"Brothers & Sisters" Episode 109 Recap: “Mistakes Were Made, Part 2”

Hey guys, Dennis here. I'm still recovering from this Sunday's episode of Brothers & Sisters. Quite frankly, I feel like I've been crushed under the wheels of Deus ex machina. For the past eight episodes, we've watched as the surviving Walker family unraveled the show's central mystery: What did Bill Walker do with the $15 million dollars he embezzled from the family business? As you'll see in this latest episode, no problem is too big for the Walkers to overcome.

But I'm getting ahead myself. Let's dive into the recap shall we?

The episode opens with a flashback. We are at the Walker family dinner table and you can tell it's a flashback because Nora (Sally Field) is wearing her circa 2001 flashback wig again. Another clue: screen text reads September 19, 2001.

Bill Walker (Tom Skerritt) is leading the family in prayer. Skerritt's character was killed off in Episode 1. So my guess, Skerritt is giving thanks for these incessant flashbacks, which offer him a steady acting gig. But I digress.

The prayer concluded, Justin announces to everyone that he has enlisted in the Army. No one believes him at first. They think it's another of his harebrained schemes like touring as a roadie for Linkin Park, or opening up a microbrewery, or starting a karate school. (From my perspective, none of these schemes seem as harebrained as enlisting in the Army – but that's just me.) It turns out that Justin is deadly serious about enlisting. When Mama Nora realizes that, she puts her foot down.

Nora: I‘m sorry, no. You're not going.

Oh yeah, like that's going to work. Nora throws her napkin on the table for added emphasis and excuses herself. No doubt she's off to adjust her wig, which had started to slip down her forehead during this scene.

We flash forward to the present – a hospital waiting room. The Walker siblings and Momma Nora are waiting around to hear the fate of Justin who, as you will recall, overdosed at the end of last week's episode.

The doctor shows up to tell them that Justin is going to be all right. They pumped his stomach. (I'm curious what they found in there. Did anyone take an inventory?)

The doctor gives them some brochures for detox programs. Nora shuffles through the brochures, which all sound curiously like luxury spas. Prompting me to wonder, does the doctor moonlight as a travel agent?

Nora: New Horizons? Sunset Acres? Bradley Ridge Detox & Spa?
Sarah: Maybe we can get a family rate.

I think maybe they need one. After nine episodes, one thing I've noticed about this Walker family-- they sure do drink a lot.

Cut to Walker Produce Corporate Headquarters. Sarah, Uncle Saul, Kevin and Tommy are meeting with the forensic accountant who is telling them where the $15 million in the secret bank account went. Can I just say, this forensic accountant is pretty much useless. What the hell has he been good for? I mean, Sarah was the one who cracked the bank account password, right? BTW, may I just say using the first letter from each child's name to make the password seems really, really obvious. Am I supposed to believe the accountant never thought of this?

Their worthless forensic accountant tells them Bill Walker used the missing $15 million to buy a parcel of land in Firth, NV. The bad news is, apparently the current market value for the Nevada property is less than $1.2 million. Gosh, I guess Bill missed out on the real estate boom of the past ten years. That land better have oil underneath it, or at least an insanely good view. Otherwise, the Walker Family (and the company pension fund) is screwed.

Sarah throws up her hands in frustration. She's basically written her father off as a philandering idiot. She and Kevin vote to sell the land and recover at least the $1.2 million. Tommy objects. Whatever his father's faults, the man certainly knew how to make land deals. There must be something special about this property – something Bill knew that they haven't figured out yet. Tommy wants to drive out to Nevada to actually inspect this land. Sarah and Kevin don't see how it will accomplish anything, but they reluctantly agree to join him on a road trip.

Cut to production offices of political news show, Red, White & Blue. The producer is prepping Kitty (Calista Flockhart) for her interview with a handsome young Republican Senator. It seems the Senator has serious issues he'd like to address (like finding co-sponsors for a federal ban on stem cell research.) But all the press wants to talk to him about is his messy divorce. The big question the press wants to know: Did he sleep with the nanny, as the Senator's ex wife alleges. So far, the Senator has refused to dignify that question by answering it. (He's probably waiting to see if any incriminating nannycam tapes surface.) For now, he wants to duck any questions that deal with his ex-wife or his nanny. He'd like to stick to talking politics for today's interview.

The poor, deluded man! He really doesn't understand what politics are about, does he?

The Red, White & Blue producer tells Kitty not to go easy on the Senator-- she has to be “hard-hitting” and question him about the divorce and the nanny because those truly are matters of national security. Kitty agrees and the producer exits, leaving her alone with liberal co-host, Warren Salter.

Kitty confides in him about her brother Justin being recalled to active military duty. Warren hugs her and, just then, Amber walks in, catching them mid-hug. The sight of her boyfriend embracing another woman clearly gets Amber's Juicy Couture panties in a bunch. Watch out Kitty, this blond and perky barracuda is gunning for you now!