Synopsis:



Episode 5 of 15

I had a lot of conflicting emotions with this one regarding Julia's story. I want to adopt a child, but I have no problem quitting the job (in a bad economy) that allows me to support him. Weren't there episodes earlier in the show showing how hubby's work wasn't exactly booming, which is why he tends to take care of their daughter more then she does?

That said, I pretty much detest the whole, "100%" thing. I'm definitely a work to live, not live to work guy. I want to do well at anything I do, and sure there are times I'll put in 100 hour weeks, but I do it for the same reason I brush my teeth -- it's necessary. I don't do it because it's fun and I'd rather spend my time doing that than being with my family. People have a right to have lives outside of work. It's why people who have "on call" jobs rotate.

I don't buy that Julia couldn't have it all. Sure she was different from the others at the table in that she couldn't pawn off child rearing on her wife. I'd have liked to see more of that than just her saying, "I quit." What choices DO women have to make to get ahead? What choices did Carly Fiorina have to make? What about Meg Whitman? Even Hillary Clinton essentially put her own dreams on hold to support Bill and raise Chelsea. I'd have liked to see her employer address its attitude about the glass ceiling. After the poignant handling of the N word, I wanted more about women in the workplace.

During Adam's call with Haddie, i was very distracted by his overly rouged cheeks. He looked like a slattern or a painted doxy.

i was also very surprised to see Julia just up and quit. She was acting like it is either being a good mom or work. Did she think if she got pregnant life would have been easier? did she forget what life when she had Sydney was like? It felt more like "white people problems" to leave a job these days and very poorly thought out. I hope they follow this to a logical conclusion and show them struggling with money and not being able to keep that swanky pad so swanky.

unless she is a really good lawyer and can find something that pays well, but not as well, and works part time.

I also am surprised by Julia. In the earlier episodes, she was this driven career woman who never wanted to be home with her daughter. But now she adopts this boy, suddenly she wants to be at home? I feel kind of bad for her daughter, who never got much attention from her in the first place.

I hope Syd tries at some point to smother her brother with a pillow.

this is the first ep. I ever saw. Guess I need to go back to season one.

Is this a different group of writers? Julia is behaving very differently, and the tone sounds so dreary.

This has to be the most underrated show on TV....Just watched this episode...f'n excellent.

I think Julia missing her daughter's recital had as much to do with it as the adopted son.

I agree that this is the most under rated show on TV. I love the writing on this show and the characters are so well cast.

The one complaint I have about this year is in past seasons the family life seemed normal and now is it as if they have cast quite a few problems on the family in order to boost story lines. It used to be the writing alone that carried this show.

I will give them credit. I was wondering how they would repeatedly have Kristina break the news to all the different family members. I thought it would get "old". But they were fairly creative and the way they revealed it to the whole family at the pizza place with Haddie coming home and just showing the reactions without Kristina having to say anything was very well done.

Well I think this harkens back to getting him to go to school earlier. She ended up taking a lot of personal days and was consequently extremely distracted by his adjusting to living with them. It makes sense.

I agree. I did NOT expect that. I certainly did not expect to be bawling my eyes out either! They snuck it up on me - those bastards!

The show has for its duration consistently been exceptionally well-acted, even when the storylines get a little 'after-school special'-esque or just plain corny.

I don't necessarily like or care about what happens to any of the Bravermans, but I always like the way the cast presents it all.