Let's be serious, Brothers & Sisters is more soap opera than drama. Some of this show's story lines seem ripped straight from a General Hospital spoilers column.

Just the same, GH doesn't boast the likes of Rob Lowe, Calista Flockhart and Sally Field, all of whom delivered Emmy-worthy performances on Sunday night.

Kitty’s collapse at the beach, which we saw in December, was caused by a clot in her lung, not her cancer. But the cancer is still there, and it's getting worse.

Her best option? A bone marrow transplant. Hence the title, "A Bone to Pick." Groan.

Follow the link above for a full recap. Below are some highlights from - and our take on - last night's drama, which centered around Kitty's battle for survival ...

NO MATCHES: None of Nora's kids are matches for Kitty's transplant. Except for Ryan, who's not interested because he hates the Walkers. But he comes around.

Ryan was about to skip town (because of his previous criminal activity), but Nora talks him into helping Kitty so Evan won't have to be abandoned like he was.

He donates his bone marrow. How Kitty's body reacts is another matter.

Still unresolved is his sabotage of the winery. In an accusatory tone, Holly tells Ryan the Coastal Reserve wine spill was not an accident. How will that play out?

OPPOSITION RESEARCH: A P.I. Kevin hired (to see what someone else might dig up on Robert) reveals the Senator has been making biweekly visits to see a woman in Westwood.

Kevin confronts Robert, and the two actually start a wrestling match in the hospital. Turns out she’s a psychiatrist who’s been helping him deal with Kitty’s cancer.

Robert manages to push his mounting fears of Kitty’s bone marrow transplant aside long enough to ask her, on bended knee, “Will you marry me all over again?”

Overwhelmed, Kitty says yes. The moment gets emotional when Rebecca brings Evan to see her and Saul conducts the nuptials. Will she survive the operation?

SEXY SKELETONS: As she grapples with the fact that this transplant could be the end for her, Kitty asks Sarah to retrieve some old letters from her closet. Old love letters.

Kitty had an affair with a married man when she first got to Washington, and it turns out the guy is really famous. The siblings learn who the "silver fox" is ... we do not.

This seemingly irrelevant side plot ties in nicely at the end.

THREE WEEKS LATER: After Kitty has the operation, we flash forward to a press conference Robert is holding three weeks later. Kitty's cancer is now in remission!

Oh, and he's dropping his bid for governor of California because he can't fulfill his obligations to his family and his constituents. Well played, Robert. Well played indeed.

Later, the box of letters is on a table in front of Kitty as she sits by the fire at Nora's. She tells her mom that it’s as if those letters were written about somebody else.

Obvious translation: She's a different person with a new lease life after the transplant. So she sets them ablaze. Cheesy? Very much so. Effective? You better believe it.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• Rebecca and Justin's wedding debacle was barely talked about, which is how it should be, given the severity of Kitty's health problems. Very well done.
• Tommy just went back to Seattle? Did Balthazar wear out his welcome?
• The creep Simon was MIA this week but returns next week.
• Fun fact: Last night's episode was directed by Cliff Olin, son of Patricia Wettig (Holly) and Ken Olin (David). The director? Chad Lowe, brother of Rob.
• Okay, you got us, show. Whose mistress was Kitty?!

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.