Review: This is Us Season 2 Episode 3
by Julie Perez
Official announcement: I’m going to need a high level of Jack Pearson-ing from every man I go on a date with from now on.
Fully aware that This Is Us provided us with more pieces to the Jack’s death puzzle this week, but I refuse to take them into account. Stop giving us flashbacks, stop giving us hints and start providing us with an explanation as to how he will end up alive and happy in the future. It isn’t fair to continue to give us reasons to fall in love with Jack while continuing to provide us with clues of his death.
Rebecca and Jack try to focus on their relationship this episode; they try to get back to the intimacy and though it’s difficult, by the end of the episode they end up finding their way to each other.
It felt easier to deal with Jack’s death when I thought it would come during a tumultuous time in his relationship with Rebecca, but now seeing them slowly reconcile and grow in their relationship; it seems unbearable to witness his death now. Yes, completely aware that I am TOO invested in fictional characters.
Kevin’s acting career is taking off and as he films a movie with Sylvester Stallone, suddenly he’s bombarded with memories of his father. Whether it be Kate telling Sylvester Stallone about their father, or Sylvester then bringing it up to Kevin, or Ron Howard asking Kevin to see Sylvester’s character as a father figure in a scene; Kevin is being forced to deal with his feelings about Jack and his death. This is refreshing; in the most painful of ways because in my opinion Kevin has worked as a stepping stool in every scene. Even when he leads the scene, it feels like his character is used as a starting point to discuss bigger issues. However, this episode was solely about him and how he handled his feelings about his father’s death. Justin Hartley, in my opinion, has been severely underutilized on this show and I’m excited to see his character start to emotionally unravel.
Sterling K. Brown comes through with the sincerity yet again. Randall and Beth get approved to house a foster child and as Deja finally arrives, the entire family struggles to find their footing with this new family member. The beauty in Randall (Sterling K. Brown) is that even when he’s struggling, he beautifully navigates within the uncomfortable. This new family dynamic will be exciting to discover and I can’t wait to see where they take this storyline.
The exploration of the human condition and how everyone deals with things differently (even when raised in the same household) is my favorite thing about this show. The only thing that keeps me looking forward to Jack’s death revelation is that we get to discover how each child dealt with the tragedy. Grief is a complicated monster and this show will no doubt unravel the emotions in a beautiful way.
A thing to note, do you think the writers know that seeing William on screen instantly bring the tears?
