Parenthood: Fraud Alert (5x19)

I'm so mad at Joel right now. I can't even handle it. Let's go ahead and talk about these plot threads, and then I'll complain about some of them. I didn't love this episode, to be honest. It's not like it was all bad or anything, but there were definitely a few weaker plot threads in here.

So. Zeek finds out about a part he needs for his car, so he and Crosby hit the road to go track it down. When they get there, the man at the shop is completely unhelpful and wants to sell the part to them for a ridiculous price. In the end, Crosby makes the deal happen by buying a motorcycle. Along the way, Zeek works through his feelings about selling the house, and tells Camille that they should accept the offer.

In theory, this plot thread is interesting, but I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. I think maybe I've seen enough of Zeek struggling with selling the house. It's starting to feel a tiny bit old, perhaps. However, it was still fun to see Crosby get a motorcycle. I'd actually welcome the return of harsh, controlling Jasmine if it meant we got to see her have a real reaction to this. After all, motorcycles are dangerous, and they don't really have money to waste at the moment.

Sarah and Hank are getting along really well, but a disruption arrives in the form of Mark Cyr. After Amber runs into her mother's ex, Mark gets in contact with Sarah and asks if they can have dinner. They go out to dinner, and Mark tells Sarah that he's met someone, and is now engaged. Sarah and Hank are working more jobs together after the success of their surfing brochure, and so Sarah fills Hank in on Mark's engagement. Hank, who told Dr. Pelikan that he was having trouble letting Sarah go, is happy that Sarah and Mark won't be getting back together.

Yeah, again, this plot thread didn't do a whole lot for me. Bringing Mark back in just so he could tell Sarah he was engaged? Why even bother? And was anyone else annoyed with the fake-out quality of it all? Why bother having the whole dinner setup just to lead to Mark's little announcement? Were we supposed to want Sarah and Mark to get back together? Because I don't. Are we supposed to want Hank and Sarah together? I have no idea!

Max has decided, due to his bullying, that he's never going back to school. When Adam and Kristina try to talk to the school about it, they are horrified to find that the school thinks it might be a good idea to let Max do his work from home for the rest of the year. They can't understand why their kid is getting punished for the actions of others. Adam is sick of watching Max suffer, so he decides to take him surfing. Max is hesitant but ends up loving it. Although Adam and Kristina know that Max needs to be going to school, they are still happy to see their kid enjoying himself for once.

Oddly, this was my favorite plot thread of the episode. I really felt for Max, Adam, and Kristina as they went through this nonsense. It's not that the school teachers and administrators are evil, but they certainly aren't equipped to handle this situation, and it's enormously frustrating and awful. Max's joy at finding he enjoys surfing was infectious to watch. I loved when he said he wanted his mother to come with them! The scene at the beach was fantastic. (Can I just say, though, I really wish they would bring Haddie up every once in a while? I'm away at college, and I hope I'm on my parents' minds more than Haddie seems to be on the minds of Adam and Kristina!)

Drew is tasked with babysitting Sydney and Victor, and he finds them to be depressingly uninterested in anything. They fight all the time and don't want to go out at all. Amber decides to surprise them with a fun day out. Although at first they resist, Amber tells them that she knows how hard it is to go through what they're going through. She and Drew went through the same thing, but it was better because they had each other. Sydney and Victor need to be there for one another. They all go to a roller rink and have a fun time rollerblading.

This was such a cute thread. I greatly enjoyed it. It made me realize the parallels between Amber and Drew's story and Sydney and Victor's. Even though the show started when Amber and Drew were older than Sydney and Victor are now, there are still some parallel circumstances. Remember how troubled Amber and Drew were in the first season? The skating thing was just the right amount of cheesy.

And finally. Joel and his boss, Peet, go out for a celebratory dinner due to the success of their project. Joel decides to get the bill, which causes a large charge to appear on the credit card. Julia is called by the credit card company to make sure it isn't fraud. Julia feels confused, and she's nervous to talk to Joel about what happened. She feels like all subjects not directly pertaining to the kids are off limits. However, she finally works up the courage and asks Joel about the dinner. Joel says it was a business dinner, and gets mad when Julia asks Joel if he's dating Peet. Julia says she hates living in limbo, and wants to know if she and Joel are trying to get back together right now, or not. Joel says that at least for the time being, no. They are not trying to get back together.

Ouch. I refer you to the beginning of this post, when I said I was really mad at Joel. Honestly, I'm completely on Julia's side at this point. She made some HUGE mistakes, but Joel threw their entire marriage away! However angry I am at Joel, I have to praise the acting in this section. When they finally had their conversation, they were both in tears. It was very upsetting. Even though Joel is being a jerk, I'm still rooting for them to get back together. This is just too sad!

Well, there you are. Quite a few of the threads didn't do much for me, but I did like seeing Amber and Drew play with their younger cousins, and I liked seeing Max with a smile on his face for once.

7/10