‘Parenthood’ Season 3 Recap: Love Prevails

Last season started off a bit tumultuous for the Braverman clan. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion turned into a bit of a let down for Sarah (Lauren Graham) as she had to deal with her daughter moving out while she was celebrating a milestone birthday. Every member of the family seemed to have their own problems: Adam (Peter Krause) was dealing with unemployment while his wife Kristina (Monica Potter) dealt with her pregnancy, Julia (Erika Christensen) was becoming more and more disheartened by the adoption process, Crosby (Dax Sheppard) felt regret over cheating on his fiancé and Haddie (Sarah Ramos) and her boyfriend played by Friday Night Lights alum Michael B. Jordan were going through a rough patch.

The stresses of all these different problems were soon overshadowed by the newest addition to the Braverman bunch Nora. Kristina goes into labor and when Adam is not there to assist his wife Crosby steps up to the plate to help Kristina.

Before the birth of his daughter Adam took a huge risk by going into business with his brother and buying a recording studio. Initially the brothers butted heads, but were able to gel nicely. Crosby would focus on booking recording artists (including Cee Lo Green) and working with them. Meanwhile, Adam would be in charge of the business end. Later on the two would be tempted to sell their place for a couple of million dollars, which initially caused some fighting, but the two brothers were able to see eye to eye.

The recording studio would impact their love lives quite significantly. In the beginning Crosby had to watch his ex-fiance date someone else, but eventually he started to date one of the artists that records at the Luncheonette. Adam also gets involved with someone at work, his uber-attractive secretary that develops a crush on him and kisses him. This causes a rupture between him and his wife, but Kristina is gracefully able to forgive him.

When you look at the women’s side of the Braverman family you can see that they are facing challenges as well. After giving birth Kristina struggles with being a “superwoman.” She balances her work, family life and marital problems, which proves to be overwhelming.

Julia finds what seems like the ideal solution to her adoption woes when she meets Zoe (Rosa Salazar.) Zoe is a young woman who works at her law firm as a coffee vendor. She and Julia form a bond, but when Julia discovers that Zoe is pregnant with a child she does not want Julia takes a special interest in her. Both women agree to an arrangement and build a sincere friendship where Julia tries to help Zoe progress upwardly through education.

There is a bit of a bump along the way to this adoption process when Zoe and her boyfriend need to sign the adoption papers. Zoe’s boyfriend tries to talk Julia and her husband Joel into illegally giving them money for the baby. Zoe leaves her boyfriend and Julia accepts Zoe with open arms.

Sarah Braverman delved into a very harmonious relationship with Mark Cyr (Jason Ritter, which got rattled when her alcoholic ex-husband came into the mix. Mark understood at first, but Sarah’s willingness to help the father of her kids caused some friction. The couple was able to get past it, however questions about the future regarding babies and marriage arose. The couple had different ideas about what they wanted and although Mark was willing to put his desires for a child on hold to be with Sarah; Sarah knew it was too much to ask.

The parents of the show certainly had much to deal with it, but the kids also had plenty on their plate as well. Haddie broke up with her boyfriend, got accepted into the college of her choice and matured into a tolerant older sister.

Her brother Max also progressed. He made the jump from a private school that specializes in teaching kids with aspersers to dreaded public school. From the start he had no friends and was made fun of over time he settled in nicely.

Sarah’s son Drew got his first girlfriend and Amber took a huge step forward. After initially deciding that college was not for her she realized that minimum wage at a coffee shop was not going to cut it. As a result Amber decided to work on a campaign to get enough money to go to college.

Season three ended with the episode “My Brother’s Wedding,” which wrapped the whole season in a nice shiny bow. Crosby and his ex-fiance Jasmine got married after realizing that they both still loved each other despite Crosby’s infidelity.

Julia was heartbroken when Zoe could not bring herself to give up her child for adoption. However, an adoption agency gives Julia with an orphan toddler that needs a home.

After breaking up with Mark he surprises Sarah at the wedding and asks for her hand in marriage she graciously accepts. At the wedding the Braverman’s enjoy a festive union of love.

Season four premieres September 11 on Tuesday. Based on what we have seen in the preview below we can expect more love to spill over in the forth season due to the newly engaged couple Mark and Sarah.

Ray Romano will also feature in season four as Sarah’s new boss in this second preview.

You can also expect an adjustment period between Julia and her newly adopted son Victor.

In case you want to catch up on all the episodes in season three before the premiere NBC has conveniently posted them all up for your viewing pleasure.