In a blog last week, I called NBC’s pilot episode of  “Parenthood”, “bland”, “unoriginal” and “similar to a re-run of 7th Heaven”.

          Can I take it back?

          The second episode which aired last night completely reassured my former doubts on the show. I suppose it just needed a starting week to kick off from the ground and really get moving, because this week’s episode was filled with intense drama and interesting plot turns, leaving me itching for more answers by the final scene.

        This week , Adam (Peter Krause) and his wife’s son, Max, is diagnosed with Asberger’s Syndrome, causing a great deal of grief and confusion through the entire family. Sarah (Lauren Graham) learns that the new school she sends her kids to wants to hold her teenage daughter, Amber(Mae Whitman) back a year because of grades from her previous school. The youngest of the adult siblings,Crosby (Dax Shepard), gets a visit from an old girlfriend only to find out he has a four year old son who wants to “know who his daddy is”.

          And that’s just skimming the surface of what the characters on this show must persevere through. Essentially, it’s enjoyable because it’s real. The Bravermans are not a functional family—just like every family, they have ups and downs, and even at times, lefts and rights.

          But that’s what I’m starting to realize sets the show apart from every other family drama: it doesn’t hold back. Anything and everything that can happen to a family to try and break it a part happens in this one, but it doesn’t seem to break them at all.

         It just goes to show you first impressions aren’t always right.