Brothers & Sisters

Five questions from last Sunday’s episode still rattling in my brain today.

1. Can we be done hating Holly and Rebecca now? Please? Like Holly, I don’t have the energy for it. Diabolical villains don’t really suit a series like this well, and this mom and daughter have always seemed to me more like messed-up humans than soap-opera vixens. There are some good, thoughtful dilemmas set up for next season — Saul coming out, Sarah and Joe’s marital problems (of which the Joe-Rebecca kiss was more a symptom than a cause), health problems for the new baby preemie, parenting struggles for Tommy and Julia, Tommy’s new business, Justin’s return from war, Kitty’s wedding, the senator’s campaign, a Kevin-Jason romance … maybe it’s time for the show to follow Nora’s lead and let go of William Walker and all the mess he created in his two-timing life. Let’s move on, shall we?

2. Speaking of Tommy, is he in denial or what? Okay, he was surfing with Justin ’cause Justin’s leaving, and he was at the party because it was for his sister. But he seemed to be having himself an awfully good time, pointing out babes on the beach for his bro and ogling the crazy McCallister cousin. Does he really think Julia’s okay? Should he not be spending his time with her, or at the hospital, or fixing up the pretty nursery his own self? Denial among dads is a recurring theme in special-needs parenting literature, and I hope that’s where they’re going with this. Otherwise, Tommy’s kind of a jerk.

3. What was the timeline again? Maybe I missed something. Help me figure this out in the comments. Wasn’t Justin supposed to report at 8 a.m. Sunday? If the party was on Sunday, then he was late. If the party was on Saturday, then what was the problem? I’m so confused.

4. Where was Paige? Cooper got to play hide-and-seek with the mean lady Mommy hates, but the young lady of the family, normally an efficient little scene-stealer, was nowhere to be found. Maybe she’s with Joe for the day? Or did Coop lock her in a closet to make up for the fact that she always gets the good lines?

5. Did the Walker men take their wallets out of their pockets before taking the plunge? See, this is why I’m not fun at “everybody into the pool” parties. These poor people are washing a bad year away with a cathartic mass swim, and I’m thinking, “Their personal documents and photographs are going to be ruined!”

_{Photo: ABC.com}

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, Matriarchy, commentary