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‘Brothers & Sisters’: Saying goodbye

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Tears were flowing on last night’s episode of ‘Brothers & Sisters’ as Julia made her exit from the show and Kitty got caught cheating.

With Tommy gone indefinitely, it only makes sense that Julia finds a way to move on. He leaves her in a financial bind; since he handled all their bills, the mortgage was left unpaid and their house in foreclosure. Julia, fearful of being ‘that woman’ who is ignorant of her own family’s finances, gets some help from Nora and Kevin, who front her a huge check for the mortgage. Nora is intent on Julia working as a tutor at the cancer center to keep her and Elizabeth (OK, mostly Elizabeth) in L.A., but Julia pulls a fast one and decides to take a teaching job in Seattle. She also reveals that she plans on telling Elizabeth that Kevin is her biological father.

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I’m glad Julia -- for three seasons the show’s most underused character -- stood her ground and made her own strong choices. Tommy and Julia had juicy plot lines involving infertility, infidelity and the loss of a child, but their story often took the backseat to Kitty, Sarah and Kevin’s. Julia filled a chair at the Walker dinner table, but in contrast to Scotty and Robert, we never really got a glimpse of who she was outside of Tommy’s wife and Elizabeth’s mother. I had completely forgotten she was a teacher until she mentioned it last night. We knew she was just as flawed as her husband (she cheated on Tommy during their separation last season), but that story got swept under the rug along with her personality. It was refreshing to see Julia finally exerting some independence and standing up to the Walkers; unfortunately, it was too late.

Kitty and Robert’s marriage is also running out of time now that her affair with Alec has been exposed. Kitty’s conversations with Alec at the park have grown more frequent and intimate — this episode’s topic: the dream house he’s set on buying. She agrees to take a look at the California bungalow, which conjures up her feelings and fantasies about the widower. Fantasy turns into reality when she and Alec get into a car accident and Kitty must scramble to cover her tracks. The manner in which Robert discovers the affair — fittingly, at the park, vulnerable and cradling baby Evan — was well done. The scene was brief, but we were able to walk through his thought process, from the curiosity over how Alec’s son recognized Evan to the realization that the boy’s father had an arm bandage just like Kitty’s. It was just as hurtful as seeing the two embracing.

It’s really been interesting to see Kitty gradually grow detached, desperate and thus lose control. Her prior relationships and her entire courtship with Robert had been so based on her career ambitions and her intellectual connection to men that to witness her follow a more personal, emotional instinct is proof of how much she’s changed. She’s put her career on the line a few times and it’s paid off; will it work the same way when it comes to her love life?

Last night’s episode also reinforced my growing disdain for Ryan. This guy is beyond sneaky, so I wasn’t surprised that he’d weasel his way into Ojai Foods and team up with Holly in the process. He doesn’t strike me as someone with a sophisticated plan to take down the Walkers, but his intentions are definitely paved with malice. Does he really think that his few company shares and vote at board meetings are enough to wield significant power at Ojai? I don’t think so. I am interested to see what he and Holly have up their sleeves, especially as more information is revealed about William Walker and his mother.

Time for your thoughts. Were you sad to see Julia go? Should Kitty work things out with Robert, or are she and Alec meant to be? Are you just as disgusted with Ryan as I am?

— Enid Portuguez

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