sister Wives The premiere episode of the 19th season has been eagerly awaited by fans for almost a year.
A lot has changed since we last saw the Brown family on our televisions. Relationships have broken down. New babies have been born.
Yet unfortunately, the biggest news to make headlines since the last time the show aired was the death of one of Janelle and Kody’s older sons, Garrison Brown.
Obviously, the biggest question for fans after his passing was how the show would approach such a delicate subject. Would they show footage of the family grieving? Would cameras roll at the funeral?
Now that the episode has aired, we finally have some answers
‘Sister Wives’ Season 19 Premiere Recap: A House Divided Can’t Last
A house divided can never last. This is the title of the first episode of the season, which shows the real tension between all the members of the Brown family.
Kody is really at odds with all of his ex-wives — and his marriage to Robyn isn’t looking too good either.
Season 19 will begin a week after the conclusion of Season 18. This means that filming will begin in late 2022.
This is important to understand, because going back in time, it seems unlikely that this episode will shed light on Garrison’s death.
Except that it did, in a way.
Before the episode began, a message was shared from the producers, explaining the show’s timeline. After revealing that these episodes were filmed before his passing, they shared their condolences, and said that Garrison was “much loved and dearly missed.”
And with that the show began.
Kody and Robyn are “struggling” in their monogamous marriage
One week after Kody officially ends things with Meri, as seen in the Season 18 finale, he and his remaining wife Robin move to Coyote Pass.
They look at the huge piece of land that was the location for their family compound. But the family is no longer together. Christine reveals that she no longer has any stake in Coyote Pass and has completely moved on. Kody trusts that Janelle and Meri will now do the same.
“This was our dream as a family,” he tells Robin. “But we’re not one big happy family anymore. We’re just property owners.”
But Robyn is clinging to hope. She says she hopes to “get it right,” especially with Janelle, since Meri’s breakup is so fresh and Christine refuses to talk to Kody.
As the episode progresses, it becomes clear that being the last woman standing with Kody is taking a toll on Robyn.
After Kody admitted they were struggling, Robyn revealed, “We’re probably going through the worst time we’ve ever had in our marriage. It’s been very tough.”
“He doesn’t know who to blame: himself or another wife.”
Jenelle spoke up for her kids, including Garrison
When viewers see Janelle, they think she’s in a good place. Her life seems full because of her kids and her friendship with Christine.
However, that doesn’t mean she isn’t still angry at Kody, as she says he has caused her and, more importantly, her kids a lot of trouble.
“He can’t move heaven and earth to make this right,” Janelle explains of her relationship with Kody and her kids, which includes poor Garrison, as well as Logan, Gabe, Savannah, Hunter, and Madison.
Speaking of Maddie, she revealed that she and her family want to make a change, and what’s more, buzz is that Janelle will be going with them!
“We’re going to look at property in Montana. There will be construction on the property,” Maddie Brown tells several of the family’s grown children.
In her statement, Christine shared her joy over the news and what it could mean for Jenelle. “I know that’s the secret,” she said in her interview. “And more so, Jenelle is talking about possibly moving in with them.”
Janelle admitted she doesn’t feel connected to Arizona after her split from Kody. “Flagstaff doesn’t feel permanent anymore and if I had another option, I probably would have chosen that.”
Cody becomes angry when the producers tell him everything.
“I won’t talk about her,” Kody said of daughter Maddie So, it’s left to Janelle to explain that her daughter has cut off contact with her dad and Robyn because “they can’t commit to being a consistent presence in her life.”
Then Cody starts attacking
“They know I suffer from FOMO about my family, I’m afraid I’ll miss out on something, right?” he said in a confessional interview. “So anything they can do to keep me out is punishment for me.”
Yeah… that’s why they’re doing this… ah.
Baby Shower Showdown
At one point, Kody claimed he was in a “dark place” because he felt Christine and Janelle “hated” him and had turned his “kids” against him as punishment.
This is hard to accept, since most of the episode takes place at Mykelti’s twins’ birthday celebration – a family event that she specifically invited Kody and Robyn to, despite their feud with their mother, Christine.
There is a lot of excitement about the party. Both parties admitted they are “nervous” because they haven’t seen each other for a year.
Mykelti calls the family’s situation “heartbreaking,” but if she was hoping that having her parents in the same room would change things, she’s unfortunately very wrong.
The footage of the party is incredibly awkward, with Christine staying as far away from Robyn and Kody as possible. At one point, poor Mykelti is literally the only thing standing between her parents, until Christine takes the step of removing herself from the room.
The least that can be said is that it’s uncomfortable to watch.
My, my, not at all the opposite in the season premiere
One thing missing from all of these stories is Meri, who was Kody’s first wife, but last ex-wife.
Despite all that, it turns out Janelle and Christine don’t know about Meri and Kody’s split.
And no one knows what step Meri is willing to take next.
Meri visits her friend Brandi in Las Vegas, where the Browns have owned a home for many years. She reveals she is ready to end her spiritual marriage.
Kody has apparently said some incredibly hurtful things in the time since we last saw him, like saying he would no longer “love or date” Meri. He also apparently told Meri that he “never loved” her and that she “had to marry him,” which makes absolutely no sense to Meri
“When a lonely young man meets a lonely woman, why would he want to marry her and force her to love him even though he doesn’t love her?” she ponders in her confessional.
Mary explains to Brandi that she has a lot of things to decide, like where she’s going to live and how she’s going to move forward with her life. She starts crying thinking about all the “memories” she’ll have to forget.
“This isn’t something to celebrate,” Merri admitted, before she attacked Cody even more.
The women joke that Kody is marrying more women so he can continue his polygamous lifestyle. But, according to Meri, Kody doesn’t want that anymore.
“Polygamy is not fair to women,” Mary said — a rather shocking statement coming from someone who spent more than 30 years in a polygamous marriage.
But whether he truly believes that remains to be seen, because that’s where the episode ends.