'Brothers & Sisters' recap: Dinner Party No. 587

I, for one, do not mind that we get a Walker family dinner party in just about every episode of Brothers & Sisters. Maybe it’s because with only one sibling, I never had the big family reveals that Kitty & Co. do. Bring it, Walkers. Bring it.

So last night, four story lines came to a head over Sarah’s drunken pork and bundt cake. Kevin was his usual control-freak self after Michelle, the surrogate, was implanted and put on 36 hours of bedrest and 16 weeks of celibacy. Since her apartment had a gas leak, she had to spend the evening watching a zombie movie with her 19-year-old boyfriend (and Kevin and Scotty) at Sarah’s house. Kevin finally eased up and agreed to let Michelle at least laugh. For the record, I found Scotty’s imitation of a gay owl’s “hoo” hilarious.

Saul had gotten angry that Nora corrected an oversight on the company’s taxes, which Sarah had spotted and was going to fix herself (so as not to upset Mr. Pissy) until Nora volunteered. At the dinner party, he explained why he’d snapped and told Nora she was just a housewife looking for a hobby (Ouch!). At age 70, Saul felt like all his dreams had passed him by and his work was and always would be all that he has. It scares me that I relate to Saul at age 34. Fortunately, Kitty stepped in to tell him that he wasn’t the only one who feels like he wasted time. If you’re alive, you can still go for it. Her speech ultimately inspired Saul to join Silver Studs, an online dating service for gay men of a certain age. Can we please see Saul on dates? I need more of Ron Rifkin and his expert delivery of lines like, “Nora, the last time you dated someone he went to jail, remember? So if I were you, I’d take a breath.”

Kitty’s monologue was moving. Unfortunately, it was also the first time that Robert (over)heard that she wanted to run for office. She’d had lunch with her friend/fellow college Republican Buffy (Cheryl Hines!), who thought it was a great idea for Kitty to run for Congress — and to start a rumor that Robert was asked about at his press conference announcing that he wasn’t going to seek re-election. He’s over the game and ready to leave politics entirely when his term is up. He was upset that Kitty didn’t talk to him first — as he pointed out, she almost divorced him because he decided to run for governor without speaking to her — but in the end, he totally came through. Why run for a crappy seat, when his would be open? “I would be right there with you, and we would kick ass,” he said. It was at that point that Robert and I made up. If he really can be that supportive, and find Kitty’s love of the game as sexy as he appeared to, then this will be a fun story arc.

Last, but not least, we get to Sarah, who, for some reason, thought it would be a good idea to invite Roy, the man who saved her at Paige’s science fair last week, to a family dinner on their first non-coffee date. I hope this guy is as good as he seems, because I’m falling for him about as hard as Sarah. One important aspect of an adult relationship is knowing that you can have a disagreement and it doesn’t mean that either of you are going to walk away. It’s always been an issue for me: I remember noticing that a friend used a softer voice when she disagreed with her husband, presumably because it was less threatening if he thought it was a baby questioning him. Not good. Sarah is looking for an adult, and Roy appears to be one. Not sure why she wouldn’t have spoken to Roy after the PTA meeting in which she unknowingly opposed his security committee’s recommendation that the school do random backpack and locker checks, but she just assumed he wouldn’t show up for the dinner party because she dared voice her dissenting opinion, and worse, did it in public. But he did show up, and he knew how to hold a conversation! We found out he’s a Republican (ha!) who’d read Kitty’s book, and that he likes a girl who holds her ground. He could be too good to be true, or he could be Sarah’s answer to Robert. Here’s hoping she doesn’t eff it up when Luc contacts her next week.

Your turn. What did you think of the episode?

Photo credit: Randy Holmes/ABC