Hank on 'Parenthood'
23 May 2014, 10:55 pm
ASPartOfMe wrote:
OddDuckNash99 wrote:
I haven't watched the episode yet (I only know about it, because my mom is a huge Parenthood fan and tells me about all the Asperger's plotlines), but from what she was telling me, it seems like there's a major plot hole. She told me that Hank thought he had AS after Adam gave him a book about AS to understand Max after his meltdown. If Hank really has AS, why would he need a book to understand Max?! That just seems a bit "off" to me. I could see Adam having given Hank a book about Max right after Hank met Max for the first time and Hank thinking he had AS from that, but it just seems strange to me that somebody who "realizes" he has AS didn't understand why Max had a meltdown in the first place...
Hank was clueless about AS when he befriended Max and when Max had the meltdown. Max dad gave him the book after the meltdown. It was while reading the book that Hank first realized he might have Aspergers. No plot hole but a realistic portrayal of how a middle aged adult would find out.
This is me. I was clueless about AS. I literally had no idea it existed prior to my wife randomly starting watching the show and I got sucked in because I was intrigued by this kid Max and his Asperger's syndrome. Then Hank comes along, and the idea that it's possible for an adult to go through life without the traits being identified really struck a cord with me, especially after that particular conversation about why Hank felt he had Aspergers. Then I looked up the AQ test and took it after he was talking to the doctor about his score and the doctor told him it's fairly accurate indicator. I scored a 41. Then I started reading about AS, how it is expressed in adults, what are the symptoms, etc, and I was so overwhelmed, but also--
hopeful. Maybe I can find the answers now to why life has been so damned hard for me and find a place in this world that I just don't really understand.
23 May 2014, 11:11 pm
mikassyna wrote:
EmeraldGreen wrote:
Adamantium wrote:
It was interesting to contrast the very NT relationship complications Julia and Drew are having with the much more familiar and (to me) realistic problems Hank is having.
Funny - I could relate much more to Hank's interpersonal problems, now that you mention it, than to Julia and Drew's - though we've all seen the type of separation struggles Julia and Drew are going through played out before on a million other movies and TV shows. I find those characters much less interesting, though I was happy to see how Victor managed to bring the family together.
I honestly find the dynamics with Julia and Drew as immensely annoying. I just find them BOTH to be annoying personalities. I root for Hank. Screw the rest of them.
And Haddie? She was a basic stick in the mud until she announced she was gay. Suddenly she is a "person of interest" because she's gay? Makes me wonder if being gay is simply cast as a rivalry for attention away from Max (in the writing of the script) and a desperate ploy to keep Haddie relevant in the show.
What do you mean by "stick in the mud?" I agree that her reappearance is odd. There was literally no reference of her all season and the now she shows up and is a lesbian. I mean, I think it's great to show her family accept her for that, but what's with the seemingly random appearance on the show? Did the writers forget about her or something?
28 May 2014, 3:55 pm
perpetual_padawan wrote:
What do you mean by "stick in the mud?" I agree that her reappearance is odd. There was literally no reference of her all season and the now she shows up and is a lesbian. I mean, I think it's great to show her family accept her for that, but what's with the seemingly random appearance on the show? Did the writers forget about her or something?
She has no personality. I don't find her interesting. I don't find she has much character. Seems like she has little passion about anything. I can't get into people who don't get excited or intense about something. She's dull all over.
About Max's mother... she's just annoying. She tries to portray herself as a tough lady but I always feel she's on the verge of crying about something or getting overly emotional about something. Her voice wobbles. I hate the way the ends of her sentences lilt down. It makes me angry.
EmeraldGreen
Toucan
Joined: 31 May 2013
Age: 55
Gender: Female
Posts: 250
Location: On a flight of fancy
01 Jun 2014, 5:48 pm
mikassyna wrote:
About Max's mother... she's just annoying. She tries to portray herself as a tough lady but I always feel she's on the verge of crying about something or getting overly emotional about something. Her voice wobbles. I hate the way the ends of her sentences lilt down. It makes me angry.
That's exactly what annoyed me, too. Her voice always sounds like she's just barely holding back tears. Her character's like a a fluffy white miniature poodle that thinks she's a big dog. What I do like about her character is that I think IRL there are actually people like her around, so I have to commend her for the rendition - plus, because she's so many world's apart from my thinking I am often surprised by her character.
I wish the writers had devoted the time they wasted on Maddie to all the other stories that they were closing out for the season.....I would have liked to see more of a focus on Hank and Sarah, but they handled that all right. But they shouldn't have tried to cram in so much!
_________________
*Have Aspergers but undiagnosed
"Seems I'm not alone at being alone"
-The Police
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbXWrmQW-OE
EmeraldGreen
Toucan
Joined: 31 May 2013
Age: 55
Gender: Female
Posts: 250
Location: On a flight of fancy
01 Jun 2014, 5:59 pm
perpetual_padawan wrote:
[This is me. I was clueless about AS. I literally had no idea it existed prior to my wife randomly starting watching the show and I got sucked in because I was intrigued by this kid Max and his Asperger's syndrome. Then Hank comes along, and the idea that it's possible for an adult to go through life without the traits being identified really struck a cord with me, especially after that particular conversation about why Hank felt he had Aspergers. Then I looked up the AQ test and took it after he was talking to the doctor about his score and the doctor told him it's fairly accurate indicator. I scored a 41. Then I started reading about AS, how it is expressed in adults, what are the symptoms, etc, and I was so overwhelmed, but also--
hopeful. Maybe I can find the answers now to why life has been so damned hard for me and find a place in this world that I just don't really understand.
hopeful. Maybe I can find the answers now to why life has been so damned hard for me and find a place in this world that I just don't really understand.
Wow! Congratulations!
_________________
*Have Aspergers but undiagnosed
"Seems I'm not alone at being alone"
-The Police
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbXWrmQW-OE
