"Brothers & Sisters" Episode 203 Recap: “History Repeating”

Pinch-faced campaign manager Travis shows up wearing a blue construction hat. Not a good look for him. He has some bad news – the Senator’s ex-wife is going on Larry King Live tonight to discuss McAllister’s affair with the nanny.

Uh oh, crisis. Let’s hope she gets bumped at the last minute for a Paris Hilton interview.

McAllister thinks he should simply ignore his ex-wife and make no public response.

McAllister: People want to talk about the issues. Health care, the war, why it’s 72 degrees in Iowa in October.

File that under, “why global warming is actually a good thing.”

McAllister looks to Kitty to back him up, but she agrees with Travis that McAllister has to respond to his ex-wife’s charges. The voters will be expecting it.

McAllister: The public wants to know that you didn’t throw your wife under the bus in a mad dash to power.

McAllister trots off to make his speech in the chemical plant lunchroom. If this is his “mad dash to power” he’s definitely taken a wrong turn somewhere.

Travis, now alone with Kitty, thanks her for backing him up.

Travis: The ex-wife – we have to muzzle her.

Cut to Holly and Tommy’s winery. Saul is there giving them a demo of some newfangled accounting program. Excel. Isn’t amazing?

Saul: As the business grows you can expand the functionality to handle online orders.
Tommy: We should be so lucky.

Hello? Seems like online orders would be the first thing up and running for any new California winery worth its salt. Holly & Tommy’s business acumen seems a little suspect here.

Enter Lena with coffee for everyone. That Lena is super-efficient, but wait, I thought we learned last week she wasn’t going to be the type of office assistant who retrieved coffee?

Holly: One of these days we’re gonna clone you.

Oh, how I wish one of these days they would clone somebody on this show. Brief aside, but the storylines have become a bit too realistic for my taste. What I wouldn’t give for an evil twin popping up, or a demonic possession or yes, even a good old fashioned cloning storyline. Imagine two Kevin’s running around. It’s a recappers dream!

Holly and Lena leave, and Saul notices the pictures of baby Cabbage on Tommy’s credenza.

Saul: She’s really starting to look like a Walker more and more.

Oh come on. Who looks like a Walker? Elvin Kitty, or statuesque Sarah, or maybe fine-boned Justin, or cherubic, cherry-cheeked Kevin? For the life of me, I’m not seeing any prototypical Walker trait. Oh wait, they all drink a lot. There’s something.

Tommy: Honestly, I can’t remember the last time Julia seemed completely happy.
Saul: Just out of curiosity. When was the time you two were completely happy?

My choice for happiest Tommy/Julia moment: The time last season they had hot sex on a fur coat in the charity ball cloak room. But Tommy has to go way back to his honeymoon in Maui to find a happy memory.

Tommy: We can’t just pick up and go to Hawaii.
Saul: Well then you bring Hawaii to her.

Throw a clod of volcanic dirt in her face and, in your best Scarlett O’Hara impression, say “That’s all of Maui you’ll ever get!”

Cut to Tommy’s house. He arrives home to surprise Julia with an orchid (volcanic dirt is hard to come by in LA). Julia isn’t alone. Tommy finds her cooing over baby Cabbage’s bassinet with his in-laws.

Julia’s Mother: Ohh, I could eat this child up.

With a little butter, salt and boiled with a hambone.