'Greek' recap: Parental invasion

Mining an annual collegiate tradition — the equally feared and beloved parents weekend — was genius on the part of Greek‘s producers. Why? Well, in the case of this show, its juiciness is two-fold. First, we were treated to how the students prepped for the visits by their parental units: Kappa Tau initially decided to proudly "fly their flag" of trashy living before cleaning up their act; ZBZ, natch, put on a ritzy tea for the the visit by Rebecca’s father, Senator Logan; and Dale flew his own flag — a banner welcoming his parents — in his dorm room.

More deliciously important than all that was getting to see actual parents of these characters we’ve been following for two seasons now. Comparing parents was always my favorite part of this weekend back in college. Sure, I was pumped to see my own ‘rents (they’d sweetly show up wearing their matching "Drake Mom" and "Drake Dad" sweat-shirts… awww), but seeing those who raised my wacky friends — and the even wackier people whom I just watched from afar? It’s brilliant! It’s truly insightful! Like looking directly into the soul of a person. And it was no different in the case of Greek. (On that note, I have to quickly mention that I’m loving how the Greek world has been expanded lately. Between this and the flashback-filled episode, it finally feels like this little patch of sororities and fraternities don’t exist in some weird, remote bubble.)

The parents that surprised me most were the Cartwrights, who spawned the lovely Rusty and Casey (Jacob Zachar and Spencer Grammer, pictured). I get that they’re college professors and, you know, into the whole academic side of university life, but I’ve never seen two people who were so fully immersed in the collegiate world but at the same time totally didn’t get it! How could they be so closed-minded and averse to the Greek system when they’ve existed a stone’s throw away for years? But this conflict made the story good. The best part of this storyline was what it conjured up between Casey and Rusty — a big ol’ brother-sister fight! Who knew there was so much pent-up venom between them? And who would have guessed that Rusty was the golden child in the family? Casey — the pretty sorority president that she is — totally gives off that vibe. It felt good to see her not be so perfect for once.

And while some of last night’s episode felt like free PR for the Greek system, I have to admit: Rusty’s heart-wrenching ode to Casey and his decision to be in a frat was touching. "If I were like you, I’d have amazing people skills, I’d be able to solve problems creatively," he proclaimed. "If I got to be president of my fraternity, I’d basically be learning how to be a president of a small corporation. All in all, I would be pretty incredible." And, you know, he convinced his parents of it, too! Parental turnaround in just 47 hours and 11 minutes! (That’s the amount of time the Cartwrights were in town and the name of the episode.)

So, Greek fans out there, some burning questions for you: How much did you love Dale’s parents and, specifically, the fact that his mother was played by Connie Ray? (Remember her amazing work in The Torkelsons and Almost Home?) Especially after the fight over Rebecca’s treatment of Cappie this week, can Greek Row’s Most Unlikely Couple actually make their relationship work? And, where were the Omega Chis — specifically, Calvin and Evan — this week?