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Ep 17 was another one of those evenings of television that had me yelling back at the screen for the majority of the time. I should have expected the premise of this episode after watching the end of ep 16 and watching this stupid show delve into It's a Wonderful Life territory was a no brainer but it sure didn't play out the way I expected. I was thrilled when Randall's first version of Life with Jack was interrupted and he decided to take a more realistic look at what might have happened. I was glad the therapist brought up the fact about Randall learning the truth about Rebecca and William was the first thing that happened in both stories. I was a little confused by Jack making a toast at Randall and Beth's wedding in the first story and in the second Jack is toasting Kevin and Sophie and Randall is with some random girl and he supposedly never meets Beth. I did love when teen Beth pulled teen Randall into the kitchen and chastised him for being rude to his mother. Sadly, the emotional turmoil that this episode put us and Randall thriough was all for naught, because after everything he had supposedly learned, he got on the phone and bullied his mother into going to St. Louis. I don't think I have ever hated Randall more than I did in that scene and I hate that it worked, because now Randall will think he's king of the world. Loved Pamela Adlon as the therapist and I still love this stupid show.



The Adventure Starts Here!
I'm not sure I hated Randall for "bullying" Rebecca there. I saw it this way: that Randall's therapy session sharpened his awareness that he missed his dad and would really miss his mom.

However, the other half of me realizes that this was Randall being Randall (not the good side of him, either). That Randall didn't learn anything from his therapist when she tried to tell him Jack might have died anyway and that Randall can't just force-fit everything if he tries hard enough. So, he always wished he had forced Jack to not go back into the house. His therapist supposedly helps him see the folly of this view...

...and then he goes and shoehorns his mom into this clinical trial. As if he's thinking, "Well, I didn't bully my dad into not going back into the house, but I can still bully my mom into living a little bit longer... even if she'll be miserable doing so."

So, yeah, I get your point. But honestly, Randall wasn't going to change because this therapist was showing him legitimate problems he has with being a control freak. I just don't see Randall as changing in this area, sad to say.



Ep 18 was an uncomfortable combination of undeniable tension, surprising lump-in-the-throat moments and confusing story directions. I understand the parallel between the three birthdays, but we know so little about the life of Kate and Toby's son that it was hard to be invested in their scenes. I found the whole thing of Toby and Kate returning to the hospital odd as well. They're trying to backtrack with the mistakes they've made with Toby and it's unconvincing. The birthday parties were effectively edited, especially loving the standout tension between Rebecca and Randall until Rebecca made her announcement. I was thrilled when my girl Beth was honest with Randall about what he did. Mandy Moore nailed that scene when Rebecca and Jack were talking about Kyle. It was also nice to see Gerald McRaney reprise his Emmy-winning role as the doctor. The best part of this episode was actually underneath the surface of what we were shown and that is the slowly-simmering tension between Toby and Kate and between Kevin and Randall. The tension between Kevin and Randall was viable LONG before their final confrontation. Definitely didn't see Madison's news coming AT ALL. I love this stupid show.



The Adventure Starts Here!
I'm pretty sure that Kate and Toby in the parking lot talking about whether they still wanted it is that Kate is pregnant again. In the future with adult Jack and his new baby Hope, the woman with black hair rushes into the room to see the baby and Jack says, "It's okay. She's my SISTER."

So I think this episode was mainly about all these pregnancies.

I think they did a LITTLE too much timeline jumping in this episode. More than they needed to, and it got a tad annoying. But otherwise, I think the emotional tugs felt genuine. And Randall really just pisses me off. And why did Rebecca let everyone believe that she just changed her mind? Protecting Randall? If Randall is truly the only one who wants this clinical trial, then why wouldn't she just be honest about that? SHE didn't even want it.

Well, just one of those nagging questions.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Ep 18 was an uncomfortable combination of undeniable tension, surprising lump-in-the-throat moments and confusing story directions. I understand the parallel between the three birthdays, but we know so little about the life of Kate and Toby's son that it was hard to be invested in their scenes. I found the whole thing of Toby and Kate returning to the hospital odd as well. They're trying to backtrack with the mistakes they've made with Toby and it's unconvincing.
I think the idea of Toby and Kate returning to the hospital is that they wanted to add their family picture to the bulletin board because it's supposed to show that the baby and the family survived the first year. I could be wrong, but I think all of those pictures are supposed to be of babies who were in an incubator when they were born, and their chances for survival were less than a normal baby.

I disagree about the backtracking with Toby. I think we're finally starting to see the Toby that we know and love from earlier in the series.

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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I'm pretty sure that Kate and Toby in the parking lot talking about whether they still wanted it is that Kate is pregnant again. In the future with adult Jack and his new baby Hope, the woman with black hair rushes into the room to see the baby and Jack says, "It's okay. She's my SISTER."
I don't think that Kate is pregnant again. Toby was talking about adopting a baby as a sibling for Jack. He made a comment about how the Pearson family has a good track record with adoption, and Kate mentioned that she couldn't go through pregnancy again.

I think the girl who ran into the room is Jack's adopted sister.



Watched the season five premiere last night and I am happy to report that the extraordinary writing team for this show has not lost their touch, providing two hours of gut-wrenching warmth and sadness combined perfectly with some squirm-worthy tension. I was also glad to see that they learned from the mistake they made during the season 4 premiere, where they introduced about a dozen new characters. For a show that jumps back and forth in time, it's kind of risky introducing too many new characters at once. I was impressed that the show not only addressed the pandemic and had the cast masked up for some scenes, but they addressed the death of George Floyd as well. Did not see that coming. Centering the show around Madison's sonogram was an effective hook for the rest of the show. I'm glad Kevin is stepping up to his responsibilities as a Dad, but relationships based on accidental pregnancies never work and I don't think this one is any exception. Kevin did and said all the right things, until that out of the blue proposal and that scene in the car where they both tried to backtrack was proof positive that these two might be good parents, but they are not in love. Everything that happened with Rebecca was heartbreaking...Mandy Moore did a beautiful job of conveying Rebecca's fear about what is happening to her. Not crazy about they way the writers seem to be making Randall seem like he's the only one who cares about Rebecca and knows what's best for her. Also loved Jack trying to find a radio and crossing paths with young William, not once, but twice in the hospital. Love that actor playing young William too. Would love to get some more backstory regarding Jack and his dad (Peter Onorati). Did love Randall's advice to Kevin about parenting a girl, but I hate this gulf between him and Kevin and now it seems to be affecting his relationship with Kate as well. What Kate was so awkwardly trying to say to Randall probably should have been left unsaid, but Randall didn't need to come back at her the way he did. Can't believe I have to wait two weeks for the next episode. I still love this stupid show.



Ep 2 found the relationship between Kevin and Madison beginning to fall apart sooner than I thought. Just because he got a new movie role, it wouldn't have killed Kevin to eat Madison's pancakes and the fact that he didn't see that was classic Kevin. I'm glad the writers didn't forget about Madison's eating disorder. Loved when they encountered that fan on the street and Kevin and Madison immediately masked up. I liked Kevin's spilling of his iwb insecurities later though. The first meeting Toby and Kate had with their possible adoption mother went way too well...something's going to go really wrong here, which will absolutely destroy Kate. Watching teenage Kate being rejected by another guy was hard, but I understand its importance in seeing why Kate is who she is today. It's nice to see Randall and Beth having to deal with raising an actual teenager other than Deja. As much as I enjoyed watching Randall and Beth deal with Tess, there's a cloud over all of their scenes ever since we learned last season that they divorce at some point. Clueless about the scene with the Vietnamese father and daughter and the fact that I couldn't tell who was in the picture didn't help. though I suspect it wqas Rebecca.. One thing that confused me about this episode is the lack of connection between the separate stories. Usually the separate stories being presented have a common hook but I didn't see it here. I still love this stupid show.



The Adventure Starts Here!
I just scrolled past your posts because I have to catch up. I did see the season premiere but haven't seen Tuesday's episode yet. I'll watch soon and then come back... and we can continue our "I love this stupid show" series of posts.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Ep 2 found the relationship between Kevin and Madison beginning to fall apart sooner than I thought. Just because he got a new movie role, it wouldn't have killed Kevin to eat Madison's pancakes and the fact that he didn't see that was classic Kevin. I'm glad the writers didn't forget about Madison's eating disorder. Loved when they encountered that fan on the street and Kevin and Madison immediately masked up. I liked Kevin's spilling of his iwb insecurities later though. The first meeting Toby and Kate had with their possible adoption mother went way too well...something's going to go really wrong here, which will absolutely destroy Kate. Watching teenage Kate being rejected by another guy was hard, but I understand its importance in seeing why Kate is who she is today. It's nice to see Randall and Beth having to deal with raising an actual teenager other than Deja. As much as I enjoyed watching Randall and Beth deal with Tess, there's a cloud over all of their scenes ever since we learned last season that they divorce at some point. Clueless about the scene with the Vietnamese father and daughter and the fact that I couldn't tell who was in the picture didn't help. though I suspect it was Rebecca. One thing that confused me about this episode is the lack of connection between the separate stories. Usually the separate stories being presented have a common hook but I didn't see it here. I still love this stupid show.

I Googled it after the episode, and the woman in the picture was Randall's birth mother.



Not really interested in learning anything else about Randall's mother, but I understand the plot move because she is probably going to be instrumental in Randall's therapy.



The Adventure Starts Here!
Thanks for finding that info, @gbgoodies. I couldn't tell who was in the picture, either. (FWIW, that was a grandfather/granddaughter in those scenes. He calls her granddaughter several times.)

Agreed that the upcoming adoption is not going to go well, although we HAVE seen grown Jack and his (assumed adopted) sister when his own baby is born and she comes to the hospital. So, at SOME point it seems they do adopt... but it may not necessarily be this baby we're seeing now.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Thanks for finding that info, @gbgoodies. I couldn't tell who was in the picture, either. (FWIW, that was a grandfather/granddaughter in those scenes. He calls her granddaughter several times.)

Agreed that the upcoming adoption is not going to go well, although we HAVE seen grown Jack and his (assumed adopted) sister when his own baby is born and she comes to the hospital. So, at SOME point it seems they do adopt... but it may not necessarily be this baby we're seeing now.

You're welcome. (It always annoys me when I can't figure out something that looks like it should be obvious, so I usually Google things like that after I watch the episode.)

I may have to rewatch that episode with Jack grown up because I didn't remember that we already saw that Jack has a sister.



The Adventure Starts Here!
The hospital staff don't want to let her into the hospital room where Jack and his wife and the baby are... and Jack says it's all right because she's his sister. (Or maybe SHE says she's his sister. Either way, that's how we find out that, at some point, Jack gains a sister.)



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
The hospital staff don't want to let her into the hospital room where Jack and his wife and the baby are... and Jack says it's all right because she's his sister. (Or maybe SHE says she's his sister. Either way, that's how we find out that, at some point, Jack gains a sister.)

That sounds vaguely familiar. Thanks.



The hospital staff don't want to let her into the hospital room where Jack and his wife and the baby are... and Jack says it's all right because she's his sister. (Or maybe SHE says she's his sister. Either way, that's how we find out that, at some point, Jack gains a sister.)

I don't remember that scene at all