Parenthood 3.18 “My Brother’s Wedding” Review

Season three of Parenthood may have stumbled a bit more than I anticipated back in the fall, but last week’s episode gave me a lot of hope for the finale. “Remember Me, I’m the One Who Loves You” was the equivalent of a late inning three-run home run to pull within one run of the other team, a massive episode that dialed back the histrionics and brought several major plots to near-climax. It may have taken a few unnecessary shortcuts, notably hooking Crosby and Jasmine back up and immediately running them down the aisle, but you had to feel that the show was saving the best for last in one final push for a fourth season.

“My Brother’s Wedding” had a lot going for it and hit some of the emotional beats perfectly, but I can’t help feeling like it was quite rushed. Instead of letting some of the storylines breathe and end on less than perfect terms, the finale had shades of a series finale with every Braverman getting his (or her) happy ending. That’s all well and good, but it takes some of the power away from the rawer emotional moments. Case in point: Mark and Sarah. I knew pretty early on that their rekindled romance wouldn’t last, with Jason Ritter only signing on for 13 episodes and getting his own pilot in contention this year, but their break-up over whether to have children was poignant and had a lot of truth to it. It may have been inevitable, but that didn’t stop it from being the moment in the finale that hit me the hardest, thanks to Parenthood having shown the deep connection the two had established all season. And highlighting the fact that just because there’s love, trust, and commitment there doesn’t mean that a relationship always works was a nice move to bring a little reality to the situation. Sometimes people break up and it’s okay; it may be sad, but it’s nobody’s fault. Having Mark pop up at the wedding to randomly propose to Sarah took the power out of that scene and undercut how much of an emotional impact it had by taking the easy, “romantic” way out.

Mark and Sarah eventually finding their way back to one another is one thing, but this was Parenthood hedging its bets. If the show comes back, they can chronicle the next stage in their relationship by keeping Mark around and if it doesn’t, Sarah got her happy ending.

Joel and Julia’s plot suffered this week for similar reasons. I hadn’t been a big fan of their “buying a baby” plot, despite the great acting from all involved, until last week when Parenthood went against my expectations and had Zoe keep her baby. The final meeting between her and Julia was pitch perfect writing, a tense, awkward moment where there wasn’t any right thing to say or do. Again, like Mark and Sarah’s break-up, it was honest and realistic, a painful closing of a chapter and a chance for Parenthood‘s humanity to shine through. Julia’s never been much for vulnerability, but you had to feel for her and after last week’s episode brought down her guard, she was still very much wounded. But the last minute sky baby/deus ex machina retroactively made that episode not as naked as it had been. Not even a week after going home without a baby, Joel and Julia are parents again, at least temporarily, and it felt like a major, major faux pas to make that decision.

Aside from how frustrating it is to add in another speaking role to a show that tends to forget about certain members of its cast, it was just unnecessary and more like a band-aid for last week’s ache than a touching occasion. Plus, it cut off any chance at Joel and Julia getting to the bottom of what they went through recently; there could be fantastic material in watching the two of them pick up the pieces, but instead, it’s like they lost a puppy and Mama Braverman went to get them another one to get their mind off it. Rather than let Joel and Julia feel, the show shoves another child at them in some attempt to make everything better, but it just deflates last week’s episode. If they get to be parents again anyway, the moment Julia sees Zoe in the nursery with her baby goes from absolutely crushing to more of an unfortunate speed bump and it deserves more than that.

Not everything was negative, though, with the backyard wedding actually being one of the highlights of the episode. Instead of making it a Crosby/Jasmine love-in, the show just covered the scene in music and let it be simple, tasteful, and charming. I’m still not into the idea of a quickie wedding between the two, but if it had to be done, Parenthood did right by them. The reception provided a great chance for the Bravermans to be together in one area after spending a lot of the season apart, with the crowning moment being Adam’s speech about Crosby that let him know they wouldn’t be taking the offer. Adam had been a hothead all season, on the edge about his children growing up, the new baby, and an unstable work environment. He had always been a little holier-than-thou toward Crosby, but that stress combined with the closed quarters made an already iffy relationship that much more iffy. Adam finally “getting” that Crosby is a good man underneath all the immaturity and starry-eyed optimism made up for all the times Adam spoke out of turn or judged Crosby without even knowing the situation. The reception got a little confusing before the reveal, though, with Adam telling Haddie she wouldn’t have to worry about Cornell indicating that he had taken the multi-million dollar offer. If he’s not taking the deal, how is he getting the money to pay for an Ivy League education?

Perhaps my favorite moment of the episode, though, was the final moment with Amber and Bob. You knew she had to choose and her rationale made it sound like Amber finally has her head on straight. Although I loved her and Bob and thought Kristina acted like a shrill maniac going to Sacramento and getting her, I think choosing her career over her love life was a step in the right direction. There’ll still be that tension between the two of them, but Amber finally has a real direction in life and something that she’s very good at. It’s worth it to take the shot and get herself together before falling into anything serious with a man, especially since her mother had such a hard time finding what she wanted to do in life for so long.

Parenthood ends its third season in an interesting place. It had already been a season focusing on change and transition and the finale fulfilled all of that, with each Braverman moving on to a new phase of life before the end of the episode, but it felt a little too compressed and cliff noted. Parenthood is wonderful at the little details and creating moving stories from life’s intricacies, but with several plots tonight, they skipped all that and simply gave us end results. I don’t necessarily begrudge Parenthood for wanting to go out on a positive note, especially if this is their last episode, but the happy endings tonight weren’t really earned. It felt like most of the episode had been written and someone came through demanding resolution, so things got shoved into the writing that could have been decent stories if they had arrived later next season. Resolution is one thing, but if it gets in the way of natural storytelling, I’d rather have a hopeful, open ended finale than one that plugs all the holes but feels very artificial.

Thoughts, Quotes, & Observations:
-You guys. Billy Riggins. I mean…whoa. Neat season bookend, too, with a Friday Night Lights having made the premiere.
-Crosby checking Kristina during the fight with Adam was a thing of beauty.
-“Think big, Vote Little”: Great campaign slogan or great campaign slogan?
-Drew losing his virginity to Amy not getting any more coverage than that was surprising. I figured that’d make it into the regular season run, but better late than never, I suppose. (Also, aww, Drew.)
-“Party Rock Anthem” was recently used in a Parks & Rec episode and now it made it into Parenthood. Next NBC show to feature the former #1 hit? My guess: get ready for a Harry’s Law dance party.
–Parenthood creator Jason Katims talked to TV Guide about the finale and his hopes for season four.
-Vulture put together the five weepiest moment in season three. Do you agree with their choices?
-Thanks to you guys for sticking with me this season. I appreciate anytime you read, commented, or e-mailed me and I think we had a pretty decent season of TV to talk about this time. Here’s hoping we all reconvene sometime in September for more time with the Bravermans.