Oh Lincoln Heights-

Charles and Cassie are still in trouble with the police about his stepfather’s death in the earthquake. Their stories don’t match, Charles is troubled and has a history of violence with the evil stepdad. The corner ruled his stepdad died from a knife wound to the back, casting suspicion on Charles. Charles is scared to tell the truth (that they did fight but that the stepdad fell on his knife and all they did was refuse to left the refrigerator off of him) b/c he doesn’t want to go to jail. Cassie doesn’t like the lying, so this strains their relationship.

Tay’s jealousy over  Nate is reaching a boiling point, putting Eddie in the middle. Tay sees Nate giving a man some prescription pills and tells his parents that he’s dealing drugs. Nate says he was assisting an old army buddy and they get into an argument in front of Jen and Eddie. Eddie believes Nate, further infuriating Tay and Jenn, who sticks up for her son.

Lizze is having trouble adjusting to high school and falls in with some mean girls (who only want to hang out with her b/c she knows Little Miss Popular Sage, who is back btw). Sylvia, her new friend (a fellow outsider) takes exception to her hanging out with the mean chicks and lashes out at Lizze so the mean girls encourage Lizzie to send a mean text (telling Sylvia that a boy she likes said he missed her). Lizzie does it, Sylvia embarrasses herself in front of him and Lizzie feels really bad after the fact, but the damage is done.

Charles flees Lincoln Heights, then has a change of heart and comes back b/c he loves Cassie. The police come to the Sutton house to search Cassie’s things and to Charles’ apartment so he has to hide the tool box containing the stolen cash at Sage’s apt. upstairs. The police don’t find anything and decide to close the investigation but Cassie still feels guilty about not helping save Charles’ stepdad.

Jenn is having trouble accepting the next extended family (particularly the inclusion of Dana, Nate’s mother and Eddie’s first love). Jenn takes up for Tay and wants Eddie to mend their relationship, at any cost. She becomes unsettled when Eddie suggests Nate’s mother go to the clinic where she works to look for a job, but hires her anyway, to do scut work, basically.

The family comes together for Nate’s birthday- Eddie cooks, everyone else, including Nate, decorates- and all seems to be going ok until Dana shows up with a present  for Tay. Eddie invites her to stay and eat, Tay has an attitude b/c no on asked him, Jenn asks her (in private) to leave which sets off Nate and ruins Tay’s dinner. He pouts. The Sutton kids (minus Nate) have a little heart to heart and talk about their troubles. Lizzie tells her brother and sister how she ruined a girl’s life at school and Cassie confesses what really happened with Charles’ stepdad. They bond.

Lizzie apologizes to Sylvia and finds out the real deal about why the mean girls pick on her- the boy in question was dating one of the mean girls and broke up with her to date Sylvia. He was her first love and first lover. She sexted him a picture of her and the mean girls stole it off his phone and sent it out to everyone, causing Sylvia to have a breakdown (and seek treatment at Jenn’s clinic, of course). Lizzie feels really bad and they  (sort of) make up. Lizzie stands up to the mean girls, quits their club and Sage stands up for her when they try to threaten to “ruin her life.” (turns out they were mean to Sage, too, before she was voted homecoming queen).

Nate moves out of the house b/c of all the drama. Charles shows Sage the secret money (mind you- Cassie does not know about this and if you didn’t tune in last season, Sage and Charles have…history. She was the bad girl, rebel daughter of Eddie’s partner who showed up out of nowhere and caused havoc. She pursued Charles, even though he was with Cassie, got into a bad accident with him, fought with Cassie, true frenemies style; but they eventually all made up and were friendly.)

Jenn and Eddie talk about their new family dynamic, particularly her difficulty with it which mirrors Tay’s. He encourages her to accept his Nate and Dana in their lives, she tells him to be patient. The original Sutton family (minus Nate) get together to share Tay’s birthday cake.

I understand Jenn and Tay’s discomfort, but they are both testing my nerves. I mean Jenn, you have the man, the ring, the family, the job and the house. How can you be insecure? His ex had to come to you and practically beg for a job? Get  your life right. Plus, I like Dana (although she was wrong for not telling Eddie about Nate for like 17 years or whatever.

And Tay….please grow up. That is all. Why do I get the feeling that Nate is going to have to save his life or something to finally get some love.

Cassie and Charles are an interesting pair. How far would you go to protect the one you love? Would you lie to the police? Cover up a (possible) crime?

Sage is definitely going to be a problem in that relationship.

I’m surprised Lizzie fell for the peer pressure, but they say high school is a mutha…Have you ever done anything mean that “ruined” another girls life? That’s pretty deep.

Are you watching the show? Thoughts?

What is it with season premieres tonight? I continue to be underwhelmed. This time it’s the Lincoln Heights season premiere. Ok, so I didn’t know it was coming on tonight, so I missed the first showing and decided to stay up a bit later to watch the replay. For some reason, I feel like this show has been off for so long, I forgot what happened last season.

Quick recap (since I’m not sure how many people have seen/watch this show). Last season, the Sutton family, spearheaded by father Eddie, who’s a policeman, and mother Jenn, who works as a nurse, decided to move into the troubled Lincoln Heights neighborhood where Eddie grew up to make changes from the inside out. Lots of drama ensued as the family struggled to become a part of the community and dealt with issues like: interracial dating, marital discord, disconnect between kids and parents, family secrets, tests of faith, teenage relationships, sex, frenemies, death, violence, etc. Oh yes, lots of drama. So at the end of season three, the Sutton house caught fire during the earthquake, throwing the family into turmoil. Here’s the season four premiere preview:

Post-earthquake, the entire family (including Eddie’s newly found son, Nate) is living in a too-small apartment where patience is short and tempers are even shorter. Tay (the youngest son) feels threatened by Nate (the son Eddie didn’t know he fathered in high school). Lizzie (middle daughter) is having some trouble adjusting to her freshman year of high school. Charles (oldest daughter Cassie’s boyfriend) seems to be struggling with some demons secrets from his past, including the money he found in the Sutton’s attic and kept hidden, that threaten to strain his relationship with Cassie.  The family decides, with the (financial) support and encouragement of Jenn’s father to move out of the transitioning Lincoln Heights neighborhood to a much cleaner, quieter, suburban neighborhood. But, by the episode’s end, they realize how much they love their old neighborhood and decide to stay and continue to work in the community. They’re setting up plenty of drama for the upcoming season (as per usual), but we’ll see.

If you haven’t seen it, you might want to check it out. It’s a nice family drama, but not squeaky clean. I kind of like what ABC Family is doing with their shows. When I saw ABC Family, I expected a very unrealistic, safe, sterile view of teen (and family) life. But with this show and The Secret Life of the American Teenager (which deals with teen pregnancy, sex, peer pressure and relationships very heavily but whose season has already ended but that I also am a fan of), ABC Family is tackling some real issues in a way that you can enjoy watching, relate to, and also watch and discuss with your family; like the website says, “It’s a New Kind of Family.” And there’s something (good) to be said for that.

If you do check it out, let me know what you think.