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.

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.

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.