Sister Wives features onscreen action that calls to mind Greta Gerwig’s rose-pink comedic fantasy, Barbie, but Kody Brown isn’t enjoying the same hero’s journey as Ken. While Sister Wives season 18 lacks the oversaturated candy hues that make Barbie so visually distinctive, it does offer a similarly searing portrait of patriarchy. Now that three episodes have aired, the polygamy-themed series is exposing painful truths about love and power.
Kody once ruled in his own Kendom. This sports car-loving “bro,” who’s into “man time,” as per Robyn Brown, is all about toxic masculinity, minus Ken’s hilarious mink coat. In season 18, Kody dons brown leather instead. Even though his wardrobe isn’t as funny as Ken’s, some of Kody’s conversations with other men are definitely comedy gold. All that’s missing is a mini-fridge and swinging saloon door. Meanwhile, the wives of past and present are rebelling, determined to have more agency over their own lives. Like Margot Robbie’s Stereotypical Barbie, they want to find themselves.
Kody Brown Needs A New Identity
It’s not just the “Barbies” (Robyn, Janelle, Christine and Meri Brown) who are overcoming existential crises. It’s also Kody. Like Ken, he’s not sure who he is anymore. In the song, “Just Ken,” the male doll asks, “is it my destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility?” Golden-blonde Kody can probably relate. He’s more fragile than ever in season 18, almost as though his nerves are outside his body. His wives, including now-ex Christine, are raking him over the coals. He used to be the one calling the shots. Does Kody want them to see, “the man behind the tan,” just as Ken wanted to be understood?
Ken, baffled by the pointlessness of his spun sugar existence, also sings, “Am I not hot when I’m in my feelings?” In his plastic world, Ken rules the beach, but he’s ultimately a subordinate. Also, he loves Stereotypical Barbie, and she doesn’t really feel the same way. All of these things are acting on the doll and changing him. Right now, on Sister Wives, Kody’s realizing that Christine doesn’t love him anymore, and suspects that Janelle feels the same way. He probably doesn’t worry about Meri (who might just be “Weird Barbie” because she’s so out of the loop) much at all.
Christine Risked It All To Be Herself
In Barbie, Margot’s character ventured out into the world to fix a superficial problem. However, once she was there, experiencing true humanness, her Barbieland life just wasn’t enough. While humanness means pain and anxiety, they are the foil for their opposites – joy and peace. In the full prism of human experience, every emotion serves a purpose, creating a life filled with richness and character. A person is shaped by what they go through. Once she got a taste of reality, she was hooked, and saw all the possibilities. There was no going back.
Christine, outside the confines of plural marriage, is just like Stereotypical Barbie. She’s exploring life as a protagonist, rather than a side character. She’s willing to risk it all to be fulfilled as a human being. If that isn’t inspiring, what is? Now, she’s building a new life on her own terms, just like the blonde doll. IRL, Christine’s engaged to David Woolley. During season 18, she’s moving towards that destiny.
In the current Sister Wives installment, Christine doesn’t know what the future will hold. Nonetheless, she’s letting go of the past. That type of bravery is everything. Christine’s not a traitor to her faith – she’s someone who believes in herself, and believes in God.
Perhaps Christine put her faith in a higher power before she decided to leave Kody. No matter what was going through her mind, she’s influencing the other “Barbies” in the Brown family. She’s sparking a resistance. Soon enough, in the real world, Janelle and Meri will follow in her footsteps. Meanwhile, Sister Wives’ Kody has some inner work to do before he achieves the self-esteem that Ken found in Barbieland.