The Secret Life of the American Teenager (TV Series) Thank You and Goodbye (2013) User Reviews

Terrible finale to a jump the shark season *Spoilers*

[jusmarhet · 1/10 · 31 January 2018]

This show started to waver in season 4, but season 5 fully jumped the shark with the Xmas episode and continued on to swimming in chum for the finale. Perhaps the writers were bitter about the cancelation and this was sabotage?

By the end, I despise the once sweet and well-meaning Ben. His body is taken over by a creepy stalker who is self-righteous, manipulative and arrogant. I wish that pimp had beat HIM into a long coma instead of Jack (who didn't need any more help being pathetic).

So Amy left her son behind in the name of school again. She was unsure until the bitter end, but her mother was there to push her and tell her that she deserves a life of her own. Two poor examples of mothers here. Anne is living vicariously through Amy and Amy only wants to be a mom when it's convenient for her.

Ricky got the shaft. I couldn't stand him the first couple of seasons. He matured and became a responsible father and did his best to make the hard-to-please Amy happy. While I appreciate the way he stepped-up and became the voice of responsibility and reason, they took it too far when he started playing dad to his peers. All work and no play makes Ricky a dull boy.

Grace's little dance after she told Jack to leave was so shallow, he looked like he got kicked in the gut.. Adrian's break-up and almost immediate make-up seemed contrived to give the character something to do (and to break everyone else up). Henry & Alice getting back together provided a line for the actors. Madison and Lauren - who cares. No Ashley? No Nora? No Kathleen? Half the episode full on flashbacks? I could have skipped the entire series and caught up with the finale.

Disappointing finale to a brilliant TV series.

[fthurston-29424 · 5/10 · 30 August 2015]

OK so Im not giving it any lower then a 5 but the finale did not deserve higher either.

OK so there already is an awesome review up on here about the show so Ill leave that to you (that person) I just want to address some things you said/asked.

First of all as someone who has watched all of the episodes of both Brenda Hampton's shows (7th Heaven and Secret Life) I have to say, she sucks with finales! The 7th Heaven finale was just as bad, believe me!

But what she does that earns her credit is that she creates shows that are about life and deal with life's issues in a well meaning, family oriented way. The likes of which I have not seen in any other show. (Yes I do love other family shows, but Brenda's warmth in her shows separate them from others). So I hope she brings out another series, because Im there if and when she does.

OK so to address other things.

Why couldn't Ashley appear one last time?

A) I completely agree with you! I actually (stupidly) assumed they'd at least bring her back for the finale. No such luck.

Did Amy actually love Ben or not?

A) It is so hard to guess on this one. I guess the writers wanted it to be 'open for interpretation' (which is just a smart way of saying 'we ain't deciding for you'). In 'my' world, yes she did and they lived happily ever after in NYC. Yes I loved Ricky, but I loved Amy and Ben more then Amy and Ricky.

Did Ricky still have feelings for Clementine or did he simply say he didn't because he wanted to do the right thing and marry Amy?

A) I don't think Ricky ever had romantic feelings for Clementine. I think they were just good friends growing up. She was like a rock to him and vice-versa but he never saw her as anything more.

Not that I care much for high school ceremonies because they're meaningless, but why did this episode not have one?

A) I am sooooooo with you there! I was outraged that we got Ricky, Adrian and Jack's ceremony, but not Amy's? Bens? Grace's? etc. They should have included something even if it was just their names being called out and showing them receiving their certificate.

The show for me became more of a drag from S05E20 onwards Ill admit and it took me an entire week to finally push myself to watch the last 3 eps (not because I didn't want to say goodbye, but rather because I was over it). But Shailene Woodley I am a fan for life! Greg Finley, from day one you had me hooked (for all the right and *wrong* reasons hehe)! Ken Baumann, what a brilliant actor, loved every moment and Darren Kagasoff, you shone for the show I think more then the rest, teaching us all that no matter where we come from or who we are, that we can be whomever we choose.

I thank you Brenda Hampton for your second awesome series! On the series as a whole 10/10! Very very pleased for you (Oh and thank you for bringing back familiar faces too- Beverly Mitchell and Mackensie Rosman (cheeky, cheeky! But loved it all the same).

WORST ending to the WORST show

[gabking · 1/10 · 15 June 2015]

Ello IMDb. M'name is Fernanda and Secret Life is the WORST show I have ever seen. If you only read one sentence of this entire review, let it be this: I registered for an IMDb account solely to express how absolutely awful the finale was. Most of the episode was flashbacks and u NEVER get closure for half of the characters, who suck anyway! In all honesty, I have never seen a worse series finale. And that includes How I Met Your Mother. I really just do not know how the show went on for so long. I started watching it on a dare and my friend and I took over a year to complete it. I.... PLs save yourself your time, attention, and dignity. U can still get out while u can. It is too late for me.

Peace, love, Fernanda

So glad I skipped most of seasons 3-5! WORST ENDING EVER!

[slfroedge · 5/10 · 14 June 2016]

First of all, I loved all of the cliché in the series. I found it to be pretty accurate for high school. That made it fun to watch. The acting was good, and especially Ricky's character. He played the perfect good badboy. At first, I loved Ashely's politically incorrect honesty. Her character seemed to digress rather than develop like Ricky's. Amy was constantly annoying, so unless that is the actress' personality, bravo! Clearly, half-way through season 3, I just knew I'd be in for disappointment. So, rather than invest any more time or emotional energy on this drama, I skipped to a couple of episodes in seasons 4 and 5, and then to the end. No Jane Austin endings here. So many unanswered questions. It was like Brenda lost her vision in the end and just wanted to stop writing the show. As another poster wrote, "My sole purpose for joining IMDb was to express my utter disappointment in the finale to this show. :( 7 stars for the series. 1 star, less if it were possible, for the lame finale.

For People Who Have Watched The Finale Only!

[natalie-maines3 · 1/10 · 31 August 2013]

One more warning before I begin: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD! Let the writing begin! This has to be the worst series finale I have EVER watched! Grant it, the show was never great to begin with, it was still interesting enough to watch. After seeing the series finale I feel the show should have either been canceled after the 3rd season or the show should have continued on for another season or two, maybe even three. The final season started with the introduction of 2 new characters as series regulars Ethan (Grant Harvey) and Kathy (Cierra Ramirez). Characters whose stories closely resembled Ben and Amy's in the first season of the show. George (Mark Derwin), Anne (Molly Ringwold) and Ashley (India Eisley) were taken off as series regulars and appeared as guest stars only. A very beautiful and sexy girl, Clementine (Marielle Jaffe), from Ricky's past appeared in several episodes. There was also the addition of a 15 year old reformed hooker taken in by Leo (Ben's dad).

The finale was absolutely horrible. It was one of those final episodes where there wasn't any closure for the characters or their story lines, the audience wasn't given any definite answers to crucial questions, and so many plots were introduced in the final season that the show actually had enough material to continue for several seasons. What makes this finale even worse is that the writers and creator, Brenda Hampton, had plenty of time to write a decent ending to the series given that they were notified during their season 5 hiatus that the final 12 episodes of the season would be the final episodes of the series because the show was not going to be renewed.

Here's what happened in the finale: Jack and Grace break up (you never actually see them say it's over), Adrian who was least deserving of a happy ending actually gets a happy ending when she gets back together with her boyfriend after breaking up in a previous episode, Ethan and Kathy don't appear in this episode, India Eisley is credited as a guest star even though she only appears in a flashback, about half of the episode is comprised of flashbacks, making the episode even worse, Henry and Alice get back together, Ben is going to live in New York and attend the same school as Amy, Ricky finally hears the truth (the fans don't see Amy admitting anything, only Ricky's reaction to the news) and learns that Amy doesn't want to marry him and is going off to New York, leaving Ricky and John (Ricky and Amy's son) behind in California. During Ricky's emotional outburst at Amy, he asks her if she still loves Ben to which Amy looks away and never answers, and Ricky points out that he gave Amy several opportunities to back out of the wedding only to hear Amy lie to him and assure him that she really did love him and absolutely wanted to marry him. I have always hated the character of Amy and this added to the hatred. Amy was always an immature child who blamed others for her problems and never took responsibility for her actions. 3 years (as far as the show goes) and a child later, Amy has not matured once and her selfishness only grew with every single episode that aired. As for Ricky and Amy's break up, the emotional scene went on for about a minute or two and was actually an interesting performance by Darren Kagasoff, but things took an odd turn when Ricky suddenly goes from crying, being angry and saying he hates Amy to quickly saying he didn't hate her and they would always be friends. The next scene is Amy with her parents downstairs in front of the butcher shop and Amy having doubts about leaving, leaving, then coming back to the shop, expressing her reservations, leaving, coming back again, and then finally leaving. The final scene is Ricky and John sitting on a couch as Ricky reads him a story and says "And she lived happily ever after" before the camera pans back and then fades to black.

Being a fan of this show and watching this show was an absolute waste of time. To go through 120 episodes only to watch the 121st be this terrible was such a disappointment. The whole premise of this show was that the story lines surrounding these characters were almost a fairy tale and corny at the same time. Yet, in the final episode, the writer and creator of the show decides to introduce reality to the lives of the characters the fans grew to enjoy watching. Instead of keeping the fairy tale going, Brenda gave the fans an episode of reality. Hampton decided to pop the fairy tale bubble of the show on the last episode and served up a plate trash. Imagine watching a science fiction show that takes place on an alien planet and the final episode of that show then takes place on planet earth during western times. That's what the ending of this series feels like. From the start of the final episode, there was an odd vibe that fans were about to see an episode that was not going to be pleasant. I will never watch anything Brenda Hampton has anything to do with.

Why couldn't Ashley appear one last time? Did Amy actually love Ben or not? Did Ricky still have feelings for Clementine or did he simply say he didn't because he wanted to do the right thing and marry Amy? Not that I care much for high school ceremonies because they're meaningless, but why did this episode not have one? It's not a good thing when you have this many questions after a series finale. In the end my biggest regret was watching this show from the beginning. What a tremendous let down.