Sister Wives S19 E5 Recap

Season 19 of Sister Wives is in full swing, and Episode 5 ("The Year Of Release") carried several themes and threads forward from Episode 4 — namely, the impact of what Kody called a "triple breakup" on the Brown family's adult children.

Each episode of TLC's long-running reality TV depiction of the ins and outs of polygamy is loosely delineated into miniature "acts" addressing various factions of the sprawling, now-divided Brown family.

Sister Wives' nineteenth season has been information-dense, and we've recapped all of them if you need to jog your memory:

Season, Episode Number	Episode Title	Air Date
S19 E1	"A House Divided Cannot Stand"	September 15, 2024
S19 E2	"Let There Be Light"	September 22, 2024
S19 E3	"Am I My Brother's Keeper?"	September 29, 2024
S19 E4	"How The Mighty Have Fallen"	October 6, 2024

Of the current season's episodes, Episode 4 in particular ("How The Mighty Have Fallen") contained a ton of information, despite the fact that the bulk of it was devoted to Kody and Robyn's "snow fight."

That disagreement was weighty — for what seemed like hours in real-life, a distraught Robyn begged Kody to humble himself to mend fences with his many adult children, and all the while, Kody blamed everyone but himself.

Robyn was atypically firm, refusing to take "no" for an answer, whereas Kody retreated into his tendency to claim he was maligned and betrayed for the "crime" of "not loving [his children's] mothers."

Kody's angry words have already had real-time, real-life consequences — his even-tempered daughter Mykelti went off on her father's remarks to Robyn, and her response was even more relevant to Episode 5 than we would have guessed.

Mykelti specifically pointed to her sister Maddie – upon whom Kody trained much of his directed anger during the fight – and she said:

"When [Kody] puts things on the show like this, he's screwed. Maddie has seen this episode now. Maddie’s pissed.

"That door is slammed, locked, and it will be slammed [shut] forever unless he makes a statement on the show condemning what he said."

Mykelti, your request is eminently reasonable, but please don't hold your breath.

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Kody's Kids Are Alright ...

Sister Wives S19 E5 , Gabriel and Janelle talking at the table — Janelle speaking with her son on Sister Wives

But He And Robyn Never Seem To Be Happy

Sister Wives Season 19, Episode 5 kicked off with Kody and Robyn visiting Mykelti's newborn twins, Ace and Archer; Robyn stayed with Mykelti after she came home from the hospital, but Kody had yet to meet the babies.

In the car, Kody tried to express his excitement, but there was something odd and almost insincere about his exclamation.

It's very difficult to speak to the order in which things were filmed, but it gave the distinct impression he was thinking about what he said about Maddie and her children in Episode 4:

We're headed to see Tony and Mykelti. And the new bambinos.

I'm so excited!

As mentioned above, Mykelti spoke plainly late last week about Kody's problems with his adult children, and she seemed to be in an entirely different place than she was during the episode, when she said: "I'm definitely happy to see my dad ... to show [Ace and Archer] off to my dad."

In an interspersed confessional, Kody specifically began contrasting his former "golden child" Maddie with Mykelti, said there was something "special" about Mykelti, and immediately began trying to lure Tony and Mykelti to a putative shared house in Flagstaff.

Mykelti shut it down quickly: "You guys can buy a big house, and we can visit you," with a vocal emphasis on "visit."

In a subsequent confessional snippet, Kody admitted that he thought "everyone could come back [pause] at the same time, if they wanted," if he could secure a big house, and Robyn said Kody missed the "family experience."

It bears mentioning that one tends to get excluded from "the family experience" if they can't stop saying they never loved the mothers of their children for five consecutive minutes.

Eating The Placenta And Breastfeeding 'Musical Babies'

An Important Note About Eating Your Placenta: In this portion of Episode 5, Mykelti and all of her moms discussed the practice of "eating the placenta," with some markedly differing opinions.

Crucially, the Mayo Clinic's website warns that the practice, known as placentophagy, "can be harmful for you and your baby," so please, do not try eating your placenta at home.

Mykelti and Christine both incorrectly asserted that eating the placenta can ward off postpartum depression — but the Mayo Clinic says there's no evidence to support that claim, and that the risk of infection outweighs any unsubstantiated benefits:

"Some people believe that eating the placenta can prevent postpartum depression; ease bleeding after delivery; promote a healthy hormone balance in the body; improve mood, energy and milk supply; and provide important nutrients, such as iron.

"But there's no evidence that eating the placenta has health benefits."

We all love a good, evidence-based crunchy medical approach, but Sister Wives fans, please do not eat your placenta. Or anyone else's placenta.

Even if it looks "like Carne Asada."

Before we get to the breastfeeding "musical babies" part, both Robyn and Meri weighed in on placenta eating in individual confessionals, and their comments were so on brand for both of them:

Meri: "Totally gross. No. No. In no way, shape, or form."

Robyn: "I’m gonna shock everyone. I was the first person to do it."

Honestly, we'd eagerly watch and recap a show called Meri, even if it was just an hour a week of Meri saying things like that.

From there, the conversation turned to another postpartum practice, and more specifically, a rumor about breastfeeding and the Brown family's flavor of Mormonism, the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) — and as with the placenta eating, a number of vastly different claims followed.

In a confessional, Christine addressed rumors that breastfed babies were passed around "in a big circle" to be randomly nursed by any lactating person in the vicinity.

Christine immediately said the idea was a "big joke," not a "cultural" thing.

Mykelti admitted having heard the rumor, and after it cut to a confessional, Meri mentioned something which was "medically necessary at the time," and said:

I actually breastfed one of our kids that was not my own child.

Janelle said she'd never breastfeed anyone else's children, and Robyn asserted that it was not unheard of, but neither was it randomly practiced:

"In our culture, I’ve seen it plenty of times ... [but] it’s not like musical babies."

Cutting back to Kody and Robyn at Mykelti and Tony's, a tearful Kody mused he "must be done having babies," which is honestly for the best, as he's not on good terms with most of the kids he brought into the world to date.

All of that was before the first commercial break, after which we got some lighthearted updates about Christine's fast-moving relationship with David; Christine fessed up about her polygamous past, and David told her that his sister was "with polygamy."

Christine then said something that suggested there was some crossover between the religious practice of polygamy and the secular practice of polyamory, hinting that she'd encountered some of the latter's widely disliked "unicorn hunters" in the past after disclosing her plural marriage bona fides:

Guys think you have loose morals, and they think you're gonna be interested in their open marriages.

Christine said her courtship with a then-already married Kody wasn't "giggly" or "fun," before the cameras cut to Janelle's candid discussion with her son Gabriel over breakfast.

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Janelle's sons Gabriel and Garrison (the latter of whom died unexpectedly in March) unquestionably took the brunt of Kody's Draconian pandemic rules.

In a December 2022 episode, Gabe broke down in tears when Kody forgot his birthday:

In all this discussion on screen of Kody's broken relationships with his adult children, it can be hard to remember how heartbreaking his failure to connect has been to them.

Between breakfast scenes and confessionals, Janelle described Gabriel as her "deep thinker," and they both talked about Kody's quirks — like requesting hot water and lemon at a restaurant.

Janelle said Kody "hasn't been present" with their children since 2020, and that Kody "felt like the boys needed to give an apology to him and to Robyn, especially to Robyn," that his "whole mantra" was "my kids have been 'not loyal to me,'" and that "Robyn was disrespected."

Gabe said Kody "kept phrasing it like I owed him an apology," quoting Kody as saying:

I forgive you, please forgive me.

Gabe was just as confused about why he'd need Kody's forgiveness as the audience.

One of the overarching background themes of Sister Wives Season 19 is how Christine, Janelle, Meri, and their respective children were always accustomed to sharing Kody's time and presence, and it seems implied that this circumstance made them more resilient ... but not Kody, who ~~feels entitled~~ is accustomed to his wives and kids vying for his attention.

As it stands, no one is vying for Kody's attention.

And while Gabe was deeply hurt when Kody forgot his birthday in Season 17, in this episode, it was clear he'd evolved to expect nothing from his father.

Gabriel articulated a boundary with his father, and immediately added that he had no expectation Kody would honor it:

"I think dad … I told dad that if he doesn’t change, and he can’t take accountability, then I just won’t ever see him again, and I’m perfectly okay with that ...

"... I think it would take dad really setting things straight, and I think that would take an act of God."

Janelle explained in a confessional that Kody was once an "amazing father," his change in behavior "really hurt" their sons," that the pandemic "just presented an opportunity" for Kody to functionally abandon three of his wives, and that he denied ever having said: "I wish I waited and just married Robyn."

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Meri's Long-Awaited Release

As we reported last week, Meri was finally granted a "release" from her marriage to Kody.

In Episode 5, Christine and Janelle both indicated that obtaining a release was unimportant to them, but in our recent coverage, we touched on why Kody's insistence on not working with Meri to secure her release was horribly cruel:

"In Meri's eyes and in her faith, were she to die unexpectedly at any point while awaiting a release from Kody, upon her death she would be 'bound to him for eternity' — and Kody himself admits outright that he intentionally ignored her pleas."

During a flashback to when Kody and Meri "divorced" in 2014 to enable him to adopt Robyn's children, it looked like Meri was crying as she signed the papers.

Although much of that was in the sneak peek we covered (linked above), the next part was not.

Cameras cut to Kody in a confessional, where he admitted that AUB leaders called and informed him they granted Meri's release, adding that they said "a few other things that [he doesn't] wanna necessarily disclose, that sort of upset [him]."

Immediately after that, Meri told us what upset Kody in a separate confessional:

"[Church leaders] did say that it was [granted] on the grounds of abandonment, and I know [Kody] doesn't like that word.

"Because he doesn't feel like he abandoned me. Um, I feel like he did."

We do, too, Meri.

Cutting back to Kody, he started blaming Robyn for his issues with Meri, and saying he was "sorry to Meri" that he didn't "figure it out sooner."

Kody didn't stop there, and despite dragging his feet in freeing Meri, he confusingly claimed:

"I am absolutely relieved that it's done ... I had moved on a long time ago, but let's just be honest here: I was afraid of what [Meri] would do if I ripped off that bandaid, because Meri was never loyal to me, ever ... 'cause when you get divorced, your reputation is trashed."

It also seemed like Kody was getting in yet another dig at Meri, implying that her reputation would be "trashed" for divorcing him.

Meri said she didn't see the need to inform Janelle and Christine when she got her release, but Kody called Janelle, who told him: "Good for her."

Before an ad break, Robyn cried about Meri's release, lamenting that she "would just feel the destiny in it" when she first met Meri.

Sister Wives returned to Janelle and Gabe, and Janelle talked about how daughter Savanah always had low expectations for Kody, adding that Savanah planned to have her brothers walk her down the aisle in Kody's stead.

Gabriel said: "I think that Robyn definitely has a victim complex. I mean, to put it bluntly, and I don’t necessarily blame her for that"; he also said he missed being close with his siblings, but understood the "party lines."

In a confessional, Janelle affirmed that her children were wary around Robyn and feared she would twist their words, adding:

They're leery of Robyn. They are.

Gabriel added that he did not want a relationship with Robyn if she continued claiming her children were mistreated by Kody's other kids.

Gabe also said he still wanted a relationship with Robyn's kids, but he was "not hopeful for a relationship with [Kody] and Robyn."

Some rapid fire and short statements followed: Gabriel said he didn't know what Kody's "beef" with him was, and that Kody said he was "not loyal, just like [his] mother."

Kody called Janelle a "relationship coward," and denied Gabe's recollection, saying: "This conversation never happened."

Before the final ad break, Kody was unable to resist tacking on a non-apology to his son:

I'm really sorry that Gabriel feels this way ... it wasn't from a lack of trying on my part.

Janelle said she felt a "resolution" was "necessary," but that "reconciliation" was unlikely, if not impossible.

The fourth and final part of Sister Wives Season 19, Episode 5 dealt with Kody and Robyn's first Christmas Eve "alone," meaning "without Meri, Janelle, and Christine."

A crying Robyn recorded a bathroom confessional at one in the morning, and again, she expressed her sorrow over the "triple breakup" in a scene that transitioned to a classic confessional:

"[I'm] completely and utterly heartbroken ... When I was a young girl, I wanted to be in a plural family, it was something that was a really big deal to me ...

" ... When I got older, I got my testimony of plural marriage ... When I saw Kody's family, I was so excited to be a part of it. I liked how they were one family. This isn't what I envisioned my life to be.

"I don't see my future anymore, and the hopes and dreams that I had are just disappearing before my eyes."

For some reason, Robyn held out hope that Meri would choose to join them for Christmas, and Meri's decision not to participate disappointed her.

It cut to a confessional with Kody, and he said of Robyn's investment in their defunct plural marriage:

"She's been holdin' on to the dream that I sold her on with my family for a lot longer ...

... I keep trying to go, 'let's move on ... let's just tell ourselves, and believe it, because I believe it now. It was never meant to be.'"

It was quite strange to hear Kody describe "the dream" he "sold" to Robyn, as if the "dream" was merely bait.

Robyn cried a bit more about Christmas Eve, Meri called the situation "very sad," Christine recalled some "pretty fun Christmases" before things fell apart, and Janelle and Christine spoke of new traditions.

As the episode drew to a close, a few scattered comments from Kody and Robyn were shown:

[Kody]: "For me, now? My prayer was just, like, 'save me and Robyn.' I have this wonderful relationship with her ... [I want to] save the 'special.'"

[Robyn]: "I'm just so heartbroken. The only thing that keeps my head above water is just prayers ... It's just not what I expected my life to be, and I don't know how to let it go."

Again, we the viewers don't truly know the order of events on Sister Wives, and editors have to slice and dice these scenes into a cohesive, linear storyline.

That said, the juxtaposition above tells a very clear story: It looks like Kody is all in on monogamy with Robyn, and Robyn is certain that monogamy with Kody is not what she signed up for.

Before the credits rolled, Sister Wives' producers crammed in one more instance of Kody being Kody, and he said: "I wish I wouldn’t have ever married her."

The "her" in question was unspecified, and a teaser let us know that Christine and David exchanged some very weighty words in next week's episode.

Episode 6 of Sister Wives, "He Delivered Me From All My Fears," airs on Oct. 20 on TLC, and the following day on Max and Discovery+.