I had high hopes for episode 18 of Parenthood, especially about Joel and Julia’s storyline. It turns out, not too much happened there, but everyone else had plots that moved right along.
Camille and Zeek
The episode opens with Zeek searching for pants, and the realtor announcing that an offer has been made on the house. Camille appears to be more surprised than Zeek about the offer, and while she’s excited, she seems conflicted about it. Camille, this was your idea in the first place. WTH? After a tense walk through, the offer comes back even higher than what was going to be their asking price.
Max
Max is off on his first overnight field trip solo after telling Kristina he didn’t want her to chaperone. Adam tries to reassure her, but they are both obviously on edge about his absence. They receive a phone call that Max has had a meltdown and wants to go home. Max refuses to speak about what happened for a long time, but he eventually comes clean. Max gives an emotional speech, and expresses his frustration that he doesn’t understand why the other kids laugh at him. He seems to be picking up that even the nice kids are amused by him. Despite his protests, Kristina climbs into the backseat and hugs him tight. The teenage Max may prove to be the most challenging stage yet for Kristina and Adam.
Drew and Amber
Drew is still crashing at Amber’s and mostly skipping class. He’s distraught about Natalie sleeping with Berto, and Natalie isn’t budging an inch. He’s playing guitar, smoking pot, and sleeping a lot. Amber is worried, but sympathizes with his grief.
Sarah
Sarah turns the work into the client Hank has been helping with. She is a tense wreck while she’s waiting for feedback. Hank starts to think that maybe there’s something more to their friendship, but Sarah quickly sets him straight.
Julia and Joel
I was really hoping that Joel would take Zeek’s advice to heart and try harder, but so far, he’s still mad and not extending an olive branch. The separation has started to stress both Sydney and Victor in different ways. Sydney blames Victor for the breakup. Victor has become very insecure, and starts to worry about who is going to pick him up after school. Joel tries to appease him by buying him a mobile phone, but he doesn’t consult Julia. The wedge between seems to be driven deeper. I really hope they find some common ground here soon.