Secret Life of the American Teenager: Falling in Love, Rewatching & Roasting

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The Secret Life of the American Teenager rewatch podcast. We recap and roast every episode of the ABC Family teen drama starring Shailene Woodley: Amy, Ricky, Ben, Adrian, Grace, band camp, and the most unhinged dialogue on TV. We celebrate the horrible acting, count how often Molly Ringwald stares at the ceiling, and unpack purity-culture plot twists from the creator of 7th Heaven. Spicy takes, trivia, media literacy and 2000s nostalgia for fans and hate-watchers. New episodes every Saturday. Start at S1E1 or jump to your favorite mess. Unofficial; not affiliated with ABC Family/Freeform.

  1. 2d ago

    S02E10 Knocked Up, Who's There?

    Follow us at @fallinginlovepod And leave a comment with your rating of this episode! We loved to read them!! ------ RECAP: Season 2, Episode 10: “Knocked Up, Who’s There?” This week, Secret Life briefly remembers it is allegedly a show about teen pregnancy — but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of masturbation, church-based sexual tension and Amy behaving like she personally invented motherhood. We open with Ben being approached by New Pregnant Girl (NPG aka: Heather), a new pregnant girl who has apparently studied his résumé and concluded: this man LOVES single mothers. Heather has been kicked out by her parents, lives alone, and thinks Amy and Ricky will inevitably end up together, so she offers Ben “a good time.” Amy conveniently walks up mid-conversation and is immediately furious. And just like that, Amy suddenly wants to GO OUT WITH BEN. Nothing reignites passion like discovering another woman may want your boyfriend. Meanwhile, Grace has decided she and Jack should speak to a church teen group about ABSTINENCE. Jack is horrified because this means admitting they regret having sex. Grace is then even MORE horrified to learn Jack recently masturbated — once, he claims — purely to make sure everything still worked after Tom nailed him in the groin with a football. Sure, Jan. Grace tries recruiting Ashley: Grace: Come to my Teen Abstinence Group.Ashley: “I have a group of my own. Teens Against Groups.” Ashley remains undefeated. At home, Molly Ringwald has been put on bedrest, sending George into DEFCON 1. Amy announces she’s going out anyway because apparently living rent-free with a baby has convinced her she is a 42-year-old divorcée. George responds by grounding EVERYONE. Deadeyes arrives to babysit John, hears George said no, and leaves. Ben arrives. George throws him out too. Then George introduces the family’s newest member: Moose, a failed guide dog who later somehow gets involved in calling 911 for Anne. Great use of emergency services. Over at church, Grace performs her abstinence masterpiece: a poem called “I’m Sorry Jesus.” It bombs. Tom tells her she isn’t funny. Tammy BOOS HER. Teenagers heckle her. Ricky eventually stands up and demands everyone respect Grace. Afterward, Jack tells Grace she doesn’t actually regret having sex. Grace apologizes to Jesus. Grace and Jack then immediately start heavily making out. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, ABSTINENCE CLUB. Adrian is also deeply affected by Grace’s speech, which is impressive considering she insisted she and Ricky have sex BEFORE attending it. She asks Ricky whether they actually have a future. Ricky announces he plans to be a BACHELOR FOR LIFE, because sixteen-year-old Ricky is apparently George Clooney circa 1997. Adrian finally realizes she wants sex to mean something and decides she should see other people. Honestly? Growth. But the episode’s surprisingly serious storyline belongs to Heather. Ben visits her and learns she’s terrified: the father disappeared, her parents kicked her out, and she’s facing childbirth alone. Amy eventually visits too, opens with the reassuring news that labor is basically death, but then does something unusually kind: she offers to be there when Heather gives birth if nobody else will. Heather starts asking about adoption. And suddenly, buried beneath Grace apologizing to Jesus for having sex and Moose apparently operating emergency services, Secret Life remembers that being a pregnant teenager might actually be frightening. Elsewhere, Ashley is attracting boys, Griffin is functioning as her gay Secret Service detail, Strawberry Shortcake continues hovering suspiciously around Jack and Grace, and Ben is somehow being treated as one of Grant High’s most desirable men. The greatest fantasy this show has ever attempted. Final score: 4/10 — don’t f**k without protection. We love you Rumer Willis

    S02E10 Knocked Up, Who's There?
  2. Sep 27

    S02E08 A New Kind of Green

    This week, everyone in Grant High is either stalking someone, accusing someone of having sex, trying to buy a house to improve their stalking capabilities, or discussing the romantic future of Molly Ringwald like she’s a distressed property. George and Skipper kick things off by squaring off over Molly Ringwald’s pregnancy. George wants his family back; Skipper insists he can still live happily ever after with Anne, despite apparently never bonding with either of her daughters. Truly irresistible stuff. Meanwhile, Adrian has decided George’s house would be the PERFECT family home, primarily because it offers unparalleled sightlines directly into Ricky’s life. Reuben points out that “proximity to your teenage daughter’s boyfriend” has limited resale value, but eventually agrees to take a look. Across the street, Amy is interrogating Ricky about the question currently consuming her entire existence: DID BEN HAVE SEX IN BOLOGNA? Ricky suggests she simply have sex with Ben herself. Amy explains that she doesn’t actually want sex — she just needs to know whether Ben has already had it. Healthy. Amy also learns Ricky stayed over repeatedly during the summer, George starts wondering whether Amy and Ricky are secretly banging, and Ashley casually points out that Amy nearly leaves the house without John. Motherhood is going GREAT. At school, Ricky attempts to confess his cheating to Adrian, but Adrian basically says, “If you cheated on me, we’d be over, so please never tell me anything.” Problem solved. Ben, meanwhile, unveils his exciting new relationship strategy: cribbage. He wants it to become his and Amy’s lifelong pastime. Amy later chooses cribbage over making out with him, proving that Ben has somehow found something less sexually exciting than Ben. Grace discovers Jack spent the summer hanging out with Strawberry Shortcake through the Dead Parents Club and immediately becomes jealous. She later INVITES Strawberry Shortcake over to prove she isn’t jealous, while Jack and SS exchange approximately seventeen suspicious looks. Nothing to see here! Ashley and Griffin, meanwhile, maintain their “no dating in high school” pact while random boys hit on both of them. Honestly, considering every relationship on this show ends in pregnancy, adultery or a dead parent, this remains the smartest storyline. Skipper and Molly Ringwald finally break up. He graciously tells her she can come back once she realizes George sucks, mentions that he never really bonded with her children anyway, and gives her Amy’s promised SUV as compensation for unpaid labour. Romance! Adrian then visits Ricky’s Sex Attic and proposes that maybe they both stop sleeping with other people. Ricky responds with perhaps the most honest line ever spoken on this series: “Adrian, we’re in high school. And I’m… me.” Finally, Amy arrives to collect John and discovers ADRIAN HOLDING HER BABY. Amy reacts as though Adrian has kidnapped John and joined an international trafficking ring, bans her from touching him, bans Ricky from having him, and — most importantly — declares Adrian’s family may NOT buy George’s house. Adrian smiles. George already accepted their offer. So next week Amy may have Ricky’s girlfriend living directly across the street. A new kind of green indeed.

    S02E08 A New Kind of Green
  3. Sep 6

    S02E05 Born Free

    The episode opens with Amy in the kitchen practicing Italian, because despite the increasingly obvious problem of who exactly is going to take care of her infant for a month, she remains committed to this European vacation. Ashley walks in and casually announces that Molly Ringwald and Skipper are engaged. Amy is stunned, and when Molly Ringwald appears, she immediately confronts her. Molly clarifies that Skipper proposed, but she hasn’t actually said yes yet because apparently even she realizes that accepting a marriage proposal immediately after being accused of lying about her baby’s paternity and gold-digging might require some reflection. At school, Grace makes the catastrophic mistake of telling Adrian about George’s fake vasectomy. Adrian is delighted, because this means Molly Ringwald’s baby could actually be George’s and, in Adrian’s mind, perhaps George will reunite with her. She also tells Grace that her family is looking for a new house. Grace specifically tells Adrian not to tell anyone. Naturally, approximately twelve seconds later, the entire school knows. Deadeyes tells Strawberry Shortcake she heard about George from her brother. Strawberry Shortcake is shocked and wants to know who told him. Meanwhile, Ben hears it from Alice and Henry, who apparently got it from Jack. Congratulations to Adrian on keeping that secret for roughly one passing period. Amy, meanwhile, is eating with Strawberry Shortcake and Deadeyes when they start suspiciously asking questions about her family. Amy quickly realizes something is up, and the girls scatter before admitting what they know. Elsewhere, Strawberry Shortcake approaches Grace and tells her that her own mother died, so she understands some of what Grace is going through. It’s actually a surprisingly sincere moment, and Grace invites her to sit with her and Jack. Then we return to Amy and Ben, because sincerity can only survive for so long at Grant High. Betty arrives to bring Ben his lunch, and after she walks away Amy remarks that Betty looks like a hooker. Which is a lovely thing to say about the woman currently delivering food to your boyfriend. Ben then decides he can’t keep the vasectomy gossip from Amy any longer and tells her that George apparently never had the procedure. So now Amy gets to contemplate the possibility that Molly Ringwald is pregnant with George’s baby while she’s trying to arrange an Italian vacation from her own baby. Meanwhile, Ricky asks the Sausage King how many hours he can work at the butcher shop because he’s looking for an apartment. The Sausage King reveals that there’s actually a space available above the butcher shop and offers it to him. Finally, Molly Ringwald is with Skipper, who has apparently moved on from “Will you marry me?” to planning their entire future. He tells her that he wants to buy a house where the two of them can live together. Just the two of them. Without Amy. And without John. So Skipper would like to marry a pregnant woman with two teenage daughters and a grandson — provided none of those family members actually come with her. At this point, Molly Ringwald might want to hold off on that RSVP.

    S02E05 Born Free
  4. Aug 28

    S02E04 Ciao

    We're BACK! And, so is this hot mess. The episode opens with Amy and Anne exhausted in the kitchen after baby John has apparently decided that sleep is for people without consequences. Meanwhile, Ben apologizes to his dad for yelling at him and is rewarded not only with his job back at the butcher shop, but with the news that he can spend the summer working in Italy. Naturally, Ben’s first thought is, “Can I bring my teenage girlfriend and her infant?” His dad gently suggests that maybe Ben should use the trip to think about his own future instead. Ben agrees… and then immediately calls Adrian for relationship advice, because that has historically gone so well. Adrian tells him he’d be an idiot to leave Amy alone in America with Ricky, announces that she hates him, and hangs up. Helpful! Grace, meanwhile, decides she’s ready to return to school after her dad’s death. Unfortunately, Grant High welcomes her back in the only way it knows how: with absolutely no boundaries whatsoever. Everyone offers condolences, but then somehow the conversation turns into people telling Grace about losing their virginity. One girl even reveals that her cat died after she had sex for the first time, which is perhaps the most Secret Life sentence ever written. Adrian approaches Grace to apologize for not calling, but Grace gets upset and leaves. Amy asks Adrian what happened, and instead of answering, Adrian casually drops the information that Ben is leaving for Italy. Amy confronts Ben, and while trying to explain the trip, Ben accidentally suggests that maybe she could come too. Amy immediately says yes. Ben, shocked that his bluff has been called, asks what she’d do with John. Amy basically says, “Eh, my parents can keep him,” because apparently motherhood now has a summer vacation option. Grace walks home upset until George spots her, pulls over, and gives her an unexpectedly sweet pep talk. She returns to school, reunites with Jack, and just like that, the show has decided they’re together again. Elsewhere, Adrian and Ricky have sex, after which Ricky says he wants them to be exclusive. Adrian’s main condition is that Ricky not sleep with Amy. Ricky assures her he isn’t planning to — although he does need to go to Amy’s house constantly because, minor detail, they have a baby together. Back at the Juergens house, Amy begins desperately searching for someone willing to raise John for a month while she vacations in Italy. Anne says no. Ashley says no. George says no. Ricky arrives, takes John from George, and before Amy can even finish forming the question, tells her that he absolutely cannot watch their baby for an entire month while she goes to Europe. So Amy’s Italian summer fantasy may be experiencing some minor childcare-related turbulence. And finally, Anne is hanging out with David when he accuses her of lying about him being the father of her baby and suggests she’s only dating him because his family is rich. Anne understandably gets furious — but before she can respond, David decides that this is the ideal emotional atmosphere in which to get down on one knee and propose. Because nothing says “marry me” quite like, “I think you’re lying to me about the paternity of your unborn child and possibly using me for money.”

    S02E04 Ciao
5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

The Secret Life of the American Teenager rewatch podcast. We recap and roast every episode of the ABC Family teen drama starring Shailene Woodley: Amy, Ricky, Ben, Adrian, Grace, band camp, and the most unhinged dialogue on TV. We celebrate the horrible acting, count how often Molly Ringwald stares at the ceiling, and unpack purity-culture plot twists from the creator of 7th Heaven. Spicy takes, trivia, media literacy and 2000s nostalgia for fans and hate-watchers. New episodes every Saturday. Start at S1E1 or jump to your favorite mess. Unofficial; not affiliated with ABC Family/Freeform.

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