Brothers & Sisters Episode 3.19 Spring Broken

It's time the Walkers got a little R&R. But, knowing them, it'll come with a lot of B&A: Bickering and Arguing.

Who really needs a vacation is Kitty, who is busy taking care of two babies: Evan and her husband. We're worried about her. She looks plain worn out. And Robert acts so depressed that even his physical therapist encourages Kitty to get him into psychotherapy.

Sarah has two even bigger babies to care for: Justin and Tommy, who are both staying with her after being dumped by their significant others. They are driving her NUTS! She begs Kevin to take his brothers on vacation to get them out of her hair. But, the main reason to get away is so Kevin can convince Tommy to take a plea deal on his embezzlement charge so that he doesn't have to do serious jail time.

Kevin keeps his ulterior motive secret from Tommy, but the two of them and Justin head down to Baja, Mexico for some quiet time on the beach. Wait, did we say quiet? Actually, the beach has been taken over by a mob scene of drunken college spring breakers. As Tommy says, "There are girls here who are literally going wild."

The real quiet time is happening back in L.A. Kitty, Sarah and Nora have lunch with Ryan to get to know him better. Except, Kitty is falling asleep at the table. Nora frets that there's something seriously wrong, but Sarah blows it off to new parent exhaustion. (Sometimes we’re tempted to nickname Sarah "Mrs. Oblivious.")

Kitty only perks up when Ryan, who's a super-liberal, wants to argue politics. They have some fun friendly banter until the issue of family comes up. Ryan thinks the modern family is just a social construct, while Kitty argues that mothering is a natural instinct. At that, Ryan gets a strange, distant look in his eye. This is the first time we've been disturbed by him. He leaves the house and runs to Rebecca where he unloads a big secret:

Ryan suspects that his mother committed suicide when William Walker dumped her. That's the real reason he's here to meet the family, to find out the truth about his mom's death. Say what??

Back in Baja, Tommy finds a cute girl, Tessa, to help soothe Justin's broken heart over Rebecca. But Justin, bothered by his brother's meddling, finally drops the pretense of why they're on vacation. When Tommy finally hears that Kevin wants him to cop a plea, he doesn't take it very well. He'd rather Kevin fought for him than advise him to give up. Tommy stubbornly wants to keep fighting for his family.

After Ryan's disappearing act, Nora finally confronts Kitty, who keeps on trying to keep a brave face. Eventually, Kitty breaks down. She feels lonely, trapped in her own house. Nora insists Kitty spend the night there so she can get a good night's sleep and recuperate. Thankfully, Kitty accepts.

Down on the beach, Justin takes a nighttime stroll with Tessa, who kisses him. In plain view of her boyfriend – and his fraternity goons. Justin runs for his life and locks himself, Kevin and Tommy in their hotel room. As the frat boys pound on the door, the brothers take this peculiar moment to bond. Tommy finally decides to stand up as the oldest brother and do what's right. He'll take the plea. He'll also go out and take care of the goons.

Yeah, Tommy gets his butt kicked by the goons, but he's reflective of the situation. He envies these kids who have yet to screw up their entire lives. What he wouldn't give to start over and be like them. It's a pensive moment for Tommy, but one that also strikes us as ominous.

The next morning, when Kitty arrives home, she looks positively refreshed. But we can tell there's something else wrong. Robert sees it, too. She just seems ... distant.

In Baja, Kevin and Justin go to wake up Tommy to return to L.A., but they can't find him. What they do find is a note. It reads:

"I can't go back with you. Don't hate me."