big love 6/04/06..........spoiler

[tulsakatz]

so what did everyone think of the show tonight?

I was shocked that they found out!! I thought maybe it was going to be one of those things where it looked bad but when you watch the show, it's not really as bad as you thought it would be..........unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.

Their secret is exposed now. So who do you think revealed the secret? I don't think it was the girl in the office. True, she seemed nosy and was questioning what she should do about it but when Barb was on the stage and they pulled her aside, the nosy lady in the audience looked confused.........like she didn't know what was happening either. I think it may have been Roman because he was upset when they broke into his meeting and he also believes Bill is involved in what happened to Alby.

Now I can't wait for the next season! This is turning into a great show!

PS.........Nikki looked great in her normal clothes!

[Maraya1969]

1. I thought the call from Roman revealed the secret. Anyway

it will teach Barb a lesson to not parade herself around so much if she is going to live that life style

I thought it was great that Wanda was the one poisoning everyone! She is a real pistol.

It is going to cause a lot of problems with the store. I don't know why they just don't say they are living together and Bill just had the other kids and they are not all married to each other. Personally I don't think it would that bad of an arrangement except for all the little kids.

I can't wait for the next season either. This one is as good or better than Six Feet Under. I am sick of the Sopranos and all the violence.

Oh and I thought it was interesting that Nicki said she chose Bill. I really think he was pressured into polygamy because of the money he borrowed from Roman. Maybe Roman just said he had to live "the principal" in order to borrow the money when Barb was sick and to start the store.

[tulsakatz]

3. you think Bill was pressured into it?

I never got that impression.........not that it couldn't be true, the thought just never occured to me before.

Yeah, that was a shock to find out about Wanda!! I never would have guessed that!!

The ironic thing is that Barb is usually the one who is so cautious but she got caught up in the mother thing and didn't think things through.

And I understand why she admitted to it being a polygamist..........they caught her off guard and she didn't have time to think of an excuse. I have no doubt that, if she had seen it coming, she could have come up with a believable story to tell them.

6 Feet Under was a good show but I think this one is even better! Tonight's show will definitely change everything!! It will change things at the store and it will probably destroy Barb's teaching career. And I wonder if Sarah will still be able to see her friend. Maybe her cop dad won't like her hanging out with a polygamist family..........

[tulsakatz]

20. why didn't she just make up a story instead of telling the truth?

my first reaction was that she was caught off guard and didn't see it coming and I believe that is part of it but there's also another good reason.

I was hanging out at IMDB's message boards the other day and someone said they are used to telling little lies but this would have been a big lie. And remember when Nikki was talking to Barb and said that, by being in that competition, it was like she was denying who they were?

My point is........if she had lied, she would have been denying a part of her family and her family is a large part of who she is. So, by doing that(if she had made up a story), she would also have been denying a part of herself!

[bliss_eternal]

2. It would be great if they ended the series here...

...in a way. LOL! What else can they really say? Attempting to maintain a polygamist relationship and keep it a secret in a modern society is impossible.

I know they won't end it here, because there are too many cliff hangers that some will want to see answered. Will Bill lose the business? Or will the other polygamists come out of their closets to support him? There must be others--the guy he works with has spoke of their church, and invited Bill.

Will Albie die? Will he recall what happened to him--or even know who he is?

Roman is the one that told on them, with the help of the little girl. I think it's interesting that the she had a taste of life away from that world and she didn't want to return. There's no way she could have stayed with the Hendrickson's, but the fact that she helped Roman hurt Barb is going to kick her in the ass. She doesn't seem to get how limited her options are.

It will be interesting though if their entire world isn't destroyed. Now Margie and Nikki may be able to have a more public life with Bill...

In a weird way there could be some other possibilities--outing Bill, may screw Roman more in the long run than he planned on. The show hasn't been entirely predictable. So it will be interesting to see how this plays out...

[tulsakatz]

4. true, it's not a predictable show........

........and I love shows like that where you can't guess what will happen next!!

I would be upset if it did end here. Certainly they could end it now that their secret is out. It's almost difficult to imagine what will happen next........

Will Alby die? I doubt it, he's one of those guys who is too mean to die. If he does die, Roman will really be pissed! If he does survive, he probably won't know what happened to him. I mean one minute he was drinking a glass of anti freeze (not knowing what was in the drink) and the next minute he's unconscious!

I didn't catch the part about Roman's phone call (the first time I watched) but I did see it on the replay.

How do you think this might hurt Roman? I mean, he runs the compound, so it seems to me that most people already know he's a polygamist anyway........

[bliss_eternal]

5. It could hurt Roman

because he was trying to shake Bill down for more money, and ultimately a huge chunk of his business. By outing Bill, his business could suffer and he wouldn't have anything for Roman to try to take. OR by outing Bill, Bill no longer has to be secretive about fighting Roman's attempts at extortion because everyone will now know.:hi:

If Bill's buddy (and co-worker),gets his church members to back Bill (if he does belong to a polygamist church), Roman could be screwed again. Modern polygamists (I think) consider themselves far removed from people like Roman Grant--who routinely marries off the youngest girls on the compound to old men.

I'm wondering if there may be a surprise in store where despite the fact that Bill is outed, it works to his advantage somehow. Maybe the modern polygamists will respect that he distanced himself from the compound and dictatorial ways of Roman--something that makes those in their way of life look bad (marrying underage girls, etc.). :shrug:

Wouldn't it be funny if Albie awakes, has no idea who he is and adapts the identity he's denied himself (as gay)?

[bliss_eternal]

6. ...thought of something else.

If Nikki ever finds out it was her father that outed them... ;)

That could get interesting.

[tulsakatz]

9. true, that's another interesting twist

and the little girl.........I think her name is Rhonda, I'm not sure what to think of her.

She seems like an evil person by doing that to Barb. Of course, she did that because she was upset by not being able to stay with Barb........even though Barb told her she couldn't guarantee anything. And did you notice, when Barb told her she couldn't make any guarantees, Rhonda said she knew she would find a way. It's almost like Rhonda doesn't have a grasp on reality. But maybe that's a result of living in the compound. I mean, they are pretty much out of touch with the rest of the world so maybe they do live a kind of fantasy life.

[bliss_eternal]

11. Yes, I noticed that...

Quote:
And did you notice, when Barb told her she couldn't make any guarantees, Rhonda said she knew she would find a way. It's almost like Rhonda doesn't have a grasp on reality.

You make a great point about the grasp on reality. Rhonda (thank you for her name, I'd forgotten it), is a child, as you know. But in their world, children can marry. She thinks she possesses power because of who she is promised to, Roman. She doesn't get all the other things it means--that he's a pedophile, will eventually have sex with her, she'll have no life, etc.

Children are supposed to be taught what reality and fantasy are, but no one is doing that with Rhonda--or any of the children on the compound it seems. I noticed on the episode when Rhonda's sister wife, (Nikki's mom) tried to teach her from a book Rhonda was impatient and petulant. She seems to get that Roman is powerful and her marrying him gives her certain power--but she doesn't REALLY get how little power she possesses in such a world, as a child and eventually a woman.

The levels of morality mixed in to their reality is interesting, too.

Wanda doesn't want Joey to take them to the city and leave behind the compound, because she's afraid of Joey falling back into old issues. But on the compound, they are bullied and abused--so much that she feels she needs to resort to poisioning people. While it's a tv show and I can see a certain level of dark humour in it, one has to think of the dichotomy of her actions. She thinks staying on the compound is the moral, religiously appropriate thing to do--but staying means attempted murder? LOL!

[tulsakatz]

15. you made some great points too!

earlier when I was writing that message about Rhonda's grasp on realty, I kept thinking of an earlier show when Sarah's friend was talking about a conversation she had with Rhonda. She was shocked that Rhonda didn't know who George Bush was and had never heard of Iraq!! I think that's a good indication of how sheltered these people are. I mean, things that we hear every day, these people have never even heard of!

It almost reminds of a prison-like atmosphere. Certainly they can leave but it's very difficult to do (but a little different from a prison).

You are right though..........Rhonda does believe, since she is marrying Roman, that she has some power. And you're also right that she really doesn't have much power.

There was another show where Rhonda was talking to Sarah and her friend and Rhonda was talking about going to New York to pursue an acting career. And I was thinking.........how are you going to go to New York if you're married to Roman? Another example of her grasp on reality.........how and why would Roman even let her go? But you make a good point that children must be taught the difference between reality and fantasy. And if you live in a fantasy world, who can teach anyone about reality?

You made a good point about Wanda too! She wants to stay at the compound where she knows what to expect but at the same time that she objects to the values of the outside world, it is perfectly ok to kill someone you don't like?

And about her wanting to stay in the compound, part of that could be religious principles but part of it could also be familiarity. I mean, these people have lived there for years! I imagine it might be very scary to live in a new place where you don't know what to expect or even how to deal with whatever other changes might occur.

[bliss_eternal]

16. Why thank you, tulsakatz...!

That's so nice of you to say! :blush:

I love your point about familiarity. You're SO right--it probably is more about that than anything else.

My heart went out to Rhonda in the moment that she ran down the street because she didn't want to go back to the compound. In that moment, she was a little girl wanting to be with other girls her age--putting sparkly stuff on her clothing and doing what she loves--singing. That girl is in for a RUDE awakening when Roman actually tries to "take her" as his wife. :puke::scared:

That compound is like prison. You can be ejected (as Bill was)but you can't leave on your own, especially not if you are someone's wife. Women are property, nothing more. :mad:

I got angry in the moment that Nikki's mom insisted Rhonda return. I didn't want her to stay with Barb, but I know how wrong it is for her to be married to that old man, living on that compound and not growing up healthy on any level.

[tulsakatz]

18. you're welcome bliss_eternal!

:) I imagine if I were Wanda, it might be kind of scary to leave a place where I had lived for so long. And I wonder what will happen when Wanda realizes that Joey doesn't want to have another wife?

Yeah, I think Rhonda liked staying with Barb but if she had stayed, there's no telling what kind of trouble she would have gotten into. And if she had stayed, how would that have affected her marriage to Roman?

That's true.........wives do seem to be property, especially on the compound!! I certainly understand why Barb doesn't want to go back there..........I wouldn't want to be there either!

[tulsakatz]

8. Alby........haha

yeah, that would be funny if Alby awoke as an out-of-the-closet-gay! That would probably not be accepted behavior in the polygamist community too!

Oh yeah! I forgot about Roman's extortion attempts on Bill's business! If there's no business, there's no money to be gained from that too!

And as I was watching this last night.........I kept thinking, yes this is bad now but I have to believe it will be better for them in the long run. I don't know how it will be better but anytime someone is blackmailing you in exchange for keeping a secret, it seems to be better to reveal the secret and remove the reason for the blackmail. So if modern polygamists support Bill and his family against Roman's efforts, that could be an advantage to Bill.

[bliss_eternal]

12. ...and Bill's need for secrecy

was always to protect his family and their lifestyle secret. His family is out now.

Extortion, blackmail, etc. work SO MUCH better when no one knows the secret. Just won't work now that everything is out in the open, will it? ;)

[tulsakatz]

13. that's true.............

if there's no secret, there's no reason for blackmail or extortion!

That's why I think, in the long run, it will be better for them..........but until then, they will have to face a lot of challenges!

I wonder if Margine's friend Pam will figure this out? That the reason Margie ended their friendship was due to polygamy.........

[bliss_eternal]

14. I wondered about her, too...

She cared for Margene, and seemed to think Barb was a sweetheart. She should see that their involvement in polygamy doesn't change the fact that they are good people (at least on the show...;) ).

[tulsakatz]

17. yes, and I believe Margene cares for Pam too!

after Margene told her she couldn't be friends anymore, when she was walking away, she looked like it really upset her to do that.

I think Pam never knew any polygamists personally before and when you make judgements about a group of people without any personal connection to that group, it's easy to make generalizations about that group. And the generalizations are very often untrue..........

True, there are good and bad people in every group......

[Sabriel]

7. I don't quite understand why it's a problem

I mean, technically, they're not married to each other, so what's the legal issue here? Can't people cohabitate and sleep with each other? Would a commune be considered polygamist in the same way?

[tulsakatz]

10. apparently, it's illegal to be a polygamist......

at least that's where the main problem is. And especially in this mother of the year contest, where the winner is expected to be a role model for mothers across the state, it would have been very bad to have a role model who is also participating in an illegal activity. Of course, she wouldn't have been the first person in the public spotlight to take part in illegal activity.........just look at our politicians! :rofl:

Plus, it's not something that is widely accepted.........which is why they go to so much trouble to keep it a secret.

[SharonRB]

19. Roman called them.