From the outside looking in, the Braverman family looks to be pretty darn perfectly imperfect. While they can all be a bunch of know-it-all busybodies that think they have domain over other people’s life decisions, they’re also one of the most loyal, caring, tight-knit group of people on television, a unit that can weather any storm that comes their way. I think that’s why Parenthood has gelled so well at the end of each of the last two seasons; once all 532 members of the Bravermans are dealing with each of their own personal crises at the same time, it’s almost superhero-esque how they all spring to help one another get over life’s many hurdles.
In a season built on change (romantic, familial, personal, and professional), “It Is What It Is” feels like the family reaching near the end of its rope before it’s time for things to start shifting to their next logical phase. With only four episodes remaining in the season, everybody has to get to where they need to go sometime or another, but before that can happen, they have to take the baby steps necessary to be able to fulfill themselves.
The family may not have been together tonight like they were in “Road Trip”, but the plague of newness was spreading rapidly in Parenthood Land, with each of the night’s storylines raking Team Braverman just a little more for good measure. Perhaps scariest of all was Zeek’s medical scare, as the ol’ warhorse was officially diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (abnormal heartbeat); granted, it’s treatable with medication and lifestyle changes, but it noticeably shook him up for the duration of “It Is What It Is”. What struck me was the irony, in that Zeek has been the most vocal about wanting to keep the status quo in midst of all these shifts from his children and yet now he’s being forced to alter his life. He didn’t want Julia to adopt, he wanted Adam to continue giving poor punishments to Max, and he was upset at Sarah helping out Seth, all in the name of keeping things as they were, but this episode kind of opened his eyes to the fact that “buddy, sometimes change isn’t only necessary; it’s pivotal for you to live”. It was a little perturbing to see him jump at the chance to gorge on pizza with Sarah after his earlier diagnosis, even striking me as hypocritical due to how heavily he stresses family/togetherness, but considering how bullheaded the man is, it seemed par for the course.
Also par for the course was the reaction of two Braverman siblings to their children and their college choices. Incidentally, they both invoked earlier storylines this season to great effect, with Drew’s deepening relationship with Amy and Haddie’s jealousy/resentment toward Max coming up again. Even though we already went through the college bump and grind with Amber last season, I’ve enjoyed what we’ve gotten from exploring the older kids and their desire to get the heck out of dodge, mostly due to what it stirs up in those around them. (Drew’s growing independence from Sarah, including tonight’s brush-off at UC Davis, may be my favorite story of the season, if only for the evolution their relationship has taken from the premiere to now.) The only false note that rang from either story, matter-of-fact, was that Adam told Haddie she could go to Cornell, despite the exorbitant toll it would take on his family’s finances. I couldn’t quite feel sorry for Haddie not being able to go to a 60,000/year school, not because she didn’t make a (scathingly good) point about coming in second to Max a lot, but because it felt realistic. Parenthood may luxuriate in its pool of upper-middle class, but this was the type of timely, pointed story that could bring it back down to earth a bit.
Sometimes you work your ass off and the breaks just don’t fall your way, but you make the best with what you got and you keep it moving. Instead of being a sobering look at unemployment and (indirectly) life in the recession, it neutered Adam as a parent and made him out to be the father that lets his child believe in Santa until they hit double digits. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do everything for your child and to keep their dreams alive for just one more day, but in this case, by stringing Haddie along, Adam is just deluding her and setting her up for a bigger fall if/when they can’t get the money to send her to Cornell.
Love is also in the air. Well, I shouldn’t say love, as both fledgling relationships are in the very early stages of development at this point. It’s a little odd to see Crosby with all the power in his interactions with Jasmine, as I got so used to seeing him turn into a desperate little puppy every time she showed her face, doing every trick in the book to make her stay and love him. Now that he’s the one who ended things (and has a beautiful cellist that’s good with Jabbar by his side), Jasmine’s noticeably uncomfortable and it’s a nice flip to the expected dynamic between the two; now that she’s no longer the one with the shiny new relationship, she gets a little taste of how Crosby’s felt for some time and it feels deserved, at least to gain some perspective. I only hope that Jasmine seeing how happy he is with Lilly doesn’t lead to a(nother) reunion between the two, mostly due to how well most of their storylines have landed this season and how there’s inherent tension with them simply interacting.
There’s some inherent tension between Amber and Bob Little, too, but nothing happened. Yet. I must give Parenthood credit for not going to the “awkward drunk co-worker kiss” move (like I predicted in my episode notes), as they’ve already done something like it and it feels too soon for there to be something that eventful going on between Amber and Bob. I mean, I get why they’ve bonded, both being from working class backgrounds and having humor that gelled quickly, but Amber’s only just now getting her life back on track following her time in Bad Girl Ville. It’d be a little disheartening to see her potentially lose focus over a man, especially since she’s the character I most room for to put all the pieces together. I like Amber having a flirt-buddy and I like that somebody understands how bad ass that she is, but it’s putting too much on the line for something that may not be more than a fling. A fun, exhilarating, forbidden fling with a cute boy that seems to “get” her, but a fling nonetheless.
As an only child with a disconnected extended family, Parenthood hits me with a lot of different emotions in the span of an episode. Part of me thinks it’d be horrific to not have an ounce of privacy in my everyday life, but there’s another part, buried deep in the back of my mind, that kind of admires how close the Bravermans are. It takes a lot to be that ride-or-die for someone as Adam, Sarah, Julia, and Crosby are for one another, but it’s episodes like “It Is What It Is” where you see why they stick by one another so closely. Each and every member of the Parenthood family is going through a sort-of rebirth and to be able to make it through and find a new direction in all that madness, you need to have someone to empathize with you. We may not have gotten to see any major emotional breakthroughs on Tuesday night’s episode of Parenthood, but knowing the show like I know the show, they’re coming. And who better to help finish transforming you from a metaphorical catepillar to a metaphorical butterfly than your crazy, mixed up, over-involved but all-too-loving family?
Thoughts, Quotes, & Observations:
-“I thought those things only played nerd music.”
-“She doesn’t even own mittens.”
-“You need to bring the charm.” “It’s been brung.”
-“…you guys are bringing sexy back to local advocacy.”
-You want to know how good this episode was? I loved every bit of Julia/Zoe, especially when the latter gave the former her grandfather’s watch to give to the baby.
-Would you watch a show where Zeek and Camille roam around in their airstream, painting and touring the country?
-Jasmine’s green dress was too fly.
-Drew wants to be a biology major. Any ideas what Haddie will do?
–Parenthood is taking off for the next two weeks to gear up for its sprint to the season finale. (Actually it’s for the State of the Union Address and a repeat, but whatever.) Until we reconvene, feel free to comment below (or e-mail me) with your thoughts on how you think the season will (and should) wrap up.
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