Parenthood Review: Hoodwinked!

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Once again, "Mr. Honesty" has lead me to crown the Grahams as Parents of the Week. One of the very best things about this season is the increased role of Sam Jaeger's Joel Graham. I know many of you appreciate his talents as much as I do, and I look forward to reading your thoughts on his awesomeness this week.

Joel and Julia Scope Troy

Sometimes, deception wins
Adam is just not that stupid. Really, I don't believe the character we have enjoyed for two years is an idiot. Yet only an idiot would have told his wife, who just gave birth, that the hot new receptionist kissed him. Or he kissed her. Whatever, he wouldn't say it. He is wise enough to know that honesty can break the bank.

So why decide to write Adam as a complete tool now? The seed was planted when he lost his position at the shoe company or, rather, when the company was purchased by that snot-nosed one-shoe business wizard. It's like he's fallen down the rabbit hole and lost his way of being a responsible husband and parent. I do not like it.

As a previous business manager, he certainly must know that firing a girl you kissed is grounds for a terrible lawsuit. Even threatening to let her go if it happens again is a no-no. He didn't climb the corporate ladder without knowing that, and if I recall his objection to Sarah dating his old boss fell under that very concern.

Sometimes, deception doesn't work. That would be when your wife thinks you fired the girl you kissed and you lie and act like you did. As if that really needs to be said. I don't know why he chose to talk to Kristina about what happened the night of the kiss, instead of talking about the business aspect. He didn't think it through. I don't know what happens next.

Poor golden child
Literally, this relates to economically challenged Amber. She works hard but is definitely not making ends meet. First, she's late on her rent and then her super cool, orange foreign car dies in the middle of a busy intersection. She was so adorable, dressing up in a beautiful dress to ask Camille to help her out financially. The way her voice faltered as she admitted the actual amount she needed was really big. Four hundred dollars.

God bless Camille for not laughing out loud. She handled it so well, knowing how much it took for Amber to come to her for help. She treated her like an adult and helped her at the same time. The Bravermans never cease to amaze me.

It's a round!
Jabbar finally received the bad news that his mom and dad would not be getting married. Crosby has grown by infinite degrees in comparison to Adam. He and Jasmine have finally found their groove and are making great decisions together. It took them a long time to get there, but it's lovely now that they've made it. They sang a round of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" via cellphone. It was beautiful.

Just when I thought she was going to tell Crosby that she was marrying Dr. Joe, Jasmine and Crosby were making love. Left field!!

Can we say extortion?
It started out so cute, Joel and Julia trying to find out something about their potential baby's birth father. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but they were willing to look past that and get to know him, just as they had Zoe.

I guess we should have known that Zoe wasn't dating a good guy. But extortion? Of a lawyer? His smug demeanor as he explained that girls Zoe's age can get $30,000 for an egg was appalling. Did he not recall that she had already chosen to have and give up the baby? How could the adoption be about eggs? He's just a dirtbag trying to sell his baby.

Joel, once again, stood his ground and stood up for his wife and his family. Julia blindly hoped that they could talk it through; she is an attorney after all. In spite of Zoe's protests, Troy ushered her out of the house. Zoe doesn't know what to do, but what can she do? Without the signature of the birth father, her baby is going nowhere except her house or foster care. What a nightmare.

There were enough balls up in the air for this to be the mid-season finale, but instead, we will get to spend more time with our favorite family next week, as previewed in this video. Meet back here next Tuesday for more of the Braverman love.

Mr. Honesty Review

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Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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Parenthood Season 3 Episode 10 Quotes

Mmmmm. My wife picturing our birth father stripping. That's a little weird for me.

Joel

Adam: Should I or should I not tell Kristina.
Crosby: Well, yeah, of course you should tell Kristina. She's gonna love this story. You can walk her through why you were at her place and how soft her lips were and whether or not you got aroused downstairs...and she's probably feeling great about herself post baby, so I think this will go over great. But, you'll be guilt free and she'll spiral into a dark depression.