Episode Title: "Spring Broken"

Synopsis: Kevin and Justin take Tommy on a much-needed mental-health vacation to clear his head about his monumental legal problems; while Robert recovers, Kitty goes to Nora's with her newborn son to get to know Ryan.

Guest Star: Luke Grimes

Discuss.

Good job. I'm loving Calista Flockhart more and more. I figured Tommy would run.

YES! So glad Tommy is gone. Don't ever come back you dumb piece of sh*t!!!!!

Overall, this episode was kinda eh. I don't know why but the acting seemed off. I don't know, it was like... half don't really care, half want to try to make it interesting even though it's boring. Whatever.

I did like that political throwdown with Kitty and Ryan. That was fun.

B-

It's rather fitting they have Tommy run off and disappear. He's a spineless jerk and that is totally in character. Or maybe I'm just having a hard time separating character from actor. Whatever the case, I really hope he never returns. Ideally, it would be best if he ended up dead, suicide preferable, since he's a coward who will always take the easy way out.

After the intensity of the last two brilliant episodes, this one definitely pales in comparison. Still a solid episode though. It really emphasized the strong bonds (both good and bad) between the three brothers - as well as the bond between Kitty and Sarah.

I also enjoyed the political banter between Ryan and Kitty. Luke Grimes had his first really solid scene as he tells Emily VanCamp's Rebecca that he thinks something is fishy with his mom's death (which looks to be true by way of next week's preview). Interesting....

All in all a solid episode - nothing spectacular but still quality.

I'm just really loving this show right now.

This was pretty good (for a "Brother & Sisters" episode). No eye-rolling monologues or banal screaming matches. The lack of Sally Field was a refreshing treat. Calista was very good here as well.

They've given Griffiths nothing worthy of her abilities all season, and that trend continued here. Ryan's reasoning for feeling uncomfortable around the Walkers was fairly cliche. The whole 'we're brothers, we must be there for one another thing' is getting old. We get it. You all love your gay and convict brother equally. Everybody loves one another. blah, blah, bland liberal cliches, blah.

Still a watchable ep with only a couple of unintentional laughs.

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"Spring Broken"

Good Episode, nothing as intriguing as the last few weeks...however it moved a few storylines along. I agree that the scene with Kitty/Ryan was an episode highlight. Ryan is becoming an interesting character, i'm curious to how his theory about William Walker plays out. Rachel Griffiths has been horribly underused...i'm hoping she gets a showcase before the end of the season.

I liked the brothers' trek to spring break and all that opened up, which was a nice contrast to the women at home with Ryan. Calista Flockhart has had a great run lately. I wonder if they'll actually have Kitty leave Robert by the end of the season. Sarah's conversation with Robert was interesting, in how Kitty detaches herself when she doesn't care anymore, and her arguing shows her love and passion and respect for someone. I was expecting Tommy to cop a plea and turn himself in, so him going on the lamb like that was a surprise, even though nothing's that easy for this show. I'd rather Tommy do his time and the family visit him on the holidays in the usual Walker way than him being some fugitive that can't be redeemed. Ryan's "secret" could have been a bit more something, though it does fuel his storyline in a huge way and gives him even more of a reason to hate William and possibly hate the Walkers by extension. They're going with the Ryan/Rebecca pairing at full throttle now, so that's that I guess. If they have to do a love triangle, I'd hope that Rebecca decides to try being single for awhile and leave them both alone, but I know that's not happening either.

Grade for "Spring Broken": B

I liked this entire episode. It was quickly paced, the storylines were all moved forward in grand fashion and all the characters got at least one big scene of there own. (at least the main characters). We finally learnt what Ryan's big secret was and what a doozy it just may be and i'm sure Holly will find a way to be involved in this one. I like that Ryan is coming between Justin and Rebecca even if inadvertantly and i think it will make it even sweeter if they ever get back together. I loved the whole spring break trip idea and how It was the catalyst for Tommy's quick departure. When they came into the room i had half expected that he had killed himself, but i figure that's probrally too graphic for a network show so they had him run. In either case i'm happy to have Tommy gone, he's a spineless, selfish jerk and has been the most boring character on this show since day one. One thing i cant' believe he would do is leave without even seeing Julia or Elizabeth---he supposedly loves them both so much so why wouldn't he man up and take a plea? but hey they want Balthazar Getty out so they got him out.

I really love the idea of Justin in Med school and his idea of writing his essay about "Starting Over" what an inspired idea. My favorite story of the night was Kitty's, it's being done in a very straight-forward and realistic way; it's not melodramatic and it's very interesting to watch as she does slowly detach from Robert. I loved Sarah and Robert's scene and how she was like "i'm going to totally overstep my bounds". I also like that Robert tried to be better to kitty.

Overall grade: A-

I love Rachel Griffiths and can never get enough of her, but I don't really think she has been as underused as some of you do. Really I think its about the same as the other seasons, except that this season she wasn't in every episode. What she is given she does a fantastic job with. I think she is a real contender for an Emmy with "It's Not Easy Being Green"

I loved the episode as usual...my favorite scene was the one between Kevin and Scotty about scheduling sex. I have had that exact conversation and my partner and I had a great laugh over it!

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Has anybody else noticed that when Matthew Rhys and Rachel Griffths have scenes together you can sometimes hear them slip out of their American accents and into their real accents? It's kind of distracting sometimes. I don't know if she ever did it on 6FU but it's pretty visable on this show sometimes.

quote:

Originally posted by Boidiva02:
Has anybody else noticed that when Matthew Rhys and Rachel Griffths have scenes together you can sometimes hear them slip out of their American accents and into their real accents? It's kind of distracting sometimes. I don't know if she ever did it on 6FU but it's pretty visable on this show sometimes.

I do notice it from time to time. More so with Matthew Rhys - but his accent is MUCH thicker in real life. On the season two blooper real on the DVD's, there's one particular blooper where Rachel Griffiths catches herself in the middle of a line reverting to her Aussie accent. It's pretty funny.

The stuff other than the spring break stuff was fantastic. Calista Flockhart is rockin the crap out of this season. I loved the dining table scene, and then the fun scene with Ryan, and her breakdown scene was just genius. She's gotta get an Emmy nom this year.

I also loved the scene between Griffiths and Lowe. It was an extremely effective scene. The writers have really given Lowe material to tear into and he's not disappointing. The ending between Kitty and Robert was great.

And, seriously, how good is Luke Grimes? I'm extremely impressed by him. He's come into the best ensemble on tv and held his own. In a scene with Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, and Rachel Griffiths, he's a compelling character to watch. Bravo to him.

The spring break was just alright, but kinda hokey. This could have been a series submission if it wasn't for that stuff.
I so called Tommy was going to run as soon as he said "I have to make some new footsteps".

B+

I like Ryan in his scenes with the Walkers, not so much in his scenes with Rebecca. The entire relationship feels so obvious, and the twist about his mother's possible suicide was a rush-job introduction that just felt silly: "By the way, girl I just met, I have a terrible secret: my mom killed herself because of William Walker!"

Also, I'm not sure I quite follow the progression of the Tommy character. This season, they turned him against Holly pretty abruptly, and they've turned him into a sanctimonious villain without much build-up. Then the eleventh hour reversal during Spring Break, and yet another reversal with that letter, which I suppose means that he fled to Costa Rica or something.

The rest was good. Calista Flockhard did wonderful, subtle work making the beleaguered mother storyline feel fresh and emotionally true. Her last scene, where Robert notices her "pulling away," was also impressive; she didn't seem to do much in that scene, but she communicates a lot with her eyes and half-hearted smile.

quote:

Originally posted by 742:
I like Ryan in his scenes with the Walkers, not so much in his scenes with Rebecca. The entire relationship feels so obvious, and the twist about his mother's possible suicide was a rush-job introduction that just felt silly: "By the way, girl I just met, I have a terrible secret: my mom killed herself because of William Walker!"

I have to agree, that storyline seems rather silly. He is just assuming she killed herself and how would he ever know for sure?

I think the episode was pretty good, very fun scenes and also some pretty good acting from Flockhart in her confession.

I definitely love the chemistry between these actors, I loved the scene with Sarah and Kevin in his apartment, it was great because they really did feel like brother and sister. Same with Kitty and Sarah and the three guys also did a fine job. Don't know, something I wanted to comment on that we've all said before.

As for Ryan and Rebecca, it sucks even more than Justin and Rebecca and we all pretty much thought it was 100% impossible, and yet they did it.

And Ryan and his mother, a bit too ridiculous, but also, what other thing could they do? we never saw anything with Ryan alone or another friend or a backstory, he just appeared with Norah on that coffee shop, his only backstory is that he's a Walker and his mother died and had an affair, so anything that comes from his past is gonna seem rushed and sudden.

And Tommy running away...pretty obvious once Justin came in alone to that place with Kevin.

I think both Flockhart and Lowe are doing a terrific job with this baby and the hearattack. Flockhart is on fire. As for Robert as a character, somebody needs to fight the hell with him and tell it to him like it is, and if he dies of a heart attach during the fight than so be it. He's an assh-le. I could feel the "you're divorced bitch...shut up about marriage" coming up. He pretty much said it to Sarah.

Grade: A-

quote:

Originally posted by Benito Delicias:

And Ryan and his mother, a bit too ridiculous, but also, what other thing could they do? we never saw anything with Ryan alone or another friend or a backstory, he just appeared with Norah on that coffee shop, his only backstory is that he's a Walker and his mother died and had an affair, so anything that comes from his past is gonna seem rushed and sudden.

I disagree. It wouldn't have seemed rushed if they had taken their time. Give him an episode or two to develop as a character and develop a relationship with the family. Give him some scenes that show him reacting to the ideas of mothers and motherhood, instead of having him all of a sudden freak out at Kitty talking about motherhood and then run to tell backstory to the nearest peripheral character. They could have revealed his suspicion about his mother to the audience without him confiding in another character at all -- maybe show him reading a letter or something else from his mother that might suggest suspicions about her death. That wouldn't have seemed rushed. Tons of ways they could have done it.

quote:

Give him some scenes that show him reacting to the ideas of mothers and motherhood, instead of having him all of a sudden freak out at Kitty talking about motherhood and then run to tell backstory to the nearest peripheral character.

But they did give him almost three episodes to process the issues of family and motherhood. He's spent a lot of time with Norah and the Walkers. Meeting Kitty and seeing her with a baby pushed him over the limit because he realized that while Nora is a good substitute, she's not his real mother, who died when he was only a baby. While i don't know if I like this plot point, it seemed pretty natural(at least for B&S) to me.

Calista Flockhart is rocking this season. She's been really really strong these past two seasons. While I don't see her nominated for an emmy, hopefully the Globes will decide to recognize her.