Teen Mom 2: Catching Up With Barb

Everybody knows that Jenelle’s mom is the best thing about the entire Teen Mom franchise. She’s the unintended comedic relief on a series that’s otherwise totally depressing, as it’s predicated on young women seeking validation through sex and then exacerbating their self-inflicted misery. Barb somehow manages to lighten the mood through her angry screaming.

So she made the premiere of the new season of Teen Mom 2 worth the very long wait. The show itself is completely outdated, as all of the drama that we’re watching right now unfolded over a year ago. At this point, Jenelle has only been arrested once, whereas in real time, she’s been arrested like three or four more times.

But here’s the thing: it doesn’t seem to matter. The show is still plenty entertaining, and ultimately, these girls repeat the same mistakes over and over and over again that it’s like Groundhog’s day. Jenelle keeps getting high, high (ya both high) with Kieffah. Chelsea is still on and off and on and off with her baby daddy Adam. Kailyn and Jo are still dealing with their acrimony and jealousy. Leah gets pregnant immediately after dating some new guy and then marries him. Same shit, different season. Can we at least expect to find out what’s causing her daughter’s developmental delays? (It’s literally been years.)