What I'm Watching: Parenthood

Parenthood: Season 2, Episode 4 "Date Night" (B+)

It would appear that all threads in this episode manage to work equally well, which is quite an achievement considering the large number of characters and interactions on this show. I wasn't so sure at the start about Joel moping around the house trying to find a hobby, but his entirely successful activity at the end of the episode made it all worthwhile, in addition to demonstrating Joel's true worth. He’s always been the least developed of the spouses, and it’s good to see him get a spotlight that doesn’t involve being emasculated by Julia for once. Speaking of characters not traditionally featured, Drew suddenly becomes a major player as his mom butts into his budding romance and ends up ruining his chances by encouraging him to make a move. When she tries the same thing with Mike, of course, it does work, so her advice isn’t all that off. Crosby getting drunk during the middle of the day doesn’t help his case, but it’s good that his mother-in-law, as he casually refers to her, is actually on his side and Jasmine decides to come back. That final scene with the party for Haddie that her parents subtly sneak away from is a nice culmination of a productive episode that now has the many couples and parents falling neatly into their assigned roles and realizing how they can cope with the unexpected events that sometimes happen in life. It’s only episode four of this season that should last longer than thirteen episodes, so I’m eager to see the Braverman family overcome the many speed bumps that will likely pop up along the way.