Monica Potter's 'O Face,' and 4 Other Edgy Family Issues Tackled on Last Night's Parenthood

If you've been faithfully tuning into NBC's family drama Parenthood each week, waiting for confirmation that your primetime tastes run racy, consider the title of last night's episode "The Big 'O'" your sign from above. The slang term denoted that huge, orgasm-related topics would be covered as best they could under network restrictions. And as usual, Parenthood kinda delivered on those moderate expectations. After the jump, Movieline revisits each edgy issue tackled, including Monica Potter's O-face.

1. You Accidentally Tell Your Asperger's-Afflicted Son's Behavioral Aide That Your Husband Can't Satisfy You in Bed... And Then Your Husband Finds Out

Kristina Braverman (Monica Potter) has been so tightly wound because of her son's Asperger's (which she cannot manage despite her best parenting efforts), that when her son's behavioral aide breaks through to him, she lets weeks of unresolved issues spew out of her mouth. Kristina dealt with the situation like any ensemble character with only five minutes of screen time in an hourlong drama would: by apologizing, accidentally telling her husband about the disclosure, and then letting her husband really prove his virility in between network plugs ("That definitely beat the time after Leno"). Case of the "Big O" closed.

2. You Have the Hots For Your Baby-Faced English Teacher -- Only He Has the Hots For Your Mom

That is the very struggle that Amber (Mae Whitman) faced in last night's episode. After her mother moved her across the state and into your grandparents house, she finally found something to live for -- her English teacher (Jason Ritter). Viewers could tell Amber had fallen hard because the pot-smoking, mouthy teen even stayed after school to help out with his literary magazine, Spectrum. If you are in Amber's position, slowly wait for your mother to admit her offense, start thinking of appropriate revenge tactics, and tune in again next week.

3. You Are Crushing On Your Daughter's 26-Year-Old Teacher Even Though He Keeps Harassing You At Your Workplace With Juvenile Notes

The inverse of Amber's problem in last night's Parenthood belongs to her mother, Sarah (Lauren Graham), who couldn't help but be attracted to the teacher who liked her term paper on The Sound and the Fury. Even though a relationship is a blatant conflict of interest, emulators should follow Sarah's lead and kiss "Teach" in a dark bar, respond to his handwritten request for a date by checking "yes," and wait for your daughter's own sound and fury.

4. You Realize That a Mother In Your Son's Playgroup Is Sweating Your Very Married Brother-in-Law

This was just one of the two dilemmas that Crosby (Dax Shepard) handled in last night's episode, when he noticed the flirtation between a touchy mother (Erinn Hayes) and Joel (Sam Jaeger). Crosby didn't want to endanger his son's place in the playgroup so he hightailed it to his sister's (Erika Christensen) and casually implied that her husband was the object of many-a-single mother's desires. Just one of the risks of having a sister with a stay-at-home husband. His sister handled it from there.

5. You Have to Tell Your Judgmental Father, Played By Craig T. Nelson, About Your Illegitimate Child

The above is just another problem for Crosby, who has slowly introduced his son Jabbar (Tyree Brown) to members of his plus-size family. And now, after confirming that Jabbar is his child (thanks to a paternity test), it's time to tell his parents. If you are faced with this same sticky situation, rip a page from Crosby's playbook and treat your parents to a nice Italian dinner and gingerly break the news about the consequences of that one-night-stand you had with a dancer eight years ago. If you're lucky, your parents will invite the kid over to their compound, exclaim that he has your darling smile, and then unpack your vintage bicycle from storage and gift it to their new mixed-race grandson.