Season 2, Episode 19: Taking the Leap
Mr. Holland! Richard Dreyfuss! guest stars on last night's episode. While we love him so much, his character is less than snuggly. As Gilliam T. Blount, we get annoyed at, flustered with, and defensive against this ass of a man who is giving Sarah a verbal beating. But, you know, he's Richard Dreyfuss, so we just stare starstruck at him, his pinky ring, and his shortness of stature and tact.
Everybody who's anybody has acted on faith at least once or twice. (In my case, it was that day I had to retrace my whereabouts during a bank heist that may or may not have happened in Sleepytown. But that's not up for discussion right now.) The Braverman family is no different, which they prove to us time and time again, and last night's episode of Parenthood was no exception. Adam and Kristina must decide if Max is ready to face the challenges of a mainstream school. Amber's future is in limbo. Sarah is uncertain about her play's merit. Crosby hopes a trip down memory lane will incite forgiveness from Jasmine. And Julia's desire to get pregnant hits an unforeseen roadblock.
Let's recap, shall we?
The Family
Zeek got a hold of Sarah's play, made a few copies, and—because he's the fatherly figure that insists on taking care of his little girl—he called in his Army slash Broadway-producer friend Gilliam T. Blount to help Sarah with her play. Always jumping the gun, Zeek spends the Gilliam-and-Sarah conversations assuming G-money is producing her play, whereas Sarah is really only receiving his opinions. It's quite the hilarity, especially when Zeek wants to have a toast at the exact moment Blount tells Sarah that a key moment of the play "sucks on every level."
While on a walk, Kristina and Max stop by the Lessing's house where Kristina is greeted with a surprise: Gaby has been hired as Noel's behavioral aide. Kristina offers some damning words to Suze and Gaby, and storms off in a huff that leaves us all super annoyed with Kristina's (im)maturity.
Meanwhile, Adam and Kristina are called into Max's school, where they learn that Max is doing remarkably well in all areas—so well that Footpath would have to restructure a curriculum specifically for Max if he continues to attend there. Therefore, it's recommended that Max gets mainstreamed. For us laypeople, that means non-specialty schools. Like, public school. Like, he would encounter the weirdos that roam the planet (that's you and me). Adam and Kristina argue about the situation, an argument that is heightened when Adam calls Sycamore Charter to set up an appointment for Max without Kristina's agreement. However, Kristina receives some helpful advice when Gaby stops by the house. Though Kristina is initially put off by Gaby's presence, she eventually warms up, affording Gaby the opportunity to provide some comfort and apologize for the Crosby incident. After all of this, Kristina and Adam decide to risk their deposit at Footpath and put him in a new, mainstream school.
Also dealing with a school issue is Amber, who applied to Berkeley and one alternative, her safety school, and should hear back from either any day. During these pressure-filled days, Amber goes to work at Julia's law firm. Wowed by the office and the opportunity, Amber enjoys her days working as a runner for the firm, until she's found high, jamming to music in Julia's boss's car, and freaking out because she didn't get in to either college. Julia advises that Amber talk to her mom about it, but Amber is worried that Sarah will be mad.
But Sarah can't be mad. Because she's got her own confusion and disappointments to worry about when she receives mixed reviews from ol' Gilliam T. Blount regarding her play. He thinks the current state of the play is pretty much worthless, but that the direction it's headed slash the potential it has is genius. Sarah takes these criticisms constructively, but struggles to agree with Blount on its overall value.
The one bright star in the Bravermans' lives is Jabbar. He is selected as "Star of the Week" in his class, which gives Crosby and Jasmine an opportunity to bond over their son. They each separately help Jabbar work on his poster for class, and then band together as a family for the "Star of the Week" celebration at school. While talking about their family, the memories appear to soften Jasmine. So then we all love her and vote for her and wish we all had her amazing hair and clear complexion. Later, Jasmine stops by Crosby's boat and seems happy and positive. But really that's just her passive-aggressive tone. We hate that tone. It's a tone that says horrible things all while wearing a sweet, sweet smile. "I'm not ready to forgive you, Crosby, and I don't know if I ever will be," she says. And with that funky attitude, she tells Crosby she's moving on.
Disappointments also abound at the Graham household. Julia takes a pregnancy test, which turns out negative. She suggests that Joel and his sperm-fish may be the problem. Joel visits the doctor and finds out his fish swim just fine. Happyhappyjoyjoy! But. Julia also got tested, and her results aren't so wonderful. She's got a condition that makes it unlikely to ever get pregnant again. Feel free to hit pause here. You should have started the episode with the box of kleenxes. Duh.
The Miscellaneous
Gary (guest star Scott Michael Foster) is a valet at Julia's law firm. We all knew he was coming, and have been anticipating the storyline for Amber. But please, Gary, cut your hair. Or at least comb it before you show up to work next time. Thanks.
It's Adam and Kristina's decision to mainstream Max that reminds us that a life without leaps prohibits us from knowing the unknown. Sometimes a child needs new challenges. Sometimes the path to college needs a few hurdles. Sometimes a play needs to be read, forgiveness needs more time, or desires need miracles. But all of these moments—these happenings, these life-altering events—could never have been possibilities if leaps and bounds and tears and fears were never addressed.
MVP of the Night: Sarah, for enduring the forced attention on her play when she's not ready for it, and therefore handling her vulnerability with class.
Funnypants Line of the Night: Sarah sees her father coming out of the bathroom with some papers sticking out of the back of his pants. "What do you have in your pants, Dad?" she asks. And then Amber's quick wit kicks in: "What kind of question is that?" Go ahead, rewind to moment 2:52. You'll notice no one takes a beat, and the scene just moves right along. It's brilliant, and you're welcome.
0 comments:
Post a Comment