Matt Smith - Page 5

Last week, I said that PARENTHOOD writers were giving us a little too much too soon in terms of introducing new plot lines this close to the end of the series. This week, I take that back. While I'm still not quite sure where it might lead, the episode this week was very strong, and proves why we still need new storylines. It's 9 — well, 8 now — episodes left, but you gotta fill those episodes with something, some type of stuffing that isn't melancholy, reminiscent of series-finale over/undertones, and good material that keeps the viewers coming back until the end, so that the end will be that much more satisfying. This week provided good stuffing.

It's the moment you've all been waiting for, the moment pumped into our memories through various promos and press releases throughout the summer — the recurring neighbors have finally arrived!! I think it's nice that the show is injecting these new characters into the lives of the Dunphys. While I can't really say if it works out with just one episode aired — we'll certainly see in the long run — I think these new characters, for better or worse (hopefully for better) will breathe new life into the show, providing new plot lines for the Dunphys that we may not have ever seen before. Ronny specifically seems like the anti-Phil, so it'll be especially fun to see how goofy, crazy dad we love sizes up to/plays against his neighbor.

This season of PARENTHOOD has been definitely packed with enough drama, and the writers are brilliantly beginning to close up storylines while offering us new ones to keep us busy and immersed enough in the show that presumably we forget that it's ending in, like, December/January. It's a smart move, though as you'll see below, I think the new plot lines in the final episodes of the season — not to mention the season's shortened 13-episode run, which this week drops us down to just 9 (single digits, people!) — will seem a bit rushed given the time length.

This week's episode moves the Dunphys from their house to “the last room at a hotel nearby”; as Claire explains in the opening confessional, they have to vacate the house — for one night — as it's treated for mold. Claire's thinking positively about the family-of-five sharing a room — again, it's only for one night — though a cut to the hotel shows us their stay's been delayed; it's day five, and it's looking anything but the positive experience Claire was hoping for: Luke and Alex butt heads when he interferes with her cello practice, while Claire and Haley quarrel about sharing WiFi usage; Luke then turns on a blender which sets off the dogs in the room next door (which they can hear due to the ever-cliché paper-thin walls). Oh, yes. And in the middle of all this, Phil's found a Charleston Chew, which — to give you a clearer idea of the state of the motel (if you couldn't already tell) — advertises a contest from 2005. The night doesn't get any better, wherein the various members of the family have to climb over each other to exit the bed; except for Luke, who sleeps in the tub. With the single flush of a toilet, the neighboring dogs begin to bark, and the cycle begins again. Yes, the humor here is a bit forced, but it does set up a good storyline, which I'm interested to see played out.

The episode begins with Zeek and Camille talking about the surgery — “The room's got a view” says Camille; “We can watch the squirrels fornicate” mutters Zeek — before the family stops by to wish him luck and offer hugs and words of strength and support. Zeek reassures them there's a 96% success rate, before spilling the beans to the whole family about Amber's pregnancy (before, only he and Sarah knew). Oops. Well, there goes that storyline too. Funny how these big buildups compare to the actual reveal.

Just a note before I begin: as the world's biggest hypochondriac, I rarely watch episodes of TV shows where any character is sick (in fact, “Chirp” — the Season 2 episode where Claire was last sick — is still the only episode in the MODERN FAMILY canon I have not re-watched). Still, as I recall being said in an early interview with Ty Burrell, Chris Lloyd & Steve Levitan (Phil and the show's creators), seeing a character sick means you're seeing them physically weaker, which, strange as it may sound, is a different side to the character. Thus, providing a whole episode about a family illness shows the depths the creators are going to expose these characters' different sides. And to have it be a MAJOR plot point in this week's episode — rather than in “Chirp” where it was just a different thing (for lack of a better word) for the character to have — shows the creators going the extra step, and with such hilarious results, is something I appreciate, despite the fact that I'm fully aware I'll be tuning in to Claire with the sniffles and characters talking about DayQuil usage and headaches.

We open where we left off last week: Sarah stares at Amber and, after a moment, asks her if she's keeping the baby. Amber's answer? Yes. Well, there goes that spoiler. Now, I guess it's just more time to plan the shower. Julia's in bed with Mr. Jeffries (or so he was called last week), and Joel calls in with important news: Sydney's being bullied in school. While this is a serious topic, I was more intrigued by HOW they were talking to each other. They're surprisingly easy breezy while they converse, which could be foreshadowing of a later reconciliation (there I go again!), but then again, Mr. Jeffries is still lying in Julia's bed, and she fails to mention to Joel (she even lies about where she is when she initially picks up the phone). This could get interesting.

We open with Cam, Mitch & Lily taking a new photo for above their mantle (“She's not in the one up there now and we started to get the slight impression it was bothering her,” quips Cam before cutting to one of the less humorous gags). Not the most active of a storyline, but I'm glad they're addressing they might need to change the picture; after five seasons, it's nice that the writers acknowledge the same need for change for the characters that the viewing audience is more or less expecting at this point anyway. But no, the focus of the storyline does not seem to be on the actual taking of the photo, but rather on the unique, to put it nicely, smile Lily gives while she's taking it. Again, it seems like the Chucky-esque smile might be a bit of a bland storyline, but at least it gives Lily something to do. :-) Gosh, can that kid turn out some great one-liners!

Though many viewers were teased that the final season of PARENTHOOD was said to tie up loose ends (and while it may still indeed do that), you wouldn't know it from watching their first episode back from their summer hiatus. Straight from the get-go, we're in the hospital and the “cliffhanger” (ruined by a particularly spoiling promo aired this summer) confirmed what we all were thinking: Amber's pregnant with Ryan's baby. I'm a little upset they didn't keep this cliffhanger going a little longer, but considering it's their final season, they've got much more to do than keep us wondering if the baby is Amber's. (Now we can focus on: will she keep it? With who else will she share the news?

Yes, as this article's title states the honeymoon's over, and in more ways than one for every sub-family within our favorite MODERN FAMILY clan. The literal honeymoon is over for Mitch & Cam, though Cam might not think so, based on his valiant efforts to continue his and Mitchell's romance. It's clear the honeymoon phase is also over for Jay & Gloria, when the latter declares to the former: “[Lately], you don't make an effort to look good for me, and I'm always making an effort to look my best for you.” And the Dunphys' perfect “honeymoon” of a summer is squashed when Alex returns from a humanitarian trip, and it is implied that she is the reason the Dunphys are so uptight.

In last season's finale, Haddie comes home and reveals some news to the family; Joel and Julia show huge signs of reconciliation; Drew gets the Pontiac, as Zeek and Camille prepare to say goodbye to the house; Hank & Sarah finally get together; in the episode's final moments, Adam seems to take on the role of family patriarch, and Amber steps into a pharmacy and grabs a pregnancy test.

In last season's finale (The Wedding, Part 2 aired May 21, 2014), Pepper (Nathan Lane) orchestrated a change of wedding venues, while Jay and Gloria mend the broken relationship between Merle and Barb. Meanwhile, Phil tried to incorporate a magic trick into his new role in the wedding, while Luke and Manny acted like an old married couple, much to Alex's delight. Looking at events that occurred in the season finale that might act as a jumping off point when the Emmy-winner kicks off its sixth season next month, Haley spends the episode contemplating her true feelings for Andy (Adam DeVine) the manny (whose feelings for her seem to be reciprocated, as he's seen waiting in the taxi outside the wedding venue), and of course, Mitch & Cam are officially hitched.