Brothers & Sisters

"**Brothers & Sisters**" is the sixth episode of the second season of HBO Max's *The Flight Attendant*. It released on May 12, 2022 on HBO Max.

## Synopsis

Cassie faces hard truths about her path to sobriety while visiting her mom as Megan attempts to reconnect with her family, who are reluctant to welcome her back.

## Plot

### All sandy

Cassie is passed out on the floor of her home. Annie and Max arrive home. Annie, seeing the mess around her, immediately goes to Cassie, asking if she's okay, or if she's hurt. She smells the alcohol and realizing what has happened, tells Max that they're going to need some time and maybe a really strong coffee. "Coffee," agrees Max, leaving, and Cassie tells Annie she doesn't need the face that she's making. She pleads with her, telling her she can't deal with it and Annie points out that her eyes are closed and so she can't see her face. Cassie asks if they can skip to the conversation where she tells her she's disappointed in her because it's what she deserves. Annie asks her to let her decide what's going on in her brain, but Cassie tells her that she needs her to get out of her house. "No!" Annie tells her. Cassie shouts that she's not fucking around, but Annie grabs her and hugs her. She tells her she's not going anywhere. Cassie says that she thought if she quit drinking, her problems would go away, but she just ended up getting drunk on a beach. Annie quips that this explains why she's all sandy.

Annie says that she fell off the wagon and it happened, but now what? She tells her that she's going to make a list of all the things she does. She quips that she has a lot of Imperial Atlantic pens, asking if she's stealing again, but Cassie says she doesn't deserve to joke around. Annie tells her that nobody expects perfection, that she made it a year. Cassie shakes her head, telling that she's been lying, that she didn't make it a year. Annie says nothing and Cassie asks if she heard her. Annie agrees she did, writing on the paper and saying that #1 is that she has to tell the truth about drinking. #2 is to clean up her apartment and #3 is to trust her best friend Annie. "What else?" she asks. Cassie tells her she has to apologize to Marco for being horrible. Annie points out that there's also someone impersonating her, doing criminal things. Cassie says there's other people that can solve it, that she's not a CIA agent. Annie agrees that this is huge, making a huge life change. She says it's a lot more that she can say about herself, that after everything from the past year, she doesn't trust herself anymore. Cassie tells her that she's the best person she knows and go to go with her gut and it'll work out. "Life advice from someone who just kissed their entire security deposit away," quips Annie. Cassie agrees that she really messed up and finds herself in the mind palace.

Better choices Cassie appears, gigging and commenting sarcastically that Annie is such a good person. Cassie asks what happened to her, saying that she's supposed to be all nice and kind and perfect. She replies that the idealistic bitch is dead, that she feels more and more useless every time Cassie ignores her. "So now I get to be the nightmare you need," she tells her, saying that when you wipe away the lies and the excuses, she's what's left. She grabs Cassie by the shoulder, forcing her to turn around, and now she looks exactly the same as her. "This is what you look like," she tells her. She says if she was her, she'd wish she was dead. Back in the real world, she says that she really wants to sleep, but that she's supposed to fly to New York with Davey. They're cleaning out their Mom's house and doing the forgiveness letter for their father. She says she can't go, but Annie says she absolutely can go, that she should. Cassie points out that she smells like the floor of the bar, but Annie tells her that it's good, that while she's gone, the double can't pin anything on her. She can just be Cassie. Cassie says she's way too hungover to even think about it. Just then, there's a knock on the door. It's Benjamin Berry. Annie tells her to just get out and she'll handle it. Cassie goes out the back and Annie answers the door. Benjamin starts entering and Annie tells him he can't just barge into someone's home. She asks who he is and he says he's a coworker of Cassie's. He tries to push in further, but Annie blocks him, telling him he can't just come over in the middle of the night to discuss airline business. He says he thought she left alone and she says they must be very close,, asking if he has ID or a badge. He says there was an incident and she asks if they're done. Outside, Cassie sees the milky-eyed CIA agent.

### The letter

Cassie, arriving at the airport, takes a phone call from Davey's husband, Rick Green. She asks if he's calling for Davey, but he says he's actually calling for her. He asks if she's okay. She asks what he means and he says that Davey had dropped some hints she was going through stuff. She asks if that's what he told him and he says he just wants her to know that the girls and him are there for her in spirit. She thanks him and he ends the call. She boards the plane and Davey asks if she needs him to proofread her letter. She tells him to stop, that it's not a school project. He asks if she's okay to go to their mother's and she agrees that she is, so long as their mother isn't there like they talked about. Davey agrees that they've gone over it and she's away on a meditation retreat.

Cassie says that someone should tell her it's not working. Davey asks how she knows, that she talks to her once a year at Christmas. He shakes his head, asking if it would be so bad if they just sat together and talked. She tells him she doesn't need this right now. She says he can't fix everything. The plane preps for final departure. Cassie says they're boarded and strapped in, so he can't get mad, then tells him that she drank the night before. She say that furthermore it's not the first time she's slipped and that she couldn't just sit there and not tell him. She says it's what happened and she's sorry. He points out the fact that she waited until the doors closed,, asking if she's alright. "No," she admits, saying she won't drink again. He asks why they're even going on the trip. She points out that they can't change their mind now, saying that maybe it'll be good for them, a new start. Just then, she sees Carol Atkinson, calling herself her lucky rabbit's foot following her around. She says she's more like a bad penny, telling them they're in the wrong seats. Davey points out that there's no one in the seat between them. She tells him not to raise his voice, even though he didn't. Cassie tells her it's the reason they don't invite her to brunch, glaring at her, getting up and moving to the seat one over from Davey.

Davey tells Cassie it's heartbreaking she threw all the work away. She tells him everything he's feeling and saying is right. He takes her hand and they prepare to take off. Meanwhile, in New York, Megan Briscoe meets covertly with her son, Eli. She tries to hug him, but backs away, complaining that she sent him a note with a customer. He asks if she's even allowed to be there right now. She says that she of course is and he finally comes and hugs her. She tells him he has no idea how much she missed him. He asks how she knew he worked at the restaurant. She tells him she spoke with a friend of his from the swim team. He tells her that he quit the swim team to work more. She asks why, but says not to worry about it, saying that she's going to stop by the house and talk to dad and they'll figure it out. He tells her that dad sold the house to pay the legal bills and lost his job. She says she didn't know. He asks if she'll disappear again. She tells him she absolutely won't. They hug again.

Cassie and Davey arrive in New York, at the cemetery of their father's grave. The simple marker reads "Henry Bowden 1953-1995." Cassie pulls out her letter and finds herself in mind palace. "Hey dummy, too late, he's already dead," comments another version of herself dressed exactly like her, snatching the letter and tearing it into shreds, then throwing it over the two of them to rain down on them both. Cassie walks away, only to find a giant version of Davey's "easy does it" bear standing at the counter of the bar preparing a drink. The other Cassie tells her to do something useful and bury herself, thrusting a shovel at her. Back at the cemetery, Davey asks her if she's alright. She agrees that she is and begins reading. She reads that her Dad taught her things like how to make eggs and how to hunt. She says that he was fun and funny, her best friend, but he was also an alcoholic. He introduced her to drinking and it made her feel special, but then he died. After that, the only thing she had left of him was the alcohol, the only thing she had left to remember. Now, she says, she herself is an alcohol adult, reading a letter in a graveyard. She says his little girl turned out just like him and she hates it. She says he kept going back to drinking, so she does too and it makes her hate herself. She says she forgives him for hurting her and Davey and Mom. She tells him that she loves him, but that she won't be him. She bids him goodbye, telling Davey they need to go before she drinks the gasoline out of the car.

### Unusual and unpredictable

At Cassie's place in LA, Annie brings Max some tea. She says he should try it, that it's fennel and good for calming the nerves. He asks if they're tea people now and she says maybe they need it after everything that's happened. She says they have some stuff they need to figure out. He tells her that he's sorry he lost his temper, but they should focus on the Diazes, that there's a lot of info on their laptop. He says they're a real piece of work, with multiple identities and different addresses, even multiple records of people who tortured. He says there's nothing, though, that really pins them down to what they need to know, who they really are. Annie comments that no matter how bad a person she thinks there is, apparently there's someone worse. Max tells her she's not a bad person. Annie tells him she needs him to know that she knows the ring is important to him. She says this is why she was wearing it and he says he loves that she was wearing it, that he loves her. They just need to figure out the rest. She says her crippling indecisiveness isn't about him. She says she's going to go cook. Meanwhile, as they talk about all this, Cassie's double is wandering silently through the place, busy planting evidence.

At the headquarters of the CIA, Benjamin stares at a profile of Cassie and puts in a call to someone. Just then, Dot Karlson enters his office, telling him that people are waiting for answers, that the optics aren't good. She continues that she's looking for answers for the families of their people who were murdered on U.S. soil. She asks him how the investigation is going, if he has any leads. He tells her he's circling a person of interest right now, but she says he's not actually getting anything done, work-related. He tells her he doesn't know what she's implying, but that he's doing his job. She tells him he's on thin ice, that if he's emotionally compromised, they can provide counselors. He tells her he appreciates it, but not to give her the counselor speech like a new recruit. She tells him to stop behaving like one or she'll note it in his record. She walks out, telling him to leave the Cassie Bowden situation alone.

Elsewhere, Shane Evans is with his boyfriend, Justin. He tells him he loves him, but Justin says she have a lot to think about. Shane says he was going to tell him. Justin says it's not even about him not telling him that he's Jason Bourne, but he's in a relationship with someone who could die. Shane tells him that he's going to try not to die. Justin kisses him and gets out of the car. Shane gets a call. It's from Benjamin. He says that Shane was Cassie's recruiting agent. He asks if he knew her personally. Shane replies that Cassie isn't his favorite person in the world right now, but he does know her. He asks if he was aware of Cassie being involved with any radicalized political groups. "Of course not," says Shane, shaking his head. He asks why he would even know that and Benjamin tells him that Cassie's history suggests she's prone to mental illness and substance abuse. He says that Cassie is unusual and unpredictable, but Shane tells him he can't provide anything else. He tells him he has to run and hangs up. Benjamin stares at Cassie's profile, then leaves his office.

Annie calls over Max, saying it's time for him to eat. Max comes over, but with his laptop. He tells her that it's not good, that it's about Cassie. He tells her that the Diazes were sending "stalker-level info" on Cassie to a Korean group, including an address for Lisa Bowden. Annie curses, noting that Cassie had mentioned going to her mother's house. Back in New Jersey, this is exactly where Cassie and Davey are pulling up at. Davey suggests that they get a root beer float, but Cassie says it's enough, that they'll do it later. She gets out of the car. He says he's useless when he's hungry and he'll do this himself sometime. Cassie, however, isn't having it. She says they're fine enough to deal with it, that the whole "starting over trip" has been a punch in the face. She says she'd like for one thing to go as planned, with no weird surprises. They walk up, he opens the door, and inside is their mother.

### Slapped

She smiles at seeing Davey, but sours upon seeing Cassie. "Jesus, Davey," she says, saying that he might have given her a heads-up. Cassie smacks him on the shoulder and just then, her phone rings. It's Annie, but Cassie lets it go to voicemail. Annie leaves a message warning Cassie that the Diazes know where she is. She tells her she needs to go somewhere safe immediately and call her. Inside, Lisa berates Davey for having brought over Cassie. Furthermore, she says that when she heard him outside, she thought it was another break-in. Davey is surprised to hear she had a break-in, asking why she didn't tell him. She says that they didn't take anything, just made a mess, and it was probably a bunch of kids. Cassie says that her apartment got broken into also, that she knows the feeling. Davey asks Cassie if they ever found out who broke into her place and Cassie quips that they did and they're good friends now. Lisa asks Davey if Cassie ever told him about her "good friends" who used to come, lock the door, blast the music, and steal from her purse. Davey says this only happened twice, and Lisa keeps digging in, asking what she and Cassie are going to talk about on their Christmas phone call now that they're all caught up. "Jesus, Mom!" shouts Cassie, saying that she didn't know about Davey's plan either, but she's not being mean about it. She tells Davey that he lied to her, that this isn't good for her life. Davey goes to Lisa, pleading with her to just talk to Cassie. She, however, says that she doesn't trust her and doesn't have the emotional space for her.

Cassie comes into the kitchen, saying she's not just going to stand outside and listen to them talk shit about her. She says she's there and Davey has to stay too. "Here I am," she declares. She tells her she apologizes for the way she was after Dad died and she's the one who stole money from the purse. "I know," Lisa tells her. Cassie says she's taking responsibility for her actions, that it's a big part of her journey. She apologizes for not being nicer or kinder to her. Lisa nods. "Okay," she says, and Cassie asks if that's it. Lisa says that if that is all there is, they're not really addressing the issue. Cassie asks her they're going to move on with their lives if she doesn't accept her apology. Lisa tells her that nobody is mad at her for what she did when she was a kid, that her father died and nobody knew what to do. She tells Cassie that it's what she did when she was an adult that mattered. She convinced her to come and see her in the city, only to forget about her. She says she didn't know where she was, spending her days with her doorman, only for her to come there and pass out, nearly burning her house down. She then got a DUI, after her father got himself killed drunk-driving. Cassie shouts at her to stop talking. "You don't want to remember?" asks Lisa, saying she' s just like her father, thinking an apology will wax it all away. She tells Cassie that she's exhausted, that they need to cut to the chase. She asks her when her last drink was. Cassie doesn't answer and Lisa says that it clears that up.

Cassie tells Lisa that when you are a kid, there are things that you learn and they get lodged in your brain. She says it's really hard to just get rid of them and turn them off, that she had a lot of years with Dad learning to do the wrong thing and nobody stepped in to say otherwise. "This is why you brought her here?" Lisa asks Davey. "Davey left you! I stayed!" shouts Cassie. She asks why Davey is her favorite, why he gets a pass. She tells her that Davey is an adult and Cassie laughs cruelly. She tells her that you're supposed to grow up and move on. Cassie counters that she's dragging it all with her, that it's what she's been doing. She tells her she doesn't blame her for not stopping Dad, that people have to try to stop themselves. Lisa says that she hid the booze and she drove Cassie to counseling, even waited so that she didn't run out the door. She says she even made sure she could stay in school, but it's been twenty years. Cassie tells her that Dad made her feel special, but it's true, and she feels like the time with him was good, but she just kept disappointing her. She tells her that she just didn't like being a constant disappointment for her, so she avoided her and still does. She tells her she's clocked every bottle in the kitchen, but she's not drinking them. She asked just what else she has to do to show her that she's doing better. Lisa comes up to her, caressing her face. She tells her that she really does love her, but that she doesn't like her. "Mom," starts Davey, but she points a finger at him. She says that neither of them have eaten and there's food in the fridge. She slaps Cassie, telling her she's going to work.

In New Jersey, William Briscoe meets with his son Eli. He asks if he's okay, saying that his message scared him. Eli tells him he knows and that it's okay, but he needed to get him to come down there. "Mom kinda has to stay off the radar," he tells him, opening a car door and revealing Megan. "Hi, Bill," she says. Bill tells Eli to go back to work. Back at Cassie's Mom's, Cassie stares out the window at her mother in her car. An alternate version of herself appears to her, saying that she's so awesome and that she just can't help herself. Cassie just ignores her as her mother sits in the car, crying, then drives away. Back with Megan, Bill asks her just why she did what she did. She says she doesn't think the answer helps, but he tells her he asks, so he wants it. She tells him that she just wanted to feel special and to be seen. She says that she wasn't feeling that at home, but she's not blaming him. She tells him that she wants to be clear about that, that he was always incredibly kind, but that they were on auto-pilot. He says they weren't unhappy and she agrees that they weren't, but she wanted more. She says that the time being away has made her realize that the only thing she needs and wants is him and Eli. He tells her that the FBI has told him he needs to call them if she comes back. He says that he has to protect their family. She asks how it's their family without her in it. He says that he loves her and if he could start it all over he would, at the drop of a hat, but that they can't. He kisses her and she kisses him back. She tells him he doesn't have to do it. He leaves and she shouts at him to come back, but he does not. She pulls away.

### The CIA memo

Cassie goes to Davey, who is busy packing away some possessions. She asks just what he's doing and he tells her he's doing what they came there to do. She points out that the fireworks he's packing probably won't be allowed on the plane. He says he doesn't know why he stopped loving them and she tells him that she does, that Dad once had him hold a Roman candle and it burned his hand. He asks if she's going to just stand there, that he thought she was going to help. She tells him that was before he ambushed her with their mother. He says he's going to take the fireworks and the TSA can wrestle him if need be. He walks off and Cassie spots a box labeled "View-Master / Teddy." She has a series of flashbacks, including her mother saying that she thought there was a break-in, but that nothing was taken. She gets a call from Dot Karlson and curses. She takes the call, saying that she's sorry, but she owes her a huge explanation. Dot tells her that she's trusting her and that she's been digging and what she found in Berlin is connected to the analysts killed in LA. She tells her she's having real doubts about Benjamin Berry. Cassie tells her that Benjamin was just at her place with the cloudy-eyed guy from Berlin. Officer Jones? asks Dot, saying that he's Benjamin's errand boy and surprised that Cassie saw him in Berlin. She curses. Cassie tells her that he was also at Echo Park Lake and Dot tells her that they can't talk about this on the phone. She asks if Cassie can meet her in thirty minutes, but Cassie says she's in New York until tomorrow. Dot tells her to get back there and be careful, hanging up. She then stares at her phone screen, seeing a bunch of missed urgent texts and voicemails from Annie. Davey tells Cassie that there's a car outside, simply idling. Cassie goes to the window and sees a North Korean man get out of the car. "Oh. We gotta go now," she tells Davey.

"Come on!" she tells him and they race out the back. He asks just where they're going and she tells him to be quiet. He asks who they are, what's happening. She tells him that one of her friends may have sold secrets to the North Koreans and her other friend may have killed one of them. "Make better friends!" he tells her, tripping and falling. She shouts at him to get up and they keep running. He tells her he knows where to go, to follow him. He leads them to a junky area where they hide behind an abandoned truck. Cassie asks what the place is, how he even knows about it. He tells her that he and the Eagle Scouts use to camp there. He asks her how she could have possibly not told him about all this. She points out that he surprised her with their mother, asking if she should even mention Rick. He says that he told Rick he needed time because he didn't want to go home yet. He admits that he and Rick are taking some time apart, that his OCD is getting worse. He snapped at their daughter, Eve. He says that he screamed in her face and so he's really on the trip to escape from his own problems. She says they need to just agree not to wait for the other person to fall apart before they help each other out. "Fine," agrees Davey.

Just then, three of the North Koreans appear on the screen, approaching from the other side of the truck. One of them calls out for Cassie, saying that they apologize if they startled her. He tells her they only want to ask about Megan. Cassie asks Davey what they do. He pulls out the cap of the car's fuel pump, handing it to Cassie to hold. He tells her that if they stay there, they'll be sitting ducks, pulling one of the fireworks out of his bag. He tells her that he's going to create a diversion, as Cassie feels a tap on her shoulder. It's an alternate Cassie inside the truck, who tells her that maybe Davey's little plan will go wrong and it'll kill her. "Problem solved." Davey lights the firework, sending a flare up into the air, then shoves it into the gas tank. He and Cassie run as the truck explodes into a huge fireball. They board a plane and Cassie tells him to calm down, that they made it. She says that she texted Annie and she sent her back a skull and crossbones, angry face and prayer hands, so they're good. Cassie asks if he's alright, and he tells her that his problems back at home suddenly don't seem so bad. He tells her he's booking his return flight to Denver and she agrees she'll be okay. She starts looking at slides of the View-Master on her phone and he asks what the deal with the boat registration number is. "The what?" asks Cassie and he tells her that he went on a whale-watching trip with Jenny and that he saw something like that on the trip. "Oh, cool," she tells him and then she gets a call from Shane.

Cassie asks him if he's still mad at her about the whole Justin thing, that she's sorry. He tells her that she'd better be alone right now and she lies that she is. He curses, saying that he's going to put a moratorium on that conversation, that she has a bigger problem. She tells him that her handler called to quiz him on her. He thought it was strange and then he saw a CIA memo for a person in connection with the recent murders, a blonde woman of slim build who travels internationally. He tells her it's a big billboard to find her and she tells him she's just glad he believes her. She tells him that Dot Karlson wants her home now and she knows she didn't do any of this. He tells her that the agency is not her friend, that Benjamin is poisoning the well. He says they need to meet before she goes anywhere near the CIA. She tells him about one of the Viewmaster slides being a boat registration number and they should find the boat. He says that when he thinks they're on the same page, she goes and says something even more bonkers. "Have we met?" she asks, promising to text him. "I don't want to know, do i?" asks Davey and she agrees that he doesn't.

Meanwhile, the milky-eyed guy, Jim Jones, is standing outside said boat, the *Cream & Sugar*. He lights up a cigarette and suddenly Cassie's double appears behind him. She shoots him in the head. She leaves him to bleed out on the ground as she snuffs out his cigarette with her foot.

## Cast

### Starring

* Kaley Cuoco as Cassandra "Cassie" Bowden

* Zosia Mamet as Annie Mouradian
* Deniz Akdeniz as Max
* Mo McRae as Benjamin Berry
* Callie Hernandez as Gabrielle Diaz (credit only)
* Griffin Matthews as Shane Evans
* J.J. Soria as Esteban Diaz (credit only)

with

* Cheryl Hines as Dot Karlson

and

* Rosie Perez as Megan Briscoe

### Guest starring

* Special Guest Star Sharon Stone as Lisa Bowden
* Alanna Ubach as Carol Atkinson
* Terry Serpico as William "Bill" Briscoe
* James Seol as Ro Sung Ho
* Matt Gould as Justin
* David Iocano as Eli Briscoe
* Erik Passoja as Jim Jones
* William Demeritt as Rick Green

### Co-starring

Special thanks to Monette Moio, Kaley Cuoco's stunt double, body double and acting double.

* Kate Cochran as Cassie Double #3
* Shayma Abu-Esba as Switchboard Operator

## Trivia

* The milky-eyed CIA agent, Jim Jones, is referred to by name for the first time, as "Officer Jones."
* The song played during the closing credits is "The Rush" by Milahroy.
* Sharon Stone assumes the role of Cassie and Davey's mother, Lisa Bowden, Morgan Hallett having played the role in a flashback in the first season. In "Inside S2 E6," Cassie Bowden actress Kaley Cuoco states that she doesn't know how they got Sharon Stone and doesn't want to know. She continues that she was as excited to be there as they were to have her. Stone herself states that she personally had alcoholism in her family so the opportunity felt really poignant to her. According to showrunner, Steve Yockey, Lisa's line "I love you. I do. But I don't like you" came from something his own grandmother said to him. Per Kaley Cuoco, Lisa's slap on her face was unscripted.