Parenthood

Parenthood

Episode 16: Tough Love

By: Carlos Uribe

Parenthood is a show about parenthood.

Spoilers Ahoy!

All television shows, no matter how great, tend to have situations that can only happen on television. There is nothing wrong with that because it can be very entertaining. Take tonight. Crosby goes to the pharmacy to get some cat allergy medicine. He's accidentally given the pills that Zeek is supposed to take for his heart condition. This leads to Crosby freaking out about what's wrong with his father. He goes to his mother but she stays mum. He tries to get the truth from Zeek during a basketball game, but he doesn't succeed at first. It isn't until the end of the episode that Zeek reveals the truth to Crosby. It's a nice touching moment. This was an entertaining sub-plot and it started to spread the knowledge about Zeek's heart problem. It'll be no time before the whole family knows Zeek's medical condition. This show will hopefully explore the the reaction from Zeek's children.

That sub-plot was nothing compared to the Max storyline. Max still doesn't have any friends. During PE class, he's always picked last for basketball even though he's really good. The other kids simply do not like him and do not give him a chance. He tries to use his aspergers condition to get out of playing basketball because he doesn't like being excluded. It takes a while, but eventually his parents decide to write a note excusing him from playing sports. They do this when they realize the problem isn't with Max, but with the other kids. With Max benched, he starts to talk to a physically disabled kid who also can't play sports. They quickly develop a friendship. Max now has a friend! The end scene when the disabled kid came over to play was a great Parenthood moment.

Kristina also had a hand to play in the Amber storyline. Amber is getting closer to Bob. Bob gets called to do a small business speech in Sacramento and he takes Amber along with him. She's his assistant, so this doesn't raise any eyebrows. When Haddie sees that Amber is packing sexy clothes, she realizes that Amber is expecting to hook up with someone. She then learns that the trip is going to be just Bob and Amber. She's not an idiot so she tells her mom. Kristina decides to go all the way to Sacramento, which apparently isn't very far from wherever the series is set, and stops Bob and Amber from having sex. Both of them are very angry, but she probably just saved Bob's campaign. Kudos Kristina! This was on my list of my favorite Kristina moments.

Drew had a very amazing storyline himself. He discovers that Mark and Sarah are planning to have a baby. It's at this time that it hits him how serious this relationship is. He realizes that Seth and Sarah aren't going to get back together even though he has cleaned up. He's always wanted for them to get back together. It's his family after all. He also fears that Sarah is going to start a new family and leave her old one behind. It's a very real fear for him to have. His father has left him multiple times so he already has abandonment issues. Even if he didn't, to learn that his mother plans to have a baby with a new man when you're a teenager must not be good. It might seem like she is indeed trying to replace you as you grow up. Drew has a lot of conflicting emotions, very few of them good. It also leads to a great phone conversation between Seth and Sarah.

The weakest part of the episode was also pretty good. It was the Julia and Zoe storyline. Julia tries to get Zoe a job but fails. She doesn't understand why. She simply doesn't understand why Zoe wouldn't jump at any opportunity to improve her life. Zoe doesn't understand why she can't just chill. The two really are opposites. Julia is extremely determined, sometimes to a ridiculous level. Zoe has very little drive. This is part of why Julia feels the constant need to try and get Zoe to improve her life. It's for Zoe's own good. The problem is that Zoe is going to give birth soon. When that happens, she's not going to be in Julia's life anymore. The closer they are, the harder that parting is going to be. Julia does want to leave Zoe better off than before. When she learns that Zoe doesn't have a high school diploma, she decides to help Zoe get a high school diploma.

This was an extremely good episode of television. All the plot lines worked to near perfection. It also had numerous great moments that this show manages to constantly land. The actor who plays Drew, Miles Heizer, did an extremely good job this episode. He managed to show the emotional range he needed to show perfectly fine. The only complaint I had is that I still felt like Crosby getting the wrong pills at the beginning was just too contrived.