"Brothers & Sisters" Episode 202 Recap: “An American Family”

Kevin: This window’s stuck. I can’t get it open
Sarah: No, no, wait. I want you to try again, but this time imagine your adorable Reverend Jason all hot and sweaty from the jungles of Malaysia. And you have promised to be true to him, which means you won’t have sex for months and months and months….

(Disappointing for gay fans of the show, but probably a major relief for the network censors.) With a massive grunt, the window comes unstuck.

Kevin: Great. The butchest moment of my life wasted on my sister.

Too bad. You know Kevin, I’ve got a stuck window at my house….

They plop down on the couch and Sarah asks Kevin if he’ll represent her in her divorce. He tells her she and Joe need to slow things down.

Both their cell phones ring. Looks like Kitty and Nora have started the Walker family phone tree to get the word out that Justin’s on his way home.

Cut to Tommy and Julia’s house. Tommy is on the phone with Kitty. He tells her that Nora shouldn’t be driving down to San Diego by herself. He volunteers to take her but just then mopey Julia walks in with baby cabbage and gives him a look like, “You ain’t going nowhere, mister.” Tommy apologizes and suggests that maybe Kevin drive Nora.

Cut to the Walker mansion. Nora is packing clothes when Rebecca rushes in all excited because she’s heard that Justin is coming home. Nora holds up a shirt and asks if it's one of Justin’s favorites. Rebecca assures her that Justin wears that “I’m with Stupid” t-shirt all the time.

Nora then starts yammering on about something called “Our Hero Handbook” which is an advice book for families of injured vets – what to do with them when they come home. I’ve never heard of such a thing, but obviously it must be very useful to families of injured vets.

Side note: I’m starting to think this episode could be a one-hour public service announcement for families of soldiers fighting in Iraq. The show has its heart in the right place, but curse them, it sure makes it hard to write a snarky recap. I could pull my punches in deference to the seriousness of the subject matter. Or go on about my evil business and make fun of every little thing in the episode – and risk being branded heartless and unpatriotic in the process. I’m going to go ahead and be snotty, but in case I forget later, hat tip to B&S for giving viewers a not-over-the-top drama that a lot of people are actually going through right now.

Nora tells Rebecca that everyone in the family but Sarah is driving down to San Diego in a rented van. Rebecca gets a distressed look on her face. I know. Minivan. San Diego. That’s only fun during fleet week. Rebecca begs off. She has “to take care of something” before Justin gets back.

Looks like she finally plans on coming clean to Sarah. If I were her I’d be really scared. Sarah seems like a bruiser to me, and Rebecca is responsible for breaking up her marriage. Me, I’m imagining some hair pulling, cat-scratching, possibly even a swirly.

Cut to McAllister’s Los Angeles office. (Does the Senator ever actually go to Washington, D.C.?) He’s meeting with his campaign manager, Travis. Travis is some sort of barracuda apparently – cut from the Karl Rove/Lee Atwater cloth. The man is not happy with the Senator for wasting the entire morning at a cemetery.

McAllister: It was a funeral. What do you want me to do?

Here’s an idea: Stop showing up at random people’s gravesites. That grieving mother’s bewildered expression might have had something to do with your presence there. Let’s hope at least she votes Republican.

Travis tells McAllister he’s spending too much time at funerals.

Travis: We want to project optimism and hope. You have to distance yourself from this war.

Enter winsome Kitty who’s all tra la la., “I’m going to see my family.”

It is clear Travis doesn’t much care for Kitty. He gives her grief about not participating enough in the campaign. Kitty’s not going to stand for being lectured by the likes of Travis. I mean, he’s nothing but a day player after all! So she promptly drags out her soap box (which Flockhart had shipped over from the set of Ally McBeal.)