Bolting
Written by Brian Studler And Sherri-Cooper Landsman
Directed by Richard Coad
9.0
"Superb"
Kitty: "Mom, you know what? I'm very proud of you. It sounds like you've developed some boundaries."
Nora: "Well, let me tell you, when your son is charged with embezzling from the family business, it does make you pause and rethink your parenting strategy."
That's good to know because as Sarah pointed out more than once in this episode, Nora does need to learn to dial down her needs to interfere in her children's lives and better late than never to learn such a lesson.
Of course, the idea of this is evidently very hard for Nora to actually swallow. She does live to intrude and backing off has never been a strong point. Ryan continuing to live with her is an excellent case in point.
When it comes to Tommy, it does seem that Nora is trying to distance herself from the whole thing. I can't see that lasting for long, especially given how this episode ended but trying to respect Tommy and Julia's privacy is a good thing for Nora to do.
That being said because she can't really interfere in Tommy's mess, it doesn't mean that Kitty gets off the hook and the latter certainly did set herself up for Nora's special brand of poking around. Kitty might be a little detached but she's clearly not that subtle at hiding her feelings.
You'd have to have been blind not to notice that the stress of being a new mother and trying to get Robert to look after himself was taking its toll on her. Robert himself doesn't exactly help matters either with his constant refusal to accept proper physical help and medication.
Getting her to a lunch with Nora, Sarah and Ryan certainly made for an illuminating plot. Kitty now has completed each of the Walkers to have met Ryan and unsurprisingly enough, she wasn't as apprehensive engaging with him than she was when she thought that Rebecca was the illegitimate child.
In fact one of the best scenes in this episode was having Ryan and Kitty argue over their political viewpoints. Nice reminder of the days when politics was more family discussion and less to do with Robert's career goals. Plus, it didn't really get vicious, even if one of Kitty's comments about family dredged up stuff about Connie in the mix.
However the important part of the episode was Nora and Sarah both realising that something was amiss with Kitty. Kitty only seemed to go to Nora more to get away from Robert and less to meet Ryan. Normally Nora could be accused of reaching for some drama but here, she was right and even Sarah had to admit.
Kitty finally admitting that she was having difficulties juggling taking care of Evan and Robert gave Calista Flockhart some great moments and it's really hard not to feel sorry for Kitty in this episode. Sarah even felt sorry to the extent that she tried to give Robert some friendly advice.
Usually when a Walker does this to a sibling's significant other, it's got 'bad idea' written all over but could anyone not see where Sarah was coming from? She was concerned about Kitty, expressed it to Robert but at the same time, she didn't demonise him either. All further reasons to assess the excellence of Sarah in this episode.
Robert wasn't particularly receptive to Sarah giving him some home truths about Kitty but he wasn't nasty either. Robert can be frustrating at times as a character to watch though but by the end of the episode, he was beginning to realise that Kitty was indeed pulling away from him.
Kitty and Robert have been struggling for ages with their marital woes and it doesn't take much to realise that things are more likely to get worse than better but fans of Rob Lowe are unlikely to have to worry about his role on the show just yet. I've been on Kitty's side and this episode doesn't change that, I'm afraid.
Another thing that doesn't really change is Tommy. Even when he's in deep crap, he still refuses to see it. The start of this episode had him ranting on the phone about Holly being primarily to blame. Much as I hate Holly, it's not like she told Tommy to go on an embezzling spree, now did she?
Giving both your brothers bed and board might be a good way of showing your generosity but Tommy and Justin obviously didn't waste much time in driving Sarah up the wall and she also realised that getting them out of her hair was much needed. By that, she had to use Kevin, who wasn't impressed with being called on to tackle his brothers.
Plenty of ways you could deal with Tommy and Justin – the best being calling them out on their crap. Tommy's refusal to take a plea really showcased his stupidity that Kevin was more than valid when he told Sarah that he agreed with what Tommy's lawyer had to say. Pity Tommy wasn't so willing to listen to common sense.
As for Justin's broken hearted broodiness over being dumped by Rebecca, probably best not to dwell on it too much. I get that he's heartbroken but I've spent most of this season actively disliking him and Rebecca as a pairing and I'm not gonna suddenly take an interest in them now.
Kevin decided to kill two birds with one stone by taking his brothers for a getaway. He wanted somewhere nice and luxurious whereas Justin and Tommy opted for the more surfing friendly environment of Baja. Needless to say, both Tommy and Justin ended up being the victors in this little battle for destination supremacy.
Well, they would've been victorious if the place in question hadn't been a hot spot venue for spring break. Out of the three of them, Tommy (the oldest might I point out) seemed the most game for being surrounded by a large amount of time with drunken college kids. Kevin and Justin on the other hand looked like they wanted to bury their heads in the sand.
To be fair, they did end up having good reasons for disliking this choice of venue. For Justin it was another reminder of his addiction problems and a deterrent in trying to write his letter for med school and it didn't help that Tommy tried to play matchmaker with him as well. For Kevin, well it meant that he had alcohol shoved down his mouth unwillingly (that has to be a first for a Walker) and he had to listen to co-eds talking about the hotness of guy and guy action. I bet you at least one of them girls probably writes or reads online slash in her spare time. On the other hand, Kevin did have a cute topless flirt with him for a second.
Kevin also has had some problems with Scotty recently but it only involved them trying to schedule in sex and even though Kevin's antics with Justin and Tommy prohibited him from getting some, at least Scotty doesn't take tips from Tom Scavo and goes into childish pouts.
However I kinda wished we had gotten more stuff with Kevin and Scotty in this episode. Their little scenes together were cute and they are the only functioning couple on this show just of late.
As for Justin, it was nice that Tommy eventually told him to fight for Rebecca but between Ryan's overt interest in her and Justin making out with Tessa (who was actually a lot of fun really); I have a feeling that Justin isn't exactly going to have it easy getting her back if he does at all.
It also felt weird that when Tommy came to a sensible conclusion by telling Kevin and Justin that he was going to take the plea (also after getting a beating for Justin by Tessa's boyfriend), he'd also then scarper the second their backs were turned.
I was really happy when Tommy had come to the realisation but I really don't see what he thinks he's going to achieve by fleeing. If anything, when he's caught, it'll make things worse on him and if jail time isn't bad enough, I'm pretty this act of cowardice will also finish off his marriage to Julia as well.
One other plot in this episode that was worthy of noting was Rebecca and Ryan. She seemed to pick up on the fact that he was interested in her and she shot him down in the nicest way possible, though Ryan denied being attracted to her.
One thing he didn't deny however was telling Rebecca that he thought his mother might have killed herself because of William. It's hardly an unrealistic conjecture and given how tainted William's been made with revelation after revelation, it almost wouldn't be that shocking either I guess but if it turns out to be true, I can only imagine how that would shift Ryan's budding relationship with the Walkers.
Also in "Spring Broken"
No previously on segment but we've been getting that a lot with these past few episodes.
Sarah: "Tommy, language please."
Paige: "Mom, its fine. He says damn all the time."
It seems that the writers are keeping with the more polite Paige than the brattier version we had earlier on in the season.
Ryan: "You promised you were gonna snap your way right out of this."
Rebecca: "I'm taking baby snaps."
Ryan: "Why don't we baby snap our way right out of the apartment, huh?"
Rebecca: "Ryan, I'm not feeling very fun right now or showered."
Ryan: "God, you are such a girl."
Tommy: "Dr Walker."
Justin: "I'm not a doctor yet, Tommy."
Tommy: "So, how old are you gonna be when they let you out?"
Justin: "Dude, you make it sound like I'm going to prison."
What papers exactly did Tommy give Kevin and Justin to hand over to Julia?
Ryan: "Growing up we had this rule. No religion, politics or sex at the table."
Sarah: "Oh don't worry. We hardly ever have sex at the table."
Tommy: "Who's the best brother in the world?"
Justin: "Yeah, you're such a prince."
Someone online mentioned that Justin's quip about Scotty seemed a little homophobic but given the way Justin is with Scotty, I doubt that somehow.
College Student (to Kevin): "I would totally want to watch you guys make out."
Justin: "Great, I'm an extra in a gay porn movie." Sarah: "How long does it take to make a cup of coffee?"
Kitty: "A lot less time than it does to convince our younger naïve brother that not everything in this world is a capitalist conspiracy."
Sarah (to Ryan): "Oh, you're taking on my sister already? I like you more and more."
Sarah and Ryan apparently have matching elbows but again, the suggestion of a DNA test doesn't factor into things.
Kevin: "What's going on?"
Justin: "I have an angry fraternity trying to kill me."
Kevin: "Are you kidding me?"
Kevin: "I hope the sex was worth it."
Justin: "The sex? We barely kissed."
Tommy: "What? We're about to get our asses kicked for first base?"
Standout music: The Ting Tings "That's Not My Name" and "Summer At Eureka" by Pete Murray.
Robert: "Well, I appreciate your concern and I don't think you should make assumptions about the marriage."
Sarah: "I'm not making assumptions. I know my sister. For Kitty, arguing is her way of expressing love, passion. When she pulls away."
Chronology: A few days since "Taking Sides" and we didn't have Holly, Julia or Saul in this episode.
I actually enjoyed "Spring Broken" for a lot of reasons – the Kevin/Tommy/Justin spring break antics, Ryan meeting Kitty, Sarah and Nora helping the latter and the lack of Holly all made for a great hour.
