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'Parenthood' Season 5 Predictions: What's Next for the Bravermans?

The Bravermans returned last week, making viewers everywhere long yet again for a giant family in northern California. The fifth season premiere started some interesting story lines that should make for another great season, but just how will they play out?

Before the second episode premieres Thursday night, let's take a look at what's been setup so far, and try to figure out what the various Bravermans will be up to this year.

The Bravermans returned last week, making viewers everywhere long yet again for a giant family in northern California. The fifth season premiere started some interesting story lines that should make for another great season, but just how will they play out?

Before the second episode premieres Thursday night, let's take a look at what's been setup so far, and try to figure out what the various Bravermans will be up to this year.

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Adam & Kristina

The season premiere saw a cancer-free Kristina rediscover her interest in politics, but instead of going to work for her old colleague Bob Little, she decides to run for Mayor instead. Parenthood is usually pretty grounded, so I wouldn't expect her to win, but to instead get noticed by someone important and land a great job. A possible story line for her campaign, however, could be ethical dilemmas about what, exactly, to use in her platform. She might hire a ruthless campaign manager who tries to make her use her family to earn votes.

Adam, on the other hand, was pretty boring in the premiere. All he did was tell Kristina not to work for Bob, and give Crosby some parenting advice. Maybe this season, we'll see him struggling to balance work at the Luncheonette and taking care of Nora and Max while Kristina runs for office.

Max & Hank

I think it's pretty obvious that we're seeing Max start to become a photographer, and maybe start to learn more socialization skills in the process. His interaction with Hank in the premiere certainly hinted at his growing interest, and Hank encouraged him to start taking photos of people. Maybe Adam was right, and this hobby could become something great for Max.

Hank is a little confusing. Last we saw, he was moving to Minnesota and in love with Sarah. Now, he's back and they're broken up. I'm not particularly invested in him as a character, and I don't think many other fans are either, so the writers better come up with a purpose for him fast if they want to keep Ray Romano around.

Sarah

So Sarah's a super now? And a photographer even though she and Hank broke up? She's had the most off-screen changes since last season, so this year could go any way for her. The only solid prediction here is that she's going to date her annoying tenant who made a big point of saying he only dates women under 30. Yeah, Sarah's going to change that. Their flirtatious banter made it pretty clear.

Amber & Drew

It seems like Amber is going to have the most exciting story this season, as we saw her get engaged to Ryan, while he's on military leave. The couple is moving fast, and I would speculate over how her family will react, but a Season 5 promo already showed Sarah helping Amber plan the wedding. Thanks, NBC.

But we haven't seen any of the other Bravermans' reactions, and since Sarah's young marriage didn't end well, it's safe to say that Zeek and a few other relatives won't be very pleased. And this is a long shot, but what if Amber gets pregnant this season, too? Every preview of hers makes a point of showing her and Ryan getting frisky, and she's never allowed to just be happy without drama. The other possible dramatic tension for her is Ryan being injured while serving his tour of duty.

As for Drew, he barely got screen time when he was living with the family, so there shouldn't be much now that he's in college. Since he is close by at UC Berkeley, however, we'll probably see him more than Haddie who has largely disappeared. Maybe he'll get a new love interest to liven things up.

Joel, Julia & Kids

All signs are pointing to Joel having an affair, or an almost-affair, but I don't believe he would do that. Joel is basically the best/hottest husband and father on TV right now, and he just wouldn't do that to Julia. He'll more likely have an issue where his new boss, a woman named Pete (?) is interested in him, and he has to reject her, leading to awkwardness at work and anger at home.

Julia's been trying to get a job but is struggling thanks to her old boss badmouthing her. After a very rude comment from Pete about being "just a housewife," and a hint of jealousy over Joel's success, however, she should be more motivated than ever. I think we'll see Julia do one of two things: She'll either go down to her old boss and tell him he has no right to ruin her reputation, or take a low-paying job that helps people, where she'll learn she loves it more than her old job.

Sydney and Victor? Who cares. Victor's officially a Braverman now and Sydney's as annoying as ever. Hopefully the two of them will just pop in once for a while for dinner with their parents.

Crosby & Jasmine

Poor Crosby. What was supposed to be one of the best events of his life, the birth of his daughter, has turned him into an emotional mess. Apparently, if he doesn't get at least eight hours of a sleep he freaks out, and as we've seen throughout the series, Jasmine will not stand for that kind of crap. I'd expect some kind of special moment between Crosby and baby Aida, since he told Adam he doesn't feel a connection to her. At least, I hope so. If last week's choosing a name was supposed to be the moment, I'll be disappointed because 1) that's the exact same story line as Dr. Cox on Scrubs and 2) we barely saw him with the baby after that. I want to see Crosby in adorable doting dad mode.

This season, Jasmine will hopefully start to meet Crosby in the middle when it comes to parenting. She's always doubted him a little bit, since he came into the picture so late, but as they raise Aida together, they should become even closer and start to develop a better co-parenting style. Also, she needs to stand up to her mom without making Crosby seem like the bad guy. Yes, she needs her help, but sometimes a Braverman can help out, too.

Jabbar & Aida

Get ready for jealousy galore. Remember how Sydney acted out when Joel and Julia first brought Victor into her life? Imagine that but with a brand new baby. Jabbar has been an only child for a long time, and now has to share his parents' attention with his little sister. He's even more prone to jealousy because Crosby wasn't around when he was little, but he's there for Aida. Jasmine mentioning that Aida is a difficult baby also supports this, since she'll require a lot of attention and will likely make both of her tired parents a little irritable.

Zeek & Camille

Camille is in desperate need of a story line. Since her Season 1 marital issues and art class, she's mostly been there to support other characters, like her husband, Sarah, and Haddie. Let's see her do something besides babysit. Maybe she can work on Kristina's campaign, or she could be very opposed to Amber's engagement and get into a real fight about it. Just give the woman something to work with, she wasn't even in the premiere enough to make a real prediction.

Zeek could use some action too, though he is always featured a little more prominently than Camille. He's often the comic relief and last season, was the one who found Ryan through his work with veterans. Maybe he and Camille could do something more substantial together, whether through Kristina's campaign or their own separate story. Now that Sarah's out of the house, they could cause an uproar by wanting to move away.

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