My Review of Brothers And Sisters 5x11: "Scandalized"

Written by Veronica Becker And Sarah Kucserka
Directed by Bethany Rooney

Nora: “Kitty’s not even a politician anymore.”
Kevin: “I know. I can’t believe the attention she’s getting either. She’s even trending on Twitter. It’s like the good old days.”

Okay, so we’ll never be rid of Twitter then. Thanks Kevin, at least I have a reason to still keep my account open now but in all seriousness, Kitty and Seth’s relationship is proving to be this scandalous? I don’t know whether to laugh or feel like my intelligence is being insulted. There are good arguments for both cases actually.

Kevin might have spent way too much time in this episode sniping about Seth but that and a few idiot tabloid hacks that we didn’t even meet, no-one else seemed to really give a crap about Kitty dating a younger man. Even Seth’s mother, who could’ve blown up on Kitty wasn’t all that bothered.

Well, she did give Kitty a little insight into Seth and raised some fears that Kitty had herself about the relationship but as a viewer, it seemed that she was doing it more for concern and honesty rather than any outwardly malice, even if Seth himself didn’t seem to think so.

The age difference was always going to be an issue between Kitty and Seth because unlike Sarah and Luc, there’s an actual age difference but I really hope to goodness that this episode more or less got that out of the way. Kevin’s pretty much my favourite character but I actually thought he was rather nasty towards Seth in this episode.

Also, what 27 year old bloke hasn’t heard of Robert Redford at least in passing at one point or another? That came across as rather false and just seemed tacked on to make Seth look like an idiot when he’s a grown man. Nora for all her inappropriateness in this episode at least made a better to talk to Seth as did Scotty.

Usually some humour can be derived out of Kevin and Kitty quarrelling and while there were some funny one-liners, both of them were annoying. When Kevin wasn’t being snide, Kitty kept treating Seth like he was a child and neither of them made all that much of an effort to talk to Karl either.

Now Karl was another issue of this episode – why so shy about your book? Maybe it’s not the most interesting of stuff and maybe you aren’t a cocky git about it but you could’ve at least talked a little about the book and then tried your hand at another conversation. Karl didn’t even attempt to try to and interact with Kitty and Kevin either and spent most of the time during dinner looking pissed off.

However he had a point about the Walkers and their lack of boundaries. Time and time again we’ve seen the negative element of that and I couldn’t blame Karl for leaving at the end as well, though at least he wasn’t being ridiculed like Seth had been during that dinner.

As for Karl and Nora’s break up, that was definitely something I saw coming rather quickly. The fact that it was on air and not played for laughs was a bit surprising though. Seriously, Nora, you need to stop bringing your kids over during romantic meals but at the same time, Karl also could do with lightening up a little as well. Is it too much to hope that because of this latest break up, Nora has finally learned something?

Speaking of learning something, Kevin and Scotty’s progress for fostering kids certainly progressed in this one. The role playing scene seemed to be a vehicle for Kevin to getting over his own grief over the miscarriages from last season and the introduction of Olivia was sweet but a little contrived.

Olivia chose Kevin and Scotty off the bat – I’m not heartless, it was sweet and Olivia seems interesting enough but it had no subtlety to it at all and I am also hoping that the remainder of the season will finally solve the parenting issue for Kevin and Scotty and give them other storylines as well. Now that is something that I expect from the series.

Last but not least – Justin and Annie, I do like them but I already know this one isn’t going to last, so I don’t intend to get invested. It’s a shame though because the ambulance ride along was nice and Justin as a paramedic is a nice move for the series too. He’s definitely at his best with as well.

Also in “Scandalized”

When the episode first opened, I did almost think that one of the Walkers was going to be in hospital, so it was a relief that it was just Justin at his new job.

Justin: “I’d kiss you right now but I’m covered in blood.”
Annie: “Yeah but it’s better than vomit though, right?”

Karl’s book was called The Empowered Unconscious and it was thanks to Nora that we got the whole Robert Redford debacle.

Kitty: “You look like you’re sixteen in that picture.”
Seth: “That’s because I am sixteen in that picture. It’s my high school yearbook photo.”

Kevin: “Um, Karl likes us, right?”
Nora: “Yes. Yes, he likes you very much.”
Kevin: “Good.”
Nora: “In moderation.”

So that’s Kevin, Sarah and now (again) Kitty that have had relationships that have attracted media attention. Oh and Skinny Minnie was mentioned again.

Kevin (to Seth): “Don’t tell me you don’t know who Barbara Streisland is?”
Kitty: “Newsflash, he’s straight, Kevin.”

Nora: “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad, was it?”
Karl: “Oh yeah, yeah, definitely. It was a bit of a tantrum.”

Standout music: The Strange Familiar’s “Angel”.

Kevin (to Scotty, re Olivia): “I think she just chose us.”

Chronology: It’s the start of 2012 and there was no Sarah, Luc, Saul, Holly or David in this episode.

Despite Kevin and Kitty being both quite annoying in parts of this one, “Scandalized” was though another episode in a row that I quite enjoyed. However apart from Kevin and Scotty’s progression with parenting, it does seem like this season is still aimless though.

Rating: 8 out of 10.