Parents Have Problems Too on 'Secret Life of the American Teenager'

COMMENTARY | If there's on thing we learned from this week's episode of "Secret Life of the American Teenager," it's that the parents are just as mixed up as the teenagers.

Adrian's Parents

Amy (Shailene Woodley) was doing laundry at her dad's house when she found Ruben (Phillip Anthony-Rodriguez) strutting around in his underwear. Ruben had not realized anyone would be home. Cindy (Paola Turbay) locked him out of their house after a fight.

As Ruben woefully pointed out, "parents have problems too."

Perhaps this explains why their children are so messed up. Adrian (Francia Raisa) has continued her plan to trap Ben (Kenny Baumann) by getting pregnant again. Will someone warn Ben before it's too late?

Ben's Parents

This week, we finally learned why Leo (Steve Schirripa) came down so hard on Ben for drinking. As it turns out, Ben's mother and maternal grandparents had been alcoholics. Ben's mother had given up alcohol, but struggled her whole life.

This was a sobering wake-up call for Ben, who had previously promised to only drink socially. As Bunny pointed out, he and Ricky (Daren Kagasoff) have more in common than meets the eye (though they do look strikingly similar).

In any case, Ben does seem to have an addictive personality, but more as a serial husband rather than an alcoholic.

Ricky's Mother

Ricky's mother (Anne Ramsay) found herself at a low point. After two years of sobriety, she had fallen off the bandwagon (ironically while trying to warn Ben about the dangers of drinking). After losing her job and continuing on a drinking rampage, she found company in Ben, who sought to help her the way she had helped him.

Nora pointed out that while it was difficult to come from a long line of alcoholics, you also don't want to be "first in line."

Nora finally shaped up when she realized it would be her last chance to be involved in Ricky's life.

While "Secret Life" often offers a cliched take on current social issues, the show actually handled the dangers of alcoholism quite realistically, without venturing in to "after-school special" territory.

Delinquent Stepfathers

Where is Kathleen's (Josie Bissett) husband, anyway? I know he does medical work abroad, but it's been months. Surely happily married people have to see each other once in awhile. Kathleen probably has needs, and she's not short of options. Milton certainly found her attractive, and even Jack (in desperation) asked her to be his date for the senior dance.

Speaking of delinquent stepfathers, Tom (Luke Zimmerman) has realized he's not ready to have a family, so what better way to pawn off his de facto stepchildren than to facilitate romance between Milton and Rachel?

While the teenagers are certainly struggling with their own challenges, the parents have shown they are just as mixed up as the kids. This only shows that growing up will not make life any easier.