After a decent episode last week, Brothers & Sisters causes confusion with this week’s “Thanks for the Memories.” While Holly’s exit was fairly expected, Kitty’s trip to DC is a bewildering twist doesn’t make much sense.
Another head-scratcher is the Justin and Annie storyline. Of course it’s obvious that Justin is jealous of Annie’s ex, nothing seems to happen from it. I thought for sure that when Dr. Appleton told Justin the charges were dropped, the doctor – who clearly wasn’t happy with his ex’s new romance – would tell Justin to back off to return the favor. It seems that everything, including Justin’s jealousy, goes totally unsaid. Maybe this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Annie’s ex?
Meanwhile, Saul is uncomfortable around Jonathan, the man who gave him HIV. Jonathan wants to make amends, and Saul does forgive him in the end. My guess is there will be a reluctant romance (at least for Saul) between the two sometime in the near future.
After Olivia won Kevin and Scotty over with her charm at the adoption fair, she seems to have a change of heart when she steals Scotty’s wallet so they won’t adopt her. Naturally, Kevin and Scotty reconsider adopting her when she doesn’t want them. After Sarah gives them some parenting advice through an incident with Paige, the guys realize that Olivia has trust issues and does need them in her life. Personally, while Olivia definitely came off as a messed up little kid, I love this about her. She clearly needs some TLC, and I can’t wait to see how the guys will handle getting her to trust them.
Despite her make-up with Seth last week, Kitty insists on a two-week, or longer, trip to Washington DC to meet with politicians. Seth is understandably upset and accuses her of leaving him behind because she’s embarrassed, and she doesn’t argue against him. Her relationship ended, Kitty leaves Evan with Robert’s ex-wife while she goes to DC.
Huh? What? She’s leaving her baby with strangers for two weeks ?? When I first heard the plan, I thought she was going to stay with him. But when I saw that last scene where she says good-bye, I just got so confused. Posters on the Brothers & Sisters IMDB.com board I frequent have suggested that she has cancer again, but is keeping it a secret. That’s a huge possibility, and the only way Kitty comes out of this with sympathy intact.
Through all this, Holly bunks at Nora’s when she refuses to go with David to New York because she isn’t emotionally ready. Nora tells David she’ll work on Holly, and she does – by turning into a nutcase who drives Holly completely crazy. I love their friendship, but I’m a little annoyed, rather than entertained, by Nora’s ridiculous behavior. The real feel-good moments don’t happen until Nora and Holly dump all her boxes of old stuff into a huge bonfire. It’s a fantastic farewell moment for the two, really encompassing their whole relationship – growing closer while forgetting the past. Needless to say, I’m very disappointed to see Holly go. However, it had to be done, as there’s not much for Holly to do now that she’s pretty much cut ties with the Walkers.
But the biggest point of intrigue for me this episode was the cliff hangar at the end, when Nora shows Saul the footage she found in Holly’s boxes. Why in the world was William having her followed before they started dating? I’m looking forward to discovering more about this over the course of the season.
So while the episode leaves plenty of confusion, it creates some new suspense. “Safe at Home” airs January 16th.
