By Jennifer Larson

Now that Justin (Dave Annable) is home safe, all should be right with the Walker family, unfortunately, it’s far from it. First of all he is still trying to bravely fight through the pain of his war injury without the help of medication. Because he’s a drug addict, Justin is afraid he’ll become dependent on his medication for more than just his physical pain. While his efforts are valiant, they aren’t very practical. Nora (Sally Field) would be the last person to enable her son, but what mother wants to see their child in pain? Quit a predicament, but it’s frustrating to see somebody you love in such intense agony, so she tries – once again – to get him to give in. Even his loving and worshipful new baby sister, Rebecca (Emily VanCamp), can’t get through to Justine. But, with two angels of mercy at his beck and call, he has more love and support than a lot of other soldiers returning from the war.

Meanwhile, Kitty (Calista Flockhart) has some troubles of her own to deal with, namely Robert’s (Rob Lowe) ex-wife. Wow, that’s gotta be awkward, and Kitty is already a pretty high-strung person so this one really throws her for a loop. Still, it’s better to be the wife coming in than the one going out, which is something Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) is learning more and more about now that she’s in the process of a divorce herself. Maybe Sarah can give Kitty a few tips on how to approach the spurned wife. And because we all know that the second anything happens to one of the Walkers it spreads throughout the rest of the family like a wild fire in the middle of a Santa Ana windstorm, you know there’s always a chance Kevin (Mathew Rhys) will add his two cents worth as well. But really, considering the fact that Kevin pledged his love and devotion – not too mention his faithfulness – to his new boyfriend, who is away on a mission from God for a year, and is now considering a dalliance with his ex, his word should be taken with a grain of salt.


But perhaps the person who needs the most help in the family is Tommy (Balthazar Getty), whose wife is pushing him further and further away from herself and their new baby girl. Postpartum is brutal, but add to that the fact that this woman lost her son and you have a disaster waiting to happen. And with Tommy not feeling the love at home, the flicker of a spark is beginning to burn between him and the new office manager, who just so happens to be one of Rebecca’s friends. It seems as if birds of a feather flock together. Maybe if Julia’s (Sarah Jane Morris) visiting father were a bit nicer to him, Tommy would be happy to stay at home instead of hiding out in the office. Opening a new business takes a lot of work, but losing your family over it isn’t worth all that effort. Perhaps Robert can help Tommy with the nuances of juggling a high-powered career and a fulfilling family life. Oh wait, Robert’s first marriage fell victim to that high-powered career, so maybe he isn’t the best person to take advise from.

It turns out Robert’s first wife is seizing the opportunity to make a little money for herself by writing a tell all book about their life together, which wouldn’t be so horrible if it wasn’t filled with lies. Apparently there was a bit of a question concerning Robert and the babysitter. Of course our standup Presidential candidate didn’t do anything, but that doesn’t seem to matter to his bitter ex, or the gossip hungry press. This forces Kitty to do the only thing a Presidential Communications Director can do … confront the ex-wife. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that this woman is trashing her fiancé; Kitty is much more levelheaded than that. Ok, she’s really more ruled by her emotions than anything else, but that seems to run in her family.


Justin finally gave in and took the drugs, but only after admitting his real reason for not taking them in the first place. Feeling lucky to have come home alive but guilty that so many other didn’t, Justin felt as though taking the meds was a mockery to his perished friends. Meanwhile, Kitty faced her real opposition … Robert’s ex-wife, and I’d say she won this round hands down. As for Tommy, things aren’t looking too good for him; Julia is taking the baby and going home to her parents to try and get over her grief. And this is what family is all about, the good, the bad, the funny and the ugly.