YouTube vlogs are infamous for controversy, and "Eight Passengers" has no exceptions. (Freepik - benzoix)
TW: spoilers, child abuse, and exploitation
A year after former YouTube family vlogger Ruby Franke was sentenced to prison for child abuse and exploitation, a new Hulu docuseries sheds light on what transpired before the criminal case captured national attention.
The series had a total of three episodes and they are shocking to watch. The show features interviews with Kevin Franke and the two eldest children, Shari Franke, 21, and Chad Franke, 20. They decided to conceal the faces of the four younger ones to protect their privacy. The show contains behind-the-scenes footage of Ruby Franke, provided to the filmmakers by the family, including multiple clips of her yelling at her children while she was filming herself or her family for their channel.
The first episode, titled “Abundance,” starts with the ring camera footage of the kid coming to the neighbor’s door asking for help. This video is what started it all, and it is truly heartbreaking to watch. It then starts with the very beginning of the YouTube channel and who the family is. The Franks are a Mormon Family of 8 from Utah who started the YouTube channel as a way to show their day-to-day life and to spread the word of Mormon. Kevin states in the documentary “…Ruby’s sole ambition was to be seen as the perfect mom. It’s all she talked about. It’s all she focused on.” To me, that statement as a whole puts into perspective why she started everything and why everything went downhill at the same time.
The channel started out wholesome where everyone was happy and willing to be filmed for the YouTube channel. They seemed to have fun with the family, and their laughs were genuine. I personally never watched the 8 Passengers but it looked like a nice family from the outside.
The episode then transitions into Kevin telling us about himself and how he was uncomfortable with being filmed and having to pretend to be someone else. Kevin is a sweet nerd who just wants to be with his family without the camera all in his face. He mentions how when he first met Ruby, five other guys also wanted to date her but he was the one she chose.
Throughout the second episode, Jodi Hildebrandt entered the Frank family’s life under the impression of a mentor and life coach. Ruby first requested her guidance through ConneXions, for her son Chad as a way to “fix him” and to make him better so he would cooperate. ConneXions was a counseling service Jodi founded, which promoted rigid views on accountability and obedience.
That wasn’t enough though, because Jodi eventually moved in the house in order to better her teachings for the family. Around this time the eldest Sheri had moved out to college so Jodi took up her room.
Jodi would pretend to be “possessed” and stated that in order to help the demon to get released Ruby would have to sleep in the same bed and massage Jodi.