Secret Life: One Door Closes Recap

In Secret Life’s Season 4 premiere “When One Door Closes” (June 13th), it’s been two months since Ben and Adrian’s baby, Mercy, died. For Adrian, it might has well have been yesterday. She is still in heavy mourning, despite grief counseling with Dr. Fields. She doesn’t want to go back to school or see anyone. No one knows what to do to help Adrian and she is refusing any real medication. She prefers to self-medicate. “I need to stay home and watch the last year of Oprah and eat whatever I feel like eating. I need to walk in the nursery and look in the baby’s crib and imagine what she’d be doing …,” she tells a miserable Ben who is at the end of his rope. Adrian’s father, Ruben, wants to take her to Mercy’s grave, but her mom doesn’t think that’s the best idea.

Amy and Ricky have been seeing each other regularly these past two months and they are ecstatically happy. Amy has spent more time over at Ricky’s than at her own home. Ricky wants her to just move in and warns her not to ask her parents, George and Anne, for their blessing. Amy says it feels more like they’re playing house more than it’s really their family but she agrees to move in. Ricky is “a little more than a boyfriend and a little less than a husband,” she says, so she doubts her parents will approve. Anne would at least, wouldn’t she? Amy still admits to feeling a bit guilty that things worked out so well for them and so terribly for Ben and Adrian. Ricky’s not having that. He feels bad for them, too, but they are just not going to be some kind of weird foursome. Nothing anyone does is going to jeopardize Ricky’s newfound happiness.

Toxic Sibling Ashley is actually the only one home when Amy starts getting the rest of her things out of the Juergens hacienda. Ashley has gotten her way and is leaving to travel around the country with her study buddy, Toby, but is Ashley happy? Are you kidding? We’re always hoping they will somehow add a layer of humanity to Ashley’s creepy personality, but no. This is one mean and rotten kid. She tries to make Amy feel guilty about having the time of her life while Adrian and Ben are miserable. She can’t resist the chance to throw some cold water on Amy’s happiness. Ashley warns her that when Ben and Adrian break up, Adrian will come after Ricky. Amy swears she is not with Ricky to keep him away from Adrian. She loves him and he makes her happy. “I hope you stay happy and I mean that,” Ashley says, not very convincingly. “Safe travels,” Amy says. “Safe sex,” Ashley retorts. Ack!

Ben later prevails upon Amy to pay Adrian a visit. Adrian makes it as awkward for Amy as possible, then says Amy can talk about Ricky if she wants, it’s not going to bother her. She loves Ben and he loves her and the only good thing that has come out of losing Mercy is that she knows she can count on Ben for the rest of her life. Then she asks Amy to be honest about Ricky. “Has the sex changed anything?” Amy says she’s happy for the first time in her life and they’ve decided to move in together right now. Adrian is a little shocked but thanks Amy for being honest. “Now this conversation feels real,” she says, “Not like you’re tip-toeing around my feelings.” Later Ben confesses to Amy that he feels it is his fault the baby died for saying he didn’t want to be a husband and a father. She reassures him that one single scared moment did not invite this horrible fate upon Adrian. Ricky comes upon Amy comforting Ben.

Leo’s executive secretary, Camille, tells him she is looking for a new job. After 25 years and what they’ve been through in the past two months, Leo can’t believe it. He offers her a raise on the top of the last raise he gave her and even a promotion to vice-president. He demands to know why. Camille can’t exactly say she realized she’s in love with him and she can’t take only being his right hand in the office anymore, so all she says is it’s time for a change in her life. Leo obviously feels betrayed. We were really surprised to see Leo get mad and even more surprised when he just cut her off with “Goodbye, Camille.” Seriously, after watching Steven Schirippa as Bobby Baccala on the Sopranos all those years, after he got mad, we were almost expecting him to say “You’re dead to me, Camille.”

Grace has gone to Africa with her stepdad for a couple of weeks as a volunteer. Kathleen is still tripping over Tom’s relationship and marriage plans with older single mom, Rachel, and tries to talk to him about the pitfalls of marrying. If they get divorced, she will get half his money. Tom doesn’t care about money and is very offended. Kathleen goes to the thrift shop where Rachel works and interrogates her prospective daughter-in-law over why she would want to marry someone with Downs Syndrome. Rachel tells Kathleen about her horrible marriage where she was severely beaten in front of her kids. She doesn’t see a man with Downs Syndrome when she looks at Tom, she’s see his big heart. He’s funny and he’s sweet. MIL test pass with flying colors! Rachel gets an okay to move into the guest house with Tom. What about Jack? Kathleen says he can move in the main house if he wants. Jack is pretty sure that will go over like a lead balloon with Grace, never mind Grant. Kathleen says Grant doesn’t count. Huh?

In the final scene, Ben and Leo are sitting together after dinner discussing Leo’s chianti intake. Much is unspoken between the unhappy father and son. Ben asks about his relationship with Betty and Leo says he doesn’t believe in discussing his wife with his son. An apologetic Ben gets up to leave, but Leo apologizes and asks him to sit back down. “Don’t say it out loud,” Leo says. “I don’t want to be married anymore,” Ben blurts out. “Neither do I,” Leo says, “but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Next week: In “Another One Opens,” (June 20th), there looks like there’s going to be some trouble brewing between the “weird foursome” all the same. Ben and Adrian breaking up is just too pat, so we’re not going to say that looks like a sure thing. Betty wants to take Camille’s place in the office. That sounds like a step closer to that marriage breaking up, doesn’t it?

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