Last night’s second season finale of
Brothers and Sisters provided many reminders of the show’s greatness. The Scotty-Kevin wedding was sweet and romantic with just a dash of silliness thrown in. There were revelatory confessions, secrets and lies exposed, but unfortunately, there was also a little bit of very creepy romance.
Brothers and Sisters doesn’t get quite as much credit as it probably deserves. Every week brings a solidly entertaining episode. Viewers get to laugh and cry right along with those wacky Walkers, undoubtedly one of the most screwed-up and fun to watch families in TV history. However, the finale added an additional element they’ve been toying with in the past few episodes, and I call it the ick factor.
The final scene included a kiss between Rebecca (
Emily VanCamp) and Justin (
Dave Annable). For more than a whole season, we’ve come to know these two as brother and sister, two friends bonding together amidst a sea of insanity. Their relationship often seemed like twins, separated at birth but able to kick into a natural rhythm the moment they reconnect. When Rebecca discovered she wasn’t technically related to Justin, it opened the possibility for a romance, but only in the technical sense.
I doubt I’m the only one, but that final scene wasn’t romantic or sweet to me, it was just creepy. There’s a huge difference between technically not being related and not being related. In that same scene, Rebecca even reaffirmed her belief that she was still being treated like one of the Walkers. For Justin to kiss her (and for her to reciprocate), it still FEELS like incest, even if it isn’t, technically.
From a TV standpoint, I understand this decision. Annable and VanCamp are two attractive younger stars and hooking them up makes for good TV. But thematically, the move goes against the tone of the show. The entire premise of Kevin and Scotty’s gay wedding was that they simply wanted to confirm their love for each other and didn’t care if it was technically binding. Kitty officiated the service, they used Tommy and Robert’s wedding rings, and it was just a big display to show how they felt about one another.
Family on
Brothers and Sisters isn’t always about blood or legality, it’s about the sense of a “family,” of people uniting and caring about one another. Rebecca isn’t a Walker, but she’s still a part of the Walker “family.” No matter how much the show tries to emphasize that, technically, Rebecca isn’t related to Justin, it’s still weird.
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)
