The Pearsons are back! And for
some reason I feel really optimistic about this season. I know that we ended
things last spring with some pretty difficult cliffhangers that foreshadow dark
things ahead, but for me the one big hurdle that made me almost anxious before
watching every episode is finally out of the way : Jack is dead. I mean, he’s really dead this time. We saw it, we
cried, we never have to worry about „Will this
be the episode where Jack dies? Oh god, I can’t watch this.” ever again. It’s kinda
like a weight has been lifted off my shoulder and now I can just watch the show,
like a normal person. Yay!
Of course, it wouldn’t be This Is Us if it didn’t try to distress
me in some way at least every other
episode, and this premiere alone packed a lot
of punches. So to recap that finale, we saw a whole slew of flashbacks at
the end: Kevin was travelling to Vietnam with his new girlfriend, Beth’s
cousin. Toby was in the middle of a serious depressive episode. And, of course,
Randall and an adult Tess were getting ready to see „her”… the question that
troubled fans the most over the summer break. Who is she? Beth? Annie? Déja?
Rebecca? All valid and acceptable guesses, and two episodes into season 3 we’re
only slightly closer to the solution. The only hint we have is a phone call Old
Randall makes to Old Toby about how she
would like to see him so won’t he come down to them. This suggests that Kate
would be the obvious solution, which makes me think it’s actually Rebecca. I
have this feeling that this is the season when we’re finally saying goodbye to
Jack and Rebecca for good, so their children can get centre stage, while we
would also retain the dual timeline structure by flashing forward to their children, like we’ve already seen
with Adult Tess. But that’s just my guess. We still have a long way to go until
we find out the actual truth, I’m afraid.
But let’s not rush so far into
the future! Season 3 picks up a few months after Kate and Toby’s weding. The
newlyweds are now actively trying for a baby by way of IVF treatment, which
puts them at odds with Rebecca who would rather they not. It’s a risky process
due to Kate’s weight and age, and Rebecca thinks they should try other ways to
get that baby instead. Meanwhile, Kate is adamant on having a biological child
because she wants to make sure Jack lives on in that way, and she doesn’t
really have any faith in Kevin reproducing any time in the future. Kevin seems
to agree but Randall takes her comments really hard, even though it’s clear
that she only meant „passing on Dad” in a purely biological sense, which, you
know… Randall really can’t do, no matter how much he loved Jack. It seems like
we’re in for yet another round of „Randall doesn’t feel like he’s fitting in
with his siblings”, folks! I really
thought we were over that, but I guess not. Reinforcing Randall’s feelings of
constantly being on the outside is this lady at his local rec center who knew
his bio dad, and who makes it clear that she doesn’t appreciate Randall tyring
to „fix their community”, even though he only meant to literally fix the
building from falling apart. So now Randall doesn’t feel like he’s fitting in
with William’s crew either. What will poor successful businessman with three
loving daughters, an amazing wife, and two siblings who would do anything for
him do now? Tune in next week to find
out.
At least Kevin seems to be doing
fine for now. He’s started seeing Cousin Zoe after the wedding, which makes
Beth worried a lot, but here’s the surprise: she’s worried for Kevin, not because of
him. Apparently Zoe has a bit of a troubled past when it comes to men, and Beth
thinks Kevin is in for an inevitable heartbreak, which she would prefer he
avoided because she actually cares about him a lot! These two had some issues
in the past over Kevin’s drinking and its effect on Beth’s children, so it was
super nice to see her admit that she actually loves Kevin, she just doesn’t
want to damage her street cred by showing it. Classic Beth <3 Anyway, a
Zoe-centric episode is in our future and I’m excited to learn more about her,
but judging by that one flash forward, they’re gonna be fine.
Finer than poor Toby, anyway, who
decided to stop taking his depression pills to further increase the chances of
a pregnancy. Of course, you should never just quit any medication like that,
especially if your illness is severe. I only have mild anxiety but when I
accidentally don’t take my meds for as few as three or four days, I start
waking up drenched in sweat and get hot flashes and shaking hands throughout
the day. Naturally, Toby didn’t consult Kate about this genius decision because
he knows she wouldn’t let him do it, and damn right she shouldn’t. Goddammit
Toby just talk to your doctor about gradually lowering the dosage, won’t you?
Ugh. Characters unnecessarily keeping secrets when talking to each other would
fix everything is the absolute worst
trope and I fucking can’t stand it.
PS. Don’t let my disparaging
comments fool you – I adore Randall. I just wish he got a different storyline
this season than the same old „trying to fit in” routine, you know? Especially
since so many characters have it way worse than him, like Kate and Kevin last
season, and Toby (probably) this season. Randall deserves to be happy and feel happy too, for once.
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