Brothers & Sisters #117: "All in the Family": Dinner Disaster
Since its modest beginnings "Brothers and Sisters" has evolved into a truly glossy, profound and elegant drama, appointment television filled with guilt-free pleasure and "All in the Family" just set the bar even higher.
As the episode opens, Nora's refreshing "Sex and the City" (or "Grey's Anatomy"?) style voiceover is ridiculed by her class peers and compared to a soap opera, mirroring criticism of people who have never seen the exceptional cast of "Brothers and Sisters" bring to life its (at times) pretentious story lines.
Taken aback by her son's genuine desire to get to know Rebecca, Nora finds strength to open her heart and home to Holly's daughter and welcome her to a family dinner. Kevin's bizarre table manners and your typical Walker shouting match turned the event into a bitter disaster.
Meanwhile, an Old Hollywood schmuck warned Kevin about the repercussions of his client Chad's decision to come out. For the first time in Jason Lewis' lackluster 6-episode run I actually felt sorry for his character (as I do for most closeted actors in Hollywood) whose growth got squashed by Kevin's inability to commit.
The episode did remind me how much of a challenge it is to find credible child actors who deliver beyond a cute presence. Hopefully the upcoming story lines between Kitty and the Senator will give the wooden boy who played Jack McCallister a chance to practice his acting chops. Yes, I know he is only a child.
As the episode closes, Dora - Nora's ridiculously obvious alter ego - comes to terms with her inability to send to hell the man she blames for all the mess in her life (and still loves from the bottom of her heart) and says one final goodbye with grace, tossing away the symbol of their union.
posted by Justin Van De Kamp at
5:25 PM
5 Comments:
One more week to go and sayonara Chad. Thank god.
Bring on Jason McCallister (Eric Winter)!!!
KC
Maintainer of Luke MacFarlane
I loved this episode. This and "Family Day" are the best so far. It was well-written and paced, very touching! Everything just worked really well and there were no lagging moments. It was moving, heart-felt, and funny - exactly the charm that caused me to love Brothers & Sisters in the first place. I find myself liking the characters more and more with each week and getting more sucked into their lives.
I can't wait for Chad to go. Jason Lewis is a horrible actor. >_<
I love, love, love Emily Van Camp. She is such a great addition to the cast - very hot - and blends in wonderfully. I can't wait to see where they take Rebecca and how she will inevitably become a part of the Walkers. The part where Rebecca confesses how she dreamt of being a part of a big, chaotic family as a kid really spoke true to me. As a kid I had those dreams as well.
The opening & closing monologues by Nora were really refreshing. :) The ending was poignant.
*Claps*
I'm the complete opposite, MAW.
I found this episode to be very boring, as I was yawning in every McKitty scenes.
Kevin is again too illogical for being a lawyer. Makes no sense.
Overall, the weakest of the bunch of episodes so far.
And I can't wait till Jason Lewis leaves. He is definitely a horrible actor.
KC
Maintainer of Luke MacFarlane Fansite
Wow I'm surprised. On the contrary, I found the last couple of episodes before this one boring. Hehe. But still love the show regardless. :D
I'm going to (obviously) have to agree with MetalAZNWarrior. As you can see I really enjoyed the last episode very much and I do have to agree about the episodes before that, especially those two that aired in February. I found them quite tedious. Oh, well... To each their own.
I also think KC is being a little too harsh on Jason Lewis. He may not the best actor we have seen on the show, but I don't think his a horrible actor.
And I did like his performance in the final scene where he gets all upset with Kevin. He seemed much more genuine than in that first scene where he had that unbelievable change of heart. I thought either the writers or the actor made that first scene seem a bit on the preposterous side.
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