show called A Toddler's Story? One of my littles from my preschool was on it with her mother. And 4 Weddings, I think it was called... an ex of my son's was on it. She's divorced now. I always liked tlc when it was actually teaching something. 

I don’t think I remember the toddler story. Back in 2000-2002 I would come home for a break in between my college classes and I would watch TLC. The afternoon lineup often went A Makeover Story, A Dating Story, A Wedding Story, and A Baby Story. They were all pretty innocuous. However there was also An Adoption Story. And nowadays I can see it as extremely problematic in some episodes. 

[marmalade]

Lydia has herself a wonderful man of God! 

[Wolf in Sheeples’ Clothing]

6 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

The afternoon lineup often went A Makeover Story, A Dating Story, A Wedding Story, and A Baby Story.

Gosh I loved watching those shows! I kinda miss them to be honest. 

[JDuggs]

I shed tears last night watching Olivia and Ethan discuss the end of their marriage. It was the ultimate example of a mistake of marrying too young. These kids will be better off in the long run for sure, but the process has obviously been painful for both of them.

[Four is Enough]

On 12/4/2023 at 2:19 PM, noseybutt said:

WRT intelligence, I watched only a handful of shows but suspect Ethan could have made a fabulous mechanical engineer with the right training. He's quite smart when it comes to mechanics, not so smart when it comes to people.

As long as he doesn't have to talk to anyone face to face, I think he'd   be perfect in that sort of job!

[LacyMay]

4 hours ago, Four is Enough said:

As long as he doesn't have to talk to anyone face to face, I think he'd   be perfect in that sort of job!

Mr. May is a mechanical engineer and there's actually a fair bit of having to talk to/work/collaborate/cooperate with other people. I think Ethan would struggle with relating to others and working as part of a team, I also can't picture him responding well to a female in a leadership role (or even a female in the same role as him but with more experience) 

 

[Coconut Flan]

In my working life I worked with hundreds of engineers.  Their usual number one problem was in not being able to communicate effectively or cooperate in a group.  Bless their hearts, they were my job security.  

[Maggie Mae]

19 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I don’t think I remember the toddler story. Back in 2000-2002 I would come home for a break in between my college classes and I would watch TLC. The afternoon lineup often went A Makeover Story, A Dating Story, A Wedding Story, and A Baby Story. They were all pretty innocuous. However there was also An Adoption Story. And nowadays I can see it as extremely problematic in some episodes. 

I usually came home and watched I think Trading Spaces, and maybe a Makeover Story. Eventually they pushed the "stories" back and added What Not To Wear. I never cared much for the "stories" but my friend liked them. They weren't educational, though. I don't remember TLC ever being educational. 

Now I find What Not to Wear pretty distasteful, mainly because they were so indifferent to different lifestyles outside of metropolitan areas. Like I'm not going to wear a pencil skirt and blazer to the store on a Sunday. I have a blazer in my office and I put it on as needed, but if I'm in a pencil skirt at the store it's because I'm stopping at the store after work. Sundays are for running gear and house pants. And everyone is so mean about different styles. Let people wear tie-dye tee shirts to the gym if they want. And there's no such thing as "that outfit is too young for her" UGH. Shut up stacy. No one cares that a 55 year old woman is wearing a miniskirt and flipflops but you. 

[zeebaneighba]

2 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

In my working life I worked with hundreds of engineers.  Their usual number one problem was in not being able to communicate effectively or cooperate in a group.  Bless their hearts, they were my job security.  

Married to an engineer.  Can confirm!