After it was resolved that Justin's deployment to Iraq would be delayed to allow him to work on his recovery, much of his story line has centered on his struggle to shake his addiction. But Justin's fears about going back to war were always there in the background. And tonight those fears became a reality in the worst way, as Justin found out at the last minute that his departure date was earlier than planned. At first I liked the way Justin handled his goodbyes individually — until, like Nora, I realized that he was saying goodbye for real, in case he wouldn’t be coming back. Even though I can see, rationally, how it doesn’t matter whether or not the word “goodbye” is actually said, I can understand how Nora felt that avoiding a formal goodbye would bring Justin back to her, as if not saying goodbye would make it impossible for him to die. Justin’s early departure coincided, unfortunately, with Kitty’s engagement party. He’d already said his ...
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The birth of Tommy and Julia’s twins has been anticipated by the Walkers all season long. Sadly, what should have been the happiest moment in Tommy and Julia’s lives turned out to be one of the most difficult. I can’t imagine how awful they must have felt, trying to decide whether or not their daughter should be a kidney donor for their son. Although he’s usually not a very emotional person, you could really see Tommy’s anguish when he told Nora that he was afraid when he saw his daughter that he wouldn’t be able to ask her to give her kidney, especially knowing how much she had been through. And although we haven’t seen much of Julia this season, Sarah Jane Morris really shone tonight in her portrayal of a mother saying goodbye to her son. I thought it was especially sad when the doctor asked Tommy and Julia if there were any final things they wanted to do, and Julia said she wanted to hold the baby.The other central story line tonight involved th...
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The wine tasting at Tommy and Holly’s new vineyard put Tommy at the center of tonight’s episode. The "center" of course being a place Tommy isn’t normally accustomed to being. He handled everything well, and he definitely came across as the voice of reason among the extended Walker family. Not that that was hard to do, what with the Walker siblings missing the point of the wine tasting and doing a fair amount of wine drinking. But Tommy’s toast was a nice tribute to his dad, managing to be both honest about his father's flaws and respectful of all he taught them. Unfortunately the episode didn’t end on a good note for Tommy. Hopefully the twins will be OK.Holly, on the other hand, didn’t exactly play the gracious host to the Walker family. In the beginning of the episode I actually felt sort of bad for her, which is unusual because Holly’s generally not the sort of character who generates a lot of sympathy. I don’t think Nora was really under ...
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It occurred to me that not being able to actually see what happened between Joe and Rebecca for so long gave us, as viewers, the chance to react the same way the Walkers did: based on what we heard. I know when Rebecca initially told Justin that Joe had kissed her (at the end of the “Game Night” episode) I totally believed her. She’s new to the family and trying to fit in — why would she want to do something that could jeopardize that?But then I read everyone’s comments and I realized that Rebecca might not be as innocent as she seemed. Could she be getting back at Sarah? Could she think, in some way, that making an accusation like this would help her gain the support of her new family?The “good” Rebecca and the “ulterior motives” Rebecca were both running through my head as I watched tonight’s episode, and, I have to say, I really wanted to believe that Rebecca was being honest. It wasn’t hard to think that, too, since Joe wasn...
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Joe kissed Rebecca. When Rebecca first came into the picture I never thought I’d be writing that sentence. I can’t believe Joe. It just seems so, well, out of character. Although I guess we don’t really know very much about him, to be honest. He’s a musician, he stays at home with the kids, he seems frustrated and bored at times, and his marriage to Sarah seems to have its problems. But basically all his on-screen time has involved his shared marital problems with Sarah, or, a few episodes back, his reaction to Paige’s diabetes. So I guess we don’t actually know much about Joe himself. But kissing his wife’s newly discovered half sister definitely doesn’t say very much about him as a person. And it seems especially creepy that it happened right after Rebecca told him about her much older ex-boyfriend. Was Joe taking that as a sign that she’d be interested in him as well? I’m not sure how Joe and Sarah’s already troubled marriage...
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Kitty supposedly went to Senator McCallister’s hometown looking for some commentary about how great the senator is from those who knew him first. She also secretly hoped to get some gossip that would be beneficial to her in her role as Robert’s girlfriend. What she found at first was pretty run-of-the-mill: a small town with nothing to do (well, nothing that didn’t involve artichokes) and a high-school sweetheart with generic nice things to say. But boy was Kitty ever in for a surprise when she found out exactly why Robert meant so much to his high-school girlfriend. I can’t believe Sarah and Kitty went to that keg party to begin with — although maybe that was the artiritas talking. And it did set up a good opportunity for Kitty and Alice to have a real conversation. For a second I thought they might say that Robert was the father of Alice’s high-school-age son. I’m glad they didn’t, as Kitty and Robert’s relationship already has enough ...
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In the last new episode, we saw everyone react to the fact that Rebecca is actually a Walker — everyone including Rebecca herself. The main focus tonight continued to be the fallout from the Rebecca situation, although tonight was less about reacting and more about interacting. And what better way for everyone to get to know each other than at a Walker family dinner?Though well intentioned, Nora’s dinner didn’t go as smoothly as she had hoped. Kitty was noticeably absent, Sarah asked prying questions, Kevin temporarily became a forensic scientist, and Justin just seemed to be trying to hold everything together. The only time anyone seemed comfortable was when the older four Walker children were making fun of each other: "This whole family loves to kid," Nora tried awkwardly to explain. Nobody did a great job at their first dinner with Rebecca, but it’s probably safe to say that Kevin’s hair-pulling was the worst. “I saw a split end, it’s just some...
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It was a surprise to hear Noah’s name mentioned tonight. After briefly appearing in the opening episodes, he seemed to disappear. I thought we were going to go through the rest of the season without hearing about him again. But in attempting to address her feelings toward Joe’s friend Vanessa, Sarah was forced to confront her own confusing extramarital friendship and how it affected the way she feels about her husband. Coming clean to Joe didn’t seem to help much, at least for now. In fact, Sarah looked so inconsolable during her solo visit to the therapist that it was hard not to wonder if Sarah and Joe were ever going to be able to get back to the place they were before. And Sarah’s marriage wasn’t her only problem. Tommy continued to distance himself from her and the rest of the Walkers by officially going into business with Holly, although not until he did some checking to make sure Holly was being genuine in her offer. The flashback scenes with William ...
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So much happened last night that it could have taken weeks for a typical family to sort out every event. Thank goodness the Walkers don’t keep secrets. All it took was one four-way conversation for everyone to know that Kitty slept with the senator, Kevin slept with Scotty, Justin slept with Tyler, and Nora spent the night in jail.Kitty and the senator were the big story, obviously. Once we found out that a business trip had them spending Valentine’s Day together, it became apparent that something would happen between them. Things started off romantically, but there's so much potential for complication. It seems fairly certain that issues will come up at work and/or with their families. On a side note, I did like the senator’s comment that he “always had a thing for Demi Moore,” Rob Lowe and Demi Moore of course both being members of the Brat Pack. Valentine’s Day didn’t go quite as smoothly for Kevin. Dealing with his ex-boyfriend and his secret b...
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"Medieval" and "mid-level" might sound similar, but unfortunately their meanings are very different. And a coat of arms and people in costume at Nora’s 60th birthday party were the least of the Walker family’s problems. Between drinking in closets and Sarah’s sex tape and grandmothers who don’t know when to refrain from commenting, it’s a wonder they even had time for cake.Nora’s mother (guest star Marion Ross) came as a surprise. I wouldn’t have pictured her as such an unpleasant person, based on what we’ve seen of the rest of the Walkers. I guess it takes all kinds to make up a family, though. I think what I liked most about this story line was the realistic approach to the tension between Nora and her mother. They came to an understanding and parted on good terms, but at the same time viewers got the sense that mother and daughter would continue to disagree from time to time. The situation wasn’t magically resolved, but if it had been...
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