Parenthood: Just Like at Home (5x15)

Yay! Back from hiatus! I missed this show. It always gives me warm fuzzy feelings. And this one was no exception. As is often very rare in this show, this episode was pretty much entirely about healing, not about creating new problems. Things aren't great for a lot of our beloved characters, but everyone is trying their hardest to be there for one another, and it's a beautiful thing. Let us take a look at each plot!

Crosby, Jasmine, Jabbar, and Aida are staying with Zeek and Camille, when Crosby discovers that the house is about to be put on the market. He is upset by this, but when he confronts his father, Zeek says that he loves Camille more than he loves the house, and he wants to make her happy. At the end of the episode, all of the grandchildren hang out at the house together, making s'mores, while Crosby goes over to Julia's house to take care of his sister.

Sarah and Hank are working together on editing the photos from the surfing shoot, and Hank thinks that they need to cut the taco truck out of the pictures. Sarah disagrees. Sarah goes out to dinner with Carl, and the two of them have a fun time. Carl admits he might be falling for Sarah. Hank edits the pictures without Sarah's permission, and she is upset. Hank goes to Dr. Pelikan to figure out how to apologize. The doctor gives him some advice, and Hank tries to apologize to Sarah. He says that he knows he hasn't been good with her, but he's trying to be better. Sarah, in the end, goes over to Julia's house to help cheer her up from her separation with Joel.

Adam and Kristina are taking a spa weekend together, and having a good time. They are grateful for the chance to take a break. However, Adam is worried about Julia, and in the end he too goes over to Julia's house to be with his sister during this difficult time.

Amy is still staying with Drew, and she is basically just following him around and spending all of her time with him. Drew talks to Natalie, and then to Amber, and he decides that this can't go on. He tells Amy that he loves her, but that she can't stay with him like this. He encourages her to go and tell her parents what's been going on with her - about the abortion, and about not staying in school... Amy agrees to do so, and Drew drives her to her house, and then goes and joins the rest of the grandchildren at Zeek and Camille's house.

Joel takes Victor and Sydney for the weekend, and Julia struggles with being on her own. At first, she just throws herself into busy work, but eventually she can't lie to herself anymore, and she admits that she's having a hard time. When all three of her siblings turn up, she's overwhelmed and grateful. They drink wine, dance, and end up crashing in Julia's house. At Joel's place, things aren't going great either. While Victor is trying to act cool about the whole thing, Sydney is pretty openly petulant. She doesn't like staying at Joel's new place and wants to go home. During the night, Victor calls Julia and says he had a bad dream and wants to talk to his mom. Julia stays up talking with him, and she assures him that things will get better.

Usually, I do the plot threads one at a time and list some pros and cons, but I wanted to put the whole story out there first, this time. I loved this episode. Like I mentioned at the start, it was really delightful to see an entire episode all about healing and repairing, rather than tearing things even further apart. I really don't have any major complaints. The only thing I'll say is this: I still don't feel like Joel's justification for leaving Julia was good enough. I'd love to see more of this stuff from his perspective, to figure out what's really going on in his head.

But now, let me just list some of the many strong parts of the episode!

- The four siblings. Oh my God. This melted my heart. When Sarah came over, I thought it was cute. And then Crosby showed up. And then Adam. And it was all just so genuine and so sweet, and Julia was so blown away and grateful... their nerdy dancing, their wine drinking... I hope my sisters and I can stay that close in later life.

- Drew and Amy. Again, I continue to be grateful that Amy's appearance in the story is not being used to fuel a love triangle. She had some really serious problems going on in her life, and is clearly depressed. I love that Drew actually talked to her instead of letting his resentment bubble, and that Amy is going to talk to her parents. Hopefully, if Amy's parents are anything like mine, they will be accepting and supportive. Also, though it's beside the point, I'm warming up to Drew's roommate Berto, too. He's pretty funny.

- Sydney and Victor. Their reactions to the separation feel so true to what kids might really think in this sort of situation. It's breaking my heart. From their perspective, their dad left them. They don't blame Julia. They don't see the full story. I love Sydney's anger and Victor's reluctant acceptance. I love the fact that Victor calls his mom in the dead of night, and that Sydney crawls into Joel's bed, seeking out the comfort of a parent.

- The scene at the end with the kids around the camp fire. While the four siblings are together to cheer up Julia, all of the kids are with grandma and grandpa. Jabbar, Aida, Nora, Max, Drew, and Amber. It was cool to see this scene, because it provided us a scene where parental relationships weren't the focus. These kids hanging out with their cousins and grandparents... it felt like a real family.

- Hank! He's trying so hard to learn and do better. It's delightful to see. I still have my reservations about this Carl guy... he seems far too good to be true. Maybe we'll see all of this come to a head if Hank confesses his continuing feelings for Sarah. I'm holding out on making a firm judgment about Carl, but I do know that I enjoy Hank as a character.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. This episode was quite the winner, in my opinion.

9/10