Who screws us up? Can we blame our parents for our own shortcomings as adults?

My apologies in advance for getting all heavy on this one. But this week's episode delved into the despairs of Hank's world, and I can’t ignore that.

This week we got a glimpse at Hank Moody pre-sex promiscuity and break-up with Karen. We are taken back in time to when his father, Al, paid him a visit.

We see the kind of man Hank was raised by: a womanizing crass man with a dirty tongue who is seemingly unimpressed by his son's literary success, saying he hasn't read his son’s books. We find out later, however, that Hank's dad did in fact read his books but didn't know how to talk about it. He's upset with his dad for cheating on his mother and being an absentee grandfather. (Clearly the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree here.)

In sum, it's a sad episode which taps into the realities of people's relationships with their parents. And the obvious message is this: Hank's womanizing, absentee, disinterested father is why Hank didn't believe in the sanction of marriage; so Hank's own promiscuity could be the learned behaviour he unconsciously adopted from his father. Hank's failure to organize his life continues to disappoint his daughter, not unlike his feelings towards his father. It's the circle of life!

This leads me to my original questions of whether or not it's fair to pass on some of the responsibility for our own misgivings as adults onto our parents.

Is it just an excuse to blame our parents? And regardless of who is to blame, how do we move on as adults from the unhappy scars of our childhood?

Written by Angela Tosse

Hank Ranks this week are up! The man finally got laid, twice! Once by a hooker in a hotel room (dirty). Second, by Karen at his home! Sex with Karen deserves at least two notches on the bedpost.