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« Brothers & Sisters
May 6, 2007: Grapes of Wrath
The wine tasting at Tommy and Holly’s new vineyard put Tommy at the center of tonight’s episode. The "center" of course being a place Tommy isn’t normally accustomed to being. He handled everything well, and he definitely came across as the voice of reason among the extended Walker family. Not that that was hard to do, what with the Walker siblings missing the point of the wine tasting and doing a fair amount of wine drinking. But Tommy’s toast was a nice tribute to his dad, managing to be both honest about his father's flaws and respectful of all he taught them. Unfortunately the episode didn’t end on a good note for Tommy. Hopefully the twins will be OK.
Holly, on the other hand, didn’t exactly play the gracious host to the Walker family. In the beginning of the episode I actually felt sort of bad for her, which is unusual because Holly’s generally not the sort of character who generates a lot of sympathy. I don’t think Nora was really under any obligation to call Holly and say that Rebecca was at the Walker house. Rebecca is 20, after all. But at the same time you could see Holly worrying about having no idea where her daughter was.
It was hard to be sympathetic to Holly’s behavior with Nora’s professor, however. Taking a walk in the middle of dinner with clients, and with the date of the widow of the man you had a decades-long affair with? I’m guessing anyone with an ounce of sense would think that was a bad idea. When Nora’s professor started reciting lyrics to Holly as they were walking he definitely came off a bit sleazy. I guess Nora was right and she should have trusted her first instincts about this guy. It was hard not to compare Holly’s kiss with Nora’s date to Rebecca’s kiss with Sarah’s husband. Interesting to note that in this case it was Holly who suggested they just keep walking after the kiss, effectively ending her moment with the professor.
Two people we didn’t see enough of tonight were Kitty and Rebecca. When we first heard that the senator was (finally) going to be visiting D.C., it seemed like a good chance for some scenes of Kitty interacting with her brothers and sisters. I was disappointed when she passed out early, although the scene when Kevin realized she had taken his pain pills was a pretty classic Walker-family moment. As for Rebecca, after all that happened last week I thought she might play more of a role in tonight’s episode. In her brief scene with Sarah it was hard to tell what she was actually thinking. We know Rebecca wasn’t truthful about how things played out with Joe, so was she really being truthful when she told Sarah she felt bad about what happened?
Finally, the food fight. A little junior-high maybe, but it was definitely time that Nora and Holly had it out. They were getting so angry at each other in the kitchen that throwing a cake almost seemed welcome, as a way to diffuse the tension. Holly may be more business-savvy than Nora, but Nora could definitely teach Holly a thing or two about relationships. And Nora got the chance tonight, as she encouraged Holly to let go of William, even though she knew it wasn’t what Holly wanted to hear. As for what Nora didn’t want to hear, it seemed a little foreboding that Holly warned Nora that it was a bad idea to have Rebecca living at the Walker house. I can’t wait to see how things play out with Rebecca in the season’s final two episodes. Will Holly’s prediction come true?
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May 6, 2007 11:59 PM
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I couldn't figure out how to interpret Holly's last statement. Did she mean, as you suggest, that she was telling Nora it was a bad idea to house Rebecca? Or did she mean that, even though Nora was letting her stay there, deep down inside Nora did NOT really want her there?
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May 7, 2007 12:08 AM
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I feel that she was warning Nora that her daughter is bad news. Don't know why Holly would care enough to warn her, but I'm sure that's the reason.
I thought this episode was pretty good. We got to see the professor show Nora his true colors. And I particularly loved Sarah standing up for her husband against her judgmental family. Loved the food fight, loved the laughter afterwards, and the tears and the talk. Perfect.
As for wanting more of Kitty, there must be some reason Calista is not in these shows more than she is....and I'm totally FINE with that!
Also I didn't feel that this episode centered around Tommy at all. He had a few scenes, but this was more about Nora and Holly, and Sarah and siblings. It just happened to take place at Tommy's new business. As for next week, that'll be his show, it looks like.
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May 7, 2007 1:06 AM
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I really enjoyed tonight's episode. I found myself laughing out loud with some of the parts, most especially the Kitty and Kevin parts. They're hilarious together.
I really think Holly's last words to Nora were foreshadowing of some sort. Maybe she meant that Rebecca isn't who Nora think she is. She did come onto Joe as well. It was a mutual thing.
Can't wait for next week.
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May 7, 2007 1:57 AM
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pinkie -- I will never understand why so many people feel the way you do about Kitty. I personally love her! and I love her scenes with anybody in the whole Walker family. She has such chemistry with all of them. The show definitely wouldnt be so entertaining without her.
As to the episode, it was (as always) an extremely satisfying episode. From discussing in the Walker kitchen why it was ok for Sarah to not go to the vineyard , to Kevin & Kitty's high-on-pain-meds conversation, to Holly's and Nora's cat-fight... everything was so entertaining. There are no better scenes than when a good chunk of the Walker family gets together in one room and I got a couple in this episode. Their chemistry on screen is crazy (except Sarah and Justin. Dont know why but I dont think they have good sister-brother chemistry...)
I really think that Holly meant her last words as "You dont want my daughter in your home with your family". I was rooting for Rebecca when she showed up but now, Im just leery of everything she says.
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May 7, 2007 7:17 AM
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The best part of thie episode was the Rob Lowe wasn't around for most of it. He's such a boring actor. All the scenes with Tommy are fairly dull, too. If they had cast a less well-known actor, I have a feeling he'd hardly ever show up, because the character is flat. Even his "problem" (fertility problems) is boring. I know people have problems like that, and I sympathize with them, but as a TV plot, it is a complete yawn.
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May 7, 2007 7:47 AM
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Great episode. I bet that Sally Fields and Patricia Wettig had so much fun filming that last scene. I loved the honesty between them. Even, the tenderness at the end. And I definitely think that Holly was warning Nora of Rebecca's intentions.
This show has become my favorite show! The writing is superb and the cast is perfect. I am not looking forward to it ending in two more episodes!
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May 7, 2007 8:42 AM
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I really enjoyed this episode. We got to see the Walker clan drinking...again.
What better scene this year than Kevin trying to sober up Kitty and Kitty blabbing about her ill-timed proposal (except maybe Sarah and Kitty crashing a high school party drunk)? What better family dynamic than Saul trying to interrupt Holly and the Prof to protect his sister? And the hilarity of the building tension of Nora and Holly's fight, with the Walker sons and Saul continually opening the door to check on the two of them.
But what seemed to make the most sense was how Tommy fit in to this family: he's there but he's not acrimonious, not dealing with personal issues, always the calming voice of reason. I finally understood tonight why we don't see or hear more of him: he's the temperate Walker, and therefore, less interesting.
This show just gets better and better. And I didn't see the coming attractions but I got the impression that when Nora was telling the Prof that she should have trusted her instincts, she wasn't just talking about him but about Rebecca as well.
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May 7, 2007 10:10 AM
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LOVED Sara's line when Kitty asked how the cake went over. "Better than I thought" - it was hysterical.
Rebecca is definitely a bad seed and will continue to cause rifts if she remains in Nora's house. Remember, the minute Holly heard what happened with Joe she put the blame on Becca. It was only to Sara that she defended her daughter.
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May 7, 2007 10:18 AM
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digipacopr, I can't speak for others, but it's not the Kitty character I don't care for. It's Calista Flockhart.
I did enjoy her drunk scene with Kevin. To me, she just seemed like a human being in that scene rather than the one-note actress I see her as.
Love this show because of the family dynamic and the always superb Sally Field.
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May 7, 2007 11:19 AM
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I think Holly was warning Nora about Rebecca. As in her behavior. I can't believe I was totally liking her and now I feel like I have to watch everybody's back around her. Darn it! I still want her to turn out to be just a kid a little turned around and because of perceived bad parenting, has just made some bad decisions. But I don't know if that's possible if this thing with Joe is her MO.
As usual I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I just love when they're all together and I thought the food fight between Nora and Holly was very funny and very much needed. They needed to clear the air and as much as possible, they should try to let go of all the drama since they're bound to be in each other's lives for a long long time.
I thought Sarah was unrealistic thinking they wouldn't all give Joe the cold shoulder. I would've if it was my sisters involved.
I didn't mind not seeing Rebecca and I had no problem with not seeing the senator much although I have no problem with his character in general.
Next week looks like a tear-jerker. I hope everything turns out alright.
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May 7, 2007 11:35 AM
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If Sally doesn't win the Emmy, there is NO justice in the world!
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May 7, 2007 11:38 AM
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I missed last night's episode. stupid storms kept shutting off the power and the news was cutting in constantly. 
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May 7, 2007 11:43 AM
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I have noticed each episode is better than the last one. I really enjoyed this one. Tommy is a wonderful character and the actor that plays him is really good. I think his embodies the qualities viewers want in a good father and good husband. The scene with Kevin and Kitty and Holly and Nora were hilarious. I wish Joe and Sarah stay married and work things out because they really seem to love each other despite their issues. Hopefully, next weeks episode they will try another go at it. I think Holly was warning Nora because she knows Rebeccas tricks and I have a feeling in this upcoming episode and/or season finale Rebecca is going to show her true colors ![]<img border=](http://community.tvguide.com/images/emoticons/devil.gif) ">. I think she really setup Joe becuase she knew he would go for he bait and kiss her. I have a feeling she hates everyone in the family including Justin and has been playing them to get information about each other.
Spoiler for season finale: Kitty and Senator become engaged, Justin goes to war, and Uncle Saul comes out of the closet!! Can't wait to see how all this plays out 
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May 7, 2007 11:48 AM
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The episode had its funny moments. Kitty on pain killers was a hoot, though a bit unrealistic. I know they tried to explain it by saying he keeps his pills in a non-childproof bottle, but who takes their prescription medication (of a controlled substance) out of the pharmacy bottle? Oh, just a small, stupid nitpick because it really did lead to a funny scene.
I also like Calista Flockhart for the most part, but can understand why others do not. I am tiring quickly of the political race scenes. To each their own I guess.
I have been hard on the Sarah character (definitely not my favorite) in several previous comments, but actually thought it was cool of her to stand up for Joe. I know the other Walkers are trying to protect her, but how the fallout of what he did goes down is between her and him only. The Walkers are going to have to accept it and him if her decision is to stay with him. I am not saying they have to completely trust him, but definitely accept her decisions about him.
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May 7, 2007 12:28 PM
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