Hello! Dennis here. Got my trusty Recapper machine out (it's like a Bedazzler, only far wittier and with fewer sequins) and ready to give you the lowdown on this week's episode of Brothers & Sisters. It's the first of a two-parter, entitled “Mistakes Were Made, Part 1.” Let me just say—darn few mistakes were made. This episode featured some really phenomenal writing and acting. Thank goodness, because last week the show pretty much sucked wind.

But I digress. I do that a lot, so get used to it. Anyway, on with this week's recap.

The show opens in Justin's loft apartment. Justin and boss/girlfriend Tyler are in bed playing “guess the tongue lick.” The game involves one player, the licker, spelling out a word or phrase on the other's back using his tongue. The lick-ee has to guess what is being spelled, but Tyler has trouble deciphering the trail of saliva that Justin is leaving on her shoulder blades.

Tyler: Your tongue has bad penmanship.

Who knows what Justin is trying to spell. Maybe, “You Got Bacne?” Okay, that's unlikely, I'll admit. The beautiful actress who plays Tyler has a flawless complexion and her back has probably never had a single zit. Her name is Marika Dominczyk, and I read somewhere that she's engaged to the actor, Scott Foley. Some day she'll probably become way more famous than Scott Foley is and will leave him in the dust. Oh wait. I'm thinking of Jennifer Garner. But I digress.

The back licking continues and Tyler figures out only that there's an “A” in the word. She begs for a hint.

Tyler: Is it something in the room right now? Can you eat it?
Justin: Yes and yes!

That leaves open a whole host of titillating possibilities. But the camera pans to some melon slices on the nightstand. Figure it out Tyler, the word is “cantaloupe.” What is the prize for winning this game, anyway? For Tyler's sake I hope it's a bonus spelling round on an anatomical area of her choosing.

I guess we'll never know, because the scene cuts to Sarah Walker's kitchen. Sarah's diabetic daughter, Paige, is at the table eating breakfast. Her little brother, Cooper, is playing on a full-size drum kit. What idiot sets up a drum kit in the kitchen? Paige is getting annoyed at her brother. Sarah walks in and tells her son to stop with the racket.

Cooper: But I'm wailing on my sticks!
Sarah: Did your dad teach you that phrase?
Paige: No. I did. And I regret it.

In walks 14 year-old half-brother, Gabe. He is a sullen teen with John Mayer hair. We learn that Gabe is staying with Sarah even though her husband (and his dad) Joe is out of town. Sarah does her best to make Gabe feel part of the family, but he seems intent on being a loner. When Sarah tells him to join his brother and sister at the table, he corrects her.

Gabe: Half-brother and sister

Gabe notices that Paige and Cooper are eating off of crudely painted ceramic plates which are decorated with their names. Obviously, the kids made them at one of those “Paint Your Own Ceramics” places. You remember those joints don't you? “Paint Your Own Ceramics” shops were all the rage a few years ago, just before the current scrapbooking craze and just after Beanie Baby collecting fad.

I think Paige and Cooper's self-decorated plates are tacky, but Gabe is eating off generic Corelle, and he seems envious. I guess not having a plate of his own signifies his outsider status in this family.

The scene cuts to an outdoor café in downtown Los Angeles. Kevin and Kitty have met for afternoon coffee. Kitty asks her brother how things are with boyfriend Scotty. Kevin admits they haven't spoken since the family's Ojai weekend debacle (documented in last week's episode), when he treated Scotty like crap.

Kitty: Well, call him
Kevin: I have! He won't call me back. He's either still mad at me or on an arctic expedition.

Kitty tells Kevin he deserves the cold shoulder, given how shabbily he treated Scotty up at the Ojai ranch. Somehow the conversation descends into name calling.

Kevin: You're the lying whore of the family.
Kitty: You're the stuck up bitch.

We're meant to think the two are just joking with one another, but those are some pretty harsh words. I sense some underlying tension between these two.

Kevin explains that Scotty is coming into his law office later today. His firm won the case that Scotty was supposed to testify in. The plaintiffs want to give Scotty a reward for being a whistleblower.

Kitty: If I were you I would beg him on bended knee to take you back.
Kevin: Bended knee? Cool. (under breath) Whore!
Kitty: Bitch!

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