It seems like it was just yesterday that I sat down to watch the first episode of ‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager’ — oh, what a day it was. Back in 2008, I thought the show was fresh and exciting. A pregnant teenage girl in high school just screams drama! And the cast’s attractiveness — Ricky Underwood (Daren Kagasoff) in particular — didn’t hurt either.
I found the innocent Amy (Shailene Woodley) an unlikely character to be in such a predicament, but I stayed glued to the saga because as a natural romantic, I wanted a happy ending for Amy and Ricky. It’s sad to know that after this final season there won’t be any more rumors flying through Grant High School.
In the first couple episodes of the final season, the same characters continue on in all their original glory. Amy bought a hideous wedding dress, suggesting once again that she actually does not want to get married to Ricky. Ben (Kenny Baumann) still loves Amy and continues to scheme to win her back. George (Mark Derwin), Amy’s father, and Anne (Molly Ringwald) are in the midst of a major custody battle for their son. Adrian (Francia Raisa) is happily engaged to her college boyfriend, but still insists on meddling in Amy and Ricky’s life. Grace (Megan Park) and Jack (Greg Finley II) are still together after Jack suffered a coma at the end of last season.
If it sounds like the show has become a soap opera, that’s because it has. After meeting at band camp — Classic! — Amy and Ricky’s lives changed forever, and they brought their friends along with them.
Each character seems to have taken a turn falling for each other — Ben, for example, has been in love with Amy, Grace and Adrian. With so many budding, failing and simply absurd relationships, the rumor mill in Grant High School ran off the charts. Watching each of the characters go through the motions of love was, to say the least, exhausting and yet completely worth it. Where else can I see one baby delivered by a teenage girl alongside the same girl’s mother’s pregnancy with her third child and then that teenage girl’s ex-boyfriend — not the father — getting pregnant with the next door neighbor and losing the baby weeks before it was due? If you can’t keep up with that — you’re missing out.
Whether you’re brand new to the show or have been following since the beginning, the final season is bittersweet. I take heart, however, in knowing my favorite actors have bright futures. Woodley, for instance, will play Mary Jane Watson in ‘Spider-Man 2,’ and I personally believe that Daren Kagasoff has tremendous potential to be the next Tom Cruise. Even as we mourn the ending of an era, rest assured that this is not the last time you will see these well known actors.
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