Bad behavior has repercussions for the teen moms.
Two of the four moms are dealing with the ugly realities of co-parenting after a bad breakup and it’s certainly not pretty in the least. Maci and Ryan’s custody mediation arrangement is quickly falling apart around them as they both get more stubborn about their rights while trying less and less to at least act like they don’t despise one another. In the same boat sit Amber and Gary, who are now completely estranged.
Amber can’t drive so Gary keeps daily custody of Leah, which is eating Amber up inside (making her surlier, if that’s possible). Sick of his ex, Gary lets his mother take their daughter to Amber’s on Halloween, as he can’t muster the patience to be in the same room as her and relegates their communication to phone and text only. Watching these four adults continue to fight in front of their kids is heartbreaking, as we know these poor kids are already ingesting way too much drama and anger in their little lives.
What’s even sadder is that Ryan is just coming off as a petulant lout now. He tells his supportive parents half-truths about Maci’s actions which then spur them to become angrier at her for perceived custody slights that also impact them. It’s a sad scene to watch as his mom and dad egg their son on to sue Maci for custody, as well as their sour faces at the joint birthday party they all throw for Bentley.
Yes, Maci isn’t totally guiltless with some of her selfish choices but she’s at least inviting her ex to participate in big dates and events in Bentley’s life. Ryan is just being spiteful and petty instead of looking out for what’s best for his kid. Always sullen and bored, Ryan doesn’t even look happy to see his son at the weekly custody exchanges. It’s also sobering to realize that as Maci and Ryan try to navigate being adults for their baby, their own parents aren’t behaving like standup models of behavior either.
Elsewhere Catelynn and Tyler are (surprise!) realizing that keeping up an apartment, feeding two cats, paying bills and everything else in between costs a lot more than they expected. Both go out on job interviews. Ryan tries to get a gig at a pizza shop and Catelynn at a boutique. As they await the decisions of their possible respective employers while babysitting Catelynn’s rowdy little brother, they wisely recognize exactly how hard their lives would be if they had kept their daughter. They get good news when both are hired. Now we get to see how they balance school, work, and life as 18-year olds.
Lastly, Farrah is in finals mode for culinary school graduation. She’s practicing her cooking basics and putting together a last minute business plan for an Italian/Asian fusion restaurant that she has dreams of opening in San Jose someday. With some guidance from her “executive MBA” mom, Farrah presents her final and then later tells mom that the panel of judges were unimpressed by almost every aspect of the project.
They thought her concept stunk, commenting that perhaps her fusion mash-up has never been done before for a reason (they might have a point). They also debunked the numbers her mother provided for a preliminary budget (which ruffled her mom quite a bit). Maybe they weren’t all wrong because they called Farrah out for her bad attitude too. Of course, Farrah doesn’t get self-reflective over that comment at all, but she does look panicked at a celebratory dinner for her “graduation” with the possibility looming of her potentially failing out.
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.