This Is Us -- Season 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did he go into the army or did I miss something?

I got the impression that this is a new backstory they were introducing for Jack's character-- PTSD from serving in Vietnam? I think the timeline would work. Plus last season, when they showed him before he met Mandy Moore, he was looking for work, trying to figure out what he was going to do with his life, but he was too old to be right out of high school. Could have been home after a stint in the military.

It was mentioned last season that Jack served in Vietnam. He claimed to be only a mechanic, but now it looks like he saw some combat with a big gun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the haters here. Given all the crap on TV, this show is really good.

Milo Ventimiglia deserves an Emmy from last night's show.

The Emmy went to Sterling K. Brown.

Yes, the Emmy given out this year went to Sterling K. Brown for his work on last season. I suggested that Ventimiglia get an Emmy next year for his work in last night's episode.

Nice idea but there’s no category for a single episode for a drama lead actor.

You're really coming off as obtuse, PP.

[Anonymous]

I don’t see the twin storyline being well-thought through. It appears that Kevin was focused on Sophie since very young age and has a strong bond with her rather than with Kate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Count me in as finding Kate truly annoying. What was her "what, you used to sing?" remark to her mom? I didn't get that. Was she being sarcastic (wasn't said with a sarcastic tone of voice)? Or being mean? Just didn't get it.

Also, little girl Kate annoys me too. In those elementary school scenes, surely she is supposed to be at least 9 or 10 years old, but she seems to act like she's 5. I have a 9 year old, and it's just not normal how she acts. Tween/teen Kate is much better.

I didn't really get that comment either. I guess it was about the mother making it about herself? It seemed odd.

Agree about little girl Kate and teen Kate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see the twin storyline being well-thought through. It appears that Kevin was focused on Sophie since very young age and has a strong bond with her rather than with Kate.

agreed. there are a lot of inconsistencies. like Kevin and Randal hating each other/K being mean to R, but then he is on the phone feeding R lines when he was trying to get a date with his now wife.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see the twin storyline being well-thought through. It appears that Kevin was focused on Sophie since very young age and has a strong bond with her rather than with Kate.

agreed. there are a lot of inconsistencies. like Kevin and Randal hating each other/K being mean to R, but then he is on the phone feeding R lines when he was trying to get a date with his now wife.

I think with Kevin and Randall, Kevin always felt inferior to Randall in terms of intelligence but Randall knew that Kevin was much smoother with the ladies. So, here was Kevin's chance to "outshine" Randall in the one area where he knew he could. And Randall ended up looking far cooler than he ever could have without Kevin's help. So, it was a win-win--both got the confidence boost that they needed.

As for the bond with Sophie vs. the bond with Kate, that may play out more in the coming episodes. Sounds like there was always a bit of competition with Sophie on Kate's end. It also seems that Kevin is the type that needs a woman to coddle him (just as Kate needed a man to coddle her) so Kate filled that role for Kevin when he lost Sophie. And Kevin did the same for Kate when Jack died. But their relationship is a bit much for me. I understand why Toby is freaked out by it---it's bizarre!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Count me in as finding Kate truly annoying. What was her "what, you used to sing?" remark to her mom? I didn't get that. Was she being sarcastic (wasn't said with a sarcastic tone of voice)? Or being mean? Just didn't get it.

Also, little girl Kate annoys me too. In those elementary school scenes, surely she is supposed to be at least 9 or 10 years old, but she seems to act like she's 5. I have a 9 year old, and it's just not normal how she acts. Tween/teen Kate is much better.

I didn't really get that comment either. I guess it was about the mother making it about herself? It seemed odd.

Agree about little girl Kate and teen Kate.

Frequently throughout the series, and a lot in this episode, whenever Kate's singing comes up, Rebecca immediately adds a comment about what it was like when she, herself, was singing. Hence Kate's sarcastic comment about, oh really, Mother? You sang, too??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see the twin storyline being well-thought through. It appears that Kevin was focused on Sophie since very young age and has a strong bond with her rather than with Kate.

agreed. there are a lot of inconsistencies. like Kevin and Randal hating each other/K being mean to R, but then he is on the phone feeding R lines when he was trying to get a date with his now wife.

I think with Kevin and Randall, Kevin always felt inferior to Randall in terms of intelligence but Randall knew that Kevin was much smoother with the ladies. So, here was Kevin's chance to "outshine" Randall in the one area where he knew he could. And Randall ended up looking far cooler than he ever could have without Kevin's help. So, it was a win-win--both got the confidence boost that they needed.

As for the bond with Sophie vs. the bond with Kate, that may play out more in the coming episodes. Sounds like there was always a bit of competition with Sophie on Kate's end. It also seems that Kevin is the type that needs a woman to coddle him (just as Kate needed a man to coddle her) so Kate filled that role for Kevin when he lost Sophie. And Kevin did the same for Kate when Jack died. But their relationship is a bit much for me. I understand why Toby is freaked out by it---it's bizarre!

I remember a comment Rebecca made last season to the doctor when the babies were newborns. She had three bassinets, but Kevin and Kate could only get any sleep if they were in the same bassinet. The doctor said that wasn't surprising, since they had been together so tightly in the womb for nine months. Their closeness in modern times is still a reflection of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see the twin storyline being well-thought through. It appears that Kevin was focused on Sophie since very young age and has a strong bond with her rather than with Kate.

agreed. there are a lot of inconsistencies. like Kevin and Randal hating each other/K being mean to R, but then he is on the phone feeding R lines when he was trying to get a date with his now wife.

I think with Kevin and Randall, Kevin always felt inferior to Randall in terms of intelligence but Randall knew that Kevin was much smoother with the ladies. So, here was Kevin's chance to "outshine" Randall in the one area where he knew he could. And Randall ended up looking far cooler than he ever could have without Kevin's help. So, it was a win-win--both got the confidence boost that they needed.

As for the bond with Sophie vs. the bond with Kate, that may play out more in the coming episodes. Sounds like there was always a bit of competition with Sophie on Kate's end. It also seems that Kevin is the type that needs a woman to coddle him (just as Kate needed a man to coddle her) so Kate filled that role for Kevin when he lost Sophie. And Kevin did the same for Kate when Jack died. But their relationship is a bit much for me. I understand why Toby is freaked out by it---it's bizarre!

I remember a comment Rebecca made last season to the doctor when the babies were newborns. She had three bassinets, but Kevin and Kate could only get any sleep if they were in the same bassinet. The doctor said that wasn't surprising, since they had been together so tightly in the womb for nine months. Their closeness in modern times is still a reflection of that.

Right, but their closeness is not evident from most of the scenes with younger Kate and Kevin and has to be explicitly stated by the characters when needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Toby kind of redeemed himself for me too. I loved his "team Kate" speech to the mom. I mean, who wouldn't want that kind of support? But Kate is insufferable. I can't stand her.

Lol. I came on here wondering if anyone else felt the same way. Now I like Tobey. I hate Kate. She is still acting like an insufferable teenager. We get it Kate. at age 37 she is still blaming her mom for.......being thin and being able to sing. And, omg, praising her too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the haters here. Given all the crap on TV, this show is really good.

Milo Ventimiglia deserves an Emmy from last night's show.

The Emmy went to Sterling K. Brown.

Yes, the Emmy given out this year went to Sterling K. Brown for his work on last season. I suggested that Ventimiglia get an Emmy next year for his work in last night's episode.

Nice idea but there’s no category for a single episode for a drama lead actor.

You're really coming off as obtuse, PP.

Just pointing out that Milo cannot get an Emmy based on last nights eposode. Can't help if that confuses you.
That aside, I didn't think the acting was spectacular last night. Much better than most broadcast TV, but they've raise the bar, even for themselves. Toby may have had the best part last night with "Team Kate."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the haters here. Given all the crap on TV, this show is really good.

Milo Ventimiglia deserves an Emmy from last night's show.

The Emmy went to Sterling K. Brown.

Yes, the Emmy given out this year went to Sterling K. Brown for his work on last season. I suggested that Ventimiglia get an Emmy next year for his work in last night's episode.

Nice idea but there’s no category for a single episode for a drama lead actor.

You're really coming off as obtuse, PP.

Just pointing out that Milo cannot get an Emmy based on last nights eposode. Can't help if that confuses you.
That aside, I didn't think the acting was spectacular last night. Much better than most broadcast TV, but they've raise the bar, even for themselves. Toby may have had the best part last night with "Team Kate."

Please, please share with us your vast knowledge of all things Emmy with us, said no one ever.

You seem like you're sore that you can only get bit parts in community theatre productions and can never be the lead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Toby kind of redeemed himself for me too. I loved his "team Kate" speech to the mom. I mean, who wouldn't want that kind of support? But Kate is insufferable. I can't stand her.

Lol. I came on here wondering if anyone else felt the same way. Now I like Tobey. I hate Kate. She is still acting like an insufferable teenager. We get it Kate. at age 37 she is still blaming her mom for.......being thin and being able to sing. And, omg, praising her too much.

I can see why people find Kate irritating, but I have to say I think it's a really good character that's pretty true to life. Yes, she's annoying - you see pretty frequently that she's annoyed with herself (when she can't stop herself from binging, when she snaps at her mom, etc.). The dynamic of having a mom you feel competitive with is very real for some people, and it manifests in so many of the behaviors Kate is displaying.

While the storyline may be irritating in terms of being sick of a whiner, I think it's a very realistic portrayal of a difficult family dynamic -- which is pretty much the entire premise of this show. How many challenging family dynamics can we cram in while still remaining plausible? So far we've got adoption, interracial families, drug use, alcoholism, workaholism, weight issues, divorce, adultery (or possible adultery), homosexuality, cancer, career problems... I know I'm missing a bunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the haters here. Given all the crap on TV, this show is really good.

Milo Ventimiglia deserves an Emmy from last night's show.

The Emmy went to Sterling K. Brown.

Yes, the Emmy given out this year went to Sterling K. Brown for his work on last season. I suggested that Ventimiglia get an Emmy next year for his work in last night's episode.

Nice idea but there’s no category for a single episode for a drama lead actor.

You're really coming off as obtuse, PP.

Just pointing out that Milo cannot get an Emmy based on last nights eposode. Can't help if that confuses you.
That aside, I didn't think the acting was spectacular last night. Much better than most broadcast TV, but they've raise the bar, even for themselves. Toby may have had the best part last night with "Team Kate."

Please, please share with us your vast knowledge of all things Emmy with us, said no one ever.

You seem like you're sore that you can only get bit parts in community theatre productions and can never be the lead.

Where did community theater come from? Someone doesn't think Milo's performance was all that great in last night's eposode. People can disagree. For all of last season, Emmy voters thought Sterling was better and best. It's not terribly complicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a small chance they're crying about the house burning down, but Jack is still alive.... However, I think the mom had his possessions on the seat next to her? Although wouldn't they have been more damaged from a fire?

I think they are drying because jack is dead. Earlier in the episode Kevin talked about how Kate was the one who told him their father had died and in the end she is saying how she has to find him and be the one to tell him.

I do agree about the personal items. Wouldn't they be in worse shape if they had been through a fire. Although i guess smoke inhalation is more likely to kill than the fir so maybe he didn't get burned/totally die in the fire.

maybe Kate blames herself because he went back in for her or her dog?

I assumed this. I was thinking it might have had to do with his drinking (fell asleep/passed out with a cigarette?) but actually given the scene where it was clear he was ready to deal with the drinking problem, I think he'll be on the straight and narrow.

I actually think it might be Kate smoking a cigarette that leads to the house fire. And that's why Beth and Randall fake smoked after the adoption agency visit.

But I also think the fire might come after Jack's death. His belongings on the seat in the car next to Rebecca were pristine. So maybe he dies another way, and then Rebecca goes home and sees the house gone from the fire?

I don't think Kate has anything to do with the fire. Here's my take: Jack's been living at home for a few months, maybe going to rehab or trying to get sober on his own. He falls off the wagon, gets drunk, passes out, and somehow the house burns down. Rebecca and the kids weren't home, Rebecca brings the kids over to Miguel's since they have no place to stay. She's been to the morgue and is given Jack's belongings in the plastic bag. She drives over to see the house and can't believe her eyes.

On a lighter note, I loved the "fake smoking" scene. For some reason, I found that very quirky and funny! But it didn't have anything to do with Jack's death.