November 12, 2006: Mistakes Were Made
Sarah, Kitty, Kevin, Tommy, Justin...
Rebecca. It looks like Sarah's suspicions were right and Rebecca is in fact their father's daughter. After all those combinations, the password, which was composed of William's children's initials, was actually relatively simple. Although, to be fair, no one knew about William's sixth child. Including, it seems, William himself. Holly's reason for hiding the truth from everyone, although apparently well-intentioned, seems to have made everything extremely complicated. And really hard on Holly. Did William suspect that Rebecca was his child? The extent of his relationship with Rebecca isn't quite clear, but he obviously thought enough of her to keep a photo of her at the ranch and to make her part of the password.
The past played a big role in tonight's episode, as we saw in the flashbacks of September 11, the family's reactions (including those of guest star
Tom Skerritt) and Justin's decision to enlist. Justin's fear of going back to war put him back on his self-destructive path, and in a matter of days he lost his girlfriend, his job and almost his life. Hearing William's prayer while watching Justin get rushed to the hospital was one of the most moving moments of the series so far, and it emphasized yet again how important a part of this family William continues to be.
Williams' presence was also strongly felt by Nora as she had her first real date with David. I liked how Nora emphasized how much she still loved and missed William, even though she was mad at him for the secrets he kept. Her feelings of sadness and love for her late husband make her relationship with David a little more complicated, but they also make it more real. It would have seemed too TV-perfect if she had just moved on in her relationship with David without any sadness or doubt.
Sarah's stepson was sad about the past, too, although his feelings were more about the past he wasn't a part of. Although struggling with work and despite the fact that motherhood hasn't been easy, Sarah still showed that she is a great mom when she told him what he means to her and what an important part of the family he is.
There wasn't much emphasis on Kitty's personal life tonight, although next week's previews featured
Rob Lowe. Hopefully next week we'll find out how the addition of his character will affect things between Kitty and Warren.
