Agreed that:

1) Bill is taking a page from Roman's book and is possibly on his way to becoming Romanesque in his own world. Perhaps Bill will even see himself as a prophet; is that why he had the strange moment of revelation in the barn?

2) The character of Nicki was fascinating to watch this season with all of her secrets and sociopathology. Hopefully, she won't be watered down in Season 4. Also, it will be interesting to see if Margene takes off with her business.

Unsure about:

1) If Warren Jeffs is the real-life inspiration for Roman, is there a real life analog for the wackadoo Hollis Green?

2) Shouldn't Wanda and Joey's baby be at least two years old now and walking?

3) Selma appears to be a drag king. How is that allowed within the strict gender roles of fundamentalist polygamy? Especially as Selma is the first wife of self-proclaimed prophet, Hollis. Has that ever been explained?

In the early parts of this series, Barb was the character I really couldn't understand. How could a mainstream LDS woman so readily accept polygamy and participate in it so fully (running the houses, managing the other wives, etc). I still don't get that, to be honest. It was sort of explained as a result of her illness, she might die and Bill would need another wife, someone else to take care of him and the kids as well as bear more children. That got a big "uh, ok" from me, but the series is so interesting that I accepted it and moved on.

Lately, though, it's Bill that has me scratching his head. What kind of a mind does it take to think that you can deliver sacraments in your backyard? That you are responsible for your wives souls, not them. He's gone further now, to seem to be taking on a Roman like attitude, as was pointed out. Is this the same man that Barb married? Has he changed that much? Why would a mainstream woman marry a man who hadn't left his Juniper Creek beliefs thoroughly behind? Or did this stuff all start to spring out after the marriage?

Nicki and Margene I can understand given what we know of their backgrounds, even without the recent revelations about Nicki's child. Nicki's childhood must have been full of family politics, backbiting, and maneuvering for favor with Roman. Margene, until the last few episodes is really a child in many ways, seeing love and acceptance. It's Barb and Bill are incomprehensible to me.

We hope DVDs will be available soon!

Roman and Selma--The Early Years.

Succinctly poignant, brilliantly illustrating the tragedy of this lifestyle/religion/mindset.

@ Laura Miller - putting "family first" is hardly a cultural or religious phenomenon. Or do you think loving your children is purely "American"?

One of my best friends' mother was raised a devout Catholic. She beleived in all of it, heart and soul, all through her childhood. Then, at some point during her teenage years, she lost her faith. She became promiscous, had an abortion, and ended up with two children by two different daddies and turned her back on the church.

Guess whats she's doing now? She's a pillar of her small town Catholic congregation. As much as she tried to rebel from her upbringing, she is right back where she started, though she does say she has a lot more compassion for sinners.

Thats kind of the way I see Bill. He never stopped beleiving in his particular brand of FLDS, even if he didn't think Roman was the prophet. All he ever heard growing up was that his father was the true prophet of Juniper Creek, and only through the evil machinations of the Grants was his family stripped of their birthright. And don't forget, he was cast out; he never chose to leave the compound.

So yeah, when he married Barb, he made all of the right noises, and joined LDS. But really, like my friends mother, he never really stopped being who he was or beleiving in the "principle."

Nicki and Margene I can understand given what we know of their backgrounds, even without the recent revelations about Nicki's child. Nicki's childhood must have been full of family politics, backbiting, and maneuvering for favor with Roman. Margene, until the last few episodes is really a child in many ways, seeing love and acceptance. It's Barb and Bill are incomprehensible to me.

Last season HBO did little character snippets on their ON DEMAND channel (for those w/ digital cable) and it clarified this a little bit. Bill and Barb were living as a mainstream LDS couple, when Barb got uterine cancer, and both experienced a crisis of faith in the wake of her hysterectomy. Barb became seriously depressed facing the prospect of never having children, and Bill had a subsequent epiphany about THE PRINCIPLE, which lead them to marry Nicki, who was acting as a nurse to Barb (I forget why).

Barb's reason for following THE PRINCIPLE is really all about the kids. She's lost the ability to have more kids, and feels a responsibility to her creator to be the bringer/bearer of life. Her recovery from depression depended on her changing her feeling of being cheated by God of her purpose to feeling that her illness had a purpose, which was to guide her into living THE PRINCIPLE.

Bill's reasons for THE PRINCIPLE are twofold. One, he seeks a solution to Barb's depression because he cares deeply about her, and two his ambition extends to all portions of his identity, including his faith. His intense need to prove that he is worthy, after having been abandoned by his father, and thrown out of the compound, drives his desire to live THE PRINCIPLE better than any other polygamist. The fact that, in his eyes, Roman Grant is a usurper to his family's rightful claim to the prophetship fuels this feeling even more.

A great scene where Barb learns that her sister is responsible for getting her exiled from the LDS Church and the whole thing ends in a wreck of tears. Couldn't help but think the about unhappy truths you may uncover when you reach the White Man's Heaven of Western Religions. Maybe not the eternal bliss you were counting on. BTW "Your 15 minutes are up"