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Those waiting for new bombshells last night when TLC aired the first new episodes of ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8’ in nearly three months were disappointed.

There weren’t fireworks, fights or even acknowledgements that life as the Gosselins and their fans knew it has fallen apart.

But there was insight into their relationship and signs of what to expect in the future, namely that, just as TLC executives said last week at a gathering of television critics, the Gosselin children will be with one parent or another but hardly ever with both.

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In other words, this is a family that has split – and we’re going to see that in one form or another, though it may be as subtle as noticing the couch where the two did their interviews is gone, replaced by a chair for one.

As for last night’s first half hour, the drama in the tabloids notwithstanding, the divorcing couple were downright tame.

The reason? The episode was shot last January, five months before their seemingly harmonious family life was rocked by scandal.

In fact, in the first episode, it looked surfacely like old times for Jon and Kate as they discussed remodeling their kitchen. Kate also took the kids to the beach in North Carolina.

In retrospect, Jon and Kate’s exchanges appeared to reflect bits of emerging tensions, especially when Jon suggested fancy, under-the-counter refrigetators and Kate snapped, “What planet do you live on?”

“Viewers are going to be pushed

by the editing and images

to take sides.” – Baltimore Sun

One might have said a different one.

In the second episode, Jon was inexplicably missing in action, leaving Kate to put up a tent in the backyard so the kids could camp.

She admitted this was a new activity for her. But in a telling interview segment taped more recently and intended to address the Gosselin’s present situation, albeit rather obliquely, Kate said, “My new attitude is that I am going to do new things that I have never done before.”

As for the future, the Baltimore Sun’s David Zurawik predicted “Kate will emerge as the responsible parent holding the home together for the kids and providing them with whatever fun and sense of joy we see them having.

“Jon, meanwhile, will appear distracted and self-absorbed even while he tells the cameras how much he cares about the kids.

“Just as friends are often asked to do in real-life, viewers are going to be pushed by the editing and images to take sides, and TLC is going to try and get us to side with Kate.”

It makes sense, don’t ya think?

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