I’m not sure about Salt Lake City, but in most places those ordained through the Universal Life Church, even though it’s a web site and a church that holds no actual weekly services (I don’t even know that there’s a church building anywhere), really and truly does have the legal authority to perform a wedding so long as the marriage license is in order (which it would be), and there were ample people there to witness. Many people who don’t have a church affiliated go through this so that a friend or relative can perform the ceremony.
I assume they did sleep together. But he told her he’ll keep helping her but doesn’t want to be her guy on the side. It appeared to be a surprisingly good decision.
I loved that Nikki thinks Cara Lynn’s teacher has a crush on her and is clearly very thrilled by it. I wonder if she actually has a crush on him and if so if that will lead to anything.
Something I always assumed this show would eventually address is why Bill married Nikki in the first place.
Scenario 1: Bill is a guy who was thrown off the compound as a boy, lived by hook and crook for years, became a mainstream and monogamous Mormon, and that he hated the compound because in addition to seeing how it compared to the world outside Roman was strongly suspected of murdering Bill’s grandfather. After three kids his wife develops cancer that requires a hysterectomy.
Scenario 2: Bill is back in touch with Roman Grant, marries his daughter and is in business with the UEB.
There’s a big gap of info missing between Scenario 1 and Scenario 2. Barb’s from a wealthy family so there can’t have been that much desperation for money that they had to turn to a man Bill regarded as little removed from a deputy of Satan. Obviously the issue of polygamy is something he had considered before as I don’t think Roman just came to visit Barb in the hospital and said “While we’re here let’s let bygones be bygones and why don’t you enter into polygamy with my daughter?”
Nikki’s first marriage and Cara Lynn were very clearly an afterthought by the writers. Her marriage would not likely have been a secret- Roman didn’t really keep things like that secret on the compound- so you’d think that Lois or somebody else would spill the beans to Bill. For that matter you’d think Nikki herself would have mentioned it at some point, especially after their kids were born and she felt secure in her relationship with him. Cara Lynn adds a bit to the storyline was lazy writing.
I wonder what this show’s ratings are like in Utah.
I liked the looks from the teacher’s (can’t recall his name) mother. I think she thinks her son is interested in Nikki at the same time that Nikki is flattered by his attention “to her.” All the time Mr. Teacher & Cara Lynn think they’re being SO sneaky.
I thought that was believably self-involved. But I don’t think it’s going to lead anywhere. There isn’t much time left and they’ve gone down this road with Nicki before.
Early in the show they established that Nicki first came to the home as a nurse. She took care of Barb and eventually got involved with Bill, which Barb didn’t mind because she figured she was going to die. This doesn’t answer all of your questions by any means because you’d want to know why Roman allowed Nicki to take care of Bill’s wife or why he didn’t oppose the marriage, but I think that’s as much information as we have.
I agree. Cara Lynn is a good actress, but this fact makes all her scenes kind of jarring.
The more I think about it, the more I really honestly believe that the last three seasons of Big Love have been, warp and woof, some of the worst television writing I’ve ever seen.
In comparison to HBO’s other shows, especially The Sopranos and Deadwood, this show has really had an unbelievable amount of sloppy, illogical, plain lazy writing.
Yeah, there’s no redeeming a lot of the ridiculousness of the last few years. We need say no more than “parrot smuggling,” I think. But if the show ends with Bill and his family (whoever is left) being isolated and in charge of Juniper Creek, it’ll be a pretty satisfying conclusion to a show that was always flawed, sometimes interesting, and frequently lost.
The parrot smuggling plotline ends with Lois miraculously cleaving a man’s arm off with a light-saber sharp machete. Said man is the head of a murderous cult and the husband of a woman as evil and vindictive as he is and who literally worships him, yet woman and cult both decide to let bygones be bygones evidently.
I don’t know what is legally required for a civil ceremony, and I suspect the laws are different for each state.
But you brought up a point that I was ranting and raving about as I watched this episode. Barb used a secular ceremony. There was nothing mormon about it. And yes, “as long as you both shall live” runs completely counter to any brand of LDS beliefs about eternal marriage.
The mormon temple marriage language is in the mormon scriptures. It is specifically a polygamous ceremony in which polygamy is referred to as “the new and everlasting covenant.” The languages specifically states “for time and all eternity.”
So I objected that any of them (with the possible exception of Margene, sweet little sheep she is) would agree to consider that secular language a “true” marriage ceremony. You’re right: Nikki has expressed her disdain for temporal marriages all along. The only thing I could think of is: they played along and let Barb do her thing, but it didn’t “count” for any of them until Bill sealed them afterward. That they left Barb out of that and proceeded with the sealing anyway was shocking to me, but they are setting her up to leave the family. The kids are grown or gone, she’s officially divorced, and now she’s not even sealed to her husband and wives. If I were her, I’d spill everything to the cops (and serve my time if that’s the case) and when the dust settles, I’d walk away from these assholes for time and all eternity.
This is just such a trainwreck; I’m continuing to watch but frankly not enjoying it as much as I would like to, if the storylines were at a level that they could (and should) be at. Pretty much everyone associated in any way with Juniper Creek is emotionally stunted–nothing new there, but now it’s just grating on my nerves. The wives act like grade school kids when they’re arguing over anything. I just want to see Barb get out of there before it all caves in. Here’s the kicker, for me at least: she’s still very much sexually attracted to Bill. Did anyone else notice how they got hot and heavy together (kissing), but not before looking around to see if anyone else was going to see them. Argh, as much as they bad-talked Frank for “giving” Lois a VD (and frankly, that could have been Lois being the unfaithful one), Bill has engaged in some sexually risky behavior his damn self.
Three more shows until the end? Stick a fork in it, it’s (over) done already. 
I always thought it would end with Bill becoming the Prophet of Juniper Creek and it still might, but I don’t really see how unless they have a couple of majorly eventful episodes.
Could Barb realistically face any criminal prosecution for Bill having sex with a minor since she could sorta kinda be seen as an accessory?
IANAL, but I don’t think so. She wasn’t aware how old Margene really was until years afterward (how long is the statute of limitations in Utah). However now that she’s no longer Bill’s legal wife she can be forced to give evidence & testify against him. And any communication between her and Bill is no longer subject to spousal privilege. I agree with the others that Sarah probally did tell her bishop about Margene. Even if Bill isn’t criminally charged it will destory what’s left of his public image. Also it’d probally fuck up the adoption. I know it’s a private step-parent adoption, but I’m pretty sure child services can intervene and try to block it now. CaraLynn is not biologicaly related to Bill and she’s the same age as Margene was when he started having sex with her.
Oh good call. I hadn’t thought about that and it will probably become an issue.
I was curious about this so I looked it up online, and apparently the statute of limitations for Unlawful sexual conduct with a 16 or 17 year old, Utah Code Ann. 76-5-401.2, is 4 years.
So since we’re in the 5th season now, and Bill & Margene had already been together with children for a while before the show started, doesn’t that mean Bill can’t actually be prosecuted? 
Not necessarily. I don’t know exactly how long they’ve been together, but I do know it’s not been five years of timeline since this show started. Ben was in high school already, and he’s a senior now, so I’d say about 3 years. If Margene was 19 when the show started, which seems plausible given that she was 16 at marriage and her oldest baby looked under 2, they can probably still squeak it in under the line. At the very least, they can make a big production out of investigating it before deciding that the statute of limitations has passed. Prosecution or no, the investigation is going to be damaging as all hell for someone trying to distance themselves from those creepy old men marrying teenage girls on the compounds.
And it may not even be about Bill and Margie (though if they took a trip out of state together before she was 18 and had sex at some point during the trip, you could probably argue that counts as transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes, which would be another horribly damaging investigation and has a longer statute of limitations.) How old was Sarah when she and Scott started going at it? I know for a fact that Ben was under 18 when he and his ex were having sex in the first or second season. If Caralynn and her teacher are having sex, she’s certainly under 18. Hell, it could even be about those old allegations Rhonda made about being molested while staying at their house.
If I remember correctly, in the interview, Margene said something about wanting to runaway but Barb was such a help to her. Could they be going after Barb for conspiracy to corrupt a minor or something?
With the way the writers like to drop in red herrings, I think it’s possible that Barb was being taken by the police for an interview about a different case of statuatory rape (other than Margene and Bill). A couple of possibilities:
Cara Lynn & her teacher (they’ve not been exactly discreet)
Roman & Rhonda (this has been hinted at with Rhonda talking about “what old Roman did to me” and now her having a baby with her gay husband)