Welcome to Plathville season 4 premiered on May 16, 2022, on TLC. The show follows the Plath family consisting of parents, Barry and Kim, and their children - Hosanna, Ethan, Micah, Moriah, Lydia, Isaac, Amber, Cassia, and Mercy. Barry and Kim are also parents to Joshua, who passed away in a farm accident as a toddler. The series has followed the tumultuous relationship the adult Plath children have with their parents, after being raised in an extremely religious, strict, and isolated environment.
As children, the Plaths were homeschooled and worked on a farm where they were prohibited from watching TV, using the internet, owning phones, or consuming sugar. When their oldest son, Ethan, married Olivia, Kim was angered that Olivia was introducing him to a more secular lifestyle. The falling-out between Ethan's parents and Olivia almost cost Ethan and Olivia their marriage. In the end, the two ended up going no-contact with Ethan's parents. For a time, Micah and Moriah also nearly severed ties with their parents. However, Micah and Moriah now maintain a good relationship with both their parents. Meanwhile, in season 4, Ethan and Olivia recently reached out to Barry and have begun to heal their relationship with him. Despite this, both Ethan and Olivia still staunchly refuse to talk to Kim, which has caused some awkward division in the family.
Plath siblings' plan memorial for Joshua
In Welcome to Plathville season 4, viewers were happy to see Ethan reaching out to his father and agreeing to meet with him. The two seemed to have struck a similar chord with their marriage problems - Ethan and Olivia were temporarily separated, while Kim and Barry are in the process of getting divorced. Meanwhile, with Barry becoming more open to Ethan and Olivia, and Kim not being around as much, Ethan, Olivia, and Moriah began to plan a Plath sibling get-together to hold a memorial for Joshua on his birthday.
Things got very strange, though, when Olivia, without consulting Ethan or Moriah, reached out to Barry on her own. She took it upon herself to invited Barry to the siblings' memorial gathering for Joshua. The plan had been to have two separate memorials - one for the Plath siblings and one for the parents. This would have avoided any conflict if Ethan and Olivia didn't want to be present when Kim came to the memorial. However, with Olivia unexpectedly inviting Barry, this meant the memorial for Joshua would include everyone in the family, except for Kim.
Kim isn't invited to family gathering
The day before the actual visit to Joshua's grave was planned, the adult Plaths arrived at the Plath farm. Kim, being separated from Barry, was away at the time. Hence, Ethan and Olivia agreed to join Moriah and spend a night on the farm with all the Plath siblings together. Only Micah was absent due to his modeling work in LA. Ethan indicated he wasn't yet ready to reach out to Kim or be present around her. Meanwhile, Olivia remained completely closed off to the idea of being around Kim. However, both Barry and Moriah expressed concern for leaving Kim out.
Kim herself admitted that she was lonely, knowing the entire family was gathered without her. Barry, despite going through a divorce with her, tried to reason with Olivia, Ethan, and Moriah, asking them to put themselves in Kim's shoes and asking if they'd feel ostracized in her position. Moriah agreed that she would feel left out, but Ethan and Olivia refused to reply. Eventually, the discussion ended and the Plath siblings all agreed to spend the night on the farm together having fun while Barry agreed to join them later and Kim remained uninvited.
Olivia on the visit to Joshua's grave
With the eventual visit to Joshua's grave being planned, Olivia, suddenly, begins seemingly speaking for both Barry and Kim. Talking to the camera, she explained that she can see why Barry and Kim would want to go to Joshua's gravesite on his birthday. However, Olivia decided she's not "counting on" Barry and Kim going. According to her, it was only a family affair one time. So, she's expecting just the siblings to go Joshua's grave on his birthday.
Of course, everything about her statement is very strange. It's Kim and Barry's deceased son's birthday. Regardless of divorce, why would they not be expected to visit his gravesite on what would've been his birthday? Meanwhile, if all of their living children are visiting Joshua's grave to commemorate his birthday, why would Kim and Barry not go with them? Lastly, the fact that Olivia has seemingly decided she is in charge of the memorial for Joshua is simply not acceptable. First, she invited Barry to the sibling's trip without even consulting her own husband, or any of Barry's children, about it. Now, she is apparently trying to dictate who visits Joshua's grave on his birthday.
Welcome to Plathville Season 4, Episode 11 looks bad
Welcome to Plathville season 4, episode 11's preview looked very bad for Olivia. In the preview, Moriah approaches Olivia and explains to her that everyone is invited to Joshua's gravesite. After all, it is a gathering at a gravesite on what would've been the decedent's birthday. To create regulations and rules about who can come and who can't, would simply be abhorrent. However, Olivia doesn't see it that way. She announces that she's "taken aback" that a mother would be invited to her deceased child's gravesite.
According to Olivia, they are all moving too fast while she's still coping with her trauma. She is seen abruptly walking away from Moriah and Moriah's younger sister and stating she has to "get out of here." Even Moriah is exasperated and states she's "done" with Olivia after her latest outburst - and rightly so. Later, the family is seen gathering at Joshua's grave without Olivia.
Now, Kim is certainly not a very likeable figure. Kim Plath is hypocritical and has made poor choices as a mother. However, for Olivia to take her feud with Kim literally to Joshua's grave is probably Olivia's lowest moment yet. The fact is, Joshua is a part of the Plath family. All of the Plath kids lost their brother. Kim and Barry lost their son. Now, an unrelated member of the family, Olivia, is trying to make his birthday about her. Because Olivia has a problem with Kim, Kim isn't invited to her son's gravesite on his birthday. Because Olivia has a problem with Kim, she abandons Ethan and his siblings on the birthday of their deceased brother. The truth is, no amount of animosity can possibly excuse Olivia's actions. She was the one who complicated things from the start, by intentionally inviting Barry and excluding Kim to make her feelings known. Now, when Kim's daughter won't stand for her mother being excluded from her son's gravesite gathering, Olivia is pitching a fit and dramatically running from the scene, crying, and apparently picking a fight with Ethan. Again, Kim is not a good person. However, Olivia can choose a different time to point this out than on the birthday of someone who has passed. Joshua's birthday is, potentially, the one and only day of the year that Olivia needs to suck it up and make memorializing someone who has passed a priority over thinking about herself.