Teen Mom 2: Checking In with Jenelle & Kailyn

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

The check-ups with Dr. Drew are always interesting - we get so much of the season summed up that it's a nice piece of closure. Dr. Drew is pretty good at bringing up all of the interesting things going on while still making the transitions pretty smooth. While I always wish that the four moms (and their respective families) would have more on-air time to ask one another questions, it never seems to work out that way. Here, Dr. Drew talked to Jenelle about school, drugs, jail, Kieffer, and her relationship with Barbara. He did not really ask her much about her relationship with Jace, which disappointed me. With Kailyn, he checked on her living situation before diving in to her complications with Jordan and Jo... so he pretty much ignored where she is in school and how her work life is. I thought that these would be prime questions since those facts were major players in two of her storylines this season - both her getting her own apartment and her filing for child support. Maybe I'm the only one interested in those things? Or maybe I'm just not interested enough in her cheating on Jordan with Jo...

Teen Mom 2 "Check Up with Dr. Drew - Part 1" (Special): The four girls have become closer over the last year, and although we only look at Kailyn and Jenelle, we'll see the other two next week, and I imagine that we'll also get some time with the four of them together.

Jenelle: [who came up with that hairstyle?] She talks about turning her life around and focusing on school - she's halfway done with her AA now and hopes to get a degree in film editing. [is there a market for that in North Carolina?] She's on-and-off with Kieffer, whom Barbara reminds us is "a druggie, a manipulator and no-good." Speaking of drugs, she relapsed, even though she's now on medication for bipolar disorder. [JENELLE! STOP!] Since she failed a drug test, she's facing jail time but acts rather casually about it all. [...why? because she's had friend be locked up before? or because she just knew it was inevitable at some point?] Dr. Drew asks her what will happen the next time she fails a drug test, and she says she doesn't know - at some point she really will have to stop smoking pot. Barbara thinks that maybe jail will make Jenelle think. [but she also thought that getting professional help would do something...] Barbara does say, however, that she and Jenelle are getting along better, especially since "Jenelle's stepfather" has moved out. [Barbara was in such high spirits for having been cheated on...] Dr. Drew asks Barbara to come up with five lovable things about Jenelle, and Barbara says that she's generous, independent, and organized. [much better than last time when Barbara said that Jenelle was not lovable.] Jenelle says that Barbara is funny, hard-working, and a good mom. [I don't know how to take that last one, though Barbara certainly appreciated the compliment!]

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Kailyn: Kailyn and Jo have apparently been together a couple of times, but only once when Kailyn was dating Jordan. Kailyn doesn't know what she wants with Jo or anyone else, and Jordan isn't surprised. e says that he could learn to trust her again, but Kailyn has to know what she wants. Jo gives Kailyn the impression that he doesn't want to work on things. So, Kailyn decides to look at the situation as if she and Jordan are on a break. [Ross and Rachel much?] Jordan thinks that he should step aside, and Kailyn ends up leaving the stage for a bit. [why do they keep that in rather than editing it out??] When they regroup, they kinda end things with "let's just see what happens." [yeah... okay.] She apologizes to both guys, but the episode ends with a mini-lecture about wearing condoms... Kailyn and Jordan both had STIs, and Kailyn suspects that it came from Jo, though he had not yet been tested or treated. [...and I'm guessing that this has happened before, because Kailyn certainly sounded like she knew it was an STI right away...]