My Review of Brothers And Sisters 4x10: "Nearlyweds"

Written by Molly Newman And Michael J. Cinquemani
Directed by Laura Innes

Rebecca: “You said you were excited about the baby.”
Justin: “Okay, what was I suppose to say? By the time you told me, you made the decision for us.”
Rebecca: “Are you serious?”

And Rebecca and Justin’s inability not to argue for a long period continues. Of course it would. Like this wedding was ever going to go without a hitch. Oh wait, the wedding didn’t technically happen, did it?

Justin was thanking his lucky stars when a hurricane of all things put the kibosh on having to marry Rebecca in Hawaii and it didn’t take much for Saul to needle that little nugget out of him, even though it was Rebecca that he should’ve had that conversation with. Then again, it wasn’t the only conversation he should’ve had with her.

While it was productive for him to go to an AA meeting and admit that he recently gulped some champagne and had serious doubts of fatherhood and marriage, did David really have to be at that particular meeting? This is LA for flip sake. Surely David could’ve been at any other meeting rather than the one Justin attended.

That being said, I did get where David was coming from. He might have been a feckless father but he does seem genuinely concerned for Rebecca’s interest, especially given that she confided her pregnancy in him first and his rant at Justin could’ve been far worse than it actually was. All David basically said was for Justin to be honest with her. I can’t blame him for that.

But the problem is that Justin picks the worst ways of being honest. Last week, he and Rebecca had to get into a fight just so she could tell him that she was pregnant and this week another fight occurred just so that he could drop a triple bombshell on her lap – flunking med school, unsure of marriage, unsure of fatherhood.

Out of those three little clangers, the med school one generated the least worry from Rebecca. No, she was pretty upset over the last two and spent the rehearsal dinner being largely quiet until Justin’s absence forced her hand into telling the Walkers that there might not be a wedding.

In one of those ‘screaming at the TV’ moments, I was shouting for Rebecca to hold her horses. Yeah, Justin partly didn’t show up because he didn’t want to face but also because he got to play hero. Any other series would’ve had him either knock down that child or be knocked down but instead Justin was putting some of the medical skills he acquired to good use.

It seems that if Justin’s surgery aspirations are going to go down the pan, then a future as an EMT is likely to be a nice possibility. I liked seeing this side of Justin because no matter how he doesn’t seem to believe in his own capability, the writers occasionally throw him a lifeline to prove that he’s not as useless as he thinks he is.

A lot of people would’ve panicked when seeing the kid on the road. The driver who hit him certainly did but Justin stayed and kept talking to him. It was even because of this that he was able to put things with Rebecca into perspective. Now all the writers need is some perspective. If you want us to root for Rebecca and Justin, have them argue less.

That being said, the strangest thing was Holly. I can’t believe how level headed she was over things. Not taking her anger out on the Walkers, trying to convince Rebecca that Justin loved, even telling David to back off a bit. I hate to admit it, but she’s been sort of great in these last few episodes. It’s like we’ve entered a parallel universe with the character. It can’t last, right?

And as for the wedding disrupter – poor Kitty. There she was reciting a lovely poem for her brother and soon to be sister in law and she collapsed at the end. I know it was telegraphed as hell but damn it, it’s affecting stuff. As an audience member, I still have no doubt of Kitty actually beating cancer but her family don’t have that same knowledge.

This week, a lot of the scenes were her waiting for her results. You had Robert unwilling to go to Washington until he knew everything and when Kitty got them, she made the unwise decision to lie to him. Kitty’s results were worse but she didn’t want anything to ruin her brother’s wedding. Sweet but deeply unwise.

Robert and the Walkers themselves aren’t going to be pleased when they find out that Kitty withheld that information from them but only because they care about her well being. And once again, Calista Flockhart pulled in another fantastic performance with this episode.

As for Tommy, why oh why does he have to be stupid? Even if Kevin hadn’t made a phone call, did he really think he was going to get away with bringing Elizabeth to Justin’s wedding without Julia’s consent? Then again, this was the same who nearly ruined Ojai last season to get rid of Holly, so I suppose the answer has to be yes.

It’s like Julia’s an ogre. She would’ve said yes if Tommy had at least asked her and it’s not like Scotty had to work very hard in order to get her to allow Elizabeth at the wedding. I laughed at that little scene where Scotty joked about people who marry into the Walkers needing a support group, only because he’s right of course.

Plus it does seem to be the case that if Tommy isn’t at loggerheads with Justin, then it has to be with Kevin. Come to think of it, it’s been with Kevin more and more since the third season. Kevin was right in this episode, something which even Tommy sort of admitted by the end of the episode. Maybe next time, he’ll think before doing something stupid like that again. Well, here’s hoping.

Speaking of stupid, I knew the minute Nora gave Simon a big cheque that he’d suddenly be a no show at the wedding. I was kind of hoping that Simon would actually be a good guy for Nora but it does seem to be more the case of him being a conman and Sarah’s previous misgivings about him being justified. And all it took was four episodes for Simon to reveal his true colours.

Also in “Nearlyweds”

Robert was originally meant to officiate at the wedding but Saul stepped in when he went to Washington.

Justin (to AA meeting): “I’m not ready to be a father and I’m not even sure I’m ready to get married. I love her and I wanna be with her. I just wish I knew a way out of this.”

This episode was directed by Laura Innes. You’d think at this point, the producers would give the woman a role. I’m sure they could find something for her.

Robert (to Kitty): “See, it’s this. Just sitting together in a waiting room, both of trying to pretend we’re not scared. That’s love.”

Tommy: “Did they tell you how babies are made in medical school?”
Justin: “Can you not pick on me for two seconds?”

I have to admit that Justin looked good in his all white suit for his own wedding. They also picked a good bridal dress for Rebecca.

Nora: “You were the one pushing me to take a chance on happiness and all that.”
Sarah: “I was, wasn’t I?”

Kitty: “What if we just don’t answer it?”
Robert: “Then we’d never know.”
Kitty: “Would that be so terrible?”
Robert: “Just answer the phone.”

No Ryan in this episode, then again it would’ve been odd seeing him at the wedding given that Justin hates him. And Kitty wore a short wig in this one also.

Rebecca (to Holly, re Justin): “You should’ve seen his face. It’s like the walls are closing in on him. He can’t this or me or any of it.”

Julia: “I wanna trust Tommy, I do but every time I let him in, even a little bit, I end up getting hurt.”
Scotty: “Julia, you and I have a lot in common. There should be a support group for people who marry Walkers.”
Kevin: “Gee thanks.”

Standout music: Jen Still’s “These Days”.

Nora: “May I give you some advice?”
Justin: “Mom, it’s my wedding day. I think it’s pretty much required.”

Chronology: November/December 2009.

“Nearlyweds” isn’t quite as superb as the other wedding episodes we’ve had but it’s a bloody brilliant hour for the series and being objective, while certain plot elements have frustrated me a little, I do think that this season so far has been on a par with the first season and hopefully the second half of the year is even better than the good stuff we’ve had so far.

Rating: 9 out of 10.