Teen Mom 2 is in an interesting position as the show enters its ninth season.
One of its stars is still making constant tabloid headlines, and yet to watch the show, you’d think her life is more stable than ever.
That’s because David Eason has been fired from the series, and as a result, all of Jenelle Evans’ scenes are filmed far away from her property and feature forced dialogue with the mother that Jenelle has despised for most of her adult life.
Elsewhere in the cast, the moms are growing up and settling down — which is great for them, but potentially disastrous for a show that previously thrived on conflict and drama.
It’s the beginning of a transitional period for one of reality cable’s most popular reality shows — and it remains to be seen what awaits Teen Mom 2 on the other side.
Take a look:
Jenelle Off the Land
Most of Jenelle Evans’ scenes featured her explaining her situation to her mother, Barbara Evans.
Jenelle vs. Babs
Actually, there was virtually no conflict between the usually-combative mother and daughter, as Jenelle and Babs mostly discussed her custody battle with Nathan.
Dramatic Delivery
There was also some tearful talk of how misunderstood and unfairly maligned David Eason is.
To Be Fair …
This was before Jenelle called the cops on David for assaulting her, and before he was visited by the Secret Service for threatening to assassinate the president, and before he was kicked off Facebook for saying he would beat his kids if they came out as transgender …
What a Guy
It was also before he posted this photo of Jenelle on the toilet this morning.
Nate the Not-So-Great
But it was Nathan who was the main topic of discussion, as Jenelle accused her ex of flipping out in court and calling CPS on her for no reason.
A Different Side
For his part, Nate shared a very different story with his super-jacked workout friend, claiming that he was shocked to hear his son accuse David of violent behavior.
Drama In Delaware
Elsewhere in the cast, Kail took the high road in her dealings with her two most recent exes.
Turning It Around
After a rocky start to their co-parenting relationship, Kail now says everything is kosher with Chris Lopez.
Javi Drama
The same can’t be said for Javi Marroquin, who’s apparently been less than a stand-up baby daddy as of late.
New Face, New Foe
At the time the episode was filmed, Javi’s new boo, Lauren Comeau, was still pregnant with his child, but that didn’t stop her from diving right into the drama by allegedly calling Kail a “tw-t” in a series of text messages. Not cool, Lauren!
Messy Messer No More!
Leah Messer, meanwhile, is back together with Jason Jordan.
Ups and Downs
The pair got together (then briefly broke up) over the summer, but last night was the first time that TM2 viewers were introduced to Leah’s new man.
An Older Dude
Leah quickly addressed the elephant in the room by acknowledging that Jason is more than a decade her senior.
Making It Work
Leah explained to her friend that she considers the age gap to be a positive, saying, “If I date someone my age, they don’t get my life. They don’t understand 3 kids, they don’t want any part of that.”
Chelsea Lately
So things are more stable than usual for Leah, but as usual, Chelsea Houska remains the queen of stability.
The Houska House
The Houskas have been house shopping, and it seems they’ve settled on a place in the middle of freakin’ nowhere.
Freakin’ Adam
Yes, their new home is far away from everyone … including Chelsea’s douchebag baby daddy, Adam Lind.
Still the Worst
At one point, Chelsea took Aubree for a supervised visit with Adam — who never showed up to meet with his daughter. Is this guy dad of the year material, or what?
Baby Daddy Drama
It seems Briana feels Chelsea’s pain, as she justified her decision to kick baby daddy Devoin out of her apartment by explaining that he doesn’t spend enough time with daughter Nova.
Enough Is Enough
“I can’t have that in Nova’s life,” she explained to a friend. “You still have a kid, your kid comes first.”
Come Again?
Seems to us like kicking Devoin out would make it even harder for him to spend time with his daughter, but what do we know? Hey, at least someone is delivering the drama this season!