Sooooo, I watched this, and here are some thoughts.
I love Friday Night Lights, so that’s obviously a big reason why I wanted to watch this. I was reading stuff after watching it, and I remembered I had heard about Parenthood before it started when Lauren replaced Maura Tierney. I can’t even imagine how different the show would’ve been, but let’s get to it.
First of all, amazing show. I absolutely adored most of it, I loved the characters, I loved the stories, I loved the people. I loved how it progressively got more FNL, filming wise, as the seasons went on. I’ll break it down by character/couples/siblings:
Julia and Joel: they are the most amazing couple EVER. Erica and Sam had the most amazing chemistry and their little family was my favorite from the get-go. I loved that their marriage was different from the others, as far as they traditionally worked, and how that informed their characters and stories. Sydney’s absolutely lovely, and if people hated her back in the day, their loss. I was absolutely crushed when the pregnancy and adoption didn’t happen, and absolutely thrilled when Victor came around. But TPTB were so cruel with their breakup story, you have no idea how much I hated it. There was that episode where everyone learned that Crosby had cheated on Jasmine and Joel said he’d never cheat on Julia, so when she cheated on him, that was devastating to me. I was also surprised that the show was framing it as “Joel walked away and now Julia can’t forgive him” at a certain point cause I never saw the situation like that so that was really confusing to me. I’ve seen some interviews since, so I get what they meant by it, but I still don’t agree with it. I was just super happy that they got back together and had a big happy ending to their story.
Adam and Kristina: they were such dorks at times and amazing parents and just good. I loved their dynamic, I was so moved by the cancer story because it felt like TPTB didn’t shy away from telling that as realistically as they possibly could, and it was a lot to take in at times. The scene where they tell everyone that Kristina has cancer was heartbreaking. I loved that they showed that journey and then had Kristina move on without forgetting everything about it. I wish there had been more time to explore Adam’s true passion, work-wise, because I think a lot of adults could relate to just doing something for a living for the sake of getting paid, and it would’ve been nice to see him explore in detail if being a headmaster was what he wanted to do, and how he fit there.
Crosby and Jasmine: he was such a mess at times, and I kinda enjoyed that but the cheating sure hurt a lot. It was also the fact that Jasmine and Jabbar were so loveable from the beginning, I was just astounded that he’d do anything that’d put that family at risk. I was also pissed at Jasmine for not telling him about the pregnancy and all the hate that brought from her family at the beginning. I was just glad that they got to be reunited. I wish Jasmine had had more to do in the late seasons, IDK if it was due to the actress having other stuff (I’m pretty sure she was hiding a RL pregnancy in the last season), but she was terribly underused.
Sarah and Hank (and Mark): I’m always gonna love Lauren no matter what, and I thought Sarah had such an amazing arc. It wasn’t always entirely convincing as far as jumping careers/boyfriends, but Sarah really grew a lot as a person, and as a mother. I guess people were invested in the different romantic possibilities, and, I mean, Jason’s charming as hell, so I get that, but the moment Mark said he wanted kids, to me, felt like there was no going back, even tho they got back together after. Seth was never really gonna be, it just wasn’t. Hank was an unexpected surprise, his character grew too, and I thought his relationship with Max was adorable and beautiful, so I was kinda happy for Sarah cause they seemed like a good fit.
Zeek and Millie: what lovely parents and grandparents! Like with Jasmine, I wish Millie had had more to do, but I adored the role each played in their family’s lives, and how they portrayed their relationship. I was so sad when they moved and Zeek got sick. I loved that the end had the whole family honoring his wishes, though, and Millie going to France.
Haddie and Alex (and Lauren): Michael B. Jordan as Alex is one of the highlights of my life, basically. I adored Haddie from the first episode, and I was delighted to see her have a relationship completely different than the one she had with Steve. The fact that Michael was playing Alex just took it to another level because he’s an amazing actor like that, and it brought so many good things for Sarah to play. I swear, Alex’s “breakup scene” with Kristina was one of the scenes that made me cry the most. I get that Michael was blowing up and probably had other stuff, but I wish he’d come back at some point because he truly felt like part of the family. I wish we’d seen more of Lauren too, and just Haddie in general in the latter seasons. I loved Haddie’s relationship with Amber and with Max so much, so I wish we’d had more of that, but I also appreciated a show telling a story where a character goes to college and actually goes there, you know?
Amber (and Ryan) and Drew (and Amy): I enjoyed Amber’s and Drew’s journey much like Sarah’s. I thought she had quite a lot to do, and it all felt like it happened at the right time. Her beginning was a bit rocky, but she got to evolve as far as the relationship with her parents and with her boyfriends go. I didn’t love the Steve part, at all. Ryan, on the other hand, I mean, Matt Lauria can do no wrong, and they were lovely together, but not in an endgame kinda way, so I was really glad when they parted ways. I have to say tho, the whole sex in the hospital part, just to create the pregnancy storyline, that was lame, like, terribly so. I love that Mae was a huge FNL fan and she was living the life while working with former FNL actors. Drew had a little less, but he also got to shine quite a bit, and the fact that the character was much more quiet than most of the rest helped make those moments stand out. I’m really glad that this show told the story of an abortion, I was so glad for it and the girl who plays Amy got to shine as well.
Sydney and Victor: these two, I swear, I loved them so fucking much. Like, Syd was just adorable and the episode where she left the house, I was laughing-crying, it was so lovely! And then Victor came along and I just loved him too, so, so much!!!
Max: he’s like, I don’t know where to start! His story was incredible, the actor was so amazing cause, in paper, he could’ve gone one-note and get away with it, but he did so much more than that. Some of the most emotional moments for me where Max-related because every little bit of development he had felt like such an achievement. I adored his friendship with Hank, it was so beautiful to see that develop (ha!) and how, like Hank said, they both learned so much from each other.
I think it was the interactions between the different characters that made the show strong, and everyone had A Moment. The first three seasons were the best at that, at having characters collide and relate in different and interesting ways. Like, Crosby being there when Kristina gave birth, whenever Amber had to babysit her cousins, Joel helping Crosby with the house and bonding with Jasmine about not being a Braverman, and such. The show fell a little when the characters were more confined to their own bubble later on, and there was a bit of too much of the same dynamics, or at least it felt that way to me. Like, I think The Luncheonette was a box that the writers couldn’t navigate properly, it didn’t allow for Crosby and Adam to do much without the other, and was partly to blame for the lack of Jasmine too.
Overall, I absolutely loved a lot of what the show had to offer, and while I’m late, I’m glad I’ve finally gotten around to watching it and knowing the Braverman family.
Favourite female characters, two hundred sixty six: Julia Braverman-Graham. “I screwed up huge, I know that. That’s what got us here. But I never gave up the fight. This is the first time we were really tested and I really needed him and he was weak.”
Every time I watch the Parenthood episode where Julia tells Sydney about heaven when Joel did not want her to AND THEY AGREED NOT TO, I immediately think "this is what he should have left her over."
listen up, Joel Graham. You can not CAN NOT be angry with Julia when she makes friends with another person who happens to be a man and is emotionally available when all you do is put her down, neglect her, and close her out. you are a huge douche, you raging douchecanoe.
