"New Plan" is the 20th episode of the second season of Parenthood. It first aired on April 5, 2011.
Summary[]
Crosby buys a house to win back Jasmine, Adam stresses over Haddie's prom, and Sarah works on her play while worrying about Amber's future.
Recap[]
Crosby tells the story of his relationship with Jasmine to an unseen audience as he moves through a series of empty rooms. He concludes by saying that he wants to make a home that his family can live in together. The camera pulls back to reveal that Crosby's been speaking to a real estate agent in an empty house. At Adam and Kristina's, Haddie shows Alex the decorations she's working on for her prom, which has the theme "Midnight in Paris." Haddie asks Alex if he'll go to prom with her. Alex doesn't think he's a prom guy, but Haddie really wants him to go, so he says yes.
Sarah stops by Julia's office. Julia's arm is in a cast from an ice-skating injury and Sarah's curious to know how it's impacting the baby making. Julia's brave face cracks, and she shares the sad news about her inability to conceive another child. She tries to put a positive spin on things, and Sarah plays along, telling her to focus on today because before you know it, your kids are applying to college. Julia asks how Amber's doing after being rejected from Berkeley, only to realize that Amber didn't tell Sarah yet. Oops... Crosby asks the realtor about the price of the house they've been looking at. It's way out of his range, but the neighborhood's perfect. Spying a fixer-upper across the street, Crosby adjusts his expectations.
Sarah arrives home to find Camille helping Amber with her homework, and asks why Amber didn't tell her about Berkeley. Amber doesn't know, she just chickened out. Sarah wonders if Amber thought she'd be mad; she's not disappointed in Amber, but she does want to help her figure out what's next. Amber says that's why she didn't tell Sarah - she's not ready to make a plan, and she doesn't want advice or ideas, she just wants Sarah to listen. Amber says she just can't talk about it yet and walks away.
Adam's worried about Haddie's prom. Kristina doesn't think it's such a big deal, but Adam remembers his own prom far too well, calling it a "parent-and-school-sanctioned Club Med for teenagers." Kristina thinks they need to trust Haddie. Meanwhile, Haddie and Amber look through magazines at prom dresses while Alex offers commentary, and asks what Amber's wearing to prom. Amber claims she wouldn't be caught dead going to prom. Thinking Amber isn't going because she's scared, Haddie tries to persuade her to come along. It'll be fun! Alex says his friend Brandon from the Community Center could go as her date. Amber promises to think about it.
Sarah works with Gilliam on her play. He tells her a story about a bold suggestion he once made to cut a major scene from a play (the "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy from "Hamlet") that got him fired for the first time, then got him his first directing job. When Sarah wonders why he's telling her this anecdote, Gilliam suggests she cut the first two scenes of the second act. Sarah's resistant because it would require her to rework things, but Gilliam wants her to make the changes quickly, because there's an opportunity to do a staged reading with Berkeley Rep. Sarah claims she doesn't have time. Gilliam reminds Sarah that she has a gift; for once in her life, she should put herself first.
Crosby stops by to see Adam, who's still feeling hostile. Crosby apologizes yet again, and tells Adam he's thinking about buying a house as a way to try and win back Jasmine and Jabbar. Adam thinks Crosby's an idiot with a stupid plan - it's further proof that Crosby's still immature. They continue to argue as Adam shows Crosby the door.
Julia tells Sydney she's got something special planned for today, but Sydney has a play date with Chloe. Didn't they already have special time together yesterday? And the day before that? Julia wins Sydney over by offering a trip to the zoo to see the baby Komodo dragons. Adam continues to harp on his concerns about prom night as Kristina folds laundry. Although Kristina promises she's gone over the rules with Haddie and everything's fine, Adam refuses to believe everything's fine. After all, he had sex on prom night! Kristina points out that kids are going to have sex regardless of whether it's prom night. But Adam can't let it go, so Kristina promises that she'll talk to Haddie.
Crosby stops by to talk to Sarah, who tries to put him off because she's working on her play, but caves in. Crosby tells her that Adam still hates his guts. Sarah points out that Crosby was, in fact, in the wrong and what he did still pisses her off. Crosby owns that he's a jerk, then shares his plan to sell his houseboat in order to buy a house to try and win Jasmine back. He asks Sarah if she'll come by to look at the house and give him a female perspective. Sarah doesn't know if his plan will work, but she thinks it's a grand gesture. Crosby thinks it would be great if Julia and Joel would come by and check it out, too. When Sarah suggests inviting Adam as well, Crosby shakes his head; he doesn't think Adam will ever come over.
While shopping for prom dresses, Kristina abruptly asks whether Haddie and Alex are talking about sex. Haddie assures her they aren't. Meanwhile, Sarah finds Amber with a bunch of Camille's old dresses. Amber explains that Haddie and Alex begged her to go to prom. Sarah's really excited for Amber. It's a story she'll always be able to tell and an experience she'll always have. Sarah's happy Amber's going as a way to say goodbye to high school. Crosby shakes hands with a younger version of himself, and hands over the keys to his houseboat, finalizing the sale. After some parting words of advice, Crosby walks away, more than a little heartbroken.
Gilliam gives Sarah a hard time for leaving before finishing her work on the play because of Amber's prom. Sarah promises she's taking the play seriously and she'll stay up all night to get it done, but she really does have to go. Meanwhile, Adam and Kristina's house is prom central. Adam and Kristina get some snacks together with Camille and Zeek while the girls get dressed upstairs. Camille reminisces about Adam's prom and Sarah arrives to share her memories. The doorbell rings and Alex arrives with his friend, Brandon, whom everyone finds both cute and nice. Introductions are made and pictures taken. Finally, Haddie and Amber descend the stairs, looking stunning. The boys give the girls corsages and finally they're off.
As Sarah heads out, she tells Adam about stopping by Crosby's new house tomorrow. Adam's clearly still angry at Crosby, so Sarah reminds that while Crosby did a really stupid thing and Jasmine might never forgive him, as his siblings, they don't have that option. Crosby's in pain and he's their brother, so Sarah tells Adam to show up. Meanwhile, Amber, Brandon, Haddie and Alex arrive at prom. Zeek and Camille stop by Julia and Joel's house with Julia's old golf clubs. Sydney's less than thrilled about the prospect of playing golf with Julia and points out that they're already learning French together. How many things do they have to do together? Julia barely maintains her composure as she walks away, causing Zeek to ask Joel what's going on.
At the prom, Amber's friend Kelsey (from SAT tutoring) asks where she's going to college. Kelsey's going to Yale. Amber says she doesn't know - she didn't get in anywhere. Kelsey tries to save the conversation from terminal awkwardness, but there's no hope. Afterwards, Amber tells Haddie and Alex that she doesn't feel well and takes off with Brandon. Later, Haddie and Alex slow dance. Haddie asks Alex if he's thought about getting a room with her. Alex thinks that when the time is right, they're going to know it; there's no rush. They kiss. At Julia and Joel's, Camille finds Julia alone in the kitchen and embraces her, holding Julia while she sobs.
Amber arrives home to find Sarah working on her play. Sarah wonders what happened - why's Amber home so early? Amber says things just aren't working. She tried to do what Sarah wanted, go to college and participate in high school life, but it's not working for her. So Amber needs to start doing what feels good to her. She's going to start making her own decisions, and Sarah needs to be okay with that. Amber walks away, leaving Sarah frozen and heartbroken. Outside Alex's apartment, Haddie and Alex kiss. Haddie tells Alex that she thinks the time is right. Alex doesn't want Haddie to feel pressure just because it's prom night. Haddie assures Alex that she feels good. They go inside.
Adam and Kristina sit up in bed waiting for Haddie. Adam's stressing because it's four minutes to curfew and she isn't back yet. He's about to call when they hear her come in the front door. Haddie keeps a poker face, telling her parents everything went well. Once alone in her bedroom, Haddie relaxes, a secret smile crossing her face. Julia and Joel lie awake in bed. Joel tells Julia that for what it's worth, he's always wanted to play golf with her. She dissolves into tears, and tells him she loves him.
The next morning, Sarah, Julia and Joel check out the fixer-upper house with Crosby. There's a lot of work that needs to be done, and they're skeptical of his choice to take it on, but Crosby tells them he already bought it. He sits, head in hands, wondering what he was thinking. When Julia suggests he can wiggle out of it during escrow, Crosby drops the next bomb - he sold the houseboat, because it seemed like the grown-up thing to do. From out of nowhere, Adam agrees - after all, what kind of grown-up lives on a houseboat? Crosby thanks him for coming, and asks if Adam thinks he can fix the house. Adam responds no, but he thinks that together, the Braverman family can fix anything.