Lovely post, Dogzilla. I agree. This show creeps me the fuck out because it all just seems like one big ball of misogyny to me. I feel the same way about the show Mad Men. Yet, I keep watching both…
Anyway, I have another thought - why does Joey stay on the compound? I am pretty sure he doesn’t get along with his dad anymore. Bill’s mom is his mom, right? She’s no longer there. Who are Wanda’s parents, are they there? Surely Joey can find another place to live where life doesn’t have to be so hard. Especially with Money Bags Hennrickson as his brother.
In the real world, a family like the Henricksons would be quietly and discreetly escorted out of a mainstream LDS ward house before they even managed to get to the chapel and sit down. No LDS bishop wants any association whatsoever with a polygamist family in any shape or form. Because Barb was born mainstream LDS, her family is known and believe me, there’s a very tight mormon network/grapevine in that part of the world. There’s no way they could sneak in unnoticed, nor would they be allowed to stay.
So, the posters below you are correct: Bill sort of acts as his own bishop. I would like to see them run a little Sunday service in the backyard, just to compare it to how the mainstream LDS services are run/structured. If they ever do that, I’ll be happy to provide commentary.
Which brings me to a point that bugged me from way back in the first season. Remember when Bill baptized Teenie in the pool? And Margene got so caught up in the ritual that she jumped in the pool and demanded to be baptized too?
That was a really weird scene for me. Because, IRL, in a mainstream mormon church, when you get baptized, what that means is you are washed clean of your sins and you are making a covenant to god to live by god’s rules. When Bill baptised Marge (and Teenie), he said, “I hereby baptize you into this family in the name of the father…”
So, what, was Teenie not considered part of the family until she turned 8? And Marge, also not part of the family until the swimming pool baptism? Does that mean that none of Nikki’s or Margene’s kids have been baptized yet? Nikki’s oldest boy should be getting to the proper age (8 is the mormon “age of accountability”) soon, if he’s not already past it…
I think that was a perfect example of the Henricksons’ “home grown” mormonism.
ETA, upon preview: Zipper, I have no idea why Joey stays. I’d guess it’s because he doesn’t really know anything else. Wasn’t he booted off the compound with Bill when they were teenagers (Google “lost boys FLDS” for more on that horrorshow.)? It might be the only safe place for Wanda, who might get herself and Joey into loads of trouble of the mainstream USA law found out about some of Wanda’s more psychotic stunts. Joey can keep her out of the way of the Law this way, and have plyg ‘family’ help keep an eye on her.
Remember, Kathy was threatened to be sent to Mexico, so (according to Carolyn Jessop’s book, Escape) often, as a power play or as punishment, the men in power will split up families and send part or all to British Columbia, Mexico, Idaho, Texas (ahem), to any number of different plyg compounds. Wanda’s parents could have been sent away or Wanda was sent to Utah to get her away from some place else.
This is a great discussion. I’ve been thinking that someone could do a graduate thesis just tracking the subtle changes in the women’s hairdos with the themes of the scenes: long, short, up, down, FLDS puffy, dyed, ponytail - I’ve been watching for that for awhile now and it kind of adds something! I’m fairly sure it’s not an accident. The more “with the program” the women are at any given time, the more long/puffy the hair is. Ponytail is a big fuck you, as is shorter hair. Margene’s dye job was a TOTAL fuck you. The roots were cracking me up this week - she’s caving…All this is particularly true for Nikki.
I found the conversation between Kathy and Bill & Joey to be interesting, although they had the idea of protecting her, I found it interesting that although they are both supposedly more enlightened than Roman and Alby, they still use the same kind of “you will” approach when telling Kathy who she can and cannot speak to, and who must be with her when she does speak to anyone.
jellyblue, about the hair: Watch the plyg clothes as well.
Oh, did anyone notice what Nikki was wearing on her date? I have never, *ever *seen her in something that wasn’t buttoned up to the neck and long-sleeved. Usually, she wears long skirts too, but I notice she’s wearing loose, flowy pants that almost could be a long skirt if she’s standing still. But on her date, she had gasp short sleeves and you could see her cleavage (read: dirty pillows /Carrie reference])! :: fans self :: The horror! The immodesty!
Carolyn Jessop said in her book that (Escape) Warren Jeffs favored that weird swoopy, puffy hairstyle you saw on the news so much last year when that Texas compound was raided. In order to be “in favor” with him, his wives all adopted that hairstyle.
Then, he began to issue more and more constraints in dress and hairstyle for the rest of the women in his compounds. Soon, and you saw the result of this, there was basically one accepted hairstyle. (Which simply illustrates my point about how the at least the FLDS are all about men controlling every little choice of women down to how to comb their hair.) Jessop also said that bright colors, especially red, were banned and so were certain dress patterns, as they were more flattering to the body. The dresses that the plyg women wear on Big Love look like more of the proscribed set of four dress patterns that the women could choose from. Notice how limited they are in style and color? There’s no religious anything in any form of mormon doctrine in regard to clothing or hairstyles; this ain’t the Amish or Mennonites. That is simply a function of cult control.
Can you imagine escaping from a place like that and going to the mall for the first time and being confronted with dozens, if not hundreds, of choices in style and colors?
Alby’s first wife is named Laura (played by Anne Dudek of House) and his second wife, the one begging to have more babies, was Glory. Both names were stated during the ep. I wonder if Alby isn’t having more babies because he can’t get it up for women at all anymore.
ETA: I wondered if Nicki had borrowed some of Margene’s clothes (as well as her identity) for that date…
When Kathy went frolicking off to pick flowers, I figured Wanda was going to poison all the wedding food while she was gone. And I thought Joey and Wanda and Kathy were already married.
Me too. This also means that the entire time they were all living together Wanda was the chaperone! :eek:
I really hope Sarah get’s over this and realizes she’s better off leaving. She’s only doing this because of Bill. For the first time in years he’s suddenly paying attention to her and spending time with her and she’s eating it up. Hopefully she realize that this isn’t going to last.
My mom and I were wondering about Nicki’s low cut outfit. My theory is she stole it from Margene. Along with her identity!
Barb was scary in this ep. Her whole, “I am your mother and no one will love you as much as I do” speech sounded like…a threat. And so was her speech to Nicki. Does “figure it out” mean just go off the pill? Poor Nicki. I’ve disliked her character in general a lot, but I really felt bad for her this episode.
I really loathe Barb in general, but I thought her talk with Sarah was dead on. Although, if the goal was to get Sarah to stay, then Bill had the best game plan.
I was also wondering if Heather was going to come out and admit to having feelings for Sarah. She was so angry, I thought she might blurt it out. And when she said that being friends with Sarah tested her faith, I was wondering if in addition to the fact that Sarah’s from a polygamist family, did she also mean that being attracted to Sarah tested her? Not too many other friends would be willing to raise a baby their first year of college with someone, even their very best friend in the world.
About that, wouldn’t Heather and Sarah need to register with the university as domestic partners to live in family housing? Granted with a kid Sarah would qualify on her own, but Heather?
Hadn’t thought of that. I wasn’t sure of the logistics of the situation. But family housing does exist for…well, families. So yeah, a married couple, or a single student with a kid, but a single student with a kid and her friend doesn’t really qualify. Odd.
I had a hard time believing Bill really thought that Ted just wanted that document for his associate. He’s willing to bury all that legislation because someone he works with is a collector? And Bill wasn’t suspicious at all?
I’m glad Margene is a brunette again. It suits her way more.
We just refer to her as “Cuthroat Bitch”, her role on House.
Dogzilla, when you said Heather was in love with Sarah, did you mean literally? If so, that’s something I hadn’t caught. And I thought ASU was just a non-Utah alternative - I don’t think Sarah was considering God’s plan; she just wanted to get the hell out of Dodge. Bailing out on ASU doesn’t necessarily mean she’s completely back in the fold.
Well, they have hinted at it but I don’t think they’ve ever come out and said it. I remember at one point, Rhonda says something like, “I see the way you look at her” to Heather, and then uses it as a blackmailing point. (Something like let me stay here/support me on that TV show and I won’t tell everyone you love Sarah.) And from the way Heather reacts at first, it’s like there’s something to it. But then later Heather tells her parents what Rhonda’s been saying and I guess they realize that Rhonda’s pretty twisted. They’ve never come out and said Heather loves Sarah, but it’s one of those things that’s there.
When Heather said that hanging out with Sarah tested her faith, what she might have meant was: a faithful mormon is not supposed to hang out with apostates, or anyone that might be considered an evil influence. So Heather had to worry about if the friendship demonstrated a tacit approval of polygamy by association.
But I think that there was double meaning in that statement, as well, because I think it’s very clear that Heather has a thing for Sarah. Homosexuality is treated… strangely by the LDS church (Heather is mainstream LDS.) You’re not condemned if you’re gay, but you are expected to either never act on it and remain celibate for life or you marry someone of the opposite sex and make babies anyway and just fake it and deny who you are. But openly gay? No. Who do you think funded the majority of funding behind Prop. 8? LDS church was a major contributor. So if Heather has a same-sex attraction, and she acts on it, she’s in danger of excommunication, among other things.
I think Heather wanted to get away from Utah so she could play house with Sarah and her baby and they could be a two-mommy family… and she and Sarah could lean on each other for support.
Yes, and I don’t think Sarah realizes that Heather’s in love with her. She just thinks they’re really good friends. I’m not sure what bailing on ASU means. I think we learn more next week.
Kind of like that couple that Sarah was thinking of giving her baby up to. The man said he had a same sex attraction that he struggled with, but he was still married to a woman.
Ah, Heather. I struggle with liking her (she’s pretty smart and level headed) and wanting to shake her (wanting to ban Rosemary’s Baby–no!!!).
One thing I wondered about and never got around to asking–when Sarah had her little meltdown at the end and said part of her was relieved that she lost the baby, Barb said she was too. I have to assume that’s not really kosher with the whole “have as many babies as possible to increase your godliness” belief. Can someone who knows more about Mormonism explain to me just how hellbound expressing such a sentiment makes you?