Brothers and Sisters: Half-season Scorecard

Everyone loves a good fight – which is what makes Brothers & Sisters so darn entertaining. The Walkers may not throw any actual punches – well except for that one time outside Justin’s AA meeting – but the loose-tongued, overprotective, loving family has fighting down to an art form.

This first half-season has had its whoppers and its duds, and I’m going to spell out just what jabs, plotlines, and devious plotters are worth fighting for and which should get out of the ring.

Worth Fighting For:

Nora Walker – Every fight needs a referee, and there’s no one better in that role than dear old mom. Sally Field knows how to play a strong, if neurotic, mother – I’m sure she does plenty well at it in real life too. This season, she chastises and cries with the best of them, and she’s finally branching out on her own to create her own charity for families with hospitalized children. She’s the rock, the foundation that keeps the family so solid, and she makes sense of her whole crazy brood.

Kevin and Scotty – At the end of last season, Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys – who hides his Welsh accent and heterosexuality so well) married his boyfriend Scotty (Luke Macfarlane), and as a married couple they’ve been one of the best examples of a healthy, normal, and supportive relationship on television (take that Prop 8). They’ve gotten promotions, lost jobs, squabbled over money, and always made up sweetly. Who could help but adore them?

Kitty’s book – Kitty Walker-McCallister (Calista Flockhart) has been mostly dull this season. Yes, she’s trying to adopt a baby with Robert (Rob Lowe), but blah, blah, boring. We all know she’s going to get one by the time the season ends. Robert’s presidential run made everything so interesting last season, but where were the Liberal vs. Republican battles this season? All we got was Kitty’s tell-all about her politically-split family, which at least brought out the family’s claws. It was fabulous. Let’s hope we see some more of that in the new year.

Greenotopia – After her divorce and quitting Ojai Foods, Sarah Walker (Rachel Griffiths) needed herself a job. She tried full-time mother, but that didn’t quite stick, so off she went in search of work. What she found was two young entrepreneurs, Kyle (handsome Eric Christian Olsen) and Ethan (bumbling, but sweet Will McCormack) with a great idea for an online food business and who provide endless opportunities for witty banter. Plus, they’re adorable, and they can juggle and do magic tricks. It’s a win-win.

Paternity – When Tommy Walker’s (Balthazar Getty) wife Julia (Sarah Jane Morris) wanted to get pregnant in the first season, but Tommy was infertile, both Kevin and Justin (Dave Annable) stepped up to the plate. Until this season, neither knew which one was the actual father of little Elizabeth, and deceased William, Walker. But when Elizabeth’s liver failed during the last episode, Kevin found out he was the father and donated some of his liver. However, you know trouble will be brewing for control-freak Kevin, who will never have any other biological children, and who’s rarely ever on speaking terms with Tommy. I smell drama.

Get out of the Ring:

Justin and Rebecca – Speaking of paternity, last season Rebecca (Emily Van Camp) found out that William Walker wasn’t actually her father and proceeded to make out with Justin Walker, who was happily no longer her brother. But, um, ew! That’s still sort of your brother. This whole relationship deeply bothers me. Stop it. Just ew. You were better when you were siblings.

Ryan – Since we found out last season that Rebecca wasn’t the mystery illegitimate Walker child we thought she was, the family uncovered the real bastard sibling: Ryan. So far we’ve met the man who thought he was Ryan’s father, but no Ryan yet. I’m sure he’s on his way, but couldn’t he just not show up? Are there not enough Walkers to deal with already? How many more affairs did William Walker have? And speaking of, why would you cheat on Sally Field? Which brings me to …

Holly Harper – I hate Holly (Patricia Wettig). Harper? More like Harpy. I don’t understand why she’s still on the show. She took over Ojai foods and is running it and the Walker Vineyard with Tommy, because somehow the former struggling actress has a shrewd business mind? Really? Plus, I have a hard time believing Wettig can tie her shoes – she’s certainly not much of an actress. Luckily, since Holly hired Rebecca to work at Ojai without consulting Tommy first, Tommy’s turned to plotting with Uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin) to get her out. I’ll toast to hoping it works.

There have been many more verbal jabs and swings and sucker-punches so far this season, and I’m sure there are more to come. But despite their persistent bickering – or maybe because of it – the Walkers remain one of the most loving and realistic families in primetime. Well-written, wonderfully acted, and full of heart, Brothers & Sisters is a family drama worth bringing into your own home. Fight on.

Brothers & Sisters, ABC, Sundays at 10pm

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Photographs courtesy of ABC