Secret Life: Anne & Nora, Amy's Iffy, Leo & Betty

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This show is quickly becoming a little much for teenagers. Yeah, some argued that pregnancy and being intimate with multiple partners are too much to be focused at adolescents... but I think that the constant mention of Betty's prostitution-ridden past, Nora's jail time, and now even a secret family across the world is drawing the line. Of course, I'm too attached to this primetime soap to care too much, but I'm pretty sure I'd no longer allow my figurative 14-year-old to watch it. I don't know why Ben is so hung up on Dylan. I don't know why we're bothering with a storyline looking at Anne's sexuality. I don't know what the point is in making Amy wonder about a second pregnancy for all of a day is... why not stretch that out? And where are we going with Adrian's unwillingness to be seen in public with Omar? A hidden racism plotline? I just don't know...

The Secret Life of the American Teenager "Suddenly Last Summer" (S04E17): Anne and Robbie go over to George's because Anne wants to take her son on a European vacation. George and Anne were originally supposed to be alone to discuss it, but Amy won't watch the boys like she was supposed to, preferring to go hang out with Lauren instead. [all this "it's summer" crap is old. You have a child, the season doesn't matter anymore.] Nora's there, but Anne doesn't trust her with the children for whatever reason, even if Ricky is there with John. Nora and Anne have other issues with one another as well - Nora questions whether Anne is looking at her romantically, and Anne is constantly defending her heterosexuality. 

http://abcfamily.go.com

Amy tells Lauren that she isn't sure if she's ready to be a wife - she just wants to have fun. [I'm also really sick of Amy begging for an engagement but not caring about a wedding.] She then shares that she's "late" and worries that her birth control pills have failed her. Apparently, they stopped using condoms where they got engaged. When she returns home, she tries to just tell Ricky that she's tired, but then admits the truth. He drives across town to get a pregnancy test, but she started her period so she doesn't need it. They decide that one child is plenty, so they'll go back to condoms AND pills. [better safe than sorry.]

Leo has given Ben permission to date Dylan, so he talks to Dylan's parents, but they still think that he's too experienced for their daughter. [YES. that's it. let's leave it alone now.] Ben talks about not wanting to be in a sexual relationship again because he now knows the consequences. [...because he didn't understand them before, back when he was dating a girl who was pregnant before she even started high school?] Ben tells them about Betty's past and how she left Leo to go back to college and the single life. Meanwhile, Leo talks to Betty's detective, who feels that Betty is entitled to an additional $3M. Leo writes a check for that amount to Betty and has it messengered to her - thinking she would never cash it. Later, a few of Dylan's friends stop by to talk to Leo and ask him about being married to a hooker, which was apparently the breaking point for Dylan's parents. [I guess they were thinking, "like father, like son" ??] Even later, Betty arrives to thank Leo for the check and for everything that he has given her. She admits to testing him, returns the check, and points out that he didn't sign it. [why did she say, "maybe I'll see you around campus," though?] Leo calls Dylan's dad, even though it's late, to tell him that his ex-wife isn't a prostitute. [I guess he did what he had to, but I don't think it made any difference.]

Kathleen is late getting home because she missed a connecting flight. Grace calls Jack and asks him to have sex, and he stops on the way to pick up condoms because he has a preferred brand. [what was with Jack's "what I'm doing tonight" voicemail? Do kids these days update that stuff constantly? And, if you're a teenager, you shouldn't have a "preferred brand" of condom.] When he finally gets to Grace, she isn't sure so they end up not being intimate. When Kathleen arrives, Jacob is with her, and Grace immediately goes to Adrian's. [rude!] Oh, and Adrian's having issues of her own - she doesn't want to go out in public with Omar, but he wants something more than sex. [think she doesn't want to be seen with him?]