DearEvette

Oh,I totally agree with you. My issue is really with the article that suggested that in an effort to not make people uncomfortable with race or about Jack & Rebecca that the show was trying too hard to make J&R these super progressive people and ignoring their inherent biases. I was pointing out that the show is actually allowing that to bleed through in smallish more believable ways that aren't spoken but rather are displayed. The critical factor is a lot of people don't examine their biases but they act them even progressive people, even well meaning people. And for that to be a criticism of the show feels disingenuous especially when J&R are the type of people who at the time in 1979 wouldn't have even really understood the term 'progressive.' This is a case where I think the show did a great job, though, in highlighting something that wouldn't be apparent to a white parent with a black child. It wasn't sunscreen. It was a case where Randall would get his hair cut and because of the curly texture of black hair and the way it grows, after a close haircut the skin can develop these little bumps where the hair gets trapped under the skin. It can cause irritation and inflammation. Rebecca thought it was simply a rash and was telling Randall to stop scratching. Yvette recognized it immediately and told Rebecca what sort of after care and lotion he needed after a haircut. This is the sort of subtle thing that I think the article misses. Rebecca thinking she can just treat Randall the same as Kevin but something so seemingly small like his hair not being the same make a big difference.

I agree This is Us is a feel good show that wants you to like J & R for their earnestness, but I also think the writer of the article misses some of the nuances. Rebecca didn't initially bond with Randall because he was the 'baby that didn't grow in her body'. But I at least got the sense that part of that was that he was 'other' and not just because he was adopted but because he was a brown baby next to her other two white ones. Also the initial confrontation between Rebecca and Yvette was rather contentious. Yvette said 'you're a white family with a black son and have never introduced yourself to the other black families' and proceeded to give Rebecca advice about what sort of lotion Randall needed for his dry ashy skin. This little reminder about the invisibility of the black folks they saw everyday was, imo, about their inherent biases. Rebecca got defensive immediately because she felt Yvette externalized some of this uncertainties Rebecca still had about raising a black child. She only turned back to Yvette, not because she was apologizing, but because she saw Randall scratching his skin and she realized she couldn't ignore the fact that Yvette raised some good points. Also, Yvette later has to tell Jack not to use her as his "it's ok to do this because the black lady said so" whisperer when Jack goes to her to validate his desire not to send Randall to an all white gifted school. I think there are other examples of Jack & Rebecca -- maybe not confronting their biases (because who really does that consciously?) but subconsciously acting through them. As one who lives within a multiracial family I can attest that it really isn't as simple as that and in the end you still have to live in your family.

Awww... I kinda liked Miguel in this. I don't have the same animus for him that some do. I am very curious to see how he and Rebecca ended up together. But I had to laugh at him putting up the lights and his obsession with the 'Doug Fir'. It sounded so much like the thing an awkward stepdad would say. LOL. I know it did seem like forever. I head-wank that they were at the boss' house for cocktails around 4-5-ish but left early. Yeah, it is dead dark this time of the year on the east coast at 5:00pm. But since they had already planned to have people over, food was already cooked and just needed to be warmed. So even if they got home around 6:00 -7:00 that is still a good 3 hours of evening to do stuff. Also the way it was filmed stuff was happening simultaneously. I loved Jessie's speech. The shade was real! I also love the way they revealed William had a boyfriend. It is nice to have these little layers of a personality and life peeled back pieces at a time. And of course William had a real, full life that he left behind before Randall knocked on his door. We had been told this, it was nice to see it pop up in this way. I don't either. I think it didn't hit Rebecca in quite so starkly about Kate's weight until she saw visually in real numbers how much Kate weighed. She looked shocked when she the woman asked "is this your current weight" and showed them the number. it is one thing to look at your daughter and see that she is overweight, but it is another thing to see it quantified in real numbers.

There were a couple of throwaway moments that stood out amidst the bigger drama - Toby knew the girls' names, which one was which and brought them presents when he showed up. That was nice and very thoughtful. And honesty, very Toby. Randall's boss who forced them to come to his house to get their Christmas bonuses just because he had no family of his own to celebrate with was bad enough, but then to throw the envelopes into the crowd so that people had to scrounge on the floor to pick them up was really rather awful. I loved Beth's look of "Oh no he just didn't....?"

Heck, I was too. I liked how she told the story. I loved how her sister was "Why can't I tell the story? I can tell it beautifully too." and Sloane's mother said "No offense honey, but you tell it like a hostage video." Ha! I also love that Sloane has the same complaints that her family never came to see her play (right down the street) just like Kevin had with none of his family coming to see The Manny. I hope Sloane stays. She is as awesome as Olivia was awful.

Oh man, so much packed into this episode. William has a boyfriend and it is Dennis O'Hare! The Kevin at dinner with Sloane's family was charming as hell. I loved that whole scene. her family was a riot and they sounded so natural. Toby -- holy cow. Didn't expect that. Randall stopping a suicide. And just the whole Christmas eve at Randall's house looked lovely -- until Toby took a header. The hour went so fast!

Sure, but there is problematic and there is just damn stupid sounding. Dude, just say the actress blew you away and she was the best person for the part. I'd respect that and carry on. Casting a white lead character with black side kicks isn't exactly new or revolutionary, isn't going to placate the anyone, and certainly isn't going to stop a 'civil war'. Seriously how is casting a white lead actor in anything addressing race relations?

I wasn't going to watch it because it looks rather tired and I have pretty much given up on Empire, but Lee Daniels talks about why he cast a white protagonist as the lead singer in his new show Star. His comments don't prompt me to change my mind. http://www.thewrap.com/lee-daniels-says-he-made-star-lead-white-because-the-country-needed-to-heal/

Yeah, The Wesley Snipes line was great. Even greater, they all played it straight and serious. so only the audience go the laugh. Rufus was too scared, Flynn was too pissed (although you could practically see Flynn doing a mental eye-roll when he had say the line all deadpan), and the Fed guy was just out to get his man (and woman). Also loved Rufus' lookon his face when he realized they left him. Poor guy. I think the actress who played Bonnie was excellent! She was just riveting to watch. I could easily see how Lucy could be seduced by the charisma of the historical figure, the actress really brought it. I thought she eclipsed the the Clyde character. This was a fun episode, but the Rittenhouse plot feels labored. I know they need a reason to go romping through history but the fun tends to grind to a halt whenever they bring it back to the main plot.

I wonder if it has anything to do with your member station? I have had the experience of some select shows being free on the PBS app. And then some being free within a few days of the original airing. And then some not being free at all. They show up on the app withalock symbol which only unlocks if you donate and become a member. I didn't realize that the most recent season of Endeavour was out and when I tried to see if I could see the first couple of episodes they had they dreaded lock symbol.

Not only this but the sheer hypocrisy of their reaction. When Cisco dropped his bomb everybody got all judgey. You'd think at least the LOT folks would pause and think that "Hey you know what, the things we do all the time could have much more far reaching consequences, we just got lucky none of them came back to bite us in the ass yet." And then Stein had to double down "Unlike your friend Barry I can fix my mistake." So not only does Stein acknowledge that it was possibly him and not Flashpoint that caused his daughter to exist in this timeline.. and therefore acknowledging that Barry is hardly the only person guilty of changing shit, he then proceeds to forget all the warnings they just gave Barry mere hours earlier about going back and changing things.

My hands down favorite Colonel Abrams song is Music is the Answer. Such good memories of clubbing to his music.

Honestly I don't feel either Rebecca, William or Randall bear any blame at all. They are all caught up in a situation of their making that they all made out of fear and love, but it is something none of them were emotionally able to navigate well. In my opinion, "blame" should be apportioned when someone does something bad for the wrong reasons. I don't think Rebecca or William necessarily did anything wrong. In hindsight maybe what they chose to do wasn't wise. But the only reason it is even an issue is because Randall feels hurt by it. If Randall didn't care or if he was understanding or forgiving would Rebecca's actions still be considered wrong? Her actions would not be the thing that changed, only Randall's reaction to it. But, having said that, I also don't think Randall is wrong about how he feels. I give Rebecca a lot of slack over not telling Randall later in life. At this point we've only seen age 9 Randall making a big deal about his birth parents. Maybe after they enrolled him in the martial arts classes and he was around black people more maybe he stopped feeling so out of place. Or maybe he just learned to hide it better and stopped talking about it. And if that is the case, maybe Rebecca felt is was no longer an issue or he no longer had the desire. Unless he brought it up later or she was aware he was actively searching, then I can't think of a reason or time for her to initiate the conversation.

It does set up the potential for a fight. It'll all depend on if RA feels he is being heard and if he sees this as some trump card he can play if he feels Charley and/or Nova are shutting him out of decisions. The story has the potential to play out in a lot of different ways. First there would be the determination if the letter constitutes a legal will. States have different requirements. Some states requires a will to be witnessed by at least two people, i some states the states wishes of the testator was enough. If it is legal and RA wants to claim it solely for himself he is up a creek. He can't get a loan, he has no money and he has to way of getting the sugar milled. He really needs Charley's capital. And second, even if what Earnest wrote isn't legal, then Charley and Nova will know that Earnest really did not intend for them to share in the farm. That is a psychological kick in the taint for them. No matter how it turns out, there is the potentail for some real discord there.

Overall I think the whole was better than the parts. But I am still a bit let down. I think Cisco's drama felt misplaced amidst what should have been something much bigger than them all. But then the writers go and make it all Barry's fault because of Flashpoint which feels so damned illogical. Between all of the time travelling and affect on people's lives that the Legends have and Barry & Cisco opening portals between infinite Earths that act as some intergalactic Uber, Aliens decide that Barry's Flashpoint is what gives them the willies about meta-humans? I thought the Flash episode was the strongest from a character involvement standpoint. I thought the Arrow ep felt like it was barely even part of the crossover. And I thought the Legends ep was fun an actiony, but also felt it did the LOTs characters a disservice. They felt like supporting players on their own show. Felicity is not one of my favorite characters and Cisco is on my shit list, so having the two of them have such major parts while Jackson was virtually non-existent til almost the second half of the show just pissed me off. I don't watch Supergirl so I don't know how her ep happened. But she also felt weirdly side-lined in this one until the big battle in end. I felt like I could almost hear the writers justifying it by thinking she is too powerful so they had to create some weird argument between her and Oliver to take her out for a bit. It was popcorn action but overall it felt a little empty.

This is why I can't wrap my head around the Diggle anger. He knows there are other dimensions and other timelines and time travel and magic. So Barry saying, well splintered a timeline I was in before and in that one you have a daughter, should be a matter of curiosity and wonder but not necessarily anger. If someone came to me and said they changed my timeline and the two sons I have now were two actually daughters I be like 'Huh? did they do chores without complaining? Because these two are always complaining.' I don't know those two daughters they theoretical. I know these two sons, they are my reality. In this timeline, the only people who knew about baby Sara were Barry and the fans of the show. So Diggle's anger feels more like fan service to me than really about how someone in his shoes would really react.

Oh but that was just the first time, he became faux-Irish the second time "Top o' the mornin' to ya'" I forgot to mention, but just as much as I liked this Stevens, I also like this Dre. No self centered man-child in sight.

This is about one of the top five cold opens for me. This was brilliant. All I could think of when the credits came on was that man, I love this show! I also loved Amy "Get to the math!" She was so ridiculously thrilled to do math. And of course Hitchcock's hero would be Marie Callender. ha! Honestly I wished that the Boyle cousins would have been too beige even for Gina to sway. I hate that she seems to be a writer's pet. So happy to see Kevin!

I loved this! Neither one of them even asked anything about the girl. They were just so happy he had a girlfriend at all cracked me up. "He wears capes" (oh God I am still laughing about this!)

I have to agree, Negan is a bad villain. Not because he is villainous, but because he simply isn't compelling. I am of the school that believes that a good villain, in his mind, thinks he is the hero of the story. Everything he does, he does from the conviction that he is doing right. It is just that he can't see how twisted and wrong his perception is. If written that way he gets layers and motivations and his actions have a logic behind them that make them compelling to watch even in their wrongness. I hated the Governor, but I always felt that the Governor was written this way. Meanwhile all we have of Negan is that he likes to shake people down and kill them with bats. He has no other layers. He is just a thug. It doesn't make for a character you want to get to know.

I am wondering if Earnest wrote that in preparation for changing his will but was waiting for Ralph Angel to settle a bit and maybe spend time with him before he did it with his lawyers. I could see it as something he thought was right. I mean, Charley was barely in NOLA she had her life in LA. Nova showed no interest in the farm and had a full life with her community projects. But maybe he saw this as a way to give RA something of his own and possibly keep in for Blue. But he knew RA wasn't ready (why it was still in a locked box ion a top closet shelf). And of course, Death waits for no one.

This one had me laughing right out the gate! What a good one. Poor Jack and his 'C' They let Steven go back to just being a clueless rich white privileged guy and not a frothing racist. His 'You know how I get women, I say that's my jet' was perfect. This Stevens is the one we like, not that other guy. Charlie, of course is the MVP. Snow J. Pimpson! Ha! When Bow saw Megan for the first time and the Ironside theme played and everything went into slo-motion I cracked up because it reminded me of the movie Kill Bill. Everytime the Bride (Uma Thurman) saw one of her enemies she went into a red-fugue state with the Ironside theme.

Charley took me on a rollercoaster ride. One the one hand I LOVE what she is trying to accomplish with the mill and how she hustled Felix. But I hated all the stuff with Davis and it cost her Remy. But I did like her interaction with the owner of the NOLA team who seemed to think she was too good for Davis. I like Ralph Angel and do think he is being dismissed by Charley, but I am not convinced he has the maturity to run the farm on his own. But I do hope that he, Darla and Azul (ha!) form a strong family unit. That would be a fantasy outcome and very affirmational. God, Nova and Calvin are all sorts of screen chemistry but they feel like they are doomed and that makes me sad because they looked so happy. I can't help but think that the guy's reaction to her, once he discovered she was Nova Bordelon is a not-so-sly dig at how out of control irrational and even violent some folks get at a little bit of criticism toward the police. Because god forbid, someone criticize the police. I do think this is a meaty conflict to place on their relationship. One would think that the bigger obstacles toward them being happy would be him finalizing his divorce and to some extent their interracial relationship. But those two things aren't even their biggest barrier to their happiness. And the hardship isn't necessarily Nova's, it is Calvin's. So does he put his money where his mouth is? Is she worth the ostracism he will face from his brothers in blue? Overall such a strong season and great show that deceptively packed a LOT of stuff in to 13 episodes.

I think that was the point of the dojo exercise -- reassurance that if Jack wasn't there or could not lift up Randall that there would be a whole line of men ready to hold Randall on their backs to "lift him up." Which is why the rest of the men also had to lift up Randall. I think the message of the initiation was to assure that that Jack show he was willing to lift up his kid, no matter how hard, but to be assured what would happen if he couldn't. I would imagine that the men who lgo to that dojo kinda know what to expect so they might be prepared. Yvette knew of it, because she sent them there deliberately. But I would imagine a less fit father, or a mother who enrolls her kid there who has no father would have gotten a similar but not 100% the same message. Now, I think Jack did so many push ups because he was trying to prove something to himself given their circumstances. He wanted to be the guy for Randall. The Dojo guy actually told Jack to "stop, that is enough" but Jack kept going.

At the very top of the show, while Randall is writing his "Rebecca list" there is a container of some awful healthy looking smoothie in a similar size container. So either he brought his own (and we didn't see it) and he confused he two or he took the guy at his word and tasted some of his smoothie cuz it is just the sort of thing Randall would drink.