BWW Recap: Joel & Julia (and Hank & Sarah) Take a BIG Step Forward on PARENTHOOD

On this week's PARENTHOOD:

Dylan cannot be partners with Max, but Max continues to pester her. Presumably because of his Asperger's, he doesn't understand when to let go. It's really upsetting when you think about it... and he can't do anything about it (something Dylan notes later on in the episode). Poor Max. :-(. It doesn't get any better when he's accused of "harassing" Dylan - and her parents come in and blast Adam and Kristina in front of the entire parent body. This whole plot line is a continuation of the brilliant acting we saw from Max Burkholder last week - he continues to kill it here, especially in the first scene - and when he comes to terms with the fact that he, in fact, doesn't understand all social cues and needs work, despite his Asperger's. Really great character growth and much deserved considering where we first started with him (like, way back in Season 1). (Bonus points for Kristina and Adam's incredibly PARENTHOOD pep talk! I mean, who doesn't want to be a Braverman?!)

After the lead in the school play comes down with the flu, Ruby's on as Sandy in the production of Grease. Sarah's all excited, until she realizes it'll be another tense moment between her and Sandy. Bummer. :-(. Well, what's the worst that could happen? Um, Mark Cyr could show up. And Hank could spill to Sandy that Sarah dated him. And they could be stealing glances at one another when Ruby's talking with Hank and Sandy. Makes for quite an uncomfortable situation between Hank/Mark/Sarah. But it's really nice to see Hank stick his neck out and communicate what he feels, in terms of Sarah coming to the performance. Fantastic character growth once again! :-) Lots of surprising twists and turns in this plot line as well. While I could see the Sarah/Mark talk coming from miles away, I had no idea it would end with nothing happening - and it being that amicable as well. (The "I'm glad I knew you" was really super closure for the two of them). And then just as I thought he was done.... Hank asks, "Are you happy?" (But, Sarah says "yes"... thus shutting Mark out completely? That wasn't exactly clear).

Zeek persuades Drew to take him out again, much to Millie's chagrin. While we're all worried about his health (Drew included), I think the fact that he's planning a surprise anniversary gift for Millie is super sweet. And, although she's against it at first, Camille eventually gives in. What's really heartbreaking about this plot is that, given the promo for this week, I think you can totally tell that something's gonna go wrong, and the episode's structured that way as well. Drew advises against flying because of what the doctor says - not to mention up until now Zeek's avoided everything the doctor said - and then Drew went behind Zeek's back... and then Camille finally gave in. And I could just tell something was gonna get in their way. You know? Like, it couldn't have been THAT easy. That said, ending aside, it was also equally heartbreaking when Zeek confronted Drew about letting him down. I could see the remorse in his eyes; he was really trying to make something special for Camille. Which makes his hospital emergency all the worse. To be honest, I've kind of accepted the fact that we might lose him.... but OMG if you could keep him alive, that would be SOOOO much better!!!

Julia tells Chris she's agreed to have lunch with Joel, because "I owe him this much." (A light at the end of the tunnel???) At dinner, Joel has another speech. Yes, it's nice - and, no kidding, exemplifies SUPERB acting from both Sam Jaeger and Erika Christensen, but honestly, it's nothing new. Seriously, just stop stalling and get them together. It's what everyone wants. And I understand, from the interviews I've read, it's gonna take a while and will not be a fast process. But it's literally the same speech over and over. At this rate, it's just filler. There's no progress made - and I seriously want to just end this back and forth. It's just cruel. But, on the other hand, still a fantastic way to keep us in suspense.

But wait.... the Chris interaction is a new twist. Ooooohhhh - she shut him down! Looks like Chris and Julia are officially done. And this speech from Julia (to Millie) is something new! And then... what's this?! She's signing the papers.... NOOOO! But wait! Joel leans in... and.... YESSSSSS!!!!!! Okay, we've got 4 EPISODES LEFT, BABY! Now let's just wrap this thing up right!!

In other news, Crosby/Jasmine/Amber didn't get screen time this week, but it's an even trade-off after all present this week were absent last week. However, I'm not quite sure I like this trade-off, though. But then again, it is a great way to give equal weight to all storylines. I guess I'm just a little bitter 'cause there's only 4 episodes left, and I really want all the storylines to be wrapped up nicely. It's all selfish. PARENTHOOD really is one of the best shows out there. Gonna really miss it. :-(

Well, now we're off for the month of December, and the show comes back in January with the final four - looks like it's gonna be a doozy. So, let's take the time to digest what happened in the episode, and breathe through all that's happened throughout the Fall, before we go hard with our #BravermanStrong hashtags. Oh my gosh, at long last! It looks like Joel and Julia will last!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, happy holidays, and happy New Year! See y'all on January 8th!

Photo Credit: Twitter / NBC

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