Dreamboat Annie

Nope. Still not caring about the fostering storyline. Can do without it. Maybe because there's enough going on in the stories I do care about?

Oh.my.God. Sick Jack shovelling tirelessly in pain so they can get rid of the fucking racist beyotch. And Kevin coming out to help. I LOVE JACK.

Oh, you definitely weren't, dju! I apologize for the way I came across. I totally agree, especially about why Kate would be the one to have them and not Kevin or Randall.

Oh, I was honestly not aware of that. I hope so. And about the ashes I would buy it too. I was just mentioning a possibility to Cardie, who thought that ordinarily it would be Rebecca who would have the ashes. And ordinarily, I think it probably would.

I don't recall, but are we absolutely sure Jack and Rebecca were still married at the time of Jack's death? I tried to get into the fostering storyline, to no avail. I just don't care about it. I wish I did. It's not like we weren't given enough backstory to lead up to it. The William/Annie moment was touching. I just would rather they gave Randall and Beth something else to do this season. Although I loved the William story last season, I think there should have been at least one season off before another "let's have a complete stranger move into our house".

I LOVE LOVE LOVE JACK.

Something I really enjoyed learning from this episode was that Rebecca and Jack met on their own. Their meeting appeared to be going in the direction of a fix-up by well meaning people in their respective lives and it's not that I had a problem with that. It just seems more like they were destined to meet and it was meant to be.

As soon as they showed Randall looking at the family photos, it was predictable to me. He was going to go to Beth to tell her he wanted another baby. That he wanted to adopt one was irrelevant imo. When we were shown very early on that Beth's pregnancy scare really was a "scare" for them because they dreamed of their retirement scenario, something of which I got the impression was not that far off, I was like "yeah, right"...because, um, at 36 we all have plans to retire in the near future ;)

Nope. Nice try, but...nope. I STILL LOVE JACK.

I feel this in no way relates to Edith Bunker - a character whose enormous presence played out literally for years, as opposed to one for merely months. Way more subtle back then perhaps, but way more profound.

You're not a weirdo. I loved William and his wisdom to all with whom he crossed paths and I think that while his life was made better by Randall inviting him in, he enriched their lives in lasting ways going forward. I cried buckets too. But one of my biggest clues about this happening this episode was if it didn't, there would be no other choice but for Randall to take a leave of absence from work in order to take the full time position as head of The William's Wish Foundation.

That's okay. You're fine. This show is definitely and purposefully manipulative that way. Something tells me we won't have to miss William - this show thrives on flashbacks for its storytelling and he's a part of the story. At the very least I think we will see William and Jesse say goodbye. And I'm hopeful William and Beth too because that was not a satisfying conclusion to the relationship they had.

I knew it when we were told of an episode called "Memphis" and it was about a road trip where Randall learns about his biological father's past. Knowing from everything they've told us he was too sick to make a return trip (yet the focus at first was on Randall's ability to make the trip), I thought, being deep into Feb sweeps, it would be monumental and we would be saying goodbye to William. That said, William with his granddaughters that last time and the lighting in the room just sealed it. Randall saying something like "let me take you home", William struggling to take his oxygen mask off, said "I have something for you". I really thought they would go cliché and William would say "I am home". But that didn't need to be said...he was home.

I think this episode will be monumental concerning William :( There may have been fallout over Kevin walking away from The Manny - we just weren't shown. I think a lot happens off screen that we may or may not get some explanation for at some point.. I don't think Kevin sunk his career by doing that or by running to Randall. A popular actor with Kevin's looks and talent would not be out of work for long, imo.

I think Randall should call marriage.

No. Yes.

We have always known that Kate's Jack issues were deep-seated but I think we were shown in this episode just how deep-seated they really are. While fully acknowledging that everyone grieves differently, I will say that it has been 21 years, going on 22 (IF they were 15 when it happened), and I am hoping that Kate did finally reach a real break through* (anger?). I think she has not been able to cope with the loss of what she perceives to be a perfect relationship, and that a relationship with her Dad now is impossible. And, if you think about it, impossible relationships are always perfect. They stay perfect in your mind because they can never happen. Perhaps, as we are shown that Jack was human, Kate will realize too that Jack wasn't perfect, accept it, come to terms with it and cherish the memories of her amazing Dad and the wonderful relationship they had. I'd like to see her stay at the camp because we've seen nothing else so far that has helped her. Regardless of the status of Jack and Rebecca at the time, I can see Rebecca being stoic around the kids thinking that was the right thing to do, and the kids in turn trying to be strong, ie. keeping it all inside. Hmm...maybe that was adult Kate as teenage Kate at the funeral. Did anyone else notice in this episode a kind of um, collapse of a possible, rather bulky undergarment at various times when Kate was sitting? * I acknowledge that for some IRL this takes even longer and that some never do.

That last part made me laugh!! It conjures up in my mind new meanings for old horse, barn and hay terms which I won't share*. I have a strong feeling, since no one is perfect, that we will be shown soon that St. Jack is human after all. Whatever it is though, I won't have a problem with it. I love the character (what an amazing Dad and so far, husband) and I still want, no, need, Present Jack. Once all is said and done, I am wondering if I will even care how the Present Characters are working through their respective issues, even though we will still see Past Jack. Much was revealed this episode - I don't know if we knew before that the birthday was August 31 (probably doesn't matter but may have some significance later), Kevin had an early short marriage to Kate's "friend" (I love Kevin and cannot figure out why I really don't care about this**), the funeral photo of Jack shows he's older than we have seen, no more babies, maybe - I don't see this as closed despite their older ages - a miscarriage perhaps? I wouldn't put it past this show to do that to us! I too thought it was kind of odd that Kevin was so easily in touch with Sophie but then if she and Kate are indeed still friends, then it would make sense. * You're welcome. ** But still glad it wasn't Sloane (didn't see the chemistry between her and Kevin) or Olivia (just because I couldn't stand her).

It makes total sense. This episode filled us in. It didn't waste time on what we were already shown in the premiere but rather filled us in on the day of the birth, which was Jack's birthday. They were born on Jack's birthday and in the premiere we saw Rebecca was trying to "make it up" to Jack by performing her usual "birthday dance" for him. Maybe the cupcake wasn't exactly the same, but it was all there.

Dear God. This show. I LOVE JACK.

Yes, of course he was. But to me, that's just another form of Imagined Jack. Subconscious Jack is still not Present Jack :(

The reason I didn't like Randall's shroom trip (oh "The Trip" - I just got that! lol) is because I see it as a cheesy excuse for Present Randall to interact with Jack. But it wasn't Present Jack, whom I crave and know will never have*. I can speak only for myself, but without Present Jack interacting with all Present Characters, I feel cheated. Past Jack, Ghost Jack, Dream Jack, Hallucinated Jack, and any kind of Imagined Jack is all we will get, and that's not enough for me. I am reasonably certain that all Present Characters will interact with some sort of Imagined Jack at different points here and there but it will never be Present Jack. I think they made a mistake they cannot fix. And I think they went with that decision just to manipulate us whenever they feel the desire to inflict us with moments of extreme sadness. IMO they could have done that without killing off Jack. I know the story is a puzzle of sorts which has viewers trying to determine when and how Jack left us, and how this event impacted Past and Present Characters. But I don't even want to know when or how it happened because I think they could have had an even better show featuring Present Jack. * I know I am a little obsessed with Present Jack :)

Are we supposed to hate Olivia? If so, then the actress is doing a marvelous job, because every friend I have talked to who watches this show hates her yet wants to know more about her. Trouble is, I find her so off-putting that I don't care what makes her tick or why she is like she is. I just want her gone.

I truly hope Jack does not become a drinker. Initially I watched for Milo, and now I watch for Jack, my favorite character. He is the best character on there and, since there is no hope of Present Jack interacting with all Present Characters, I can't say if I can continue to care about any of these people. I like Kevin though. I'm on the fence about Randall. He is a parent, and knows that the most difficult thing about parenting is making decisions for other people. Since there are no perfect parents or perfect children and this is not a perfect world, people are going to make mistakes. But most parents do the best they can. Heck, for all Randall knows, it may have been William's own decision back then to not meet Randall, given his recovery was too rocky at the time to meet his young child. Granted, Rebecca could have told him in his adulthood but for the time being, he has reason to trust her. Throwing that ball of yarn was beyond childish (I thought he was kidding). Rebecca did favor him and he's acting out not getting what he expected of her by throwing a ball of wool to the floor, in front of an entire table of Thanksgiving. Not feeling Olivia at all (having trouble feeling all Present Characters knowing Present Jack will never happen, so why should we care about her?) and she needs to adios. I have a big problem with Miguel's aging makeup too but my biggest problem with Miguel is that he's "Grandpa" and Jack isn't. Yes, I know we will see lots of Past Jack but I don't think that's good enough for me.

I am a fan of Katy Mixon but, man oh man, I am sooo over the mean, offensive bratty kid thing we need a new word for over. Just when I had had enough of the teenage daughter's excessive, inexplicable meanness toward her mother for an extended period of time, the daughter physically grabbed her mother's face, including her eye, and squeezed. That was a whole new level of disrespect. I wanted to smack that fucking brat. The obnoxious bratty son is no better. The only reason I continued to watch the episode is because I wanted to see the payoff for this horrifying behavior (although knowing there could not be anything to redeem that). And, seriously? The daughter couldn't perform an act of kindness toward a lonely neighbor without being an absolute fucking monster to her own sweet and loving Mom? I hope this crap is cancelled soon so that Katy Mixon can move on to something worthy of her talent.