"Brothers & Sisters" Episode 308 Recap: “Going Once … Going Twice”

Then Saul tells Justin he has a secret he wants to share, but if Justin tells anyone he’ll never forgive him. The big secret? He’s got a BF he’s been seeing on the sly! And his name is … George Lafferty! Gotcha! I’m totally kidding, although that would be kind of awesome, no? [Editor's note: How about Michael Vartan from Alias? That would be hot, plus Vartan hasn't done anything since the horrible Big Shots got canceled.]

Anyway, Saul says it’s still in the early stages and he really cares about this guy. Which is why he made the smart move of not having him meet the rest of the family yet, because why risk having him run screaming for his life before they’ve even had a chance to do the nasty.

Cut to Kevin and Scotty’s Fab (Although Way Too Small) Gay Pad. Here comes this episode’s money scene. It’s a confrontation between Scotty and Kevin, and it’s a doozy. It’s also really well written and beautiful acted. And it manages to get at something interesting and complicated about relationships that’s particularly relevant, I think, to many same-sex male relationships.

Kevin comes through the door all pouty about the dinner, and Scotty says they need to talk. Kevin gets snitty and says something sarcastic about how Scotty’s storming out of the house earlier wasn’t exactly conducive to communicating …

Scotty: I didn’t feel like making a scene.
Kevin: Well, you did. You just didn’t stick around to see it.

So this is starting off in full-on bitchy mode, which in my experience is generally even less conducive to communicating than storming out of the house.

Scotty gestures at all these papers he’s been going through, and says he realizes that Kevin’s been controlling all their finances, from the gas and electric bill to their Martha Stewart Living subscription. He’s starting to think that maybe Kevin doesn’t want him to succeed because he’s only comfortable being the provider. Kevin asks what’s so wrong about wanting to provide for the person you love, and Scotty says nothing except that in their case it feels so “competitive.”

This was what I thought was so interesting about this scene. There is a competitive edge to a lot of relationships between men, one that often involves but is certainly not limited to finances. And I’ve seen how it can damage what might otherwise be a loving, supportive relationship. I also liked the parallels they drew here between Nora and William’s marriage and Kevin and Scotty’s issues. The implication here, I thought, was that while gay marriage is worth fighting for, we need to be careful lest we wind up in as stifling and conventional a model as the straights were, and for some still are, stuck in.

Scotty calls Kevin on the fact that he bought the house not so much for romantic purposes as to make himself feel like a bigshot again, speculating that it somehow threatens Kevin to have to consider Scotty as his equal. So Kevin finally reveals that the “financial hiccup” he mentioned earlier is that he is now making a quarter of what he used to.

Kevin: I’m sorry. I guess I wanted to still prove that I could do that, that I could take care of you, and if I couldn’t, then why would you even love me?
Scotty: Kevin, I don’t love you because of how much money you make, or because you take care of me. I love you because your heart is bigger than your very annoying brain.

And then they kiss hands and make up. And as infuriating as Kevin can sometimes be, you have to give him credit for listening to reason and admitting when he’s wrong about something. Which is really what it takes for any relationship to succeed, gay or straight. I think these two are going to be just fine.