Brothers & Sisters

Five questions about last Sunday’s episode — “The Missionary Imposition” — still rattling around in my brain:

1. Hey, guys, is it Lee-na or Lay-na? The general pronunciation of the name of Emily Rose’s bad-news blonde seems to have been Lee-na, but at least once in this episode, Tommy and Justin each called her Lay-na. I guess it doesn’t matter so much now that Ms. Lena has departed to the Land of Lost Love Interests, never, we fervently hope, to return again. (Goodness knows, there’s plenty of cute older guys there to keep her busy.) Still: If you’re going to let a chick nearly break up your marriage and divide your family, the least you can do is learn how to pronounce her name.

2. Since when does Julia have all this free time? Before they split for AZ, baby Elizabeth was one high-maintenance tot, with lots of crying and fussing and recriminations from Julia to Tommy for how hard it was to tend to the child. Now, after a nice Southwestern vacay, Lizzie’s so laid back that mom can go out for lunch, nightie-shopping, marriage counseling, what have you. Did Julia, like, buy some baby Valium while she was at her folks’?

3. Why did Kevin make the coffee date at his place? I’m pretty sure the greater Los Angeles area is studded with places to purchase pricey caffeine. Seems like the worst spot to encounter an old boyfriend with whom you are not entirely reconciled would be your own cozy loft — it’s like asking for an accidental re-ignition of the flame. Of course, the last time Jason and Kevin went out for coffee, Kevin wound up putting his foot in his mouth big time and almost earned Jason’s lasting hatred, so maybe there is no good place for this couple to reconvene.

4. Has Sarah received the “bad hair” baton from Rebecca? Becca’s bangs are growing out, and thank goodness. But Sarah’s hair this time around was distracting me no end. It seemed like a sort of obsessively feathered style that would have been popular in the ’70s, and then when she brought the flowers back to Graham, she had a thing on the top of her head — maybe a curler? — that made the ‘do seem even more high-maintenance. I don’t think it’s possible for Rachel Griffiths to look bad, mind you, but if the hair’s taking me out of a scene, that’s a problem. (And, for that matter, Graham could use a trim.)

5. How come ABC hasn’t posted any photos from this episode? Usually there’s at least a little assortment on the network’s site for the show, but as of this writing, there’s still just an ABC logo and no stills. Maybe after they screwed up and included some random weird shots last time, they’re being super-conservative and taking tons of extra time to go over this selection.

_{Photos: ABC.com}

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, The Missionary Imposition, commentary