Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still can't figure out who Randall and Tess are going to see. I looked like there were a bunch of flowers like at a funeral/memorial service. But would that do that at a hotel? I am pretty sure Randall called Toby to ask if he was coming down and Toby looked like he was in a hotel.

They want us to think it is Kate.

Which pretty much means it’s not Kate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have my theories on the introduction of Franco Harris.

I'm so glad the show is back. I hope for some happiness for Kate.

Nothing is better than funny Randall.

Are your Franco theories trade secrets? Why don’t you share them?

Ha ha, no. I thought maybe he was Zoe's dad. She looks biracial, and it would explain why he was just introduced now. I agree that if we was Beth's dad, it would have come up before.

Didn’t they show some black children running around in Franco’s family household? The Zoe theory is a good one.

You’re not paying attention. The “football player” is a real person. Not even TIU would have him become a character’s (lowlife absentee) father. And that scene was set in 1972. Just how old do you think current age Zoe is?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, the football player was only in the show as an artistic way to show the audience how [immaculate someone like Rebecca was compared to the low-life thief Jack was willing to become. But] amazingly, when he screwed up the play and almost lost all of his chances, he was able to salvage the play and continue on with her.

Just a game to date parallel. No immaculate to low life thief anything.

In the season recap Jack calls Rebecca his big break. And then he was about to rob a business... I think you’re overlooking or overcrediting jack’s character. He was a struggling Vietnam vet headed down a bad path, until Rebecca.

Anonymous wrote:I agree, the football player was only in the show as an artistic way to show the audience how [immaculate someone like Rebecca was compared to the low-life thief Jack was willing to become. But] amazingly, when he screwed up the play and almost lost all of his chances, he was able to salvage the play and continue on with her.

Just a game to date parallel. No immaculate to low life thief anything.

I agree, the football player was only in the show as an artistic way to show the audience how immaculate someone like Rebecca was compared to the low-life thief Jack was willing to become. But amazingly, when he screwed up the play and almost lost all of his chances, he was able to salvage the play and continue on with her.

Nothing more than art. We’ll never see the football player again.


It was also a sobering moment to see how poor these men lived... considering majority of them all have significant brain damage now.

We don’t KNOW that “she” is any more significant to Randall, Tess, and Toby. I expect to eventually see that the whole family is preparing for this visit in the same way. We just havent seen them yet because the writers wanted us to suspect Beth/little sis/Deja/Kate.

I wouldn’t read much into Kate not being in bed. We’ve all laid in bed without our spouse. The next episode might simply show her climbing into bed. OR they are actually separated in the flash forward and they WERE talking about Kate when he said she didn’t want him there, but Kate’s not the one they are visiting. She is also just there visiting and Toby was saying that Kate doesn’t want him to be there for her while she visits this person.

Sorry for that word salad. ^^^

One last thing. Enough with the football player theories! It was just a neat way to tie a big Steelers moment into the show and also explains why they have such a sentimental love for the team. They can’t really write a non-fictional athlete into a fictional show. I mean, I guess they could with his permission, but I doubt he would want to do that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think “she” is a Pearson woman or girl we’ve already met. None of them would be surprising enough after this buildup. I think this kicks off a brand new storyline and possibly character.

The only current character I could see this being is Madison. I think it’s possible that she will become a surrogate for Kate and Toby. This would cause her to grow much closer to the entire family. Maybe something happened to her during childbirth that caused her to be permanently disabled.

All of this “seeing her” business is 10 or so years in the future. Tess is grown, Randall and Toby are gray. Your Madison scenario would have to take place in the present day, not the future.

I realize that, but she could have a permanent disability from childbirth and maybe took a turn for the worse (10 years later) and is maybe dying. I don’t necessarily think it’s Madison. I just don’t think it’s a Pearson and she’s the only current non-Pearson character that came to mind. So, it’s a theory, but I wouldn’t put money on it.

Either way, I think she’s going to be their surrogate. The stage was set for that when they had her throw a party for Kate, Kate melts down at party about not being able to have a baby, and they have a conversation about “more than one way to have a baby.”

I also think it could very likely be a brand new face and then we start learning the story about who she is and how she became so significant to their family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good first episode. I wonder how the football player figures into it.

The “football player?” Show some respect - it was the great Franco Harris. I do wonder if his backstory intersects with the Pearson’s though.

Poor Kate too.

Ha, I’m the beginning, the guy looked just like Gabe Kaplan in Welcime Back, Kotter, and I’m thinking, Mr. Kotter? And then he started lacing up the football cleats, and I said to myself, “Who is this supposed to be, Franco Harris?” And a moment later, we realized that it was!

Anonymous wrote:I just need to get this off my chest - there would have been no d*mn carnival in Pittsburgh during the month of December! Timeline people!

But good episode other than that.

At least they sold hot chocolate!

Anonymous wrote:I still can't figure out who Randall and Tess are going to see. I looked like there were a bunch of flowers like at a funeral/memorial service. But would that do that at a hotel? I am pretty sure Randall called Toby to ask if he was coming down and Toby looked like he was in a hotel.

They want us to think it is Kate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have my theories on the introduction of Franco Harris.

I'm so glad the show is back. I hope for some happiness for Kate.

Nothing is better than funny Randall.

Are your Franco theories trade secrets? Why don’t you share them?

Ha ha, no. I thought maybe he was Zoe's dad. She looks biracial, and it would explain why he was just introduced now. I agree that if we was Beth's dad, it would have come up before.

Didn’t they show some black children running around in Franco’s family household? The Zoe theory is a good one.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think “she” is a Pearson woman or girl we’ve already met. None of them would be surprising enough after this buildup. I think this kicks off a brand new storyline and possibly character.

The only current character I could see this being is Madison. I think it’s possible that she will become a surrogate for Kate and Toby. This would cause her to grow much closer to the entire family. Maybe something happened to her during childbirth that caused her to be permanently disabled.

All of this “seeing her” business is 10 or so years in the future. Tess is grown, Randall and Toby are gray. Your Madison scenario would have to take place in the present day, not the future.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the Franco Harris Steelers stuff in 72 or 73 is when Jack and Rebecca met? I’m thinking no. The triplets were born in 80 and J and R were really young then. I think the FH stuff was just a parallel narrative to their story and set the stage for the family’s Steelers mania.

There’s no doubt that episode 1 was set up to take place on Dec 23, 1972. The show went to great lengths to tie the theme of the show to a particular day and game in Steelers history. (TIU also did this when they spliced in super bowl footage that had taken place just a few hours prior IRL.) I don’t know how much we know of what happened between 1972 and 1980 with J&R.

Fun fact (and one that you local youngins may find hard to believe) - the next day, the Washington Redskins beat the Green Bay Packers on their way to the Super Bowl. Even though they lost to Miami there, it was the true beginning of a long road of glory for the Redskins (a glory that Dan Snyder has decimated). The Steelers couldn’t keep up the magic, losing the next week to Miami, who had some magic of their own with an undefeated season.

End of today’s football lesson.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think “she” is a Pearson woman or girl we’ve already met. None of them would be surprising enough after this buildup. I think this kicks off a brand new storyline and possibly character.

The only current character I could see this being is Madison. I think it’s possible that she will become a surrogate for Kate and Toby. This would cause her to grow much closer to the entire family. Maybe something happened to her during childbirth that caused her to be permanently disabled.

But why would Randall be that involved?

I don’t think “she” is a Pearson woman or girl we’ve already met. None of them would be surprising enough after this buildup. I think this kicks off a brand new storyline and possibly character.

The only current character I could see this being is Madison. I think it’s possible that she will become a surrogate for Kate and Toby. This would cause her to grow much closer to the entire family. Maybe something happened to her during childbirth that caused her to be permanently disabled.