This Is Us

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It was a well done episode. I'm surprised that nobody mentioned that Randall called William "Dad" for the first time when he was holding his face in his hands. That being said, I can't get past the fact that William abandoned his son. He could have gotten his shit together and raised him but chose not to. Not a big William fan so I'm glad this storyline is done.

He did get his shit together, and then asked to be a part of his life, but Mandy Moore froze him out.

Ok so this is one thing I didn't get. They showed William's downward spiral into drug use. They also showed him telling Mandy Moore that he was clean and wanted to be a part of his son’s life. I get that she didn’t want him to do that. What I don’t get is what William did for the next 30+ years? He was clean for a while yet never went back to see his cousin or join back up with the band. In some ways they make it sounds like he was a drug addict for a lot longer than he really was.

In last night's episode William told his cousin that he didn't go back because he was embarrassed about what he (William) had become.

I saw that, but was still confused because it seemed like his drug years didn't last that long, based on when he told Rebecca he was clean and wanted a relationship with his son. So what did he do for those 30yrs?

It's likely William went back to drugs after Rebecca made sure he wasn't part of Randall's life. It can be a lifelong struggle. My brother just passed away from an overdose after 30 years of using. He had clean periods of time, but lived with so much shame.

And William took up with that guy, remember?

That's right, they never did show him saying his goodbyes to Jessie (I think was his name?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so many things I loved about this episode.

Old William hugging his young mom when he dies. OMG that blew me away

William thanking Jack for raising his son and basically seeing that it took the two of them: WIlliam and Jack to make Randall the great man he is today

when Randall held William's head th3e way his dad did for him - I thought that was a bit too melodramatic for me - William wasn't having a panic attack and it seemed a bit contrived.

You don't know that William was clean and sober for 30 years - he could have been in and out of sobriety over those years.

I didn't think the connection between Randall and all the cousins seemed real. Like the other pp said - he only knew WIlliam for a few months and then he just met the cousins - I don't know. I get why they did it, but didn't resonate with me

I thought Randall doing the Oprah bit ("YOU get a cousin! "And YOU get a cousin!") was funny.

Why did he mention that he was raised by white people to explain his excitement over having cousins? I did not grow up in the US so did not get this cultural reference.

I think the reference to being raised by white people was just a joke to explain why he was acting so corny and "white." I thought it was funny, but of course, if the opposite remark had been made ("I was raised by black people!") I'm sure we'd never hear the end of how "offensive" it was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was a well done episode. I'm surprised that nobody mentioned that Randall called William "Dad" for the first time when he was holding his face in his hands. That being said, I can't get past the fact that William abandoned his son. He could have gotten his shit together and raised him but chose not to. Not a big William fan so I'm glad this storyline is done.

He did get his shit together, and then asked to be a part of his life, but Mandy Moore froze him out.

Ok so this is one thing I didn't get. They showed William's downward spiral into drug use. They also showed him telling Mandy Moore that he was clean and wanted to be a part of his son’s life. I get that she didn’t want him to do that. What I don’t get is what William did for the next 30+ years? He was clean for a while yet never went back to see his cousin or join back up with the band. In some ways they make it sounds like he was a drug addict for a lot longer than he really was.

In last night's episode William told his cousin that he didn't go back because he was embarrassed about what he (William) had become.

I saw that, but was still confused because it seemed like his drug years didn't last that long, based on when he told Rebecca he was clean and wanted a relationship with his son. So what did he do for those 30yrs?

It's likely William went back to drugs after Rebecca made sure he wasn't part of Randall's life. It can be a lifelong struggle. My brother just passed away from an overdose after 30 years of using. He had clean periods of time, but lived with so much shame.

And William took up with that guy, remember?

That's right, they never did show him saying his goodbyes to Jessie (I think was his name?).

I also thought it was weird that they didn't show the goodbye with William's boyfriend. He just disappeared.

[Anonymous]

Loved the song William wrote. Apparently, it was written for the episode. https://youtu.be/lwSyX_RnOmE http://www.tvguide.com/news/this-is-us-we-can-always-come-back-to-this-download/

[Anonymous]

Beautiful, well done episode. I lost it when Old William embraced his young mother. That was such a beautiful death scene and like how I want to picture what happens when we enter the afterlife.

One thing confused me - locations. William grew up in Memphis. As a young man, I thought he went to Pittsburgh to play music with his cousin. His mom ended up in some other town. I know she said the name but I forget it.

Mom gets sick, calls William and he goes to her. But once he is there, he rides the bus and meets the girl so it seems like he would be in Pittsburgh. Can someone please clarify where he was with his cousin and then his mom?

[Anonymous]

I think his mom went to Pittsburg to take care of her mom and stayed. He stayed in Memphis and played music with his cousin. He left Memphis to take care of his mom and never came back.

[Anonymous]

I think Willam's mom left Memphis and went to Pittsburgh to help her own mother. She urged William to stay in Memphis to pursue his music. At the end of her life, he went to Pittsburgh, and that's how he wound up there.

I was wondering if the woman he met on the bus was Randall's birth mother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Willam's mom left Memphis and went to Pittsburgh to help her own mother. She urged William to stay in Memphis to pursue his music. At the end of her life, he went to Pittsburgh, and that's how he wound up there.

I was wondering if the woman he met on the bus was Randall's birth mother.

She is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Willam's mom left Memphis and went to Pittsburgh to help her own mother. She urged William to stay in Memphis to pursue his music. At the end of her life, he went to Pittsburgh, and that's how he wound up there.

I was wondering if the woman he met on the bus was Randall's birth mother.

Yes--they showed them meeting that way and slowly descending into addiction in an earlier episode.

[Anonymous]

What was the manuscript that William gave to Randall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What was the manuscript that William gave to Randall?

It said "Poems for my Son" on the front.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was the manuscript that William gave to Randall?

It said "Poems for my Son" on the front.

I think he had the book of poems the time Mandy Moore stopped by and showed him 8 year old Randall's picture. William got excited about possibly meeting his son and while he was pulling the book of his poems out of somewhere, Mandy Moore quickly left while his back was turned.

[Anonymous]

The character's name is Rebecca, people!!

Character name, character name, character name...and Mandy Moore - ack!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The character's name is Rebecca, people!!

Character name, character name, character name...and Mandy Moore - ack!

I thought that was funny, too, that everyone has their character name here, except MM.

[Anonymous]

Just watched amazing last episode. Question: What did William remove from the fire place?