“Brothers & Sisters” Episode 210 Recap: “Feast of the Epiphany”

That was a pretty much OK episode, I thought. So when is the next episode airing? I so cant wait for Jason's return. Woot!

 

 

This show excels when it focuses on the Walkers, and that's why this episode worked so well. The dinner party was classic B&S, and the cast was in fine form. As Sarah summed it up: "My mother cooked paella. My family imploded." However, I agree that the campaign storyline is utterly lame and hope it dies sooner rather than later. Holly/David bored me greatly, and they better keep Rebecca a Walker. She's finally starting to feel like one of the family. Gabriella, the final two episodes will air on February 10 and 17.

I couldn't agree more Dennis. Every cutaway to a McCallister story jolts me out of "Brothers & Sisters" and drops me into a nightmarish parallel hell of "Brothers & Sisters & The McCallister Story Written to Please Rob Lowe". I personally have no problem with Lowe. The smoking, steaming, pile of horse sh*t story they have built for him has become intolerable and very nearly unwatchable.

Robbie Baitz (cantankerous nature and all) envisioned "A show that followed Rob Lowe's black charm down the rabbit hole of American politics and revealed the ugliness that lives there." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-baitz/leaving-los-angeles-part_b_78361.html By God, at least he might be interesting! Clearly, his vision for the McCallister character wasn't palatable to his fellow producers, the studio/network, and perhaps one or more cast member. The current writer/producer staff doesn't seem to be following this template. Whatsoever.

He also dreamed of "A show that allowed Calista Flockhart's character to be actually truly political -- still a commentator, fully articulate and unashamedly bitchy about what she knows and thinks she knows, and to be wrong as often as she is right. A show that allows her to be as smart and funny and comically mercurial as she really is." Instead, we have Ally McKitty worried about her biological clock ticking and trying to convince Senator McIliedtoyouaboutwantingmorekids to impregnate her ASAP.

Would more than one 30 second scene with Scotty and Kevin have killed the writers of this episode? Another (and this one was completely unexplainable since Luke was in the episode) one-way phone call from Kevin? Is Kevin going to play McWaffle on his boyfriends yet again (also getting very old and tired)? Reverend Godforbidicallyouback is every bit as boring as his brother. Kind of like watching pretty wallpaper dry and I, personally, am McCallistered out.

While we are ranting, what the hell happened to Saul's sexual revelations? Sudden change of heart? Did they decide Ron/Saul is too old to warrant a sex life at all? I could sense your frustration writing this recap. I was equally frustrated watching this episode...nay, this entire season.

As usual the review was a good laugh.

I so agree with you view on McCallister. I have no problems with Rob Lowe or Robert, it's just that he is so 'unreal'. He is so awfully 'perfect'. I wished he would get a bit of a darker side. Yes, the crash was too quickly wiped under the rug with a cute speech filled with your standard sentences that a 10-year old could have cooked up. And I do hope it comes back to bite him hard.

I miss the Kitty as she was earlier on. You are right, she's not doing much of a job as a communications director :-) (which brings to mind that she didn't know that Jason was a minister. She getting engaged and never asked her boyfriend:"What does your brother do for a living?" :-))

I wanted to see more Kevin/Scotty. I understand that Jason will return next episode and hopefully that will also put an end to the Kevin/Jason story. The other 'perfect' guy. Again, no objection to Eric Winter, he is cute and has a great voice and he brings Jason with a nice sense of humor. But what Reverend God-forbid-I-call-you-back did to Kevin was just unforgivable and the writers will have to come up with on heck of a good story, if they want me to like him again, let alone consider him worthy enough to be with Kevin again. Alright, it would take a miracle for me to like Jason over Scotty, who I absolutely want to be with Kevin, but that is just me and as Scotty already said: "But sometimes, just because you want something, it doesn't mean it's possible." 

I can only hope for a return of Saul. I didn't care much for that character, but I was interested in how this would evolve, if he could get back with Milo and now he seems to have disappeared.

I honestly don't see the big deal about Scotty not being in this one episode. By all accounts, Kevin's lovelife (and thus Scotty) will have significant stories in the the next two episodes. Given this, I was perfectly fine with Kevin's personal life getting somewhat backburnered in favor of more focus on his relationships with his siblings/mother in 2.10. On a show with 11+ regulars and another half dozen recurring, Scotty can't be featured heavily in every episode.

I love B&S, but I've hated the McAllister story since scene one. It was so obviously written as a "see, not all Republicans are slimy and evil..." piece to appeal to the more middle-of-the-road viewers. McAllister's so ridiculously unbelievable as a Republican. There ARE no Republicans as open-minded and aw-shucks good as he is; if there were, there's NO FREAKING WAY he'd become the presidential candidate!

And that's what bugs me the most about this plot. The early episodes of B&S were so uncomfortably brilliant in the political discourse. Now it's just fairy tale politics that simply can't be taken seriously. However, I think the key to Robert's inevitable downfall isn't going to be the man himself; they've bent over backwards to make him perfect and Christlike. No, I think Isaac is the one that's going to cost him the election. I think Isaac is responsible for both Robert's helicopter story coming to light AND the other senator coming clean about his son. As to why and whom he's working for... don't know.

And I do think it's clear that David is Rebecca's real father; what else could it be? The show clearly wants to make it so that Rebecca and Justin can date, and the possibility that Holly lied AGAIN about Rebecca's paternity opens up all sorts of dramatic possibilities. Now that Rebecca's been accepted as a Walker, will they shun her when they discover it's all a lie? How about when she starts dating her pseudo-brother? How will it affect Holly and Tommy's working relationship? Those are the kinds of stories the show should focus on since the post-Baitz regime seems incapable of giving the show the political edge he envisioned.

Aaron

"Oh for God’s sake, are these people insane? Or is it just the writer/producers of Brothers & Sisters who are off their rockers? I mean are they trying sell us on Robert McAllister as some sort of Kennedy-esque hero? The guy is a total bland bore and I’m gonna come right out and say it — he’s ruining this show." word all around. ;-)

I don't really have a problem with McAllister. He's not my favorite character, but I don't hate him either.

 Furthermore, I wasn't real crazy about the "Kitty talk show co-host" storyline (her romance with the other co-host, the quadrangle with her fiancé and the young intern he was dating, ect.)

 I don't have a problem with Glover's character, either.

The McAllister plotline is definitely the weakest point of the show. And I really don't think David is Rebecca's father. For Holly to lie to Rebecca twice, with such certainty, would be just plain cruel. And whilst she's definitely not the nicest of characters, I don't actual cruelty is in her.

Thank you for saying SOMETHING.... the show is a hot mess now. I don't care about Rob Lowe - this wasn't his show, now it's becoming the Rob Lowe show and it's stupid. I thought it was going to go someplace interesting with the helicopter crash - or even his denouncing having her baby...but all have been false leads. In fact, every storyline this year has been in vain.. I'm sorry Jon Robin Baitz, I don't feel bad for you after your huffington post diatribe - You were a theatre writer - no one knew who you were til this show happened... I don't feel bad for you getting a development deal cashing the checks and getting to work with this amazing cast and I don't like politics on my stories! Why doesn't Brenda Chenoweth get lines anymore? Why are they making Sally dye her hair? Even Callista is being misused, and I thought the show was written for her! What's happening? They need a Moldavian Massacre immediately - Sally can live, and Margot Kidder will find her in the wreckage...Brenda Chenoweth may live and Justin as long as he stays on the pills, and Rebecca and Holly... The whole thing is making me depressed. xo

Let's pause and be realistic here. McAllister can't win the election because then Kitty would be geographically inconvenient to the rest of the story. Thus, this little upwards lift in his candidacy has to the setup for some kind of crash. Unless Callista Flockhart wants out of B&S. I genuinely enjoyed this.

Actually, I genuinely enjoyed the great kitchen fracas. The rest really was pretty bland except for Justin's comment about gay porn.

Kevin getting authoritative with his brothers was also cute. Lots gets said about him being a character breakthrough and I have to agree in that he's not depicted as a wuss, or worse one of the girls.

I don't know who I want with Kevin. I think that Jason is a better balance with him as he is more stable. Why they chose to have him ignore Kevin is confusing. Depending on the reason it could be used to make Jason a little less "saintly". I'm not even sure of that because I never got that read from him. I like Scotty, he's cute and he is really gay (reverse prejudice) but he is a little too boyish. I loved Kevin and Scotty's first hot kiss but this season he hasn't really been there for me. The few scenes he has had don't have the spark they used to. So I guess I do know! I want it to be Jason. As for the kitchen and family gossip scenes they are my favorite because that is how my family is. If you say "you can't say anything" it's all over with. I think Rob Lowe fit into that scene quite naturally. I guess I don't really have a problem with the show although I don't want the presidential politics to take up too much airtime.

This past episode was a MAJOR disappointment, especially considering that we had to wait a month for it. I'm gonna go into stream-of-conciousness mode, so I apologize if my comments aren't structured well.

The easy way that McCallister was able to win over the crowd was so irritatingly contrived, even for B&S.

As I've written before, B&S has become Brothers & Sisters & Senator McCallister. But now, it's more about Robert (included in that is his brother) than it is about the Walkers. HE'S TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE. That would be true if he were a Democrat, let alone a Republican. Plus, he's boring as hell. Jason is boring as well. It must run in the family.

I also liked Kitty better when she was a political pundit, although I could've done w/o the romance w/ her cohost. I saw Kitty as a nicer version of Ann Coulter, a person who could be reasoned with. But she has been reduced to being Robert's lackey.

I completely understand that Scotty isn't one of the main characters. But for all the talk about Kevin wanting to make his relationship w/ Scotty work, by giving Scotty so little screen time, it was an empty promise of sorts by TPTB at B&S.

The whole idea of making Holly's former flame possibly be Rebecca's father is a cheap trick (tune in to find out who really is my baby daddy).

I don't want every episode of B&S to be heavy. However, the show is a DRAMA, yet it's losing whatever substance it had. The show's been reduced to cheap gimmicks like Walker Family Dinners (I like them, but not every episode).

It's not a cheap gimmick. I would argue the Walker family dinners are the hallmark of the series. They are easily my favorite scenes. And honestly, we're into episode 10 and this was the FIRST dinner they've had all season. Hardly "every episode."

UH...I think Jason's totally hot and I'm excited for him to come back and give Scotty a run for his money. Jason makes Kevin think about what his big brain actually wants and not just want his little brain does. Scotty just seems to put up w/ too much of Kevin's crap.

LoTr1985, although I prefer the relationship Kevin/Scotty anytime, I had no objections at first against Jason. He's seemed nice, caring, had sense of humor and in all, I too, believed that he, although not my first choice, he seemed good for Kevin.

But the storyline being the way it is made me thoroughly dislike him. So if the writers really want him, rather than Scotty, to be back in a relationship with Kevin, they better come up with one #@!)( of a good storyline to make me care a bit about it. Because the way I feel now about Jason is, that I'd prefer it if he would return to Tioman, asap.

More importantly, imo, is that with the built up of the Kevin/Scotty storyline from the start of season 1 to their inevitable getting back together in 2.08, Kevin reconfirming that he wants to be with Scotty in 2.09, the way he talked about nearly losing Scotty after the wedding, the impression is given that Kevin made a choice. Plus we have witnessed the sadness and hurt Kevin went through over Jason apparent lack of commitment to their relationship. (for someone who dared to accuse Kevin of not being able to commit, Jason is not exactly giving a good example either) 

Now, Matthew Rhys is the reason I started watching B&S in the first place. He is an amazing and gifted actor who has so far never disappointed me with the characters he played (even the movie he was in sucked) but not even he could make me believe in Kevin anymore, if Kevin went to meet with Jason and than completely changed his mind and go back to Jason.

And this is not because I want Scotty to stay (which I do) or because I want Jason to go (which I don't, because I like Eric Winter and as Robert's brother and Kevin's ex, there could still be storylines for him), but because of the credibilitly of Kevin.

I hate the idea of them making David Rebecca's father. Sure, Becky and Justin have chemistry but let's keep them as brother and sister please. I don't want to see a storyline where they fall in love after believing they were siblings. A little too icky!

I agree with Jeff who writes in "Depressesion." Quite right! Let's not make this the Rob Lowe show! This writer's strike has become quite wearisome. I was overdosing on "reality" shows as it was....now I have no choice but to occasionally feign interest in Idol and Trump.    

 Back re: Kevin...and the point of this post. Let's hope the writers cut him some slack in his love life. Jason disappearing and not returning Kevin's calls? Bullshit. I realize this is a soap and there's no show w/o conflict...and I like that Gay relationships are being portrayed with the same fuck ups and tribulations that straights suffer through...just..let's let Kevin catch a break once in a while. Whether he gets with Scotty or not..I expect Keving to make it damn well clear to Jason that he won't be taken for granted! Despite Kevin's awkward past dating screw ups the man is still a catch by any standards!

I expect Keving to make it damn well clear to Jason that he won't be taken for granted! Despite Kevin's awkward past dating screw ups the man is still a catch by any standards!

I fully agree with you. I DO hope he'll make it clear to Jason, but I fear the writers won't let him. They rarely let Kevin get really mad at someone. But I, for one, will be cheering if he does. :-)