"And Circumstance" is a The Secret Life of the American Teenager episode from season four.
Synopsis
Grace helps Jack with his little beginning/greeting speech for graduation.
Ricky playfully reminds John not to blow his secret that he's keeping from Amy.
Ricky, Jack, and Adrian all make individual plans for graduation. Jack (preparing his introduction, as mentioned above), Ricky, memorizing his speech as valedictorian, and Adrian, plotting to get one last kiss from Ricky.
As the last day of school begins, Amy reveals to Lauren and Madison that she thinks that John has been saying "ring!" over and over. Amy thinks that Ricky's going to propose to her. Lauren advises Amy not to be too hasty, and gives several possible things that John could've been talking about.
Meanwhile, Madison goes to talk to Jack about what Amy has told her. Jack, who's hanging out with Grant, gets the information and passes it on to Grace, who hears it from Grant as well. Adrian hears it somehow (probably from Grace), and tells Ricky not to propose to Amy, which Ricky refuses.
Ricky runs back to Grant High School after forgetting something, it is a small velvet box for jewelry.
Alice and Henry talk to Ben about the rumor about Ricky's supposed proposal. Ben thinks that Amy would be stupid if she agreed to marry Ricky.
Ben meets up with Adrian, and takes her to Poppi's Tacos for old time's sake before the ceremony.
At the ceremony, Jack does his speech with no problem. Then the principal announces Ricky, who also has won a special award in addition to valedictorian.
His speech is telling everyone about his years of child abuse at the hands of his father, and about how thankful he is to have his foster parents, Margaret and Shakur, and Nora, his birth mother, in his lives. He also thanks Amy, for finally allowing him to love a person, and then asks her to come up onstage. He tells her that he loves her, gets down on one knee and whips out a ring. Adrian, who is sitting by Jack, tries to stand up to stop him, but Jack reaches out and holds Adrian down. Ricky asks Amy to marry him, and she says yes.
There is a graduation party at Jesse's (Lauren's boyfriend's) cabin later that night. Amy and Ricky go together, Ben and Henry go together, Griffin and Peter (along with a new guy who wants to take Griffin away from Peter) are there together, Grace and Daniel are there, Jack is there alone, Alice is there alone, and Adrian is there with Omar. Ben meets a pretty girl with red hair named Dylan, and they hit it off.
Ricky tells Adrian that he knows that she wants something from him. Amy tells him to kiss her. Ricky kisses Adrian one last time, and Adrian discovers that she's free, and that she doesn't love Ricky anymore. Happy, she tells Omar, who is standing right there and saw the whole thing. But he tells her that it was disrespectful to everyone involved, and leaves with Daniel, who is wary of his ex-girlfriend (who is at the party) named Raven. Both Jack and Ben dance with the hurt and lonely Grace and Adrian. Ricky and Amy also dance.
The next morning, the unthinkable happens. Madison got drunk, and she and Jesse have sex. Lauren finds them and is very upset. Ricky and Amy agree to drive her home.
Ben has spent the night with Dylan, (although they have not had sex), and is very happy.
Jack has spent the night with Raven, who Grace calls a "skank". He offers to call her, but she says that he doesn't have to. Grace wants Jack to take her home, which he agrees and she tells him to find Adrian. He finds Adrian in bed with Henry. Adrian is about to get dressed, with Henry asking Jack if he can get a ride, but he refuses by saying there's no room before leaving.
Alice is about ready to leave when she decides to go and find Henry. When she goes upstairs, she finds Adrian getting dressed, and Henry in the unmade bed. She leaves the room in tears, while saying "we'll see who Ben is friends with now, nice going."
Grace is about to get a ride home with Jack when he kisses her. She kisses him back.
The episode ends with Amy and Ricky standing by Ricky's car (Lauren in the backseat). They agree that their life is strange, and they kiss, too. As the camera pulls away, we get a clear look of the lake and of Jack kissing Grace and Ricky kissing Amy.
Note
- Ashley is the only main character who did not appear in this episode.
- This was the last appearance of Jesse and Peter as they never appear again after this episode.
- This is the last time where Ricky and Adrian kiss.