By Kim
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Adam and family prepare to participate in the Autism Walk, all wearing fancy new sneakers provided by Adam's company. The only problem is that Max thinks they're just doing it as a good deed, because no one told him that he's on the spectrum. Adam and Christine debate telling him, and Christine talks to his doctor, but ultimately they decide to wait. Bet that's not going to blow up in their faces in a future episode. Oh, and they totally win the walk!
But that's no thanks to Sarah and her family. Haddie and Amber get into a fistfight at school which results in Haddie blurting out to their respective parents that Amber slept with Steve, even though Amber says she'll stay away from Steve now. Sarah takes Amber's side, Christine takes Haddie's side, and Adam tries to stay neutral. Haddie's friends torture Amber at school, even painting "Whore" on her locker. Haddie starts to feel bad for her cousin and goes to talk to her, where she walks in on Amber and Steve kissing. Oops.
Julia gets a useless storyline that, based on episode descriptions, was actually supposed to be in week's episode. She joins the Angel Network at her kid's school, which provides meals and comfort to parents in need. Julia brings store-bought soup to a woman who is recovering from breast implant surgery, and they both judge each other. Eventually, Julia confesses that her parents are splitting up, and Boobs McGee confesses that her husband left her for a younger woman, and they bond.
Crosby learns that Jasmine is auditioning for the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. Isn't she a little old? Anyway, he also learns that the Alvin Ailey Dance Company is in New York, so if Jasmine gets in, she's moving and probably taking the kid with her.
And finally, the Braverman kids continue to meddle in their parents' marriage. Sarah tells Adam that their mom slept with her art teacher, and Adam immediately tells Zeek. Again, I'm going to bet that's going to blow up in their faces. Sarah and Adam are both terrible at keeping secrets.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Adam is driving Max around the sneaker warehouse in a forklift. As they pass through the aisles, Max notices that the sizes aren't ordered properly -- there are 13s mixed in with the 8s, and suchlike. Adam says it's "human error," but I smell a summer job for Max. Don't you think he'd be deliriously happy to put everything in the right place? Max asks why people don't just come to the warehouse to buy their sneakers, and Adam says that people like to have a choice between brands. So Braverman Shoes is a brand? This is the smallest warehouse ever. Are they like a boutique shoe? It's probably best not to ask too many questions.
Speaking of asking questions, Max has a bunch more, but Adam cuts him off to show him their latest sneaker model. It features a built-in pedometer and an SD card that tracks how many steps you take. Max points out that they can use these shoes to track their steps for the Autism Walk on Sunday, and log the most miles, and win. I'm really unclear on how this whole Autism Walk works -- they get to track their mileage all week? And there's a winner? But no one over reports their mileage? Because it's for charity? And people are inherently good? Anyway, Adam clearly had that in mind when he showed Max the sneaker, but because he is sometimes a good dad, he lets Max think he came up with the idea on his own.
Cut to a Braverman family meeting (are these a daily occurrence or what?) where Adam is handing out free sneakers to everyone and explaining how they can track your mileage. Everyone has a snarky comment; Sarah wonders why she has to wear pink (which Kristina picked out) and Crosby points out that Nike had this technology five years ago. Adam is a bigger person than I am -- I would snatch all the sneakers back when people started complaining and tell them to buy their own damn shoes. As Adam makes his presentation to the family, Max continues to pace back and forth, building up his mileage. This is a theme of the episode. Adam explains that he is giving away these shoes to everyone participating in the fundraiser for tracking purposes. Is Adam's company unaffected by the economy? How can they afford to give shoes away to everyone? I guess I don't want this show to turn into Brothers & Sisters, which is all about the business side of things now, but I do still have questions. As Adam finishes, Max (overstimulated) screams out that the winner gets a trophy, and finishes up his Gipper-style pep talk by yelling, "Let's walk for those kids with autism!" Everyone is kind of taken aback, but they applaud anyway. Crosby turns to Julia and whispers, "He doesn't know?" and Julia replies, "I guess not." AWKWARD. Kristina and Adam exchange a look like, "How exactly are we supposed to handle this?" but everyone continues cheering.