TVSquad

(S02E05) I tend to separate Brothers and Sisters episodes into light and dark episodes these days, even though every episode certainly has elements of both. Last week was pretty dark, and this was a relatively light episode, though, thankfully, they kept the slapstick to a minimum. This episode definitely explored the nature of relationships, or, as we get from the title, unions, namely: Nora's with her and her children, and the romantic nature of all of the siblings with their significant others. If you can say that Justin's significant other is Rebecca... And the show is definitely exploring what happens when siblings meet as adults and go from strangers who could have dated under different circumstances to instant family members.

Rebecca has replaced Nora as Justin's caregiver. Cute bangs by the way! She drives him around everywhere, plies him with soap operas and fast food, and tries to monitor his medication. But for all of her savvy about having had friends with drug addictions, she is a bit too naive about his reaction to her asking him about his pills. I predicted that he had a secret stash (and I am sure you did as well); Rebecca, I would think, would have suspected it too, and I don't entirely buy that she didn't. But she is also close to Justin and has a lot riding on trying to establish a trusting relationship with him.

There was a nice parallel in the writing between Justin's and Saul's denials: When Rebecca asks Justin if he upped his pain meds, he says, "I can't believe you would ask me that." This is exactly what Saul says when Kevin asks if Saul is gay. Furthermore, Justin flat out lies about having taken more pain meds, and gets Rebecca to count his pills, even though she has rightfully figured out that he is clearly in less pain. Saul, likewise, flat out denies being gay to Kevin, and I can't help but think the language parallels are there purposefully to show us that Justin and Saul are both feigning indignation to mask what they are trying to hide. I think Saul flat out lied to Kevin too.

Kevin's quiet chiding of Saul for not defending him when he came out was quite powerful. He's right: Saul could have spoken up, and the fact that he didn't and the fact that he is probably lying now speaks to a complicated history.

I think it's interesting that Saul remains so closeted (if I am correct about his lying). It could be a generational thing. But it possibly also has to do with identity: He wants to remain Uncle Saul, who, as long as he is known as heterosexual, can just be Uncle Saul without fascination or mystery or questions about his life or identity. Gay Saul would re-cast him in everyone's eyes, and maybe he doesn't want that. Saul may or may not be honest with himself about whether he is gay, also. Though, it seems pretty clear that he and his friend were once lovers.

I really hate it when TV shows create a scenario in which a simple mis-communication or lack of one simple conversation creates a huge melodrama that could be so easily fixed that it's painful to watch. I am happy to report that I did not get this impression from the Kitty/Robert storyline. I wouldn't have broached the subject of a pre-nup on the telephone with him either. And I would have been just as pissed at him as she was. I thought it was fitting that she was kind of neurotic with him all weekend until she could see him face-to-face. And I really loved Nora's final discussion with her: Marriage is a shifting palate of trust and faith, and sometimes her faith in them will have to carry them both. Of course, Robert didn't initiate the pre-nup (if he had, he'd be an asshole, and Robert is a saint. But it was nice of them to create an understanding out for him anyway). However, it wasn't a simple case of her simply asking him about it over the phone that could have resolved the scenario. This was nicely handled compared to some of the schtick Kitty has to play.

Ah, poor Sarah. Her brief flirtation was great: I loved how their sticking the key in and out of the lock and getting a red light each time was high symbolic of a failed sexual act, and nicely foreshadowed her putting on the brakes and stopping their affair. Her discovery that she had been trying the wrong room was priceless too: It nicely showed, without telling us, that she had also been trying the wrong guy. We don't know what Sarah will do next, but maybe sleeping with a wedding guest in the room she is sharing with her mother and sister isn't quite the thing.

How much do you want to bet that nothing actually happened between Tommy and Lina? We didn't see anything happen, and I think they lied to Holly about why they were still in their same clothes precisely because they knew what she would assume. Holly may have written the book about affairs, but I think you could also argue that she was projecting her own behavior on to Tommy's. I think that was a red herring, and we will find out that nothing actually happened. Or, possibly, I am just projecting my own hopes onto them.