‘Sister Wives’ Season 16 Episode 9 Recap- January 16

Last week on Sister Wives, Meri was finally reunited with Robyn’s kids. It was a great moment for her and for them. They had no idea it was coming so when she came to the door and they could hug her, they were blown away. Thanksgiving 2020 was coming up and decisions had to be made. In the end, Christine decided to go to Aspyn and Mitch’s in Utah. Janelle and her kids went to her sister’s home in Utah, as well. Kody and Robyn had Meri over. He said he spent the holiday with his loyal wives. Now, a tragedy strikes Janelle, and Christmas can make or break them

Fatherly Family Bonding On Sister Wives

The rules have been laid out for everyone as to how they can properly gather for the holidays. Yet, Kody feels his boys need them reiterated. So, he is out on the Coyote Pass land and has invited Gabe and Garrison to cut logs for building things. It is his way of having a man-to-man conversation with them. However, one of the boys is not all that happy with the way their father has handled the pandemic. They feel he has chosen one family (Robyn’s) over others.

Gabe asks Kody what the deal is for Christmas and he says he is the only one who should be traveling from home to home. From the beginning, that was the plan yet Gabe shares everyone has been doing their own thing and living their lives. They tell their dad all the mothers have different rules and they are going to start quarantining when Hunter gets to town.  Ultimately, Kody shares he gave the moms a piece of paper with said rules on them and Garrison reacts. He explains you cannot just hand out papers but rather have a conversation with others.

To that, Gabe tells Kody all they have been holding in will probably come out when everyone gets together for Christmas. Kody feels they should just call their siblings and work it out prior to the holidays and if they don’t, he will cancel Christmases forever. The boys do not like how Kody has made them out to be the bad guys. Kody asks them not to be reckless and refers to a time Christine went out during COVID to get a massage.

The Obedient Wife

At one final play for the boys’  hearts, Kody asks what would happen if Janelle got sick. They immediately said they would take care of her. Why? Because they are the main ones in her home. Kody feels he has the biggest responsibility to his family but what he fails to see is his boys have stepped up. They are adults now. Furthermore, they admit they did falsely blame Robyn for the rules. He goes on to call her the obedient wife and wants to know who poisoned their minds.

They realize their dad is the one to blame in this for poor communication. Garrison says he will play the game their dad wants and he can trust them if he chooses. He leaves and Gabe is the one who stays. Ultimately, he defends Christine. Gabriel reminds Kody that Christine raised a bunch of them at a time growing up. She would have seven at a time. This would make sense as to why isolating away from them would be harder for her than anyone else. Yes, she and Janelle got together but they always followed the CDC guidelines.

Gabe tells his dad he misses when they would have long phone calls. This has not happened since the pandemic started. Kody refutes this and the two men see everything a lot differently. He tells the camera he has felt less in charge at Janelle’s over Robyn’s. Yet, Gabe tells his dad he was told being with his girlfriend was the only safe place because she was isolated and Janelle really likes her. He does not like that his dad knows nothing about her and he does not want to make sacrifices.

Sister Wives In Charge

Kody still does not feel his son understands the sacrifices he has had to make. Gabe says he has done two-week quarantines from his girl to be around his dad and Kody did not know that. There’s a lot Kody does not know but soon, it shifts back to Robyn and her kids. When she entered the family, she had three children from a previous marriage. She told them the rules of the Brown family. How come they can oblige but Gabe cannot?

This now pans to Christine who says she was the obedient wife and now is the head of her house. She is present and the one who is around. Admittedly, it is hard for her girls to respect their dad when they see he has favorites. Back to Gabe who says Janelle would risk getting COVID to hug her family. He says his mother is “overweight and old” and would still do it. Kody calls Janelle the “Teflon Queen” to which Gabe says he can reveal his emotions without getting mad.

Christine says Janelle is super loyal to Kody so she does not deserve whatever he is doing to her. Gabriel now takes some responsibility towards his dad. It really seems he just does not want all the blame put on his mother. He agrees to operate as a teammate and leaves. Gabe has tried so hard with his father but feels he did not get back what he wanted. That hurts. He asks the camera if filming is over.

Janelle’s Broken Heart

Everyone is getting ready for Christmas when Janelle gets a devastating phone call. Her mother, Sheryl has passed away from cancer. She wanted to bring her to Arizona but it had gotten too bad for her to move. So, when it came to the end, Janelle rushed to her mom’s side. She was able to spend the last few hours with her mother and Kody will be the only one there. He asked Meri and Robyn to stay home to limit exposure with the funeral a week to ten days away.

Kody believes this is more important than Christmas. Meri is a bit shocked by all of this because Sheryl was a grandma to all of the kids. Even after Kody’s father passed away, she stayed close to Kody’s mother as they were sister wives. Sheryl woke up and the doctors asked if she wanted to be resuscitated. It was her birthday and she said “no.” She wanted to go home to heaven on her birthday to be with her husband. Robyn stops by when Janelle gets home to check in on her.

They talk about how there are now rapid COVID tests they can take and are awaiting Kody taking his test. Robyn is nervous he will come back positive and she will have to spend the holidays with her kids and Meri. They are also talking about how they never expected the pandemic to go on this long. It has really lifted a veil off of all of their underlying issues.

Do They Still Want Sister Wives?

How have their lives changed? The issues are much more prominent than ever before and they cannot be ignored. Polygamy is not what Christine imagined but she cannot go there during the holidays. She needs to be present for the family. This is not how they imagined working through a pandemic together but it may be cause for reevaluation. Kody now has to get his COVID test since he promised Robyn he would be around for Christmas. He was hugging people at the funeral which was going against everything he had preached.

Kody tests negative and is back at Robyn’s home after ten days. It is time for Christmas Eve and everyone can gather. Robyn texted her sister wives to make sure certain topics were off-limits and they put their issues aside for the night. Meri gave everyone pajamas as she always does yet Kody could not help but feel blue. The next morning, they gathered at Robyn’s again for breakfast and it was noted that Ari is now forgetting some of her siblings. Still, despite having his family safe and with him, Kody was not happy. Christine said it was a great Christmas.

Next week, Robyn’s nanny tests positive for COVID while Kody tells Christine he is not interested in an intimate marriage anymore. He comes by and finds all of his stuff moved out. Watch the beginning of their end on Sister Wives every Sunday on TLC.