There's an element to cheating that raises a thrill. Stacking the deck, pocketing cash from the tip jar, and relying on chemicals to improve a person's performance all alter the outcome of a specific situation—and give a cheater a boost of excitement at his or her efforts to get ahead on the sly. But that's exactly where the thrill ends. With cheating, someone always loses. The other gamblers, the coworkers who need those tips for rent, and the athletes relying on their own strengths to win the race not only lose to a cheater's maneuvers, they lose to a lie that cheating is an action one can take without paying for it. The cheater's high will eventually settle, and when the dust clears, there are truths to clarify, hearts to mend, and regrets to live with.
When it comes to cheating in relationships, the results are no different. There are no winners. The lies that are spun make the situation no better than if the truth were told. The individuals involved are succumbed to a vulnerability that is suddenly void of the protection, security, and love once felt before the cheating occurred. But, if there's anything Parenthood has taught us about cheating, it's that there's an entire family to give you sense when your brain fails miserably, or to stand behind you when you can no longer hold yourself up.
And it is here that we find Crosby, hoping desperately to find forgiveness, repair damaged relationships, and restore faith in himself and in his family.
Let's recap, shall we?
The Family
As much of an ass that Zeek can be, especially with his tough-love attitude towards Max, I have to agree with him: blood is indeed thicker than water, which is why the united relationship that Zeek and Camille have now is the support system this family needs right now.
Adam and Kristina are faced with explaining Asperger's to Max. I can't even imagine how to do this. It's worse than the sex talk. It's worse than the death talk. Syndrome's aren't tangible, especially to someone who is smarter than the average person and yet can't put an image to this concept and understand what it means. When Max runs upstairs after their first talk, one can only wonder if this reaction means he's relating his syndrome to a fatal illness. But, the triumphant moment that Adam and Kristina have when they tell Max how great he really is is what makes parenthood a worthwhile concept: there's a heart and soul in that boy, and he deserves love like anyone else.
Sarah operating on no sleep is hi-freaking-larious. That being giggled at, it's a refreshing take to see her writing. She's doing something she's excited about, that she's good at, and that exposes her emotions and thoughts in a creative measure. And even though she was a nervous wreck when Mark caught her kneeling at his door, Sarah's taking leaps and meeting challenges and discovering a reason to get up in the morning.
Two weeks ago, Crosby had drinks with Gaby. Later we see him apologize to her for being too forward. Yet, he and Gaby spend the after-party doing the horizontal tango. If we pause for a moment, we would realize how confusing this is to Gaby and to himself. You either are or aren't that kind of person. You can't play fickle with which parts to act on. Even in an emotional moment, there are choices to make, and throwing cross fire at yourself doesn't help those choices.
But that's as far as I go with the words against him. Because yes, he was stupid for sleeping with Gaby, but let's think about this: mistakes happen. And before you throw stones at me for seemingly belittling his one-night stand, think about the situation. What good is it doing to not talk about it? What good will come for Jasmine when she wakes up months later and all she has are wonderings as to why things happened the way they did? No, I'm not suggesting that Crosby's infidelity be forgotten. What I am suggesting, however, is that ignoring him is only going to rip the family apart and create even more of a hostile environment for Jabbar.
Not to be left out of the drama, the Crosby-Jasmine break up has put Julia and Joel in an awkward situation. Having to decide the monumentality of a sleepover isn't an understatement. But here's where I get stuck: if Jasmine is so against Crosby and his being in her life, why would she encourage socialization with his family? It seems contradictory to her actions of throwing him out of the house. That being noted, should Jasmine be considered family, even through all this? I'm a little shocked at it all, given her history with: 1.) not telling Crosby for 5 years that he has a son, and 2.) pulling Jabbar away from the family for the New York period. It's not like she has a track record of allowing Jabbar to know his family all these years. So yes, even though Crosby cheated, I'd say Jasmine needs to take a beat before she continues acting as though his family is her family and she has a right to give them her side. But, drama aside, quite possibly the best outcome so far of this awful situation is Joel telling Julia that he will never cheat on her. Sometimes, even if everything is momentarily perfect, a partner just needs to hear that cheating will never be an option.
The Miscellaneous
Finally, Mark Cyr Jason Ritter Mark Cyr is back. He's so charming it makes him beautiful. He's so charming it makes me lust after him. Because he plays a nerd and probably is a nerd and he makes Sarah weak in the knees and their banter is one of the things that makes her eyes sparkle.
Dr. Pelickan is a pretentious little man. I mean, seriously. His responses to Adam and Kristina when he hears details of their conversation with Max are a little on the cocky side. Duh, Dr. P., we all know you would have done it better. Because you are better. You have practice. Get off your high horse. Or maybe I just heart Adam too much to disagree with him.
The moment that Sarah realizes she's actually worth something is a moment we all covet. At some point or another, we all need someone credible—someone meaningful to us—to tell us that our existence on this big blue marble has merit. Sometimes that realization hits us at age 6 when our gymnast talents move us from the Y to a competition gym. Or at age 12, when we test in higher math levels and our paths are directed to a career in engineering. And sometimes, that realization happens at age almost-40, when being a bartender is fine, but not enough to settle the soul and make life livable.
MVP of the Night: Zeek, for being the only one with enough brains to give Crosby the hug that he needs.
Funnypants Line of the Night: "I get a little freaked out in the daytime." Mark scares Sarah when he approaches her house. He calls her the cat burglar, reminding them both of her stalking his door at an earlier moment, to which she exclaims that "the cat burglar worked during the day; that's not scary," Mark's only retort is an admittance of fear of all things sun and shine. Ha.
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