Teen Mom 2: Ali's Okay, Kieffer's Out, Chelsea Moves, Kailyn Crashes

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So I couldn't really come up with a good reason as to why MTV showed two episodes in a single night this past week. Were they tired of making us wait to hear what's going on with Ali? Was it so we didn't forget that Chelsea needed to move and did so? Are they just trying to hurry up the process so they can bring back Teen Mom or 16 and Pregnant sooner? Because airing new episodes from 10pm - Midnight isn't exactly the best idea, in my opinion. Now, maybe their target demographic has nothing better to do, but there are a ton of people who tune in who have to DVR it since they can't be up until midnight to watch guilty pleasure television. Now that I've complained about the format, let's complain about the content. We have all but stopped focusing on Aubree as a baby. That storyline is now Chelsea and the dumb things she does, and how those around her react to those decisions. The twins rule Leah's storylines, Jace is woven in well with Jenelle, and Isaac informs many of Kailyn's actions. But Chelsea rarely interacts with Aubree on-screen, and I think that's a #fail for a show about a teen mom. Anyone want to shed a new perspective on this one for me?

Teen Mom 2 "Lean on Me" (S02E06): Christmas is all over now.
Leah: She has to take off work a few days for Ali's first day of physical therapy and an appointment with the geneticist. [this whole full-time job thing isn't going to work for her, is it?] Leah brings home a kitten, which Corey worries about because of the cost. The physical therapist comes over, works with Ali, talks to Leah, and decides that braces/splints would be good for Ali, to help stabilize her ankles. The geneticist took a blood sample from Ali, but it may take four weeks to get the results. [wow. that's a long time!] Leah and Corey don't really understand what was said, so they go to her mom's place to look up "Campomelic Dysplasia," which is life-threatening. [I'm tired of the "I never thought this would happen to MY baby!" stuff. Also, do they not have internet at their place? Or do they just want someone wiser to help explain things to them?] Only some of the symptoms of the condition seem to fit Ali, but the idea is affecting everyone differently. Basically, Corey wants to wait four weeks to find out, and Leah wants to worry now.

Chelsea: She's been staying at her mom's (who has been out of town), but now needs to look for her own place because the house she's living in is now on the market. She wants to be blonde again, so Megan comes over to watch Aubree while Chelsea has her hair dyed. [I don't know if I've ever known someone with such perpetually bad hair as Chelsea!] Megan admits that she's now pregnant, and wasn't on birth control. [tsk tsk tsk. wonder if we'll see her on MTV...]

Kailyn: Isaac is turning 1 the next Sunday, so Kailyn wants to throw him a party on Saturday, and Jo decides it's okay, though he's not thrilled at missing some time with his son. [though there seems to be ongoing conflicting information regarding whether Jo is actually there when Isaac is, but that's not important quite yet.] Kailyn plans for 15 people, which isn't the blowout she had originally wanted. [it's his first birthday. you have no grandparents to attend. you're broke. why have a blow-out?? though I was expecting to see a phone call from Kailyn's mom to wish Isaac well.] Her out-of-town cousins (who also both have young children) come to help set-up for the party. [I know her mom sucks, but her lack of baking skills amazes me. I mean, even if nobody ever taught you how, can't you read a recipe? or double-check facts (like how long it takes cupcakes to cool) online?] When Kailyn goes to drop off Isaac again, Jo's mom tells her that they should sit down and talk. It seems like she is still mad at Kailyn, even though she wrote a letter and whatnot. It doesn't look like they're going to be able to put their issues behind them. [too bad. I was hoping that they'd be on a fresh foot this year.]

Jenelle: She missed the deadline to enroll for Spring, so she's not in classes. [dang it. this girl needs to get her act together. seriously!] Kieffer's cousin finally bails him out, so she goes to meet him, and even tells her mom the truth about doing so. [that was shocking!] Jenelle and Kieffer talk about how they're not going to fight anymore and how they love one another. They have court for their marijuana possession charge, so Kieffer calls his lawyer (a conversation which we don't see) and Jenelle meets with her court-appointed lawyer the day before. They talk about the possession of marijuana, the possession of paraphernalia, and the breaking & entering., which could land her a maximum of 260 days in prison. Plus, with a drug conviction, you can't get financial aid. She has no prior record, so they're hoping for unsupervised probation. She will have to take a drug test for the judge, and since she used a week ago, it would likely turn up positive. The lawyer advises her to admit the truth. [her response of "how long would I have to stay clean for?" made me angry. She has no remorse for breaking the law whatsoever! What was she expecting to hear? "the entire probation sentence" makes sense to me! LIFE, CHILD!] If Kieffer doesn't stay clean, Jenelle could get busted, too. Barbara reminds Jenelle not to lie about weed, not to put her glasses on her head, and, really, not to talk. [not the worst advice ever...] The day they were scheduled, court gets cancelled and they'll receive letters in the mail about the new date. [so they have time to get clean. let's see if they actually do... who wants to bet??]

Teen Mom 2 "Breaking Point" (S02E07): For Leah, it's likely a month later. For Jenelle, more like a week. For Chelsea, likely less than a week.
Kailyn: She and Isaac were in a car accident, and although neither were hurt, the car was totaled. [and she apparently will receive NOTHING for it from her insurance company. strange, right?] Jordan left work to bring them home. It's costing her $40/day for the car to sit at the lot, so she calls some salvage yards to try and get something for it. She finds a place that will give her $350 and not charge a pick-up fee, and after Kailyn gets upset at the idea of having to keep paying fees until it can be picked up, they end up being able to get the car that day. [I still don't understand... did she only have the bare minimum for coverage? collision only or something? This is why you get insurance, guys.] Her friend's dad has a used car lot, so she heads over and works out some payments to be able to drive away with a two-door Pontiac Sunfire for $2213. With no money, Kailyn debates filing for child support, mostly because it doesn't seem that Jo is ever there when Kailyn drops off/picks up Isaac. She decides to file, then leaves Jo a voicemail to tell him about it. He calls back to ask why, and is under the impression that she isn't really going to use the money on Isaac. [I gotta say, I'm not thrilled with where this is going. I see Jo getting custody out of this, LoL.] 

Chelsea: [I'm amazed that shes trying to find her own place. I'd have expected that her dad would really take care of a lot of that.] Chelsea doesn't want to deal with outdoor steps so she wants a townhouse, not an apartment. She volunteers to get a part-time job so that she can help out with rent and pay her own utilities, so her dad says she should look in the $700/month range. She finds a place she wants to see and begs her mom to call for her, but she won't. [good. call for yourself. you're grown.] She arranges to see it that afternoon, and her dad meets her to see it. They sign the lease (there's a special going on that makes the place $790/month for 12 months), though her dad isn't that happy about it. [no background check? No application fee? Nothing?] She can't get Adam to commit to helping her move the next day, and when he does show up, he's tired, whiny, and brings nobody else to help. Her dad does help her move some furniture, but splits when Adam arrives. [I can't say I blame him. Chelsea won't ditch him, and he's no good, so rather than continue to cause scenes, her dad just avoids being around him.] Adam won't take off his shoes. [what a jerk. it's a new place! I assume the carpets are freshly cleaned!] Regarding why he's alone, Adam says that nobody would come help on a Saturday. [are we confirming that she has no friends? really? why demand that HE bring people??] They get into a (quiet, for once!) argument, and he leaves. 

Jenelle: Her car broke down and she had to work out a deal to drive another one, but now she has something else. [it looks better, really.] Barbara is letting Kieffer come around, and since their new court date is two months away, they have to stay clean for a while. [hahaha Jenelle started talking to an ex when Kieffer was in jail. This girl has nothing going for her in life.] Kieffer gets upset that she's talking to another guy, and he leaves. She spends a day or so trying to contact him, but he won't answer. Barbara asks her to watch Jace for a little bit, but she yells and screams and says she's busy. So, she's essentially proving for the millionth time that she's not going to take her motherhood responsibilities seriously, and that she really just needs to move on. Jenelle eventually gets him to come over, and he says that it's over between them. She claims that she loves him, but he tells her that she isn't ready to be his girlfriend, and has a friend pick him up. [I wonder if he's playing her so that she'll smoke and end up getting screwed in jail like she did to him...]

mtv.com

Leah: She's down to one day of work each week, since she needs to be available for Ali to have more physical therapy and whatnot. [I'm surprised she still has a job at all, since she was hired to work full-time...] Ali is standing (on her heels) and leaning against a table, which is a big step for her. The results show that she doesn't have any known genetic disorders, but it could be an unknown skeletal disorder, so she's told to bring Ali back in a year, and they'll check her developmental progress.