NP in the discussion above. How some chooses to make a family shouldn’t be judged or face scrutiny because “there were other options.” It’s their life, and they should make their decisions without a false-standard in society about when it’s acceptable to have a child.

PP here. Yes I know there are lots of kids in foster care and most of them are going back to bio families. I have see the heartbreak it causes to lose a foster child. Also kids in foster care have significant issues related to trauma
Etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so distracted trying to figure out how Randall & Beth are suddenly having so many issues, that I can't concentrate on the other story lines!! Now it's an issue of not having money & the girls needing Beth. Say what?? They spend money on the most frivolous things. They fly out to see Kate & stay for four days with I'm sure last minute tickets. That can't be cheap. Who's watching the girls while they are gone? All of this drama about the girls being left alone, yet they don't explain who has them while they up and take off to see Kate. Why are they cleaning up after these teenage girls? Are they not old enough at this point to wash dishes and do some laundry?

I don't think Randall and Beth's issues are sudden as much as they haven't been resolved properly. Frankly I'm surprised they've made it this long with what he has done lately. It's like the couple who breaks up over a dirty glass on the counter. It's not really the glass. It's everything that lead up to that. The money they are spending to see Kate is ridiculous. Randall has gone 2x. Beth once, all last minute trips across country. IRL I'd tell DH no way should we be spending money to go see her. His first responsibility is to the family under his roof not a sister whose pregnancy is risky because she gave up on any and all methods to make it less risky by taking better care of herself and now everyone is supposed to fall in line and not state the obvious.

Agree. And they could have simply adopted a child to begin with.

“Simply adopted.”

Huh.

You’re not an adoptive parent, are you, PP?

Do you find adopting a child to be more complicated and expensive than undergoing a risky IVF procedure?

Yes. Adoption for us would have been more expensive, more emotional risk. We were told to get a healthy infant could take 3-5 years, we need to do a nationwide search, and pay up to 75k in costs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked this episode, because it starts to point to something that's always bothered me. Jack has, from the first episode, always felt domineering to me. So the general "swoon"-iness around him always confused me. I think showing how Randall is similar and directly comparing it to Jack's treatment of Rebecca is good. It means the show really does understand the nuances of its characters.

It'll be interesting to see how all this plays out. The last few episodes have revealed how much more there is to Beth's past...which makes her current marginalization so much more enraging. I do see how Beth contributed to that, but I guess I'm a little more sympathetic to the person struggling to find space for herself than the person who just won't let her.

Good point about Jack.

I think it’s also revealing that her “strength” isnt really all that. She was dominated by her mother, and she caves in to be the good girl pretty quickly. It’s like there’s a disconnect between her and everyone else’s sense of her strength and how she actually is.

As a Black woman, this statement really resonates with me. I get the Beth storyline 100%. So many white women say to me “I wish I had your strength.” “I’m so intimidated by you!” “You’re so strong.” “I’m afraid of you!” I cannot for the life of me understand that. I’m actually very shy and lack confidence. I think white people confuse speaking your mind with inner strength. I’m not afraid to tell the truth (sometimes to my detriment) but that doesn’t mean that I am this pillar of strength not worthy of empathy and compassion. I don’t consider myself meek or a doormat but I’m actually not that tough and I’m definitely not an angry Black woman with a venoumous disposition. The whole Beth and Randall storyline mirrors my current life; supporting a spouse with high anxiety, finding my place and my voice in my marriage, overbearing mother who did not support my dream, a dream deferred, being consumed by your life, getting laid off, etc... It’s a great storyline for me for personal reasons and I think the writers have done a really good job showing the nuances of Black life. It’s refreshing and honest.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so distracted trying to figure out how Randall & Beth are suddenly having so many issues, that I can't concentrate on the other story lines!! Now it's an issue of not having money & the girls needing Beth. Say what?? They spend money on the most frivolous things. They fly out to see Kate & stay for four days with I'm sure last minute tickets. That can't be cheap. Who's watching the girls while they are gone? All of this drama about the girls being left alone, yet they don't explain who has them while they up and take off to see Kate. Why are they cleaning up after these teenage girls? Are they not old enough at this point to wash dishes and do some laundry?

I don't think Randall and Beth's issues are sudden as much as they haven't been resolved properly. Frankly I'm surprised they've made it this long with what he has done lately. It's like the couple who breaks up over a dirty glass on the counter. It's not really the glass. It's everything that lead up to that. The money they are spending to see Kate is ridiculous. Randall has gone 2x. Beth once, all last minute trips across country. IRL I'd tell DH no way should we be spending money to go see her. His first responsibility is to the family under his roof not a sister whose pregnancy is risky because she gave up on any and all methods to make it less risky by taking better care of herself and now everyone is supposed to fall in line and not state the obvious.

Agree. And they could have simply adopted a child to begin with.

WTF?!?! Clueless twit. You and the immediate PP.

Um, what? Care to elaborate, or just throw insults?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so distracted trying to figure out how Randall & Beth are suddenly having so many issues, that I can't concentrate on the other story lines!! Now it's an issue of not having money & the girls needing Beth. Say what?? They spend money on the most frivolous things. They fly out to see Kate & stay for four days with I'm sure last minute tickets. That can't be cheap. Who's watching the girls while they are gone? All of this drama about the girls being left alone, yet they don't explain who has them while they up and take off to see Kate. Why are they cleaning up after these teenage girls? Are they not old enough at this point to wash dishes and do some laundry?

I don't think Randall and Beth's issues are sudden as much as they haven't been resolved properly. Frankly I'm surprised they've made it this long with what he has done lately. It's like the couple who breaks up over a dirty glass on the counter. It's not really the glass. It's everything that lead up to that. The money they are spending to see Kate is ridiculous. Randall has gone 2x. Beth once, all last minute trips across country. IRL I'd tell DH no way should we be spending money to go see her. His first responsibility is to the family under his roof not a sister whose pregnancy is risky because she gave up on any and all methods to make it less risky by taking better care of herself and now everyone is supposed to fall in line and not state the obvious.

Agree. And they could have simply adopted a child to begin with.

“Simply adopted.”

Huh.

You’re not an adoptive parent, are you, PP?

Do you find adopting a child to be more complicated and expensive than undergoing a risky IVF procedure?

Anonymous wrote:Is this week's episode, "Her," the season finale? And everywhere I read says "season" finale, but isn't it the series finale? I just need to brace myself if this is it ...

No, it's the season finale not the series finale. It's already been renewed for a few more seasons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so distracted trying to figure out how Randall & Beth are suddenly having so many issues, that I can't concentrate on the other story lines!! Now it's an issue of not having money & the girls needing Beth. Say what?? They spend money on the most frivolous things. They fly out to see Kate & stay for four days with I'm sure last minute tickets. That can't be cheap. Who's watching the girls while they are gone? All of this drama about the girls being left alone, yet they don't explain who has them while they up and take off to see Kate. Why are they cleaning up after these teenage girls? Are they not old enough at this point to wash dishes and do some laundry?

I don't think Randall and Beth's issues are sudden as much as they haven't been resolved properly. Frankly I'm surprised they've made it this long with what he has done lately. It's like the couple who breaks up over a dirty glass on the counter. It's not really the glass. It's everything that lead up to that. The money they are spending to see Kate is ridiculous. Randall has gone 2x. Beth once, all last minute trips across country. IRL I'd tell DH no way should we be spending money to go see her. His first responsibility is to the family under his roof not a sister whose pregnancy is risky because she gave up on any and all methods to make it less risky by taking better care of herself and now everyone is supposed to fall in line and not state the obvious.

Agree. And they could have simply adopted a child to begin with.

WTF?!?! Clueless twit. You and the immediate PP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m watching the episode now where they are waiting in the hospital for news of the baby. Maybe it is because I don’t have a big family but is this typical? I understand the entire family being there if someone is dying but I cannot imagine dropping my kids/job to fly cross country with my husband for my SIL who went into premature labor. It seems over the top.

No. It’s odd. I say that as someone with a very close knit family faraway.

I remember in the show Parenthood the big extended family would all hang out in the waiting room whenever someone was in the hospital. Unrealistic.

I think everyone flying in is over the top. But my family is all local, like the bravermans in parenthood, and they would all be in the waiting room like that. There were about 10 people waiting for hours when I was in labor with my first, which was a LONG labor. It was like an onslaught when I got out of the operating room.

Is this week's episode, "Her," the season finale? And everywhere I read says "season" finale, but isn't it the series finale? I just need to brace myself if this is it ...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so distracted trying to figure out how Randall & Beth are suddenly having so many issues, that I can't concentrate on the other story lines!! Now it's an issue of not having money & the girls needing Beth. Say what?? They spend money on the most frivolous things. They fly out to see Kate & stay for four days with I'm sure last minute tickets. That can't be cheap. Who's watching the girls while they are gone? All of this drama about the girls being left alone, yet they don't explain who has them while they up and take off to see Kate. Why are they cleaning up after these teenage girls? Are they not old enough at this point to wash dishes and do some laundry?

I don't think Randall and Beth's issues are sudden as much as they haven't been resolved properly. Frankly I'm surprised they've made it this long with what he has done lately. It's like the couple who breaks up over a dirty glass on the counter. It's not really the glass. It's everything that lead up to that. The money they are spending to see Kate is ridiculous. Randall has gone 2x. Beth once, all last minute trips across country. IRL I'd tell DH no way should we be spending money to go see her. His first responsibility is to the family under his roof not a sister whose pregnancy is risky because she gave up on any and all methods to make it less risky by taking better care of herself and now everyone is supposed to fall in line and not state the obvious.

Agree. And they could have simply adopted a child to begin with.

“Simply adopted.”

Huh.

You’re not an adoptive parent, are you, PP?

Anonymous wrote:I’m watching the episode now where they are waiting in the hospital for news of the baby. Maybe it is because I don’t have a big family but is this typical? I understand the entire family being there if someone is dying but I cannot imagine dropping my kids/job to fly cross country with my husband for my SIL who went into premature labor. It seems over the top.

Totally agree. We'd be in touch via phone/texting, but no way would we all fly out there to wait in a waiting room.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone notice that Beth did not have her sisters, Zoe or friends to be bridesmaids/maid of honor at her wedding to Randall? I only saw Kate

Yes! I noticed that too. And we also didn’t see her mom, or her mom’s reaction to Randall, etc. I can’t stand her mom anyhow, but it did seem strange she was nowhere to be found.

It is strange...but I'm assuming this is mostly to do with not being able to get Phylicia Rashad again.

Good. Not a fan.

Randall and Beth are the Ross and Rachel of the 21st century. Can't stand either as a couple. So oppressive.

Anonymous wrote:It’s because Jack died and that’s been such a defining moment for that family, that’s why they wait. My family would wait like that, not because we’re very close (we aren’t) but because of the dead patriarch. I really don’t think it’s off at all given how that family views themselves.

Meant to add: everyone in the Pearson family is trying to fulfill a small piece of Jack, for Kate. Jack would be the one making decisions with Kate, Jack would keep everyone in line, Jack’s shoulders carried the family. He was the fixer. So all the Pearson’s wait because individually they are not a replacement for Jack, but together they fill his shoes. Anyone who doesn’t think their father would be at that hospital until he saw you with his own eyes, has a different dynamic with their Dad than what’s portrayed between Jack and Kate