Parenthood, Season 5, Episode 14, “You’ve Got Mold”
Written by Gina Fattore
Directed by Ken Whittingham
Airs Thursdays at 10pm EST on NBC
This week, on Parenthood: Sarah gets a win, Zeek opens up, and Kristina gets another cockamamie idea
Parenthood has had varying success with its season-long exploration of crumbling relationships (Amber and Ryan, Camille and Zeek, Julia and Joel). Amber and Ryan flamed out spectacularly after weeks of emotional and engaging ups and downs, while Joel and Julia’s distancing has been far less effectively portrayed, with first Julia’s and now Joel’s motivations only peripherally explored. This week, however, both remaining couples and their problems are handled well, with respect and honesty.
Joel’s emotional journey this season is still painfully underexplored (the character’s tendency to internalize his thoughts has hampered this arc significantly), but every step in his moving out works, from Julia’s defeated plea for reconsideration to Joel’s desire to put off telling the kids one more day to Sydney and Victor’s devastated reaction to the news. We’ll see what comes next in the saga of Julia and Joel (the show seems unaware of its Joel problem, making it unlikely that we’ll get much progress there any time soon), but with Joel out of the house and their problems out in the open, it’ll be interesting at the very least to see how everyone else reacts.
Not the least of whom are Camille and Zeek, who finally opens up to his wife about her change in mindset. His fear of complicity in her unhappiness (or not-quite-happiness) is a wonderful surprise; thankfully the writers have given his stubbornness more layers than expected. The timing of Camille’s trip may have felt odd these past several episodes, but bringing her back (and having Zeek ready to sell) just in time for Joel to leave Julia works incredibly well, demonstrating that even if Camille doesn’t want to spend her Act III in that house, it’s still a place of enormous emotional significance to the rest of her family and one that will be hard to say goodbye to.
Bringing Crosby and co. to Casa Braverman at the same time, thanks to some conveniently timed mold, adds extra weight to the final scene and promises any number of hijinks in the coming weeks. We’ve seen how Crosby handled living with Jasmine’s mother; it’ll be interesting to see if Jasmine has more grace when surrounded by her in-laws (who, as we saw earlier this season, can become overwhelming to her in a matter of hours). Dax Shepard has carried much of the comedic weight this season, bringing levity to an otherwise incredibly dour series of events. It’ll be nice to hopefully bring more of the Braverman clan, not to mention the fantastic and underused-this-season Joy Bryant, into the s4 Crosby sitcom. Parenthood is in need of some more humor to balance out the pain (and make Crosby’s antics feel more connected to the rest of the show).
The other reliable source of comedy this season has been Hank’s mentorship of Max, which delivers yet another entertaining scene this week. Sarah’s growing confidence in her work is nice to see. Given how much she’s flitted around over the course of the series, career-wise, it’s hard to get too invested in photography as her true passion, but hopefully the writers are committing to this career path so we can get more storylines involving Sarah that don’t define her solely through her relationships with her children or with men. Of course her tie to Hank is still very much in play as a romantic subplot (and yes, Non-Profit Doctor Guy is lurking in the background, waiting to be the third leg of the Hank/Sarah Love Triangle Redux), but the two of them are great together this week, in a (mostly) non-romantic context. Maybe the show will let Hank move on and keep them as friends, avoiding an annoying rehash of a previous plotline? (Nah, there’s no way the show’s going to do that.)
Which brings us to the annoying rehash of a previous plotline for this week- Kristina’s decision to take on a ridiculous task for which she has absolutely no qualifications or experience and not a cent of financial backing. Her idea to start a school is absurd. It’s ridiculous. And even the thought process that leads to it smacks of privilege and unreality. Parenthood is already set in a financial fantasy land, where small businesses always succeed and the grandparents have a guest house, but while Kristina’s Can Do attitude is endearing, her complete disconnect from any sense of what starting a school requires is less so and her belief that she can accomplish what no other institution in their area has managed, and in only a year, is eye-rollingly egotistical. If there was any sense that she might be wrong and this all could explode in her face, this storyline could be an intriguing one. However the series long ago established Kristina as a force for good in the world and on Parenthood, righteous crusaders (and small businesses) tend to win. Adam and Kristina’s struggles as Max’s parents are almost always compelling; Kristina’s attempts to save the world are almost always not. We’ll see which way this one goes. Other than this decision, though, “You’ve Got Mold” is a very successful episode, one that shows Parenthood at its best and promises good and interesting things to come.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Did you miss Amber or Drew? Any predictions for Crosby and Jasmine’s stay with Camille and Zeek? Who will act out first- Sydney or Victor? Post your thoughts below!
Kate Kulzick