Parenthood - Lean In - Review: "We are not ready to say Goodbye"

Until now, this last season of Parenthood has not been as gripping as usual. This fall finale which is called Lean In follows the same pattern and fortunately cuts off Ruby’s screen time. But sadly yes, she is still in the picture.

Let’s start talking about Max and his “first-crush” storyline: as expected his troubled relationship with Dylan ended up with him lashing out in front of the class. I didn’t like too much how they dealt with this storyline: it’s not a proper portrayal of how good parenthood should be, mainly because of Kristina. She was on Max’s side, in a specific moment of his life that should lead him to understand boundaries, considering that he became obsessed with Dylan after her rejection. Not that I am a fan of Dylan by the way. At least, it’s over.

Instead I am still rooting for Zeek, that this season conquered my heart. It was so heartwarming his decision to organize a trip to France, in order to realize Camille’s dream. His journey through the series, changed him from a betrayer and selfish patriarch to a loving and caring husband. The ending was so sad and intense, that I got shivers.

The most interesting development of Lean In was obviously the possible final reconciliation of Julia and Joel. I loved how the writers portrayed their difficulties. It didn’t ended up well just in a bunch of episodes, it was a realistic representation of the difficulties of a married couple, the obstacles of non-communication and trust-issues. I just hope they will finally get their happy ending. (And this is not Once Upon a Time)

Then, here we are again. Sarah’s storyline was
B-O-R-I-N-G. I liked that they brought back Mr Cyr, just for a cameo, but it was only a mean to underline once again, that Sarah is happy with Hank. At least our beloved teacher now is happy. Happier that he could ever been with the confused Braverman.

All in all, this fall finale was quite good. Some useless and redundant storylines came to a closure, other ended up with great turns and the last minutes has created a lot of expectation for these three episodes before the series finale. This season was just meant to give us a sad, heartbreaking and gut-wrenching ending? Only time will tell.

Parenthood will return with a new episode How Did We Get Here? on January 8th at 10/9 on NBC. What do you think about Lean In? 

About the Author - Francesco B

Fra (aka Francesco B.) is a writer of the site. He’s a professional tv-and-cinema maniac and a keen reader. He is an italian lazy university student, he truly loved tv series like Veronica Mars, Buffy, Lost, Alias.. and he would like to become a professional journalist. One Day. Maybe.