Plathville 2: The Whole Family Needs Therapy

[MariaariaM]

On 2/8/2024 at 7:45 PM, JDuggs said:

And I’m really surprised she doesn’t consider Ethan a friend. Not that they need to be in touch, but they seemed to end on good, albeit bittersweet, terms.

I'm neutral or even positive about a lot of people I know without considering them friends or putting in the effort to stay in touch or spend time with them. It just depends on how you define the term, I guess. They didn't have anything in common by the end, so why would they want to spend energy on staying connected?

[JermajestyDuggar]

5 hours ago, MariaariaM said:

I'm neutral or even positive about a lot of people I know without considering them friends or putting in the effort to stay in touch or spend time with them. It just depends on how you define the term, I guess. They didn't have anything in common by the end, so why would they want to spend energy on staying connected?

She felt like they didn’t really know each other when they got married. I can understand not even feeling like you are friends with your husband if you barely knew each other when you got married. 
 

Another thing Olivia said was that she didn’t even know her wedding would have a TLC camera crew until a week before the wedding. Kim said they wouldn’t even notice them. And that of course was bullshit. And the only reason why they agreed to be on the show was because Kim said Ethan could then see his siblings. He hadn’t seen them for a few months after the wedding because his mom said no.

[marmalade]

Where can I find this podcast? It sounds interesting.

[MariaariaM]

17 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Another thing Olivia said was that she didn’t even know her wedding would have a TLC camera crew until a week before the wedding. Kim said they wouldn’t even notice them. And that of course was bullshit. And the only reason why they agreed to be on the show was because Kim said Ethan could then see his siblings. He hadn’t seen them for a few months after the wedding because his mom said no.

That's - if true - cartoon villain territory. WTF Kim?!

[JermajestyDuggar]

8 hours ago, marmalade said:

Where can I find this podcast? It sounds interesting.

The podcast is called “So bad it’s good.” 

[JDuggs]

After listening to the podcast, I’m okay with Olivia again. She was still talking with Ethan who told her about his family’s divorce celebration for him. She didn’t go into detail about it, but it could have been one person like Micah making a toast to Ethan’s freedom and Ethan called it a divorce celebration. Who knows. Olivia also said that Ethan leans on her brother Nathan a lot. I didn’t realize the two of them were close. And since Olivia probably doesn’t want to be associated with Nathan’s anti-LGBTQ views, she’s probably okay with letting that relationship go for right now. Olivia seems like she’s in a great place now. She dreaded leaving a relationship that she thought was her forever, but has quickly come to the realization that this was the absolute best thing for her.

The podcast host Ryan brought up the issue that is so glaringly obvious to me too that Kim is on the same journey as Olivia of reflecting on her past and making choices for a happier personal future. Olivia didn’t want to explore that idea and Ryan let it go. I would LOVE the producers of Plathville to ask Kim that question and see if she sees any similarities.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

19 hours ago, JDuggs said:

Olivia also said that Ethan leans on her brother Nathan a lot. I didn’t realize the two of them were close.

They lived together in Tampa for a year. Apparently they’re keeping in touch. 

[TheGleeTeam]

On 2/11/2024 at 8:44 AM, JDuggs said:

And since Olivia probably doesn’t want to be associated with Nathan’s anti-LGBTQ views, she’s probably okay with letting that relationship go for right now.

I don't know if the timing lines up, but I was wondering if Nathan posted the anti-LGBTQ stuff on his instagram after the episode aired where he lets Olivia and Lydia put makeup on him. I thought maybe he felt that that episode was going to give people the wrong idea about him and his views. I was pretty surprised he let them film that to begin with.

Also, I do kind of wish Olivia and Ethan had said specifically what issues they couldn't reconcile about raising kids. I wondered if Olivia had said she would support a trans kid, or if it was more if their kids didn't want to be conservative Christians if they would be ok with that. It's disappointing that Ethan believes so deeply in the fundamentalist/conservative Christian lifestyle that he said all of those things on camera like it was no big deal (men and women have different roles, he's unhappy Olivia doesn't cook for him). 

The end of the last episode this season was definitely hard to watch and it's hard to understand why people would agree to have such difficult conversations in front of the cameras (money, I guess, and telling their side of the story...but still).

Also I just need to vent that the weird color swap thing they did with the opening shots throughout this season was so strange and distracting!!! I guess I'm not cultured enough to appreciate art when I see it 😅

[JermajestyDuggar]

9 hours ago, TheGleeTeam said:

I don't know if the timing lines up, but I was wondering if Nathan posted the anti-LGBTQ stuff on his instagram after the episode aired where he lets Olivia and Lydia put makeup on him. I thought maybe he felt that that episode was going to give people the wrong idea about him and his views. I was pretty surprised he let them film that to begin with.

Also, I do kind of wish Olivia and Ethan had said specifically what issues they couldn't reconcile about raising kids. I wondered if Olivia had said she would support a trans kid, or if it was more if their kids didn't want to be conservative Christians if they would be ok with that. It's disappointing that Ethan believes so deeply in the fundamentalist/conservative Christian lifestyle that he said all of those things on camera like it was no big deal (men and women have different roles, he's unhappy Olivia doesn't cook for him). 

The end of the last episode this season was definitely hard to watch and it's hard to understand why people would agree to have such difficult conversations in front of the cameras (money, I guess, and telling their side of the story...but still).

Also I just need to vent that the weird color swap thing they did with the opening shots throughout this season was so strange and distracting!!! I guess I'm not cultured enough to appreciate art when I see it 😅

Olivia said the show isn’t going to show anything political. But that was a big divide between them. The show is very calculated. It sounds like Olivia is very close with the producers and those who work on the show. Which I think could potentially become a problem. Because their goal is always to make money and get as many viewers as possible. Even if it goes against what Olivia wants or feels comfortable with. 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

I finally got back to my mom's house and the episodes of Welcome to Plathville on her DVR. There was a bonus episode where they showed the Plaths cringing at old video clips, and the half-episode that I had missed because of technical difficulties. I also watched the episodes with bonus content. TLC thoughtfully marks the bonus "scenes" (it's actually usually outtakes from scenes), so you can fast forward through the rest of the episode if you've already seen it. Most of it wasn't very interesting. A few things worth mentioning:

• Ethan and Olivia had discussed where to move for the third place in their three-places-in-three-years plan. She was pushing for California (where she's living now) and he said no way. They had tentatively settled on Colorado. I think that would have been a good place for both of them; beautiful and sporty, with people who are very conservative and very liberal.
• Kim took the little girls out for raw oysters and they liked them.
• Clips of the family band showed that most of the kids played mediocre backup to Hosanna. Ethan has a very good voice. Ironically, he's the least interested in show business. 
• Ethan has tried pot, possibly just in Jamaica. (It came up in a game of "Never Have I Ever.")
• Micah had a date with a woman named Sydney; they were coy about whether they were in a relationship.
• Barry talked about how he spends more time with his kids, and more time working out, and it clicked for me that Barry has more time now. I think he might have retired. Has anyone heard? He's about the right age to retire from a government job, especially with that sweet TLC money that he can't mention. I wonder when he might have retired, and if an issue in the divorce might be that he was home more and driving Kim nuts. That also might have happened just from the pandemic, which they always avoided mentioning. 
• Mercy was only nine when Kim and Barry split up, and seven or eight when they started relaxing the rules. Meanwhile Hosanna had married and left when the family was still full-on fundie. They have such different upbringings, it's amazing that they're full siblings.

[JDuggs]

12 hours ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

 

• Barry talked about how he spends more time with his kids, and more time working out, and it clicked for me that Barry has more time now. I think he might have retired. Has anyone heard? He's about the right age to retire from a government job, especially with that sweet TLC money that he can't mention. I wonder when he might have retired, and if an issue in the divorce might be that he was home more and driving Kim nuts. That also might have happened just from the pandemic, which they always avoided mentioning.

I thought Barry had a government job too. Did they say that on the show? Everything on the internet that I’ve found says he’s been a transportation planner at a private firm for 25 years. I don’t think he’s retired, but I think he probably works from home. I think he has more time because half the time he doesn’t have the kids. The fact that they were going to sell the house that Barry and the kids were living in sounds like a financial decision indicating that they don’t have tons of money. But maybe Barry didn’t want to pay out for an equally nice place for Kim? I think Kim hinted at that or actually said it. Barry has about 10 more years until he qualifies for Medicare. I think he’ll keep working until then to keep himself and all of his kids with health insurance. I bet at this point, his career isn’t too taxing. And blowhards like Barry don’t stress about work.

[JDuggs]

I’m surprised at the amount of skin Lydia is showing in this pic. I’d be curious to see the back.

Spoiler

 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

Is that Amber with her in that tiny skirt? They’re on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City in Tampa, btw. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

Yeah I think that’s amber. I imagine all of them will be dressing mainstream except for hosanna. 

[TheGleeTeam]

This thread isn't very active, but the podcast Be There in Five interviewed Olivia and I thought it was super interesting, answered a lot of questions I had had: https://bethereinfive.com/podcast/2024/3/10/welcome-back-to-plathville-feat-olivia-plath