laurakaye

I cannot justify upgrading my cable just for this show! I can't do it, I would feel so ICKY! (although I think I will be able to binge the season on Vudu for $20 after the last episode, and I just might do it unless someone talks me out of it).

Thank you, I didn't hear that. I wish we'd seen a little bit of the direct aftermath. I feel like Kevin got off way too easy.

The above post is nearly a month old, and I confess that I kind of forgot about Kevin's DUI, since - unless I wasn't paying attention - he was never arrested? I mean, we see Kevin driving drunk with Tess in the car and then it's therapy time, no mention at all of Tess, and now Kevin and Randall are playing Bob the Builder together and everything's fine? I have no way to compute how much time has passed since the DUI and Randall taking over the building. Weeks? Months? No clue. None. I have read so many posts like this (no offense intended to @Kbford14371 whatsoever, because I have posted similar ideas)...but it often seems like we have to do a lot of reaching and searching as to how something happened based on the way that it's being presented to us. I am all on board for a show peppered with interesting clues, but the "clues" that I've seen up to now have either been plain confusing or dead ends, and we are left to connect the dots in our own minds. I feel like a good show that bases its major plot on clues shouldn't force us to try and come up with so much on our own. If they proclaim that "all will be revealed in the end," they might risk losing viewers because we've forgotten those all-important clues, or we simply don't care anymore.

What was the purpose of the misdirect, do you think? Not being snarky, just honestly want to know. A misdirect can be a wonderful, gasp-inducing moment if done correctly. This one feels like a cheap shot to me.

I agree, so I end up wondering why the writers had Randall say it in the first place? I sometimes think that the writers assume we'll all be too busy crying to listen to all the words or something. Randall could've just as easily said something like "I remodeled our house, it's the same thing." He also mentions that building is "in his blood." I thought he meant Jack, but we've never seen young Randall do any type of construction projects with Jack, so what did that mean? Did he mean William the Poet was also a builder? That doesn't make sense, either. These "throw-away" lines only serve to confuse viewers, and I find it really frustrating. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++1.

This seems to be a recurring theme with TIU - the introduction of characters or a meaningful camera shot that doesn't come to fruition until much later, if at all. I am thinking of the lingering shot of Jack's brother in the war photo, or the little boy sitting in the office when Randall and Beth went to the foster care office, several scenes of Jack fixing a fuse box, etc. If the plot is leading us in a certain direction and then takes a sharp, random detour, how are we supposed to know what to believe? The writers seem to enjoy a certain amount of bait-and-switch with the viewers, but in doing so they risk alienating some of us who refuse to get invested because of this very issue. I agree with @Dminches...what was the point of introducing the older couple - were they just a way to bring in the crockpot of doom to the Pearson household? And honestly, if you're using a crockpot that you know is faulty, would you really go to bed with it on all night long (until Jack tried to turn it off)? Would Rebecca really have gone to bed with all that food left out? While I understand the plotline, the pieces to get there don't make a lot of sense.

Who is taking care of Tess and Annie while Randall is single-handedly remodeling and then subsequently relocating an entire building full of people and Beth is at work? Just wondering.

In the breakroom today at work, I overheard three co-workers talking about a certain show...one said, "the writing is amazing!" One said, "I got goosebumps!" Another said, "I absolutely love the show and everyone in it." Apparently I hadn't had enough coffee yet because I foolishly asked which show they were talking about. Of course, they said, THIS IS US. I simply replied, "Oh." Now, as you all well know, this is not a good response to the greatness that is TIU, so I was immediately peppered with questions such as, "you don't like it?" "What is wrong with you?" "Is it too emotional for you?" I told them that I'd ticked off enough people with my opinion so I tried to drop the conversation, but they persisted. I finally said it wasn't my cup of tea, which they took to mean that I couldn't handle all the feelz. It never ceases to amaze that if one doesn't slavishly adore TIU, there must be something wrong with that viewer. That said, I only just watched "Clooney." While I found the previous episode (the family in therapy) surprisingly good, I am once again left feeling "meh" after watching the cat episode. I am at a loss as to why William is being protrayed as this mythical, deep thinking, poetry writing/jazz singing soul. I was also doing some heavy-duty eye-rolling when Randall interrupted a job interview to take a call from Garrett Morris. I simply do not understand Randall's character. I don't understand why he does what he does. Now he's going to buy a building? Because....Billie Holiday? I mean, is it normal for a grown man to knock on random apartment doors asking any woman who answers if she ever got bow-chicka-wow with his deceased father? I found that kind of gross and inappropriate. But that's just Randall, I guess! I didn't hate Kevin in this episode, so I guess that's progress.

Well, @LilWharveyGal, it looks like you might have a permanent position here as weekly recapper! I look forward to these so much, you have no idea. :) As usual, my non-watcher status brings up some questions/comments: I giggle with glee every time I hear Maddie and Caleb referred to as the Brown-Brushes. Regarding moving back to Utah - if their case is hung up in the Court of Appeals, doesn't that mean the ruling could still be overturned? So why move back until they know for sure that the case has been settled? I don't understand Kody's mindset here, but that's certainly not anything new. Did FT explain what, exactly, is considered "white people candy?" Skittles? M&M's? Jelly beans? Just curious. Why would Christine want FT's mother to participate in the lip-sync when she has neither ever heard the song before, nor speaks English? Throwing frisbees at the newlyweds? Okay...man, you'd better hope everyone has good aim or FT could get a few smacks to the noggin. On accident. Mostly. Excellent recap, as usual! I almost felt like I was there, sitting on my couch, doing shots with y'all!

I have always felt that Kody went into polygamy to feed his ego, anything else was just extraneous BS, and he figured out how to do it under the cloak of polygamy. Young Kody, he of the Perfectly Coiffed Hair and Cat-Eating-Canary toothpaste smile felt that he was so tasty, any woman would be lucky to have him. He took wallflower Meri first and got her on board, then had a lil' somethin'-somethin' with his sister-in-law Janelle, and then here comes this bubbly blonde chasing him all over town who happens to be from plyg royalty, so even though she grossed him out, he married her and brought his magic number up to three, and his ego up to a million.

Your whole post was spot-on but especially this. Meri outed herself with her own stupid tweets, saying at first that she "wasn't home." Someone calls her out on that and then she says, "oh, I meant - miscommunication." So she's a lying liar who lies, and she's taking her passive-aggressive crap out on the kids - in this case Garrison, for whom she was, at one point, an actual "mom." She's a piece of work. She wants to isolate herself, but she also wants the fam'ly to come pounding down her door and tell her that nothing is the same without her. Actually, what I think she wants is for Kody to be the one begging her to join the fam'ly, but I don't see that happening anymore, ever. Gahhhh...how do these people even function with all of the multi-layered mind games they play with each other all day long?? If only Christine had the guts to point out the big fat spare tire Kody sports nowadays, as well as the fact that what's left of his shiny blond hair is a frazzled mess held together with mousse and a prayer.

Yeah, stupid question....LOL. Gosh, I miss cable.

Did she say it in that vapid, breathy voice and slur all of her words together? I don't know why I need to know, I just do.

I wish I could "heart" this comment 4643985673986792 times. Unless she is completely holed up in her manse for days on end, there's no way she would've missed her family discussing Garrison's homecoming. NO WAY. There would've been excitement from nearly everyone. There would've been preparations - getting his room ready, buying food, etc. I absolutely think that this was another passive-aggressive test by Mean Meri...as in, how bad do they want me there? I ain't going unless someone asks me straight up to go, and if I don't go, how long will it take for someone to run over to my house and let me know that Garrison is home? I didn't see the show but it sounds like Meri and the rest of the fam have quite the showdown going on. Meri won't cross the street unless invited, and no one is going to invite her to something she surely already had to have known about. Meri is full of crap.

BRAVA!!! It looks like you have taken your new job as "Fam'ly Recapper" very seriously and I appreciate it so much. In fact, I'd like to take you out to dinner to say thank you. Since I am of German background, dinner will consist of 400 pounds of sauerkraut and a German chocolate cake. I don't care if it sounds like a disgusting combination, that's what we're having and oh, I also get the good chair. You're welcome! And now, a couple of questions/observations: Janelle thinking that Meri "sparkles" combined with her musings that Janelle herself would buy the house for the family suggests to me that Janelle is over the moon with Meri's B&B plan, because it means that Mean Meri will be four hours away from the cuddle-sac on a frequent basis. No more awkward meetings as both women waddle outside to fetch the mail, no more strained encounters at the wet bar, etc. I can totally see why Janelle is on board. The fact that Meri refuses to go into another wife's house and take care of another wife's kids is just about the funniest thing ever, when polygamy is supposed to be about doing EXACTLY THAT. I wonder how the kids feel hearing her say that? They are supposed to consider her one of their moms, but she clearly no longer sees herself that way. What a joke. How much longer to we have to listen to her say that she believes in living this lifestyle? Can't she amend it to, "I believe in living this lifestyle as long as everyone is on board with everything that I want, I don't have to baby-sit my celestial children, and also don't touch my wet bar?" "I Will Survive?" Really?!? I am sometimes gobsmacked at how utterly un-self-aware these people are. And what's with the disco outfits, are they all going to take off their party clothes and change into costume? I mean, I may actually have to fork over the cash to get my cable back in order to see this. Kody is a gross narcissistic man-child and I honestly did not think there was another human being on the planet that could top him for being an egomanicial jerkwad with horrible hair and sweaty clothes. Congrats, Fat Tony!! (off to see if I can upgrade my cable)

Wait, what?? Imma need more details. LOLOZ - all you have to do in this paragraph is flip "FT" for "Kody" and flip "white people" for "polygamists" and there you have it. FT = Kody. Not only that, but FT is out-Kodying Kody himself. He's even got the dirty clothes and stupid hair thing down to a science. That said, @LilWharveyGal, I believe, took one for the team last episode and created an amazing recap for those of us (ME) who can't watch. And while I do understand the sacrifice of both time and brain cells that it takes to describe this circus-freak trainwreck, I am going to need someone to crank up the snark machine and give me my 4000 tacos recap!

So I guess Rob's contract states that he must appear only via phone and cloaked in shadows so we can't really see him? He is the Mrs. Wolowitz of KUWTK.

It could explain a lot about Kevin - his brother dies but is simply replaced with Randall, and not only is Kyle replaced, Beth seems to love Randall more than Kevin. Interesting. My unpopular opinion is that just as I was getting ready to come here and snark, I.....actually didn't hate this episode? I almost feel that the writers read this entire thread and, in the therapy session, addressed most of the eye-roll type things that drive a lot of us crazy..."saint" Jack, Kate's weight, "The Randall Show," William and Tess, the fact that if you're not born a Pearson you'll never "get it," Kevin being left out, etc. Even Mandy Moore kind of nailed it when she said that Randall was just easier to love. The acting, IMO, was FAR more realistic than anything we've seen so far, and it took me awhile to figure out why - I think it was the near-absence of the "MUST CRY NOW" schmaltzy music cues that this show often uses to bash us over the head. Even Chrissy Metz, who I have so far found to be a very cardboard character, was believable during therapy. And most shocking of all, I liked the bar scenes of Miguel, Beth and Toby - three characters that I have so far really disliked (and in Miguel's case, have no clue what he's all about). For my fellow snarkers, what do you think? Is this show's direction changing into something we can sink our teeth into, or next week are we back to grand gestures and sad music? This episode was what I thought we were going to get all along...the dynamics of three siblings and their parents. I am confused.

Now I would actually pay a couple of dollars to watch Logan sit down with Robyn and Kody and explain that MSWC was a joke from Day One...while Robyn wipes away the eye boogers of sadness and Kody scratches his caveman head, silently befuddled by big scary words such as "management," "production," "marketing" and "customers."

What a passive-aggressive moronic jerkface he is. He's the one who uprooted his entire brood to Vegas in the first place under the pretense of "persecution." Who can forget the fam'ly throwing their stuff into a moving truck while police sirens sounded in the background, as if they were literally on the run? He's the one who gave his kids three days to pack, say goodbye to their friends, and leave their schools. Who remembers Kody getting all ticked off at Hunter because Hunter didn't want to play football in his brand-new school? Or Maddie, who was vocal about being very unhappy with their new living situation? And then all the stupid shenanigans with building those Vegas McMansions while Meri whined about the wet bar and it not being her fault that she didn't have 15 kids to fill her house, etc.? And now he's whining because he wants to move again? Well, guess what, Hair Gel Caveman...you don't always get to do what you want when you've built a huge family with umpteen kids and four "wives." He is such a tool. He'll never ever get it through his mop-topped skull that the universe doesn't revolve around him, especially when he, as the "head" of this brood, has several other people's feelings to consider. But he didn't care the first time, so I imagine the upcoming storyline will involve them "fleeing" Vegas (because persecution but really because bill collectors coming to get their money) and moving to St. George. Whatever. /rant

....that leaked hair mousse and gel when you smacked it.

Both girls acted very demanding in regards to their weddings, but I think they did it for different reasons. With Maddie, she was bossy and particular because she was fully aware that her family is a train wreck when they attempt to do anything together (travel, park cars in a parking lot, spray paint cans of corn, etc). I believe she said words to that effect on the show - that if she didn't take 100% charge of her ceremony and reception, nothing would get accomplished and no one would follow through on anything if left to their own devices. Mykelti, on the other hand, is the second daughter of the least-liked wife of Kody Brown. I think she grew up watching her mom dance and fluff and sparkle whenever Kody was nearby, she knows exactly where she and her mom stand in Kody's life, and her ridiculous demands are her way of - for once - making everything all about her, to see what Kody does with it. And in the background, Tony is egging her on to turn it up to 11, grifting even harder than his future father-in-law. The justice - it's poetic. I cannot thank you enough. Not only did you have to watch the show once, you probably had to watch it a second or third time to capture the highlights. Please know that I appreciate and recognize your sacrifices for those of us who can't watch this circus train-wreck clown car of shenanigans. I find Logan the most interesting of the kids. He is/was the substitute dad for his own full siblings and many of his half-siblings. Most likely, he sacrificed a lot of things he really wanted to do because his mother couldn't wait to get in her car every morning and drive off to work, and his dad was absent at least 75% of the time. Now that he's grown up, he's living his life exactly how he wants, breaking many of the Browns' "rules" or whatever Kody wants to call them. I find it interesting that he's basically unshackled himself from his family, but I do wonder if he ever thinks about the fact that he is living a polar opposite life from his father, while his younger brothers and sisters look on.

HOLD ON are they really doing this??!? I need to know how this convo went down...did they tell Kody and the Kodettes that this was part of the reception plan?

Possibly a huge unpopular opinion, but I can't believe SKB won a Golden Globe for This is Us. I'm thrilled that he won, and also at the historical milestone this award created, but IMO his most stellar work came when he portrayed Christopher Darden last year. I know he won a couple of awards for that performance, but he should've won every single award. He knocked that portrayal out of the park. That's why I have such a hard time with him as Randall, because I don't think his acting on This is Us necessarily deserved an award, and I know he is capable of making my heart hurt. Of course he can only do so much with what he's given, but as Randall, he's very smug and unlikeable. I'm trying to figure out why the cheesefest that is This is Us won anything.

Loved your entire post. As someone who can no longer watch this show because my basic cable won't play nice with TLC Go, I thoroughly enjoy descriptive paragraphs like this. And as much as I want to quit this circus fam'ly, I have been invested for so long that I find myself wondering if Kody is still a doof, if Meri is still orange, if Christine still speaks in that breathy-medicated voice, and if FT is still running the show. Thanks to you all, I have my answers and they are all "YES." And 1000000 bonus points for the use of the word "smedium." LOLOLZ. So I'm confused...I thought Meri LOVED planning parties! And she's rilly rilly good at it! And she has a hobby room and a big ol' wet bar that she could use for crafts and such! Why not ask Meri to be her wedding planner? She could start with hauling out those gray-painted cans of corn she used for Thanksgiving and spray-painting them in Mykelti's color choices. Wait....seriously? One of these colors doesn't belong, I just can't figure out which one. "4,000 Tacos and a Bounce House" should be the new title of this show.