‘Brothers & Sisters’: The wedding that wasn’t

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From the very start of last night’s episode of ‘Brothers & Sisters,’ Justin’s and Rebecca’s wedding looked destined for doom. Its original location, Hawaii, was in danger of being ravaged by a hurricane, forcing plans to be readjusted and postponed. Even when Rebecca decided to hold the ceremony on a beach in Malibu instead, their union was threatened by Justin’s cold feet. However, the event that actually sent the whole thing crashing down -- Kitty’s collapse -- took me by surprise.

The bulk of the episode focused on Justin’s reluctance to walk down the aisle. His shortcomings at school plus his overall fears of being a suitable husband and father had placed an interminable frown on Justin’s face for most of the hour, and David’s presence during his AA confession didn’t make things easier. Despite all this, I was never convinced that Justin wouldn’t follow through with the wedding. Even when he finally admitted his doubts to Rebecca and then failed to appear at the rehearsal dinner, I knew that the reason for his absence would be justified and even become the catalyst for him to step up and be the man Rebecca needed him to be. If there’s anything we’ve learned about Justin’s character so far, it is that he’s a resilient fighter. He gets knocked down fairly easily, but he manages to get back up when he’s got the right support outside the ring.
Now that the bridegroom had regained his confidence, the wedding seemed like a go. The beachfront scene looked like it was ripped right out of a J.Crew catalog, and Rebecca running down the sandy aisle with Paige was one of the most joyful wedding entrances I’ve seen. It was unfortunate, then, that while reading an e.e. cummings poem, Kitty would pause, stare blankly and collapse on a beach blanket. The day before, she had gotten the news that the chemotherapy hadn’t shrunk her tumors, which had actually grown. It was a sad moment to see her fall so limply, especially after the beautiful scene that had occurred before. Her illness will undoubtedly stay in the show’s forefront from here on out, but so far, things don’t look very good.

Also not looking good is Nora’s romance with Simon. We had seen signs last week that he may just be too good to be true, and last night, it was pretty obvious that Nora was about to get conned. As soon as Simon mentioned traveling to Portland to raise money for his research, I knew she’d offer to fork up the $100,000 he needed and we would probably never see him again. The look of disbelief on Nora’s face when he called to flake on the wedding indicated she knew she had just been played.

While the fate of Kitty’s health, Justin and Rebecca’s nuptials and Nora’s relationship hang in the balance, one Walker family issue got settled. Julia forgave Tommy even after his boneheaded decision to take Elizabeth to California without Julia’s knowledge. Thanks to Scotty’s sage advice, she agreed to bury the hatchet and place more trust in Tommy. After a move that could legally be defined as kidnapping, I don’t know if he really deserves her trust just yet, but I’m glad Julia came out of it as the bigger person.
What were your favorite moments of the episode? Were you shocked by Kitty’s collapse? Is Simon a con man or does he really have good intentions?

-- Enid Portuguez

Related:

‘Brothers & Sisters’: Justin’s baby blues
‘Brothers & Sisters’: Nora gets her groove back
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