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IMHO "Brothers & Sisters" (3.22): "Julia"
With Tommy the Douche having finally been flushed away for good, the Continuity Fairy is called in this week to clean up the mess left in his wake, grappling with those pesky loose ends (ie. his wife and kid, not to mention the whole bio-dad/gay uncle issue) with quick, cold efficiency. At least “Julia” gets a whole episode named after her, presumably as a reward for moving along quietly without drawing any undue attention to herself. You know … just like she’s done for the entire series. At the start of the episode, Nora is on the phone with Kevin, explaining how worried she is that she hasn’t heard from Julia since Tommy managed to out-douche his previously douche-y antics and ditch them. Incidentally, Nora and Kevin have both purchased the same stuffed pony for Elizabeth, a gesture that throughout this episode is weakly played for “comedy.”
But any laughs this scenario might have sparked are outweighed by how downright creepy the horsey toy is, so realistically constructed (“It even neighs!”) that I wouldn’t be surprised if it was anatomically correct. It’s like the My Pretty Pony version of a blow-up doll. Anyway, having not heard from her, Nora decides to spring a surprise visit on Julia, only to find a big old “For Sale” sign planted on the lawn. Please tell me I’m not the only one who found that scene utterly hilarious. I guess because it got me thinking that if the one Walker sibling I felt any connection to suddenly went AWOL (and in case you’re wondering, that one Walker at this point would be Sarah), I’d also pull out any roots still holding me onto this show (ie. my TiVO season pass) and hightail it on over to the greener pastures of Sunday night cable. Nora fears the “for sale” sign is evidence that Julia is planning on moving back in with her parents in Phoenix. But when she confronts her, Julia says she’s not planning on leaving. It’s just that Tommy had sunk all their money into his anti-Holly plotting, leaving Julia unable to pay the mortgage and the bank to foreclose on the house. So Nora, hoping to keep Julia and her granddaughter out of Phoenix, arranges for Julia to get a bogus job as a tutor at her Ronald McDonald House Rip-Off Center, and Kevin promises to handle things with the bank. Kevin’s way of “handling” the bank is to agree to pay the $16,000 owed on the mortgage himself. When Scotty overhears this, he justifiably gets the tiniest bit peeved Kevin didn’t even discuss it with him, saying he didn’t work to save up money to help clean up more of Tommy’s mess.
He also astutely observes that this is actually about Kevin’s desire to keep bio-daughter baby Elizabeth close to him, but Kevin snits it’s simply about helping his family. Then Kevin huffs that he’ll just use his own 401K money to pay the bank so Scotty won’t have to pay a dime. I’m not quite sure what happened next because I was too busy screaming at Kevin. And frankly, Scotty should have been screaming at him too. Because the fact of the matter is that Kevin’s 401k is Scotty’s money too. That’s part of what being married (or civil unioned, or even co-habitating domestic partners) is about. You know, the whole “what’s yours is mine, what’s mine is yours” thing. Kevin might have been the one to put the money into a 401k, but that money is for both of them to retire on some day, and it’s not fair for him to go off spending it without at least consulting Scotty first. Particularly given the financial issues that came up for Kevin and Scotty (briefly) earlier this season, this discussion should have opened up some major relationship issues and dramatic opportunities for their storyline here. But as with everything Scotty and Kevin related, this conflict gets a single scene and then gets resolved, as Saint Scotty comes back apologizing to Kevin for making a fuss over the money. He says he knows Kevin was just trying to help his family, and Kevin says Scotty had every right to be upset. He recaps all the reasons why Tommy’s a dick and says that even if Tommy comes back some day, he’s resolved never to forgive him. I’m just praying we won’t ever have to see that resolve tested in person.
Anyway, it turns out that all Kevin and Nora’s efforts to keep Julia close by is for naught, as Julia decides to accept a teaching job up in Seattle. At first, Nora is freaked out about this, but then her Fairy Godbrother Saul advises her that the best thing she can do is wish Julia well. Instead, she throws her a dinner, as if the poor woman hasn’t suffered enough already. So there’s poor Julia once again subjected to a Walker dinner where her in-laws air dirty laundry and gripe about their problems, but at least she gets to sit at the front of the table and make a toast. The best part of this scene is that we see Scotty and Julia embrace and talk about how much they’ll miss each other. Like the “for sale” sign, I found this unintentionally hilarious. It was like the writers were rubbing in our faces how marginalized and useless those two characters (and the actors who play them) are on this show.
Although I got a kick out of imagining that in all those Scotty- and Julia-free episodes through the years, they were actually off in a corner somewhere, just out of our view, having a high old time bitching about everybody else. Before she leaves, Julia tells Kevin she’s planning on telling Elizabeth the whole story about her actual paternity. So even that whole messy issue is neatly resolved and shipped off to Seattle. Meanwhile, Kitty is still flirting with Cleft-Chin Dad on the playground, and she admits to Sarah she’s having an “emotional affair” with him. Sarah, knowing full well how devastating divorce is, advises Kitty to “stay out of the playground,” which is just about the most pragmatic thing I’ve ever heard anybody say on this show. Naturally, Kitty ignores it and instead goes with Cleft-Chin Dad to check out some tiny house he’s thinking of buying (why Kitty, who has lived in at least two mansions, finds this crappy little bungalow so appealing is just mystifying to me). On the way home, they get into a car crash, but Kitty totally lies to Robert about the fact that there was a Cleft-Chin guy in the passenger seat at the time.
But Robert knows something’s up, because after the accident, Kitty’s doing all sorts of suspicious things, like initiating sex with him. Kitty wakes up post-sex to find a note on her pillow, like something out of a horror movie. Except instead of reading, “Have you checked the children?” or “People can lick, too,” the note reads, “Took Evan to the playground.” Terrified, Kitty rushes out of bed to catch him. What follows is one of the most awesome unintentionally hilarious moments on this show ever. Robert is at the playground giving a bottle to baby Evan when, across the playground, he spies a handsome gentleman with a cleft chin, a chiseled body, and car-accident wounds. What makes it so hilarious is that the whole thing is done in slow motion and scored to the pounding rhythms of U2, like an 80s karaoke video, as if Robert were falling in love at first sight with this beguiling playground stud and about to leap over the sandbox into his waiting arms. I watched it about five times and laughed myself silly each time – trust me, it is a mini camp classic.
Anyway, the sight of scabby Cleft-Chin Dad at the playground is all Robert needs to figure out what Kitty’s been doing on her playdates. So he confronts her about it and asks if she loves the guy. Kitty doesn’t answer, but she does rush over to Cleft-Chin Dad’s new house and starts making out with him on the porch swing. So FINALLY things are moving along on this storyline, although not nearly enough to warrant an up arrow from me. By the way, can anyone tell me what the appeal of this guy is for Kitty? As far as I can tell, he’s an unemployed, semi-mute version of Robert. Although I guess all it takes to make Kitty happy is a guy who is not only willing to read her book, but also willing to sit on a park bench listening to her yammer on about herself without interrupting.
Meanwhile, on the Ojai front, it turns out the days of Holly making nice with Sarah via fruit baskets are over. Holly’s pissed that the board always swings Sarah’s way on votes. So she goes in cahoots with Ryan to get him a job at Ojai (even though he initially has no interest in working there), since as a Walker child he’s entitled to a vote on the board. She further manipulates Sarah into agreeing to give Rebecca an equal vote (by acting as if she’s opposed to Ryan’s being hired, when all along she’s the one who talked him into it). Holly assumes that with both Ryan and Rebecca voting on her side, she’s got a decided advantage. But it turns out Rebecca might not see it that way. During a candlelit dinner that creepy Ryan prepares for her, he gloats about how he can’t wait to stick it to Sarah and the other Walkers by voting with Holly. Rebecca, alarmed by this, goes to Justin and tells him she realizes that he was right all along about Ryan being up to something. In addition to how annoyed I was by the brief Scotty-Kevin conflict resolution this week, the other reason I’m giving a down arrow is because of how increasingly preposterous this stuff with Ryan is getting. Why on earth is he so pissed off at the Walkers anyway?
They were just as much the victims of William’s philandering as he was. And while we’re on the subject, I don’t think Sarah would have been so eager to hire him, and I certainly don’t think she would have so easily fallen for Holly’s obvious efforts here to win over board more board votes on her side. On the other hand, this Ryan storyline did give us yet another unintentionally hilarious moment … when we learn that Ryan’s job at Ojai will be working on the loading dock. Bwa ha ha ha ha! Pale, spindly, hair-obsessed Ryan, working on a loading dock? As what, their mascot? I can just see him, sitting on the trucking dock under a parasol, delicately fanning himself, pointing to heavy boxes for the big, strong, musclely workers to lift next. Hilarious … but still not enough to get an up arrow for the week. What say you all? (And how much are you looking forward to Sarah and Holly’s karaoke duet next week?) Submitted by on Mon, 2009-04-27 17:02. |
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B&S was a little extra soapy this week
I had to use the garden hose to get all the suds out of my den. It was like one of those bubble parties at a dance club.
While a little soapiness is okay, it is possible to push things a tad too far, which they did this week.
Holly's whole evil plot is bizarre in the extreme. Putting aside for a moment that this is not Dynasty and Ryan is not Adam Carrington, I have to wonder about Ojai's by-laws. So, any Walker child that works there, no matter how briefly or in what job gets a seat on the board? Given that William had plenty of experience with Justin's flakiness I would have expected there to be some caveats in there, like at least a minimum requirement for full-time employment lasting at least a year.
Under these crazy by-laws Sarah should, in theory, be able to out-leverage Holly by hiring Justin, Kevin and Kitty to come in once a week to take turns answering the phone!
That the board agreed to grant a similar privilege to Rebecca just indicates that a) the board must be a bunch pre-schoolers and b) Ojai shares must be worth less than the dirt their products grow in.
As for Kevin and Scotty. I'm not sure I agree here. It is true that Kevin was placing a high cash price on his concern for his daughter. That Scotty should be surprised by that fact actually suggests less than flattering things about Scotty himself. Kevin only accepted the "gay uncle" role grudgingly as part of a gentlemen's agreement with his brother. But Tommy has reneged and abandoned his obligation to pretend to be Elizabeth's daddy. Under those circumstances it's hardly surprising that Kevin would be concerned about his child's fate. Scotty initially comes across like the greedy second wife who wants all her husband's assets and makes sure his children get nothing.
Yes, there is some personal experience there. Make of it what you will.
What I wonder about is the question of who has parental rights to Elizabeth now. It could be argued that Tommy has committed abandonment and that Kevin would have a valid claim to assert his paternal rights. Or maybe down the road something could happen to Julia? At present Tommy has no biological claim and has voluntarily abandoned his duties as a non-bio dad. Something for next season.
As for Robert & Kitty, at least now we've got some drama! Their quiet seething was getting to be about as boring as watching the Home Shopping Network. In a rare instance I'm with Kitty on this one. Robert's been an utter @$$hole for a while now.
You see, it's ironic. Conservatives have taken to arguing that marriage is all about "family" and "children" in the debate over same-sex marriage. But what we have here is a Republican politician who has clearly considered his marriage as being secondary to his political career in terms of importance. It really is kind of an interesting, and irksome, real-world parallel. Because while a lot of conservatives constantly argue that our relationships don't pass muster to qualify as "marriages", a lot of their's often don't either. Kitty and Robert are a great example of a wife who cares about family and a husband who cares about Gallup polls. I'm just saying.
So as we finally start to pick up some momentum as we move towards the season finale I'm hoping it will be a little more interesting than the rest of this sluggish season. There's some bright spots. Rebecca has discovered that Ryan is as sleazy as he looks. Robert is no longer the perfect holy messiah. Kitty is discovering that Republican traditional family values are harder to live than to preach about on talk radio. Some of the dead wood (i.e. Tommy and Julia) has been trimmed. Sarah is sexy again.
On the downside, I don't know what direction, if any, there is to Kevin and Scotty's relationship. Saul's sole purpose is to occasionally appear wearing weirdly striped socks and dispensing sage advice like some kind of Jewish leprechaun. Nora is like the grandmother on every Lifetime movie ever made. Holly is still here despite being so obsolete as a character that it's not even funny. And we don't seem to see Justin shirtless anymore.
It could go either way.
Money and children
But Tommy has reneged and abandoned his obligation to pretend to be Elizabeth's daddy. Under those circumstances it's hardly surprising that Kevin would be concerned about his child's fate. Scotty initially comes across like the greedy second wife who wants all her husband's assets and makes sure his children get nothing.
I'm going to have to side with Steven and disagree with you here. I definitely see where you're coming from, and I'm personally glad Scotty eventually recognized why Kevin felt the need to help out his family/daughter, even if that does mean a tidy bow on yet another K&S story.
On the other hand, they didn't go into the marriage with the recognition that Elizabeth was his daughter and would be entitled to financial and other forms of support from the couple, as a "second wife" would have. Circumstances changed with the liver donation, and we can only assume that Scotty's current understanding of the situation was that, despite some concerned feelings, Kevin had backed off any claim to any children beyond ones they someday may have together. Circumstances changed again and Kevin made an independent decision that could have major consequences for their lives (it's not the first time, either - quitting job, buying house, etc.) without consulting Scotty. Even if it's Kevin's 401K, it's still something they should have at least discussed. Why should Scotty be putting money aside for their future, while Kevin is allowed to do whatever he pleases with "his" money?
Oops, wasn't paying attention
Justin Will Be Shirtless Again
Most likely next week when he makes out with Rebecca again. I'm also hoping he beats up Ryan.
After last week's mostly satisfying episode they went back to the soap opera mode again. What happened to Ken Olin, BTW?
What I do want to see is Rebecca siding with Sarah and Holly freaking out at her daughter. That will be fun.
I think now that we've had a Julia episode we should have a Scotty episode in which he reveals all his past lovers to Kevin and we get to see them all lin flashback.
Scotty doesn't always think ahead
You may recall that Scotty was on-side with Sarah and Kitty that Kevin ought to donate sperm to Tommy and Julia, way back in Season One.
Maybe he should have given some additional consideration and included the caveat: As long as it doesn't include any financial hardships for him down the road in the event that he winds up domestically partnered with Kevin.
Sad fact #1 is that whenever you enter into a relationship with someone to the extent that you are prepared to make it legal you run the risk of encountering financial matters that you may not have considered yourself signed onto at the time you signed the rest of the documents.
Kevin was very clear at the time of Tommy's initial request for a donation of his spunk that he did not believe it was going to end up being an all-ties-severed scenario. Indeed, that was his whole fear that Scotty disregarded and signed on with the clucking hens who wanted to Kevin to fork over the magic manjuice. That Kevin was proven right down the road in that one cannot donate sperm to someone one knows without it becoming more than just an anonymous donation of jizz is something that ought to be acknowledged.
Maybe Scotty should have backed Kevin instead of siding with "Give up the goods!" crowd.
Keep in mind here that Kevin was not being a true jerk. Actual jerkishness would have involved him forking over the cash without telling Scotty at all.
Now, if Scotty can't cope with the idea that Kevin is going to feel some responsibility to his child, which includes a financial responsibility, then maybe he ought to reconsider their partnership. The fact of the matter is that Kevin is a father. Ironically, Scotty was for the idea at a time when Kevin was worried about the future ramifications.
Frankly, it was a less positive image of a gay man's attitude towards family than last week's threeway plotline.
This is, by the way, the primary reason why lesbians don't have automatic dibs on as much gay sperm as they want. In real life the commitment doesn't end at the little plastic cup unless the donation is wholly anonymous. Even then there is increasing erosion of that.
Scotty knew full well that Kevin might very well be a father when he signed on. He didn't get a vote in the kidney situation and he really doesn't get one here. Besides, very few couples are so blessed as to consist of individuals with perfectly equal incomes and/or having exactly the same obligations. Again, if Scotty wants to control his own money then he should have rejected Kevin's proposal and just offered to live together.
B&S
Sad fact #1 is that whenever you enter into a relationship with someone to the extent that you are prepared to make it legal you run the risk of encountering financial matters that you may not have considered yourself signed onto at the time you signed the rest of the documents.
Now, if Scotty can't cope with the idea that Kevin is going to feel some responsibility to his child, which includes a financial responsibility, then maybe he ought to reconsider their partnership. The fact of the matter is that Kevin is a father. Ironically, Scotty was for the idea at a time when Kevin was worried about the future ramifications.Again, if Scotty wants to control his own money then he should have rejected Kevin's proposal and just offered to live together.
First, you make a good point that Scotty didn't consider the ramifications when he was supporting Tommy's initial request. However, it's also important to realize that the relationship they are in now and the people they are now (and were when they started dating again) are not the same people or relationship as back then. At the time they reunited, Scotty did know Kevin may be a father. Kevin also made it clear to Tommy and others that he did not want to know whether he was, and he did not want the pressure of fatherhood. When they got married, Scotty could only work with the information he had and the positions Kevin held at the time. Was there the possibility that that was likely to change? Absolutely. But you then also have to give Scotty a little recovery time instead of just expecting him to go along with everything without expressing any concerns or wanting to talk things over. The truth is, this is a different situation than the liver donation. Lives were not on the line, and so there was time and justifiable reasons to evaluate the situation. If Julia lost her house, there was no way Nora, any of the other Walkers, or her parents were going to let her and Elizabeth end up on the streets.
Clearly, Scotty eventually came around to the idea of Kevin's needing to help out Elizabeth and Julia. His initial, very reasonable concerns for what that would mean for them is not indicative of him not being able to cope with the idea of Kevin feeling responsibility as a father. I also would argue that he did not say he wanted to control his own money; he was pointing out that the money he makes (and therefore also the money Kevin makes) is something that impacts the future they will be able to have together and so the spending of that money (at least in major chunks like $16,000+) must be at least discussed together. I also don't see how "just living together" instead of getting married (which means, at the very least, they would share housing expenses) means Kevin would be in the right to make such a huge decision on his own. Let's not forget - as far as we know, Kevin and Scotty are not legally married. We know they probably have some legal papers drawn up, but they are, for all intents and purposes, "just living together."
I'm pretty sure in other comments, you've taken Robert to task for making unilateral decisions about his career (which impacts their family, future, money, etc.) without taking into account or even discussing Kitty's concerns, desires, or feelings. It's hypocritical to say that Kevin is perfectly justified in doing the same thing to Scotty.
Past and Future are not separate
It is a fallacy to make statements like" the people they were then are not who they are now". Life and the world don't work that way. Things you did in the past can and do come around to revisit you in the future. There is no such thing as disconnecting the two.
True, Kevin was prepared to fork over a sizeable chunk of money to try and keep Julia from leaving. It reflects the inevitability that once it was known that Elizabeth was his daughter Kevin developed a more solid attachment to her.
This is the sort of problem that more commonly manifests in second marriages but it can happen in other circumstances. Amazingly enough people do sometimes discover, years after the fact, that they fathered a child at a previous time. Often without meaning to. Kevin however did set out to father a child, he just hoped (but in honesty didn't relieve believe) that the truth about Elizabeth's paternity wouldn't come out.
Scotty's reaction was rather hostile at first. Worse, at that point in time he did know that Kevin was Elizabeth's father and that Kevin had paternal feelings for her. Yet he came across as caring more about the money than about that. Indeed, it sounded rather shallow, insensitive and self-interested. How dare Kevin think to spend money to try and keep his daughter from being moved away?
I said before and I say again, if that is Scotty's main concern then he shouldn't have a) encouraged the sperm donation and b) gotten into an entangled relationship. There is a reason, by the way, for all that annoying "for richer or for poorer" stuff in the wedding vows. Realistically speaking though, it's way better than a drug or gambling habit.
It's a bit of a paper tiger anyway. Kevin, for example, sacrificed quite a bit of his earning power for Scotty you will recall. The truth is that before Kevin got together with Scotty he probably wouldn't have cared about his boss's desire for him to conceal his sexuality from a client. As a single man he would have done so and happily raked in the billable hours. So in a sense Kevin has already made a major financial sacrifice of his own for Scotty.
This is why Scotty's somewhat shrill reaction was so unattractive. It's not so much that he wanted a discussion as that he immediately turned around and put on his martyr costume and acted like Kevin was horribly victimizing him by even thinking about spending that kind of money on Elizabeth.
It really wasn't a very pretty moment at all.
Agree to disagree
Do things come back unexpectedly and do actions have consequences? Sure. But I would hope someone would not unconditionally hold me to a viewpoint that I held in the past without recognizing any changed circumstances and experiences.
We're not going to come to any agreement here. But I don't believe for a second that anyone - gay, straight, first spouse or 23rd spouse - would not have the same reaction upon first hearing that their husband/wife decided single-handedly and almost spontaneously to spend that kind of money, regardless of the situation. How do you think Kevin would have reacted if the situations were reversed? You're holding Scotty to an impossibly high standard here, while at the same time failing to recognize Kevin's responsibility to Scotty as well as to Elizabeth. And he chose to quit and work for Robert on his own, because he didn't make partner - he certainly didn't do it for Scotty. Saying he sacrificed financially for Scotty by risking or leaving his job as a lawyer is ridiculous - if he spared a single thought for Scotty, I'd be surprised. And even if he had, marriage means occasionally making sacrifices for your spouse - after all, that's why Scotty is required to sacrifice for Elizabeth, right? Kevin entered that marriage as willingly as Scotty did, so he doesn't get to make decisions solely for himself anymore. Kevin himself even later admitted that Scotty was right to worry about the money.
Moving on! Steven - I can't believe you're just now imagining all the Julia and Scotty shenanigans. For months now, I've entertained myself by picturing what they're really doing every time they're "working" and "taking care of Lizzy." Would you go to every single one of those dinners if you didn't have to? I'm picturing karaoke nights, movies, possibly even a bowling league. Walkers-in-law have to stick together (except Robert, because who would want to hang out with him?)!
All in all, I really enjoyed this episode. Of course, I turned the channel any time Ryan or Rebecca was on the screen, so that might explain it...
B & S
I don't know but I was really expecting Kevin to go ballistic when Julia announced she was leaving, I guess they wanted it played a bit more subtle than I would have.
It really wasn't an episode I will remember. Julia who knew ya, who cares you are leaving.
Kitty and her new man. Sorry but I'm not buying it. She knew about Robert before the marraige and knew what she was getting into. I'm glad the show's been renewed but if the writing doesn't get better I'm not sure I'll be watching it next season.
No she didn't
Like any man who is out a'courting, Robert was on better behavior during the early stages of their relationship than he was once they were married. He was much more attentive to Kitty's feelings back in those days. You kind of have to rewatch those episodes but Robert was very different than he has been this season.
Which is not unrealistic by the way. My beloved father, who is on marriage #3 (why do they allow heterosexuals to do that?), is always a dream date and a nightmare husband. Once he's got a solid legal connection in place all courtesy is a thing of the past!
That's rather how Robert has been. His first wife warned Kitty about it, but at the time Robert was acting so saintly that it just seemed like she was being a bitch. Turns out she was actually right.
As for Kevin not going ballistic, does suddenly being willing to fork over $16K count? It's not like he had a lot of other options. He's not Julia's husband or ex-husband and he is not at present Elizabeth's legal father. About the only thing he could do would be to sue for custody rights of some kind based on his biological parenthood and I doubt that would have gone over well with his mother and sisters.
I'll miss Julia
I think I liked this episode more than you did, Steven
I really enjoyed all of Holly's machinations...I think she's one of the better schemers on TV, because all of her motivation is real.
I'm also glad that Kitty is screwing around (almost), because she doesn't get to be a holier-than-thou Republican any more...and maybe Cleft-Chin is a Democrat...that would be rich.
My favorite moment, though, was during the Walker Farewell Dinner, when they all started gouging each other's eyes out, as usual. They cut to a shot of Julia, who was sitting at the table with a big smile on her face. It was as if she knew she was outta there, and she could appreciate the madness of these freaks when it wasn't going to affect her any longer. At least, that's what the shot said to me.
I don't count on B&S to give me shirtless hunks...I get all the shirtless-buff-dude action I need, lately, on One Life to Live. Hubba hubba.
The blog will go shirtless if you comment nice things to it.
I'd take Matt Letcher above
Thank you Steven
I Kinda Liked Julia
I thought the episode was solid, and a good use of clearing the decks before the season finale.
I kind of feel bad for Sarah Jane Morris. She's done nothing but sit around for three seasons and now, because of Balthazar Getty's behind the scenes douchebaggery, she's out of a job. And I thought this episode did a good job of showing that, given material, she could have made Julia an interesting character.
I'd be curious to know what Jon Robin Baitz's original plans for the character were. I got the impression from the early episodes that she was gonna have some mental health issues, which would have been interesting to explore, especially with a Republican husband.
Her brief moment with Scotty in this episode illustrated a missed opportunity there, too. She and Scotty could have developed a friendship as "outsiders" in the Walker clan and given each of them more to do.
I did feel the Kevin/Scotty drama was wrapped up much too easily, but they were the tertiary story in this episode, so that's to be expected. People tend to forget that the primary characters in this ensemble are Nora, Kitty, Robert and Sarah. They're the "names" and they will ALWAYS get the bulk of the story. Kevin, Tommy, Saul and Justin are the secondary storylines, and always will be.
I continue to adore Patricia Wettig's Holly. As a villainess, she's in the classic primetime soap mold, the schemer. And who can blame her, she's actually TRIED to play fair with the Walkers in the past and every time she has, she's had it thrown back in her face or used against her. Screw that, I thought the way she played Sarah was BRILLIANT.
I think it's becoming clear that the writers are not investing in Ryan as a Walker after all. After the hasty exit of his adopted dad, George (who was the first viable love interest for Nora since Treat Williams) and the establishment of his slightly stalkerish interest in Rebecca and his determination to prove that William caused his mother's death... well, it seems the days of our Effette Vampire are numbered. And that's just fine with me.
Glad to see Rebecca is putting two and two together. It will be nice to see her go against Holly and Ryan in the board meetings, too, if I read that twist right.
And I must admit, I'm a touch surprised at how the Kitty/Robert story is progressing. I TOTALLY expected Kitty to learn the "error of her ways" and go crawling back to Robert, thereby sending out the conservative message that if the woman just behaves and listens to her man, all is right in the world. Pleasantly surprised to see that is not, so far, how things are going.
Anything that furthers Robert from Kitty and the Walkers is a GREAT storyline in my eyes.
Overall, a decent episode. I'll grade it a B.
kevin
The down-side to this is, is that the only person left that Robert can interact with is Kevin. And I feel that Robert has done enough damage to Kevin's character....
My idea would be to have Kevin quit and to make Ryan the new communications director for Robert. Ryan is politically engaged. Robert would still have a sounding board... it REALLY doesn't matter WHO he is talking too, Robert doesn't listen anyway.
Nobody CARES about Ryan, so whatever Robert does to wreck HIS character, we won't notice the difference. Robert is a vampire that sucked all the fun out of Kitty and Kevin. Ryan is a leech. They deserve each other.
And don't be bothered by the lack of experience/knowledge/education. Rebecca didn't have any either, and LOOK, she's a genius! I'm sure Ryan can be too! No plot-contrivance there, uh-uh, none whatsoever.
But all sarcasm aside: I loved "Julia", thought it was one of the better episodes, which in comparison to other episodes this season shouldn't be too hard to pull off. I'm sorry that we never got to see a scene with Julia/Scotty bitching about the Walkers, that could have been fun. Their goodbye showed there was potential for a great friendship there. Oh, well, it's back to reading/writing the fanfic then.
I was above all happy to see Kevin back in his lawyer-mode again. He should return to being a lawyer, I'm sure he could find a better way to 'make a difference' than by working for a Republican like Robert. He is utterly useless there.
(Oh, that's right, I forgot, he is supposed to be useless, because it's all about Robert.)