Something I do understand is how Kitty and Sarah could be guilted into including Nora on their overnight spa trip. (If you're reading this, Mom, I love you.) Kitty needed to escape the stress of having found a prenup among Robert's papers, and Sarah needed to avoid thinking about her 10-year wedding anniversary. Of course, Nora wanted to use the time away to plan Kitty's wedding and to get Sarah (''All I'm missing is a Lionel Richie song and a pint of ice cream'') psyched about single life again. I had to rewind three times to watch Rachel Griffiths' face drop when Sally Field told her they could use the time to talk about her impending divorce. It was so perfectly, instantly stripped of joy.
The scenes at the spa were all that that Diane Keaton movie Because I Said So wanted to be and wasn't — mainly, well written and hysterical. Take Nora and Kitty trying to convince Sarah that she's still hot and, in fact, looks better today than she ever has: ''I could show you a picture from three years ago, you'd kill yourself,'' Nora offered. (That's almost but not nearly as messed up as when I recently told my mother that I'd never get married and she responded with the incredibly encouraging ''You never know.'') I'm digging divorced Sarah already because it means that she'll have this kind of time to play with Kitty and Nora when the kids are with Joe. (Also because it means we won't have to see Joe. Oh, like you miss him.) Sarah has been making a play for the title of my favorite Walker — what with the way she greets alcohol (''Oh, thank God''), it's only natural — and she finally succeeded in this episode. The moment of victory came just after the trio got booted from the quiet room, when Nora threatened to go see Tommy and Sarah temporarily diverted her attention with ''Mom, I need you.'' Dramatic pause. ''It's why we're here.'' Calista Flockhart and Griffiths are so good at giving each other those looks that sisters give that it makes me grateful that I have a sibling to shoot a smirk at. (Again, Mom, I love you.)
After Kitty persuaded Sarah to crash a wedding for the lamb chops, Sarah got ''lock-blocked'' before she could bed the groom's son, and Nora returned from seeing Tommy, the Walker women finally had it out. Sarah and Kitty told Nora she wasn't responsible for their happiness, and Nora explained that she wished she didn't have to stay up at night worrying about how her screwed-up children will get their lives together. In the end, Sarah and Kitty begged Nora to break the quiet-room code and give them advice: Sarah needed to admit her marriage is over, hurt like hell, and move on; commitment-phobe Kitty needed to acknowledge that the prenup represents more than Robert's doubts about their happily ever after and have enough faith for both of them. (Of course, because Robert is so painfully perfect, he said he never intended to have Kitty sign the prenup. In real life, I'd love him. On TV, he's a bit of a snore.)
So, what do you think? Is Nora right? Will Kitty become — and stay — the new Mrs. McCallister? Will she find out she's pregnant on next week's episode? Where exactly are Tommy, Justin, and Saul headed? And does anyone else find themselves reimagining other shows with Griffiths in the lead? (I like ABC's new comedy Samantha Who? but I'd love to see the kind of weight Griffiths could have given that role.)
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