Brothers & Sisters Episode 3.08 Going Once...Going Twice

Surprise!! Surprises are good, right? Not when the Walkers are planning them.

There is some legitimate good news: Scotty has been promoted to head chef at his swanky restaurant! That means more responsibility and a bigger paycheck. But, mostly, a bigger paycheck.

On the bad news front, Robert worries that his wife, Kitty, is depressed about their botched adoption. His first clue? She stays up all night donating to charity infomercials. Yeah, we guess she's depressed. But Robert asks Kevin for his opinion, which grows to all the Walkers' opinions. One multi-way phone conversation later and Sarah plans to keep her sister distracted by asking for a rewrite of her Greenatopia business proposal.

Sarah doesn't really need the help, but she is a bit overwhelmed preparing a celebratory dinner party for Scotty. And Walker dinner parties usually go ... how? Badly. But let's stay optimistic for now.

At a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, Justin introduces himself to Paul (Dave Foley), a recovering addict who says he's lonely after having just moved to L.A. from Cincinnati. And when Paul says he's gay, the lightbulb that goes on over Justin's head is blinding. Justin invites the lonely guy to the dinner party to potentially hook up with Uncle Saul. Paul seems a little cuckoo to us, but maybe he's a nice guy.

As Sarah furiously pounds veal for dinner, Kitty comes over to discuss her proposal rewrites. What does she want to rewrite? The entire proposal. From the name of the company to the mission statement to everything. We get a bit worried Sarah might start pounding Kitty's head instead of the veal, but she gets distracted by the doorbell. It's Tommy, carrying a crate of wine.

And two seconds later, Paul arrives! Who had to take four buses thanks to his DUIs, thank you very much. Paul is two hours early, but he sets about making himself right at home. Doesn't go over well with Sarah.

Meanwhile, Kevin has tagged along with Nora to a housing auction. She wants to buy a place for her new charity and Kevin wants to make sure she doesn't go overboard overbidding. But when Kevin sees the perfect house up for sale for him and Scotty, he snatches it up right from under her.

At the party, Kitty goes so far to even suggest Sarah change the name of Greenatopia. And Paul? Paul's a real live one. An "over-sharer" as Rebecca calls him. His dad abandoning his pregnant mother. Ringworm in grade school. Overzealous earwax. Paul's a gabby disaster. Saul isn't too thrilled with Justin's surprise guest.

When the family sits down to eat, Kevin finally announces his surprise. He's bought a house! Scotty's very surprised. And furious. He runs from the table without saying a word. When Kevin tries to make an excuse about Scotty feeling overwhelmed, Nora lays into her bossy son, "He isn't overwhelmed. He feels bulldozed." If only Kevin knew how to communicate he'd realize Scotty didn't want a house and she didn't want him at the auction. Now it's her turn to storm out of the house. We guessed it. Typical Walker dinner party.

After dinner, Sarah and Kitty patch things up. More hugs, less busywork next time, though, please.

And the next day, Kevin works overtime to repair his damaged relationships. First, he hands Nora the keys to the house so she can have it for her charity. He realizes now he made a colossally boneheaded decision buying it by himself. Then, he drives Scotty to the bank, so they can open a joint account and have equal say in all their financial decisions from now on. Good move.