Good News, 'Parenthood' Fans

Thursday night's episode was a Zeek-centric one, which makes sense considering it Parenthood's latest was titled "Happy Birthday, Zeek" and the fact that, you know, fans have been left wondering, "OH GOD, ZEEK ISN'T GOING TO DIE, IS HE?" All signs of that pointed to "Yes, we are killing the Braverman patriarch" early in the episode when Zeek was told by his doctor that he should get coronary bypass micro-valve replacement (that's doc speak for heart surgery) to prevent any further fainting spells like the one that took him out in Las Vegas. But, since Zeek is a stubborn old grump who didn't want to run the risk of what could happen if the surgery didn't go well, he initially elected not to have the elective surgery. That all changed by the episode's end when Zeek got a new lease on life thanks to his kids, grandkids (and a soon-to-be-great-grandkid) and decided he wanted to stick around a little bit longer. Phew.

While it was a tad selfish of Zeek to immediately shoot down the surgery, when he confessed to Adam that he wanted to "go out on his own terms" and not have a "diminished quality of life" if the surgery was unsuccessful, it was impossible not to side with him on that matter. (Plus that whole wish to "spread my ashes on a baseball field and play a game on me" is pretty damn great.)

While Adam's tearful protest that he wanted his father around longer may have tipped the scales, it was his chat on the porch with Amber that really did the trick. In one of the sweetest Parenthood moments ever (and the warmly-received pregnancy confession moment that Amber deserved), Zeek joyfully congratulated his granddaughter on her thrilling news. "Oh sweetheart, that's incredible," he told her, adding, "[It's] the most beautiful thing in the world to hold your child...it's magic." (Good news sidebar, Bustle.com readers, as it turns out, you can cry pretty much directly into your laptop and it will still work!)

After Amber's exciting news made Zeek realize he'd be a great-grandfather, he came back into the house looking at his family with a new perspective. All of the grandkids recorded a birthday song for Zeek (which, as far as I'm concerned, still sounded better than pretty much everything recorded by Ashes of Rome) and when Jabbar suggested they'd make another one for when he turns 80-years-old, Zeek lit up at the idea. Well, he said he could "sell CDs at the Safeway," but hey, we all have different leases on life for different reasons.

Zeek later told Camille about Amber, but most importantly he said he was going to have the surgery. Now, of course, this doesn't mean Zeek will necessarily live (it's all but confirmed that we are going to lose a Braverman family member this season, whether we like it or not) but it doesn't mean he won't go out fighting for his family. Y'know, because this show wasn't sad enough as is.

Image: Colleen Hayes/NBC