IvySpice

Well, Myrka has put to rest any lingering questions about whether there was any love in her house. She thought that family members being nice to each other and acting happy to be together was something out of the movies. I’d die of shame if my child said such a thing on TV...much more so than if she were pregnant. Aden is smarter than I gave him credit for. Terrible taste in women, but there are a couple of brain cells knocking around up there. He basically said, “Jenna, you dumbass, don’t you see what a good gravy train we’re riding here? Shut up before you get both of us thrown off!” Now that’s a kid with a clue. Ah, but does she? The baby’s other parent would rather house his infant daughter with some random stranger than risk upsetting his useless mom. So he either has crummy judgment or no grasp of his responsibilities. Meanwhile, Tiarra is like “We have lives [which I doubt] and can’t be expected to rescue your baby!” So Tyra is realizing that she’s the only one who’s equipped to protect that child. Shame on Alex.

Curious what those jurisdictions are. I am a lawyer and I have never seen such a law. That's not true in Texas, anyway. The pregnancy may emancipate the minor for purposes of decisions about the pregnancy, but not in the sense of freeing the guardian from support responsibilities. If the rule in your house is no pregnant teens, then the way to enforce that rule is to put long-acting birth control in your daughter, not to kick your daughter out of the house. It is illegal in Texas to refuse to support your minor child, full stop. The county may be too busy to charge Myrka's mother with neglect, but that doesn't change the fact that she's committing it.

Emiley's mom did not impress me during her season, but she's a way better parent than Diego, so I'm glad there are two adults in the house to love that baby. What double standard? No one's applauded a teen dad's idea to move hours away from his kid to go to the satellite campus of a crappy college so that he can fulfill his dream of being on the ping-pong team. Tyra is way less stupid than her castmates, and I hope she graduates from college however it is achieved. But that doesn't mean this plan is wise when there are less expensive colleges close to home. Her family has no college alumni to advise her, and it shows. My whole life in college revolved around my a cappella group, so I know something about passionate devotion to a hobby with no professional potential. It's not a good use of time for a young parent.

No, it isn't. If she said that, she was lying or in denial. It's possible that cheer is making it possible for her to go to that particular (crummy) college hours away from her kid. There's a public community college in Hopkinsville that costs $5k/year before financial aid, and she could be with her infant. A Pell grant would cover the entire cost. Campbellsville didn't even give her a spot at the main campus -- which is an hour closer to her child. She's at the satellite campus. And if you order now, they'll throw in a set of steak knives! Now how much would you pay? I can't believe I forgot to mention that Jenna DISCLUDED herself from her friends! A real brain trust over there.

This came up last year. She doesn’t have a cheer scholarship. There are virtually no cheer scholarships that cover the cost of attendance, or even full tuition. She could be going to college much closer to home and paying less by doing the first two years in junior college. She’s spending all this time away from her kid for a hobby. It’s insane. I can’t believe Dad bought her the fucking car.

Cast members are pronouncing Myrka's name with a flipped Spanish R, which is why English-speaking ears might hear Mee-ka or Meed-ka. Re Myrka's mother: it's not OK to set a line beyond which you will cease to parent your minor child. Being clear to the child about where the line is does not make it OK. You can be angry, disappointed, and heartbroken about how your child has behaved, but you don't stop loving them or letting them know you love them. If she still loves Myrka, I sure couldn't tell. Also, as much as I think Myrka would have been better off with an abortion, I don't think she would have been better off with a FORCED abortion.

In big cities in blue states, sometimes. Elsewhere, hell no! There's still a ton of abstinence-only "sex education" happening in this country, if there is health class at all. It is not even legal for school staff to give condoms to minors in most school districts. In tonight's show, we saw kids from Kansas, Texas, Kentucky, and bumfuck Pennsylvania. I'd be very surprised if any of them had a day of real comprehensive sex ed in their lives.

I can't tell you how excited I am for a fresh season of this trainwreck. TLC, you have outdone yourselves. It's...mwah. The fact that someone like Jenna is reproducing makes me weep for the future. Spoiled isn't genetic, but stupid is. You can't diagnose personality disorders in a teenager, because, well, teenagers are often pretty narcissistic and dramatic, but Jenna really came off like she's going to be a piece of work long term. Myrka's mom...damn. I mean, I snark on low-income pregnant teenagers for fun, so I have no claim to moral high ground. I'm also an abortion enthusiast who thinks most of these girls would be a million times better off if they'd made that choice. But Myrka's mom is not offering judgment or tough love. What she has on tap is cruelty. Not to mention illegal abandonment of a minor. You DID sign up to feed and house Myrka for 18 years, and there's no rule she can break that lets you off of that hook.

What the heck else was she going to do as a dancer during Covid? Broadway's dark; ballet and opera are dark; even Hollywood shut down for months. The NFL is basically the only game in town, entertainment-wise. If she hadn't done the DCC tryout, she would have spent the last 8 months catching up on Netflix like me.

Yeah, in an American context, "stick to your own kind" is bound together with racial/ethnic hostility. I don't think that's true for people who want to stay in a tribal culture. Yazan didn't want to leave his family/clan/culture behind. He's not longing for freedom from those rules and expectations. He wants a bride to join him in it. Brittany makes zero sense as a piece in that puzzle.

Brittany and Jenny BOTH need to understand that "he's a grown ass man, he should make his own decisions" is a subjective, relative cultural norm, not a natural law. That's not any kind of desirable value in India or in Jordan. B's and J's behavior is just American ethnocentrism and cultural imperialism writ tiny, and they don't even see it. To them, their cultural beliefs are universal truths. It's exhausting. I mean, I believe the same things they do. I think our way is better. That's why I married a Westerner who shares my beliefs and we live in the West. They should give it a try.

Well, that was a departure. I am actually rooting for these two to end up together. As usual, it seems absurd for parents to focus on the propriety of 15-year-olds living together when they are PARENTING THEIR CHILD, but those kids needed space for reasons having nothing to do with sex. Kali can't go through life with Auston as the only method she has for coping with her anxiety. I wondered how Kali's parents ended up with such a nice middle-class life. Even in LaPorte, IN, that was a really nice house on pretty hilltop property. Some FB stalking suggests that her dad went to trade school and became a union carpenter. Nicely done, Dad Kali. The parents also run an Herbalife/nutrition storefront. There are not a lot of Austons out there. Teen girls, do not try this at home!

I would like to hear Kash's grandma, etc., say to Kash: "See that smashed windshield? Next time that's going to be your head, or your baby's head. Is that all right with you?" Then I'd like to see Grandma and Mom take out their own restraining orders against him irrespective of Kash's decision on that point. "You can see him if you want to, Kash, but he committed a felony at my house, and he can't come around here ever again." I couldn't believe that they were talking about him "acting like a child" and needing to "grow up." I've never known a child who smashed a brick through a windshield, and ones that do need to be in residential treatment for everyone's safety. Right? That was domestic violence right then and there. He was just testing to see whether she'd object to being hit gently. She let him get away with it, so he knew he was good to scale it up. Grandma Kash was all of us when Kash said "I thought he'd pull out," and Grandma did the "Oo, oo, ooh" that means, "Oh, you poor stupid child." I think this was the first episode we've seen that was entirely staged and shot by the cast, and a few scenes in, I forgot that it was homemade. Maybe MTV can save some money on camera people, because it worked fine for me.

But that was a relatively recent (80s or later) tract house in Northern Mississippi. What developers in Northern Mississippi build 1-bedroom houses with separate dining rooms? And why would Scott buy a one-bedroom house even if he were able to find one, taking on the huge project of turning a windowless attic into usable living space? I call shenanigans. Either the producers organized the conflict, or Miley Grace was never supposed to live with them.

Mr. Cam's smirk and eyeroll were intolerable. That said, this is one of the only dads in the history of the show who related to his infant like a parent. He was both tender and playful. I mean, think about how many times we've seen a dad acting emotionally attached to babies. Essentially never? Maybe Corey in the Leah episode way back when. We heard zero complaints from Lady Cam about him refusing to get up at 2 AM or change diapers, and since this show likes to play up disappointment, that suggests he's actually pulling his weight in hands-on parenting (if not in providing or in household chores). Also, IMHO, Lady Cam did not wear the baby weight well and was way less attractive with that pudge in her face, and we didn't see Mr. Cam calling her a fat stretch-marked bitch or insinuating that Sadie isn't his because she resembles Lady Cam (and does she ever). They even gave her a lovely classic name. It's pitiful that all this makes him a top-5% 16&P dad, but it does.

Madison's mom was wearing scrubs at the meet-the-in-laws dinner, so I took her to be a nurse or related professional. Whose giant McMansion served as the baby shower location? I figured that was Madison's mom's house, and was pretty impressed that she or one/more of her exes was that well off. I was thinking, hell, there's room for everyone in that palace and they can even stay out of each other's way. But then we saw a much more ordinary one-story brick house labeled as "Madison's mom's house," so the baby shower house was clearly not where they live.

I hated EVERYBODY in this episode except baby Kaezleigh, and I hate her name with a burning passion. This is who's reproducing? That's a pretty sad picture of the human race. Korey's mom did the best she could, but let's get real: a family of three in the living room with Grandma in the bedroom is not a reasonable way to live in America. Madison's mom was terrible on a number of levels, AND she's right that Korey's not sticking around in the long term with his homely, uneducated, unmotivated girlfriend. And he has money to spare to smoke weed in somebody else's house? No thanks. The whole point of moving out of Korey's mom's place was for Madison to breastfeed in peace...and then she doesn't breastfeed. Great. It's all just a festival of suck.

Lord, lord, lord. I can see why they chose Rachelle despite her being 19. The ultrasound tech observes that the baby looks like mom and Chase says "UNFORTUNATELY"? Ha ha what a funny joke for a depressed and insecure pregnant teen, you heartless shitstain. And then he has the gall to be so confused and wounded that she left? At least he was employed and actually showed an interest in being around his child. That alone puts him at like the 80th percentile of dads on this show. I got the sense he was pretty disappointed to be having a girl. Maybe that's why he got to pick her name. Little Boston sure is adorable with her wee hairdos, though. No lie. If you wind up with three teen pregnancies out of four daughters, maybe YOU are doing something wrong, folks. Their plan for pregnancy prevention was to "give her everything"? Except Depo-Provera, apparently. Iris seems to have made quite a life for herself; she has a partner and happy-looking kids and a gorgeous house right up against the mountain, and real estate in L.A. is not cheap. I don't know what the parents had in mind for her -- maybe she was supposed to be Sonia Sotomayor -- but it doesn't look like she ended up as a teen mom nightmare scenario, by a long shot.

I know this is a terrible idea and an inevitable disaster and they should totally not be doing this, but...I was kinda touched by both future parents being so thrilled about the news. I wish that every pregnancy was greeted with so much excitement and delight. Charming is right. There might be some underlying personality disorder there -- wasn't this like his 15th arrest for selling drugs? I could have sworn we saw a freaking yearbook's worth of mug shots. But damn, that boy is fine and sure knows how to come across sweet and lovable. Also he's not an IDIOT. Can't you see he's paying the rent, Heather? He's keeping a roof over your fool head by getting on the landlady's good side. And you're going to have a conniption fit because he's not paying exclusive attention to you? Yes, the daughter's look could have been a lot better, but her baby was ADORABLE. I'm usually more into pets than babies, but that was one gorgeous little dumplin'.

I forgot to mention the sign on the family compound to this effect: "No trespassing; I've got firearms and a backhoe." I had two uncharitable thoughts: 1. How stoned would a burglar have to be to imagine that property had anything worth stealing? 2. It just has that "Jesus of Nazareth" ring to it, right? I guess the Gospel of Arkansas is the one where Jesus shot and buried the Philistines.

Yes, and saying at the end that she had become more than she ever dreamed of. Um, you told us earlier that you dreamed of being a lawyer. I'm a lawyer with no kids, and I'm living a way better life than she is, not just materially but in terms of stability, freedom, a partner, etc. I wish she had taken her shot at making it out of Cletus Springs. Maddening, isn't it? Little Camille Victoria needed some good old-fashioned child support checks a lot more than she needed a second person getting up at night to make bottles. At least Madisen and Christian had shockingly good taste in classic names. I always expect crap like "Nevaeh" out of these teens. As soon as she said she'd been turned down for Medicaid, I was thinking, "Did everybody on that compound vote? Who for? Are you going to clue in to the fact that that's a big part of why you're in this mess?"

I forgot to mention this. The theory that this was all planned for TV is a plausible one. But it's also plausible to me that the recovering-addict daughter of an addict would make risky decisions about this that don't make sense to those of us who grew up in healthier families. Don't underestimate how much someone in Brittany's position longs for her mother to finally, finally stick with recovery and be a mom/grandma. And the grandmother may have been begging for solo time with the kids after months of apparent sobriety. It's very hard in that situation to put emotion aside and make a neutral, rational judgment to maintain a boundary.

Agreed. He'll just keep breaking their hearts. What a weasel. I hate Sarah for being pathetic and seeking drama and her ridiculous blaccent, but she's clearly changing a lot of diapers, and a parent who just shows up sober every day is a parenting superstar compared to Michael. Now, Lacey...I went to look for spoilers about this triplet pregnancy and couldn't find anything, which strikes me as weird for someone who makes her living as a webcam girl. A triplet pregnancy has to send pregnancy fetishists right over the edge, so she should be cashing in, right? How come we don't see explicit photos everywhere?

Be still my heart. This is exactly what my bored pandemic household needs.

All adult Mormon men who follow the program are/become priests. They get a sort of junior priesthood when they are 11 (or when they are newly converted adult men) and full priesthood at 18. There aren't professional clergy except at the global leadership level. 8-year-olds in intact Mormon families would usually be baptized by their fathers, though that would happen in the font at church, not in a swimming pool. Andrea is having fun with us with ideas like unblessed food giving you Covid, but it's plausible that she would worry on behalf of an unbaptized child. It's a very common belief that the Holy Spirit is with the child following baptism. A child over the age of 8 who isn't baptized is believed to be missing out on blessings and guidance they would experience after the ritual.