BWW Recap: Progress Made on This Week's PARENTHOOD

This season of PARENTHOOD has been definitely packed with enough drama, and the writers are brilliantly beginning to close up storylines while offering us new ones to keep us busy and immersed enough in the show that presumably we forget that it's ending in, like, December/January. It's a smart move, though as you'll see below, I think the new plot lines in the final episodes of the season - not to mention the season's shortened 13-episode run, which this week drops us down to just nine (single digits, people!) - will seem a bit rushed given the time length.

Hank & Sarah's storyline seems like it'll be the most rushed of all, pretty much like Hank at the beginning of the episode, when he gets a text I can only guess is along the lines of "Ruby & I'll be up in a minute," emphasized by his frantic, rapid attempt to get Sarah out of the bed and out of the room. Of course, Sandy shows up, Sarah opens the door and Sandy sees Hank has not kept his promise. Great. This is one that may turn out to be rushed. While it's quality writing, I'm not sure it's the best use of time, as Sandy's essentially a new character, having only appeared once in the previous season. Additionally, though Betsy Brandt & Ray Romano are fabulous performers, I feel like I'd rather see more of our main performer than give a single scene to two guest stars (okay... fine... Romano's a recurring guest, but still...) And then when Sandy agrees to let Sarah be in Ruby's presence, Ruby wants nothing to do with her. Same as last week. So, nothing's changed. See what I mean? It seems like Joel/Julia & Zeek are the big storylines this season to wrap up, and this one was just thrown in there to keep Sarah & Hank active.

Another one that seemed thrown in there JUST to give Crosby something to do was his Oliver Rome storyline. There's not been much focus on the Luncheonette recently (at least in the second half of the season; UPDATE: I did some research... he appeared once last April 3 with a break from January 9, so... yeah. I forgot about him), so I'm not quite sure why this storyline was prevalent so suddenly. Honestly, I was confused the whole time. However, I'm very glad the issue of Crosby's ribs was addressed and not dismissed, after it seemed like it would be during the end of last week's episode. And Crosby returning the car and going off with the motorcycle a) continues the storyline for next week and b) makes me think Crosby's issue isn't solely with Oliver Rome. Might provide for a nice full-circle moment for him, what with his constant naivety and fooling around (as noted by his siblings)... as in, he may face a moment where he has to actually grow up. Would certainly be a nice note to end on.

Max's new girlfriend. Hmmm. Her name's Dylan, and she's pretty rude, calling Max "Aspbergers" and talking back to Kristina. It's troubling his parents, but the reveal in the end is (to a surprised Adam), of course, Max likes her. This storyline I'm okay with, mainly because, while I do admit it's a bit delayed (again, I repeat 9 episodes left! In the entire series!), it opens a door for Max that we haven't seen open for him yet. He has to expend himself, connect with another, and he WANTS to do it all himself, rather than the prodding and pushing from Kristina and Adam we've seen recently ("Buddy, your mom worked on this school; you should go," for example). But yeah. It's good for him. I just hope, for Mom/Dad's and viewers' sake alike, Dylan lightens up a little bit.

Joel & Julia. Yup. After dealing with Sydney's bully problem (which was waaaay overdue to be addressed, but I get it. Yes, there was Zeek), Joel & Julia confirm once again that the reason Sydney's lashing out is because of.... (drum roll, please) them. Julia decides they should tell the kids that they're officially not getting back together, and Joel is crushed (again), mainly because he didn't want to hear that were officially not getting back together. When they tell Sydney, however, Julia says she's sorry but "they don't know" what's going to happen WHAT?! Could this be hope!? Could Julia be looking toward a better day? Yeah, sure "they don't know" isn't the best answer, but it's a hell of a lot more optimistic than confirming they're officially not getting back together. Um... yay!

And then, Zeek, who initially arrives home considerably weaker, staring at the stairs, and unable to walk without serious help from his family members. He refuses to move for anyone throughout the episode, preferring to lounge on the couch engrossed in watching a consistently repeating marathon of John Wayne movies. Furthermore, when he does get up ("I just wanna take a piss!") he's stumbling, crashing into the furniture, and screaming in pain. Millie wants him up and moving around, but he won't listen to her either. Which is why it's so sweet when Kristina comes in and finally gets him to move. First, though, they share a bonding moment, where Kristina tells him it's okay and things get better, and she was tired, too, (when, remember, she had cancer?!) of people who were able-bodied and healthy inserting "We" into their sentences when they had nothing to overcome. Convinced the family's counting on him to get better and move again, Zeek's reborn and gets off the couch. The episode closes with the two of them walking up the street while Millie looks on, set to the gorgeous "Song of Good Hope" by Glen Hansard. In a final shot, Zeek looks up at the stairs, as he did at the episode's start, but this time, takes Kristina's hand and they climb it together. #Progress.

A solid episode indeed. And, as a side note, can I also mention, even with all the focus all over the place this week, I still didn't notice - until she showed up in a promo for next week's episode - that Amber was missing. But yeah, glad she'll be back to clear up her storyline. I repeat, NINE EPISODES LEFT, PEOPLE!

Sound off on the episode in the comments below! #BravermanStrong

Photo Credit: PARENTHOOD's Official Twitter Page

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