<p>I thought most of the episode was excellent and a return to its past glory. I actually cried, which I used to do all the time with this show but I haven’t done for months. </p>
<p>The Drew storyline is what got me. I loved the way he told Natalie that he can’t afford to make her choices because there’s no one to catch him. But I hate how responsible he feels for Amber and carrying that weight on his shoulders. I have a college sophomore who is struggling with some of that now. Also, Amber becoming the responsible one and taking care of Hank’s dd. And Crosby having to be an adult and accept responsibility.</p>
<p>I think I cried in part because it started to really feel like the end. The show has meant so much to me and ds2.</p>
<p>I agree that the portrayal of Kristina’s job is unrealistic, but then that entire storyline is! What bothered me was having the friend of Max’s at the house all the time and settling in like one of the family. That just would not happen in this day and age.</p>
<p>I finally got to watch last night. I thought it was a good episode. I was sad for Drew that he feels he can’t follow his passions. But I actually think it is pretty realistic. Fingers crossed that the Luncheonette finds their way out of their troubles!</p>
<p>The only unrealistic thing would be for Hank to not know his daughter is allergic to PEANUTS of all things! That would have been drilled into his head and anyone who spent any time with Ruby. But I get it, it’s a TV show. :)</p>
<p>I hope Hank goes back to Sandy and his family and Sarah finds someone appropriate for her. Knowing that Mark is supposed to make an appearance make me wonder whether that’ll happen.</p>
<p>Man, the Drew stuff with Zeek also kind of wrenched my heart. I like that Natalie told Drew to suck it up.</p>
<p>Good episode. Zeek was great this week. The scenes with Drew Joel were really touching. Joel FINALLY woke up!! Amber was great (a trainwreck, but great). Max was great (the system has broken down). The scenes with Hank were great, but boy I couldn’t handle someone who was so clueless. I don’t think I want Hank and Sandy to get back together. But maybe Sarah should realize he isn’t right for her. </p>
<p>YDS I disagree with Natalie telling Drew to suck it up. He has got major exams at a tough school and Zeke is demanding that he come out and play ? What would we say if Drew blew off five hours because a friend wanted to go canoeing?</p>
<p>Yeah I get that granddad wanted to spend time with him but I thought Zeke came off selfish. He should have encouraged Drew to put his studies first. </p>
<p>Loved Hank. How has Ray Romano not been recognized by the Emmys? </p>
<p>It’s funny but I finally have become so used to Hank that I no longer see him and think Ray Romano- which I did for quite a while when his character joined the show. How many episodes do we have left? I’m going to be so sad to see this show go.</p>
<p>We’ve had 7 episodes so far. I know because I am keeping them on my DVR for D to see when she is here for Christmas. She has just acquired the Parenthood habit this year and is streaming Season 4 right now. According to my Twitter feed, we have 2 more episodes before the winter break. I guess the final 4 will air during February sweeps time.
I am not a Sarah fan, but I hope Hank doesn’t ditch her for Sandy. I did like the Hank/Sandy scene where he told her he had Aspergers, but I don’t know how someone could be involved with a spouse like Hank and not suspect some kind of issue. Just one of the things I have to buy into in order to embrace Parenthood. Has anyone else noticed that sometimes it seems like it’s a school day and then the next scene implies a weekend day?</p>
<p>In terms of Natalie and Drew … We are seeing that Drew is on track for an ulcer as he feels so hyper-responsible for Amber and the baby and his mom, etc. I think Natalie reminding him that there is life outside the classroom and getting him to lighten up was a good thing.</p>
<p>The show is geographically challenged. Drew drives for ten hours with his sister like it’s nothing and then says he drove forever to get from Berkley (or SF if he picked Zeek up) to get to Oakland. These people go back and forth from SF to Berkeley like it’s nothing. Oakland is just not that far away. </p>
<p>For a show called Parenthood, the parenting depicted is almost always terrible and this episode had some of the worst. Max shoves his mother, starts a fight, creepily stalks a girl, and all he gets is a speech from Kristina about how brave he is? He has to go into the real world one day. And the Ruby storyline was also ridiculous…and Hank just lets all those kids who have been drinking in his wife’s home presumably drive off? Unfortunately Sarah wasn’t there, as she is the only one who ever seems to have anything sensible to say to Ruby. Previews for next weeks fall finale look suitably cliffhanger-y.</p>
<p>When things were up in the air as to whether or not the show would return this year, the largest uncertainty cited was the high cost of the actors. In order to come back to wrap it up, they had to agree to reduce costs by having some episodes where some characters wouldn’t appear. I suspect that was the case two weeks ago with no Adam or Kristina and then this week with no Adam, Sarah, Julia, or Joel. Last week’s episode was solid, IMO, but last night’s episode was dismal. I am guessing it’s harder to write the story when you have limited characters in an episode or maybe I just want to give the writers the benefit of the doubt. It would have been so much better to have had Adam in last night’s story lines about the Luncheonette and about Max.</p>
<p>Michael Ausiello, who writes for TV Line and has a weekly spoiler column, has said there is something sad ahead and we will all need our tissues, so I’ll keep watching. Last night’s preview may have tipped us off, but I wonder. Only 5 left to go.</p>
<p>As I was watching Hank at the party scene in last nights episode, I thought of this thread and how everyone would be ticked off about allowing all of the teens to just get themselves home. I was also thinking of the Hollywood version of having Hank clean up an entire huge house (that’s a BIG house for a single Mom!) in a couple of hours. </p>
<p>And Max, yeah that was real stalker like behavior. Excellent acting by the would-be GF, but no way would her character have picked that young guy. I wish Christina would have given HER a hug and told her she did nothing at all wrong. </p>
<p>Agree with all of the above, the absence of some of the actors is kind of striking. I feel like it was an episode that was there to move things along. For Amber to realize Drew is studying Econ solely for her, that Crosby needs to open up, rather than keep it all to himself and that Hank needs to realize that parenting a teenager is tough. But I think the school storyline, which I never liked anyway, is just ridiculous. Why does it seem like there are never any teachers at that school? And in a school for kids with issues, you would think you would have some sort of behavioral therapist/expert running things, rather than Christina who has absolutely no experience with teaching, psychology or behaviors. </p>
<p>I thought it was a charter school. Last night someone said it was a private school. Agree that it’s weird to have characters MIA and that Kristina’s response to Max was unbelievable. And last week when Max was yelling at Amber about how they needed to leave for Alcatraz I just really wanted her to tell him that if he said one more word the trip was off. Max gets away with way too much. He needs some consequences to his behavior and not to be endlessly accommodated. </p>