Thursday, November 22, 2012

Parenthood: One More Weekend with You (S4E8)



This was a really heavy episode, right up until the end.

Adam and Kristina open on a chaotic house, one that gets even more so when a kid in a wheelchair gets dropped off for the weekend.  Kristina is adamant that she can handle it even after the chemo, but Adam is not fully convinced.  And he is vindicated when Kristina spews all over the staircase while attempting to make a quick getaway to bathroom.  She spends the rest of the weekend upchucking in the toilet, and it is really harrowing.  I really felt for her when she was like, “I’m gonna be the ONE person that doesn’t get sick from chemo.”

Oh, and Max is a complete and utter brat the entire episode.  First, he refuses to take out the dog, even as it is peeing on the carpet.  Then, he continually barges into A/K’s bedroom, even though Kristina is in there sick out of her mind, and Adam insists he stays out.  Then he refuses to play with the kid that is over for the weekend because he beat Max at checkers.  They really need to learn how to parent a kid with Aspberger’s.  Just because Max doesn’t catch on to social situations like a mainstream kid doesn’t mean you can just ignore when he does it wrong.  You need to remind, reinforce, and retrain when necessary.  I honestly wanted to punch Max, but it was much more an issue of parenting than action.

Amber and Ryan, to add to the heaviness, head to a funeral for a friend of Ryan’s a few hours away.  When they get there, there are a few others reminiscing outside the hotel, and things get very heated: turns out, the friend committed suicide.  But in the end, it is turns nice, as the couple gets even closer, and they take a dip in the ocean to top it all off.

Julia and Joel are having kid issues again.  Viktor is really starting to fit in, but at the expense of Sydney.  She is really getting the short end of the stick with parent time, and is acting out because of it.  The little girl that plays her did an exceptional job of playing the angst, and it was very satisfying when she finally let them have it by ‘running away,’ even though it was only to the end of the block.  Julia and Joel finally realize they need to give her attention too, and they go to the skating rink, where Sydney finally starts to accept Viktor into the family.

Sarah and Mark have their own little thing, where Mark walks in on Drew having sex with his ex.  It’s about as awkward as you can imagine.  Drew swears secrecy out of Mark, and Mark stupidly agrees, even though that lasts for all of an hour.  Sarah tiptoes around the subject a bit, but eventually everything comes out, and Drew is a giant brat.  And then, Sarah apologizes for reasons.

Lastly, Jasmine and Crosby are throwing some sort of party, but Crosby is not terribly interested.  Jasmine wants him to participate, though, and insists on his assistance in getting ready for it.  They basically fight for the whole episode, until the party starts, and Crosby mingles like a boss.  Things are going swimmingly until…

Adam shows up with all the kids in tow.  He’s there to score some pot, because of course.  Crosby unsurprisingly has some, and Adam brings it back to Kristina to help calm her stomach, and it works.  Of course.
 
This was really heavy, but most of the pieces were really well acted.  I was wondering when the ocean scene with Amber and Ryan was coming, I saw a couple of set pictures with it, and I was curious how it would be incorporated in.  I did enjoy their plot, I think the writers did a good job of making the arc seem natural.  I really hope they get a autism adviser, or if they have one, a new one, because what A/K are doing is practically 100% wrong at just about every turn.

No comments:

Post a Comment