Brothers and Sisters – Recap & Review – The Homecoming

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Brothers and Sisters
The Homecoming

Original Air Date: Sep 26, 2010

Farrah Kaye – Sr. Editor
farrah@thetwocentscorp.com

I’m a huge Brothers and Sisters fan. Always have been. Since day one, I’ve loved weekly Walker dinners and still remember the moment William Walker fell in the pool in episode one, starting years of drama for our favorite wine-drinking family. Over the summer, actually before last season even ended, everyone knew big changes were coming. Rob Lowe was starring on two shows at once so we knew Robert was leaving and then spoilers came out over the summer that other characters were leaving as well, namely Tommy and Rebecca.

But the most important part of the Brothers and Sisters spoiler was that when it returned this fall it would have a one year time jump. I thought this would be the best thing ever. We could move beyond the death of Robert easily, Justin and Rebecca could have a nice separation and everyone would have moved on from the accident. Thanks to my living on the west coast, I found out early the time jump proved useless and the show didn’t live up to the hype. So where did the writers go wrong? You be the judge.

Kitty: To my surprise, Robert is not dead. In fact, he’s been in a coma since the accident and Kitty refuses to pull the plug. Despite his saying goodbye (and us spending episodes waiting for him to leave), we still have him around. Or rather, a soap opera-like version of him. Kitty has issues with Justin for going to help Holly instead of Robert and has a lot of anger built up inside of him for that. However, when Justin returns from being gone (see Justin’s story for where he went…), he explains that Robert and he had an understanding of one another, that he knew Justin needed to go help Holly. Justin knew Robert wouldn’t tell him to go if he didn’t mean it. Kudos to the writers for aging baby Evan appropriately. Kitty is asked to lead a committee and she says no because she has to stay with Robert. She is the best for the job, though, and her and the committee decide to leave it “under discussion.”

Sarah: Sarah is trying to sell Narrow Lake and on her way to a meeting is on the phone with Luc, who thank goodness has stayed around. As work, Luc has taken a job as an underwear model and he is on the side of a building (a la David Beckham). Hello Gilles Marini! She decides when she sells Narrow Lake she wants to take her money and move to France with Luc and the kids. Sounds like paradise, right?

Kevin and Scotty: Unfortunately, good ol’ Roxy, I mean uh Michelle, miscarried so Kevin and Scotty are without child. This disappointed me beyond belief. Why have the year jump then? It would have been a perfect way to have them get their baby without needing to bring in Michelle (or any mother). But no. Instead, Kevin is angry and refuses to deal with the subject and has gone into family law (or whatever law helps keep kids out of juvenile hall). During the case we see, he doesn’t listen to his client and winds up seeing him on the street after he was released into his father’s custody and he and Scotty take him in – for one night only (yah right…)! Scotty, meanwhile, has successfully opened the restaurant with Saul. Considering Kevin’s compassion for his client, I foresee adoption in the future. But who am I to say anything?

Holly: When Nora goes to visit Holly, we find out Holly has completely lost her memory and David is taking care of her. However, she has no idea why he’s there and she is back to hating Nora. Even worse she wants to know where William is. The worst part of this entire story is it took most viewers (read: ME!) years to like Holly. And it took the family just as long to accept her. And now she has regressed to a point where she can’t even recognize her own husband or daughter. Even worse? She is the reason Kitty is upset with Justin and it seems all for nothing.

Nora: Nora was all over the place during this episode. At the airport, at the restaurant, at her job (!!!). But something was off about her. First off, let’s talk about her having a job. When was the last time we saw her working? Oh yah, never. She works at a flower shop and her much-younger boss doesn’t seem happy with Nora talking on her phone to make plans for a family dinner, which she has to leave early to attend (not host!). The plus side? There are now flowers everywhere. Nora isn’t butting into people’s business anymore really. In fact, she’s keeping a lot of secrets (like knowing where Rebecca is …). She does lend an ear when Kitty finally opens up about her true feelings about Robert’s situation. She also seems to have a better relationship with Saul, although still a bit unsure of how to deal with his HIV status. Speaking of Saul…

Saul: Saul has met a man who he has a lot in common with. We haven’t seen the man yet but I can tell you that we all will meet him very soon. Saul is comfortable with his sexuality finally and also with his HIV status. He loves working at the restaurant … overall, Saul’s life is great.

Justin: Justin didn’t go to Haiti like he wanted. Instead, 4 weeks after the accident, which left him “dead” inside, he signed up for another tour of duty. Of course, this infuriated nearly everyone, especially Rebecca. He finally comes home, and unlike the times before, only Nora is at the airport to pick him up (a rarity for the Walkers). Justin goes to Nora’s to see the family and when he finally goes to his own home, he finds no Rebecca – and no sign of her existence there at all. Nora finds him there and tells him Rebecca moved out weeks before but Nora didn’t want to tell him.

Tommy: Nowhere to be found. We’ll assume the accident opened up his eyes and he went back to Seattle to win back Julia? Or at least be near his daughter.

Robert: Finally, at the end of the episode, Kitty decides it’s time to say goodbye to Robert. All done off-screen, Robert is not only taken off life support, there is also a service for him.

After the service, the Walkers come together for a family dinner. It’s during this dinner that Justin finally asks why Nora isn’t being herself and why it seems like everyone is acting like the last year hasn’t happened when they start discussing what they are going to do with the Narrow Lake money if/when it sells. The drama finally ends and everyone laughs about how much Robert would have hated being at the dinner.

Overall, I give this episode a B-/C+. Lots of hype but it didn’t live up to it. Why did they bother with the time jump if they weren’t going to use it for anything useful? Why did they ruin Holly? When will Kevin and Scotty catch a break? I really am hoping next week – Nora has a secret! – is better and more Brothers and Sisters-esque.

What did you think? Leave your two cents below!