Parenthood Season 6: Will someone die with the show?

Agree across the board, especially with Max. That's good writing.

 

Last night's episode: Did I miss the explanation for where Adam and Christina were?

The scene between Zeek and Joel was great, and Joel showing up at Julia's door was a great cliffhanger. It's TV, so they have to end up together, right?

Good scene, too, with Ray Romano and Betsy Brandt.

 

There was some sort of explanation presented by Max while he was trying to hurry his aunt along. It was a clumsy bit of explanation, honestly. They were off getting funding for the school or something.

 

There wouldn't have been much point to their characters if they don't. Unless Joel dies or something. Which would be cheap.

The show would have been better off never having had them in the show in the first place. Joel is, in essence, the fifth male lead on the show and Julia was the sixth female lead until this year, when Haddie dropped off the map. Now she's fifth.

When the show kicked off, could the creators have know Mae Whitman was this good? They should have; she'd already shown it, and they should have known, based on Lauren Graham's previous role in Gilmore Girls, that audiences were going to glom on hard to Amber and Sarah's relationship.

 

It's funny to look back and consider Graham's role belonged to Maura Tierney before she fell ill. Wonder what different turns the character would have taken.

 

I don't know if an audience roots "for" Lauren Graham the same way they would have Tierney. You kind of figure Graham gets herself into jams and gets out, as if in a loop. There's a certain kind of appeal to that, though.

 

I believe it was Sacramento or Santa Monica...but yeah, out of the area so Auntie Preggo tossed into the mix. It was a weak effort for a storyline.

 

Damn, that was such a great episode. I was very worried about the idea of an episode without Adam, since he's been the heart of the show since Episode 1. But it was seamless, even with (two of) his children in the episode. Keep in mind that these requirements are not plot conveniences, they were forced on the show by NBC, just like making this season 13 episodes instead of a full load. It's tough to argue that the episode really missed them, even if the Sacramento explanation was a bit clumsy.

Alma, you're way off about the (fictional) Grahams. Julia has had a bigger role than any female other than Kristina, Sarah and Amber. Her role has always been much larger than Camille's, who never gets enough of a spotlight, and Haddie's been mostly missing for three seasons now. Julia is a rock who provides a great counterpoint to Crosby and Sarah and an ideal youngest overachieving sibling role. And Joel, aside from last season, is probably the most likable character on the show. And their drama has been pretty solid emotionally, in my opinion. Also, the whole point of the show is the ensemble quality.

As an aside, I'm not sure they have to bring Julia and Joel back together. Jason Katims is completely unafraid of breaking conventional family structures and TV narratives. He tends to leave us with a good taste in our mouths, but he's no coward about it.

However, you're dead on about the (real) Graham. Sarah Braverman and Lorelai Gilmore are obnoxious as hell. Anyway, rankings:

1. Joel: This guy. This guy. I mean, I'd want my daughter to stay married to him, too.
2. Zeke: His relationship with Drew made Drew a real character a few seasons ago and still pays off. And his advice to Joel was perfect.
3. Drew: I like his girlfriend, too. And when he gets all angsty, it's funny.
4. Nora: She's really cute.
5. Max: I can't blame him for being him, and I damn-near died laughing when Sarah walked in and found him. "The system has broken down; it's amazing."
6. Julia: I've been thinking a bit about how much she (well, all of the characters, especially Julia and Crosby) has evolved. I like this version more.
7. Sarah: Considering how often she was on screen, she didn't do much good or bad. But she has good taste in women.
8. Hank: I don't know what to think about his ex coming back yet.
9. Amber: Why did you think you could execute a trip to Alcatraz with them? More than a bit overzealous, albeit adorable. Did Kristina put you up to this?

 

I didn't love how Joel basically threw himself at Julia's mercy like it was all his fault. She did kiss Roy from The Office, remember? She's not faultless. They both have some blame.
That said, I do hope they wind up back together again, even if it is the "neat and clean' ending.

 

I've been sort of half paying attention for the last two seasons. What did Joel do wrong other than not "fight for Julia" after she:

1. Was not particularly warm to their adoptive son initially
2. Pouted and grumbled when he had a big opportunity in his career and she agreed to stay at home with the kids, something he'd been doing for six years already.
3. Kissed another man.

What did I miss here where Joel was deserving of an equal share of the blame on the deterioration of their marriage?

 

I think the general consensus is that he remained cold past the point where he might have tried to get past it. He really stoned her at every turn last season.

 

Yeah. And the whole event was set up so well in Season 1 with Harmony's mom and Julia being understanding.