Parenthood - The Deep End of The Pool, S01E03

Although this show could never be called or considered "light," the underlying hope is what keeps you coming back despite the emotional wringer you go through while watching.

The Braverman family has a whole lot of difficulties; with 4 children, all of whom have kids of their own, it's fairly easy to have a good cross section of typical parent-child relationships. What I have no really talked about so far, though, it the sibling relationships.

I have been told many times that my sister and I are ridiculously close, that siblings do not usually have the depth of friendship and understanding that we have...so perhaps I am not the best person to judge, but I do think that, as they get older, most siblings become quite close because of all the common experiences they have which no one else could possibly comprehend.

Adam (Peter Krause), Crosby (Dax Shepard), Julia (Erika Christensen), and Sarah (Lauren Graham) have wonderful sibling bonds. They have tensions, and fight of course, but they are each other's support systems. Crosby goes to his brother, Adam, for advice about the son he just discovered he had, rather than to his father. Julia and Sarah also often go to Adam, the oldest and most together of the four, whenever they are lost. He has much of the advice they might get from their father, but as their brother, he is not so intimidating.

I really like Julia. She is a wonderful example of a modern woman, trying very hard to be successful in her job, but torn because she wants so much to be a good mom and feels like she is continually failing. Her husband, Joel (Sam Jaeger), is the primary care-giver, and but he can be so oblivious to Julia's dilemma and challenges. They really need to sit down as a couple and discuss some of their priorities in regards to their daughter, so that both can participate and so that there aren't so many incidents where they are not supportive of each other with regards to their daughter.

When Julia was trying to encourage the child to swim, Joel backed her up, but the moment it didn't work out perfectly, instead of, like Julia, encouraging his child to see the positive side of a scary moment, he simply indulged the fear. Allowing your child to feel fear and be upset is one thing, but not allowing them to realize their accomplishment - that the fear was worth it - is only going to cripple them in the long run. I think. I'm not a parent, or a psychologist, so what do I know.

What I know is that I like Parenthood. It is heavy, but whatever else happens, the Bravermans love each other, and want what is best for one another. And since we will probably all fail regardless of what we try to be perfect relatives, all we can do is start with the best of intentions.