Brothers and Sisters: Meet Ryan Walker

Previously on Brothers and Sisters:

Ryan Lafferty (Walker) made his first appearance, but ABC doesn’t think you need to know that, because there are once again no previouslies. Lazy network monkeys.

Walker Manse. Nora is going out of town, telling Saul that she’s going to tour another facility for research for The Center. Saul thinks she’s running off because of Roger, so she has to tell him the truth – that she’s going to see Ryan. Saul is obviously skeptical as to what exactly she thinks she can do to make this kid feel better, but she feels like she can’t ignore him because he reached out to her. Also, she’s curious.
Robert’s Office. Kevin is questioning Robert about Kitty’s non-reaction to the big Governor news. Apparently, she needed to think. And went to bed. Kevin points out that she is now a ticking time bomb and she will blow up eventually. Like, right now, as Kevin whisper-shouts, “Incoming! Incoming!” and she walks in. She’s acting totally fine and cool with everything, in the way that WASPy housewives have been acting for decades.

Justin’s Apartment, where he is leaving Rebecca several voicemails, wondering where she is and if she’s okay, and reminding her that she sometimes turns her ringer off and she can fix that with the button on the side of her phone. Aw.

Rebecca’s still at David’s, aka her father’s. He’s heading off to a gallery, where he’s setting up a small show. She sort of pathetically says she’ll go with him (she can be dressed and ready in five minutes, which I call bullshit on). He’s also giving her a set of keys, and they agree to do take-out for dinner. She continues to not answer her phone.

Nora arrives at a coffee shop or something, where she introduces herself to Ryan, who seems to work there. He seems surprised to see her, but offers to get her a coffee while she waits for him to get off work. That is so Nora, to just show up at this kid’s place of work, without calling, and expect him to greet her with open arms. Oh, Nora.

Robert’s Office. Kevin is lurking outside Robert’s office, like literally peeking his head around the door. Robert finally tells him to get his ass inside, and Kevin tells him that Kitty’s interview was sent over and asks if he’d like to comment. Why would he like to comment? Well, apparently, this is her blowing up and she’s said some not great things about Robert or the campaign, I guess. Kevin offers him some statements, but Robert would rather he killed the story all together. Uh-oh – looks like the little wifey has stepped out of line.

Back at the coffee shop, Ryan has brought over an apple fritter for Nora, and he’s found someone to cover the rest of his shift, so he can come and talk to her. That was pretty nice of him. Nora is talking to Saul on the phone, who thinks she’s getting too invested, especially since she’s decided to stay the night at a bed and breakfast.

Ryan finally comes over and sits down, apologizing for his rudeness earlier. Nora reassures him that they’re all well aware that George is his father, not William, seeing as how Kitty is adopting a baby and all that. She’s brought some pictures anyway, and he starts asking questions, like if she knew about his mother. He has time for a long story. You know, he looks sort of like a poor man’s Robert Pattinson, only less British, if that makes any sense.

Rebecca has shown up at the gallery, despite her father telling her not to bother. He does ask her for some help, which is nice of him. Her phone rings some more, and she ignores it some more. She thanks him for letting her stay, but he tells her that’s not necessary, seeing as how she’s his kid and all. He tries to talk to her about some of his photographs, but she goes back to how they don’t have a typical father-daughter relationship. He asks about her mom, but Holly doesn’t even know she’s there, though they’ve apparently been getting along great. She then tells him that the Walkers are aware that she’s not related to them, and that she’s in fact dating her former half-brother. He thinks that’s as weird as we all do and deems it unexpected. “Unexpected” doesn’t seem to do that particular relationship justice, now does it?

Holly is leaving Rebecca a message, and wants to know if she’s ok. She’s actually calling her from Justin’s apartment, presumably at his request. He says they didn’t have a fight and he has no idea why she left. He gets snappy with her when she questions whether or not he’s being completely honest. He actually yells at her and basically says he’s tired of her crap, so I guess he’s sort of blaming her and Tommy for this whole situation. Actually, he was being kind of a drama queen about it, with the unnecessary yelling and all that.

Nora and Ryan are now taking a stroll, still talking about William and his asshole ways. In fact, Ryan is getting pretty upset at this point, because he was hoping that his mother’s affair was with someone that was worth it, and William seems like just an asshole. Nora’s like, “For reals.” She tries to assure him that it will get easier, but he’s basically done at this point, so he leaves to go study.

Rebecca and David are looking at some more of his photos at the gallery. She decides to finally answer her phone, and Justin flips out on her. She tells him she’s with friends, and he’s like, “Yeah, and not accepting my calls.” She makes sure he didn’t tell Holly about Tommy, and then hangs up on him. I really don’t get her trauma right now – is she this upset about the Tommy thing, or is it the fight with Justin? I don’t know.

She then texts Holly, telling her that she’s out of town for a few days. Holly asks Tommy if he’s heard from her, and he seems unconcerned, as if that would surprise anyone. She goes to check Rebecca’s calendar, and finds copies, that Rebecca presumably made, of all of Tommy’s shenanigans. She looks troubled? Shocked? Hungry? I’m not sure, because Patricia Wettig is not giving me much to work with, as far as her facial expressions go.

Robert’s Office. He’s quoting some of Kitty’s interview, which includes, “The Republican Party has lost its way. It’s not my party.” Well, we knew they’d liberalize her eventually. She also said, “My husband doesn’t need an aphrodisiac, he does just fine with women on his own.” Oh, snap! He reminds her that the reason he’s done badly in campaigns before was because people thought he cheated on his wife. He asks if it’s really that hard for her to portray their marriage as even remotely stable, and she finally yells that yes, yes it is. She’s obviously pissed that he made the decision about Governor without her, and that he doesn’t consider her point of view. He tells her that she knew what she was getting into when she married him, and that’s just kind of an easy way out, you know? Like, he can behave as awfully as he likes and completely ignore her, and that’s all OK because “she knew what she was getting into.” Bullshit, Senator.

Kevin’s apartment, where he gives Kitty a glass of wine. She has gone to him for refuge, which I think is nice. I would have expected her to go to Sarah’s, but I guess he knows more about the situation. She tells him that’s it’s more than the Governor thing, and that the fact that they’re having a baby makes her nervous, given that they seem to be growing apart. Kevin thinks she should just ask him to sit this race out, but she says she can’t because she knows he’d say no.

David and Rebecca are eating dinner, and she’s still claiming that she just decided to come for a visit. He thinks the fact that she didn’t email or call first suggests that she might be running from something. He thinks she’s being disrespectful, what with the evasiveness and the just showing up to hang out. Apparently, when he left LA last time, it was to give her space and to let her pretend to be a Walker. I do not remember this version of events at all. I remember him just up and leaving and both Rebecca and Holly being pretty upset about it. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but this seems like someone’s screwing with the continuity a bit. Anyway, he just wants to know what she wants from him at this current state in her life, but she doesn’t know. As she leaves, she tells him that her mom was right – “You only care about yourself.” Ouch.

Saul’s place, where Holly has stopped by to ask him some questions about the papers she just found. Of course, Saul already knows what Tommy’s plan was, so he starts getting nervous as she starts picking apart the contracts. She says she’ll just take the papers to legal, so he quickly says he’ll figure it out and claims that everything is fine and dandy. He realizes that Tommy has indeed gone through with his idiotic plan, and gets scared.

Nora’s asleep at her bed and breakfast, and gets a phone call. She assumes it’s Saul, for reasons unknown, but it’s in fact Ryan. She comes downstairs and he’s actually there, in the middle of the night. He looks teary and says he didn’t know where else to go. She goes to him, like she always will. Tells him it will be OK. He says he doesn’t know what to do and that he can’t do it anymore. It will be alright, she tells him. I’m here.

He can’t get over what his mother did and that she lied to him all those years. She tells him that his mother was just trying to protect him, and compares it to her turning her head from the William and Holly thing. To protect her family. He puts his head in his hands, and she reaches out to him, offering him the only thing she can – she apologizes. For William’s mistakes and for her ignoring them. And she calms him. She makes it better, at least for tonight.

Robert’s Office. Kevin tells the Senator that he’s not killing the story. That it’s a good interview and Kitty deserves it, and that he really doesn’t think it will damage the campaign. Robert needs to talk to Kitty about it himself. I feel like this scene wasn’t really necessary.

Some bar, where Rebecca is drinking her mysterious sorrows away. David has come to look for her, and says he was out of line. She says she shouldn’t have expected anything more, which I think is harsh and entirely uncalled for. She claims that all of the men in her life have let her down, including Justin, which I feel like we haven’t really seen. He says that he shouldn’t have let her go and that he hasn’t earned her trust enough to expect her to talk about her problems with him. But she decides to tell him about her “crazy theory about Tommy Walker trying to drive (her) mom out of business.” Heh. That crazy Tommy Walker.

Saul has called Tommy over and tells him about Holly and the contracts. Tommy thinks there’s nothing to worry about, but Saul wants to know where he got the money to buy the land initially. Tommy just points out that his dear dad took money from the pension funds, and sometimes, you just have to do illegal things to accomplish your nefarious goals. Tommy doesn’t seem to think that Ojai should be Holly’s at all, despite her totally saving their asses. Saul just shakes his head at his nephew’s complete and utter ridiculousness.

Senator Ranch. Robert apologizes (finally!), claiming that her opinion actually means more to him than anyone else’s and that’s why he didn’t tell her, because he knew she’d say no. He tells her that if he had to pick her or Governor, he’d pick her. She says she can’t sit back and not speak her mind, and he claims that he wants to make it work. But, does apologizing and saying that you want to make it work really make everything better? Shouldn’t he be showing her, instead of telling her? Ugh.

Ryan’s Coffee Shop. Gosh, he sure is cute, isn’t he? He says he was having a bad night and that she should forget about it, but she wants to help him. She tells him about his five brothers and sisters, and then gives him a plane ticket, so that he can come and meet them all. He is in shock about the plane ticket, and laughs at how enthusiastic she is about him coming to visit. He bites his lip and smiles and generally looks very pretty and happy for the first time this whole episode. And Nora did that. She held him in her hands and made him feel safe enough to open up. To her, and now to the rest of her (his) family. He looks completely baffled at her awesome mom-ness.

David’s apartment, where Rebecca is preparing to go back to California. She says she’ll call if she needs to talk and assures him that his show will be a hit. She gives him his keys back and leaves without a hug or anything. I’m not sure if that was nice, or awkward.

Holly has indeed gone to a lawyer, and is informed that Tommy formed the Omni company that actually bought the land. She realizes that he’s trying to get the majority of the shares, and the lawyer offers to get into it.

Kitty comes to see Kevin at work, and tells him that her and Robert talked and they’re fine for now. She then tells him that she’d like to get in touch with the Times and edit some of her statements. Kevin is once again put in an uncomfortable situation when he has to tell her that Robert did indeed kill the story. Oh, Robert, you ass. Kevin calls her Kit again and tells her that Robert told him that she was fine with him running. She gets quiet again and shuts down, assuring him that it’s just a story and she’s fine. He tries to call out to her, to reach her, but she’s already gone.

Nora is waiting outside the bed and breakfast for her cab, but Ryan has called and has decided to not join her. She is sad.

At the airport, David comes to see Rebecca before she goes and says that lots of things have changed since last year. He doesn’t want to keep making the same mistakes, and now she hugs him. Aw. And then he tells her he’ll be joining her on the plane and coming to LA with her. Awwwww. He puts his arm around her and ushers her forward, taking his daughter home. OK, now that was nice.

In Two Weeks: A 2-Hour Movie Event! Kitty’s baby is born and Robert may or may not make it in time. The shit hits the fan with the whole Tommy-Holly thing and there will be A Shocking Death!

You know, with all of the rumors going around about Balthazar Getty leaving the show (as I’ve discussed previously), I really hope he’s not the one who dies. Don’t get me wrong – I want him off my TV as much as the next person, but I don’t want the Walkers dealing with another family death. I particularly don’t want Julia to lose her husband after first losing a child and then being left alone with their daughter. I’d rather see him go to jail for his stupidity. What do you guys think? Who do you think will die? Let me know!