Parenthood - Politics

Over the course of this season, Parenthood has been more about the nice little moments and dramatic arguments than furthering storylines. Actual plot movement have been slow. How long have we been rooting for Sarah and Mark and wondering if they will have a baby? How long have we been waiting to see if Snarky Coffee Girl will actually give her baby to Julia and Joel? Jasmine and Crosby have been circling each other, on and off again, since the start of the series. This episode had some substantial plot development though.

Sarah meets Mark’s friends and his ex-girlfriend. She’s pretty and she dated Mark for six years, through high school and college. Her name is Camille and she climbs mountains or whatever. She kept asking Mark if he was gonna “do Machu Picchu.” Some people can’t take a year out of their lives to train to climb mountains, Camille, because they are real adults. Sarah freaks, feeling old, and also doesn’t want to put pressure on Mark, tie him down, or keep him from climbing Machu Picchu. Mark tries to make Sarah feel included and tells her that they should take a trip and have an adventure. Sarah has a mini meltdown and has to get out of the car, on the highway, walk away from the vehicle and cry.

Sarah turns around as Mark follows her. “Look, I’m 40. My eggs are drying up and they might already be duds. We can’t climb Machu Picchu if you want a baby. We have to start fertilizing now. Get your swimmers in here, or find a younger woman who can gallivant with you now and breed with you later.” Yeah, we put that into our own words. Mark says he doesn’t want any of that. He wants a baby with Sarah and if it has to be now, then it’s going to be now. Awww. Well, then make it already! And please let it succeed. After Sex and the City, Friends, Julia on this show, Grey’s Anatomy, LOST, and Desperate Housewives, we’ve had enough infertility issues. We know. It’s important and it happens to lots of women. It’s heartbreaking. But, for this couple, having a baby will be more interesting to watch than trying to have a baby and failing.

Zoe moved out of Julia’s home, leaving a note, because Sid asked awkward questions like, “What should the baby’s name be?” Sid also asked where the baby will stay in the house. In Zoe’s room? We get Zoe moving out. It was bound to happen after the baby came, because who would want to live with the baby they are giving away for weeks on end? How heartbreaking would it be to live with a family, as part of it, and then have to leave and leave your baby at the same time. We totally get this and actually think that Julia should have foreseen it and gotten Zoe an apartment right off the bat. Zoe can’t express this, so she tells Julia over the phone that she just needed her space.

Julia freaks, wondering if Zoe will continue with the adoption. Joel goes down to Zoe’s cruddy neighborhood and tells Zoe that he needs to know her final decision. Is she still going to give them the baby? Zoe says that of course she is, but she feels that she should have had a closed adoption and really can’t handle all the emotions and the awkwardness of living with the family. We really feel bad for this girl and fear that this story can’t have a fully happy ending.

UGH, Jasmine is still so obviously in love with Crosby that she even knows it. Dr. Joe asked Jasmine to move in with him and she says yes, after talking with Crosby. Crosby tries to keep his cool, but he gets a little snarky. He really should have gone sincere, apologized again for cheating, and asked her to give him another change. By the look on her face, she might have this time. Crosby and Adam go get drunk, and this ends up with Crosby lying wasted on the floor, talking to Lily about Jasmine. Lily doesn’t say anything…yet. But now she knows that Crosby is still in love with his ex. That’s gonna kill Crosby/cello girl. We don’t care that much. She’s a nice girl, but this isn’t a romance for the ages.

We are rooting for Bob and Amber. She’s young, but he’s not married and they are totally adorable. This could come off as creepy or as a powerful man taking advantage of a situation, but Bob seems to sincerely like Amber. They are both adults. There is nothing wrong with it. Bob promoted Amber to be his assistant and then they kiss when they stay late to work, alone. At first, Amber is upset that she was promoted seemingly because of Bob’s crush, but he convincingly tells her that he promoted her because she was smart and he kissed her because he liked her mixture of toughness and vulnerability. We will accept it. You're on this ice, Bob, but we are loving the adult storyline for Amber now that she's out of the house.

Episode grade: B+ for plot progression. Yay!