‘Brothers & Sisters’: Cleaning house

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There’s something about yard sales that elevates the purchase of a 50 cent book or $3 lamp to more than a simple business transaction. Even though most items I’ve found on sale for practically nothing in someone’s front yard are, at that moment, considered expendable, I can’t help but think of the meaning, however trivial, they once held with their previous owner. The act of pawning them off to strangers may seem the opposite of sentimental, but it’s symbolic in a way. It means they’re moving on.

For the Walkers, a yard sale prompts a trip down memory lane, which some needed in order to move on. Enthusiastic about starting her own charity organization, Nora decides to clear out William’s old home office to make room for her own. It’s been two years since his death and this is the first time we’ve seen her deal with his personal items. In typical Nora form, she stays strong and stoic during the logistics of sorting and pricing the mostly mundane things, but completely falls apart once everything is sold. Letting William go, no matter how deeply he’s betrayed her, is still a difficult process and will likely get more complicated once Ryan Lafferty enters the picture.

Unearthing items from the past was also key to mending Sarah and Tommy’s wounded relationship. It’s about time! Sarah’s bitterness and resentment were starting to leave its own sour taste in my mouth, and Tommy’s perpetually defensive attitude has gotten one-dimensional and boring. Of all the Walker siblings, he has gotten the least amount of attention so far this season (perhaps, Balthazar Getty’s recent real-life drama has something to do with it?). In alienating him from Sarah, Kevin and Saul, I feel his character has become alienated from the audience. The writers need to remind us again what role he plays in the family dynamic and why we should care to follow his story. As a result, Julia has also been MIA. I’m glad she played a part in bringing Sarah and Tommy together because it’s something a wife would totally do in that situation. They’re part of the family too and have their own set of juicy problems that need to be shared.

Another relationship that looks to be inching towards reconciliation is the one between Holly and Rebecca. The operative word is definitely ‘inching’ since Holly clearly can’t be trusted. She promised no more lies, but how will she explain Ryan Lafferty’s file? The discovery of his whereabouts also makes me wonder what Holly plans to do with this information. Since Ryan’s mother and William’s suspected second mistress is dead, what questions could he really answer? My eyes automatically rolled when they substituted one illegitimate child story for another, so I hope an interesting plotline is on the horizon with this Ryan character.

I’m also skeptical about Kevin taking over Kitty’s old position as Robert’s communications director. While it would open up more quick-witted spars between the two opposites, wouldn’t that act of nepotism look bad for a politician? Sure, Kevin may be a worthy and capable candidate for the job, but who would believe he’d go from corporate lawyer to political PR strategist overnight?

What do you think? Would you like to see Kevin work for Robert? And where do you think the Ryan Lafferty storyline will go?

-- Enid Portuguez