Parenthood – Fear factors into Bravermans’ Halloween

I’m not all that into Halloween — the costumes, scariness, gore — so that might’ve contributed to my somewhat muted response to the latest Parenthood episode where several characters had to confront their fears: Max of fire and trick-or-treating, man-boy Crosby of commitment, Julia of her daughter’s anti-feminist leanings and boss man Gordon (Billy Baldwin) of other people’s kids and serious relationships.

Whatever anti-Halloween feelings I had were trumped, however, by the great post-trick-or-treating scenes where the parents were pillaging their kids’ Halloween candy.

Halloween is HUGE in the Braverman family. The reason for its emphasis was explained by Zeek (it was the last holiday he was able to share with Camille before he went to basic training, then Vietnam) but the story didn’t ring as sentimental as I’m sure the writers intended it to be. Maybe part of the reason why it felt lacking real punch was because we only saw Camille’s face for a nanosecond and the only family-togetherness aspect to the holiday celebration was the fact that all the adults donned costumes while they walked around the neighborhood while the kids trick-or-treated.

All Hallows Eve set the stage for the series of fears the characters were facing:

I didn’t totally buy that Max, who’d never gone trick-or-treating, would be able to climb the scary stairs and go get candy at that haunted house without freaking out. That seemed too much like a manufactured Hallmark moment. I would’ve freaked out if I’d gone up to that door, what with a cauldron of fire and torches a la Hogwarts, chilling/screaming sound effects, spooky lights.

But the way in which Kristina tried to prep Max for this new experience — how overbearing she became and, at times, even smothering — was true and rooted in her concern for his emotional well being. As annoying as Kristina was in this episode, it was hard to blame her for it, particularly because she was pressured into taking Max trick-or-treating by Adam. I adored, simply adored, the scene where she finally got to relax and completely pigged out on Max’s candy, her cheeks literally bulging with sweets as Adam thanked her for asking all the neighbors to replace the candles in their jack-o-lanterns with glowing safety lights and for looking out for their son.

I was also fond of the sparkly green spider ring proposal Crosby made to Jasmine while they too were looting Jabbar’s candy. So sweet. That was perfect for this couple, to get engaged while sitting on the floor in silly costumes amidst candy wrappers. I was on the fence about whether the writers were going to have Crosby keep wimping out, which’d cause Jasmine to get tired of waiting and find a different man who’d be willing to commit. I’m glad they went this way instead of dragging it out with bad melodrama.

On a personal level, Julia being appalled by her daughter Sydney’s desire to dress up as Miss California for Halloween was fabulous. It’s not an easy thing to allow one’s child to have the freedom to be who she is when her choices go against what you, the parent, believe in. It would’ve been really easy to make Julia look bad here, like a humorless cliche. But the way in which Julia handled it was amusing and because, in the end, Julia allowed Sydney to be Miss California, even helped her get ready, Julia did not come off as controlling.

Billy Baldwin, however, continues to creep me out as he pawed at Lorelai Gilmore Sarah not all that long after he’d gone into a swimming pool fully clothed to rescue Sarah’s daughter’s friend (who’s also Peggy Olson’s friend on Mad Men). Obviously, this romantic relationship will cause problems at work, which, I suppose, is the point. But I like Mike the forklift guy. Bring him back please.

Clacked by Meredith O'Brien
on Oct 20, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT