Brace yourselves, Parenthood fans! It’s the last season and they are not going easy on us. Then again, when have they ever? Life got in the way for a bit there, so I wasn’t able to chat about the last half of season five. But, I’m both happy and sad to report that I will be here, recapping the sixth of the show. So, let’s just jump right in.
*****
The episode starts off with Amber in the doctor’s office, looking at a sonogram. “That’s my baby,” she exclaims. But, she’s obviously distraught. The doctor informs her that if it isn’t a pregnancy she wants, then she should do something about it sooner rather than later. I’m not too sure that many doctors would say that, but….
No one knows her secret. She joins Haddie, Drew, and Natalie as they paint the walls and chat about traveling so casually. But, after awhile it’s too much for her and says she doesn’t have the energy to talk about that, and decides to get a drink of water. Haddie seems offended and Drew thinks it was a bit strange.
Later on, Haddie shows up at Amber’s door and says she doesn’t understand why Amber was mad at her, when Amber blurts that she’s pregnant. Haddie can’t believe it, but gives her a hug and lets her know that she’s there for her. They take a walk and recall their moments together throughout the years and recognize that they’re getting older. Haddie then tells Amber that even though she probably doesn’t want to, she would probably feel better if she told her mom that she’s pregnant. Amber agreed.
We later see Amber show up at Sarah’s door, looking nervous and distracted. Sarah doesn’t catch on right away, and starts telling her about the crazy weekend she had. Finally, she sees her face and notices that something’s wrong, and that’s when Amber once again spills her secret. Sarah doesn’t seem to know how to take it and says, “Oh?”
She might not exactly be thrilled with the news, but as we all know, Sarah always comes around and will support Amber no matter what.
*****
Sarah and Hank are back together. Sarah’s making cappuccino and the two start talking about Hank’s daughter, who is going to be staying with him. However, he hasn’t told his ex-wife, Sandy, or his daughter, Ruby, that they’re dating. She thinks Sandy will come in and be dominating, but he assures her that won’t happen.
Sarah then shows up at Zeek and Camille’s house and surprises Zeek with a trip to Vegas. So, the two of them are having a great time in Sin City, when Zeek collapses. They rush him to the hospital to run tests, though Zeek continuously fights it. The doctor comes in, and Sarah informs him of Zeek’s heart condition and that he takes medication for it. Zeek continues to act as if it was no big deal, and thinks it was just because he was drinking.
The doctor comes to the conclusion that it wasn’t a heart attack. Adam calls Sarah and wants to talk to the doctor, while Zeek continues to fight with him in the background. Zeek does not want to spend his birthday in the hospital, and who can blame him? They sign the paperwork and he is released.
Adam is not okay with the way things are going, saying that the “second least qualified sibling” is the one handling the situation. So, Adam and Crosby meet up with Zeek and Sarah in Las Vegas. Zeek isn’t in his room, so the three siblings search around for him and find him in the casino.
“Oh, is this part of my birthday surprise?” Zeek asks. Not exactly. But, he convinces the kids that he’s doing just fine and they play some Blackjack.
“This family is sick,” Adam says, because of course, being the responsible one, this is not okay with him.
Zeek makes it home and Camille is happy to see him doing okay, but said that she made an appointment with the doctor. He says he’s too tired, but she doesn’t care – He’s going, and he does. The doctor tells him he’s going to find out what’s wrong. Zeek’s face seems to sense what’s going on and the doctor’s voice fades out.
*****
As for Hank, he finally tells Sandy that he and Sarah are dating, while she lets him know that she actually requested to be transferred to San Francisco. Ruby had gotten in with the wrong crowd, and needed to get out of there. She thinks it will be good if they’re both doing the parenting thing together in the same city.
Hank informs Sarah about the day that he spent with his daughter at Alcatraz and “no one died,” which is always a good sign. He also lets her know about the new co-parenting agreement that he and Sandy have, which she seems to think is a good thing. However, I can’t help but wonder what kind of trouble this might stir up for the happy bubble that Hank and Sarah seem to be in right now.
*****
Julia seems to be saying “Joel who?” these days, since she has a new guy (whose name is Chris) and now works with her. Having two kids together with him makes it very difficult for her to forget about Joel though. He stops by Kristina’s school and says hi to everyone, while dropping the kids off. Because the school still needs a lot of help, Joel offers, meaning he’s around more.
Later, while the kids and Julia are playing Clue, she gets the call from Camille about Zeek. Luckily, Joel had just stopped by and agreed to take over, while she checks on Camille.
While visiting with Camille, she gets bombarded with several questions about Joel. All of which she seems to want to avoid. She tells Camille that she waited around for awhile, but it’s time to move on with her life now. I don’t feel that she waited around that long, especially when she was flirting with temptation the entire time, but okay.
When Julia comes home, she says they don’t know much about Zeek. Joel tells her he isn’t leaving until she finds something out. She gets a text from the siblings a couple minutes later, where the three of them are with Zeek in the casino and he seems to be more than okay. She smiles and cries, letting all of her emotions out. Joel is there to comfort her, but they quickly realize he better be going. They can’t let anything happen — Not now.
As we see at the end, Julia seems to have her mind made up about moving on with the new guy from her office. And it broke my heart that she’s given up on working things out with him.
*****
Kristina, though she has been through a lot in the past couple seasons, is a real trailblazer this season, while starting her own school. However, Max is not on board with going there and keeps fighting it. He says he wants to continue homeschooling.
However, Kristina has just dedicated months to starting a school, Chambers Academy, specifically for Max after his bullying incident. No matter how many times they tried to convince him that he should go to the school, he shot it down.
I have to say that Max always has some of the best lines, and his scenes with Kristina are usually so heartwarming. My favorite is when they’re sitting in one of the rooms watching paint dry.
“What are we doing?” Max asks.
“Watching paint,” Kristina tells him.
“I don’t like metaphors.”
“That’s not a metaphor. We are literally watching paint.”
Kristina again explains to Max that he is why they created the school. She wants it to be a place where everyone can just be happy and not bulled. But, Max still has his mind made up.
But, it’s just like Adam to defend his wife (which I think is something we all can admire) and make sure that Max supports her. He gives him a little talk and tells him that morning, that whether he feels like it or not, he should think about how much work his mother has put into this. For her sake, he should go. And what do you know? Max shows up and greets Kristina with a handshake and she tears up that he actually came. A very touching moment, for sure.
*****
Like all of the other seasons of Parenthood, it’s going to be a roller coaster ride. This episode might have been a little more informational than tear-themed, like we’re used to. But, this is only the beginning. So, strap in tight and get ready for it. Oh, you might want to grab a few extra tissues too. I don’t think there will be a dry eye by the time the series finale rolls around.
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