I am so pleased it's starting soon, and will write it in my diary! It's honestly the only reality type show I watch, and I love it.
When I first started watching when they were all living in the cul de sac I found their lives fascinating as they were not at all the passive, down trodden women you might imagine would be involved in polygamy. I found the way their lives were organised almost enviable while bringing up young children because they always had someone to share the load, and it seemed to be great for the children too. On top of that, the women seemed 'normal'; funny, smart and relatable. I still think that in many ways, bringing up young children in a communal environment like that has many advantages.
Things seemed to go wrong when Robin came along, and when they moved to Arizona. First of all, Meri was obviously more wounded by that than she let on, and physical proximity is clearly quite necessary to make a communal set up work, which they didn't have in Arizona. But also it seems that the stage of their lives was a big factor too. Once the children were older they did not really need that mutual support as much, and all of the women began to become individuals and grow up a bit.
I am not convinced that Meri really is that masochistically attached to Kody as the programme seems to portray her. I wonder if she stayed close by simply because the show is the main source of her income. She still sells LulaRoe clothes and her celebrity must be a big factor in her rate of sales. Incidentally, do watch the documentary about LulaRoe (LulaRich) which I think is on Netflix. It's fascinating and shows clearly how women like these get drawn in to it.
For me, the main attraction in this show is the relationship between the women and the (probably fantasy) idea that groups of women can create supportive communities to bring up children. I am not that interested in Kody, or what kind of relationship he has with them all!
I am often drawn in to online chatter about the show and have noticed that there is a lot of criticism of Robin, that she is manipulative. I think that is really unfair as it seems to me that she genuinely wanted to join a group of wives. I don't think she set out to keep Kody for herself, even though it looks like it might turn out that way.