S04.E09: So Long, Marianne

[ElectricBoogaloo]

MID SEASON FINALE!

Quote

The Pearson family gathers for their first Thanksgiving at Randall's Philadelphia townhouse.

Promo:

Original air date: 11/19/19

[gonzosgirrl]

Stream of thoughts while watching...

I am really warming up to Nicky. Love that he calls Kevin a nitwit. It's too bad that he and Jack couldn't reconcile after all they went through together as kids.

Why would Kate have to tell Toby about the stupid avocado? Me, me, me. I understand her insecurities but they are going to cost her her marriage.

Oh, Rebecca. The dementia thing is almost too obvious. I guess it could be a brain tumor, but given that she's around for 12 - 15 more years, that seems unlikely. But if she's this far gone already, that also seems like a long time with dementia.

I love Tess's hair. She's a beautiful girl.

Ah, the episode title. I would never have related that to Jack and Nicky. Well done, show. You made me cry, too.

Nice scene with Beth and Deja. Lyric really is a good actress. 

Oh psych. Near future, not present.  And Kevin is already engaged in the next nine months. I guess they are not speaking because he keeps Rebecca's secret? 

[greekmom]

Damn the flash fowards to Jack 2.0 serving shrimp and to the big 3's 40th and Randall and Kevin not speaking! And Kevin's fiance has morning sickness!?!?!

Damn you show I have to wait till the new year!?!?! Damn you!

Forgot to add - Crossfit Toby is more of an asshole than Fat Toby.

Edited November 20, 2019 by greekmom

[sigmaforce86]

There are going to be a lot of WTF reactions to the future plot with that 9 month time jump near the end but for me the biggest was the quickest moment - Kate signed that police form with the last name Pearson.  In just nine months?  That is huge, very much need to know what the deal is going to be with that.

Edited to add:  Also, Griffin Dunne for the Emmy please

Edited November 20, 2019 by sigmaforce86

[ShadowFacts]

I don't know what was sadder:  Rebecca's confusion and panic, Beth's feeling displaced by Shawna (but being there for Deja's sadness), or Nicky's memory of Jack and Shrimpsgiving.  Cracked my heart a little.  Don't know what was funnier:  Nicky saying he looked like he came out of a Viagra commercial, or calling Randall "Russell".  Griffin Dunne continues to shine. Intrigue with Toby possibly having an emotional affair?  Flashforward and Kevin has a pregnant fiance.  A very good fall finale.

[Spartan Girl]

Goddammit this show and its fucking flash forwards.

Please don't let Toby be cheating.

At least Rebecca admitted she needs help.

[ams1001]

"I look like I'm in a Viagra commercial." 🤣

"I really want to put last night behind us." "Me, too. But..." Randall just doesn't know when to stop talking.

Where is she gonna find a pie on Thanksgiving Day? (Will it be a blueberry pie?)

Toby and Kate's argument on the plane was just stupid. I'm glad they're not real people. They would be so exhausting.

"You realize this is five pounds of shrimp?" "Oh, we realize." "Good luck."

Annie needs a booster seat (or a seatbelt adjuster). The seatbelt was sitting across her neck. (Scene redeemed by her eye roll when Randall started singing. I really wish they'd give her more to do.)

Aw, poor Nicky.

So how long was the trip to Alpine and back in Randall World? An hour and a half maybe?

Future Jack and five pounds of shrimp. 🙂

Baby Jack in Pilgrim Rick hat is adorable.

So Rebecca's day was 9 months in the future...hmm...and Randall and Kevin aren't speaking (or Randall and everyone?)

aaaannd we'll see you in January.

(side note, as I'm typing, New Amsterdam just started and Max's baby is in her crib wearing the same hat with the little ears that Jack was wearing, except hers is yellow. Why are TV babies always sleeping in hats?)

[CleoCaesar]

Aw, Tess and Kevin scenes! Kevin/Justin Hartley is especially adorable in scenes with the kids. It will a delight to see him with a baby next year.

Maybe this can be the end of Nicky storylines? Pretty please? He got his redemption, he got his family, let's call it a day and move on.

I hope Kate and Toby find a good divorce lawyer, because they're going to need one.

I’m intrigued about why Kevin and Randall aren’t speaking in the next 9 months. My money’s on Randall somehow being a sanctimonious, overbearing ass. I’m just basing this on the previous 62 episodes.

[mtlchick]

Oh show.  When you have points where it feels like everything is DRAGGING, the last 5 minutes before mid season break is a slap in the face, punch in the gut and stab in the heart.  

The Big Three (Two?) 40th marks the beginning of season 5.  

While I am not feeling Cross Fit Toby either or why the writers are that pre occupied with Deja, I LOVED everything about Nicky and I was getting so upset for Rebecca. As it sets the stage for the next 9 months, I look forward to it and dread it at the same time. 

See you in 2020!
 

[Scarlett45]

2 minutes ago, sigmaforce86 said:

There are going to be a lot of WTF reactions to the future plot with that 9 month time jump near the end but for me the biggest was the quickest moment - Kate signed that police form with the last name Pearson.  In just nine months?  That is huge, very much need to know what the deal is going to be with that.

Maybe Kate never changed her name. Lots of women don’t. But yes, their marriage isn’t in a great place and is likely to spiral beyond repair if they don’t do something soon. 

[Lady Calypso]

Oh....I like when they only do short flashforwards. I like them doing only a nine month flashforward. It intrigues me more because they're not having to plan something for years down the line.

Overall, a very strong fall finale. It had a lot that was great. Deja and her sadness over her mother seeming to be better. Tess coming out to people. Nicky figuring out his place in the Pearson family. 

But really, Kevin moves fast. In nine months, he has a fiancee AND she's already pregnant? It's obviously better if it's someone we know, but I don't think that's a good idea.

But the most curious question: why is Randall not at the 40th birthday party? Did Kevin mean that Randall's in a fight with Kevin, or that Randall's in a fight with the whole family? It must be something to do with Rebecca's care, right? 

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, sigmaforce86 said:

There are going to be a lot of WTF for the future plot with that 9 month time jump near the end but for me the biggest was the quickest moment - Kate signed that police form with the last name Pearson.  In just nine months?  That is huge, very much need to know what the deal is going to be with that.

Did she actually change her name when she got married?

[debraran]

I think the doctor's will find something in her brain and it has to be a while. They show her at Kevin's 40th, was that 9 months from now? He has a fiance already who is pregnant? (birthcontrol never works on TV)

Loved Nicky saying how he "erased him" because he did but knowing he held on to something of theirs. The shrimp will always be special.  I really love him in the show.

Felt they overplayed Rebecca's illness and wish they showed more of the others, you don't need to be hit over the head to know she isn't well.

Loved seeing the kids and Tess turning the corner. Wish Miguel would get more time and better lines, maybe we will see more of them soon when she is younger and well.

I wonder what made Randall and Kevin so angry?

I had posted the songs history on another segment but never thought it would be Nicky's song and make Jack redeemable for what he did.  Loved it and the "poem"

7 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

"I look like I'm in a Viagra commercial." 🤣

"I really want to put last night behind us." "Me, too. But..." Randall just doesn't know when to stop talking.

Where is she gonna find a pie on Thanksgiving Day? (Will it be a blueberry pie?)

Toby and Kate's argument on the plane was just stupid. I'm glad they're not real people. They would be so exhausting.

"You realize this is five pounds of shrimp?" "Oh, we realize." "Good luck."

Annie needs a booster seat (or a seatbelt adjuster). The seatbelt was sitting across her neck. (Scene redeemed by her eye roll when Randall started singing. I really wish they'd give her more to do.)

Aw, poor Nicky.

So how long was the trip to Alpine and back in Randall World? An hour and a half maybe?

Future Jack and five pounds of shrimp. 🙂

Baby Jack in Pilgrim Rick hat is adorable.

So Rebecca's day was 9 months in the future...hmm...and Randall and Kevin aren't speaking (or Randall and everyone?)

aaaannd we'll see you in January.

(side note, as I'm typing, New Amsterdam just started and Max's baby is in her crib wearing the same hat with the little ears that Jack was wearing, except hers is yellow. Why are TV babies always sleeping in hats?)

They use hats so you don't see subtle differences in the babies they use, even if twins. It's easier, most babies aren't that identical.

I just found New Amsterdam so I have the end of season one and season two to watch while This is Us is off. ; )

Edited November 20, 2019 by debraran

[gonzosgirrl]

Does the timeline work for it to be Cassidy? 

Randall said nine months, but if he was rounding up and Cassidy got knocked up last week...

[BuckeyeLou]

Oh My!  Rebecca's condition made me cry. Uncle Nicky crying in the car made me cry.  How can I wait until January to find out who Kevin's fiancée is?  I love Miguel, I wish he had more to do, its like the family ignores him & yet he is so sweet to everyone.  Baby Jack in the Pilgrim Hat was too cute.  Toby having a melt-down over "Avacado-gate": Good grief!  Toby & Kate together wear me out, Toby must be having an affair with one of his Cross-Fit friends.  Tess is such a beautiful girl, I am glad she can confide in her Uncle Kevin but I wish she would feel she could confide in her Mother but Beth is too pre-0ccupied with Deja.  I liked seeing the Shrimp in the future scene with Grown-up Baby Jack & his wife.  This episode had everything, tears, laughs, feel good moments & black moments.

[Eureka]

Just now, gonzosgirrl said:

Does the timeline work for it to be Cassidy? 

Randall said nine months, but if he was rounding up and Cassidy got knocked up last week...

If that were the case, she’d be about to give birth and most likely wouldn’t be having morning sickness anymore. Or even if she did, they would probably have figured out what works for her (like ginger etc.) by then.

[Lady Calypso]

Just now, gonzosgirrl said:

Does the timeline work for it to be Cassidy? 

Randall said nine months, but if he was rounding up and Cassidy got knocked up last week...

No, not at all. If it's Cassidy, then he gets back in touch and knocks her up in a few months down the line. I assume the mention of morning sickness is really just for her first trimester and not also at the end of her pregnancy.

It makes sense for it to be someone Kevin already knows (it won't look like he's rushing into marriage and a family) but I don't think Kevin should get back with any exes, so it should be someone new.

[PepSinger]

EXCELLENT episode. Nicky brought me to tears. Seeing him in the Pilgrim Rick hat had me sobbing bittersweet tears. This is the show I loved.

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Does the timeline work for it to be Cassidy? 

Randall said nine months, but if he was rounding up and Cassidy got knocked up last week...

If I did my math right, it is slightly over 39 weeks from Thanksgiving 2019 to August 30, 2020. So if they slept together a week before Thanksgiving...she should be ready to give birth by their birthday.

[gonzosgirrl]

1 minute ago, Lady Calypso said:

No, not at all. If it's Cassidy, then he gets back in touch and knocks her up in a few months down the line. I assume the mention of morning sickness is really just for her first trimester and not also at the end of her pregnancy.

It makes sense for it to be someone Kevin already knows (it won't look like he's rushing into marriage and a family) but I don't think Kevin should get back with any exes, so it should be someone new.

It did look like he was going back to fhe trailer with Nicky after all, so he could easily hook up with Cassidy if the reconciliation with her husband didnt work out.

[Lily H]

I can't believe, after watching this show from Day 1, that I still fall for the Big Fake-Out.

I thought the scene with Randall and Nicky in the car and Randall obliviously telling Nicky all about what Jack had told him about the song and all the while Nicky is remembering with anguish how he had told Jack the same stuff was just so powerful.

And I loved the little flash-forward with Adult Jack2 serving Thanksgiving shrimp!

January 14 seems an awful long way away.

[debraran]

I feel the Crossfit stuff is because the few people I've known who did it and coworkers who had boyfriends who did it, it's almost a cult thing.  Some of them get really into it, right down to the clothes they wear. One women told me when her boyfriend sees another person wearing crossfit stuff in a store, they stop and talk, sometimes for a while. It can be very addicting. Another woman I used to work with broke up with her guy because of his obsession with competing and the "club" of them hanging out.

I'm not putting Crossfit down and some have a healthy relationship with it, but others, it's a bit much. I think they are having Toby be that way.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

14 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

And Kevin is already engaged in the next nine months. I guess they are not speaking because he keeps Rebecca's secret? 

Well, if Kevin's fiance is pregnant 9 months from now (and by mentioning morning sickness, they are probably signaling that it is early in the pregnancy), if the fiance is Cassidy, she isn't pregnant right now. (At least, not with a pregnancy that is successful.)

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

No, not at all. If it's Cassidy, then he gets back in touch and knocks her up in a few months down the line. I assume the mention of morning sickness is really just for her first trimester and not also at the end of her pregnancy.

Possibly, but my cousin was sick the whole time (all three kids!). Some people are unlucky that way. (I don't know how common that is, though.)

[chitowngirl]

Did anyone see Annie come back with Randall and Nicky?! 😆

I loved when Nicky realized that Jack didn’t erase him when Randall told the story of the poem/song.

[ams1001]

Just now, chitowngirl said:

Did anyone see Annie come back with Randall and Nicky?! 😆

I loved when Nicky realized that Jack didn’t erase him when Randall told the story of the poem/song.

Yeah, she was in the backseat. Gave a huge eyeroll when Randall started singing along with the CD. Best moment of the episode. 😉

[Madding crowd]

Very good episode but I kept wondering why Miguel wasn’t concerned with Rebecca being gone so long, he has to be noticing things. Didn’t like the message Kate saw on Toby’s phone. Can’t wait for January.

[tennisgurl]

Oh man, when Nicky realizes that Jack didn’t fully erase him, and then cutting back between Nicky talking to Jack about the song and Randall repeating it...oh yeah, that hit me. Damn it, no matter what this show still knows how to pull at my heartstrings. 

[Blakeston]

The text Toby got from that woman was part of a group chat, so I really don't think he's having a physical affair. (They'd be incredibly stupid to be that open about it.)

Also, with a full-fledged sexual affair, I think the writers would have gone with a more shocking, less ambiguous revelation. Like a text that says, "I can't wait to rip your clothes off when you come back." That would be a much juicier teaser.

Edited November 20, 2019 by Blakeston

[LaJefaza]

I mean...it wasn't nice for her to have to see it, and Toby's obviously a jerk for putting her on blast to strangers like that but...damn...even Toby's Crossfit buddies are tired of Kate. To be able to exhaust people you've never even met is a hell of a skill.

Edited November 20, 2019 by LaJefaza

[txhorns79]

13 minutes ago, debraran said:

I'm not putting Crossfit down and some have a healthy relationship with it, but others, it's a bit much. I think they are having Toby be that way.

I don't even think Crossfit is the issue.  Rather, Crossfit is just magnifying what's already seriously wrong in Kate and Toby's relationship.  And while obviously Kate played a role in getting she and Toby to this point, I just can't with someone who is using a Crossfit group text to complain about his wife, and invite others to offer their judgment.  It's just wrong.   

[abbey]

can someone tell me what the text that Kate saw on toby's phone said? I was too far away to read it. 

[ByaNose]

We already diving into Rebecca’s possible dementia and we don’t even know how she and Miguel hooked up. I mean we know but we don’t know. All in all, a good fall finale. I’m not happy that Toby is getting action on the side. Hopefully, it’s just a CrossFit wife and not a cheating wife. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

16 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

Very good episode but I kept wondering why Miguel wasn’t concerned with Rebecca being gone so long, he has to be noticing things.

Me, too, but she probably had told him she was going to the movie before she left.

Just wait until Rebecca starts calling Miguel "Jack".

[slasherboy]

I must have missed something. What is grown up baby Jack and his wife and the shrimp situation? I thought Nicki brought 5 lb of shrimp to the present Thanksgiving. I guess I didn't see grown up baby Jack and wife, could someone please describe the scene and ease my confused mind?

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

I must have missed something. What is grown up baby Jack and his wife and the shrimp situation? I thought Nicki brought 5 lb of shrimp to the present Thanksgiving. I guess I didn't see grown up baby Jack and wife, could someone please describe the scene and ease my confused mind?

Nicky made his little speech about new traditions, and the flash forward showed Grown Up Baby Jack putting out a fancy tray of shrimp and he says something like "have some shrimp, it's five pounds" (and his pregnant wife says something about hot dogs and cheese, I think). Just to show us the traditions carry on another 30 years at least. It was a very short scene.

Edited November 20, 2019 by ams1001

[Ohmo]

41 minutes ago, sigmaforce86 said:

Kate signed that police form with the last name Pearson.  In just nine months?

I didn't think that Kate took Damon (Toby's last name) when they married.  Jack's name on his incubator was Jack Pearson Damon.  I'm not sure that Kate's use of Pearson means anything at this point.

[Diana Berry]

31 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

No, not at all. If it's Cassidy, then he gets back in touch and knocks her up in a few months down the line. I assume the mention of morning sickness is really just for her first trimester and not also at the end of her pregnancy.

It makes sense for it to be someone Kevin already knows (it won't look like he's rushing into marriage and a family) but I don't think Kevin should get back with any exes, so it should be someone new.

I think Kevin will get with Kate’s friend... the cute blonde.  She already knows the family and their quirks and she wasn’t star struck by Kevin.

[Ohiopirate02]

2 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

I must have missed something. What is grown up baby Jack and his wife and the shrimp situation? I thought Nicki brought 5 lb of shrimp to the present Thanksgiving. I guess I didn't see grown up baby Jack and wife, could someone please describe the scene and ease my confused mind?

The shrimp in the flashforward signifies that Nicky's addition is added to the Pearson family Thanksgiving lore.  They also mentioned hot dogs as a callback to season one.  A great way to show that the Big Three welcome Nicky into their lives.

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, Diana Berry said:

I think Kevin will get with Kate’s friend... the cute blonde.  She already knows the family and their quirks and she wasn’t star struck by Kevin.

Was it Randall he told not to let him sleep with her at Kate's wedding? Maybe that's why they're not speaking.. 😉

[gonzosgirrl]

7 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

I must have missed something. What is grown up baby Jack and his wife and the shrimp situation? I thought Nicki brought 5 lb of shrimp to the present Thanksgiving. I guess I didn't see grown up baby Jack and wife, could someone please describe the scene and ease my confused mind?

When Nicky serves the shrimp, he talks about new traditions, and we see future BabyJack and his wife having it at their Thanksgiving dinner. 

Edited November 20, 2019 by gonzosgirrl

[ItCouldBeWorse]

4 minutes ago, Diana Berry said:

I think Kevin will get with Kate’s friend... the cute blonde.  She already knows the family and their quirks and she wasn’t star struck by Kevin.

Madison?  She's likely anorexic, or at least suffers from body dysmorphia, so I don't think that would work out so well.

Edited November 20, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Ohmo]

19 minutes ago, abbey said:

can someone tell me what the text that Kate saw on toby's phone said? I was too far away to read it. 

This is not word for word, but the jist was Toby saying that he was trying to get past it (presumably the deal with the avocado) and someone in the chat responded with "Don't let her bring you down.  We're here for you."

Serious question about Lucy (Jack's wife): Can pregnant women eat shrimp safely?  Isn't it raw?

[gonzosgirrl]

36 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Yeah, she was in the backseat. Gave a huge eyeroll when Randall started singing along with the CD. Best moment of the episode. 😉

LOL, that and Kevin (to Randall), 'Why you always gotta be a buzzkill?'.

[Lily H]

Kate was very much in the wrong when she spilled the beans (or avocado, in this case) to Toby about Jack's actual first time eating. There was no reason at all to spoil his happiness. This is one case where "what he doesn't know won't hurt him" is a valid principle.

[TheLotusFlower]

38 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I don't even think Crossfit is the issue.  Rather, Crossfit is just magnifying what's already seriously wrong in Kate and Toby's relationship.  And while obviously Kate played a role in getting she and Toby to this point, I just can't with someone who is using a Crossfit group text to complain about his wife, and invite others to offer their judgment.  It's just wrong.   

I agree 100%.  I've never been a big Toby fan anyway, and this move was extremely immature.  Complaining about your spouse in a group text?  That's some bull****.  But I bet there will be lots of people on this forum who support Toby's nonsense because they view Kate as the wife from hell for some reason.

[mtlchick]

50 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

Very good episode but I kept wondering why Miguel wasn’t concerned with Rebecca being gone so long, he has to be noticing things. 

Randall mentioned she went to go see  “The new De Niro movie.” His current one The Irishman clocks in at 3.5 hours. That plus previews...that is at least 4 hours, and then she went to buy pie. 

[memememe76]

I loved the scene between Kate and Beth because you so rarely see them together. 
 

I suspect we will see Rebecca and Miguel get together the same episode where we see them apart, either due to Rebecca’s memory loss or his death. Kinda like the Randall and Beth episode from last season.

Kevin’s “We’re not speaking” could mean Kevin and Randall, or Rebecca forcing everyone not to speak to him. Maybe Kevin and Shawna hook up?

[cam3150]

This show. I love when they get me with the different timelines. I didn’t suspect at all but, man, Rebecca is going to go downhill really fast apparently. I’m not really looking forward to the dementia storyline just beacause it will be so sad. 

This show does such a good job of finding actors who look alike to play relatives or older/younger versions of the same character. They hit it out of the park with young / old Nicky. Tonight I noticed how much the Deja / Mom actresses look alike.  Deja has really grown on me.

Uncle Nicky has quickly become a favorite character for me. Griffin Dunne is spectacular really. The scene with the song, then the shrimp monologue ... just...sigh.  I assume we’ll see a lot less of him now and that makes me sad. 

[Runningwild]

5 minutes ago, TheLotusFlower said:

I agree 100%.  I've never been a big Toby fan anyway, and this move was extremely immature.  Complaining about your spouse in a group text?  That's some bull****.  But I bet there will be lots of people on this forum who support Toby's nonsense because they view Kate as the wife from hell for some reason.

Not some reason. Lots of reasons. 
 

She had to tell him about the avocado.  She’s pissed at him because he lost weight and has made a lifestyle change. And let’s not forget she sold his Star Wars guys. 
 

That’s three off the top of my head.