TwoGrayTabbies

As an adherent to Minimalist living, I am glad Randall’s family are going to downsize. They will be living in a vibrant, diverse city just a short train ride away from NYC—2 great cities! They’re trading in excess square footage for experiences. I hope Randall trades in his flashy car for a minivan and public transit passes.

Do the writers have any conception of how hard it is to start a business? Opening a dance studio would be a huge challenge. It will require a properly equipped building rental/purchase and qualified instructors. It’s a non-essential service probably already has a supply to meet the demand. Not to mention that Beth is out of practice and this is a new city where she hasn’t built up a network. Wouldn’t it make more sense for Beth to get an urban planning job and teach dance as a side hustle/hobby?

Agree 110%. Instead of writing a plausible, relatable conflict that grew organically from realistic circumstances, the writers just concocted a bunch of extremely improbable events. Moreover: Not only did Randall take actions he would not do IRL, the writers haven’t followed through with the expected consequences: IRL, he and Beth would have had a discussion about the financial fallout of quitting his job. There would have at least been some necessary adjustments. But we’re just supposed to assume that there’s no mortgage on the house (which is around $1 million? At least $500,000? I’m a Detroiter—I honestly don’t know Alpine real estate values. But if I were writing a show set in Alpine I would have researched it.) And we must assume he’s such a phenomenal investor that they have enough passive income to continue their lifestyle. IRL, Randall would still be dealing with the apartment building. New repair needs would have arisen, tenants would have fallen behind in rent, there would be code compliance issues, property tax, etc. But we’re supposed to assume he got it all nicely tied up with a neat bow. BIGGEST of all: Deja would still be working through her substantial grief and trauma issues. A kid doesn’t go through neglect, foster care, abuse, parental relinquishment, and adoption with no worse effect than a one-time impulse to smash a windshield. If it weren’t for a compulsive need to always find out how a story ends, I would have quit this show when the political story began. I should feel foolish that the writers lured me in with the “Her” mystery. Hopefully it will actually be answered tonight and I can kick this habit.

The house annoys me, too. Additionally, Beth told William that Randall fixed it up himself, so it “didn’t cost a penny.” Did Randall forge equipment and material from raw materials harvested in the back yard? The house makes no damn sense.

I remember before cell phones became common that guests frequently asked to use their hosts’ phones, to call a parent, or a babysitter, etc. It was understood these requests were for brief, local calls when a quick update was wanted. I would have been surprised if a host refused the request or showed annoyance. Requesting to borrow a phone charger and isn’t a materially different request. I also remember back in pay phone days it was not unusual for someone to ask for a quarter to place a call. Ideally, people would carry enough change to be prepared to place a pay call, but if they happened to get caught short, they might ask as a favor, preferably with a promise to pay back ASAP. If the host doesn’t have a charger, she just says so, and that’s the end of it. But in a world where cell phones are nearly universal, it’s not outrageous to politely ask.

Exactly. If Randall feels called to a life of public service, and Beth feels drawn back to dance, they had both better realize that these vocations aren’t compatible with the big house, fancy car, posh neighborhood lifestyle of Wall Street high-flyers. Frankly, Randall’s desire to work for change on behalf of his impoverished constituency would seem more sincere if he were willing to shed his upscale trappings.

In and of itself, it is selfish for Beth to suddenly reveal that notwithstanding her successful career, she’s been pining all along for a career in dance, so she’s going to quit looking for a job in her field and take a low-paying job as a dance instructor. However, her selfishness is nothing compared to Randall’s quixotic political career. So Randall’s objection is sheer chutzpah.

A logical plan for Beth and Randall: 1. Sell house, relocate to Randall’s district. Then he can legitimately say he’s serious about serving this community. He shouldn’t have run in the first place, but too late to go back. I won’t object if they enroll kids in private, parochial, or charter school. 2. Downscale lifestyle by selling car and other luxury items and replace with more modest choices. 3. Beth takes job in urban planning (I believe that was her field), volunteers to teach dance to underprivileged kids in community organization. (Quite frankly, I’m having a hard time buying her dance-is-my passion when she’s been away from it for like 2 decades and she was happy and successful in another career.) 4. Realize that personal fulfillment doesn’t require high-price lifestyle and pursuit of dreams/ passions at any cost. Find contentment in family, community, and hobbies.

Realistically, Beth’s teaching opportunities would be limited to storefront dance studios or organizations like the YMCA. Which is a nice part-time job for a student or SAHM, but not something that could support her family’s Alpine lifestyle. This might well be my last TIU post because I’m exasperated past patience with the fantasy careers and lifestyles. I might check in from time to time to check my prediction that Toby chucks the soulless IT career to become a ventriloquist or a tightrope walker and succeeds fabulously because he’s Pursuing his Passion.

Late to the party here, but I have to vent my outrage about Midge’s awful behavior at the wedding. Even if her performance had been G-rated squeaky clean it would have been deeply offensive because she was HIJACKING SOMEONE’S WEDDING!! Sheesh, what an attention whore. And where did she get off with her snobby, snotty attitude about Mary’s wedding arrangements? Is she really from such a UMC bubble that she doesn’t know not everyone can afford the sort of wedding she’s accustomed to? I would probably not like Midge if I knew her in real life. I don’t like people who are always drawing attention to themselves. But this episode was the first where I actually hated her.

I’m not ready to say this series has been redeemed for me, but this episode was good. It dealt with really awful issues without getting mawkish. And there was no awesome-Pearson-hero-saint content—quite the opposite. My only complaint is that Kate was unnecessarily shoe-horned in. There was no reason for her to travel that distance by plane and car during a high-risk pregnancy to spring a surprise visit on Nick. The physical and emotional discomfort were substantial reasons against it. And she really had nothing much to do.

In Pearsonland, if Randall bought Hostess blueberry pie on NYE, Tess, Deja, and Annie, and all their issue, would have been condemned to eat Hostess blueberry pie every NYE for all eternity. Even if the only way to get it was by speechifying some pie factory manager into retooling the factory just for that purpose.

Yes, please have Randall run for President. We wouldn’t have to wait for the next election cycle because when Randall decides to run there’s automatically an election, fixed terms be damned. Really, though, I’m exasperated with the writers not following through on Randall’s momentous decisions. He abruptly quits a high-paying job with no plans to find another—no word on how this affects his family. He fosters, then adopts a traumatized child—one smashed windshield later her trauma is apparently resolved. He buys a rundown building—apparently everything was fixed off-stage because we haven’t heard anything about it since his campaigning began. So getting elected president isn’t that far or a stretch in the TIU-verse. Is there going to be any follow-through with his getting elected to Council, or is this just going to be seamlessly assimilated into his life so he can start his next project, perhaps commuting to Harvard Med School so he can honor William’s legacy by finding a cure for stomach cancer?

Christine makes me sad because she is such a sweet lady but so obtusely wrong in her choices. Buying the rodeo was such a profoundly stupid move but I can’t laugh at the inevitable failure because my heart is breaking for Christine. She might have found happiness in Denver with Ken, but she threw her chance and her money away on a doomed venture for ungrateful sons. I don’t hate Dale as much as other posters do. He’s a jerk, but I don’t think he’s irredeemable. His complaints about Christine’s business incompetence are not unreasonable and he has come through before for his daughter. The shopping spree with his daughters was a lot like Christine’s purchase of the rodeo—a misguided, extravagant, doomed venture, with the distinction that his motives were selfish.

I have wondered about that too. I suppose the investigator would start with court records to establish a group of men with substance abuse and vagrancy issues in Pittsburgh due the relevant time period. We saw a flashback with William speaking in court about the terrible time he was having, including, IIRC, his girlfriend’s death. If the investigator read that transcript, that would have been an important clue. It’s highly unlikely, however, that the PI would have told Randall that he was 100% certain William was his father. Randall confronted William with 100% certainty, but that might have come from Randall’s own Randall-centric, Pearson-influenced mind.