Secret Life of the American Teenager: "Back to School (Special)" (Ep. 1.10)
Yes, I do love this show. It is very endearing and the little plot twists are addicting. I previously said that the characters of Gossip Girl are messed up. I changed my mind. The Secret Life's characters are just crazy, which makes the plot unrealistic, which makes it fun!
This episode is the last one before the season finale. In it, we discover the very intricate, tangled web of relationship between the characters. But before I get ahead of myself, let's just start with the beginning.
Amy's mom, Anne, has to leave to tend to her mother's airport problems. In the previous episode, she's let her husband, George, come back into the house to help take care of pregnant Amy. Today was the day that Amy was supposed to start her new school for pregnant teenage mothers-what the kids otherwise call "slut school."
When Anne leaves, George is unsure of the decision and he manages to convince Amy to go back to her old school, even though she practically begged at his knees and said once again, that kids at her school are vicious. George is weird; he told Amy that she shouldn't go to "slut school" and yes, he said slut.
Ashley-I love that girl-chimes in and says, "Technically, you were only a slut for two minutes and a half . . . if that." Haha, she's the only brilliant one.
Meanwhile, Amy's boyfriend, Ben, is at school with his best friend, Henry. Henry and his girlfriend since third grade, Alice, have just broken up. But of course, he's still hung up on her. Ben asks, "What about Ashley?" Last episode, they just stared into each other's eyes, smitten, and Henry says that that's all they did and that's all that matters, because no matter what, he still likes Alice.
As he says that, Alice comes into the hall chatting away happily with football player Jack. They seem to be very friendly-a couple, even-and Ben and Henry notice, quite unhappily. As Alice and Jack discuss who's better, Dan Marino or Tom Brady, Grace (Jack's ex who he cheated on) comes in and also notices the two. She doesn't seem to care that much though, unlike Henry, because in truth, she's over Jack.
Before Grace came to school, she was making two sandwiches. Her father asked who the other one was for; she said Jack. She told her dad that she just wants to make amends with him, and her dad tells her that there will never be such a thing. That's besides the fact, according to Grace. She's not attracted to Jack anymore. She likes Ricky-who's with Adrian.
Cut to Ricky topless and Adrian in her bra and a pair of jeans. They were having fun, getting ready for school, when there's a knock on Adrian's door. It turns out to be her estranged birth father, who decides to take an interest in his daughter's life, starting at the worst possible minute.
Of course he's mad. He goes into the whole "Who's this? Why are you with him?" interrogation routine-in Spanish. Adrian tells him that it's none of his business. "You wanted a father," he retorts, "and now you've got one." He says that Adrian's mother wants them to have a relationship, so Adrian should live with her father. Yeah, like she'll do that.
At school, Ricky tries to talk to Amy once again and convince her to let him be involved with their child's life. One of Amy's best friends, Lauren, is watching nearby thinking about her makeout session with Ricky. Ooh!
Meanwhile, Amy's waiting for Ben to come to lunch, but he is nowhere to be found. Instead, he is getting beat up by an upperclassman. The older guy is trying to make Ben say out loud that Amy is going to "slut school." But Ben is not giving in, and he keeps saying, "Alternative extension school for independent women!" He ends up semiconscious with a black eye. Grace is the one who found him and yelled for help. As Ricky says, once again she's the hero.
Meanwhile, Lauren and Madison (Amy's other BFF) are still debating about Lauren's makeout sesh with Ricky. Lauren decides to call her father for advice.
At this point, the school is like a parents bazaar. Since Grace is involved with Ben's beating (technically), her mother, Kathleen, is there. She is then joined by Amy's father, George, although I have no idea why he was there. If you don't know this already, George and Kathleen used to be married. She claims that he's always jealous that her husband is a doctor-and Christian . . . It's really astounding how he managed to reel in Kathleen, Anne, and date Adrian's mom!
Meanwhile, Adrian chooses to talk to the funniest counselor there ever was, if such a thing were to exist, Marc Molina. She turns to him for advice after finding her mom is basically giving her away to her dad. Her mother comes in and they have a heated debate in Spanish-with Marc in the middle looking all the more confused.
"I speak Spanish too, you know," he says. And he tells them to calm down and work it out. Mama says that she got pregnant because she wanted someone to love her, and she tried to trap Adrian's father into a marriage. And that worked out so well! Adrian tells her mom that she does love her more than they both know, but she still doesn't want to move out.
In the end, she's back in her apartment and decides to move out. She asks Ricky to go with her. Surprisingly, he wants her to stay. I wonder for what?
We go back to the school office, where Kathleen and George are still arguing. Then, Ricky's shrink shows up. Huh? Turns out, he's Lauren's dad. Oh my God, what is wrong with these people? Lauren and Madison thought that he was there to yell at Ricky for kissing his daughter, but actually, he was just pissed at Ricky for womanizing yet another innocent young girl!
Little does he know that Grace is falling for Ricky too. She even took off her chastity ring! Gasp!Anyways, he tells Ricky that he doesn't know what else to do. Supposedly, Ricky is the one subject that he's spent the most time and energy on. But Ricky, I guess, is not doing anything more. He tells his shrink, "Maybe you're not even the right shrink for me." Lauren's dad seems to agree.
Afterwards, we see Henry and Alice lying in bed, covers up to their faces, awkwardly. They just had sex! It turns out that Alice and Jack were using each other to make Henry and Grace jealous, respectively. They admit to each other that they're not in love, but they're confused of how that could be, since they've been going out forever (since third grade, people! You do the math!) I suppose there's just no chemistry, and you can't fake that. But at the very least, they're still best friends and they're glad that they were each other's firsts.
The episode ends with Amy back in school with a black-eyed Ben. Grace comes over and tells Amy that yes, people are cruel, but she will be there for her and she will accept her (and the baby) with open arms. Grace has been at work; she organized a Take Back the Halls March for Amy. Complete with a marching band, she accompanies Amy, along with Alice, Lauren, and Madison, and together they face high school cruelty to the soundtrack of "I Am Woman!"
Behind them, Ben stands with Henry. Jack comes in and says, "I'll join you." Okay, what? One, what does he have to do with this, and two, why is he defending Ben?
Weird marching band moment aside, this was a great episode. I just cannot believe how messed up everyone is. There must really be something in the water.
To recap: Lauren's father is also Ricky's therapist. Amy's dad George, as weird as he is, was once married to Grace's mom, is currently married to Amy's mom, but separated, and is dating Adrian's mom. Ricky has managed to charm basically every girl that walks into his view: Adrian, Amy, Grace, Lauren, and Madison (sort of). Weird.
Next week is the season finale. Oh, I have no idea what will happen. What's next, Brenda Hampton (the creator) will reveal that Amy's mom used to date Lauren's dad? Maybe she will throw us a curve that will have viewers go, "Oh my God, I cannot wait that long for season two!" Who knows, really?
Some of my sources, though, say there will be a 12th episode of the season, but it will air in January. I'm thinking that's the season 2 premiere, instead of an extra episode. But more interestingly and more importantly, it's titled, "The Secret of Wedding of the American Teenager."
What!? Who's getting married? At this point, I'm thinking Ben and Amy-but they're 15 years old. Will that really happen? All I know is, no matter how bad the story or the acting, I really love this show and I am addicted. And I cannot wait to see what happens!