THIS IS US: “The Right Thing to Do” {Roundtable}

After a one-month hiatus, NBC’s This Is Us returned this week and we got answers that had been keeping us hanging since the mid-season finale last year. Nice Girls Melissa and Ange discuss the show’s return and what it meant for the Pearson family and co.

Toby lives! His brush with death turned out to be an arrhythmia, not a heart attack. Did you think Toby was going to die?

Ange: I thought it was going to take the show to a dark place if Toby died mid-season considering we already have two deaths looming over the show at the moment with William in the present and Jack in the past. That being said, the pessimist in me was ready for there to be complications in Toby’s surgery and for him to have passed away then.

Melissa: No, and for the same reasons you mentioned, Ange. We’re already bracing ourselves for two deaths we know are coming, I didn’t really think we’d have to say goodbye to someone else, too. Also, Toby is a fan favorite. He gets to live.

What do we think about Kate basically proposing to him? And Toby being all for it? As sweet and funny as that was, doesn’t it seem a bit early to be talking marriage? They still have some pretty big stuff to work through.

Ange: I totally agree with you there, Melissa! I was like ‘wow, marriage already? You guys only just got back together’. It’s sweet that they’re committing themselves to each other for the long haul but I agree, they still have some pretty big things to work through – like what are Toby’s thoughts on Kate’s intention to have the gastric bypass surgery? – so I am chalking this up to getting caught up in the whole near-death experience business.

THIS IS US — “The Right Thing to Do” Episode 111 — Pictured: (l-r) Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson, Ron Cephas Jones as William Hill — (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

I’m not crying, you’re crying! Anyone else bawl over the Randall and William scene where William tells Randall that the chemo isn’t working and that he wants to spare Randall and his family from the agony for watching him die? Can we also talk about how Sterling nailed Randall’s childlike innocence in his insistence that he is strong enough to handle it? #feels

Melissa: This is getting ridiculous. Sterling K. Brown is SO good, he makes it all look so easy, it barely even registers any more. How about when he’s trying to “get to know” Jessie and is super awkward? Or at the hospital when he’s supposed to be distracting Kate and tells her a story about gluten and muffins? Or when his wife is trying to seduce him in the bath tub? That man can do everything. Give him all the awards.

Ange: I second everything Melissa says! And now I’m laughing as I remember the muffin and gluten moment…

THIS IS US — “The Right Thing to Do” Episode 111 — Pictured: (l-r) Justin Hartley as Kevin Pearson, Milana Vayntrub as Sloane Sandburg — (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

Two girls and a guy – Kevin talks about doing the right thing regarding his situation with Olivia and Sloane, but did he actually do the right thing?

Melissa: I’m…withholding judgement. Keeping Sloane in the play seems to be the right call based on the director’s comments (remember how hard it was for Kevin and Olivia to connect on stage?). Romantically, I’m not sure what we – and Sloane – heard Kevin say is actually what he meant. Or it is, but in the sense that “doing the right thing” means being an adult and honoring a commitment you JUST MADE to a woman who you really like versus chasing after the wild, mean, possibly mental ill but still sexy hot mess. He has some fences to mend with Sloane, but I want to believe that Kevin’s heart is in the right place.

Ange: I believe that Kevin has the best intentions. He may be flawed and get things wrong from time to time (and don’t we all?) but he means well. Part of me wonders if he said the whole “doing the right thing” because he not only didn’t want to hurt Olivia more than he had by wanting to Sloane to stay in the play, but also because he’s not aware of what he feels for Sloane yet. After all, he didn’t know that Sloane was listening while he was having this conversation with Olivia.

THIS IS US — “The Right Thing to Do” Episode 111 — Pictured: Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson — (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

This episode we see Jack and Rebecca hiding things from each other – she her breakdown after she thinks he has left, and he the fact that he went to his estranged abusive father for money. Thoughts?

Melissa: I love them both so much that I have to think we’ll soon see them open up to each other about these secrets.

Ange: The fact that they’re not the perfect couple makes me love them even more. As long as they have good intentions and it doesn’t come to haunt them later on, I can deal.

Also, Jack pretending he’s a screwup to his father – that was basically to protect his family from him right? Just when you think this show can’t possibly show more of how Jack Pearson is the ultimate father/husband, he goes and does something even more incredible!

Melissa: That could be his motivation. We’ve seen Jack be very protective of his family, so I buy it. I also thought that Jack knows how to play his father – pretend he needs the money because he’s a screw up, like his dad. If he told his father the money was to buy a house for his wife and children, I’m not sure the results would have been the same. Jack’s father seems more inclined to spend his money on alcohol and gambling than his family, so Jack appealed to that side of him to get what he needed. His little smirk as he left the house made me cheer a little.

Ange: Seriously, best TV Dad ever. I liked that we got to see a pre-Rebecca Jack and more of his back story. To me, I can see that the father that Jack chooses to be is motivated by his own upbringing and it’s interesting to see that contrast.

THIS IS US — “The Right Thing to Do” Episode 111 — Pictured: Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth Pearson — (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

Favorite lines?

Ange: I love the whole Randall and Beth bathroom scene where he’s worried that he’s a homophobic and Beth points out flaws in his argument in her typical rational Beth way. (PS Not enough Beth in this ep.)

Melissa: There’s never enough Beth! I enjoyed that bathroom scene on many levels – Beth’s logic, Randall’s desire to be a better man and understand why he’s having trouble with Jessie’s presence, the banter about their daughters, and Beth seducing Randall. Between those two and Jack/Rebecca, the list of #RelationshipGoals just keeps getting longer.

Other thoughts?
Ange: Dr K! What a great cameo. Anytime Dr K makes an appearance I am happy. 🙂

Melissa: It was nice to see him again. Looks like he’s back next week, too. Also, I know this is 2017 me weighing in on a 1979/1980 attitude, but it kind of bothered me that Jack rented the apartment and bought a house without consulting Rebecca. I don’t think that was entirely abnormal for the time, but I guess I viewed Jack and Rebecca as more equal, more collaborative than that.

Ange: I’m ready to once again bawl my eyes out next week. (Although let’s be real, we’re always ready to bawl our eyes out with this show!) And I totally understand what you mean about Jack making two big decisions in this episode without consulting Rebecca. It’ll be interesting to see as we move closer to the present with the flashbacks whether or not that decision-making process becomes more equal.

This is Us airs Tuesday 9/8c on NBC.

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