As indicated in the preview after the last episode, “Brody” is a fun, hilarious episode that reunites Nora with her old flame, Nick Brody (Beau Bridges). The only real conflict in this episode of course comes from Tommy, who decides to move away from the family once again.
Paramedic Justin meets homeless Zach, and instantly feels the need to help the fellow war vet somehow. Zach doesn’t want any help, but Justin refuses to leave him alone. At the end of the episode, Zach shows up at Justin’s house, finally accepting his offer. Though I’m not particularly interested in this development so far, I have a feeling it will be Justin’s storyline for at least the next few episodes. Which is a welcome relief from romance drama.
One of the funniest aspects of this episode is Paige’s school project. It’s the old cliché “babysit a sack of flour” assignment, but with a twist – Paige is the responsible one, while Sarah keeps losing track of her “grandson.” However, Kevin is particularly funny this week, naming his “nephew” Joaquin and dressing him up in baby clothes. Everyone’s a little queasy when it’s discovered that Brody made delicious muffins out of poor Joaquin, much to Paige and Kevin’s horror. (Note: This leads to Justin’s hilarious moment when, not knowing about Joaquin, he wonders what’s wrong with the muffins.)
Meanwhile, Brody gives Nora a call…on her radio show. Even though he uses a fake name, Nora catches on and starts to panic. Listening in another room, Sarah starts to panic as well, knowing that Brody only contacted her nervous mother because Sarah went to Brody’s office and told him that Nora was single again. Sure enough, shocked Nora gets home to find Brody’s huge RV parked in front of her house, and his adorable fifteen-year-old dog Lily runs up to greet her.
Brody’s arrival makes Nora crazy. Worried he’ll judge her, Nora tells Brody that William was a perfect husband who never cheated. Despite her efforts to keep Brody at an emotional distance since she knows he can’t be counted on, sparks are flying between the two. Especially since Lily likes Nora, who finds the dog sleeping next to her in bed (I love that scene too, by the way). After one episode, I totally love this relationship and hope we see Brody again soon…which we undoubtedly will since she kept recovering Lily with her.
I’d like to just take a moment and say that I think Sarah didn’t really do anything wrong (other than neglect a fake baby). Given her family history, she had a right to worry about her paternity – which thankfully she didn’t need to do, as he confirmed that she is not his daughter. It wasn’t like she told him he should contact Nora, he did that on his own. Tommy especially had no right to be mad at her when he and his nosy fiancee were the ones who caused trouble in the first place!
But in a surprise yet welcome twist, Tommy decides to leave again. I say “welcome” because, as I’ve said before, I don’t like him and don’t mind at all when he’s gone. So I’m happy Tommy realizes that he doesn’t want to work at the radio station and gets a baseball management job in Phoenix through Brody. His siblings and Nora want him to stay, but they eventually accept his decision.
On that note, I’m disappointed that Rose’s Walker family tree obsession was nothing more than a weird personality trait. Since that is the case though, good riddance. I’m glad she won’t be sticking around.
So overall, this was my favorite Brothers & Sisters episode in a long while. Kitty returns in “Home is Where the Fort Is,” airing March 6th.
