‘Brothers & Sisters’: Inside the crystal ball

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Two pieces of good news came out of last night’s episode of ‘Brothers & Sisters’: Kevin’s and Scotty’s surrogate got pregnant and Luc won the ‘green card’ lottery. That means two new Walkers could be added to the family mix!
It’s been an anxious few weeks for Kevin and Scotty, who, in the midst of their worries about Michelle’s HCG levels, decided to consult a psychic to find out their fate. Miss Nadine predicted three things: that an evil force will appear and leave smoke behind, that someone will embark on a journey and that there will be new life in the horizon. Of course, all three managed to come true.

Let’s start with the more ominous predictions. The ‘evil force’ turned out to be Nora’s and Saul’s mom Ida, who arrived unexpectedly and with signs of dementia. Despite their rocky relationship, Nora offered to take her mother in, which resulted in a small kitchen fire -- the smoke -- after Ida was left alone. Nora was willing to take the blame, which only angered the already irritable Ida. Her knack for provoking Nora’s insecurities was still intact, but unlike her previous visits, her biting words felt more like her way of asserting control than personal attacks on her daughter. Marion Ross has always done a wonderful job of playing the contentious Ida, but last night, she really shined. Her speech about deciding how to spend the rest of her life was powerful, and the delusional spell in which she praised Nora as a mother showed Ida wasn’t an evil force at all.

The psychic’s second prediction could apply to Justin or Robert, or perhaps both. After the funeral of an Army buddy who had died fighting in Afghanistan, Justin once again felt the pull of the uniform. This would definitely not bode well with the family considering he and Rebecca just got married, but he’s also never one to give up on a strong feeling. I wasn’t sure what to think about that potential storyline. Justin had tried so hard to make things work with Rebecca and re-enlisting would threaten that. At the same time, I don’t see anything too interesting in the future for him unless a conflict as huge as him re-enlisting comes between his marriage.

Robert is also risking his marriage by accepting the intriguing secret job. He had lied to Kitty about being rejected because of his health; it turned out that an interested party had blocked his chances at the government position so that he could help them instead. The identity of this interested party is still a mystery, but their objective for Robert will undoubtedly explain his disappearance (or demise). If it’s a position involving national security and intelligence, could Robert also be heading to the Middle East? I’m intrigued.

After such heavy stuff, we were left with the last, more joyful prediction. A new life is coming for Kevin and Scotty and for Sarah and Luc, who had been struggling with the fears of what distance would do to their relationship. Sarah’s pregnancy false alarm provided an interesting ‘what if’ moment, but it’s probably best that the show didn’t go down that road. Instead, Luc got lucky and won a green card (I had no idea the State department did that, but apparently 50,000 green cards are up for lottery each year). Does that mean Gilles Marini will be back next season? We’ll still have to wait and see about that one, but I certainly hope so.

I couldn’t have been more excited about Kevin’s and Scotty’s news. They’ve been nervously anticipating the results for so long that to give them a negative outcome would have just been cruel. It was cute though that they had happily resigned to the idea of getting a dog if the baby didn’t work out. Thankfully it did, and I can’t wait to watch them go through the process of becoming parents.

Time for your thoughts. What were your favorite moments from the episode?
-- Enid Portuguez