Brothers & Sisters

“State of the Parties” is a lost episode of Brothers & Sisters, one that never aired and would have been relegated to the cutting-room floor were it not for DVD sets, and the need to fill them with extras. And so, we get an alternate-reality look at Walker goings-on.

This episode was to have followed “Patriarchy” as the first season’s second episode. As show creator Jon Robin Baitz explains in the DVD’s intro to the episode, after completing “State of the Parties,” the backstage powers-that-be decided it was a little more slow-moving than they wanted it to be, and they wanted to put some plotlines in motion more swiftly. So parts were cut, parts were changed, parts were added, and “An Act of Will” carried the series forward as the official, aired second episode.

Still, we’ll take all the Walkers we can get, won’t we? And since not everyone can get their hands on the DVD at this time, a recap seems in order. Read all about it below, and come back tomorrow for some memorable lines.

As the episode begins, the Walkers are gathering, but it’s not for a party or a road trip this time. This time, it’s for a funeral. William’s funeral. Kitty’s dithering on to Jonathan about how she thinks her father would want her to do the TV show, and how he shouldn’t hug her because she’ll cry, and how William is the only man she’s ever loved, and Jonathan does a really good job of impersonating someone who cares. Sarah’s in a dither, too, about the whereabouts of her cell phone, and as Tommy helps her find it, he notices a lot of Ojai Foods financial reports on her desk at home — but Sarah’s not sharing when he tries to find out what’s up with that. Justin’s freaking out a little over the necessity to dress like a grown-up and wear cufflinks and stuff, but Fawn — who know she had skills outside of looking good in a bikini? — is right there with paper clips to close his cuffs and a pill to calm him down (but does not apparently accompany him to the funeral — wouldn’t you have loved to see what she’d wear?)

Finally they’re all in a limo on the way to Mom’s house, with a quick stop along the way to get Kitty a little fast food, but Nora’s not quite ready to go. She’s playing the piano, for an uncomfortably long time, and finally tells her kids she thinks William would like that number played at his funeral. Sadly, the funeral song selection has already been set, and off they go anyway to bury their dead.

The funeral passes in a montage, and not until it’s over do we see Holly lurking off to the side. We see her; Justin sees her, and looks Troubled; and Saul sees her, and goes to tell her she shouldn’t have come. She responds that of course she was going to come, and then leaves.

That was tense. Also tense is the situation at Ojai, where Sarah has finally shared with Tommy the pension-fund sleight-of-hand she’s discovered. Tommy’s sure as can be that it’s Saul’s doing, because, Dad, he was a saint, right? Sarah wants her brother to calm down, because if it wasn’t Saul, they shouldn’t be accusing him, and if it was Saul, they shouldn’t let him know he’s being watched. Tommy, though, is making no promises.

Justin, meanwhile, has somehow found Holly’s house, and knocks on her door to say that he saw her at the funeral and knows her from before. She invites him in for a beer, and Justin recalls having heard her with his his dad at the Ojai ranch house. Holly is soooo sorry, and insists that the affair was over loooong ago, and Justin, who’s not really in much of a position to criticize the way other people live their lives, seems to give his dad a pass. Since they’re all friendly-like now, Holly asks Justin to find a gift she gave to William, a silver letter opener, and bring it to her. As he leaves, she looks … devious a little. What, does the letter opener have some sort of microchip listing offshore accounts?

Kitty’s made her decision to stay in L.A. and do the TV show, but now that she’s there and learning what’s involved with being on camera, her enthusiasm is waning a little. There seems to be more interest in her hair and makeup and wardrobe than her actual, you know, brain and speaking ability. That’s show-biz, girl! Warren’s all supportive and sympathetic, assuring her that the primping isn’t anything to worry about, but he sure attacks her for it pretty quick once they get on the air, even lifting her line that she looks like a call girl. Of course, she did kind of freeze with the camera on her, so somebody had to say something. That’s his story, anyway, and the smarmy so-and-so is sticking to it.

Kitty’s sticking with the show, too, even when Jonathan shows his true colors and suggests she come back with him to New York, to her radio show and safe life married to him. Staying with Mom, driving Dad’s car, and smashing that smug liberal on TV are Kitty’s life for now. So long, sweetie!

Nora’s life, for now, is wrapped up in starting a foundation in William’s name. It seems like something good to be spending her time on, since everybody is so concerned about whether she’s keeping busy. She calls Kevin at 2 a.m. all excited about the idea, and instructs him to ask Sarah to donate the money from the company. One small problem: The company barely has enough money to keep running, thanks to somebody’s financial shenanigans. Sarah poses the situation to Kevin in an anonymous sort of way, you know, “I have this friend whose family company is going under after her father’s death.” Kevin, clever attorney that he is, figures out right away whose family company that is, and advices his CEO sis that she has a short time to get to the bottom of the money pit, or else they’ll have to get the authorities involved.

Tommy’s ready to sic the authorities on his uncle immediately if not sooner, especially after Saul calls an employee meeting and reassures everybody that there will be consistency in the wake of the founder’s death, pay no attention to that massive debt behind the curtain. Sarah can’t keep them from a confrontation, but when Tommy finally calls Saul out, he points the finger directly at William, and insists he’s been trying to solve the problem, not increase it.

Speaking of problems, Justin’s found that letter opener Holly wanted, but Nora finds him with it, and explains that it was a gift from William’s Ojai employees, and waxes on about how wonderful her husband was and how lucky she was to have such a good solid marriage. That sends Justin rushing out of the house just as all his sibings rush in to watch Kitty embarrass herself on TV. He goes to Holly’s house and yells at her to leave his family alone, lest his mother’s dreams be busted. Holly, upset by his outburst, immediately contacts his family … well, okay, Uncle Saul, in his extra-family role of Manager of William’s Messes. He reassures her that, though Justin wants her to disappear, he, Saul, does not. His words are reassuring, but his facial expression over her shoulder as they hug? Not so much.

Back at the homestead, Sarah’s surprised to hear Nora celebrate the company’s donation of $50,000 to her foundation, until she realizes it was Kevin who secretly coughed up the cash. Nora takes Kitty out to her dad’s old car and they have a chat and agree that Kitty will stay there, and the episode just sort of peters out. Compared to Dad falling into the pool in the first episode, it’s kind of an anticlimactic ending. It’s almost like they knew, by this time, that this installment wasn’t going to fly, so why put all the work into a fulfilling finish?

_{Photo: ABC.com}

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, Holy Matrimony, recap