Sister Wives season premiere episode of the 19th season has been anxiously anticipated by fans for nearly a year.
A lot has happened since we last saw the Brown family graced our TVs. Relationships have fallen apart. New babies were born.
Yet unfortunately, the biggest story to make headlines since the last time the show was on the air was the death of Garrison Brown, one of Janelle and Kody’s older sons.
Obviously, the big question for fans after his passing was how the show would handle such a delicate subject. Would they show footage of the family grieving? Would the cameras roll on the funeral.
Now that the episode has aired, we finally have some answers
‘Sister Wives’ Season 19 Premiere Recap: A House Divided Cannot Stand
A house divided cannot stand. That is the title of the season premiere episode, setting up the real tension between all members of the Brown family.
Kody is truly on the outs with every single one of his former wives – and his marriage to Robyn isn’t looking to great either.
Season 19 picks up a week after the finale of season 18. That is to say, that it started filming in late 2022.
This is important to realize, because give the jump backwards in time, it seemed unlikely that the episode would delve into Garrison’s passing.
Except it did, in a manner of speaking.
Before the episode began, a message from the producers was shared, explaining the timeline of the show. After explaining that these episodes were filmed before his passing, they shared their condolences, adding that Garrison was “greatly loved and deeply missed.”
And with that, it was on with the show.
Kody & Robyn Are “Struggling” in Their Monogamous Marriage
One week after Kody finally ended things with Meri officially, as seen in the season finale of season 18, he and his remaining spouse Robyn visit Coyote Pass.
They look out at the vast piece of land which was meant to be the location for their family compound. But the family is no longer together. Christine explains that she no longer has a stake in Coyote Pass and has moved on completely. Kody feels confident that Janelle and Meri will now do the same.
“This was our dream as a family,” he says to Robyn. “But we’re not one big happy family anymore. We’re just people who own property.”
But Robyn’s clinging to hope. She says she hopes for “healing,” particularly with Janelle, as the Meri split is too fresh and Christine refuses to talk to Kody.
As the episode continues, it’s clear that being the last woman standing at Kody’s side is taking a toll on Robyn.
“We’re probably doing the worst we’ve ever been doing in our marriage. It’s been tough,” Robyn explains, after Kody admits they are struggling.
“He doesn’t know how to blame: himself or one of the other wives.”
Janelle Takes A Stand For Her Kids, Including Garrison
When viewers check in on Janelle, she seems to be in a good place. Her life seems full, due to her children and her friendship with Christine.
However, that doesn’t mean she still doesn’t resent Kody for all the hell she says he put her through – and more importantly, her children through.
“He wouldn’t move heaven and earth to fix it,” Janelle explains about Kody and his relationship with their children, which includes poor Garrison, as well as Logan, Gabe, Savannah, Hunter and Madison.
Speaking of Maddie, she reveals that she and her family are looking to make a change, and what’s more, there’s talk of Janelle going with them!
“We’re just going to look at property in Montana,” Maddie tells several of the older Brown family kids. “Property to build on.”
In her confessional, Christine shares her delight by the news and what that could mean for Janelle. “I know that’s the secret,” she says in her interview. “And what’s more, Janelle’s talking about possibly moving with them.”
Janelle admits that she doesn’t feel tied to Arizona following her split from Kody. “Flagstaff no longer feels permanent and if I had another option, I would probably take it.”
When the producers fill him in, Kody gets indignant.
“I won’t talk about her,” Kody says on daughter Maddie Therefore, it’s left to Janelle to explain that their daughter has cut off contact with her father and Robyn because “they can not commit to being a consistent presence in her life.”
That’s when Kody goes on the attack
“They know that I suffer from FOMO about my family, fear of missing out, OK?” he says in a confessional interview. “So anything they can do that excludes me is a punishment to me.”
Yep… that’s why they’re doing it… sigh.
The Baby Shower Showdown
At one point, Kody claims that he’s in a “dark place,” namely because he feels like Christine and Janelle “loathe” him and have “pitted his kids” against him as punishment.
It’s a hard pill to swallow, considering that the majority of the episode takes place at Mykelti’s baby sprinkle for twins – a family event she’s specifically invited Kody and Robyn too despite their ongoing feud with her mom, Christine.
There’s a lot of anticipation ahead of the party. Both sides confess they’re “nervous” as they haven’t seen each other in over a year.
Mykelti calls the state of the family “heartbreaking,” but if she was hoping that having her parents in the same room would change things, she’s unfortunately very wrong.
The party footage is incredibly awkward, with Christine staying as far away as possible from Robyn and Kody. At one point, poor Mykelti is literally the only thing standing between her parents, until Christine makes a move to remove herself from the room.
It’s uncomfy to watch, to say the least.
Meri, Meri, Not So Contrary In The Season Premiere
Someone very absent from all of these storylines is Meri, Kody’s first wife but last ex-wife.
Despite everything that’s going on, it turns out that Janelle and Christine don’t know about Meri’s split from Kody.
And no one is aware of the steps Meri is willing to take next.
Meri travels out to Las Vegas, the Brown family homestead for years, to visit her friend Brandi. She reveals that she’s ready to move forward with having her spiritual marriage terminated.
Kody has apparently said some incredibly hurtful things in the time since we’ve last saw them, like that he would not “ court or date” Meri now. He also apparently told Meri that he never “loved her” and “had to marry her”, which makes no sense to Meri
“When a single young man meets a single woman, why would he choose to marry her and force love for her when he didn’t love her?” she muses in her confessional.
Meri explains to Brandi that she has a lot of things to figure out now, like where she’s going to live and how she’s going to move on with her life. She starts to get weepy thinking about all the “memories” she’ll now need to let go.
“This is not something to celebrate,” Meri admits, before she lays into Kody further.
The women joke about him marrying more women, so he can keep up the polygamy lifestyle. But, according to Meri, that’s not what Kody wants anymore.
“Polygamy isn’t fair to women,” Meri says Kody told her – a fairly shocking statement from a man who spent 30+ years in a plural marriage.
But whether he truly believes that remains to be seen as that’s where the episode ends.
