Have the characters gotten better or worse?

[marigoldmama]

Nicki-worse overall but I do like that she has figured out how sick her childhood was. However, now she is completely unglued.

Margene-better. more mature and grew up.

Barb- I think worse because now she looks miserable and is acting miserably and before she repressed her misery. I think that was better for her.

Ben- uh, banging Rhonda puts him in the "worse" category.

Sarah-better. She got a life and left.

Lois-wow, she is so heroic in so many ways. We could write so much about her and in a way, she is my favorite character.

Joey/Wanda-well, we don't know now, do we because they have evaporated.

Bill- Worse. He is more self centered than ever. I think the election went to his head and he has an overinflated image of how important he is in life.

Don-worse. His life had fallen apart in so many ways. Poor guy.

Teeny-better, she got out of the mess.

Adaleen-her life has really fallen apart.

Alby-he got so evil but I think he always was evil but the death of Dale just iced his evil cake.

Anyone else want to analyze since the show is ending and the writers said "this is a family that works"

[prana]

Nikki-definitely WORSE. She makes me angry this season. She has absolutely no empathy, no rememberance of her mistakes and how much support she was given by her family to fix them and get over them, she's becoming self righteous and disrespectful...ew, just blech!

Margene- Better. She is maturing and trying to carve her own path within the family as well as for herself. She is no longer happy in simply existing on a day to day basis, she seems like she wants her life to have some sort of legacy.

Barb- worse. She's lost herself so much, she doesn't speak her mind, she doesn't stick up for herself. She's making attempts for happiness, but I still feel like she is really just lost and miserable, and that she will always be unhappy and unfufilled at this point in her life. I think she feels as if she's maybe wasted time, and been unappreciated.

Ben-worse. He's becoming Bill. He's completely clueless, and probably feels like some big machismo because he's got Heather and Rhonda swooning over him.

Lois- Better, when she's not in a brain fog. I think she's coming to terms with her life, knowing that it's almost over. She just wants to spend her last days doing what she knows.

Bill-worse. He makes me sick. If I were his wife, I'd put him in his place. He is soooo self-righteous, I'm pretty sure he thinks that he's a God of some sort. His treatment of Barb this season has really made me despise him. And the fact that he can't see right through Nikki. I do like that he seems to be more interested in Margene and what she is doing in her life, being more supportive rather than condescending and treating her like she's cute and stupid.

Don-better. I think that he is over Bill, and on his way out of the friendship. I think he's had it. Bill has never been a good friend to Don, or gave any second thought of importance to Don's needs and problems. I think Don has finally had enough. I would like to see a final resolution to Bill and Don's relationship.

Adaleen- 50/50 better/worse. On one hand, she has only had her best interests in mind. I really don't think she 'really' loved Roman, nor do I think that she really loves Nikki or Alby. SHe's in it for Adaleen.

Alby- Obviously worse. He's a false prophet, living a lie, killing dogs, abusing his wives, hiring hitmen, and trying to kill Bill. This list could go on and on. He didn't even redeem himself by not killing Nikki and telling her he loved her. I really don't believe that he loves anybody but himself.

[Smoke on the Water]

I think Barb has gotten better. She's facing the inherent inequalities in their beliefs and is forcing the issue with Bill. Now that she's divorced and her kids are grown or out of the house, there's is nothing to keep her in the marriage except love. She's now approaching Bill as an equal, even if he doesn't accept it.

Ben has step up and filled the void left by Sarah's departure. One major difference between him and Bill is he has a lot of demonstrated empathy for the women in his life. In many ways he fills his father's gaps. He's now at a fork in the road; Heather, Rhonda, or both (if Heather accepts). Choose the life he has known or the mainstream path. I think the show will culminate with his decision.

Nicky: I think the title "Exorcism" was clearly about her. She's now hit rock-bottom and has a long road to regain her humanity.

Teeny: I really wished the writers would have given her a bigger role. I suspect some of the Cora Lynn storyline may have been initially meant for her since they are around the same age. At the very least, it would have been interesting to see her interact with Cora Lynn, Rhonda, Heather, and Margene.

Don: I think he walks away. I've never understood why he's so loyal to Bill; sometimes I think of him as Bill's 'fourth wife'. Another storyline that could have been explored.

Lois: Based on the suicide pact she made at the beach and the allusion in 'Exorcism', I think she and Frank take each other's life. 'Til death do us part.

[marigoldmama]

That's pretty funny about Don being a fourth wife.

You kinda hit on a point there. Bill really does have that svengali quality like he is on direct mission from God and has all this God-like information and leadings. Poor Don really fell under his spell. How many times did we hear Bill talking about "don't you trust me?"

Kinda scary. Cult-scary.

Don-half and half. His life is better because he walked away from Bill but I was thinking how Vernie and Jo-Jo left him and his family fell apart.

How about Frank? Hmmm....at this moment, he is better because he is acting human but who knows what he will do next. His family also got ripped apart (not that we are not happy for the free Sister Wives)

I think there is a "family ripping apart" theme here.

[KimLA]

HILARIOUS, marigoldmama! "Iced his evil cake", I still can't stop laughing! I have found my new favorite quote!

[firstwife]

Bill-worse. Much more self-centered and ego driven.

Nicki- much worse. Even her "near death" experience didn't knock the nastiness out of her.

Margene- Starting to mature. But at 21, she should be just starting to spread her wings and really growing as a person

Don- despite his apparent break down, I would say he's much better. He's no longer following Bill around like a puppy and starting to question the right and wrong of things on his own.

Ben- hard to say. He's 18, a notoriously stupid time for boys. He wants to have his cake and eat it, too. Hopefully, the Navy will straighten him out.

Barb- I'm in the minority here, but I think she's better. Yes, she's more miserable, but instead of squashing it down and putting on a happy face, she's actually working on the roots of her discontentment. Ultimately, once she has settled the questions for herself and her faith, she will be happier.