Recap: 2-10 “The Feast of the Epiphany”
If telling the truth would hurt someone, do you still have to tell it?
That question provides the theme for “The Feast of the Epiphany,” the tenth episode of the second season of Brothers & Sisters. And knowing these Walkers as we do, it is no surprise to learn that their answer is: Yes. You tell. As many people as possible.
Amazing that all these children came from William Walker, the ultimate “Don’t ask, don’t tell” patriarch, isn’t it? The gene that helped him keep the secret of Holly Harper for decades obviously did not pass down to his offspring.
Saul, who certainly has a truth to be told, was entirely missing from this episode. But there were certainly secrets aplenty burning to get out. Let’s look at which Walkers had beans to spill this time around.
Nora’s secret: She likes Ike.
Who it might hurt: Nora’s pride, if Isaac doesn’t reciprocate. So instead of just asking the dude on a date, she plots a big family dinner to which she can casually invite him. ‘Cause Walker family dinners are the height of civilized discourse and decorum, and what better way to charm the Republican gentleman? Nora = seriously delusional. Her secret does slip out to Sarah, who does a little “Mom has a boyfriend” dance and confers with Kevin as to how they can get warring siblings Tommy and Justin to dine together without speaking, making eye contact, or engaging in fisticuffs. Sarah quickly also catches on to …
Kevin’s secret: Jason has e-mailed that he’s coming home and wants to have lunch.
Who it might hurt: Scotty, who’s already expressing insecurity about whether he’ll be living in his car again when Jason gets back. So it’s a good idea, right, for Kevin to not tell him that he’s heard from the Reverend Ex-Boyfriend and that they’re going to be getting together? Sarah’s not so sure, but there are plenty of other sibling bad decisions to gossip about, as they both reveal that they know the truth about …
Tommy’s secret: He slept with Lena.
Who it might hurt: Julia. So let’s not tell her! Let’s just invite her and Tommy over with a roomful of family members who know the secret, and assume that it will in no way leak out. Sarah and Kevin = seriously delusional. Still, Kevin tricks his brothers into meeting, tells them to make up already, and warns that if they don’t their mother will know something is wrong and neither of them wants that kind of grief. Since nobody’s dating Lena anymore, peaceful co-existence should be possible, right? ‘Cept neither Kevin nor Tommy knows …
Justin’s secret: He’s still sleeping with Lena.
Who it might hurt: Tommy, maybe; anybody who’s staked time and effort on making sure Justin stops making stupid mistakes, for sure. It’s okay, though, because Justin’s made it pretty clear to the girl that he’s just using her for sex. I might think he’s protesting too much, and that there’s really something more, but … have we ever seen any depth to her character to indicate that she could be anything but a sex object? (Have I mentioned it’s about time for her to be hit by a bus?) If the boy wasn’t so busy with his skeevy love life, he might have been more interested in …
Robert’s secret #1: He wasn’t the war hero he was made out to be.
Who it might hurt: His campaign, which is taking hits from veterans’ groups and opponent Adamson. This is a secret that actually came out at the end of the previous episode; now it’s clean-up time. That clean-up is mercifully swift, as has been the way of the show this season. On Isaac’s suggestion, Robert talks to vets one-on-one in a televised town meeting, and that seems to solve the problem, although his opponent is still sniping away. That is, until somebody spills …
Adamson’s secret: He has a developmentally disabled son who he has institutionalized and never publicly acknowledged, while at the same time supporting legislation deemed unfriendly to the disabled.
Who it might hurt: Adamson’s campaign, and the feelings of people who love children with disabilities — like me, and like Isaac, who we learn has a child with special needs himself. Because Robert’s an upright guy and not some sort of sleazy politician or anything, he forbids Isaac, Kitty, and Travis to spill the information on his opponent. Yet spill it does, causing Adamson to drop out of the campaign and leave Robert as front-runner. However, this occurs only after discussion of the morality of spilling this secret causes the spilling of …
Robert’s secret #2: He doesn’t want more kids.
Who it might hurt: Kitty, who wants kids right this very minute. So Robert’s been doing a pretty good job of not telling her. But here’s a memo for you, senator — when your new wife says, “We would never lie to each other, right, honey?” it is best not to answer, “Um … no!” This gets Robert pretty much pulled by his ear into the kitchen, where after a bit of needling he confesses to not wanting kids now, anyway, while he’s, you know, running for president. There would probably proceed a protracted battle, except the Walker siblings start coming to the kitchen, one by one, for what turns out to be a Secret-palooza. As the squabbling takes off full-speed, Justin’s, Kevin’s, Robert’s, Nora’s, and Tommy’s secrets become subject to full debate, until — of course! — Julia wanders in and hears about Tommy. Nora finally herds them all back in to the dining room, because we still have to hear …
Julia’s secret: She slept with someone, too, while in her Arizona exile.
Who it might hurt: Tommy, but not so much, because now his affair with Lena is looking a little less unforgiveable. The couple heads for home, where they talk it out and decide to stay together. And drift back into plot limbo, undoubtedly. Bye, kids! It was nice to be interested in you for, like, five seconds! With her family skedaddling, there’s nothing left for Nora but to hear …
Isaac’s secret: He likes Nora, too.
Who it might hurt: Chevy Chase, if he was looking to ever come back as Stan. But Nora’s glad to hear that she wasn’t making a fool of herself, that Isaac understands the way families are, and that they can go out sometime just the two of them. Meanwhile, after another ill-considered dinner party, Rebecca is wondering if she really knows …
Holly’s secret: Rebecca’s true paternity.
Who it might hurt: Becca, who should really leave well enough alone. Sure, David, her mother’s old friend, seems like a cool guy, and it might seem neat-o if he was her dad instead of Dead William. But when she asks Holly, Holly’s quite firm that her paternity is as previously stated. Is this Holly telling the truth even if it hurts her daughter to know that Live Fun Guy isn’t Dad? Or is this Holly telling a lie to keep Rebecca from being hurt by the loss of the Walkers and their family ties and their money? Hard to know with Holly. But if she’s lying, she better keep an eagle-eye on her little girl, because with the way we know Rebecca’s into older guys, the girl might see David as dating material. Speaking of dating material, Sarah finds out …
Graham’s secret: He may seem like a slick entrepreneur, but he’s really a humble guy who makes his own soup.
Who it might hurt: Sarah, if she really does believe that he’s an okay guy and he’s not. But they’re pretty cute together anyway, Sarah playing kind of saucily hard to get, Graham playing humble charmer. Probably he’s got a real secret or two — a wife? a drug habit? a contract that only goes for one more episode? But for now, since we see Kevin ‘fess up to Scotty about Jason’s return, it’s about the only secret the show’s keeping under wraps.
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and come back here tomorrow for a round-up of memorable lines.
Photo: ABC.com
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