This is Us- Season four

[lisaviolet]

Rebecca's storyline is just too much. I applaud them for doing it but I just selfishly wish they weren't doing such a damn good job.

 

[DLgal]

Great post.

Toby is lost and can't make the leap. And I get Kate - her mindset is just make the damn leap - shouldn't even be a leap, get over yourself Toby. There is no space for Toby's struggle because it is selfish.

What an excruciating divide.

I have been on both sides of that coin. Been the one with a selfish struggle. And the one that has no time for someone's vulnerable thoughts because there's a damn task at hand.

This is a very common experience for parents of special needs kids. It happened in my marriage too. Our kids are autistic. I accepted it fully VERY early on, but my husband didn't until very recently. Our oldest is 15 now, so it took a LONG time. It is hard situation to be in and some parents can never accept the reality of the situation and be content with it. This causes a lot of divorces.

 

[Gracedis1]

I thought this was a great episode. I thought the Toby story was quite believable. It takes some parents a long time to accept their child's differences. And that's not a failing, just a process. I really hope they can work it out.

I know I'm in the minority, but I loved the way the concert date turned out. They were setting us up for the grand gesture/instant love story but life isn't that easy. I laughed so hard!

I was heartbroken by Rebecca's story. My mom is very private with her medical information, and when you have 5 kids it can create major problems. You want to respect her privacy but when one sibling knows and others don't, it's really hard.

My heart stopped with the Randall story at the end. Can't wait for next week.

 

[sksjasams]

One part that made me laugh out loud literally was when Kevin was on a blind date and the girl said that awful line about Ethiopia and he had such a look on his face before saying that’s it, I’m firing my matchmaker.

Yes, I rewound and watched that part twice. The face he made was so funny...

 

[tcufrog]

Kevin’s response to the Ethiopia comment made me like him more because it was visceral and he didn’t have to think about his response.

 

[AustinTink]

Ok? Urban legends, by definition, aren't true.

It's rumor about Richard Gere that plagued him for decades. I think it was rude to put it in the script now, since it has finally settled down for him. it was totally unnecessary. Why drag him down for no reason?

 

[DisneyLover1217]

It's rumor about Richard Gere that plagued him for decades. I think it was rude to put it in the script now, since it has finally settled down for him. it was totally unnecessary. Why drag him down for no reason?

I was wondering about that too, why pick on him because you know just about everyone who watched that episode googled to see what the urban legend was about him.

 

[PollyannaMom]

What was the Richard Gere line? I obviously missed it, or it didn't register on my radar as somehow being offensive or 'low brow'.

I didn't catch it either.

Kevin was talking to an assistant on a movie set about urban legends, he didn't realize a "hall pass" truly existed. In the conversation, he mentioned a few urban legends, Richard Gere and the gerbil was one.

Thanks for explaining.

 

[Diznygrl]

The only thing that really bugged me about this episode was the stupid John Legend thing. What?? Dude, Kevin is not THAT famous that he could just call up John Legend at a moment's notice and have him show up at the Hollywood Bowl (grand piano at the ready!) to perform for Kevin's date night. And it was obviously just a shameless promotion for John's new song/album since the announcer made sure to tell us to buy it before the commercial break.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

This episode's ending made me think of a different possible reason for Kevin's comment along the lines of we're not talking to Randall. Remember, Mom? Maybe they can't talk to Randall. Maybe this intruder incident triggers another breakdown for Randall and this time he seeks help for it. Maybe he goes into a facility for a period of time to do intense work to try to heal or cope with his anxiety disorder. We already saw a scene in an earlier episode where Beth encourages Randall to seek help for himself since they are considering seeking help for Tess. Maybe everything (work pressures, worrying about Deja and Tess, Rebecca's illness, keeping her illness to himself, and now the intruder) converges to reach a point of no return to where he finally feels he can no longer handle things without professional help. I would much rather see this play out than a serious rift within the family.

As for the rest of the episode:

- heartbreak over Rebecca's illness
- The scenes with Rebecca and Jack were beautiful.
- It was nice to see another side to Rebecca's mother (Janet?).
- Kate and Toby have a rough road ahead if things don't change soon.
- Really hope Kevin ends up with Sophie. I don't want to see hall pass woman again.
- Miguel made me cry. Even when vulnerable, he is a rock (I don't want to lose her vs I'll take care of her).
- Rebecca has been so lucky to have both Jack and Miguel in her life.
- I am so mad at the writers for giving us a thriller/horror type ending to this episode. I despise movies and shows like that, and I was not expecting This Is Us to go there. I had chills and tears and all of that. It was a horrible feeling, and I'm not even Randall.

 

[brockash]

This episode's ending made me think of a different possible reason for Kevin's comment along the lines of we're not talking to Randall. Remember, Mom? Maybe they can't talk to Randall. Maybe this intruder incident triggers another breakdown for Randall and this time he seeks help for it. Maybe he goes into a facility for a period of time to do intense work to try to heal or cope with his anxiety disorder. We already saw a scene in an earlier episode where Beth encourages Randall to seek help for himself since they are considering seeking help for Tess. Maybe everything (work pressures, worrying about Deja and Tess, Rebecca's illness, keeping her illness to himself, and now the intruder) converges to reach a point of no return to where he finally feels he can no longer handle things without professional help. I would much rather see this play out than a serious rift within the family.

As for the rest of the episode:

- heartbreak over Rebecca's illness
- The scenes with Rebecca and Jack were beautiful.
- It was nice to see another side to Rebecca's mother (Janet?).
- Kate and Toby have a rough road ahead if things don't change soon.
- Really hope Kevin ends up with Sophie. I don't want to see hall pass woman again.
- Miguel made me cry. Even when vulnerable, he is a rock (I don't want to lose her vs I'll take care of her).
- Rebecca has been so lucky to have both Jack and Miguel in her life.
- I am so mad at the writers for giving us a thriller/horror type ending to this episode. I despise movies and shows like that, and I was not expecting This Is Us to go there. I had chills and tears and all of that. It was a horrible feeling, and I'm not even Randall.

I totally agree...I also hate that my mind automatically goes to that scene when I lay down at night which drives me nuts... I have to consciously make myself think of something else. I'm too much of a baby for that kind of stuff.

 

[AustinTink]

One of the This is Us producers broke down the episode here https://ew.com/tv/2020/01/14/this-i...6LnSFpMahDNgHTOrq561VuLllQ5R38Yi3jAA-WYavH0Zk

 

[kimblebee]

One of the This is Us producers broke down the episode here https://ew.com/tv/2020/01/14/this-i...6LnSFpMahDNgHTOrq561VuLllQ5R38Yi3jAA-WYavH0Zk

Great article, thanks for posting it. I like when they do these interviews. They give a little information and keep enough vague that they’re not giving spoilers.

 

[cabanafrau]

I totally agree...I also hate that my mind automatically goes to that scene when I lay down at night which drives me nuts... I have to consciously make myself think of something else. I'm too much of a baby for that kind of stuff.

I think I maybe might have coped with the idea if it hadn't been completely sprung on the audience out of the blue. I know that was part of the storytelling device, I was just completely unprepared and wasn't even peeking through my fingers to watch when they hit us with that. As a result it took me to a place I don't enjoy as entertainment and I'm unsure what I'll do about trying to watch the next episode. I've spent an awful lot of time here this week trying to distract from several grim work situations, I really don't need a TV show I enjoy delivering monsters to my living room. I may just wait and read spoilers to decide if it's an episode I'm going to watch. I also don't relish the idea of revisiting really stressful scenes in flashbacks in upcoming episodes.

 

[fly girl]

The only thing that really bugged me about this episode was the stupid John Legend thing. What?? Dude, Kevin is not THAT famous that he could just call up John Legend at a moment's notice and have him show up at the Hollywood Bowl (grand piano at the ready!) to perform for Kevin's date night. And it was obviously just a shameless promotion for John's new song/album since the announcer made sure to tell us to buy it before the commercial break.

Yes! It was obvious advertising. (and I am not a John Legend fan at all, so I happily fast forwarded through his performance)

 

[kimblebee]

I think I maybe might have coped with the idea if it hadn't been completely sprung on the audience out of the blue. I know that was part of the storytelling device, I was just completely unprepared and wasn't even peeking through my fingers to watch when they hit us with that. As a result it took me to a place I don't enjoy as entertainment and I'm unsure what I'll do about trying to watch the next episode. I've spent an awful lot of time here this week trying to distract from several grim work situations, I really don't need a TV show I enjoy delivering monsters to my living room. I may just wait and read spoilers to decide if it's an episode I'm going to watch. I also don't relish the idea of revisiting really stressful scenes in flashbacks in upcoming episodes.

I read the article that was posted and it doesn’t sound like the next episode is going to be awful. I guess it depends on what your past experiences are but they said it wouldn’t be a case where the family is held hostage or Randall is kidnapped and forced to do awful things.

It’s a funny thing about what everyone’s triggers are. In the article, it said we’re going to go through Rebecca getting blood tests and an MRI and that freaks me out. I wonder if I’ll get second hand claustrophobia lol

More likely I’ll be yelling at the screen on how inaccurate the procedure is compared to real life.

 

[poohfriend77]

Yeah, I noticed that right away because when Randall first mentioned keeping quiet about it I thought "Uh-oh...this is what leads to the problem between the siblings." And then I realized it was Rebecca who was asking for them not to be told, and I get that. You already have one kid worrying about you and you don't want the others worrying, too, especially when they have stuff on their plates. But Randall has plenty on his plate, too. He's not Superman. And I feel bad that he's left in a position of not having his siblings' support during this situation. He's between a rock & a hard place. He wants to honor his mother's wish, yet it would be better for all 3 siblings to know the truth now.

So, anyway, I still think that they might wind up angry with him for keeping quiet about it, because while Rebecca asked him to do so, the whole point of this secret is that she's likely suffering from some degree of cognitive impairment. So I could see Kevin &/or Kate arguing that Rebecca wasn't in the best place to make that decision. Ugh. It's just not a great thing, even if it isn't what ultimately leads to them not speaking to one another.

Yes to all of this! Plus, Rebecca moved closer to Kate to help with Baby Jack. What if she is babysitting and has an “episode?” Kate deserves to know if it may become aand so far it seems Rebecca and Miguel are still a bit in denial about how bad things are getting.

I also loved Kevin’s reaction to the Ethiopia comment. So perfect! I’m not sure what I think about the Sophie possibility yet.

 

[crazylady]

I think Randall is having some kind of stress induced episode and there really isn't an intruder. But if it is an intruder, I got to thinking... have we seen the other girls in the future or just Tess?

I got the same vibes about Kevin and Kate's friend. Yuck! I may have yelled at the TV. I was happy when Hall Pass girl appeared.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I think Randall is having some kind of stress induced episode and there really isn't an intruder. But if it is an intruder, I got to thinking... have we seen the other girls in the future or just Tess?

That did cross my mind, as we have not seen them, but I think I read after one of the flash forward episodes that we were not to read anything sinister into that. I expect they just didn't want to cast them before they were ready.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think Randall is having some kind of stress induced episode and there really isn't an intruder.

That was my thought as well.

I wasn't a fan of the episode in general. But then I'm not a fan of Rebecca's story line. I don't think they're doing a good job of aging Mandy Moore, and when you couple that with the early onset dementia story line, I just have a hard time buying it.