AnythingCanBe

Whoops! I forgot we have to go back 16-ish years from when the show was set to get to Pearl's conception. Duh. Still a terrible arrangement, but it makes a bit more sense. The law still hasn't completely caught up to all the ways people become parents these days. I can't imagine how much uncharted territory there was in the 80s.

On that note, did they ever explain why the Ryans took such a sketchy route to surrogacy? I imagine there were surrogacy agencies or other formal ways to make arrangements in NYC by the 90s, but maybe I'm off on that? I know they wanted someone who looked like Mrs. Ryan, but there are ways for agencies to set that up. What made following a teenager off the subway and handing her a turkey baster seem like a good idea?

I've been thinking the same thing as the bolded. In the season one, for example, we saw the childhood moments where Kevin treated Randall like an outsider and how that shaped them and their relationship into adulthood. Now, we see the childhood moments where Randall belittled Kevin and we realize that the hostility wasn't so one-sided. I bet if you asked Kevin and Randall to tell you about their preteen years, you would get slanted pictures too. Not sure if it's intentional by the writers, but it's interesting. I'm getting to a point of struggling to empathize with Randall now though. On an arguably brighter note, this show actually led to my having a really good conversation with my mom this morning. My parents have been dragging their feet when it comes to living wills, estate planning, etc. They're in their early 60s and fortunately are healthy, but nothing is guaranteed. We got to talking about how it's really important for them to make their wishes known now so my siblings and I aren't left guessing and fighting one day if my parents aren't able to make decisions for themselves. The show really made clear how unhealthy difficult sibling dynamics can be magnified when parents are aging/ill. My siblings and I are close, but we also have some personality differences and history that I bet would bubble up if we have to make tough choices about our parents' care one day. Thinking about it from that angle made a big impact on my mom.

Potentially dumb question: Was there something particularly upsetting about the painting that I missed? Sure, it might not be to everyone's taste, but I wouldn't expect an ugly painting to be annoying or anxiety inducing in the way that the other things Randall got upset about were. With the hissing noise for example, even though Randall was insufferable about it, I could at least understand why it was part of putting him on edge.

It's disturbingly fascinating to me to try to picture how these social media overshare conversations between spouses play out. Like are they sitting next to each other on the couch while publicly tweeting deeply personal things to each other? Do they read it aloud to one another? Are they even acknowledging any of this in person? So bizarre.

Ultimately, I think the judge was very right about some things and very wrong about some things. It's just a reality that there were things Jack and Rebecca couldn't offer Randall. We saw in The Pool that they managed to go eight years without learning how to care for his skin and hair. We saw in the episode with the martial arts school that Randall was craving black role models. No amount of love would allow Jack and Rebecca to fully understand formative experiences like being called the n-word for the first time or being followed around a nice store. Raising a black child isn't the same as raising a white child, and I don't think it's racist to acknowledge that; it's just honest. Where the judge went wrong was in assuming that those difficulties meant Jack and Rebecca couldn't raise Randall at all (especially after he had been in their family for over a year). As we've seen, they eventually developed ways to bridge the gap, and Randall grew into a man who is both very confident in his blackness (side note: I loved the head scarf and coconut oil line!) and loved by his white family.

I think people might be remembering the line that was something to the effect of "He got a shooter into the Pennsylvania State Capitol." I believe that was a reference to the shooting Cyrus set up last season to make Vargas a hero. The victory celebration was in Philly.

I can't find it right now, but I think Shonda or someone on the production side of things once tweeted that the painting is a nod to Jesse Williams because he's really into shoes. I'm interested in a lot of things that I wouldn't necessarily want a giant painting of, but to each his own I guess. Now that you mention it though, it's kind of odd that Jackson wouldn't take that with him. Hell if I were him I'd take the whole apartment back and make April find a new place.

I totally agree. That dilemma is why I go back and forth with watching this show. On one hand, I find people like Chelsea boring because I don't tune into a trashy reality TV show just to see a competent adult going about her daily life. On the other hand, the train wrecks like Jenelle and Leah are more entertaining but they're also screwing with the lives of innocent kids. For example, it's hilarious to watch Addy down sugar packets until you stop and realize that probably happens regularly because she's not being watched and/or not being well fed.

This is great news if true. Family court judges generally aren't falling over themselves looking for reasons to give primary custody to fathers, so a judge must have finally seen that there is some serious shit going down in Leah's house to award custody to Corey. I wish this could serve as a wakeup call for Leah, but I worry it will only speed up her downward spiral. I sincerely hope she gets it together. When I saw her name pop up as a trending topic on Facebook, my first thought was that she had OD'ed or gotten in a car accident or something. I think Leah, unlike Jenelle, does care about her kids and could be a decent mother in the future if she wises up and gets a whole lot of help (and not the Mama Dawn/enabling/therapyNOTrehab version).

I'm a little late to the party here, but I don't think this has been posted. Us Weekly has the official wedding photos. Tyler must be thrilled. http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-style/pictures/catelynn-lowell-tyler-baltierra-wedding-album-teen-mom-2015278/46763 I've been skeptical of this couple since the will they/won't they wedding planning, but they do look happy. I wish them the best.

For what it's worth, I agree with your first and last points. I respect that Chelsea isn't a hot mess like her co-stars, but that's not saying much. In the grand scheme of things, she's essentially just a functional adult, which IMO is nice but doesn't make her such a saint that she's immune from snark. I just find her annoying to be honest (and not just because of the voice). Obviously that's my personal opinion and not some great character flaw of hers, but regardless it sure meant I did a lot of fast forwarding this week. She was particularly grating for some reason. As to your last point, I wouldn't go as far as to compare her to Leah, but I could see Aubree being a handful as a teenager. She's adorable, but she has a defiant streak that Chelsea doesn't seem to be great at handling. Also throw in her potential daddy issues, and things could get rough. Sadly, I guess a lot of the sweet little ones on these shows are destined to repeat their parents' mistakes.

I think many posters here are hitting on something about both Kail and Leah that drives me crazy: They think that mothers are inherently more important than fathers. Their men are simply interchangeable. They should be thanking their lucky stars that they have the baby daddies they do. Not all girls who get pregnant at 16 with guys they barely know are so lucky. I bet Chelsea would kill to have someone like Jo or Corey as Aubree's dad. Instead of encouraging their kids' relationships with their dads, Kail fights Jo at every turn and tries to turn Javi into Isaac's dad, and Leah moves her kids in with some random dude while she spirals out of control and poor Corey has to struggle to get half the week with his girls. It makes me sick.

They weren't on the way to Florida yet. Javi planned a night out (in Philly I think?) and then they were going to stay at a hotel that night so that they could work on things before going to Florida. Because apparently these people are so miserable that they need a pre-vacation before the real thing. I just can't buy that Javi is still in the Air Force with such a cushy schedule. I'm not from a military family so maybe I don't know the lifestyle, but I assume that most airmen, you know, work. That's the thing that I can't figure out about Adam's friend. Is he an unattractive middle-aged guy, or is he a twenty-something who's been living even harder than Adam? He's one step away from the "after" picture in one of those scary meth ads.

Did anyone catch poor Isaac bouncing off Kail's ass when they were playing soccer in the closing montage? That was just good TV.