Parenthood Season 4 Finale: 5 Feel-Good Milestones and 1 Feel-Bad Moment 

The Parenthood season 4 finale has aired. I’m hoping NBC sees fit to renew the show but if the network doesn’t decide to do the right thing, then “Because You’re My Sister” would be a largely satisfying series finale. However, I’m not going to think like that. I’m going to be optimistic because this show is too good to end now.

Five Feel-Good Milestones 

Ryan and Amber reunite — these two are beyond adorable and it’s been difficult to see them living life apart. First, Ryan comes to Amber and pours his heart out to her. I just loved this scene. You could tell he’s gotten his act together but it’ll still be a struggle. His declaration of love was perfection:

Ryan: “I love you so much. I think about you every minute. I feel like of every day. I know this is all my fault. But I’m really working to change it. I feel good now, and um, I just hope that you can remember the bond that we have. You know? You’re my best friend in the whole world. I feel like I’ve known you my whole life. I don’t even know…what it was like before you. I don’t even think about it.”

Thankfully, a little later, Amber was making her own sweet, sweet declaration to Ryan:

Amber: “When you have people in your life that love you at a certain point, you know, you have to take responsibility for that. And it means something and it matters. And, you know, I don’t know. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you. I love you more than I ever thought that I could love anybody. I don’t want to waste one more second doing anything without you. And I need to know that you’re gonna try to be strong and accept the fact that I love you. And try to be responsible for that because I’m scared and I don’t think that I can do it alone. And I don’t know…you know?”

These two are the cutest couple on TV.

Kristina is cancer-free — I love that Adam and Kristina finally got some good news regarding Kristina’s fight against cancer. Yes, they still have to be careful. Kristina still has to take care of herself. And she still has some radiation treatment ahead of her. But when the doctor gave her a clean bill of health, I was as happy as Adam and Kristina were. And I’m just glad they got their trip to Hawaii. The two clearly needed some sun and they needed some alone time. It was necessary for them to reconnect without having the shadow of the disease looming over them. I would have loved if they could have somehow mentioned Haddie, however. It was such a family rah rah episode and she was missing.

Drew gets into college — This has been a rollercoaster season for Sarah’s youngest. It’s awesome that Drew got into Berkeley, although I feel hella old because he found out the school’s decision online. I remember when thick envelopes were delivered to your mailbox. Anyway, Berkeley is significant because Amber had a phase where she wanted to get into that particular college and it didn’t happen. It was the only college she applied to — remember that? I thought it was such a cute moment when Amber let Drew know she heard about his great news. Drew had really wanted to tell her himself. But it didn’t matter. Amber was proud. The two have such a great bro-sis chemistry — I always enjoy their scenes together. Drew has been through a rough time as of late. Going to college will provide him with a fresh new start. And unlike Haddie, who went all the way across country to college, he’s close to home. Yay!

Julia and Joel adopt Victor — The adoption scene in the judge’s quarters was one of my favorite feel-good moments of the episode. Everybody had their say, welcoming Victor to the family. It’s something he needed. I guess his being such a brat was his way of testing Julia and Joel. To see if they would give up on him. Hopefully, Victor’s abandonment issues have completely been resolved. I also really loved it when Victor asked Sydney to be at the adoption ceremony. And at the end of “Because You’re my Sister,” they all looked like a happy family. I’m not going to lie. It was a little odd seeing the harmony after all the events that transpired before the finale, including Victor calling the cops on Julia. But I’m glad all that turbulence has died down. Victor was simply adorable and I was happy for him as well as Joel and Julia.

Jasmine’s pregnant — During their fabulously expensive anniversary dinner, Jasmine announced she’s pregnant. That’s the great news. Their family is expanding. The bad news? For some reason, Crosby felt he needed to suck it up and apologize to Jasmine’s mother for the way he talked to her. I know they need her on their side because they’re having another baby, but Jasmine needed to stand up to her mother. I would have loved to have seen that at least once, even though I get that Jasmine owes her mom for being there for the five years Jabbar didn’t have a father in his life. That just didn’t ring true with me.

The Feel-Bad Moment

Sarah chooses Hank — This is my feel-bad moment for the entire episode. I’ve made my feelings clear previously (a couple of times). I was very disappointed with the way things ended with Sarah. And I was very disappointed with the way she made her choice. Mark came over and gave his own declaration of love (Amber and Ryan-style). He said he loved her and he would fight for her. He wished he had fought for her all along. But come find him when she has something to say. And when she did, she said she loved him. But she was going to try to make it work with Hank. That’s it. Meanwhile, I’m left feeling like Sarah owed him (and us) more of an explanation. And I kind of don’t like the fact that Mark felt he needed to fight for Sarah when, in my opinion, she needed to fight for him.

I definitely feel there’s a connection between Hank and Sarah. I feel like more of one exists between Sarah and Mark. There’s another decision Sarah has to make in the episode. And that’s whether to move to Minnesota with Hank, who makes the commendable decision to move closer to his daughter. What do you think? Did she make the move? Amber has her own life. Drew has gotten into college. She could have very well moved to the frozen tundra of Minnesota.

Hopefully, we’ll get the chance to find out. Right?