In Brothers and Sisters: The Complete Second Season, the flow is as dramatic as always. Also starring Emmy Award winner Patricia Wettig (Alias, Prison Break), as well as Calista Flockhart (The Birdcage, Ally McBeal), Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under, Step Up), and Rob Lowe (Austin Powers, Stir of Echoes: The Homecoming), Season 2 shows just how hectic the lives of the characters are. One ongoing and disheartening theme is the battle over child custody as Sarah (Griffiths) and her ex-husband Joe (John Pyper-Ferguson - She's The Man, X-Men: The Last Stand) fight for what each feels they have the right for.
Another major running theme is that of Kitty Walker (Flockhart) and Robert McCallister's (Lowe) pregnancy issues, right in the heat of the political frenzy that is unfolding for Senator McCallister, especially since Kitty is professionally helping with his campaign. In typical political deceit, the two must work to conceal this issue so that the child is not put in the middle of the debates, considering that the unborn was conceived out of wedlock, hurting Robert's chances of winning the Presidential election. In a dramatic twist, even more unfolds with the pregnancy, but I won't spoil anything here.
Did I mention that this is supposed to be the "typical" American family? Well, not exactly. There is also the matter of one son, Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys - Fakers, The Edge of Love), being gay. Even in the opening episode, there is an on-screen gay male kiss. In fact, this theme goes even deeper, as Kevin has to shuffle wanting to help his ex-boyfriend's (with whom he still cares for) financial crunch with that of his current boyfriend, whom he is apparently in love with. If that doesn't give you pause, maybe one last step will. Did I mention that the current boyfriend is a priest? It's a sad state that our country/world lives in to make this acceptable, which is unfortunate, because the Brothers & Sisters series is quite good with that aside.
If you are more on the conservative side, there are definitely some issues that come to light in Brothers and Sisters: The Complete Second Season that may disturb you, or even outright offend you. But as far as writing, acting, and presentation go, Season 2 does everything right. The stories always held my attention, and the ongoing storylines from episode to episode don't break the continuity of the series and make you want to keep watching until the very end.
