Secret Life: Kathleen & Lauren Happy, Amy & Grace Not

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Betty dressing like a high schooler to attend college classes was so strange, even for her. Amy complaining that everyone has it better than her is nothing new. Ricky trying to spend one-on-one time with John is nice, as I imagine that Amy doesn't let him spend the whole day with him often. The idea of Madison and Henry getting together is probably the most disturbing part of all - Madison's whole "love the one you're with" thing needs to stop. Of course, the bigger picture is that Grace doesn't want to accept that her father had extramarital relations that resulted in a child she never knew about, while Kathleen comes to terms with the fact that the Bowmans just aren't perfect after all. For mother that's freeing, but for daughter it seems imprisoning - the perfect little Christan cheerleader is no more. While I would have liked to see Tom interact with Jacob, I know it must be coming. Patience doesn't work for everyone, though... Lauren proved that by forgiving Madison but not actually reuniting in friendship. Probably not the way for everyone to go, but a bunch of characters could take notes from this! 

The Secret Life of the American Teenager "The Beach is Back" (S04E18): Ricky has a day off during the week so he wants to take John to the beach. Amy, being her typically negative and selfish self, wants to call in sick from school AND work and come along, or make Ricky stay home and clean the apartment instead. [that girl is SO b!tcchy sometimes! nobody else can have any fun if she's unhappy.] She finally realizes that she made a bad choice in choosing summer school, as she's missing out on beach days and going to Europe with Anne and Ashley. [hahaha. who wants to bet that the only reason Ashley is "going" is so they don't have to write her into any episodes for a while?] George calls Ricky and invites him and John to "go to the beach" with him and Robbie. Except, George doesn't like the beach and just sprawls things out in his living room, which was an idea of Kathleen's years ago. [so did Tom and Grace used to have "indoor beach" at the Bowman home, too?] Ricky tells George to start dating again, but he hesitates, thinking that things are too complicated. Late in the episode, after Ricky and John have left, Kathleen comes over, and George keeps spreading the rumor about Anne's supposed sexuality. [what is his fascination with spreading such an idea? And just because Kathleen has realized that she doesn't have to act like she's perfect and might break things off with Jeff doesn't mean she needs to go back to husband #1!]

Amy complains to Lauren and Lauren tells Amy that her attitude sucks and that she's never in a good mood. The school has no air conditioning, so that's not helping anyone. Especially not Dylan and her snobby friends, who have shown up to hang out at school, just "blending in" rather than enrolling. Dylan does a lot of lying to make it work, of course, which leads Counselor Kaitlin not to believe her own eyes when she sees "cousins" Ben and Dylan kissing. [oh, come ON! and, Katelin is showing a little too much cleavage... ] They're not the only ones having a rough time at school, as Kathleen shows up to enroll Jacob, while Grace won't admit that he's her half-brother. ["I'm an only child, except for Tom."] Grace even leaves school early, blaming the heat. When the teacher goes after her (which apparently did nothing to stop her??), Madison blabs the situation, which shocks Adrian enough that she leaves class, too. [I can't understand how these kids just leave class whenever they want. They did it during the regular school year, too! and why don't we have more extras in the classroom? are they against making this look lifelike at all??] Adrian tells Jacob not to hurt Grace, and it appears that Jacob and Ethan may become friends.

After school, Henry and Madison miss having friends, so they encourage one another to try apologizing again. Lauren is tired of being angry with Madison, but also says that they can't be best friends - they'll just co-exist peacefully. Henry doesn't get anywhere with Ben, but he's consoled by Madison kissing him. The two talk about having sex, but put it off, realizing that it would be a bad choice. Elsewhere, Amy decides that she's not a fun person and can't be happy, no matter what. Ricky tries to fix things by taking her back to the band camp cafeteria where they first met, saying that they should put the past behind them. It's implied that they have sex there. [how did they get in? if the place was so close, why was it a resident camp? who has sex in a cafeteria??] While all of this is going on, Jack tries to get Grace to accept Jacob, but Grace can't get past the fact that Jacob's existence makes her whole family look like sinners. Jack reminds her that there are no saints, and it helps that Adrian encourages Grace to get to know her new brother. Oh, and in the worst idea ever, Grace and Adrian have taken to wearing just undergarments around the condo because they can't find the thermostat. 

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Betty shows up at Leo's office, meets Nora, and collects her tuition check. In talking enthusiastically about her new major in anthropology, Betty encourages Nora to fulfill her life and attend college, too. ["Obama wants you to!"] As soon as Betty leaves, Dylan's dad arrives, still trying to keep Ben and Dylan apart. Leo shares that the girls snuck into summer school, which doesn't help anything. [why did Ben tell Leo that, anyway??] Later, Leo tells Ben that if he wants to date Dylan, he's not going to help them - any drinking, drugs, car accidents, or pregnancies, will not be taken care of by Leo. [I thought that Leo had already given Ben his blessing, so why are there now stipulations on the relationship?]