Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Okay, so are you finally done crying yet, or have your tears at least subsided enough to read text on a screen? By the end of "Because You're My Sister," I was literally sobscreaming, a term I made up just now that means "belligerently weeping while yelling at your TV in a very humiliating and overwhelming mix of happiness and insanity." I'd like to tell you that Parenthood is the only show that does this to me, but I recently watched PBS' Animal Odd Couples and had a very similar reaction to this particularly moving segment about a goat and a horse. (Highly recommended.)

"One Step Forward, Two Steps Back" just didn't do it for me. At first there was a lot of potential in the screen time allotted to Camille and Amber, but the story was stretched between so many characters that I mostly felt bored just waiting for the pieces to fall where we knew they would. I think there's a ton of potential for the season -- or, at this point, possibly the series -- finale, but I wish the set-up wasn't at the expense of the penultimate episode. The pacing felt especially off, which isn't usually a problem for Parenthood. Let's see what else was at play:

Is this the end of Klaroline?

I'm not going to spend too much time on the fact that I totally called it three different times, but I hate everything about the reveal of Amy's pregnancy except for the whole me being a genius factor. I loathe when shows punish consenting teens for having sex or drinking; it feels like some weird leftover Puritan punishment from leftover "Very Special Episodes" from outdated sitcoms.

During this winter break, I visited family and found myself not mentioning Parenthood when people asked for TV recommendations -- and not because I don't clearly love this show, but because I realized the individuals asking me have painfully lived through things we've watch the Bravermans endure, and it seems in very poor taste to tell my future mother-in-law whose own mother died of cancer not too long ago to tune in to Kristina fighting the battle. It begs the question: Is Parenthood a show for the privileged voyeur? Aside from the whole TV-as-escapism factor, I think there's an argument there with this show in particular. Then again, one of the reasons people love Parenthood as much as they do is because they've gone through some of the same emotions are the Bravermans, which can make our own lives feel less lonely, our issues less taboo and stigmatized and our problems more manageable (I see this a lot from fans in particular of Max's Asperger's, which, of course, makes sense). I've also had friends tell me that they can't stand Parenthood because they don't want to, say, watch Crosby and Jasmine sync their calendars when that's what they literally spent the week fighting with their spouse about. Can't win 'em all.

Parenthood is making it on to Best of 2012 lists, y'all. People are celebrating the Bravermans... influential people who sway executives to order more episodes and give extra money to shows. And after watching "What to My Wondering Eyes," is it really so surprising? My biggest complaint about this episode is that I don't get to sit around Zeek and Camille's Christmas tree (along with Max's sweet train) or wear new matching family scarves with the Braverman women. And where's my potty doll?

Okay, so "Trouble in Candyland" was maybe a bit predictable, but I felt distinctly good watching it, the way I often do after an enjoyable episode of Parenthood. Looking over my notes, the four phrases I wrote the most were, "BUSTED!!!", "Poor thing!", "such a good actor" and "Jesus Christ, Marie!" (my fellow Breaking Bad fans will understand that one). Next week's "What to My Wondering Eyes" kind of makes me want to jump off of a bridge with its Christmastime sadness, but for now let's hone in on last night.

Do you think Kristina is going to die? I don't know, y'all. A few episodes ago, I would have given you a definite "no," but there are only six episodes left in this season (unless NBC orders more) and I'm starting to think that if the Parenthood writers believe this is the end, they'll go out with a bang and the saddest final silent montage in the history of this show. Maybe with Bob Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate" playing over Adam coming home from his wife's funeral? I'm getting a tiny bit emotional just thinking about it, though to be clear I really just want her to get better and for her next storyline to be about like, I don't know, deciding to go back to school to become a nurse.

You know how at the end of "One More Weekend With You" when Ryan tells Amber, "I know that this weekend wasn't any fun and it was really intense and heavy, and I just wanna say thank you so much for coming"? I feel like that was from the writers to us. This episode was ridiculously overwhelming; and in one way, that was a good thing, as it showed how dark the show is willing to get, but in a much more realistic way, it made "One More Weekend With You" incredibly difficult to watch. Christ, even the Crosby stuff was serious.