Season three of Parenthood has been all about new beginnings, but it was no more abundantly clear than last night, as Kristina gave birth to a baby girl named Nora with Crosby in the delivery room. Now's the time when things get more interesting, since a new baby will certainly have ramifications that affect the rest of the family as a whole and Nora was born to two tightly wound perfectionists that have barely been holding it together these days.
Now that Nora is in the picture, where do we go from here?
CEE LO GREEN TESTS ADAM AND CROSBY'S NEW MUSIC BUSINESS WHILE SARAH STANDS BY SETH AS HE MAKES AN IMPORTANT CHANGE - CEE LO GREEN AND JASON RITTER GUEST-STAR - Kristina (Monica Potter) exhausts herself by diving back into supermom mode while Adam (Peter Krause) and Crosby (Dax Shepard) prepare their new music studio, in hopes of impressing their first potential client, Cee Lo Green. Meanwhile, Zeek (Craig T. Nelson) plants doubts in Julia (Erika Christensen) and Joel's (Sam Jaeger) adoption plan and Drew (Miles Heizer) takes advice from Amber (Mae Whitman) to move forward with Amy (Skyler Day). Meanwhile, Mark Cyr (guest-star Jason Ritter) continues to feel uneasy with Seth's (guest-star John Corbett) involvement in Sarah's (Lauren Graham) life. Also starring Savannah Paige Rae, Bonnie Bedelia and Sarah Ramos.
What excites me most about "Tales from the Luncheonette" is that most of the family seems to be involved in the episode. Parenthood has such a deep bench that a fair number of people have to take a seat in each episode, so seeing that many names participating in main storylines makes me curious to see how they're going to pull it off.
On the forefront will likely be Kristina and Adam's adjustment to new parenthood and Sarah's ultimatum to Seth regarding his substance abuse issues. I think that seeing two people have to go back into "baby mode" after not having a child for more than a decade could bring a touch of comedy with the heavy touch of uncertainty and insecurity that the storyline will likely bring. Adam and Kristina are both so high strung and intense that I think Nora will bring about some powerful arguments, but no matter how much they may bicker, they'll be there for each other when nobody else is.
I'd like to see Sarah/Seth take a more prominent role in "Tales from the Luncheonette", though their moments in "Nora" were heart wrenching and quite touching. Watching John Corbett and Lauren Graham play off each other is always fantastic, of course, and seeing them go to such dark places should bring some serious emotional heft. While I'm sure that Seth will ultimately go to rehab, if for no other reason than for his children, I don't know what effect his presence will have on Mark. He may say that he's not going to run and that he's okay with Sarah's past, but seeing it firsthand is a whole different animal and I wonder if this will put doubts in his mind as to his readiness to deal with all of Sarah's baggage.
While both of those sound like they'll be pretty weighty and somber, Adam and Crosby's meeting with Cee Lo should help balance things out. Now that the two brothers have unofficially buried the hatchet following Crosby's actions in the delivery room, we can watch them playfully bicker and just have a good time for one. Adam needs a little levity in his life and to have a career that he seems to have fun with will help keep him sane when things with his family aren't going that well. They may not seem to work, but Crosby brings a little humor into Adam's life and Adam helps Crosby stay grounded, so they're one of the better "pairings" the show offers.
Otherwise, we have a much needed "WTF are you doing?" intervention by Zeek regarding Julia buying Zoe's baby and another cute story with Drew that brings his fledgling relationship with Amy back to the forefront and gives him another chance to bond with Amber. I like how they're using Amber this season, keeping her around the family but with enough distance to be believable considering her newfound independence, and I think that watching her bond with Drew should provide a nice middle ground between the funny (Adam/Crosby) and the dramatic (Kristina, Sarah/Seth).
