After a middling third season, ABC’s family drama series “Brothers & Sisters” is back on track and delivering some of its strongest episodes since the show’s successful inaugural season. Part of the success of this season is the focus on Calista Flockhart’s character Kitty McCallister. Kitty is battling the third stage of lymphoma. Flockhart has appeared in this section herself last season when Kitty was struggling through her crumbling marriage to her husband Robert (an impeccable Rob Lowe) and dealing with the moral repercussions of engaging in an emotional affair. The writers have carefully handled Kitty’s predicament and the reactions from the rest of her family have been natural. Flockhart continues to deliver career-best work and is woefully overdue for awards recognition. The pacing of the series has also improved after falling off the rails last season. The absence of Kitty’s brother Tommy (Balthazaar Getty) has been an added bonus. There were too many family members and the chaos was getting out of control. Getty was always the weak link and without Tommy or his wife Julia (Sarah Jane Morris) around, the rest of the cast has been able to shine. The series has direction. Not just with Flockhart’s storyline, but with the adoption arc featuring Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and Scott (Luke Macfarlane), the impending nuptials between Justin (Dave Annable) and Rebecca (Emily VanCamp) and Sarah’s (Rachel Griffiths) romantic excursion to France. Every character has a purpose this season and it has become exciting to see how the characters will manage to compose themselves each week. Welcome back to greatness, “Brothers & Sisters.”