Parenthood Review: “Vegas” (6×01)

Reviewing Parenthood is always an interesting prospect for me. Coming up with a score can honestly feel a bit like alchemy. I love this show because it perfectly nails such significant minutiae of family life, like that little shrug Camille gives Julia after Kristina brings Joel on board at the school. You know they are about to talk shit on Kristina, because she does this shit all the time. The show so fully portrays all of life's small moments, and so gracefully, in such a way that we are instantly reminded of our own families. Suddenly I am not watching Zeke; I'm watching my own grandfather, or seeing some future vision of my father. I see not Kristina and Sarah and Julia, but my mother and aunts. Certain dynamics are more familiar than others. Parenthood achieves this effect even in its lesser episodes, but when it marries this effect with genuinely great craftsmanship, it is one of the best shows on television. Tonight, it does just that.

“Vegas” is an excellent way to kick off this last season. It draws upon the show's deep, rich history, and in doing so pushes many of the characters in new, challenging directions (and sets the rest up for a later payoff). Zeke must now come to terms with his mortality. Amber is pregnant. Hank and Sarah are dating, finally. Julia seems on track to replace Joel, just when Joel decides to forgive her. We are engaged in each of these stories because we are intimately familiar with these characters, and with this family.

The episode revolves around Zeke's surprise birthday trip to Vegas, courtesy of Sarah. It's a blast, until he collapses. The sustained sequence where he is in the hospital is riveting, showing the siblings' various reactions and playing them against each other, so that every reaction reveals character in some way or another. Julia responds to Joel's kiss by agreeing to see her law firm hookup. Adam immediately decides Sarah is not mature enough to handle the situation, and spends his time remotely trying to wrest control from her, until finally he and Crosby just show up in Vegas themselves. Zeke himself doesn't even want to be in the hospital—after he's discharged, he sneaks back out onto the casino floor, and soon his kids are out there with him, having a good time.

In other words this week's episode covers the full array of Parenthood's strong points, putting Adam up against his less-responsible siblings and his cantankerous father for laughs, but not before letting us feel each siblings' panic upon hearing the news. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast helps out with the opening of Chambers Academy, and while it's still a little farfetched that Adam and Kristina now run a school, it provides this week a good central gathering point for the various Bravermans. The show relies upon the chemistry among its large web of characters, and so the more Bravemans per capita, the better. Plus, the fact that the school is run by Max's parents puts an effectively dramatic, personal spin on Max's already heart wrenching struggle with returning to school.

We're robbed of an Amber heart-to-heart with Sarah until next week, but she does share a lovely scene with Haddie, who appears to be sticking around on at least a semi-regular basis. I hadn't realized how much I missed the character, but she's a pleasure to have back. Mae Whitman plays Amber's nervous trepidation with a perfect jittery edge, and when she finally comes clean to Haddie, she and Sarah Ramos have a really great exchange that's a perfect example of the show's effective use of its own history.

So much goes on in any given episode that it's hard not to just start summarizing the plot. But at its best, Parenthood is less about what actually happens, and much more about how the individual scenes make you feel. What the best episodes of Parenthood do is construct a plot that showcases these character moments; it's a show that excels in the in-between of life's biggest moments. Zeke's hospital stay is not as important as his reaction to it. The reason for Julia's divorce matters less than its aftermath. The joy of Parenthood is that we watch life happen, and find ourselves satisfied.

As an opening to the final season, “Vegas” accomplishes all it needs to and then some. This is a long-overdue and very, very welcome reunion with the Braverman clan, one that celebrates where the show has been while pointing the direction for its final episodes. It's by far the most sure of itself the show has been in quite some time. If this is a sign of things to come, then we're in for a rewarding closing stretch here.

Stray Observations:

– The premiere does a pretty good job of servicing most of the main characters, but Drew essentially cameos, and Crosby is strictly on comic relief duty.

– Pretty much the entire Internet called it that Zeke would be having some health woes this season, but the prospect of it still feels momentous.

– Betsy Brandt guest stars as Hank's ex-wife. She fits this show perfectly, doesn't she?