S06.E08: Aaron Brownstein Must Be Stopped

[Nire]

I could not get over Kristina's reaction to Max's situation with Dylan.  They make such a fuss about his Asperger's yet instead of explaining to him why his behavior was socially unacceptable she tells him she's proud of him and encourages him to stalk and make creepy posters for another girl!  I agree that one day they may find a lot of bodies in their backyard but I think Kristina will be in complete denial that Max is to blame.  She'll probably figure out a way to point the finger at Haddie even if Haddie has been living in Europe for the last decade or something.

 

I actually like Drew quite a bit this season.  Last season he bugged me but this season I'm enjoying his character.  I also think there is nothing wrong with picking a practical major.  If he can manage to work hard and pass his classes he may actually enjoy business when he gets past college.  I also don't think there is anything wrong with him wanting to be able to support himself.  Sure beats sleeping on his mother's couch or living with his sister and her child. 

 

I'm hoping Adam comes back with a new job.  Crosby takes over the Luncheonette and that teacher they spoke to last season reappears to take over Snowflake Academy.  Then they decide to homeschool Max since that seems the best set up for him anyways.  Adam mentioned a couple episodes ago that he could easily get a new job so I don't understand if business is so slow at the Luncheonette why he doesn't go ahead and get one.  I think Crosby could handle most of the stuff with some help from Amber.  And Adam can offer assistance as necessary.  If he takes himself off the payroll or switches to part-time that means a lot more money for the remaining employees. 

 

I'm sick of Hank and Ruby storylines.  Why are they on this show?

[jb1183]

The Autism\Aspergers subject is not the only sensitive subject that Parenthood has not handled entirely well.  There were aspects of Kristina's battle against cancer that were off the mark, something I know from hard, personal experience. I won't get into too much detail but I couldn't help but laugh at Kristina being wheeled into the Operating Room in full make up, no head cover and not one IV hooked up.  That was mild compared to how some other things were portrayed.  For all of very good and realistic issues that that the show has dealt with well, there have been others that were bungled in various ways.  The situation with the Max, the school, Dylan and Kristina is clearly the most epic fail and the writers and show runners should be ashamed of themselves for airing such nonsense.

I completely agree. The way Adam and Kristina's parenting of Max has been written the past few seasons has been increasingly frustrating and unsettling to me, but I felt the way this storyline played out actually crossed the line into socially irresponsible on the writers' and show runners' part. Unless this is somehow leading to a resolution in which Kristina admits that Max's behavior was completely unacceptable and Dylan is provided with a sincere apology, I can't fathom what sort of message the writers and show runners think they're trying to send. As someone upthread put it, it came across as distrurbingly rape culture enforcing. 

[wanderwoman]

You bring up a really good point. This show has made it seem like all kids on the spectrum deserve or need special schools and get out of jail free cards for insanely bad behavior. This show is essentially showing Kristina and Adam to be the delusional, permissive parents that every layperson secretly thinks is the cause of autism. One of the most horrible experiences for a parent with a spectrum child faces is that experience when you share that your child is autistic, only to have people roll their eyes and ask you if you've tried instituting limits, or rules, or taken a parenting class. This show rewards that way of thinking because Adam and Kristina ARE permissive, horrible, idiotic parents. They reward bad behavior and rationalize all of Max's outbursts. They believe the world should bend to Max instead of having Max find a place in the world as it is.

[izabella]

Wow, Kristina didn't have a single thing to say to poor Dylan after she was browbeaten and harassed in front of the everyone by her "buddy".  Can't she for one second try to understand how scared and shaken she must feel?  And to tell Max his stalking wasn't creepy?  Just wow.

 

Crosby needs to get his act together.  If Adam is bringing in discounted cat food and toothpaste commercials, Crosby should be doing exactly what Amber suggested.  Find some new bands, maybe give them a discounted rate, and record something.  I get it that he feels like a failure, but wasn't he the one with all the music industry contacts?  Where did those people all go?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I have no idea why I'm still watching this show when it's clear that every character is a huge asshole. With the exception of Aida, Jabbar, and Jasmine, every other person we saw in this episode was horrible.

 

Ruby reminds me of Dawn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer - she has shiny shiny hair but she needs to STFU. I couldn't believe that Hank cleaned up that entire mess. Once again, bad parenting. I would have told Ruby, "If you want to stomp upstairs and go to sleep now, that's fine but this mess will still be here in the morning and it is your responsibility to clean it all up."

 

Amber and Crosby were such snobs. How dare Phoebe Buffet's nieces come sing a bastardized version of Smelly Cat and pay us? Ugh. Although I agree that going to a club to convince a band to record their album at the Luncheonette was a good idea, how have they been in business for this many YEARS and not been actively doing that, especially now that they aren't booking many sessions anymore? Why aren't they networking more with bands, band managers, record labels, and other music industry people? They seem to think that by simply existing, edgy bands are going to stroll in off the streets and offer them wads of cash. Instead of acting like the cat commercial people were beneath them, they should have been grateful that anyone had booked a session.  You know what you would be doing if they weren't in their recording? Sitting around with your thumbs up your asses doing nothing and NOT GETTING PAID.

 

Crosby acted like such an entitled jackass at the club. Yes, the bouncer was the one being a dick, not you. And of course he couldn't just let it go. No, he had to yell at the guy, rationalize why it's okay for him to bring weed into the club, hold up the line, make a scene, insult the other patrons, and generally be a belligerant asshole until Amber was doubled over in pain. If not for those Braxton-Hicks contractions, he would probably still be at the door berating people.

 

I have no idea why Crosby is only NOW personally insulted by the thought of Jasmine working. She was a single mom who worked before she and Jabbar came back into his life. When they first started dating, she was still working. I thought she only stopped working after Aida was born, so why is it suddenly such a big issue for Crosby that she has a job? Get back in the kitchen, woman! If he is going to insist on being the sole breadwinner then he needs to GET OFF HIS ASS and run his business better. If he is going to rely on things like dancing around the studio to cleanse the studio in the hopes of bringing in more business (as opposed to, you know, actively bringing in business) then gee, the little woman might have to get a job.

 

I also hate that Crosby is so dead set that the ONLY acceptable way for them to make money is for him to do sound engineering/recording and for her to dance. Do you think that everyone else in the world only does what they love? Once you have kids, they need to come first and if that means taking a job that isn't your passion, that's what you do because kids need diapers and food and braces and a million other things. I mean, do you think that the 35 year old adults you see working as cashiers at McDonald's WANT to work there because it's their life's passion to serve junk food to obnoxious snot nosed teenagers? They need the money and they aren't snobby enough to think that it's beneath them. Jasmine understands that. Crosby does not.

 

Amber doggedly demanding that Drew accompany her and Crosby to the bar to meet this band was obnoxious. NO MEANS NO, Amber. I don't care what his excuse is. Whether he has to study for a test or he is hanging out with his girlfriend or he just doesn't want to go to San Francisco at 11pm, he is allowed to say no to you. That doesn't mean you get to whine and argue and try to guilt trip him into going. Who does she think she is, Zeek? Besides, what is the point of Drew going? First of all, he isn't 21 so he can't get into a bar. Secondly, is he supposed to hold Amber's hand while she tells the band members to come record at the Luncheonette?

 

While I understand going to the bar to talk to the band, that's not the only way. They're a local band. Contact them through Facebook, Twitter, whatever, and invite them to lunch. Lots of young bands would just be excited to get a free lunch. Plus they won't be as distracted as they would be after a show at a bar where there are a lot of people trying to get their attention and a lot of ambient noise in the bar.

 

Last but not least, Max and Kristina are THE WORST. Max is totally out of control. Like Amber, he refuses to take no for an answer. I couldn't believe that he was arguing with Dylan about her not liking him. This is one of the huge issues with rape culture: girls are berated and guilt tripped and bullied and made to feel bad because they don't reciprocate a boy's feelings. Sorry, Max, she is not obligated to like you and you can't MAKE her like you. Obviously he doesn't know that because Kristina and Adam have never taught him to respect another person's opinion/choice or to accept when someone says no to you. The Braverman way is to bulldoze people until you get what you want. Just overtalk and harangue people until they are too exhausted to say no anymore!

 

Kristina just did one terrible thing after another. After seeing Max and Aaron fight, she let Max go back to class without any punishment or consequences at all. What happened to that zero tolerance bullying policy that Snowflake Academy is supposed to have? I'm pretty sure that between the fliers and having a physical altercation, Max should be expelled.

 

When she yelled at the cars, I just laughed. HOW DARE THOSE CARS DRIVE DOWN THE STREET? That is typical Braverman behavior. It reminds me of a conversation in The Great Gatsby:

 

 

'You're a rotten driver,' I protested. 'Either you ought to be more careful, or you oughtn't to drive at all.'

'I am careful.'

'No, you're not.'

'Well, other people are,' she said lightly.

'What's that got to do with it?'

'They'll keep out of my way,' she insisted. 'It takes two to make an accident.'

'Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself.'

'I hope I never will,' she answered. "I hate careless people.'

The Bravermans just careen around and expect everyone to jump out of their way. If you kid runs into traffic, the cars should just stop for him since obviously the street is just another place for him to be. It's not intended for cars!

 

And then Kristina had to tell Max that his creepy stalker behavior was brave and that she was proud of him. WTF? Not only have Kristina and Adam refused to set boundaries for Max but when he behaves terribly like this, they reward him with praise instead of telling him that it's inappropriate and that he needs to learn other ways to deal with people, his feelings, channeling his frustration in a way that doesn't involve hitting other people, etc.

 

Kristina does not seem to have the ability to understand any position but her own. She's upset at Dylan because Max is hurt, but how would she feel if a boy treated Haddie or Nora that way?

 

Another thing that annoyed me was at the end when Max said that he and Dylan weren't friends. That is typical dickhead guy logic: I will pretend to be friends with you because I want to date you, but once you clearly reject my advances we aren't friends anymore.

 

ETA:

I agree that one day they may find a lot of bodies in their backyard but I think Kristina will be in complete denial that Max is to blame.  She'll probably figure out a way to point the finger at Haddie even if Haddie has been living in Europe for the last decade or something.

Pfft, in that case Kristina would probably tell Haddie that Max did it because she was away in Europe and he NEEDED her.

Edited November 17, 2014 by ElectricBoogaloo

[sadie]

At this point I'm convinced the writers are just messing with us all. The whole Max storyline has gone beyond ridiculous, the way his parents indulge him is so beyond bizarre I can't fathom why else intelligent people would write this in this manner. Maybe the person who dies at the series end is Max. His over indulged self shoves the wrong person and they push him out into the non-magical street where drivers are actually allowed to drive without Kristina yelling at them and giving them the side eye, and he gets hit by a car and dies. At his funeral we are given a memory montage of every bad behavior his parents indulged and we literally see a light bulb go on over their heads. Ahhhh one can only dream.

[alexvillage]

I so appreciate this whole thread, even if it is a bit depressing to know what went on on the episode. I will not watch it, already deleted from the DVR. Thanks everyone for the heads up. Sometimes enough has to be enough and I need to just not watch it

[JasminePhyllisia]

My understanding is that it's due to budgetary constraints, somebody posted a link to an article up thread. Apparently Ray & family get paid less than the main characters.

Either that or as somebody else proposed, they are going to surprise us with a Sarah pregnancy. In which case they are giving us a look at the family she'll be thrown into.

Edited November 18, 2014 by JasminePhyllisia

[jb1183]

It is really sad. Because I thought season one was a good show. There were parts I didn't like but no show is ever perfect. And the first season was short season-much like this one-so I assumed maybe what happened was when this show got a full 22  or so episode run, storylines got away from them and I thought maybe for the last season, because of it being short. I thought they  could maybe make a clean storyline. 

 

But instead, I constantly feel like we're wasting time on filler things that we don't really need. I understand that because of the deal that was made that the actors made that they aren't going to be in every episode, that's fine. But I feel like instead of cutting corners here with the storylines, we're making bigger messes. I don't know why we're spending so much time with Hank's family right now when Sarah is elsewhere. When she's there, it makes sense but this week? Sarah wasn't there and as great as RR is, I really don't want to deal with Hank, his ex-wife, or Ruby. Like, at all. And I'm not sure why we're spending time with this when the show is winding down. 

My thoughts exactly. Given this "gift" of a 13 episode final season to wrap things up, i really thought we'd get a much tighter and more focused season, but everything other than Julia and Joel's storyline has been a waste of time or, in the case of Kristina, Max, and Snowflake Academy, downright frustrating.

 

The contractural issues aren't ideal, but really should have been worked around much more gracefully than they have been. And better utilizing and fleshing out the storylines of the cast they have in a given episode would certainly have made more sense than episode after episode of Hank and Ruby storylines. I think we've seen more of Ruby than we have of Sidney, Victor, and Jabbar combined this season. So ridiculous to be wasting so much time on that with so few episodes left and so many long running charcters to be bringing closure to. 

Edited November 18, 2014 by jb1183

[3 is enough]

Finally got to watch this episode.  While Max and Kristina continue to annoy, I have to say the look on his face when he saw Dylan kissing Aaron was heartbreaking.  The actor does the best he can with the crappy material they give him, that is for sure.

 

Getting a bad vibe from Cosby.  Hope they don't kill him off.  What a horrible way to end things.

 

Guess Thursday will be the last episode until after the holidays.

[kira28]

This used to be one of my favorite shows and now all I can say is I can barely stand it so I'm glad its almost over for good. Kristina snapping/screaming at Aaron to go to her office while she coddled Max (who tried to hit her) made me sick. Agree with everyone else about Max becoming a serial killer in the future. If I had a kid at that school I would pull them out so fast Kristina's head would spin. Max is such a spoiled entitled little shit I can't stand him or Adam or Kristina. Too much Ruby and Hank. Don't care about their problems. Amber, its time to grow up and face reality. I hate that she thinks she's important to the luncheonette. She does nothing. She's lucky they pay her. I miss the real storylines. The crazy family interacting and doing "normal" things. Instead of Kristina being a super hero by overcoming cancer and then  running for mayor and starting a charter school all with no experience. I don't even want Julia and Joel to get back together. I used to love them but the way Joel just threw his family away... they had just adopted a child and he barely thought twice about leaving. No realistic to the character of Joel  and was incredibly short sighted and selfish. So let Julia enjoy her old/new flame and be happy. She doesn't need Joel. Had to scoff at Jasmine's $30 hr part time filing job. (as everyone else said) no such wage for that type of job exists anywhere in the country. In most areas that would be an $8 hr to $10 hr job tops. Why couldn't Jasmine go back to teaching dance? I would guess a dance teacher would make more than an entry level filing job (in the real world). The show has just become so unrealistic and annoying.

[Hanahope]

Had to scoff at Jasmine's $30 hr part time filing job. (as everyone else said) no such wage for that type of job exists anywhere in the country. In most areas that would be an $8 hr to $10 hr job tops

 

Yeah, that had to be one of the most ridiculous things this show has ever done, and frankly, there have been hundreds.  Someone upthread mentioned maybe it was in a legal office, but believe me, even people with JD degrees and bar licenses have a hard time finding these types of jobs.  The going rate for most 'document review' legal jobs, for example, is closer to $25/hour

 

I too was just shocked when Kristina said she thought Max was brave.  I mean seriously.  Its not bravery when you speak whatever comes into your head without a filter or listening to a word anyone else says.  I felt so sorry and even afraid for Dylan and was disgusted by how Kristina treated her.

 

This show is definitely the worse example of effective parenting, as there's absolutely none.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Hanahope

[BC Mama]

I don't even want Julia and Joel to get back together. I used to love them but the way Joel just threw his family away... they had just adopted a child and he barely thought twice about leaving. No realistic to the character of Joel  and was incredibly short sighted and selfish.

 

That's what makes me so angry! You'd think a child put up for adoption at the age Victor was would have serious abandonment issues. Old Joel would never have done such a thing!

[Shermie]

It just occurred to me that maybe we all misunderstood Jasmine's filing job wage. Maybe she said it paid $13 an hour, did anyone have CC on?

I'm grasping at straws, I know, but I just can't believe $30 an hour for filing, I just can't. $13 would make more sense, as a decent wage for minimal education and experience.

Edited November 19, 2014 by Shermie

[cali1981]

After cruising through the latest posts here, I've realized, like many of you, what the show's major flaw has been.  In season 1, the Bravermans, while a bit overpowering, were, nevertheless somewhat grounded in reality.  As the seasons have gone on, however, the Bravermans (all of the them) have become obnoxious, arrogant shits with an overwhelming sense of entitlement.  From Zeke to poor shlemiel Crosby, they are self-centered boors who, as others have stated, handle external disagreements by bulldozing or out shouting those on the other side until they submit out of sheer exhaustion.  IMHO, Kristina is the worst, even if she married into the clan.  Her myopic view of her role and her son's behavior is abysmal and annoying to watch.  Maybe Monica Potter is a good actress and perhaps it's the character she plays and the lines she has to read but I cringe whenever she occupies any portion of the screen.  Once the shows says adios after tomorrow, I'll be interested to see what new roles Potter scores and how she plays those characters.

[Shermie]

I don't think tomorrow's ep is the series finale.

[jb1183]

I don't think tomorrow's ep is the series finale.

You're right. After tomorrow's episode, the show goes on hiatus through December and comes back for the final four episodes in January. So, we still have five more episodes for Kristina to admit she's been a terrible mother and that Max is completely out of control. I wouldn't hold my breath, though.

[cali1981]

I don't think tomorrow's ep is the series finale.

I didn't realize that.  Maybe the writers can repair some of the damage they've done to the show's reputation by addressing the major flaws that have been evident this season. Maybe not though. 

[wonderwoman]

"Maybe the writers can repair some of the damage they've done to the show's reputation by addressing the major flaws that have been evident this season. Maybe not though. "

Well, I, for one, ain't holding my breath...

Edited November 20, 2014 by wonderwoman