“Brothers & Sisters” Episode 201 Recap: “Home Front”

Kevin and Rebecca leave and Kitty gets around to asking Nora to go shopping for a wedding dress. Nora is not enthused, but Kitty guilts her into it.

Cut to Sarah’s house. She’s doing laundry and Joe is there. Boy, his hair has gotten really long over the summer. What was he doing over the break, a summer stock revival of Hair? Still, househusband looks pretty damn good.

They are discussing all the other play date mommies, and Joe gives Sarah the dirt on which ones have had breast lifts and tummy tucks. When Sarah says maybe she needs a “mommy job” herself, he’s quick to correct her. So quick in fact that they wind up making love on top of the washing machine. Hey, I thought these two were separated?

Cut across town to Ojai Foods. Saul is holding down the fort while Sarah’s going through a second spin cycle. There’s a knock on Saul’s office door and who should it be but Milo Peterman (Michael Nouri) making an unannounced visit. He looks quite dashing, which is a remarkable feat given his unfortunate pinstripe jacket and denim jeans ensemble.

Milo hands Saul an old photograph of the two of them. I guess it’s from that mythic weekend getaway they shared back in the seventies. What exactly did they do back then that was so memorable? I have trouble remembering what I did last week.

Saul apologizes for not returning any of Milo’s calls. Memo to Saul: You’re not exactly a spring chicken any more and just how many hot, Italianate gentleman callers do you think you’re gonna get at this point? Maybe you should look past the pinstripe jacket/jeans combo and take Milo up on his implicitly stated offer of a good time.

Saul makes excuses about being busy and ushers Milo out. He tries to give back the picture but Milo insists he keep it.

We move off to Tommy and Julia’s house. Tommy has just arrived home and he’s all excited because he landed the Glorious Gowns account. Oh wait, that’s Melrose Place. Well, he landed some account and he’s obviously expecting Julia to praise him as the conquering hero. She says “that’s nice honey” and absentmindedly pads off, probably to go bump into some furniture. Girlfriend’s a mess. Tommy calls her back and tells her the whole family is getting together for Kitty’s birthday – because you know how fun Walker family get-togethers can be. But she tells him to make excuses for her.

Julia: I just can’t deal with your family right now.

Tommy gets mad and says he’s been making excuses for her all summer. Julia says he just needs to deal with it because every time she sees little Paige and Cooper together she thinks of Baby William and how he should be home with them and the cabbage.

Tommy says that life goes on. For example, Nora is confronted daily with news of the war which makes her think of Justin.

Julia: Tell her to call me when Justin dies. Then we’ll have something to talk about.

Ooh, harsh. I bet she wishes she could take that back. Tommy looks stricken. Julia tries to apologize but the cabbage is crying and he goes to comfort her. Looks like they are setting things up for Tommy to stray. Wouldn’t surprise me if he winds up in the sack with Holly by mid-season.

Cut to a swank bridal shop where Kitty and Nora are shopping for wedding dresses. Well, Kitty is shopping. Nora is completely engrossed in her Blackberry. The store they are in is a bit of a mystery. The spacious fitting room is swanky in a 1930’s art deco way — perfect for high tea and private fashion shows. Why, it could be the resurrected set of The Women and any minute Joan Crawford could step out from behind the drapes. But the one dissonant note is a pair of absurdly large high heels sitting on the glass coffee table. What, are they like a size 13? Makes you wonder if drag queens shop there. So again, any minute Joan Crawford might step out from behind the drapes.

Kitty isn’t happy with her first dress. She thinks it makes her look like a fish. But the sales clerk thinks she looks beautiful — like Ariel from the Little Mermaid.