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| Cory really enjoys his lollypop. Credit: NBC |
My review of last night's Parenthood is after the jump.
This was an episode that had aspects I liked and aspects I didn't.
The major negative that the episode has was Kristina's behavior towards the other characters. That character has never been my favorite and what this episode did was it brought those feeling to the forefront. (*) The character was over-the-top and ridiculous. There was no realism to the extremes of her behavior. They did try to explain her behavior but it really didn't justify the actions in this episode and the arc in general. She also has behaved terribly towards Camille, to a point where it's very unrealistic that someone would talk that way to their mother in law. You can't side with Kristina because of how bitchy her behavior towards Krisitina was.
(*) Monica Potters hasn't helped the writing be better. She has played Kristina as annoying and selfish. This had made me dislike the character and in turn dislike aspects of this episode.
It doesn't help that the Haddie/Alex arc is losing me. I didn't hate the arc because Sarah Ramos and Michael P. Jordan are great together and have great chemistry. When the arc turned more towards focusing on the rift between Haddie and her parents that was forming because of this is when it lost me. I understand the actions of Haddie and found her actions to be within the realm of reasonability but it's Kristina's over the top behavior that's preventing me to enjoy the arc. I also think the arc has gone on for about two episodes too long and it looks like it's going to be a major part of next week. This could be good if Kristina's behavior is kept in check and the plot is kept within the limits of reality, it could have a strong (hopefully soon) conclusion.
Another disappointment (although I was only slightly disappointed with this) was the Zeke and Max plotline. It was cute but I would have liked to have seen more from the plot. I had no negative feelings but I was slightly disappointed.
The other aspects of this episode were much better. Peter Krause was very funny when he ate the lollipop. He's so deadpan and he rarely gets a chance to be funny. In this episode he took chance to be funny and ran with it. He did funny really well. You could also see his disapproval towards his boss, even when he was high. (**)
(**) "He drugged me" was the best line of the episode.
The Julia/Braverman women plotline didn't do much for me. It was very lightweight and was probably there to service the rest of the large cast. It was fun but not much else really happened.
Overall, I disliked aspects of the episode but I enjoyed the rest. It made a an overall decent episode.
What did everyone else think?
The major negative that the episode has was Kristina's behavior towards the other characters. That character has never been my favorite and what this episode did was it brought those feeling to the forefront. (*) The character was over-the-top and ridiculous. There was no realism to the extremes of her behavior. They did try to explain her behavior but it really didn't justify the actions in this episode and the arc in general. She also has behaved terribly towards Camille, to a point where it's very unrealistic that someone would talk that way to their mother in law. You can't side with Kristina because of how bitchy her behavior towards Krisitina was.
(*) Monica Potters hasn't helped the writing be better. She has played Kristina as annoying and selfish. This had made me dislike the character and in turn dislike aspects of this episode.
It doesn't help that the Haddie/Alex arc is losing me. I didn't hate the arc because Sarah Ramos and Michael P. Jordan are great together and have great chemistry. When the arc turned more towards focusing on the rift between Haddie and her parents that was forming because of this is when it lost me. I understand the actions of Haddie and found her actions to be within the realm of reasonability but it's Kristina's over the top behavior that's preventing me to enjoy the arc. I also think the arc has gone on for about two episodes too long and it looks like it's going to be a major part of next week. This could be good if Kristina's behavior is kept in check and the plot is kept within the limits of reality, it could have a strong (hopefully soon) conclusion.
Another disappointment (although I was only slightly disappointed with this) was the Zeke and Max plotline. It was cute but I would have liked to have seen more from the plot. I had no negative feelings but I was slightly disappointed.
The other aspects of this episode were much better. Peter Krause was very funny when he ate the lollipop. He's so deadpan and he rarely gets a chance to be funny. In this episode he took chance to be funny and ran with it. He did funny really well. You could also see his disapproval towards his boss, even when he was high. (**)
(**) "He drugged me" was the best line of the episode.
The Julia/Braverman women plotline didn't do much for me. It was very lightweight and was probably there to service the rest of the large cast. It was fun but not much else really happened.
Overall, I disliked aspects of the episode but I enjoyed the rest. It made a an overall decent episode.
What did everyone else think?
When you're an adult and get a chance to have a mother-in-law, you'll quickly discover that the comments made to Camille are actually quite tame. I can assure you, daugther-in-laws are not usually afraid to let their mother-in-laws know what they think of them and their comments. It is true the other way around as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Julia plotline was there to develop her character and show how the family are generally supportive of her, even when she's trying way too hard. She was forced out of her "we must follow the plan" and when she "went with the flow" everyone had a lot more fun.
I loved how Adam handled the situation with Max. It was so perfect and I'm not sure he would have handled it as well if he hadn't had to be more focused because of the lollipop. It was a good lesson to the dad that he doesn't know everything and sometimes when a person says "listen to us" that he will. Maybe it will spill over into other areas of his life. My nephew is autistic so we deal with these situations all the time and it is very realistic.
Michael P. Jordan is becoming one of my favorite actors. He has been on the show "Lie To Me" as well and did a great job. I hope he will get past the type-casting of "kid who grew up poor and is rising above it" and really get a chance stretch his acting skills, but for now he is very convincing in his current roles.
Great Review, but a little harsh.
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