Troubled Waters (2)

Season 3, Episode 17, Aired

Episode Summary

EDIT
go
Netflix
Subscription
Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy
9.3
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Superb
138 votes
  • Your Rating: 10
    "Perfect"
  • Your Rating: 9.5
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 9
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 8.5
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 8
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 7.5
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 7
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 6.5
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 6
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 5.5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 4.5
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 4
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 3.5
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 3
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 2.5
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 2
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 1.5
    "Abysmal"
  • Your Rating: 1
    "Abysmal"
Rate Now!
The Walker family experiences the thrill of a new life born and the desperation and terror of loss when one of their own has a life-threatening crisis. Meanwhile, Rebecca turns to her father for help when she discovers some information that could destroy the family business and send one of the Walkers to prison.moreless
WRITE A REVIEW

Cast & Crew

See All EDIT

Watch Online

Netflix
Subscription
Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy

Fan Episode Reviews (5)

See All

  • Anyone know sang Bridge Over Troubled Water in this episode?

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By singerchevannes, Jan 18, 2011
    This classic episode shows Brothers & Sisters at its finest with all the twists and turns we've come to expect from this great series. The show is joyous - and frustrating at the same time! Can you imagine having a family of 'hot heads' like that?! It works great on TV but in real life .. hmmm! The song 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' features in this episode - a female voice - does anyone know who the singer is? If you know, please leave a reply here or mail me at glen@hknott.freeserve.co.uk. Thanks all and keep on watching and enjoying!moreless

  • We learn Roberts fate

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By vicky24c, Jan 09, 2011
    In this episode of Brothers and Sisters, the following happens. Robert is rushed to the hospital, where his son has just been born. We then see Nora running through the hospital and seeing Robert have CPR performed on his lifeless body. Sarah's goes to get Kitty who is with her new born baby, and she has to break the bad news to her.
    So Kitty rushes down stairs to see Robert, after learning that he has had a heart attack. Kitty is allowed in to see him, but Nora and Kevin have to wait outside. But soon Robert is rushed away for a life saving procedure. When Kevin finally sees Scotty, he is really upset and even starts to cry. So Scotty takes Kevin to go and see the baby, his new Nephew. Holly starts with baby Elizabeth whilst everyone heads to the hospital and stumbles across some incriminating evidence. Robert has the surgery on his heart and it all goes very well. When he comes round he and Kitty agree to name their son, Vena after his birth mother. Robert tells Kevin that he is still planning on running for Governor. Tommy has a change of heart about getting Holly out of the company and so he cancels the meeting which was organised for the next day, to vote Holly out of the company. But as soon as he does so, Holly comes into his office and confronts him about the whole situation. Justin tells Rebecca that he wants to go back to school. Sarah gets a phone call from Saul about Tommy, and we then see Tommy at home with his wife and the police are taking away his files in boxes. Rebecca answers the front door of the house and is greeted by Ryan.moreless

  • Near Death Written by David Marshall Grant And Molly Newman Directed by Ken Olin

    10
    "Perfect"
    By shawnlunn2002, May 01, 2009
    Robert: "Kitty, if this gets out."
    Kitty: "No. You missed the birth of our son. I'm not going to let you miss the rest of his life, I don't care. I don't care about your campaign. I don't care how long it takes you to recover. You are going to have the surgery."
    Robert: "Okay."
    Kitty: "I'm gonna tell them that you're ready. It's going to be okay."

    When Kitty lays down the law, she certainly goes out of her way trying to enforce it. The fact that even Kitty doesn't care about his campaign really should tell the writers something on how the viewers are perceiving Robert's 'career before all else' attitude that he's got going on.

    When someone has as massive a health scare as Robert, it makes no difference how ambitious they are in their line of work; they should be realistic enough to back down for the right amount of time to recover. Nearly dying however doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent for Robert.

    When he was first escorted into the hospital, he was desperate to leave. I hate the place as much as the next person but even I wouldn't be so eager to leave if I had just suffered from a heart attack as serious as Robert's. The trailers for this two-parter might have teased the notion that Robert was going to potentially meet his maker but I can tell you already that he survives this episode, which should please Rob Lowe's legion of female admirers or anyone who vaguely likes Robert.

    From that standpoint even I'm sort of glad that Robert survives but a part of me did want to shake him throughout the episode. When he first arrived at the hospital he wanted to leave and that was before he crashed on the cart. Some truly effective scenes in this largely hospital dominated episode, I'll give you that.

    When Kitty came to see him, he kept up the desperation to want to leave by trying to get the doctors to go another route instead of open heart surgery. I loved that Kitty laid the law down and more or less told Robert to cop himself on. Even without the fact that they just both became parents, Kitty had every right to snap Robert right out of it.

    Experimental procedures or not, Robert really needed to be told to slow down because quite frankly, he behaved incredibly stupid throughout the entire episode. Kitty certainly had enough on her plate so Robert being more focused on just announcing his plans to run for governor was even more frustrating than usual.

    The writers threw in some tense moments with the operation, there could've been hiccups but dealing with various reactions was nice. Nora and Justin's little moment where she praised the latter for trying to calm everyone down with a little medical information dump was nice.

    Say what you want about Justin but in this crisis, he was best one of the bunch. His level-headedness was certainly needed during those moments but the fact that he couldn't see his own worth until Nora had to practically bulldoze it into his skull was a little sad. Yes, Justin screws up from time to time but he's not hopeless.

    However Kevin's reaction about Robert's health felt a little too much. That's not a criticism at Matthew Rhys (who was just fine) but more of the writing. Maybe Kevin does like Robert and maybe losing him would be terrible but there was something about that scene with Scotty that rang a little false for me.

    Sarah, Tommy, Saul and Julia didn't really react all that much to Robert's condition in the episode. Julia wondered aloud about how Robert might have been unlucky to get a heart attack while all that Sarah did was be the one to tell Kitty about Robert at the start of the episode.

    Nora's panicking initially in this episode was earned though. Of course she was going to worry for Robert but it also made sense that she would put a brave face on things and is there for Kitty. Kitty and Nora's scenes in this episode were definitely a highlight, no doubting that.

    Robert getting out of the woods should definitely be a good thing but given that he got Kevin to issue yet another press release that included his ambitions for governor, I can see that divide between him and Kitty widening. He did promise her that he would take it easy and then he went behind her back again.

    I don't doubt that Robert's feelings for being a father and wanting to save his marriage are insincere but it doesn't look good for him when he keeps making the same mistakes over and over again. Kitty really did look like she was on her last nerve with Robert and his obsession with the campaign.

    As for the baby, Evan's a lovely name and not too clich in TV baby names. Kitty wanting to adjust the arrangement with Trish so the latter could get some extra with the baby was decent, though I can understand why Trish preferred to keep things the way they were. I certainly don't want her to come back next season in a custody battle arc but anything else would be fine.

    Nora getting the video camera as Kitty was changing him was a good moment of bonding. Kitty obviously rates Nora sometimes and here's hoping that things do work out with her and Evan. I don't go googly over babies (I've got seven nieces at this point) but the child was cute, no denying that I guess.

    One of the interesting pointers of this episode was having a brief little scene with Kitty and Kevin. Kevin teasing on the baby's name was fine but Kitty thanking him for getting Robert to the hospital made for a good moment between the two of them. Both Kitty and Kevin went through the ringer in this episode.

    As for Sarah, you can't blame her. The time might have sucked but given that Tommy has screwed Ojai over in order to oust Holly, she had every right to keep nagging him and Saul until she got the whole truth from him. Tommy really had to pay the piper for this mistake.

    His fate of doom was sealed the second that Holly stopped by to Julia for some inconvenient girl talk. I'm surprised that Julia didn't actually cop to the fact that Holly was acting twitchier than usual. Holly's not exactly that great at concealing her feelings. Plus she's massively untrustworthy.

    Someone had joked on a few forums that when Julia left Holly to mind Elizabeth that Holly was going to snatch the child. Fortunately even Holly seems to have a limit as to how long she'll stoop but she certainly didn't waste any time in snooping around to find anything that could incriminate Tommy.

    Word of advice, Tommy if you're going to scam Holly, you should really get rid of any kind of evidence that could end seeing you thrown into the pokey instead. Holly had no trouble in getting what she wanted and bragging to Rebecca about it as well. Tommy might be an idiot but I still hated Holly during that scene.

    Something else I truly hated was Holly telling Tommy that 'desperation was so unappealing'. This coming from the same woman who's spent the last three years sinking her claws into the family business of the married man she was sleeping with. Holly really should be introduced to the phrase, 'pot, kettle, black'.

    Needless to say, not only did she tell Tommy in great detail that she knew what he was trying to do to her (it wasn't me, he really was bricking it) but she certainly made damn sure to call the authorities on him. Tommy might deserve the smackdown of sorts but hell is more likely to freeze than for me to offer an ounce of compassion to Holly.

    Someone who might be more deserving of it thought was Rebecca. I'm not saying she's exempt from her bratty behaviour in previous episodes but I certainly liked that some conflict was conveyed when she was telling David the conflict that Tommy's plot was going to have with her, the Walkers and Holly. It's a pity that Holly wasn't similarly thoughtful.

    I also have to admit that the make up scenes with Justin and Rebecca were also a lot better than expected in this episode as well. I mean, they should still break up but I did feel a touch sorry for the both of them. Maybe in a different world I would actually want these two to get together.

    As for Justin wanting to be a doctor, I really approve of the idea. Justin needs some focus in his life and viewers are more likely to take an interest in this than his relationship with Rebecca. Besides, he certainly has a fair amount of knowledge and some experience on his side.

    Ryan showing up at the end wasn't that much of a shocker but it worked reasonably well. Organically it was the only way he could be written into this whole two-parter saga and the differing reactions from Justin and Rebecca when they realised who he was does have good potential for future episodes.

    Also in "Troubled Waters Part 2"

    Nora rushing to see Robert from the last episode was indeed added to this episode.

    Holly: "When Rebecca was little, she would've loved a backyard like that."
    Julia: "Well thanks to Rebecca, Elizabeth's gonna have one."

    Julia talked about Tommy promising her a new back yard and a car which only added to Holly's determination to expose him.

    Nora (re Justin): "He's right. You should take a deep breath and relax."
    Sarah: "Yeah."

    Kitty: "Robert, you nearly died today."
    Robert: "But I didn't."
    Kitty: "Well, you're damn lucky. My father died of a heart attack on my birthday and now you have one on the day our son is born and I'm sorry but I'm not gonna let history repeat itself, I won't."

    We learned that Robert is 44 in this episode. Rob Lowe himself in real life is a year older than his character.

    Nora: "You were so calm, explaining everything to everyone. I forgot how good you are in a crisis."
    Justin: "Mom, you forgot because I'm usually the one causing a crisis."

    Scotty (re Evan): "Uh-huh and I think you'd better meet him before you do anything else."
    Kevin: "I don't feel presentable right now."
    Scotty: "It's okay, he won't mind. He's all blotchy too." Scotty didn't have a whole lot to do in this two parter but I loved him being there for Kevin when he was needed.

    Unlike ABC, More4 aired both of these episodes separately so the credits were changed to suit each episode.

    Rebecca (re Justin): "I don't wanna lose him. I'm in love with him."
    David: "Well that's all you need to know."
    Rebecca: "You really believe that?"
    David: "I do."

    I just realised that Ken Olin had the honour of being credited three times during this two parter what with him being a guest star, executive producer and director.

    Tommy: "Holly I swear I wasn't gonna go through with this."
    Holly: "And you expect me to believe that?"
    Tommy: "Holly!"
    Holly: "Don't. Desperation is so unappealing."

    Nora: "You're gonna be a great mother."
    Kitty: "Learned from the best."

    Standout music: The incredibly appropriate "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Quincy Coleman springs to mind.

    Rebecca: "Justin, promise me something."
    Justin: "Anything."
    Rebecca: "No matter what happens, we'll get through it."
    Justin: "I promise. Rebecca, I love you."

    Chronology: Exactly where "Troubled Waters Part 1" left off.

    "Troubled Waters Part 2" certainly wraps this story up in a nice way. Sure, there's more conflict for Kitty and Robert a coming and Tommy's certainly on his way out but overall, this is the kind of quality that the show should be delivering more often.moreless

  • This second part of the double episode was also classic brothers and sisters drama.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By hrgaffney, Mar 03, 2009
    This second part of the double episode was also classic brothers and sisters drama. The story carried on exactly from where part 1 left off. The acting and writing of both parts were absolutely superb. The emotional scenes when the baby was finally here were just wonderful. There was so much emotion throughout and so much wonderful drama. The scene at the end where Tommy has been arrested was so well done. This was the best couple of hours of drama that I've seen in ages. Hats off to Brothers and Sisters for making such a triumphant drama for us to watch!moreless

  • It's time for the birth of Robert and Kitty's baby, and Robert has a medical crisis.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Writer2000, Mar 02, 2009
    Let me just start off by saying that all things considered, I absolutely loved this episode. While the promos for this episode were misleading when they said that there would be a shocking death and in the end no one really died for good, I still loved this episode. There were so many great things about this episode. The highlight of this episode for me was definitely the family dinner at the beginning of the episode. Two other things that I loved about this episode were definitely Justin and Kevin's storylines. It's so great seeing Justin finally start to figure out what he wants to do with his life. Kevin's storyline in this episode was just great in general. Matthew Rhys' performance as Kevin in this episode was outstanding. Scotty was great in this episode too. I loved all of the Kevin and Scotty scenes too. It was great seeing David come back and put Holly in her place. I loved all of the scenes with Nora, Kitty and Trish when Nora and Kitty were trying to distract Trish by telling her about Ryan and everything that's happened with their family. As for the ending of the episode, I absolutely loved that too. It was definitely very exciting with Tommy getting arrested and Ryan unexpectedly showing up at the Walker's house. The whole cast did an amazing job in this episode, especially Sally Field, Dave Annable, Calista Flockhart, Rob Lowe and Matthew Rhys. In closing, I thought that this was a very well written, well acted and well made episode of Brothers & Sisters from everyone involved, and I can't wait to see the next episode of Brothers & Sisters.moreless
WRITE A REVIEW
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

See All

FILTER BY TYPE

  • TRIVIA (0)

    ADD TRIVIA

  • QUOTES (8)

    ADD QUOTES

    • Kitty: Robert, you nearly died today. Robert: But I didn't. Kitty: Well, you're damn lucky. My father died of a heart attack on my birthday and now you have one on the day our son is born and I'm sorry but I'm not gonna let history repeat itself, I won't.

    • Nora: Rule number one, when the baby naps, you nap.

    • Nora: Alright. You want Robert to miss it? Kitty: He's not going to miss it, okay? There's going to be so many diapers to change. He's going to be changing diapers over and over and over again. Nora: Be careful of that little penis. It's a sprinkler system. Kitty: Don't worry because I have this ... Nora: What the hell is that? Kitty: A pee pee teeepee.

    • Robert: Oh, look at him. I'd forgotten how little newborns are. Kitty: I know. Robert: He needs a name. Kitty: He does. Robert: What's it going to be? Connor or Ben? Kitty: I had an idea. Trish gave us this gift and I thought maybe it would be nice if we honored her. Robert: I think naming him Trish would be child abuse. Kitty: Trish Evans. Robert: Evan. Kitty: It means peaceful warrior.

    • Sarah: (about Tommy) Would you just try talking to him, because he won't tell me anything. Kevin: Say what? Sarah: Say that we think he's trying to get rid of Holly and he can't break the law to do it. Kevin: Sarah. Robert is having by-pass surgery. I don't have a place in my brain for this right now.

    • Scotty: You know, your friend has a new son. You have a new nephew. Kevin: Have you seen him? Scotty: Uh huh. And I think you'd better meet him before you do anything else. Kevin: I don't feel presentable right now. Scotty: It's okay, he won't mind. He's all blotchy too.

    • Nora: You were so calm, explaining everything to everyone. I forgot how good you are in a crisis. Justin: Mom, you forgot because I'm the one usually causing the crisis.

    • Robert: Kitty. If this gets out ... Kitty: No. You missed the birth of our son. I'm not going to let you miss the rest of his life. I don't care. I don't care about your campaign. I don't care how long it takes you to recover. You are going to have the surgery. Robert: Okay. Kitty: I'm going to tell them that you're ready. It's going to be okay.

  • NOTES (3)

    ADD NOTES

  • ALLUSIONS (0)

    ADD ALLUSIONS

Brothers & Sisters Forums


Add a Topic See All
Last Activity
Replies

Watch Brothers & Sisters Full Episodes

See All

Related Shows

Season 3 Episodes

See All
Ep 24
Mexico
Ep 23
Let's Call The Whole Thing...
Ep 22
Julia
Ep 21
S3X
Ep 20
Missing
Ep 19
Spring Broken
Ep 18
Taking Sides
Ep 17
Troubled Waters (2)
Ep 16
Troubled Waters (1)
Ep 15
Lost & Found
Ep 14
Owning It
Ep 13
It's Not Easy Being Green
Ep 12
Sibling Rivalry
Ep 11
A Father Dreams
Ep 10
Just A Sliver
Ep 9
Unfinished Business
Ep 8
Going Once...Going Twice
Ep 7
Do You Believe in Magic?
Ep 6
Bakersfield
Ep 5
You Get What You Need
Ep 4
Everything Must Go
Ep 3
Tug of War
Ep 2
Book Burning
Ep 1
Glass Houses

Contributors

Become a contributor
More
Less

TV Listings

Full Listings
TV.com Properties | Shows | Videos | News | Listings | Forums | People | Photos | TV.com Blog

CBS Entertainment | About TV.com | About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use