Plathville 2: The Whole Family Needs Therapy

[Pleiades_06]

34 minutes ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

At the farm, the Plaths are getting ready for Lydia’s party. It’s the first Plath graduation party, which perhaps says something about the older kids’ issues.

Wait-none of the first three have finished homeschool HS? Do the older boys have GEDs?

How could the parents let that happen?!

[JDuggs]

3 minutes ago, Pleiades_06 said:

Wait-none of the first three have finished homeschool HS? Do the older boys have GEDs?

How could the parents let that happen?!

No, they just didn’t have graduation parties. Moriah is the only one who didn’t graduate from homeschool HS.

[forgetmenow]

2 hours ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

At the farm, the Plaths are getting ready for Lydia’s party. It’s the first Plath graduation party, which perhaps says something about the older kids’ issues. We’re introduced to their friend Phillip, who is a youth pastor and extremely Christian. It’s implied that he’s a love interest for Lydia.

Was he her youth pastor?  I don't watch the show (so thank you very much for the recaps), so I don't know their dynamic, but that gives me all sorts of reservations, even if she's of age.

T/W physical and emotional abuse and suicide: Link to account of a particularly disturbing relationship that started as student/youth pastor under spoiler.

Spoiler

https://wonderingeagle.wordpress.com/2020/07/27/a-closer-look-at-the-north-coast-churchs-chris-hilken-questionable-behavior-by-a-questionable-pastor/

 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

10 hours ago, forgetmenow said:

Was he her youth pastor?  I don't watch the show (so thank you very much for the recaps), so I don't know their dynamic, but that gives me all sorts of reservations, even if she's of age.

T/W physical and emotional abuse and suicide: Link to account of a particularly disturbing relationship that started as student/youth pastor under spoiler.

  Reveal hidden contents

https://wonderingeagle.wordpress.com/2020/07/27/a-closer-look-at-the-north-coast-churchs-chris-hilken-questionable-behavior-by-a-questionable-pastor/

 

I checked whether he had said how old he was or anything. He didn’t, but he looks age-appropriate, maybe about 22. They’ve known him for four years. He loves spending time with the Plaths because they stir up his faith and help him in his walk.

After rewatching that bit, I see that Micah’s Infiniti did have its logo blurred, but not the name of the car.

 Thanks for appreciating the recaps!

[OrchidBlossom]

I occasionally watch this show when I can when its up on youtube or whatever. I just saw the episode with Moriah's concert and I truly feel so bad for Moriah and Micah that they keep saying "family is family" and that they don't want to let bitterness take hold, because I know that's fundie speak. I wish someone would just tell them its okay to let go of toxicity no matter who it comes from. And if they still want to embrace their parents, that is there choice, but it breaks my heart when I see those kids talking about reconciling Ethan and Olivia to the parents because I know how unhealthy a choice that would be for Olivia especially.

It also pissed me off that we all know Kim specifically wanted them to see her car. Otherwise she would have parked around the corner. She wanted them to know.

Edited November 12, 2021 by OrchidBlossom

[SHERA]

Anyone know who Lydia's "boyfriend" is? 

[JermajestyDuggar]

Moriah posted a picture of herself and her younger sister for her birthday and there’s a baby boy in the pic. I’m guessing it’s Hosanna’s baby. It’s the first picture we’ve seen if her baby. 

[TheGleeTeam]

I just finished watching Plathville, and while I found it difficult to watch at times, I thought there were some genuine portrayals of the difficulty of leaving that kind of religious cult and the effect it has on family ties. I kind of can't believe Kim (and Barry) agreed to a season 2 and 3. It's like one big "Am I the Asshole?" discussion from Reddit except Kim doesn't know/doesn't care that she is coming across as a controlling asshole, while Ethan and Olivia are desperately trying to feel okay with their decision to cut ties (for the record- Kim, yes you are the asshole. Probably Barry too although he seemed to have more of a clue by season 3 and did have basic respect of boundaries). I wonder if these experiences will change how the younger Plath kids are raised- obviously they aren't as sheltered as they once were, but would the parents be more accepting of one of the younger girls not wanting to live exactly like the parents envision? 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I know Olivia and Ethan focus on the Plaths, but the Meggs parents aren’t perfect either. Olivia’s sister Lydia has been living with her boyfriend for quite some time and I’m sure that part of why her parents won’t let her see her sisters. 

[TheGleeTeam]

Anyone else watch the new Plathville episode? For those who don't have access- Ethan and Olivia are back together living in Tampa, living with Moriah and Olivia's brother Nathan (who seems to have moved away from his family as soon as he turned 18- would be very interested to hear more about his feelings about their family, the Meggs). I don't really follow any of them on social media so hadn't realized Max and Moriah broke up. Moriah seems to be struggling a lot with the breakup and will only say that Max "made a mistake" and they aren't together right now and he didn't move to Tampa. 

But what is really interesting to me is how Kim is choosing to portray herself in this first episode. She is opening a dance studio in Cairo and seems very happy to be involved in dance again (she did dance in college). It seems so much like she is someone who throws herself into things 100% and then totally moves on to another thing- and for a lot of years, that thing was a super controlling religion that isolated her family from the outside world and basically left some of the kids totally unprepared to exist as adults. And now she's listening to rap music and opening a dance studio for the community that offers belly dancing in addition to adult ballet classes?? At the end of the episode she alludes to not being happy in her relationship with Barry. Obviously she's going through a lot of internal change, but I wonder if she can see how their decisions of how to raise their family caused harm and hurt. She doesn't really seem like someone who ever admits they're wrong. Also, the beginning of the episode was pretty odd, it started with Lydia singing and dancing and then all the girls living at home doing a line dance type thing in the living room.

As usual, by the end of the episode I want to encourage almost everyone on the show to get some good mental health resources. I know that reality shows don't really represent reality but there's something sad and raw about this show compared to the Duggars.

[JermajestyDuggar]

9 hours ago, TheGleeTeam said:

Anyone else watch the new Plathville episode? For those who don't have access- Ethan and Olivia are back together living in Tampa, living with Moriah and Olivia's brother Nathan (who seems to have moved away from his family as soon as he turned 18- would be very interested to hear more about his feelings about their family, the Meggs). I don't really follow any of them on social media so hadn't realized Max and Moriah broke up. Moriah seems to be struggling a lot with the breakup and will only say that Max "made a mistake" and they aren't together right now and he didn't move to Tampa. 

But what is really interesting to me is how Kim is choosing to portray herself in this first episode. She is opening a dance studio in Cairo and seems very happy to be involved in dance again (she did dance in college). It seems so much like she is someone who throws herself into things 100% and then totally moves on to another thing- and for a lot of years, that thing was a super controlling religion that isolated her family from the outside world and basically left some of the kids totally unprepared to exist as adults. And now she's listening to rap music and opening a dance studio for the community that offers belly dancing in addition to adult ballet classes?? At the end of the episode she alludes to not being happy in her relationship with Barry. Obviously she's going through a lot of internal change, but I wonder if she can see how their decisions of how to raise their family caused harm and hurt. She doesn't really seem like someone who ever admits they're wrong. Also, the beginning of the episode was pretty odd, it started with Lydia singing and dancing and then all the girls living at home doing a line dance type thing in the living room.

As usual, by the end of the episode I want to encourage almost everyone on the show to get some good mental health resources. I know that reality shows don't really represent reality but there's something sad and raw about this show compared to the Duggars.

The Meggs family seems like a clusterfuck if their own. Olivia may act like her family is better than the Plaths, but from what I’ve seen on social media, they are similar. Out of the ten kids, it’s a mix of still fundie and leaving fundieland. Olivia’s sister Sophia just got married. And I barely see a picture of any of their huge family. What’s going on there? It was so weird. She has 9 brothers and sisters and some have spouses. Yet barely anyone in the family seemed to be in the wedding party and I didn’t see her post any pics of her parents. She seems fundie lite. Like she isn’t fully fundie, yet is still fundie-ish. Another one of Olivia’s sisters named Elise deals with infertility and she got pregnant last year for the first time. But had a miscarriage when she caught Covid. She’s married to a cop. She’s fundie-ish too. Then Olivia’s oldest two brothers seem quite fundie. Then there’s Lydia Meggs. Who is very vocal about leaving fundieland and all the damage it did to her. She’s similar to Olivia. But it doesn’t seem like she and Lydia are close. Nathan joins the show but not Lydia? Maybe Lydia is too similar to Olivia to make it interesting? Although maybe it’s because Lydia doesn’t live near Olivia. But they don’t even visit each other. Olivia’s family is more fucked up than the show portrays in my opinion. They just don’t put all their mess on blast. 

[JDuggs]

I’m a total sucker for the Plaths. I just roll my eyes at the obviously scripted crap (Ethan and Moriah not helping with chores/cooking), but I’m still hoping all of these kids are able to lead their best lives. Last season, I don’t think that there was any indication of problems between Kim and Barry, but now there are huge issues? I think Kim was trying to come up with a storyline for more airtime. Marriage problems? That was very successful for Olivia and Ethan. We can have marriage problems too! But Kim was coming across as a much more sympathetic character. She’s more likable when she’s not around her kids.

It’s annoying how dramatically devastated Moriah has to be about Max. It feeds into the trope that having physical relationships before marriage is always a bad idea. Hopefully Moriah will eventually be able to articulate that although she’s sad it’s over, she’s not sad that it happened. I found Max to be a famewhore who just wanted to be on TV.

I keep tabs on the kids on social media. Olivia, Ethan, Micah and Moriah are currently in Jamaica celebrating Ethan’s birthday. They all seem to enjoy traveling together which is nice to see.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I also think Kim is just making up marriage problems for the show. She wants fame and money. She will lie about her marriage for it. 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

18 hours ago, TheGleeTeam said:

Anyone else watch the new Plathville episode? For those who don't have access- Ethan and Olivia are back together living in Tampa, living with Moriah and Olivia's brother Nathan (who seems to have moved away from his family as soon as he turned 18- would be very interested to hear more about his feelings about their family, the Meggs). I don't really follow any of them on social media so hadn't realized Max and Moriah broke up. Moriah seems to be struggling a lot with the breakup and will only say that Max "made a mistake" and they aren't together right now and he didn't move to Tampa. 

But what is really interesting to me is how Kim is choosing to portray herself in this first episode. She is opening a dance studio in Cairo and seems very happy to be involved in dance again (she did dance in college). It seems so much like she is someone who throws herself into things 100% and then totally moves on to another thing- and for a lot of years, that thing was a super controlling religion that isolated her family from the outside world and basically left some of the kids totally unprepared to exist as adults. And now she's listening to rap music and opening a dance studio for the community that offers belly dancing in addition to adult ballet classes?? At the end of the episode she alludes to not being happy in her relationship with Barry. Obviously she's going through a lot of internal change, but I wonder if she can see how their decisions of how to raise their family caused harm and hurt. She doesn't really seem like someone who ever admits they're wrong. Also, the beginning of the episode was pretty odd, it started with Lydia singing and dancing and then all the girls living at home doing a line dance type thing in the living room.

As usual, by the end of the episode I want to encourage almost everyone on the show to get some good mental health resources. I know that reality shows don't really represent reality but there's something sad and raw about this show compared to the Duggars.

My headship made me cancel the cable, so congratulations, you’re the recapper for the fourth season. 

[waltraute]

I relied on recaps from @QuiverFullofBooks last season and maybe saw 2 episodes. I just watched the first episode of this season and holy cow, what the hell. I always thought of Lydia as somewhat genuine, but her acting in the first Cairo scene is obvious, and bad. The setup is the juxtaposition of Lydia singing a religious song in her room with Kim dancing in a mini skirt and high heels to rap music in the room below. The whole thing is weirdly edited and terribly acted. Lydia is seconds away from laughing throughout and I cannot get a read on what is happening with Kim. The little girls are painfully aware that they are being filmed.

So, I know this is scripted and they are acting accordingly for ratings, but there were times throughout the past seasons that I thought at least Lydia was genuinely devout and going through a crisis of faith. Now I'm seriously doubting that perception.

AND WHAT IS GOING ON WITH KIM. She is dressing more like Moriah. Even if the changes in her are scripted, her willingness to play act this for the camera is jarring. I really want to know what her Fundamentalist eldest daughter is thinking right now.

I predict the network will keep pushing this plotline to the extreme. Maybe next season Kim will 'toy' with the idea of being a lesbian.

Now I remember why I can't stomach watching any of this.

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

17 hours ago, waltraute said:

I relied on recaps from @QuiverFullofBooks last season and maybe saw 2 episodes. I just watched the first episode of this season and holy cow, what the hell. I always thought of Lydia as somewhat genuine, but her acting in the first Cairo scene is obvious, and bad. The setup is the juxtaposition of Lydia singing a religious song in her room with Kim dancing in a mini skirt and high heels to rap music in the room below. The whole thing is weirdly edited and terribly acted. Lydia is seconds away from laughing throughout and I cannot get a read on what is happening with Kim. The little girls are painfully aware that they are being filmed.

So, I know this is scripted and they are acting accordingly for ratings, but there were times throughout the past seasons that I thought at least Lydia was genuinely devout and going through a crisis of faith. Now I'm seriously doubting that perception.

AND WHAT IS GOING ON WITH KIM. She is dressing more like Moriah. Even if the changes in her are scripted, her willingness to play act this for the camera is jarring. I really want to know what her Fundamentalist eldest daughter is thinking right now.

I predict the network will keep pushing this plotline to the extreme. Maybe next season Kim will 'toy' with the idea of being a lesbian.

Now I remember why I can't stomach watching any of this.

 

This is one of the many reasons why I never watch “reality” tv. Because it’s very far from reality. Much of it is scripted and set up. But these people aren’t natural actors. So it’s awful. Kim just wants to be special and famous. She will do anything to achieve that. 

[freethemall]

This show has gotten super scripted and fake. Last season I think the Ethan/Moriah marriage problems were exaggerated and this season I think they are using the same formula for Kim/Barry. Kim has a weird slightly nervous smile on her face when she reads that diary entry about feeling dead inside, it's all for show, literally. Her storyline this season is growth and change, the dance studio and marriage problems are a part of it.

Loving seeing Micah live his best life apart from the family in LA, I think it's healthy he's taken space, something Moriah would definitely have benefited from. Did anyone else notice the comments about "boys looking like girls" and the producers subtly asked if he'd ever date one (not sure if they were implying a fem guy or transgender girl) and he said he wouldn't be opposed to it.

[purple_summer]

Watching episode 2 of the new season (discovery+) and Kim’s sudden change of heart is very weird. I don’t particularly like anyone in this family so I’m essentially just along for the ride. 
 

Moriah & Max broke up because he kissed another girl and criticized her (Moriah’s) clothes. 

[freethemall]

On 5/24/2022 at 4:54 PM, purple_summer said:

 

Moriah & Max broke up because he kissed another girl and criticized her (Moriah’s) clothes. 

It was obvious he cheated but I thought it would be worse, like he knocked a girl up. First love heartbreak feels pretty shitty though.

[JermajestyDuggar]

4 hours ago, freethemall said:

It was obvious he cheated but I thought it would be worse, like he knocked a girl up. First love heartbreak feels pretty shitty though.

Oh I bet it’s really hard. It’s always hard when you are young and all these new feelings are hard to deal with. Especially an ex-fundie. 

[waltraute]

I'm about ready to set up a GoFundMe for @QuiverFullofBooks to get this season of Plathville. The secondhand embarrassment is too great for me to watch the show on the regular. I really miss the recaps!

Does anyone follow the Plaths on social media? Are Barry and Kim still together? What about Ethan and Olivia? Where is Moriah living? I want to cut to the chase without watching that dreck of a show.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

49 minutes ago, waltraute said:

I'm about ready to set up a GoFundMe for @QuiverFullofBooks to get this season of Plathville. The secondhand embarrassment is too great for me to watch the show on the regular. I really miss the recaps!

Does anyone follow the Plaths on social media? Are Barry and Kim still together? What about Ethan and Olivia? Where is Moriah living? I want to cut to the chase without watching that dreck of a show.

Thanks! I’m visiting my mom in July and might have time to catch up with her on-demand.

[Sarcastically spinster]

15 hours ago, waltraute said:

Does anyone follow the Plaths on social media? Are Barry and Kim still together? What about Ethan and Olivia? Where is Moriah living?

Ethan and Olivia are together and seem very happy.  Just recently took a vacation with Moriah and I think Micah as well, I believe it was to celebrate Ethan's birthday.  She's been posting Pride posts this month.  

I don't know about any of the others.  

[Funwithfundies]

On 5/20/2022 at 2:26 PM, waltraute said:

I really want to know what her Fundamentalist eldest daughter is thinking right now.

I have been thinking the same...is she wondering why she had to 'follow the rules' and seemingly no one else (including Kim!) does anymore?

[JDuggs]

1 hour ago, Sarcastically spinster said:

Ethan and Olivia are together and seem very happy.  Just recently took a vacation with Moriah and I think Micah as well, I believe it was to celebrate Ethan's birthday.  She's been posting Pride posts this month.  

I don't know about any of the others.  

Yes, Micah was with them in Jamaica. Olivia mentioned that she was there shooting a wedding. Lydia seems very active with church friends. Isaac is working at a small airport (probably has a job similar to Timothy Rodrigues’ old job) and is getting buff. Not quite Micah level yet, but headed there.

Adding photo of Micah and Isaac.

Spoiler

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by JDuggs
Adding photo