Brothers and Sisters Recap – Can you keep a secret?

Poor Justin. He was forced to keep so many insanely huge secrets in tonight’s Brothers & Sisters episode, “Father Unknown,” that his head was about to implode. On the plus side, Justin was finally involved in the key family drama, which I really appreciated. You know who wasn’t involved…again? Kitty. OK, I get that Calista Flockhart asked for reduced hours this season, but her character’s absence is so sorely noticed during major family moments—from their grandmother’s funeral to tonight’s big news. Speaking of which…

A lot of crazy secrets and confrontations happened tonight, which is exactly how we love to see our “Brothers & Sisters.” First there was the issue of Brody. It didn’t take Justin very long to break down and reveal to Nora that Brody left because he lied about his blood type and couldn’t bear to see Nora suffer over this news. Nora immediately realized that this means Brody could be Sarah’s biological father after all. In true Walker fashion, Nora corralled Justin to help her conduct a “covert DNA test.” Props to Justin for the night’s best line: “I’ve done this before, I’ll have them put it on our tab!” Since Justin was forbidden to tell anyone else about what they were up to, this led to some shenanigans and awkward conversations among various family members as hair samples and baseball caps were collected.

The other big unraveling mystery regarded the major bombshell from last week—the strong possibility that Kevin and Scotty’s surrogate, Michelle, did in fact secretly carry their baby to term. Kevin and Scotty have such amazing chemistry, which means they play off each other so well in the best of times and in the worst of times. Their differing views in reacting to their baby news truly tested their love for one another. Legal-minded Kevin was ready to send armed troops after Michelle (not that I blame him) whereas Scotty (who was friends with Michelle) would prefer a more subtle approach. Unfortunately, when a fearful Michelle does reach out to Scotty to “work out a solution” (ahem, she just doesn’t want to go to jail), he neglects to tell Kevin. When Kevin discovers this tidbit of information by accidentally intercepting a phone call, the anger and hurt were palpable. The argument between Kevin and Scotty about how this situation was handled was truly intense and believable. To make matters more complicated, Olivia was due to arrive home from some camping trip. The same day Olivia arrived home, Kevin and Scotty got another special delivery—apparently Michelle dropped baby Daniel off at Justin’s and ran. Wow, this is going to have major repercussions for the entire family.

While all of this was going on, Sarah and Luc continued to stress about their wedding—which I could care less about at this point. But, fortunately for us viewers, Sarah will soon have her hands full with a more meaty storyline because the DNA test came back positive: Brody is Sarah’s father. Sarah was certainly shocked, but she seemed to handle the news relatively well—at least on the outside. Sarah is definitely the type of person who would act OK on the outside, but let the pain build up on the inside. That seems to be the direction we are headed, as she exclaims that William always was and always will be her father; and she never wants Brody to be a part of their lives. This does not bode well for her mother, Nora, who can never seem to catch a break with the men she falls for, as she is still in love with Brody.

• “What are you going to do, a covert DNA test?!” (Justin, kind of joking); “Yes!” (Nora, who is not joking. They are Walkers, so paternity DNA tests run in their…well, DNA).
• “Well it’s tied.” (Justin’s bad lying skills, covering that he is watching a hockey game at Kevin’s).
• “And you will no longer be my brother…” (Sarah telling Justin not to spill the beans on a surprise cruise to Nora). “Please don’t say that” (Justin, who knows too much).
• “I’m so happy I don’t know about that” (Justin knows one too many family secrets).
• “People need to talk…why don’t you two start!” (Justin sick of keeping family secrets and forcing his family to talk to each other! THANK YOU Justin).
•  “You gotta love a family whose response to a paternity crisis is food and wine” (Sarah).

On a scale of 1 to 10, how tense will Sarah’s wedding be? And, what are the odds her own sister, Kitty, doesn’t even show up?