Why Ethan Plath Confronted His Parents Over Olivia

The season 2 finale of Welcome to Plathville was dramatic, to say the least. On it, viewers saw oldest son Ethan Plath confront his parents, Kim and Barry Plath. Ethan and his wife, Olivia Plath, have been estranged from his family for some time, and the confrontation was the first contact Ethan had with them in a while. "We needed space as a couple, so we decided that that meant no contact with my parents," Ethan said earlier this season (via People).

Unfortunately, Ethan's meeting with his parents in the season finale did not lead to a reconciliation. Instead, he and his father came very close to a physical altercation, although the meeting started off calmly enough. "I've come by to tell you two, and hopefully my siblings, that Olivia and I are going to be moving in the near future," said Ethan to his parents as Olivia waited in the car (via People). "And as far as I can see it, there still will be no contact between us. And I'd like to say goodbye to [my siblings] and say goodbye to you."

Ethan explained that he didn't like the way his parents — who see his wife as a bad influence and have prevented both of them from seeing Ethan's younger siblings — have treated Olivia. "I want both of you to know that I love Olivia more than you will probably ever know, and I really don't understand why either of you felt the need to say the things you've said about Olivia," he said. "And I don't even know if you two know what that has put her through, and put me through. And I'm not going to let that happen again."

Ethan told his parents that if they didn't accept Olivia, he would continue to keep his distance from them. When Kim apologized for everything her son and his wife had been through, Ethan brushed off the apology, saying all of the stress and hardship he and Olivia had been dealing with was because of his parents. Barry also tried to apologize for the emotional pain his son had suffered because of him. "It's very nice of you to say that on camera in front of everyone," Ethan shot back.

Ethan then said goodbye to his younger siblings as Olivia continued to wait in the car. While his parents said Olivia could come up to the house to say goodbye to the younger Plaths, Ethan said the kids could go to the car to say their farewells. When Barry tried to go to the car to see his daughter-in-law, Ethan physically held him back, refusing to let his father near his wife. "You are not going to walk over to my wife," he said. "Do you understand?"

It seemed like the two would come to blows, but Barry ultimately backed down. The meeting ended on a sad note, with Kim and Ethan's sisters crying over the farewell.