Arhg! Crosby! He totally seemed like he was going to propose to Jasmine during Tuesday night’s episode of Parenthood, and then all he threw her was a “You’re awesome”. Awesome? Awesome is what you call your nephew after he scores during a hockey game. Awesome is what you call your friend when she mentions that she made cookies for game night. Awesome is what you call the cashier at the grocery store when he throws you his employee discount behind the boss’s back.
Awesome is not what you call your girlfriend when you are staring romantically into her eyes and holding her hand, which happens to be donning a fake wedding ring. I’m not saying Crosby had to propose, but he should have come up with something a lot better than “you’re awesome.”
This week’s episode of Parenthood was all about couples. We’ll start with Crosby, the dunce, and his girlfriend Jasmine.
Crosby and Jasmine were trying to figure out how to get Jabbar into a good kindergarten at the last minute. They wanted him in Sydney’s dream of a school, but it was stiff competition. (This always blows my mind about America – that you have to audition to get your kid into a good preschool.) In an attempt to seem “stable”, they pretended they were married during the interview. They even wore Joel and Julia’s wedding rings. It didn’t matter though, because they totally rocked the interview on their own, with Jasmine’s dance background and Crosby’s music career they were every principal’s dream for a Christmas concert. Then came the time when they were feeling all lovey-dovey, and it looked like Crosby was going to propose, and then…he didn’t. Will he do it soon? They kind of teased it, but who knows. Are these crazy kids ready to tie the knot? What about Jasmine’s mom? What about Minka Kelly?
Julia and Joel were dealing with another typical child rearing problem this week – how often do you let your kid sleep in your bed? My answer is never. OK I don’t have kids, so I’m not at all qualified to answer. But from my limited experience with younger siblings and stories I’ve heard from actual, real-life parents, letting your kid sleep in your bed is a slippery slope. And then the daddy gets squeezed out of the love bubble. Or at least, that’s how Julia explained it to Sydney. Adorable. I would totally have been Joel in this situation though, the one losing sleep because there are always child feet in his face. What I like about this couple is that their problems are so typical. Nothing outrageous or melodramatic. Just typical issues that come up in parenthood. They also have great chemistry, which has been much more evident this season since Joel has gotten more than three lines.
Sarah and…who? Sarah kicked some business butt this week. She was selected by the big boss, Gordon, to attend a big sneaker convention. Apparently it’s a pretty big honor, and she totally pulled an Anne-Hathaway-in-Devil-Wears-Prada by knowing the names, hobbies, and family situations of every important person in the room. When Gordon walked her to her car and said “You have no idea how great you are” I officially became a fan. I can get over the fact that he can be a bit of a douche. I can get over the fact that his name is Gordon. I can even get over the fact that he’s played by Billy Baldwin. Because he’s charming and he sees Sarah’s full potential. Unless he just said that to get in her pants, in which case I hate him and I’m back on Team Warehouse Guy. We’ll just have to see. (But seriously, Warehouse Guy – asking Sarah about your date when she’s sitting with the boss? Unprofessional. Uncool.)
Adam and Kristina faced more challenges with Max and his Asperger’s Syndrome. At some point, they’re really going to have to tell the poor kid. It’s not an easy conversation to have, but it’s becoming an elephant in the room. Kristina started attending a support group for people with kids with Asperger’s, and at first Adam seemed to dismiss it as stupid or unnecessary. It was nice to see him come around in the end, because Adam could probably use a chance to vent. He’s one of the most tightly wound characters on TV.
Zeek and Camille’s storyline last night was one of my favorites, and it kind of redeemed Zeek a bit in my book. Zeek agreed to go to ballroom dancing lessons with Camille, because their therapist said they should do stuff together. So they went, and Zeek was actually pretty good. He seemed like he was having fun. He danced with a gay dude. All seemed well, except that Camille was in some sort of inexplicable snit. Why? Because they weren’t communicating enough? That seems unfair. Zeek agreed to go to the dance lessons. He was enjoying the dance lessons. He even wants to practice dancing at home with Camille, which seemed like a pretty nice gesture. So what’s your damage, Camille? I was sort of expecting the issue to be that Camille turned out to be a lousy dancer, but that never came up. It bugged me that Camille failed to recognize the effort her husband was putting forth.
Another great storyline this week involved Amber, who really has become one of the most layered and interesting characters on the show. She was shelling out $40 for tutoring with her rich friend Kelsie, but it turned out that all they were doing was smoking weed with the tutor. Not only did Amber leave so she could actually study for the SATs, but she told Kelsie that her family was not in a position to be wasting $40 on sitting around and getting high. What I liked about this storyline was that it wasn’t as much about drugs as it was about financial issues. Anyone who’s ever been lower on the financial ladder than the rest of their friends knows that it’s tough to point out that something is too expensive. Also, Amber singing and playing the ukulele was adorable.
What did you think of “The Booth Job”? Are you rooting for Billy Baldwin or Warehouse Guy? Did you hate Crosby and Camille this week as much as I did?
