I don't know necessarily if that is the case with J&J, but I do appreciate that the show is not taking their change in status quo lightly. Things started to unravel when Julia quit her job, got worse when Victor got held back and seem unfixable now that Julia was kissed by Ed. In the real world, I do see this couple possibly divorcing, but this is Parenthood, this is Jasom Katim's world, so we're all just expecting the reversal to come in a a few episodes to come (right?? RIGHT?!). However realistic this storyline is, there are some things that still bother me about it, though. For one, it seems that Joel is being unusually cruel. They just adopted a kid together, for Christ sakes! Give Julia a chance! Sleep on the couch for a week or two, but don't make Sydney cry like that. Although Victor's quiet pain - which can easily transform itself into rage - was even more heartbreaking to me. The other aspect that seems to bother me is how quiet and subdued Julia is. Fight for your man, woman! Say something, tell him you love him, anything! It's hard for me to buy that go-getter Julia in only capable of huggin her legs and whispering "you don't have to go" when her husband and presumably love of her life walks out.
Speaking of changes in status quo, the other strong storyline of the week revolved around Zeek and Camille. I particularly love that they're exploring a relatively new crisis in modern age: older people, with now a whole new "act" in life, not having planned to, well, basically, live that long. I totally buy Camille's longing, ever since her affair a few seasons ago. Camille wants more, she wants art, she wants adventure. And Zeek is happy living his quiet life, taking care of his car and fixing the house. I feel we were all frustrated that Zeek didn't pack his bags and go after Camille, but he finally noticed that it's his wife that is the center of his universe, and if he doesn't have her, the quiet life and the old car in the garage have no meaning. I'm very excited to see the spin-off "Camille and Zeek - Lost in Europe!" next year.
The other storylines don't deserve that much attention. Sarah and Hank argue over a picture, Adam and Cristina are frustrated that Max doesn't fit in anywhere and she decides to open a school. It would be a storyline that deserves attention, but doing big crazy projects is Cristina's thing now, so when she says "I'm starting a school, it's so crazy!", all I can do is think "not as crazy as running for mayor!". I also can't help but mention how little I missed Amber this week.
I did think this was a solid hour of TV, as Parenthood mostly is, but it didn't feel very mid-season-finale-esque to me. But that's what Parenthood does so well: "little" story lines that are actually very huge in these people's worlds.
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