Teen Moms

Wednesday, Anna tried to have a heart-to-heart with Faye. How are you really, what’s bothering you, what’s going on? Faye said nothing other than everything’s fine. How could she say otherwise? She feels she cannot add to her mother’s burdens, cannot disappoint. She would do both if she told her mother the truth. She’s pregnant, and just turned 13. Soon to be a teen mom. 

When her pregnancy story began to be revealed, I thought oh no, the show’s been there, done that. Sarah Louise, barely in her teens, trying to hide a pregnancy. Then I realized that was 15 years ago. The kids for whom this storyline might be relevant were not even born then. That’s the thing with long running shows. Plotlines, particularly those about perennial issues, need to be recycled for each new generation of viewers.

Anna, in trying to get Faye to open up about her teenage angst, took Faye’s mention of Katy as an entrée into talking about choices and repercussions. Katy, Anna said, “made a rash decision having a baby so young”. She has to consider what’s best for the child in all her wishes and decisions. The move to Portugal may be a dovetailing of the two. “She’s got a chance to get her life back on track. Not many girls in her situation get that opportunity.”

Stumbling toward choices

Little does Anna know that Faye is dealing with exactly that situation. Only unlike Katy, Faye didn’t deliberately get pregnant. She is still so young, with no sign of a boyfriend or even interest in boys, that her being pregnant is not a possibility that would even cross Anna’s mind. So Faye is stumbling toward the birth of a baby. Despite the best help of Craig and the internet, she has made no realistic decisions or plans. She’s just trying to get through it with no idea of what comes next.

The return of Sarah Louise’s daughter at the same time is a brilliant juxtaposition. Bethany Platt is a great advertisement for not having a child when you are still very young. Imagine being in your late 20s, only twice as old as your child is at present, and being responsible for the daily care and well-being of someone like her!