(Headherefor executive producers John Requa and Glenn Ficarras thoughts on the twist.)
Its both the least subtle and most engaging episode of the second season so far.
The episode splits the action between three timelines, so theres a lot going on.
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
First, picking up where we left off last week: Kates pregnancy.
Shes still feeling out the news, but when she tells Toby, he responds with elation.
Kate tries again: This is about hope.
Shes thrilled by the possibility of having a child with Toby but doesnt want to jinx anything.
They yell at one another before they get into a minor car crash.
Kate finds some comfort in that.
Toby tells the barista and promptly performs a happy dance from table to table.
Weve seen the two feud as kids, and as Brothers begins, thats still the case.
Hes your brother, Kevin, Jack says.
You should be able to depend on each other more than anyone else in the world.
Later, he presses Kevin on why hes so hard on Randall, but Kevin refuses to discuss it.
While we watch Kevin and Randall keep their distance as kids, theyre brought together in the present.
When she first expresses interest in the gala, Beth isnt so sure its a great idea.
You really think shes ready to go to some swanky Manhattan charity ball?
she asks her husband skeptically.
Randall views it as a great bonding opportunity and is thrilled that Deja is excited to do something.
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Kevin, on the other hand, is a complete mess.
He chugs a beer while Sophie tries on dresses for the gala.
make a run at pace yourself because we have a long night of schmoozing, she says.
Things get worse for both brothers at the event.
When theyre seated, she tries eating a whole shrimp, at which point Randall yells, No!
and grabs her wrist to prevent her from choking.
Deja, shaken, disappears into the bathroom.
The humiliation settles in a little more each time we hear Sophie chant, Kevin Pearson!
The brothers meet outside the womens bathroom Kevin sweating drunkenly, Randall still unsettled after scaring Deja yet again.
Randall confides its taking everything in him not to go barging into the bathroom.
Youre good with her.
Youre good with people.
I come on too strong.
In response, Kevin conveys his own vulnerabilities.
You care too much you always have, he begins.
You feel too much.
And I try not to feel anything at all.
As for Kevin, after finding Sophie embarrassed and hurt, he leaves the event by himself.
For the first time, Jacks father appears in a later timeline as well.
Rebecca learns, while Jack is out with the boys, that her husbands father is dying.
She visits his nursing home with young Kate in tow and meets her father-in-law for the first time.
It was nice to have finally met you, she says.
Sorry that its under these circumstances.
He can barely speak, only noticing his granddaughter lurking in the doorway.
Jack declines: That mans been dead to me for a long time, he says.
The episodes construct crystallizes only in its final minute.
Its another boy, wearing glasses.
You finally woke up, Jack tells him.
The boy then asks where dad is revealing himself to beJacks brother.
His name is Nicky, and when adult Jack returns home, we watch him rifling through old photographs.
Theres Jack, and Nicky, still in glasses, standing beside him.
