Parenthood Episode 5.16 The Enchanting Mr. Knight

It's early in the morning when Sarah wakes up next to Carl, who mentions he has to go to Zimbabwe for work. Would Sarah like to come? Despite her looming work deadline, Sarah doesn't hesitate to accept the offer. She tells Hank it's a personal matter, but Max mentions the trip to Africa, sending Hank straight to Dr. Pelikan's office. Counseled to tell Sarah how he feels in his own words. Hank proceeds to Sarah's apartment with carefully chosen words. It seems as if Sarah's falling into an old pattern: blowing off what she wants for herself for a guy. Sarah's pissed, but she hears Hank. The next day, she tells Carl she can't go to Africa; it's kind of the year of Sarah, and she can't afford to get distracted. Sarah returns to the studio to tell Hank that even though she doesn't want to talk about it, he was right.

Crosby spies on Karen, the real estate agent, as she creates a to-do list for his parents to complete before listing the house. When Crosby threatens to boil over, Jasmine talks him down, warning him to stay out of it. Unable to help himself, Crosby lays into Camille when he discovers she repainted his old bedroom: Camille and Karen are scheming against Zeek to sell the house - Camille is being selfish! Quietly furious, Camille puts her 30-plus years of motherhood in perspective for her dilettantish son and huffs out of the kitchen. That night, Jasmine and Crosby hover near a heating duct on the first floor, where Crosby has eavesdropped on his parents for years. This is the worst fight Crosby has ever heard - his mother called him the selfish one! Over dinner, Crosby and Jasmine announce they found a condo to sublet, so they'll be leaving. Without a hiccup, Camille refuses; Crosby, Jasmine and the kids are staying, and she won't have it any other way.

Looking a little rough around the edges, Julia meets Ed at the school garden. It's Green Week, and all they're going to talk about is vegetables. Julia won't talk about Joel moving out and she and Ed can't be friends. Since the garden looks like a pile of weeds, Ed and Julia scramble to put in fresh plants, which the kids know weren't there yesterday. In the midst of all this, Sydney puts her mother in a tough position, threatening to throw a tantrum if Julia won't permit her to sleep over that night. Knowing it's the wrong thing to do, Julia gives in. Joel is furious - the most important thing is a consistent schedule! Later that night, Ed knocks on Julia's door to offer his support. But an angry Julia blames the dissolution of her marriage on him. Ed kindly tells Julia that she's kidding herself is she thinks he's the source of her marital problems. At the next tiresome Green Day event, Ed comes to Julia's rescue, circumventing another one of Sydney's tantrums. That night, Julia stops by Ed's to apologize with a container full of home-cooked chicken marsala. She admits she's responsible for her own marriage, and Ed invites her in to share dinner.

Amber bursts into Drew's dorm room. It's time for him to stop feeling sorry for himself over getting dumped by Amy. Amber and Drew are going to a frat party, where they're both going to make out with people! Drew invites Natalie to the party, but she's still upset about the whole Amy thing, so she declines. Nevertheless, she shows up, bumping into Berto, who tells her that Drew's on a mission to hook up. Drew rushes over, but he's too late, because a huffy Natalie is on her way out.

Adam and Kristina nervously await another six-month checkup with Dr. Bledsoe. Kristina's phone rings: Max's new teacher Mr. Knight took away his chair during class. She worries, is the school giving up on her son!? She's in tears by the time she's called into the doctor's office, and all he'll promise is to call in a couple days with test results. Emotions are still running high when Adam and Kristina arrive at school to meet with Mr. Knight... who turns out to be super cool. Taking Max's chair away is a learning technique, and it's working - Max is a brilliant kid! Her jaw dropping, Kristina tells Mr. Knight all about her and Adam's plans to open a charter school for kids like Max. She's surprised when he reacts cautiously; the prospect of keeping a charter school running is extremely tough. Kristina loses most of the wind in her sails, surprising Adam. But when she gets the all-clear call from Dr. Bledsoe, it's on. Determined, Adam and Kristina drop by Mr. Knight's house with an outlandish question: will he run their school?