There is no bigger fan of Parenthood than me.  As a scribe myself, I can tell you that the writers for this show are top notch.

Each episode has themes, a strong character arc, beautiful and hilarious dialogue and well-rounded characters.  Such a history leads me to believe the writers were on vacation this week... because "Put Yourself Out There" had to have been flattest episode of Parenthood I have ever seen. 

This was a Camille, Zeek and Sarah centered-installment, which, did nothing for me. Nothing much happened, no plot was advanced, no drama was created or avoided, and it was just sort of boring. Let's go over what each character was up to:

Adam:  Perhaps the reason the episode felt so empty was because Adam was only in one scene.  He stopped by to convince Amber to meet with someone from Berkeley.  I am a huge fan of Peter Krause, I still believe the character he played on Six Feet Under, Nate, was the best written male character on television in decades.  And he is just as good on this show.  He is the center, the apex, the heart of the Braverman family - so, please, give us more of him!

Crosby:  Right behind Adam in importance is Crosby.  He provides the foil for the straight man, Adam.  Usually all of my favorite quotes come from either Adam or Crosby.  He was also barely seen.

Sarah: I know, I know, she’s a main character.  And believe it or not, she was actually tolerable tonight.  She's at her best when she's mothering Amber, a bright young woman who brings out Sarah’s strength and maturity.

Julia:  Must still be on vacation with the writers.

Zeek and Camille: I was thrilled to see a crack in this seemingly perfect reconciliation.  If you’ve ever been in an unfaithful relationship, you know that trust is not rebuilt over night.  It was good to see Zeek finally lash out at this Matthew character.  Knowing what we do about Zeek, I thought it was totally in character and probably the only thing that made sense in the whole episode.

Christina: She is becoming a woman obsessed with leveling the playing field for her son.  As a parent, I understand completely the desire to be an advocate for her son, but practically bullying another mother into making her daughter invite Max to a birthday party was the complete wrong approach.  Sometimes the most important lesson you can teach your kids is how to overcome problems on their own.  Max needs to know that if difficulty comes his way, he can handle it.  Besides, he didn’t seem nearly as upset as Christina was about the invitation.

And now, the big moment:  This week’s Tearjerker Scene of the Night. Drum roll...

Slim pickings, but I would have to say the scene where Amber begins to cry about messing everything up in her life, along with Adam’s touching pep talk in response. On the tearjerker scale?  2.0 out of 5.0 tears.  Sadly, I didn’t even need a tissue.