(S01E21) I have to admit it. Dorky as it is, I love the titles they come up with. "Grapes of Wrath." Very funny. These episodes, in which the Walkers all end up at a gathering making a scene, are getting better as the series goes along. The stories are well-conceived, and the characters are all so well-developed. It just shows that the actors feel so comfortable with each other now in a way that they didn't early in the show. Well, in all fairness to the actors, perhaps it is just that I am more comfortable with the characters. But this continues to be one of my favorite viewing pleasures.Before I begin with this review, I would also like to remind you that the Brothers and Sisters writers run a blog and post some great pictures of what happens behind the scenes. For instance, I got to see pictures of them prepping Sally Field and Patricia Wettig for their food fight weeks ago.
I chose a picture of Joe to use for this review because even though a lot of things happened, I think everything hinged on Joe. The brothers and Saul reflect that perhaps since William isn't there anymore, they feel they have to step up into protective roles with their sisters and Nora. However, I think they have missed something that the creators of the show have not. The real reason they have been shutting Joe out is because Joe is the new William. Sarah, not even knowing consciously that William has been cheating on their mother for twenty years, has gone out of her way to become what Nora is not. Sarah is a driven, hard-biting career woman. But at the end of the day, Sarah still finds herself married to her father.
It's tacky and fairly harmless that Mark kisses Holly in the orchard. That was simply a great catalyst for Nora and Holly to have it out, finally. However, it is significant that Holly was off in the orchard while Nora was tending the home fires. Mark felt lonely and left out, and there Holly was. There are all kinds of little parallels to William's relationship with both Holly and Nora like this, but I don't think it's heavy handed. Sure, Mark got a kiss out of it, but then he felt badly and Nora dumped him. Nora was right in her fight with Holly. Ultimately, William always came home to Nora. And that is what Nora has to show for herself.
Joe is present in another way when Kitty starts freaking out about taking her own plunge into marriage. She keeps using Sarah as an excuse not to go forward; she doesn't want Sarah to find out she is on the precipice. At first I thought it was to protect Sarah's feelings. But I think Kitty was afraid Sarah would try to talk her out of it, tell her not to do it. Kitty can stand up to Kevin, but not to Sarah. So, I think that makes Sarah's reaction particularly powerful. By choosing to embrace her own marriage, by choosing not to turn her back on Joe because of his mistake, Sarah is, in essence, giving Kitty permission to get married too. (Just humor me and pretend you didn't see the previews for next week, okay?)
Can I just insert a criticism of the episode? I think it was a cop out to have Kitty take Kevin's painkillers and miss all the fireworks. I understand that Flockhart tries to keep to a part-time filming schedule, but that was lame. And once again, Balthazar Getty is so under-used. Even though I feel a twin train wreck approaching, finally, we will get to see him in action.
I wrote a lot about how well this show handles fights last week so I don't really want to spend a lot of time talking about Holly and Nora's fight except to talk about the end. The difference, I think, between very young adults fighting and people who have more experience is that I think with two younger women, they would have continued laughing and probably embraced or something. But Holly's dissolving into tears and suddenly whispering what she missed the most about William was just beautiful. That is what the fight was ultimately about - William has left them with this mess. It's not over yet. There have been so few television shows (or movies) that have dealt realistically or effectively with the mess that the death of a parent can bring, or the endless holes in lives that a death like William's leaves. It is the underlying thread of this show, and I think that is one of the best things about it. The show never forgets what it is about.
Again, no matter what their differences are, nobody else can understand her grief but her nemesis. That statement is equally true for both Nora and Holly. Only, Nora is dealing with it better. Perhaps because she was the wronged party. But did you feel chills when Holly told Nora, "You don't want my daughter living in your house?" We got a glimpse of what a little viper Rebecca is last week. Her apology to Sarah just made me want to slap her. As creepy as that is, Holly's recognition of who Rebecca is, tinged with her concern for her, her jealousy of both the Walkers' relationship with Rebecca and vice versa, all makes it so much more human, so much more worth watching than some of our other viewing choices.
I'm giving this episode, on a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 being the highest, a 6.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-07-2007 @ 8:44AM
courtney said...
Gad - these people are annoying. I don't really like any of them - these are the silliest most contrived plotlines I've seen in a sea of melodramas trying to out do the other with ridiculous so-called "drama."
I'd been watching to see if I would begin to care about any of these people - but, that never happened so I guess I'll move on to something else.
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5-07-2007 @ 9:40AM
Colleen said...
I'm so glad someone else loves this show. Most of my friends don't seem to see the appeal and believe that the members of the family are too self-involved.
But I think its like what Tommy said in the beginning, "There's a lot of things you can say about my family - bottom line when it counts they show up." They really do love and care for one another.
It was nice to see Tommy actually playing a role in this episode since most times I don't even notice if he is there. I didn't mind the thing with Kitty taking the pain killers, because it meant we got to see more Kevin who I adore.
Holly's comment about her daughter makes me wonder what else Rebecca is hiding.
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5-07-2007 @ 9:49AM
honey said...
I absolutely love this show because even though it's a straightforward drama, it somehow keeps me on my toes, guessing what will happen next. Sally Field continues to be a complete delight and her skill as an actress shines through to bring the other cast members up to her level. This feels like a real family (and I agree with you Jen, when you say that it feels that way more now than it did in the beginning of the series). I love to watch their triumph and dysfunction in equal measure.
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5-07-2007 @ 10:19AM
JB said...
It's true, some of the plotlines you can see coming from a mile away, but the writers have me caring about these people. I loved the food fight with Nora and Holly - the look on Nora's face when Holly was throwing lettuce at her was so funny. Oooh lettuce that's scary - I was laughing out loud.
Another good episode!
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5-07-2007 @ 10:26AM
Jimmy said...
The whole Joe/Rebecca kiss has put a pall over the whole show for me. Yeah, I still get a kick out this dysfunctional, yet loving, family but using Sarah to relive everything that happened to her mother just seems like a cop out to me. The was so much that could be mined from the Rebecca side of the story that it just seems like lazy writing to go in this direction. That being said, I really enjoy the interaction between Nora and Holly. These two women both loved the same man and it brings them together in such interesting ways. The food fight was hilarious and didn't seemed forced. This series has really grown as the season's progressed and it keeps improving -- even with a few bumps now and again.
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5-07-2007 @ 2:14PM
TomB said...
Great review, Jen.
I have nothing really to add except that I love this show. Also, last week they broke into the top 20 in the Neilson ratings at number 20.
Go Brothers & Sisters!!
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5-07-2007 @ 2:34PM
Pamela said...
Does anyone else think that Joe is a real loser? IMO he has no flair whatsoever. Does he have any other clothing besides jeans and a tee shirt or long sleeve tee shirt? He was going to a celebratory party for the new winery, supposedly geared at getting investors, and he wears the same outfit he would have worn if he were at home playing the guitar, or whatever he does (or doesn't do). The long hair looks greasy, he just doesn't look groomed at all. He needs to stop feeling sorry for himself being a House Husband, and get a job. Maybe he wouldn't be so worried about Sarah not giving him much attention. He should have known better than to kiss Rebecca---of all people. LOSER!
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5-07-2007 @ 6:12PM
Jasmine said...
I love this show; however, it's missing diversity. I would have no complaints if I could see a few black faces in this wonderful family's life. YES, they are loud, flawed, funny, but still WONDERFUL. I absolutely adore Sally Field and she is doing an excellent job. All of the kids are perfect. My least favorite is Kitty, so I dont mind that she was drunk for most of the episode. I could watch an hour of Sara and Nora they sparkle! I don't think I can forgive Joe for his indiscretion, but Rebecca is sinister!
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5-07-2007 @ 7:49PM
Daniel said...
I think Private Practice was just too unrealistic. EVERYONE CRIED!!! The phsychologist cried, Addison cried, the patients cried (some multiple times!)) - and even beyond the plot line it's kind of crazy to have every patient you treat be mental.
They shouldn't have tried to introduce that many plot lines and backgrounds with the first episode. Since no one actually knew the characters, it was like packing in loads of drama into cold, heartless beings. Grey's had the right idea by not allowing us to find out much of anything about the characters - so we got to know them by the present circumstances and then we were surprised by their past later (HE'S MARRIED!?).
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5-08-2007 @ 7:36AM
sally said...
Sarah shone - what a great actress she is. You saw glimpses of it in the earlier episodes' scenes with the counselor. Her support of Kitty rang true for me. The men peering into the kitchen during the food fight made the scene even funnier. I thought the women were brutally honest. As someone wrote, William's death is the catalyst for everyone's behavior and choices. Great show, I was exhausted after it ended.
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5-09-2007 @ 9:13PM
Jon said...
I liked this weeks episode. My favorite part was when Kitty asked Sarah about her cake..... it turned out better than I had hoped.
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5-16-2007 @ 8:49AM
cleeknight said...
Do you know how i can find out where they filmed the outside scenes for this epi? The "vineyard" house was so pretty outside and i am trying to find out where it was.
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6-06-2007 @ 3:33PM
Paul Smith said...
I also want to find out where the "Vineyard House" is located. Does anybody know?
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