'Brothers & Sisters': Vive l'amour

As the promos implied, last night's "Brothers & Sisters" was about love. Not just the gooey, romantic kind, which Justin and Rebecca have recently been oozing, but the enduring and sacrificial kind that we've been waiting for Robert and Kitty to manifest.

Kitty began chemotherapy and designated Sarah as her chemo buddy. This gave the two sisters (and the viewers) a perfect opportunity to catch up on Sarah's recent trip to France. She got right to the good part: She met a guy. En route to a work-related vineyard trip, she stopped at a roadside shack to ask for directions and its inhabitant was a smoldering artist played by "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Gilles Marini. According to Sarah, they spent a week making love, drinking wine and sketching pictures, but it ended when he was caught with another woman. Kitty recognized the story as the plot of one of Nora's favorite French films but thanked her sister for concocting a romance in order to distract her from her treatment's side-effects. We learn later that the story was in fact real; Sarah changed the ending so Kitty wouldn't know that the news of her illness was the reason she had to cut her love affair short. 

I was not only happy to see Sarah back on the show, but also glad she's getting some love thrown her way. As fun as it is to see her dive back into the dating pool, it'll be even more satisfying to see her tackle a new relationship, especially one with a hot foreigner. Marini is signed on for five episodes, so we'll be seeing more amour as well as more gratuitous shirtless shots in the upcoming weeks.

On the more serious side of love, we witnessed Robert and Kitty step it up like never before. Despite her illness and tough treatment, Kitty insisted that Robert continue with his gubernatorial campaign. "If I die, this is all he'll have," she told Kevin, who was upset that Robert refused to issue a public statement about her cancer. To further drive her point, Kitty channeled Elizabeth Edwards by endorsing her husband's campaign and talking about her cancer in a TV interview. It was a brave and noble move on her part.  

Robert returned the favor by offering to suspend his campaign during Kitty's treatment. His speech, in which he told her that she was his "No. 1 priority," redeemed him. It was a far cry from the Robert we saw pre- and post-heart attack, who was willing to sacrifice his own health for politics. For most of last season, he seemed a little heartless and stiff, and I'm relieved he's being allowed to display his stronger, more emotional side.

To round out the love fest, Justin and Rebecca chose a wedding destination: Hawaii. I hope they pull out all the stops for that episode.

It's your turn, readers. What are your thoughts on the episode? Are you glad Sarah's getting another chance at love? Is Robert redeemed in your eyes? Fire away in the comments!

-- Enid Portuguez

Photo: Calista Flockhart as Kitty McCallister and Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker in "Brothers & Sisters." Credit: ABC

Comments

[KimSpin]

Gilles was wonderful on the show. I would have liked to have seen more of him last night. He's a great addition to the show. Looking forward to the his next appearance on the show. To bad he's only signed for 5 shows. It's to bad he won't be on longer.

[Arllys Sueverkruepp]

Gilles Marini made the night memorable for me on B&S. The part is perfect for him and I hope they keep this story line around more than 5 weeks. Next Sunday can't come soon enough for me.

[arizonamman]

Bonjour, indeed! Not only was Sarah "fondly" remembering her French "liason" but as the previews attest, it appears that Kevin will have some fond feelings of his own toward newcomer Gilles Marini. Good to see that ABC is not afraid of such topics as opposed to NBC that is running from the "gritty" Southland despite being one of the best cop series on TV since Hill Street and NYPD Blue.

[LULU]

I love, love, love and Kitty and Robert are finally working on their relationship - through sickness and health...I also love that Sarah is finally getting her man - I hope it's permanent...
I love the love-hate-tolerance dynamic of Holly and Nora - their fights are always delicious - I hope that Justin and Rebecca's wedding creates more chaos...

[Douglas Meny]

I agree with you that its nice to see Sarah in a new romantic situation. The one thing I hope most is that Giles isn't cast as a bad guy. This scares me with only a 5 episode signing. Hopefully there is a possible open end.

[Casha]

Since season 3 I'm more and more disappointed not only by the awkward storylines but also because the characters lost all of their reliability. Now, as the last, Sarah's character is too. Such kind of a love story is just too unrealistic an far-fetched. This show is done for me.

[Gaylyn]

Thank goodness! Finally a reason to watch the show again. I watched it last night for the first time since mid last season and when the end came up with Luc at the door, I clapped! My husband said, "So I take it you're going to start watching this again."

[Hedy Taranto]

I thought it was great. I especially loved Gilles Marini. He was so natural in the part. I can't wait until next week to see it again.

[betsy]

must must must keep gilles on the show, he is like a huge
shot of b12
or more.............whew