SISTER WIVES Why the pond isn’t really a pond

The “pond” on Coyote Pass is a muddy retention area that usually doesn’t even have any water. When it is a little full it could harbor serious bacteria. With lining and a little work, it could be turned into a safe swimming or fishing pond, but as it has stood for years it’s still mostly just a muddy hole in the ground. There are other reasons why the pond isn’t really a pond. It’s become a huge symbol for the family and a part of family lore. Kody didn’t really like it when he first saw it, but now he has staked his claim of it. What’s going on with this pond, and what does it really mean?

Kody’s first impressions of the pond

When Kody first encountered the pond on Coyote Pass, it had a small amount of liquid at the very bottom. The realtor presented it as a pond, and while Christine initially thought the pond was “cute,” Kody was quick to say “this pond does nothing for me.”

Does the pond have the plague?

The Coyote Pass land, including the pond, may be contaminated with the plague because of a prairie dog epidemic.

Despite the plague, the Brown family had at least one bonding moment at the pond in Season 14. They all gathered together during a time when it had a good amount of muddy water. The kids dove in despite plague concerns, and Kody stripped to his underwear and did a strong man pose in the water.

Meri pond drama

At one point Meri expressed that she wanted the pond, but Kody says the other wives pushed back because they thought at that time that the kids would want to use the pond, but wouldn’t feel comfortable going on Meri’s property. “There was a major factor that I don’t actually want to bring up here with Meri and Robyn where there was a concern about Meri having a house on the pond lot,” Kody said. “Meri doesn’t know how some of the members of the family feel. There has always been and there will always be of whether the family will have access to the pond if Meri has the title to the property with the pond.”

This trepidation dates back to when Kody, Christine, Janelle, and Meri all share one home in Lehi, Utah and Meri asked the other women’s children to use another entrance into the house so they wouldn’t track dirt into her part.

Meri has tweeted that hearing about this on the show was the first she’s heard about the others’ issues with her having the pond on her land. During the first episode of Season 16, Meri called the idea of swimming in the pond “disgusting.”

Why Kody’s property has the pond

Kody now wants to build a house on Lot 1 of the property, which includes the pond because he says everyone wants access to it. (Christine made a hilarious Freudian slip of saying he wants a “dog house” near the pond.) Kody’s reasoning on this may be a bit delusional as his family seems to have little interest in the pond.

Symbolism of the pond

It’s obvious now as the kids grow older and the adults in the family grow more bitter, that the pond is not just a pond. It may not even literally be a pond in the first place, but it is definitely a symbol for the family. The fact that it isn’t what it says it is but could be if it were maintained and cared for is an allegory for the Brown family.

They are currently not a cohesive, happy family unit like they once were. It doesn’t even seem to be a dream for Kody anymore, as he has grown more and more cynical and apathetic about his entire family. Still, he holds on to the dream of the pond as if it is something that can attract his kids back to him. It’s an empty gesture he can make to have a pond on his land that wouldn’t require him to make the effort to maintain relationships with his children, who are now all around the United States. It’s also an empty dream. His children and wives aren’t interested in the pond.

Kody once had a vision of building a massive mansion on Coyote Pass where everyone could live and where grown kids could visit. Now, that dream is as dried up as the pond. Christine has left to follow her own heart and plans for the future and to be near where her children actually want to be. Back when Kody didn’t like the idea of the pond, Christine was the architect of the potential the pond had. She sold him on the possibilities of water sports and canoes, all wild dreams that may have sown the seed of his connection to the dirt pit.

Meri is only a part of the marriage in name only. Kody uses every opportunity he has to say he basically doesn’t want her around anymore but won’t ever tell her to leave. So, she stays around grateful for every small bit of attention she gets. He has no romantic relationship with Jenelle, and they will have no more children together, so that part of their life is over. Because of the family dynamic over dealing with the pandemic Kody has been spending most of his time at Robyn’s house, sealing their relationship as the strongest of the group and leaving behind the ideal of an egalitarian plural family.