NBC

THIS IS US: “A Philadelphia Story” discussion

By Karen | October 7, 2018

NBC’s THIS IS US gave us another amazing episode Tuesday night and we are HERE for it. Join Nice Girls Ange and Karen as they share their thoughts on the episode…

Karen: Some really interesting storylines in this week’s episodes. Lots of self-blame and self-doubt, anger and concern, but above all, choices. And they all center around wanting to belong. Kate wants to be a mother to remember her father, Randall wants to know where he fits in, and Kevin wants to know if he’s good enough (for Zoe as well as for the big screen). What are your general thoughts regarding these themes Ange?

Ange: As I suspected, it didn’t take long for the show to hit us in the feels again – what an episode! You’ve hit the nail on the head with the theme of this week’s episode and the choices the characters made all relating to that want to belong, and not just with The Big Three. We see it with past Rebecca as she struggles to move forward with life after Jack – who she is without him and what that life means. Then there’s William and ChiChi in the flashbacks as he perseveres to form a connection with her and help her become a part of his community and even Deja in the present trying to settle into her new and much whiter school (TSA standing for Taylor Swift Appreciation rather than being airport related, haha!) and Randall then taking her to William’s old community to see if meeting people there will help her feel more part of a community. That want to belong is a universal thing and the show does so well in portraying these relatable situations and drawing us in.

Karen: Rebecca seems over-protective when it comes to Kate’s in-vitro, and then we learn the real reason. She was gutted over losing Jack, so just the thought of something happening to one of her children is inconceivable to her. I was frustrated with her for so much of the episode, and then WHAM, I got whiplash flipping around so hard after the scene where she tells Kate she simply CANNOT lose her. These writers…

Ange: I’m with you there in feeling frustrated with Rebecca for being such a downer on Kate and Toby’s IVF plans, especially given how unsupportive Rebecca’s mother was with her choices, but I’m glad that Rebecca was given the opportunity to explain why she feels the way she does and it was a nice gesture to see her help Kate with her injection.

Karen: With Randall, we get two for the price of one. In present-day, he takes Deja downtown so she can be with other black girls after she makes a comment about how white her school is. He’s outraged when he sees the condition of the rec center, so he takes off to meet with the councilman in charge of that ward. However, with that action, he’s proving that he’s not really one of the people – he’s stuck somewhere in-between. It hits home when he meets back up with his family and is told that Kate is the “last hope” to pass on a little bit of their father. Where does he belong? Will he be able to help Deja figure it out if he doesn’t know for himself?

And secondly, we learn that he turned down Howard University in order to stay closer to home for his mother. Heartwrenching! We also get treated to shots of young Randall at a party where he tries to fit in with other black students, showing that he’s been trying to fit in for his entire life.

Ange: Oof, boy did I feel for all versions of Randall this week! If there’s anything to be taken from this episode it’s that desire to belong and the struggle to find your place in the world doesn’t go away, no matter how old you get. Younger Randall’s decision to turn down his dream school to be closer to the family definitely gave me the feels and then that last scene when Kevin casually mentions Kate’s comment about being the last hope to pass on a little bit of their father, I just wanted to hug Randall! You bring up a really good point about how can he help Deja figure out where she belongs if he’s not sure about that himself. The beauty of this show is the subtleties they show with themes like this. These troubles that are plaguing Randall won’t be going away that easily that’s for sure!

Karen: Toby’s story continues a little when we see him explode and then take some time away to cool down. I think this will be a slow burn, but with a large Kate-centric story planned for the next episode, I’m not sure about that. What do you think?

Ange: I’ve avoided looking at previews or spoilers for next week but I do think that Toby’s storyline will be a bit of a slow burn and something that we’ll see throughout the season rather than it being tied up in a nice little bow in a matter of weeks. Depression has its ups and downs, so Toby is sure to have his good days and bad and perhaps a lot of that will come up next week, I don’t know. I am looking forward to seeing how this storyline plays out. For the most part we’ve seen Toby as this happy go lucky guy so this story arc is sure to show him in a more relatable way where there is both darkness and light.

Karen: Past Kevin is in a few scenes where we see him drinking after his father’s death, and then lamenting that Jack never saw him act. Most of his story takes place in the present – since it’s PREMIERE NIGHT! The family reunites just in time to see him on the big screen, which is how it should be. With Kevin’s star set to shine, how will it affect everybody else? Will Zoe regret not being there?

Ange: I think we definitely got a sense of Zoe feeling bad that she couldn’t be there at the end of the episode but I can understand why she prioritised work – their relationship is still early days at this point. I mean are they even calling it a relationship yet? We know that things will become more serious and it will be nice to see a more settled down and stable version of Kevin. I’d also like to see more flashbacks to his relationship with Sophie, particularly during post Jack’s death or while they were married – we’ve had references to that time but I’d also like to see what type of person Kevin was then.

As for how Kevin’s rising star will affect the rest of the family, I think it might be a nice relief for them to see him doing well especially given the dark period he went through last season. Although like Randall’s acceptance into college, it is bittersweet that Jack never go to witness him act let alone become a big star. We definitely got a glimpse of that with that alternate world scene where we see Jack at the premiere to support Kevin; it was a nice touch.

Side note, I don’t know if it’s just me but wow Logan Shroyer AKA teen Kevin really is like a younger version of Justin Hartley! In this latest ep, there were moments where I noticed the similarities between teen Kev’s mannerisms and present Kev’s mannerisms and he even sounded like him a little. It was a little eerie at times!

Karen: I don’t know about you, but was painful to see that Jack and Rebecca had come OH SO CLOSE to having a long full life together. Rebecca must have shouldered a lot of blame over the years, and telling Randall about the house was letting go of just a little of that. I wasn’t sure what to make of that bit, and the fact that Jack’s death could’ve been avoided! Randall’s and Rebecca’s lives were both affected by one decision, both in very different ways.

Ange: Oh man, those Jack and Rebecca scenes! It hurt to see them talking about the future and knowing that this conversation had taken place just mere weeks before Jack passed away. * sob * Then Rebecca’s quote about how she’s struggling to cope without Jack – “It’s a struggle for me to get out of bed every morning. It takes every single ounce of energy that I have and then I have nothing left for the rest of the day.” This show sure knows how to portray what it’s like to lose someone and that it’s not a case of an easy fix. But yes, life is a funny thing where what seems like one simple decision can have a profound affect on the rest of your life.

THIS IS US airs Tuesday 10/9/c on NBC.