photo: nbc
Hey, If You’re Not Using That Baby…
Original Air Date: Sep 20, 2011
Karen Belgrad – Senior Editor
karenbelgrad@
thetwocentscorp.com
A wonderful episode of Parenthood is comprised of a few key ingredients. It must always have sibling interactions. It must always have character-centric drama. But most importantly, it must always have heart. And tonight, it wore its heart on its sleeve.
I will continue to shout from the rooftops that this is the best show that not enough people are watching. So, please, ask your friends, family, coworkers, and pregnant latte girls to support this show. And with that plea, let’s get down to Braverman business!
Sarah: While attending Back To School night (for the MIA Drew), Sarah lounges outside Mark’s classroom. In the blink of an eye, the two are back on her sleeper couch having a “sleepover.” The next morning, they playfully banter when Zeek interrupts. Mark adorably dives under the bed, while Zeek mocks mercilessly from the doorway. Mark and Sarah go on a cute date, continuing their trend of new-couple conversations. But in the car later, Mark confesses that he is “in” (a very familiar phrase to Gilmore Girls fans!). Sarah nervously responds that she doesn’t know. She talks to Camille about the age difference, and Camille tells her to go for it. So she goes to Amber to confess that she’s falling in love with Mark, and Amber tells her to go for it. So she goes to school and says she is all in too. And with that, we get the best Lauren Graham smile in years. No tears either!
Julia: Julia helps Zoe (latte girl) with some landlord/legal issues and clearly romanticizes the idea of adopting her baby. She tells Joel about her idea, and he is vehemently opposed, wanting to go through the proper channels and to have patience. She seems to have heard him, but she soon flat out asks Zoe if she’d consider letting her adopt her baby. Julia is stunned when Zoe flat out says no. I’m really trying to figure out what could make this story more interesting, but I’m at a loss. Are there any suggestions from the comments section?
Haddie: Julia helps Alex find a pro-bono lawyer, but levels with Haddie that this is indeed serious. At Julia’s urging, they come clean with her folks, giving all the party/arrest details. Surprisingly, Adam and Kristina do not yell and immediately place Haddie under house arrest for being drunk. More shockingly, nobody has yet brought up the underage drinking aspect! Haddie goes to see Zack (party host) and pleads with him to drop the charges, but he tells her his parents are insistent, especially in light of Alex’s criminal record. Haddie confronts Alex about his past, and he confesses that in his drinking days, at a low point, he attempted armed robbery at a liquor store, for food, money, and alcohol. He’s afraid to lose her because of it, saying she’s all he has. She hugs him, but her eyes seem exceptionally wide at this new information. On a side note, in addition to disliking her new hairdo, can I just say that Haddie’s tone and delivery seemed somewhat off, even a little shrill this episode?
Kristina/Max: Max is attending regular school again, fully mainstreamed. Adam and Kristina give him behavior pointers (raising his hand, not correcting others, making eye contact), but Max ends up doing the opposite of all the things they told him to do. The teacher seems frustrated and the other students are less than understanding of his Asperger’s. Kristina spies on him in the schoolyard and is saddened to see him not interacting with other students. When her nine emails to the teacher go unreturned, she corners her in the classroom, begging for a few moments, saying Max needs this to be academically challenged and learn more. The teacher seems to hear her and promises to respond more timely. Later, Max is joined by Jabbar and his friends, who are enamored with his video game knowledge. I must say, although I understand Max being brought back to regular school, I’m surprised he doesn’t have a classroom aide. I know many students on the Autism spectrum, and most states provide an educational aide and classroom plan to deal with the special needs. Wouldn’t Kristina have thought of this? Wouldn’t the school?
Adam/Crosby: Adam is still teetering between the beverage sales job and going into business with Crosby. He leans towards the beverage job when he views Crosby as being irresponsible by putting Adam’s information on a lease/loan application. When Kristina begins to unravel from the stress/hormones of pregnancy, money, her job, and Max, Adam reassures her by promising to take the stable job. But after meeting with the landlord, and helping Crosby deliver his impassioned pitch in favor of the recording studio (over leasing it as office space), the tide turns for Adam. When Crosby gets the lease, Adam opts to go into the boutique upscale recording studio business with him. Of course, he asks Crosby not to tell Kristina, until Adam can figure out how to do it himself. With Kristina’s hormones raging and her control issues, I wonder how well that will go over!
So there you have it. Unless you were looking for Drew, then you don’t have it. But you’ve got my TwoCents, so share your TwoCents, comments, and feedback below!
TheTwoCents 
I agree, this is the best show, that not many people are watching. I love it. I cringed when Julia asked the latte girl to adopt her baby, but it was raw emotion and great acting. Agree also on Haddie being off.
I wanted to comment on Max not having a teacher aid. My brother has aspergers. They usually do not need an aid because they are able to function pretty well. There were other people in my school who had special needs and did not need a teachers aid. Some of them were pretty severe too. Some of them did need a teacher’s aid. It depends on if the child is able to grasp the material as well.
Thank you.
Sent from my iPod