“We all get our strength from you.”

“The Waiting Room” tests that strength, placing Zeek under the knife and the rest of the family in a waiting room. Waiting can oftentimes be an extremely difficult thing to do because you’re left with your own thoughts, left to think about, in Adam’s case, possible worst case scenarios. Hospitals save lives, but the ambience in a waiting room is anything but pleasant because each person, to some extent, is fearing the worst.

In addition, each person waiting has a life outside the room, and we see that throughout the episode when Chris sends Julia a Waiting Room Survival Kit–including a copious amount of Twizzlers–or when Adam and Crosby have to deal with an Oliver Rome problem or when Crosby watches the A’s game on his phone. As much as everything seems to grind to a halt when you’re all in the same place worrying about the same thing, there simply is too much going on in the world for it to stop.

So, “The Waiting Room” explores what happens when the personal situations you’re dealing with begin to seep into the collective situation you’re all dealing with, and it provides insight about how each of the Bravermans copes. Adam is overly pessimistic and sends out a “Worst Case Scenario” email–not something he should be doing–Crosby begins to unravel and eventually crashes his motorcycle–a scene that’s a bit too indicative of the show toying with our emotions, to be honest–and Julia winds up telling Joel that she’s seeing someone. Through this all, Zeek’s life is hanging in the balance, his wedding ring a symbol of love and family and marriage, and he undergoes a successful surgery in the end. Bonnie Bedelia and Craig T. Nelson play this storyline perfectly, the history they share written on their faces from Zeek’s first step into his room to the end of the surgery. “I’m scared, Millie” is heartbreaking.

The episode outside of the waiting room consists of Amber and Drew heading to Wyoming to see Ryan, as well as Sarah and Hank and Sandy dealing with Ruby after she steals lipstick from the store. The two are fairly different stories–the former is much more intriguing–but they’re connected under the umbrella of fatherhood: Sandy tells Hank that “Ruby needs a father”, while Drew tells Amber that Ryan is unfit to be a parent. Going off the second point, it’s great to see a Drew who’s caring and supportive and sensible rather than simply mopey, and he’s absolutely right in comparing Ryan to their dad. It’s understandable that Ryan would be happy about the baby, but is he happy because of the baby or because he now has something to grasp onto, something to keep him tethered to reality?

Amber ends up listening to Drew and leaves Ryan, and Zeek will eventually be able to leave the waiting room. These are two people who get an ounce of freedom with these actions, who strengthen the bonds they have with their families. I hope Zeek can join Amber and Drew on the open road at some point, playing “I Spy” as the wind blows through their hair, the waiting room a thing of the past.

GRADE: A-

OTHER THOUGHTS:

-When I see Ryan, I still see Luke Cafferty, so it’s still difficult to picture him as he’s supposed to be portrayed. Kind of like how it was difficult to see Kyle Chandler as a deadbeat dad in The Spectacular Now (great film, by the way. Watch it.).

-Be more careful, Crosby!

-It’s understandable that Julia would tell Joel to cut it out over the phone, because it reminds her of everything she’s moving away from.

-Sandy, aka Marie, has a daughter who steals stuff. Of course.

-A few months ago, a lot of people thought the A’s would be going to the Series, as well. Then, the post-All Star break happened, and the Royals are now in the ALCS. Sorry, everyone in the show.

-Week 2 sans Haddie. 😦

Sorry, Haddie, but when Zeek is undergoing heart surgery, you’re still out of the loop.

Photo credit: NBC, Parenthood