For a show that lets storylines linger over seasons, this was one reveal that felt especially rushed.
NBC
Haddie Braverman (Sarah Ramos) had been missing on Parenthood for a whole season. And unlike other absent TV children — Judy Winslow on Family Matters, Laurie Foreman on The '70s Show, and, of course, prodigal son Chuck Cunningham on Happy Days — the lack of Haddie (who, granted, was never the most liked character on NBC's tear-jerking drama) felt even less excusable. Parenthood seemed above the case of the missing milk carton television characters and it was disappointing, surprising, and unrealistic to see the usually dependable show fall short in that respect.
But even more so than Haddie's disappearing act, perhaps the most glaringly disappointing element of Parenthood was the fact that in five seasons, there had not been a single recurring queer character. For a show with an incredibly large and sprawling ensemble cast — and one set in progressive Berkeley, Calif. — it felt like a hugely missed opportunity.
The show hasn't ever shied away from tackling touchy subjects — Asperger's syndrome, breast cancer, alcoholism, PTSD, drug abuse, adoption, divorce, and multi-ethnic families have all been on the docket as Parenthood charts the struggles and issues that many families and individuals encounter. And yet, for all of that, the absence of a queer character seemed like a glaring oversight, a storyline that the show, operating under the watchful eye of executive producer Jason Katims, had somehow forgotten to include in its winsome portrait of the ebbs and flows of daily life.
And then Haddie reappeared in Parenthood's fifth season finale, which aired on April 17. She was last seen in the middle of Season 4, when she came home from Cornell to visit her cancer-stricken mom Kristina (Monica Potter) in the hospital, a tearful reunion that seemed all the more apt because she had been physically out of sight for so long.
NBC via ihaveaprestigiousblog.tumblr.com
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