With the show on hiatus the past few weeks, I was seriously starting to miss the show. Glad it's back and it was a great one as well. So, Max has a major meltdown, accusing Hank of lying to him, which becomes a domino effect when word gets back to Adam and Christina and they offer a book to Hank about Asperger syndrome and that maybe reading about it would help Hank understand what Max is going through. So, he reluctantly starts reading it and then he is flying through the book at a feverish pace. My thought was "wow, Hank really wants to make Max's life easier for him and is doing whatever he can to help". Wrong! When Hank shows up on Sarah's doorstep and unleashes all his own fears, he confirms that he suffers the same thing that Max does. Now they don't say outright that Hank has Asperger syndrome as well, but it does explain a lot how anti-social he has been toward everyone else. I do wonder if this has been the game-plan all along or they wrote that in recently. Whatever the case, it was a good reveal.

Drew looks so dumb in his emo haircut. I actually found it to be very funny at how bad he looks. But what do I know about fashion. Apparently having unkempt greasy hair is what it takes to bag two hot chicks on the show. I didn't think it was possible, but he has social skills that make Hank look like a Pimp! So, Amy seems to be back and wants to get back with Drew permanently, which of course makes Natalie insanely jealous. Man, it's gotta suck to have two hot girls chasing him. Not! I do wonder what Amy's endgame is. What is she really running away from (her parents, college, etc...). Drew is going to get burned for sure.

Joel and Julia look to be done. He "beats up" Ed at the school function and then questions her loyalty. He doesn't believe her and leaves. I don't see this ending well. Camille tells Zeke that she wants to stay in Italy another week. That too doesn't bode well. Sarah is wishy washy. First she tells her tenant that she will never sleep with him again. But shocking, as soon as she finds out he is a highly respected Doctor, all she wants to do is bang him. I guess it's true, the size of a wallet does matter. Ugh!

This episode could have been so much better if they had better pacing with the Julia and Joel story arc. They start off the episode with a band when she confesses that Ed kissed her, leading Joel to walk out in disgust. So naturally one would assume that we would get a back and forth fight....or something for the full hour. Nope. Not only do we not get a fight, both characters disappear for practically the entire episode save the final scene when Julia suggest to him that they go see a marriage councilor. Everything else in between those scenes were good...but not great. Max was kind of sad in trying to get back his best friend who has moved on from wanting to hang out with him. I thought that Hanks reaction to Sarah getting a job interview for the same Photo shoot was just.....totally disrespectful and TOTALLY Hank. Ha. It was odd. It was a bonus that there was no Drew to be found anywhere in the episode.

FYI, there is no turning back for Julia and Joel. They are done. I don't see them saving the marriage before the series wraps.

Yeah, I'm on Team Joel. She is so oblivious to what SHE has done. It is all her fault, but she is walking around as if she is the victim.

So, Hank finally goes to see a doctor about potentially having Aspergers and doesn't get an answer one way or another. Thus the 'Jump Ball'. I'm sure that his character does have it, because both Adam and Kristina actually like the idea that he may have it. It gives them hope that Max can have a successful business and a kid as well as Hank has. Joel is moving out. Doesn't surprise me at all. Camille is back from her Italy trip and drops a bomb tell Zeke that she is going on another trip, this time to France. Really not sure where they are taking this story arc. Obviously he is masking his contempt for the news and is putting on his 'happy' face for her. But the closer it gets to when she is leaving, the more agitated he will become. He's gonna do one of two things: Forbid her to go or take the initiative to sell the house and go with her. I think it will be the second option.

I loved the major meltdown that Amber had when she showed up at her Dad's bar and unleashed her fury. It was great to see John Corbett back on the show. It's probably a one and down appearance. As for Drew, what a doormat. Amy basically says that she is only with him because she is having a horrible time at college and that no one likes her. Gee, what a great thing to tell a dude, which basically amounts to being the 'lesser of two evils'. What does he do? What he always does.....bends over and takes it up the..........

Ugh.

Stellar episode that was hard to watch at times. With Joel moving out, he and Kristina have to tell Victor and Sydney what is happening. How do you disrupt something they have worked so hard to create. Watching the kids playing with each other as a true Brother/Sister dynamic isn't something to take lightly. I thought the writers did a great job in getting across why a lot of married couples 'stay together for the kids'. Well, the dream was short-lived as they decided to tell them the following day. The actors playing Victor and Sydney were damn impressive in their ability to turn the water-works on. It didn't look fake at all and there was a lot of emotion behind those tears.

I also liked that Zeke finally came to the realization that his life isn't four walls and a ceiling, but any place that Camille is at. THAT's life...sharing and creating memories with the one you love. So naturally she was elated that he decided that it was time to sell the house and let her start to live abroad and experience new things. I did find it ironic that no sooner have they decided to sell, Crosby, Jasmine and Jabbar take refuge at their place since their own house has mold. And later own, with Victor and Sydney not happy with Joel gone, Julia also ends up on their doorstep. There's no place like home....especially when you have loving parents that will console you through whatever crisis arises.

I thought they did a great job of visualizing how the kids (Sydney and Victor) are the ones that are caught in the middle now that Joel and Julia are separating and living at different addresses. Each parent wants to keep them at home, but it isn't that easy now that the kids are being shuttled from one location to the next. First weekend away leaves Julia leaves her in a state of depression with no one else in the house, which gives the episode it's best scene. With the rest of the brood worried about her well being and how she is handling this, Sarah, Crobsy and Adam all show up unannounced and alone with no knowledge of the others plans to show up. I like that the family was able to rally together in a moment of crisis to protest one of their own.

As for Zeke and Camille, I swear she "pulled away" from him when he hugged her. She had an "ugh" look on her face which tells me that there is more going on to their arc than the naked eye can pick up. I just think that with her globetrotting around the world, she just doesn't want to be tied down anymore.....be it home.....or in marriage.

Leave it to Hank to be the rational one to point out that Sarah can't see a project through to the end. So, she starts a new career as a photographer, seeks to get hired and land an account doing what she professes she loves. But as soon as a man walks into the picture, she is willing to just "push the deadline back" until she returns from her trip. When Hank flips out over this (he is after all working for her now), I thought his ranting was due to him being jealous she was seeing someone else. Turns out that he was spot on in his observation about her. It was enough to basically shock her to her core to the point of cancelling the trip and subsequently ending her new romance. So, +1 for Hank.

With Julia and Joel now separated, I wasn't sure if Ed (David Denman) would be returning since their arc seemed to have run its course. Nope. Not so fast. With Julia now alone, it looks like she will be seeking "friendship / companionship" with the one person she blames for marriage falling apart. Really not sure where they are going with this. From my standpoint, it looks like her marriage is over. But then again, maybe this is the motivation Joel needs to fight for her, which is weird is that he didn't do just that the first time around. Anyway, enjoyable episode for sure.