Brothers & Sisters

The last couple of Brothers & Sisters episodes haven’t exactly been walks in the park, but they’re looking like a day at the spa compared to “36 Hours,�? tonight’s knock-down-drag-out intervention session for druggie Justin. Confrontations! Secrets! Yelling! Shameless plays for Emmy nominations! They’re all on display tonight, by all appearances, and I’m going to go with it. But they’re going to need a road trip or a party or a wedding pretty soon along here.

Depending on your feelings about previews and spoilers, there’s enough material on the ABC site for the show now to a) whet your appetitle or b) ruin the suspense. Four, count ‘em, four previews are ready and waiting to tease you with dramatic moments, though I’ll warn you, one of them has Tommy giving Lena a foot massage or something, and I really didn’t need to see that. Of course, the same scene finds Tommy pretty much busted by Saul, and one of the other previews shows Kevin confronting him, so maybe the days of dallying with the help are done, please, please, please.

According to the press release for the episode, Justine Dorsey, sister of Kerris Dorsey, who plays Paige, is returning as McCallister’s daughter Sophia (it was Sophia, right, and not “Sophie�? as listed in the press release?). I wonder whether her presence will bear in some way on the senator’s quandary over having kids with Kitty. One preview shows his fiancee asking him pretty directly to confirm that he does want kids, and he has a look on his face like, “Boy, I was hoping I could put off this conversation for at least a few more episodes.�? Will he answer like a straight-shooting candidate or waffle like a sleazy politico? And more importantly, will hanging with his petulant daughter make him want to try again or cease all further procreation?

There’s a heavy implication in the previews that we finally get to some sort of Saul revelation this week, with Saul saying “We all have our secrets�? and Nora looking shocked … but I’m thinking it’s a tease, and they’ll keep drawing out this storyline. There’s a pretty chilly scene between Saul and Kevin in the previews, with Kevin still trying to prod his uncle out of the closet and Saul beating him about the head with hangers. I guess, having complained last week about stories being rushed, I can’t gripe too much about stories going too slowly. But I can gripe a little.

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, 36 Hours, preview