Parenthood: The Waiting Room (6x03)

Aw man. Way to tug at the heartstrings. This episode centers around Zeek's heart surgery, so we get a lot of family feelings as they all nervously hope for the best in the waiting room. Let's take a look at some of the other things also going on in this episode.

Zeek accidentally spills the beans to the family that Amber is pregnant, which makes Amber think it's really time for her to tell Ryan. She goes to Drew and says she's going to drive to Wyoming to tell him in person. Drew insists on coming with her. When Amber tells Ryan about the baby, he immediately declares his intent to be there for her every step of the way. Drew insists that Amber can't raise a baby with Ryan, because he's a mess, and won't truly be there for her. Amber tells Ryan that she believes in him, and that she wants him to be a part of the baby's life, but that he's not ready, and he has a lot of work to do before he can really be a father.

Julia is still seeing that guy from her work, Chris. They're getting closer, and he comforts her about her father's surgery, even sending her a box of twizzlers to eat in the waiting room, in reference to a story about Zeek the two had shared earlier. Joel is trying to be there for Julia, offering to talk to her if she needs it, and constantly checking up on Zeek. Julia tells Joel that it's too hard for her to have him always around trying to help her, and she reveals to him that she's seeing someone. Joel seems shocked and hurt.

When Sarah and Ruby go shopping together, Sarah sees Ruby shoplift a lipstick. She tells Hank about it. Hank in turn tells his ex-wife, who says this has happened before. However, she is furious that Hank allowed Ruby to hang out with Sarah. She says that when Ruby is with Hank, she doesn't even want Sarah to be around.

Camille tries to be strong for Zeek, but she spends most of the episode in the waiting room, terrified that Zeek will die. Zeek had refused to take his wedding ring off until the last moment, and Camille holds on to it for him. Also waiting in the room are Adam and Crosby. Adam continually thinks about the worst case scenario, while Crosby, terrified for his dad, is trying to stay positive, watching the A's game so he can tell Zeek the score. Adam is annoyed with Crosby's apparent levity, while Crosby is angry with Adam for his pessimism. Then, an emergency occurs outside of the hospital. Oliver Rome, the musician from the Luncheonette, is throwing a fit and refusing to play. Adam wants Crosby to call him and talk to him. The two brothers get into a fight. Crosby yells at Oliver over the phone, but to no avail. He then angrily hops on his motorcycle and starts driving. He gets into a minor crash, but makes his way back to the hospital and doesn't tell anyone what happened.

Zeek gets through his surgery with no complications, and the family gathers around to say hello, as Camille puts Zeek's wedding ring back on his hand where it belongs. Yay, Zeek's okay!

Problems:

No Haddie? Are we back to forgetting that she exists? No Kristina, Max, Nora? Jasmine was in this one only briefly. It seemed like everyone should have been in that waiting room together, but there was really no mention of why Kristina and the others weren't there. And I was miffed that Amber and Drew didn't mention their grandfather while going off on their road trip to find Ryan.

There was this one moment with Hank's ex, when she yells at him that Ruby "needs a father" that felt rather forced to me. It feels like there's some forced conflict going on here, where obviously Hank's not going to tell Sarah that Sandy told him to keep Sarah and Ruby separate, and it's going to turn in to this whole big thing. I think it's a bit out of line for Sandy to demand that Hank not be around Sarah when he's with Ruby. (As a side note, does anyone else think it's funny that Sandy is played by Betsy Brandt, who played a shop-lifting Marie in Breaking Bad, and now her character here has a daughter who shoplifts?)

In all honesty, this show is consistently excellent. Even if I can always find one or two things to complain about, I'm still overall happy with what I just watched.

Camille and Zeek were very cheesy and sweet. Some of this stuff might seem like it would be over the top, but we've gotten five season to get to know these two as a married couple, and when Zeek says "I'm scared, Millie," you really feel his fear. Camille wants to be strong, but she's terrified that it might all be over. The sappy, over-the-top lines in the script felt justified. They felt earned by the narrative and by these characters' long journeys. Oh, and the scene between Amber and Zeek at the beginning was adorable in a million different ways.

Drew and Amber! The best! I love how close they are as siblings, and I loved Drew's protectiveness of Amber. He was a bit harsh, in comparing Ryan to Seth, but it was all out of love for Amber, so I can forgive him. There was an interesting power dynamic going on between Drew and Amber, where Amber was trying to be authoritative, but even she knew that she was in a position of weakness and confusion. Maybe she really needed Drew to be there to set her straight.

It was good to see Ryan again. I think they made the perfect decision about him. He's not magically all better, and he's not going to get magically better, even now that he knows he has a kid on the way. The journey for Ryan and Amber in this episode was very nicely executed.

Hank! I wasn't as interested in the Ruby-is-a-shoplifter plot line as a could have been, and I still think Sandy is here to stir up some extremely contrived drama, but Hank's character this week was stellar. I loved how he and Sarah have clearly worked on communication, in ways that are structured and helpful. She asks him to register what he's saying, and tries to be gentle with him in entering into a conversation. He acknowledges when he's tuning her out and makes an effort to look at her and try harder. The fact that they're both so clearly working on their relationship is so incredibly sweet. Ray Romano is superb in this role, seriously.

Ugh. I actually like Julia's new boyfriend. But I want her to get back together with Joel! I know Joel was a jerk, but now he's such a sad puppy! I'm torn. The bit with the twizzlers was precious, though. Not sure where this story is going, and to be honest I'm not sure where I want it to go anymore. I'm so confused! Which is a good thing!

Finally, we have Adam and Crosby. You know, this show is so consistently well-acted and written that sometimes I forget that these people aren't actually a family in real life, so well do they portray one. That's especially true when it comes to Adam and Crosby. It's almost unbelievable - these actors are so seamlessly portraying a sibling relationship that I'm convinced they must have grown up together or something.

The best moment in this thread was when the two of them are yelling at each other about Oliver Rome, and then Crosby leaves the room all in a huff, and Adam tries to say sorry, but Crosby just mutters "you're a dick" and storms out. It worked because Crosby doesn't sound mad - he sounds like he's about to burst into tears. Even if he's been acting like everything is fine, he's terrified that his dad is going to die. Adam, who is trying to be practical and proactive about the whole thing, forgets that he needs to be there for his brother. My sick, sadistic love of angst makes me want Crosby to be more hurt than he first seems to be - and for Adam to feel guilty for not noticing. I love Adam and Crosby. I don't think a scene between the two of them has ever disappointed me.

I'll leave us off right there. I'm glad to see that Zeek is doing okay, even if it's not going to be over that easy. More Hank, please! More Amber and Drew! More Julia and Joel! And definitely more Adam and Crosby!

9/10