BWW Recap: Zeek (and Others) Make Major Decisions on PARENTHOOD

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.

Cut to Kristina and Adam's. Let's just veer away from the recap for a moment and take a minute to say this: Nora's huge all of a sudden. That's all. Back to the recap. Running a school seems to be tougher than Kristina and Adam thought as there's trouble with the lunch vendor, who's apparently having issues with individualizing each kid's lunch. Sounds like an intriguing storyline... I'll wait and see where it goes.

Crosby is recording a birthday song for Zeek featuring all the grandkids. (Actually, no, minus Amber. And Drew. Wait, sidenote: WHERE is he?) Anyway, awww... what a cute idea.

Speaking of Zeek, we're back in the doctor's office, where his diagnosis shows "multiple blockages" and it's time to talk about surgery. Zeek's in denial he needs it, but the doctor assures him the situation is dire enough. And onto the opening credits.

Back from commercial, Camille & Zeek talk seriously about the surgery option. Meanwhile, Sarah's talking with Hank about Amber's recent revelation to her. It's nice to see that they're bonding, and that Sarah feels comfortable enough with Hank to share this personal information with him about her daughter. No, I don't think it's a breach of privacy; I think it's growth in their relationship. And that's good 'cause it took forever for them to get together. So, let's enjoy it now that they are, right?

Adam and Crosby argue about Zeek, with Crosby accusing Adam of always being the last to know everything. Cut to Kristina, who's arguing with the lunch vendor. I like the parallelism here of the two arguments (between each of the two spouses and another, to boot). It's clever that they shot and wrote these scenes next to each other because of their similarities - an example of good writing! (Sorry. I'm a writer. I feel like it's my job to point these examples out).

At the school conference re: Sydney - where, I should note, there's a slip of the tongue by Julia (she says, "My husband, um... Joel") -it's revealed that, in fact, Sydney is the bully, and Joel and Julia conclude she's acting out because she's about the recent separation. And then, Joel confronts Julia, wanting to talking about them. However, Julia's not up for talking, and makes herself pretty clear about what she thinks about them: "You can't pretend like you didn't destroy me. You destroyed us. ALL of us." Ooof.

Adam and Crosby are back in the car arguing again. Kristina calls re: the food vendor, and they resolve that Crosby will go visit Zeek, while Adam tends to the groceries. All good, but Adam's unsure... 'cause Crosby's never been one to say what needs to be said. He's worried about he and Zeek's talk (as he should be).

Amber tells Sarah that Ryan doesn't know about the pregnancy yet. Sarah tells Amber she's not ready for Amber to have a baby NOW.

As Kristina and Adam unload the lunches, Crosby attempts to talk to Zeek about his surgery. Zeek doesn't want to take the risk, and Crosby agrees with Zeek, but us viewers can see in his face that he wants his dad to go through with the operation. A nice change, as, again, Crosby's usually the one - as noted by his siblings - to not take anything seriously and sway his dad to take the easy way out (for reference, see last week's episode). Good that we get to see depth and a little bit of change to these characters before we say goodbye to them forever.

Back from commercial with Project Lunch Vendor. Kristina complains - "I'm failing on all fronts. Who do I think I am? Oprah?" - and Adam resolves to fix the lunch vendor issue and their budget problems by having a culinary arts elective in which the students take part in making the lunch for school credit. A funny bit here involving the pronunciation of "CULL-inary" vs. "Q-linary" which is amusing because in the back of my mind, I've always wondered which way is correct, myself.

After a quick conversation between Jabbar and Crosby about Zeek, Adam, like Kristina before him, is learning that his idea for a culinary arts student elective is easier said than done, with Max bluntly stating, "This isn't art, it's slave labor." Easier said than done, Adam. Yup.

Joel and Julia talk to Sydney - and they seem to have cooled off from before. They're very calm and collected. Uh, well, that's good, but Sydney clearly isn't, and though she's "in denial" that anything's wrong, her volume proves that something seriously is. Quick observation break: 1) Sydney's getting big, too; 2) Damn, what a great little actress Savannah Paige Rae is, however frightening it is when she screams (or heartbreaking it is when she cries, but that's a different story).

Kristina and Adam are prepping for Zeek's party. Crosby arrives, and though he's told Adam that "all's good" regarding Zeek and the surgery, he's clearly hiding something from his brother. In the next room, Sydney continues to mouth off to Julia. Of course, this breaks out into a huge family fight, which comes to a halt when Zeek enters the house. Tension continues to rise when Sarah enters the house, 'cause she doesn't know what's going on.

Talk of Zeek's surgery has clearly dampened the mood of the party. In a particularly touching moment, however, Adam confronts Zeek (about the surgery - what else?) and Zeek reveals for the first time that he doesn't want to go through with it because he's scared he'll die on the table. There's another surprising reveal, wherein Zeek tells Adam that when Zeek finally does go, to scatter his ashes on the baseball field and then play a game in celebration of his life. The rest of the family, who is blind to this conversation brings in a birthday cake, or gluten free fruit pie, rather, and after this morose and gut-wrenchingly honest look at Zeek's mortality, they sing "Happy Birthday," in celebration of him living and turning another year older. As a concept, it's eery when you think about it - and watch it - but performance wise, it's one of the best acted moments so far. Kudos to Peter Krause and Craig T. Nelson!

Back from commercial. Now, here's the doozie. Zeek steps out on the porch steps to talk with Amber. Both are going through life-changes. Zeek facing death (for the most part); Amber staring life right in the face (for the most part - or she will be soon). I can tell this will be touching before it starts. And yup.... Amber tells Zeek she's pregnant, and it's the first smile Zeek's given us in a while. And it continues, when they go inside to eat Julia's disgusting gluten cake ("How come Uncle Crosby's allowed to say [that] and I'm not?" quips Sydney). A great resolution (for now) to the rather-morose-up-to-this-point storyline, ending with a shot of Zeek flashing his pearly whites. :-)

Continuing with happy moments, Sarah bonds with Amber and Amber, too, admits she's scared of what's ahead. It's nice that Sarah and Amber have this bonding moment, and it's great that Sarah's come around. I'd like to say her help out her daughter and prepare her for what's ahead (i. e. telling Ryan - yes, I saw a promo for next week's episode!) Seems like all's good with the culinary program, too, which a mother of a kid from the elective deems "nothing short of genius." Yay Adam! I knew it'd get better.

Julia's browsing a bullying website before she calls.... Joel. Yay. Sure, Sydney's being a bitch, but it looks like this issue might actually reunite her parents. Bitchy yes, but smart kid.

And in the episode's final moments, Zeek tells Camille that Amber's pregnant. They reflect on their age and how fleeting life can be: "Great-grandparents." In order to stick around for his new great-grandchild, Zeek elects to go through with the surgery. Fade to black.

Another solid installment. Excited (and, like Zeek & Amber, scared) to see what happens next week. They're really pulling out all the stops to make these last few episodes memorable. No complaints from me, though. It's clearly working! See y'all next week!

Photo Credit: PARENTHOOD's official Twitter page

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