This Is Us -- Season 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Damn, tonight’s episode was profound!

The take away message for me: Babies having babies is a form of child abuse.

Well, I would disagree with that as the take away message, but yes, a really beautiful episode. I was already crying at Goodnight Moon.

For me, this show and especially this episode, are such a perfect antidote to how I feel about society right now. It's a reminder of what we all share, what binds us as human beings. We are more alike than different. It sounds trite to say it, but it's important.

It was beautiful. I love that the shows that we are all people pretty much just trying to get from one day to the next and to take care of the ones they love.

[Anonymous]

I was surprised the episode was entirely Deja's backstory, but the interspersing with the births and other Pearson memories was inspired, especially the Goodnight Moon sequence. And Deja finding a common denominator with the rest of the world in sleep was really moving.

So what about gray-haired, seemingly alive Jack in the preview for next week? Rebecca's imagination?

[Anonymous]

I was starting to get tired of the show, but this episode made me fall in love with it all over again. Such a great episode.

When CPS first became involved when Deja went to the hospital, they should have tried harder to keep them together before removing Deja. She wasn't in such danger that she needed to spend the night in the office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was starting to get tired of the show, but this episode made me fall in love with it all over again. Such a great episode.

When CPS first became involved when Deja went to the hospital, they should have tried harder to keep them together before removing Deja. She wasn't in such danger that she needed to spend the night in the office.

I wondered about CPS removal too. I think it's the injury being pretty bad, which is about safety, and Shauna being out drinking until late and not reachable, which is about neglect. Those two were probably enough to move Deja for the night. There's probably more about what happened after Deja's first placement and Shauna's behavior, including the alluded to substance abuse we might see in future episodes.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone else notice how in the one scene of Deja in her apartment before the accident, she was watching "The Manny"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone else notice how in the one scene of Deja in her apartment before the accident, she was watching "The Manny"?

I did notice that, Nice detail.
This was a good episode and shows how some kids are just born with the weight of the world on their shoulders and everything against them from birth. And then we expect schools to fix everything. Its really sad and so true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Damn, tonight’s episode was profound!

The take away message for me: Babies having babies is a form of child abuse.

Well, I would disagree with that as the take away message, but yes, a really beautiful episode. I was already crying at Goodnight Moon.

For me, this show and especially this episode, are such a perfect antidote to how I feel about society right now. It's a reminder of what we all share, what binds us as human beings. We are more alike than different. It sounds trite to say it, but it's important.

It was beautiful. I love that the shows that we are all people pretty much just trying to get from one day to the next and to take care of the ones they love.

Beautifully said--that is what makes the time jumps so effective---fashion, presidents, faces all change but down deep all that is important stays the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved this episode. It added richness. Not every episode has to move the plot forward in some dramatic way.

I think the best scene of this whole series so far has been Jack cleaning the kitchen the night of the fire. His scenes usually portray him as some super dad, but in that one, he was just doing the unrecognized, ordinary caretaking of a parent, not knowing it was that day he could do that for them. There was such a simple tenderness about it.

+1

Very nice observation

Agreed; it's the quiet, small moments that make me love this show so much. I'm impressed that even in the BIG episode, they had some restraint. Because sometimes they seriously lack restraint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ha! The darn tree was in Pittsburgh!

Count me in as another poster who would like this show to get the geography right. The writers didn't have to set this in Pittsburgh & NJ, but they chose to do so. Having grown up in NJ, I can't help that the entire time, I'm like: where do they live that Randall (pre-breakdown) commutes into Manhattan by car in 30 minutes and yet they apparently are in South Jersey near Philly and Camden/Trenton (which is where Beth supposedly works). So, let's give them a little leeway and say that they live near Princeton, so that's over an hour commute each way by car into Manhattan. Manuel & Rebecca apparently also live in NJ, apparently near-ish to Randall? So let's say they also live near Princeton. Princeton-Pittsburgh is over 5 hours by car, so apparently Kevin drove 5 hours to get to that tree (and the Superbowl would be over by the time he got back to Rebecca's).

The other thing is that the landscape is so clearly California. They go to the cabin and it doesn't look like anything on east coast. Daylight under the tree during Superbowl? Makes sense if the tree is in California (which is where they are filming this).

Why didn't they just set the damn show in California, instead of needing us to suspend belief about where this is taking place?

Agreed; this has been bothering me. I thought in one of the early Deja scenes, they showed a Newark police car. Which would make sense -- Randall and Beth could live in Summit or Short Hills or somewhere like that. That all made sense to me, because when they would go into NY for Randall's job or Kevin's play, that would be a short trip.

Beth's job is definitely in Trenton. Doable. But the frequent back and forth to Pittsburgh is not really doable.

[Anonymous]

I loved how they showed all of the similar circumstances that Deja and the Pearsons had gone through, with one striking difference. The Pearsons always had each other during tragedies - Deja really had no one. She was always alone - at the hospital, at home making dinner, etc. That made me so sad.

The actress who plays Deja is fantastic. That last scene with Randall, when she said, "I'm just so tired," really got me. She just wanted to stop moving around and have a place to call home.

I really wonder if her mother is going to disappear from her life? I can't imagine that would help Deja in any way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Ha! The darn tree was in Pittsburgh!

Count me in as another poster who would like this show to get the geography right. The writers didn't have to set this in Pittsburgh & NJ, but they chose to do so. Having grown up in NJ, I can't help that the entire time, I'm like: where do they live that Randall (pre-breakdown) commutes into Manhattan by car in 30 minutes and yet they apparently are in South Jersey near Philly and Camden/Trenton (which is where Beth supposedly works). So, let's give them a little leeway and say that they live near Princeton, so that's over an hour commute each way by car into Manhattan. Manuel & Rebecca apparently also live in NJ, apparently near-ish to Randall? So let's say they also live near Princeton. Princeton-Pittsburgh is over 5 hours by car, so apparently Kevin drove 5 hours to get to that tree (and the Superbowl would be over by the time he got back to Rebecca's).

The other thing is that the landscape is so clearly California. They go to the cabin and it doesn't look like anything on east coast. Daylight under the tree during Superbowl? Makes sense if the tree is in California (which is where they are filming this).

Why didn't they just set the damn show in California, instead of needing us to suspend belief about where this is taking place?

Agreed; this has been bothering me. I thought in one of the early Deja scenes, they showed a Newark police car. Which would make sense -- Randall and Beth could live in Summit or Short Hills or somewhere like that. That all made sense to me, because when they would go into NY for Randall's job or Kevin's play, that would be a short trip.

Beth's job is definitely in Trenton. Doable. But the frequent back and forth to Pittsburgh is not really doable.

When did they say they were growing up in Pittsburgh? Couldn't Jack have grown up there and been a Steelers fan and that's why they are all obsessed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Ha! The darn tree was in Pittsburgh!

Count me in as another poster who would like this show to get the geography right. The writers didn't have to set this in Pittsburgh & NJ, but they chose to do so. Having grown up in NJ, I can't help that the entire time, I'm like: where do they live that Randall (pre-breakdown) commutes into Manhattan by car in 30 minutes and yet they apparently are in South Jersey near Philly and Camden/Trenton (which is where Beth supposedly works). So, let's give them a little leeway and say that they live near Princeton, so that's over an hour commute each way by car into Manhattan. Manuel & Rebecca apparently also live in NJ, apparently near-ish to Randall? So let's say they also live near Princeton. Princeton-Pittsburgh is over 5 hours by car, so apparently Kevin drove 5 hours to get to that tree (and the Superbowl would be over by the time he got back to Rebecca's).

The other thing is that the landscape is so clearly California. They go to the cabin and it doesn't look like anything on east coast. Daylight under the tree during Superbowl? Makes sense if the tree is in California (which is where they are filming this).

Why didn't they just set the damn show in California, instead of needing us to suspend belief about where this is taking place?

Agreed; this has been bothering me. I thought in one of the early Deja scenes, they showed a Newark police car. Which would make sense -- Randall and Beth could live in Summit or Short Hills or somewhere like that. That all made sense to me, because when they would go into NY for Randall's job or Kevin's play, that would be a short trip.

Beth's job is definitely in Trenton. Doable. But the frequent back and forth to Pittsburgh is not really doable.

When did they say they were growing up in Pittsburgh? Couldn't Jack have grown up there and been a Steelers fan and that's why they are all obsessed?

Have you missed the entire show? The refer to Pittsburgh all the time. The family grew up specifically in Bethel Park, also mentioned multiple times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Ha! The darn tree was in Pittsburgh!

Count me in as another poster who would like this show to get the geography right. The writers didn't have to set this in Pittsburgh & NJ, but they chose to do so. Having grown up in NJ, I can't help that the entire time, I'm like: where do they live that Randall (pre-breakdown) commutes into Manhattan by car in 30 minutes and yet they apparently are in South Jersey near Philly and Camden/Trenton (which is where Beth supposedly works). So, let's give them a little leeway and say that they live near Princeton, so that's over an hour commute each way by car into Manhattan. Manuel & Rebecca apparently also live in NJ, apparently near-ish to Randall? So let's say they also live near Princeton. Princeton-Pittsburgh is over 5 hours by car, so apparently Kevin drove 5 hours to get to that tree (and the Superbowl would be over by the time he got back to Rebecca's).

The other thing is that the landscape is so clearly California. They go to the cabin and it doesn't look like anything on east coast. Daylight under the tree during Superbowl? Makes sense if the tree is in California (which is where they are filming this).

Why didn't they just set the damn show in California, instead of needing us to suspend belief about where this is taking place?

Agreed; this has been bothering me. I thought in one of the early Deja scenes, they showed a Newark police car. Which would make sense -- Randall and Beth could live in Summit or Short Hills or somewhere like that. That all made sense to me, because when they would go into NY for Randall's job or Kevin's play, that would be a short trip.

Beth's job is definitely in Trenton. Doable. But the frequent back and forth to Pittsburgh is not really doable.

I think the creator of the show is from Philly which is why there's a Philly angle. I think they use Jersey as a branch to Manhattan, which allowed for Randall's job and Kevin to be an actor somewhere "big".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Ha! The darn tree was in Pittsburgh!

Count me in as another poster who would like this show to get the geography right. The writers didn't have to set this in Pittsburgh & NJ, but they chose to do so. Having grown up in NJ, I can't help that the entire time, I'm like: where do they live that Randall (pre-breakdown) commutes into Manhattan by car in 30 minutes and yet they apparently are in South Jersey near Philly and Camden/Trenton (which is where Beth supposedly works). So, let's give them a little leeway and say that they live near Princeton, so that's over an hour commute each way by car into Manhattan. Manuel & Rebecca apparently also live in NJ, apparently near-ish to Randall? So let's say they also live near Princeton. Princeton-Pittsburgh is over 5 hours by car, so apparently Kevin drove 5 hours to get to that tree (and the Superbowl would be over by the time he got back to Rebecca's).

The other thing is that the landscape is so clearly California. They go to the cabin and it doesn't look like anything on east coast. Daylight under the tree during Superbowl? Makes sense if the tree is in California (which is where they are filming this).

Why didn't they just set the damn show in California, instead of needing us to suspend belief about where this is taking place?

Agreed; this has been bothering me. I thought in one of the early Deja scenes, they showed a Newark police car. Which would make sense -- Randall and Beth could live in Summit or Short Hills or somewhere like that. That all made sense to me, because when they would go into NY for Randall's job or Kevin's play, that would be a short trip.

Beth's job is definitely in Trenton. Doable. But the frequent back and forth to Pittsburgh is not really doable.

When did they say they were growing up in Pittsburgh? Couldn't Jack have grown up there and been a Steelers fan and that's why they are all obsessed?

Have you missed the entire show? The refer to Pittsburgh all the time. The family grew up specifically in Bethel Park, also mentioned multiple times.

Maybe after the fire, the family will move to NJ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Ha! The darn tree was in Pittsburgh!

Count me in as another poster who would like this show to get the geography right. The writers didn't have to set this in Pittsburgh & NJ, but they chose to do so. Having grown up in NJ, I can't help that the entire time, I'm like: where do they live that Randall (pre-breakdown) commutes into Manhattan by car in 30 minutes and yet they apparently are in South Jersey near Philly and Camden/Trenton (which is where Beth supposedly works). So, let's give them a little leeway and say that they live near Princeton, so that's over an hour commute each way by car into Manhattan. Manuel & Rebecca apparently also live in NJ, apparently near-ish to Randall? So let's say they also live near Princeton. Princeton-Pittsburgh is over 5 hours by car, so apparently Kevin drove 5 hours to get to that tree (and the Superbowl would be over by the time he got back to Rebecca's).

The other thing is that the landscape is so clearly California. They go to the cabin and it doesn't look like anything on east coast. Daylight under the tree during Superbowl? Makes sense if the tree is in California (which is where they are filming this).

Why didn't they just set the damn show in California, instead of needing us to suspend belief about where this is taking place?

Agreed; this has been bothering me. I thought in one of the early Deja scenes, they showed a Newark police car. Which would make sense -- Randall and Beth could live in Summit or Short Hills or somewhere like that. That all made sense to me, because when they would go into NY for Randall's job or Kevin's play, that would be a short trip.

Beth's job is definitely in Trenton. Doable. But the frequent back and forth to Pittsburgh is not really doable.

I think the creator of the show is from Philly which is why there's a Philly angle. I think they use Jersey as a branch to Manhattan, which allowed for Randall's job and Kevin to be an actor somewhere "big".

The show’s creator is from Pittsburgh - Bethel Park to be exact.