Many Jill & Jessa: Counting On viewers are less than impressed with TLC’s lavish use of old footage in the most recent episode of the show, but the network is trying to get fans of the Duggar family to give the reality series one more chance by teasing a “life-changing” season finale.
This week’s episode of Jill & Jessa: Counting On relentlessly teased the first meeting of baby cousins Spurgeon and Israel. However, this meeting was never shown. As Us Weekly reports, viewers were instead taken on a trip down memory lane as Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald revisited their courtship, wedding, and the very bloody birth of Spurgeon. Old footage from 19 Kids and Counting and last year’s trio of Jill & Jessa: Counting On specials was interspersed with family interviews and clips of Jessa, Ben, and a few of the older Duggar children preparing to visit missionary couple Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard.
Approximately 28 minutes of this Tuesday’s episode of Jill & Jessa: Counting On consisted of flashback footage and recaps of past events. There was approximately 17 minutes of new footage, and most of it consisted of the Duggar family packing for their trip to Central America. One scene showed the Duggar girls packing rat traps, fly traps, and snacks for Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard.
On the Duggar Family Official Facebook page, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar asked fans to share their thoughts about this recap-heavy episode of Jill & Jessa: Counting On , and many disappointed viewers responded by complaining about the lack of new content.
“Got 15 minutes in and quit. Recaps, old news, same repetitive sentences,” Melissa Nichols wrote. “Same thing over and over, babies, birthing and non existent courtships.”
Even longtime fans of the Duggar family think that TLC is filling airtime with too many flashbacks.
“I love the show and have been watching the Duggars since the first one aired as a special TLC show years back. I love the family & how they love the Lord. I feel that last night’s episode was too many flashbacks,” Nicole Ahern Viola wrote. “I wanted to see more of the trip. They cut it right off as they pulled in their driveway.”
“I love the show, and the Duggars, but last nights show missed the mark,” Patti Westrick Coss wrote. “These last 2 episodes should be focusing on the trip to see Jill and Derick, not rehashing all the last year or so’s problems, and everything we have already seen.”
Unfortunately for fans who are tired of watching recycled footage, a preview for next week’s finale of Jill & Jessa: Counting Onhints that it will also be heavy on the flashbacks. It shows a clip of Jill meeting Derick in person for the first time during a trip to Nepal, so viewers better be prepared to relive Jill Duggar’s courtship, wedding, and the birth of baby Israel next week. The TV Guide description of the finaleseemingly confirms that Jill will be taking a long trip down memory lane during her family’s trip to Central America.
“Jill and Derick recall the beginning of their courtship in Nepal and the adventures that have led to their lives as missionaries with a young son in Central America.”
However, as the Duggar Family Blog points out, one of the promos for the May 3 episode of Jill & Jessa: Counting On teases that it will be a “life-changing season finale.” The Duggar family’s supposed “life-changing” event isn’t revealed, but the promo has been carefully edited to make fans think that an adoption or courtship will be announced. Jessa Duggar is shown talking about her desire to adopt, and there’s a clip of Jill holding an orphaned infant. The younger Duggar girls are quizzed about their love lives yet again, and Joy-Anna says that she wouldn’t mind traveling “across the world” to meet a guy. However, Jinger Duggar teases that she’s possibly found love closer to home.
“I don’t think I have to,” a giggly Jinger tells the TLC cameras when she’s asked if she would visit another country to spend time with a potential suitor.
“Is there something that I don’t know?” the producer responds.
Do you think the Jill & Jessa: Counting On finale will actually feature a “life-changing” courtship or adoption announcement, or are the Duggars and TLC just taking desperate measures to get viewers to tune in to the show?
[Image via TLC /YouTube]