This is Us

Thanks for clarifying regarding the compound and the cabin...I was definitely confused about that.

As I suspected it might, the Randall part of this story arc brings out all of the things I hate about Randall. I was on Randall's side when Deja was yelling at him; love the way she plays the orphan card when it's convenient for her; As I suspected, Randall was insulted that Rebecca made Kate the executor of her estate, because Randall thinks he knows better than anyone about anything; Of course, Randall's arrogance is always center stage where Rebecca is concerned. I got the feeling that if Randall had gotten that advice about giving Deja space from anyone but Rebecca, he would have ignored it. I did like every moment Mandy Moore and Sterling K Brown had onscreen together in this episode. I agree that Randall can't put Beth through another campaign, but you know he's going to do it anyway. He's going to talk himself into believing he can do this without disrupting his family. Didn't understand the point of little Randle being all excited about going in the deep end of the pool but not being able to take his eyes off the rest of his family. Glad that Deja and Malik came to their senses even if it came off as a little pat and convenient. Couldn't tell who came to their senses first and I think that was intentional. I didn't need to hear teen Randall tell a cop that he's been carrying his family on his back for two years. Teen Randall's arrogance as never known any bounds, but he grew out of some of it. Seeing the entire family in the pool and the peek at the other two parts of the arc were a perfect wrap-up. I love this stupid show.

Can't disagree with you on any of this. I reeeeeally hated when Randall snipped at Rebecca about choosing Kate as executor. I think that showed his main view of this whole situation. And the only reason he accepted it later in the episode was when Rebecca basically said that the only reason she didn't choose him was, well, because he would have done TOO good a job and it would have taken up his whole life. In other words, it's not about Kate being a better choice for the job--but about Randall perhaps ending up too committed to it.

And of course he sees that not as the character flaw that it is (jumping in 100% to anything, no matter how it affects everyone else), but rather as a compliment. And he goes and schedules the meeting with the senator. I used to know someone whose ego was very much like Randall's (minus the noble qualities Randall sometimes exhibits). He used to tell me privately that he was sure he could become president someday. He since stopped saying such things when his inflated ego got the better of him and he let it break apart his own family. Now he still thinks he could be president but wouldn't risk the world finding out about his past (because the media always scrutinizes political candidates).

I suppose that's partly why I reacted so much to Randall's ego in this episode, even though we saw some of the tamer sides of it. He's really not noble, when that nobility comes from his ego--from his WANTING to look noble to everyone.

I sure hope they don't end his story arc with the presidency, although I could see them ending it with him being a senator and starting to climb in that direction. And I'll try hard not to puke.

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Side note: Pittsburgh really does have a chain of restaurants called Eat'n Park, and they really do have Smiley cookies. I used to take Yoda and his siblings there quite a bit when they were younger. Inexpensive, but clean and nice, something each kid liked to eat, and Smiley cookies for the kids at the end of the meal. Fond memories of those trips...

https://www.eatnpark.com/

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If Randall or Rebecca had uttered the word "presidency" during that scene, I would have thrown a rock at the TV set.

And yet we know they were thinking it--because we were thinking it too!

Ep 11 provided us with a squirm-worthy opening as we got to see several shots of the world from Jack's impaired point of view. Also, this is the first episode where I noticed that Jack is played by an actual visually impaired child. And when did Jack all of a sudden become so chatty? I wish Kevin and Kate's conversation about the gate hadn't telegraphed what was coming, she could have just told Kevin it was nothing for him to worry about. Loved when Kate loved Randall and wouldn't let go. Even though they both joked about it being uncomfortable, I LOVE where Kevin and Madison are now...co-parents doing what's best for their children. I'm glad he caught Elijah but he's overreacting. Couldn't believe Madison told Kevin about the proposal, didn't see that coming. You would think the Piersons would learn to stop throwing parties by now, they do nothing but cause tension. Glad Randall admitted at the end that the party sucked. Loved watching Rebecca get drink at the anniversary dinner...it was nice seeing Rebecca lighten up. Drunk Rebecca was so much fun, but I think the kids got off way too easy, if I had done that to a babysitter when I was a kid, I would have been beaten severely. Even though we saw it coming, my heart still stopped when Jack walked out that door. The camera work on Jack alone on the street was superb. Loved that take Chrissy Metz did when Kate realized the front door was unlocked. That scene of Jack getting stitches was nearly impossible to watch, it reminded me of Billy getting stitches in Kramer VS Kramer. What's happening to Toby and Kate is ripping my guts. This show features one of the best television ensemble casts I have ever scene in 50 years of television viewing. Just magical...I love this stupid show.

I think the tiny actor playing Jack has been in the last few episodes showing us Jack. I noticed back then that it was likely a visually impaired child. And I think they just needed him to be suddenly completely articulate in order for the storyline to work. My grandson is not quite four, obviously older than Jack in this episode, and doesn't often articulate things quite that clearly and perfectly. Kids' thoughts and words tend to meander a little more than this kid's. But hey... it mostly worked.

Note to self: Never accept an invitation to a Pearson party... unless you like train wrecks.

I agree that the younger Pearsons should have punished their kids. They could have expressed appreciation for their kids sticking up for each other, but what they did to the babysitter was downright dangerous for all of them. And it's not like she had been abusive. But of course, what do we expect when a drunk mom gets to lay down the law?

I too loved the camera work showing us Jack's perspective throughout the episode.

The stitches stuff was a bit of PTSD for me. I had stitches seven times in my head as a kid growing up. It's a scary thing. Then, when I was very pregnant with Yoda's little brother, my two-year-old Yoda fell at his grandparents' house and needed stitches on his chin. Taking him to the hospital was worse than when I myself got stitches. They even had to ask me to leave the room because I was so upset and not handling it well. (Yoda, on the other hand, chattered away with the doctor and nurse while he was strapped onto the "papoose board" to keep him still. They told him those black stitches were his "boo-boo whiskers.")

While watching that part, I had to remind myself that grown-up Jack is FINE so all would turn out okay in that whole scene.

Ya know, I wasn't buying much of the tension between Kate and Toby up until this episode. They brought out how many little annoyances can add up in a relationship if you don't deal with them along the way. And the part in the yard where the Pearson Three are sitting next to each other and Toby sees them and makes a comment about how this is always how it is (the three of them sticking together against *whoever* is opposite them--and this time it's him) *really* hit home. You can almost see Toby making a break with them emotionally, like he knows he's outnumbered and always will be.

That, after all, is the ongoing undercurrent of this show: how this family's pieces and parts stick together no matter what happens to any of them individually. I'm seeing how smoothly they're starting to tie individual storylines together to form a workable series ending.

You can almost see Toby making a break with them emotionally, like he knows he's outnumbered and always will be.



Yeah, that shot in the front yard where Toby was standing on one side of the yard and the triplets were standing together a few feet away, but together...that shot really got to me.

Well ep 12 started off in jts typical foreboding fashion with Beth telling Kate it was going to be a perfect day. These people continue to have parties of some kind, no matter how much they continue to suck. What a shocking way to confirm the end of Toby and Kate's marriage...didn't see it happening so abruptly. Loved the couples therapy scenes...it looked like Kate and Toby were both trying to sway the therapist to their individual side. Loved that little dinner scene with them though. Can't believe Kate is engaged to Phillip...seriously? I am not feeling them as a couple at all. Most unmoving marriage proposal I've seen on television ever. What the hell are they doing to Toby? He may have gone over the line comparing himself to Jack, but he wasn't entirely wrong. Superb work by Chris Sullivan throughout this episode. And I have to say my heart sank when Toby took down his Young Frankenstein poster. Phillip's monologue with Kate about his last wife was a bit over the top for me. And did that Elijah guy actually get Madison pregnant again? Love that Kevin had a different date in every set of scenes. Despite the problems I had with this episode, it was still a heartbreaker. I love this stupid show..

Wow, do I have to rewatch this episode? Where did Madison look pregnant?

I don't overly mind the Philip storyline, but what I didn't find believable was that she was dating so heavily... by the time they were signing divorce papers. However long it took to get through the paperwork of a divorce, I just don't see either one of them jumping back into the dating pool so fast. SOME people do date right away, but if we're supposed to believe their earlier story at all, then we'd have to think that Kate wouldn't be seriously dating so soon. And yeah, Philip's sob story about his first wife was a bit TOO melodramatic. The writers didn't need to go that far.

And I'm sorry, but I just don't see Toby being QUITE that okay with Philip being the stepdad. Even in the best of circumstances, stepparents often have a rough time dealing with the biological parents. The best you can usually hope for is that the bio parent will keep his/her opinions to themselves. That bar scene with Toby and Philip just seemed a little too "This Is Us" dramatic to me. And is he really gonna explain football to Philip?? Male bonding? Really?

Otherwise, though, I too enjoyed seeing Kevin with various shallow women in every scene. And Toby comparing himself to Jack seems like exactly what he would do in that moment. It's been an underlying issue for him since the beginning: competing with that family and the odd Jack-glue that has held it together for too many years. The same issue Miguel has had to endure.

There are, I believe, six episodes left.

There was an early scene where Madison was with Elijah and she was wearing that blue dress and she definitely had a baby bump,

You have to admit there is some legitimacy to Toby's feelings about Kate and Jack.

Oh, if I didn't admit this--or sounded like I agreed--then apologies! I definitely feel like Toby has a legitimate gripe here! He's always had to fight against the Big Three and their continued obsession with their dad.

The beginning of ep 13 brought me straight to downer mode as Rebecca's boredom with the rut her life has become segued into her not remembering that Jack is gone. Though I didn't understand what Rebecca's haircut had to do with the rest of the show. And I know I've said it somewhere in a past post about this show, but Milo Ventimiglia does look like a porn star without the beard. I've never been a big Miguel fan, but it's time for Randall to step aside and let Miguel take care of Rebecca. He can't run the world and be at Rebecca's beck and call at the same time. This is the first episode ever where I felt Miguel made all the right moves. Loved when he referenced Sideways. Why does every TV wedding have to have a scene where the groom wants to see the bride in her wedding dress and the maid(s) of honor are shooing him away? Kate's wedding dress was GORGEOUS. Picking out something flattering for a woman of Chrissy's size couldn't have been easy but they nailed it. Cassidy looked gorgeous too. Didn't really care for Phillip's suit though. I was surprised to see Sophie at the wedding...didn't see that coming at all. Loved Jack's cameo during the Golden Girls scene. Loved Justin's impression of Peter Cook in The Princess Bride...that took guts. Randall's wedding toast was pretentious and over the top..."a remote that pauses life"? Seriously? And the most pleasant surprise of the show was the reveal that Rebecca's song was a vocal interpretation of the musical theme that has been the basis of this show's music score for the past six years. I love this stupid show.

Kevin and his Valentine cards provided a cute opening to ep 14. Though I have to admit it was kind of strange that we got the wedding last week and the night before this week, but then again, that is classic This is Us. And I was right, that is Katie Lowes from Scandal playing the wedding singer...never knew she could sing, they never worked it into her character on Scandal. Little confused by the return of Sophie to the canvas after all this time, though the chemistry is still there. It just seems a little late considering where this show is to bring Sophie back to the canvas. That long shot of Kevin and Sophie walking through that field was hypnotic. But it's a little hard to buy this whole reconnection between Kevin and Sophie at this point and it turned out, I was right about that. That scene at the bar with Justin Hartley and Katie Lowes was terrific. The scene with Kevin and Uncle Nicky was a waste of screentime. Not sure why he would leave that napkin poetry with Cassidy? Cassidy would know what Kevin's handwriting would look like by now, right? The point of this episode seems to have been to show how romantically challenged Kevin is. OK, I don't want to sound insensitive, but why would Kevin rent a car that size for Kate and Phillip? As always, Randall's Buffalo Bills analogy was pretentious and took too long to go where it's going, but I love the fact that I think he's totally wrong. I just find it hard to believe
that Kevin and Sophie are reconnecting while Kate ad Toby fell apart and Randall and Beth are on their way to falling apart. Not really buying that Kevin kept that valentine in his wallet since he was a kid, but I still love this stupid show.

SAME SAME. I burst out laughing when you mentioned the car! I thought the same thing: how would Kate fit into that small car? Sports cars are notoriously tiny, plus they are low to the ground. Anyone who's either out of shape or in any way overweight (cough, me) would have a tough time getting OUT of that car, even if they could get IN. Ridiculous... but since we only see Kevin and Sophie in it, then it looks cool, right? <roll eyes>

I think the writers realized that, if they were going to wrap up Kevin's story, they would have to come full circle: showing us all his encapsulated poor romantic choices, then assuring us that he has finally matured enough to appreciate Sophie--since cheating on her had been his regret right from when it first happened. So now we're back to the beginning with him, where he supposedly was best all along.

Sure, it's clichéd and cheesy, but this is show is the epitome of cheesy, so what did we expect?

And yeah, I wanted to smack Randall after his pointless, still confusing analogy. Except that this family supposedly lived for football, right?

i never watched the tv series but it does look good cause my favorite actress mandy moore is in it but i have so much shows to watch D=

Don't understand how you can be a Mandy Moore fan and have never watched this show.

Have to admit I wasn't too thrilled when I learned that ep 15 was going to be about Miguel because he has always been my least favorite character on the show. But knowing how this show works, a Miguel-centric episode couldn't be avoided forever. Loved Paul Calderon as Miguel's father. Big bouquet to Mandy Moore, who is putting so much detail in playing a character decades older than she is...you could see the pain and confusion she imbued into every move as Miguel helped her out of bed. That scene of Miguel communicating with the triplets by phone was beautifully edited. Have to admit being totally shocked during that job interview scene, we learned that Miguel tried to Americanize himself by changing his name, but learning why he did it was awesome...great suit though. The way Miguel was acting with his parents when he came home for Christmas reminded me a lot of Randall. This Miguel does not jive at all with the Miguel we've been watching the last five seasons. That initial meeting between Miguel and Rebecca just seemed to push too hard to show their initial antagonism for each other, I don't think it needed to be that rough. Rebecca's dance in the snow was a heartbreaker. The attempt to provide as much of Miguel's backstory as they could provided way too jarring changes from scene to scene. Some of this stuff should have been provided in earlier seasons instead of trying to cram it all into one episode. That moment when Rebecca wanted to know where Miguel was totally worked. The triplets' reaction to Rebecca and Miguel being together for the first time made me really hate them.
This episode did nothing to change my mind about the character, but I have to give a shout out to Jon Huertas for the complicated work he had to do to make this episode work. I love this stupid show.

Agreed on most of this. I did like the Miguel character, and I cried a little when it turned out that he died before Rebecca. He was the unsung hero of that family for being steadfast for Rebecca through everything, doting on her longer than he should have, given his own issues. He didn't seem to do it out of duty, either, but out of love.

The grown kids' reactions to seeing him with their mom for the first time was a bit ridiculous. It had been nearly a decade since Jack died. They needed to get over holding their mom on a pedestal where she couldn't see Miguel. Frankly, you'd think they'd be grateful it was someone who clearly knew her well and loved her. Whatever. Those "kids" sometimes need to get over themselves.

Also, I laughed when they said that East Liberty was "near" Pittsburgh. It IS Pittsburgh--one of the neighborhoods within the city limits. The first year I lived here in Pittsburgh, it was in East Liberty.