S05.E07: There

[bybrandy]

1 hour ago, debraran said:

Since Madison is basically alone, I guess she couldn't do this "on her own" if she wanted too or suggested. It's hard on anyone single, but twins without family or anyone around? I wonder if they will explore why she's estranged but please no episode devoted to it!

I think it would have been easier for Maddison to do it on her own (as much as having a kid on your own much less twins is easy) had that been the plan.  Kevin said months ago that they were going to do this as a team.  She hasn't spent the last 8 months making her plan for doing it alone.  She's been making her plan for doing it with Kevin.   IF she had gone into labor the day before she'd have Kate in her corner.  

Had she decided to go it alone from the start and made her birth plan as somebody who was going it alone and say hired a doula because she needed support that would be a different thing but she's spent the last several months getting used to the idea of getting Pearsoned along in the labor and delivery process... and if Randal and Beth are going to be facetiming during pushing then well she probably is getting Pearsoned along.    
 

[Jillybean]

10 hours ago, Armchair Critic said:

Dang it I thought I would get through this episode with dry eyes and then Randall got me when he offered to stay on the phone with Madison.

Me too! I just couldn't figure out why Beth was mute.

[nilyank]

8 hours ago, bybrandy said:

Like seriously, I know this is a low budget production but somebody on that production company knows somebody who could get Kevin on a plane even if Kevin had to swipe his black card at the end of the transaction.

And if the production company didn't know anyone, I am sure that Robert De Niro would.

I had half expected that the car accident guy would say, "you're the Manny" or Kevin would lower his mask and the TSA agent would recognize him that same way.

[Good Queen Jane]

22 minutes ago, Jillybean said:

Me too! I just couldn't figure out why Beth was mute.

This. I wondered why it was Randall offering support to Madison. You would think that it would be Beth who has given birth to two children and would have a much better understanding of what Madison was going through. 

[Ohiopirate02]

3 minutes ago, nilyank said:

And if the production company didn't know anyone, I am sure that Robert De Niro would.

I had half expected that the car accident guy would say, "you're the Manny" or Kevin would lower his mask and the TSA agent would recognize him that same way.

I thought Kevin was going to lift his shirt to prove he was The Manny.

After watching this episode, I want to give Kevin a copy of East of Eden and make him read it.  Kevin really needs to hear, "And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good."  Which I believe is the message Rebecca was trying to impart to Kevin before he lost the signal.  

[Aileen]

6 hours ago, MoonMountain said:

Okay, if Kevin's twins are around Little Jack's age...in the flash forward with old Rebecca, we saw two very young kids that are presumably Kevin's. Is it possible one of Kevin's twins was a teen mom or dad, and those kids in the flash forward are Kevin's grandkids? Would that make sense on this show's timeline? I can't remember how far ahead that scene was supposed to be. 

Or his step kids.

[cameron]

Think there is something about a Jack storyline being not there when the triplets were born.  Rebecca alluded to it on the phone call with Kevin before the call broke up.  Maybe he was drunk.

[Lady Calypso]

I was really wondering where Kevin's passport was when he got to the airport and had to use ID. I thought he was still on the Canadian side when he found the guy who got into that car accident. So, he should have had his passport as identification. Plus, getting over the border is not as easy as driving through on an empty road, so that also confused me. They made some pretty bad choices to showcase Kevin's franticness to get to Madison. 

I was also sick of the fakeout the moment the opening scene showed what we saw in the promo. I just wish all of that had been handled better. I would have preferred if Miguel/Rebecca couldn't find Kevin a flight until the morning, instead of him losing his ID (and apparently passport) and not being able to get on the plane.

The Jack/Kevin flashbacks were ok. I love Kid Turned Teen Kevin, and I was hoping for any Kevin plot with his father, since we usually get Jack/Kate. His coach is obviously a dick, but I don't buy the coach being so scared by Jack's more casual "don't call my son stupid again". 

I feel bad for Madison for having nobody around, so it was so nice of Randall and Beth to give her a call. This is probably one of the nicest gestures Randall has made in a few seasons. 

[Ohiopirate02]

8 minutes ago, cameron said:

Think there is something about a Jack storyline being not there when the triplets were born.  Rebecca alluded to it on the phone call with Kevin before the call broke up.  Maybe he was drunk.

No, Jack was there when Rebecca went into labor back in the pilot, and he was there in the hospital through it all.  

[nilyank]

7 hours ago, MoonMountain said:

Okay, if Kevin's twins are around Little Jack's age...in the flash forward with old Rebecca, we saw two very young kids that are presumably Kevin's. Is it possible one of Kevin's twins was a teen mom or dad, and those kids in the flash forward are Kevin's grandkids? Would that make sense on this show's timeline? I can't remember how far ahead that scene was supposed to be. 

We saw Kate's son Jack as adult (and his sister) when he has  his child. We do not see him in the flashforward with old Rebecca but we see Kevin's twins. Jack (and his sister) are probably standing next to Kate who still has not been shown in the flashforward with old Rebecca.

Edited February 10, 2021 by nilyank

[ElectricBoogaloo]

11 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Unless he had an Enhanced Driver's License (Real ID), but I'm not sure if California is issuing those yet

California has been issuing Real ID for a few years now. I got mine in either 2018 or 2019 when I had to renew my driver's license.

9 hours ago, bybrandy said:

Like seriously, I know this is a low budget production but somebody on that production company knows somebody who could get Kevin on a plane even if Kevin had to swipe his black card at the end of the transaction.

ITA - even if the movie didn't have a big budget, they managed to get DeNiro so he or someone he knew could have somehow found a way to get Kevin to LA. But I think the fault lies mostly with the director who couldn't see past his shooting schedule to even consider letting Kevin leave before they shot some of the scenes for that day (which would have been a waste anyway because Kevin probably would have been too distracted to give them usable footage). Even though it's not ideal to change the shooting schedule, the director could have moved Kevin's big scene and found some stuff to shoot that didn't require Kevin's presence. I'm guessing the director was just too chicken shit to tell DeNiro that they had to change the schedule.

8 hours ago, bros402 said:

I am assuming car crash guy is gonna play in somehow - you don't hire a somewhat recognizable actor like that without having him play more than "car crash guy" - unless he (or a family member) reallly likes This Is Us and he wanted to be on it.

Same goes for casting Nick Corelli/Travis Peterson from Savannah! (I know, I know, there were only like five of us who watched that show but he's also well known for CSI).

[Wouldofshouldof]

10 hours ago, bybrandy said:

My sister and a good friend of mine (but not one I'd call during labor) have both lost their ID and flown.  Kevin has a tight connection so I could see how making it would be impossible but tomorrow didn't seem right either unless that has changed significantly in the last 24 months, or so.  Both my friend and my sister had similar situations.  They went into a room with the TSA.  The TSA asked them to answer questions about their identity.  They both got passes to fly.  Neither missed the flight they were scheduled to take (but I don't think either was skating as close as Kevin was to the time of the flight)

My husband too. I was with him at the time, and they told me I couldn't speak while he answered the questions (i.e., help/coach him). They asked for an identifying landmark near our home and he couldn't come up with one, while next to him I was screaming in my head, The river we live on! The river we live on!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I get that people feel it's important to be there for the birth of their children and I fully support that when it's possible, but Kevin acting like not being there was going to ruin his kids' lives and turn them to a lifetime of failure and despair just made me roll my eyes. How about instead of thinking that your kids will be permanently damaged by the lack of your presence on a day that they will not remember, try thinking about how the mother of your children is all alone in premature labor in the middle of a damn pandemic and she needs your emotional support? She is the one who will remember you not being there, not your kids.

Despite the fact that I understand Kevin wanting to get there as quickly as possible, I could not believe he pulled the "I'm Kevin Pearson" on the TSA agent. No, you shouldn't get special treatment just because you were on a tv show, Kevin, and don't try to tell me that it's anything but special treatment because that's not something that a non-celeb could pull. "Look me up on the internet and then let me on the plane!" JFC. I hope the TSA lady stays strong and doesn't let his Pearson Speech sway her from doing her job. She already told him that he can go to the office to get a special pass. GO THERE.

I thought it was sweet of Randall to call Madison to let her know that he and Beth would do anything they could and then asked more than once if she wanted to stay on the phone.

Jack's dad was a real piece of work. You think I'm too drunk to drive home? I'll show you by making you drive me home! What an asshole.

[kili]

Quote

 Unless he had an Enhanced Driver's License (Real ID), 

His original plan was to fly from Vancouver. I didn't think one can fly internationally without a passport. He initially flew to Vancouver (he was in the car service to the airport when he called Randall). So, he should have had the passport with him in Vancouver. Maybe he left his passport in the hotel room safe and was just lucky they found a flight from SeaTac so he could use his driver's license at the border.

I wonder if the police will initially suspect that Kevin was in the car accident (since his ID is at the scene) and he is reported as dead or missing while his in-flight.  The ER staff probably think Josh has a head injury when he tells them that "The Manny" saved him from a burning car.

The geography of this show was all off. Kevin was filming in a studio, so he should have been in one of the studios in the Vancouver area. Even if he took the Truck Crossing, he should have been on the I5 and not on a winding road when he was an hour from SeaTac (unless is GPS hates him and took him on some kind of milk run).

The TSA agent had a lot of experiences saying "No". She was a wall.

It was kind of sad that Little Kevin was convinced that Jack only drove him to camp to prevent him from quitting because his Dad never did anything alone with him. That must have been the point when Jack went from not doing things with Kevin to attending all his games. Unfortunately, that seemed to have just reinforced Kevin's belief that his Dad was only interested in him when he played football. Kids don't always get the message we intend to send.

This is the second time Kevin has left a big acting moment to rush to a loved ones side in a crisis (opening night with Randall was the other one).

[Quickbeam]

I love this show but found this episode unwatchable. Too much angst, airport nonsense, weepy in labor mom.....I dunno, I wasn’t feeling it.

[doodlebug]

21 minutes ago, kili said:

His original plan was to fly from Vancouver. I didn't think one can fly internationally without a passport. He initially flew to Vancouver (he was in the car service to the airport when he called Randall). So, he should have had the passport with him in Vancouver. Maybe he left his passport in the hotel room safe and was just lucky they found a flight from SeaTac so he could use his driver's license at the border.

I wonder if the police will initially suspect that Kevin was in the car accident (since his ID is at the scene) and he is reported as dead or missing while his in-flight.  The ER staff probably think Josh has a head injury when he tells them that "The Manny" saved him from a burning car.

The geography of this show was all off. Kevin was filming in a studio, so he should have been in one of the studios in the Vancouver area. Even if he took the Truck Crossing, he should have been on the I5 and not on a winding road when he was an hour from SeaTac (unless is GPS hates him and took him on some kind of milk run).

The TSA agent had a lot of experiences saying "No". She was a wall.

It was kind of sad that Little Kevin was convinced that Jack only drove him to camp to prevent him from quitting because his Dad never did anything alone with him. That must have been the point when Jack went from not doing things with Kevin to attending all his games. Unfortunately, that seemed to have just reinforced Kevin's belief that his Dad was only interested in him when he played football. Kids don't always get the message we intend to send.

This is the second time Kevin has left a big acting moment to rush to a loved ones side in a crisis (opening night with Randall was the other one).

The ER staff saw Kevin when he drove up and he got out as they assisted the guy into the wheelchair; so they know someone was with him and, when the guy tells them it was Kevin, at least a couple of them saw enough of him to believe him.  The wallet without a dead body isn't going to start any rumors of Kevin's death, especially since he was driving another  car, one that was undoubtedly either rented or leased and probably left at SeaTac.

Once again, being a medical professional makes watching scenes like this difficult because, as we know, the guy hurt his leg in the accident.  There is no way the staff doesn't bring out a gurney and make him lie down rather than sit in a wheelchair.  They're going to have to get him onto a cart to be examined anyway, might as well do it sooner than later.

Edited February 10, 2021 by doodlebug

[MissLucas]

Some good stuff - some bad stuff. What really bugged me was that Kevin could just dump off someone at the hospital and drive off without leaving at least contact info for the police and nobody stopped him. Not to mention that it would have been helpful to leave some basic info on how and when he found the person, if he had been unconscious etc. - anything that would facilitate treatment. And of course you don't get Joshua Malina for such a minor part, there's more to come. Did Madison mention where her parents live?

It was nice of Randall to call the family's only friend in need LOL! Seriously, that was a great character redemption moment. And the reason why Beth had to stay silent - well that and that she of course would not know how to deliver a rousing motivational Pearson-speech.

[chocolatine]

9 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Also to drive from Vancouver to Seattle you take I-5 which is most definitely not a two lane road.

 

48 minutes ago, kili said:

The geography of this show was all off. Kevin was filming in a studio, so he should have been in one of the studios in the Vancouver area. Even if he took the Truck Crossing, he should have been on the I5 and not on a winding road when he was an hour from SeaTac (unless is GPS hates him and took him on some kind of milk run).

I may be misremembering since I've only done the Seattle-Vancouver round-trip drive a couple of times and last time was four years ago, but I could have sworn that for a short stretch north of Bellingham I-5 does narrow down to two lanes. It's a very pretty scenery too, especially when the sun is coming up in the morning.

[Ohiopirate02]

29 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Some good stuff - some bad stuff. What really bugged me was that Kevin could just dump off someone at the hospital and drive off without leaving at least contact info for the police and nobody stopped him. Not to mention that it would have been helpful to leave some basic info on how and when he found the person, if he had been unconscious etc. - anything that would facilitate treatment. And of course you don't get Joshua Malina for such a minor part, there's more to come. Did Madison mention where her parents live?

It was nice of Randall to call the family's only friend in need LOL! Seriously, that was a great character redemption moment. And the reason why Beth had to stay silent - well that and that she of course would not know how to deliver a rousing motivational Pearson-speech.

Kevin really should have driven until he gets a signal and call 911.  That car was on fire and needed to be handled.  Or at least drive to the nearest fire station.  

[3 is enough]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

California has been issuing Real ID for a few years now. I got mine in either 2018 or 2019 when I had to renew my driver's license.

ITA - even if the movie didn't have a big budget, they managed to get DeNiro so he or someone he knew could have somehow found a way to get Kevin to LA. But I think the fault lies mostly with the director who couldn't see past his shooting schedule to even consider letting Kevin leave before they shot some of the scenes for that day (which would have been a waste anyway because Kevin probably would have been too distracted to give them usable footage). Even though it's not ideal to change the shooting schedule, the director could have moved Kevin's big scene and found some stuff to shoot that didn't require Kevin's presence. I'm guessing the director was just too chicken shit to tell DeNiro that they had to change the schedule.

Same goes for casting Nick Corelli/Travis Peterson from Savannah! (I know, I know, there were only like five of us who watched that show but he's also well known for CSI).

Real ID is not the same as Enhanced ID. My Nevada license is Real ID as well, and it is only good for domestic flights.  You need a passport to fly to Canada. 

In the old days you only needed a valid ID to cross the border (at least by land).  That changed in 2009 I believe.  There was a big fuss about it from people in Southern Ontario, because a big chunk of fans who attend home games of the Buffalo Sabres and the Detroit Red Wings actually live in Ontario.  All those people had to get passports.  Canadian passports are even more expensive than US ones.

Again the whole think was just so sloppy.  

Edited February 10, 2021 by 3 is enough

[Blakeston]

4 hours ago, debraran said:

Since Madison is basically alone, I guess she couldn't do this "on her own" if she wanted too or suggested. It's hard on anyone single, but twins without family or anyone around? I wonder if they will explore why she's estranged but please no episode devoted to it!

Yeah, it turns out that when she threw it in Kevin's face repeatedly that she was prepared to go it alone, she really meant alone.

Someone as neurotic as Madison raising twins by herself, with no one to talk to besides Kate? Talk about a recipe for disaster!

If she isn't rich enough on her own to hire help, that would make things even worse.

[txhorns79]

2 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Kevin really should have driven until he gets a signal and call 911.  That car was on fire and needed to be handled.  Or at least drive to the nearest fire station.  

Or at least called Randall to have him summon his ghost mom who could use her lady of the lake powers to send water to the site of the fire. 

 

35 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

And of course you don't get Joshua Malina for such a minor part, there's more to come. Did Madison mention where her parents live?

If Josh Malina turns out to have some connection to Madison, I think I may have to be done with this show.  I barely tolerated the ridiculousness that was Laurel's storyline.  I can't do it all over again with yet another Pearson-adjacent person. 

 

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

But I think the fault lies mostly with the director who couldn't see past his shooting schedule to even consider letting Kevin leave before they shot some of the scenes for that day (which would have been a waste anyway because Kevin probably would have been too distracted to give them usable footage). Even though it's not ideal to change the shooting schedule, the director could have moved Kevin's big scene and found some stuff to shoot that didn't require Kevin's presence. I'm guessing the director was just too chicken shit to tell DeNiro that they had to change the schedule.

I do not work in the movie business, but I would think given the number of people involved in a production, changing the shooting schedule at the last minute would be expensive and time consuming.   Depending on the actor, they may not be available again to shoot the scene for weeks or months.  You also have to pay everyone who was there and ready to shoot the scene, and then pay them again to come back and set everything up again, along with other costs.  I honestly thought the director was being very fair with Kevin when he told him that they would arrange it so Kevin could leave the next morning.       

[Snapdragon]

"So...is the entire show going to take place in cars now?"  My husband (who only watches this show when he happens to be working on his laptop on the couch while I'm watching it), after last night's episode and next week's promo.  

[kili]

Quote

I may be misremembering since I've only done the Seattle-Vancouver round-trip drive a couple of times and last time was four years ago, but I could have sworn that for a short stretch north of Bellingham I-5 does narrow down to two lanes. It's a very pretty scenery too, especially when the sun is coming up in the morning

No, the I5 is at least 4 lanes and usually more.  There is a windy stretch through a mountain pass, but it is 4 lanes.  Perhaps you did the trip when the Skagit River bridge was out of commission (it collapsed due to an overheight truck in 2012), so that had people re-routing to smaller roads.

Airport code for Victorville is VCV while Vancouver is YVR.  Quite the typo there Rebecca.

Not much really happened during this episode. We learned once again that Stanley was mostly a jerk with a few shards of niceness. Kevin once again chose his family over career.  A couple of births are about to happen. Kevin nonchallantly saved somebody's life. So, next week should be the pay off for all this setup?There was a little movement in that Jack finally realized that teen Kevin had no self-esteem and why.

[Ohiopirate02]

1 minute ago, kili said:

Not much really happened during this episode. We learned once again that Stanley was mostly a jerk with a few shards of niceness. Kevin once again chose his family over career.  A couple of births are about to happen. Kevin nonchallantly saved somebody's life. So, next week should be the pay off for all this setup?There was a little movement in that Jack finally realized that teen Kevin had no self-esteem and why.

Yeah, this definitely was a setup episode.  I wonder with Kevin, again, choosing family over career is also a set up for his eventual move to Pennsylvania.  There has to be a limit for how many times an actor can just up and disappear before he stops getting roles.  The show is also keeping Rebecca and Miguel in PA.  I was a bit surprised by that.  I would have assumed they would have made their way west at some point especially after Kevin and Kate showed up in an RV.  

[Quof]

37 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

Again the whole think was just so sloppy.  

Agreed.  "Kevin didn't have a passport, despite needing it to fly to Canada in the first place" is up there with "Oops, a PA bought an ovulation test instead of pregnancy test".  Along with the "this isn't what the drive looks like between Vancouver and Seattle" and "Kevin just sailed across the border with a driver's license" during Covid when land crossing was subject to a whole of restrictions in both directions and would have taken some time.  

For the record, the driver's license Kevin dropped is a regular one, not enhanced.   

[ams1001]

50 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Kevin really should have driven until he gets a signal and call 911.  That car was on fire and needed to be handled.  Or at least drive to the nearest fire station.  

I am going to assume he called 911 as soon as he could get a signal while driving the guy to the hospital and we just didn't see it. Or else the next day's news is the wildfire going on near Seattle... I did initially think it odd that he just left him at the hospital and no one even wanted to ask him any questions...maybe he answered some questions during the unseen 911 call in my head-script so they already had the info they needed.

Ideally he probably shouldn't have moved the guy once he got him safely away from the car, since he could have had a spinal injury, but I guess his only option then was to leave him alone in the dark woods and drive until he got a signal again, or put him in the car; I guess the latter is preferable, in that case. I thought he would at least lay him on the back seat.

[RachelKM]

45 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I do not work in the movie business, but I would think given the number of people involved in a production, changing the shooting schedule at the last minute would be expensive and time consuming.   Depending on the actor, they may not be available again to shoot the scene for weeks or months.  You also have to pay everyone who was there and ready to shoot the scene, and then pay them again to come back and set everything up again, along with other costs.  I honestly thought the director was being very fair with Kevin when he told him that they would arrange it so Kevin could leave the next morning.       

This is all true.  The best way to salvage some of the day would be to shoot something else using the same set and as much of the same cast as possible.  And it is, of course, possible that there was a very small window in which they had DeNiro.  I don't even know how that would work with COVID restrictions. Can Kevin even get back into Canada?  All that said, however, Kevin is a person (I almost wrote pearson, LOL) and something like this is going to be a huge distraction.  The odds of getting something useable out of him while he's freaking out about his premature birth twins is not high.   And the director's initial plan was pretty weak.

Quote

If Josh Malina turns out to have some connection to Madison, I think I may have to be done with this show.  I barely tolerated the ridiculousness that was Laurel's storyline.  I can't do it all over again with yet another Pearson-adjacent person. 

OMG, same.  I ended up enjoying the Laurel episode.  But I will not lie, I nearly didn't continue with the season when she opened her eyes in the season opener.  And even having enjoyed it, there are limits to what even compelling performances can get me to accept. I'm already bracing myself for the Kevin's Hero Turn Saves His Career or whatever. If Josh Malina is more involved than being part of that, I don't know if my TV will survive the force of the remote crashing into it when I hurl it in frustration. 

[ClareWalks]

I think either Toby or Kate should go be with Madison. In a pandemic I doubt they'd both be allowed in the delivery room plus whoever the birth mom has for support. But who knows if Madison even called them.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

4 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

I think either Toby or Kate should go be with Madison. In a pandemic I doubt they'd both be allowed in the delivery room plus whoever the birth mom has for support. But who knows if Madison even called them.

Madison knew that the surrogate was being induced so I'm assuming that Kate talked to her before she (Madison) started having contractions. She told the nurse that's why she hadn't called Kate to tell her she was in the hospital.

[cambridgeguy]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Despite the fact that I understand Kevin wanting to get there as quickly as possible, I could not believe he pulled the "I'm Kevin Pearson" on the TSA agent. No, you shouldn't get special treatment just because you were on a tv show, Kevin, and don't try to tell me that it's anything but special treatment because that's not something that a non-celeb could pull. "Look me up on the internet and then let me on the plane!" JFC. I hope the TSA lady stays strong and doesn't let his Pearson Speech sway her from doing her job. She already told him that he can go to the office to get a special pass. GO THERE.

Regardless of whether or not it was actually necessary Kevin thought he needed to get there at all costs.  Of course he'd pull the celebrity card and of course its special treatment.  The man is not a saint and he was desperate.  Likewise, if they hadn't found a ticket I'd have expected him to go to check in and loudly announce his willingness to pay someone massive amounts of cash for their ticket.  Not something a poor person could pull either but he'd do it.

[3 is enough]

As far as I know there are no commercial flights to Victorville. Victorville is known as the airport graveyard where decommissioned jets are parked in the desert. The closest commercial airport is Ontario which is 35 miles away and their code is ONT.  

Seriously, did no one do any research for this episode?

Edited February 10, 2021 by 3 is enough

[Blakeston]

I found this episode highly unpleasant to watch.

Kevin thinking that his ability to be a good father is entirely dependent on getting to the hospital on time? Groan.

Kevin once again tossing aside his career, and screwing up a bunch of other people's professional lives, so that he can fulfill his superhero complex? Groan.

All of the fakeouts with potential car accidents, following up to a cheap "he wasn't in an accident at all" twist? Groan.

The writers trying to make a "boomer fails at technology, ha ha!" joke about Rebecca, who has dementia? You get the picture.

Edited February 10, 2021 by Blakeston

[marceline]

I'm stunned. Utterly stunned that the show didn't have Justin Hartley do a PSA about distracted driving at the end of this episode because that's basically what this whole episode was. Every time Kevin would return to calling someone I started screaming at the screen. How many near misses did he need? It was infuriating and so irresponsible. 

Randall being there for Madison during delivery will be a really nice way of bringing Randall and Kevin back together. They've both had a chance to deal with some stuff in their time on the outs and now I can see them moving past that ugly fight.

Kevin's dilemma at the airport made me feel pretty good about the fact that I keep copies of my ID saved in the cloud as backup in case I lose it.

 

[sealit]

Okay, major suspension of disbelief for this episode. All the talk about whether Kevin could make it from Vancouver to SeaTac, I’m going to quietly point out that the Canadian border has been closed for almost a year. 

[kili]

Quote

Okay, major suspension of disbelief for this episode. All the talk about whether Kevin could make it from Vancouver to SeaTac, I’m going to quietly point out that the Canadian border has been closed for almost a year. 

The border is closed to foreigners, not citizens. So Canadians have to be let into Canada and Americans have to be let into America. And the border is also open for essential workers like truckers transporting goods and medical staff (there are parts of Canada where cities huddle next to the US border, so some workers commute from one country to the other). The border is also open for Americans traversing to and from Alaska. The border is restricted, not closed. 

Since Kevin was travelling to the US and is a US citizen, he can cross at the land borders. 

[JudyObscure]

16 hours ago, DoubleUTeeEff said:

Kevin, if you are going to stop on the side of the road at night please put your hazards on. K, thanks.

Yes, and shut your car door before someone wrecks into it, and Randall, Beth would not only have more useful experience to share with Madison -- she isn't driving!

I'm so glad I had my baby in 1968 before men were let into the delivery room and you weren't expected to entertain the extended family like it was Thanksgiving. The only birth plan I made was to have the taxi number handy because we didn't have a car at the time.

  Not that I had my baby alone, I had a nurse with me almost every minute and a qualified obstetrician  in time for the delivery.  My husband was where he belonged, down the hall smoking with the other fathers, safely out of the way and not once  telling me to breathe.

 I know twins are extra frightening, but again, the best people to have around you are the medical professionals. I thought Madison was being a little bit selfish, basically telling Kevin to damage his career and risk life and limb to get there and, as the car-wreck man said, he will have thousands of other occasions to be there, times the kids will actually remember  and moments when Madison really is alone.

[Crs97]

2 hours ago, marceline said:

Randall being there for Madison during delivery will be a really nice way of bringing Randall and Kevin back together. They've both had a chance to deal with some stuff in their time on the outs and now I can see them moving past that ugly fight.

I must admit that there is a cynical part of me that is a little worried Randall could use this as ammo the next time Kevin and he disagree.

[memememe76]

There have been instances where male athletes have missed games to be there for the delivery of their baby. The producers should have been prepared for these situations. Kevin may not be Robert De Niro, but he is not an extra either. He is a lead. These productions should accommodate him accordingly.

[Quof]

12 minutes ago, memememe76 said:

There have been instances where male athletes have missed games to be there for the delivery of their baby.

Because some one else could play their position.  

12 minutes ago, memememe76 said:

The producers should have been prepared for these situations.

One actor's partner was expected to deliver 4 weeks after production on the film wrapped.  Why should they possibly see this as something to prepare for? 

[Luckylyn]

I feel like Kyle’s death was this unspoken undercurrent to Kevin’s panic to get to Madison.   Things can go wrong in child birth for the mother and/or children at the last moment.  

[nixgirl28]

9 hours ago, cameron said:

Think there is something about a Jack storyline being not there when the triplets were born.  Rebecca alluded to it on the phone call with Kevin before the call broke up.  Maybe he was drunk.

He was there when Kevin was born, but missed Kate and Kyle. I think Rebecca did too, didn't they knock her out? But I was thinking she was going to say something along the same lines too. Kevin went straight to the nursery and didn't get immediate bonding with either parent, maybe she was going to say something about that.

I imagine Rebecca has some anxiety over a multiples birth. I bet she's having issues dealing with the uncertainty of the situation as well as her own birth trauma come into play.

[marceline]

3 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

I'm so glad I had my baby in 1968 before men were let into the delivery room and you weren't expected to entertain the extended family like it was Thanksgiving. 

Not show related but your comment reminded me of one of my favorite stories about my father. When I was 9 or 10 we were visiting with family and one of my older cousins was preparing for the birth of his first child and was talking about all the preparation for labor and how he was nervous about being in the delivery room. He looked at my dad and said...

"We're you in the delivery room when they were born?" (Gesturing to me and my brother.)

Both my mom and dad cracked up. My dad said "Hell no! Are you kidding?! They practically had to tackle me running across the parking lot!" 😀

Sometimes I think that people forget that men in the delivery room was not the norm a long time ago and - assuming Call the Midwife tells it right - was considered quite scandalous at first.

I'll be interested to see how Kate & Toby's situation layers over Madison's.

[nixgirl28]

5 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

As far as I know there are no commercial flights to Victorville. Victorville is known as the airport graveyard where decommissioned jets are parked in the desert. The closest commercial airport is Ontario which is 35 miles away and their code is ONT.  

Seriously, did no one do any research for this episode?

I thought she'd accidentally clicked on a V not paying attention to the actual airport. I'd assume VCV was Vancouver at first blush while in a tizzy; it probably had nothing to do with geography. Plus, the dementia probably isn't helpful.

[debraran]

29 minutes ago, Luckylyn said:

I feel like Kyle’s death was this unspoken undercurrent to Kevin’s panic to get to Madison.   Things can go wrong in child birth for the mother and/or children at the last moment.  

They never explored it because Randall was there and he would feel bad, but what did Kevin (or Kate) feel about having a brother that died? Some triplets who lost a sibling and some twins say they always felt something was missing. They call each other twins but really Kevin and Kyle were probably and Kate the singleton. Since Kyle was just a way to get Randall and his story line in (they said they outlined the 6 years) I can understand why but it still must bring some emotion. I have read as a mom of 3 and twins, touching stories of women who don't want to mention the baby who died to strangers who call her kids "twins" but want to honor them also. They pick and choose when to bring it up. One mom said just to say the babies name makes her feel good.  I know I felt both, named them, knew where they were and how big. It's so hard even though it's a TV show to sometimes forget this isn't realistic but just a show to enjoy and not look to close at times.  Randall added to their family and I love him, but he never replaced.

Edited February 10, 2021 by debraran

[kili]

Quote

One actor's partner was expected to deliver 4 weeks after production on the film wrapped.  Why should they possibly see this as something to prepare for? 

It's a risk and risks should be analyzed as to their likelihood. A twin pregnancy being early is a high probability.

Productions are halted for a number of reasons. Sometimes actors are injured. Sometimes weather is a problem. Sometimes somebody who is part of the production dies (not necessarily even while on set). Right now, everyone should have a contingency plans due to COVID because exposures on set can cause the production to shut down. 

Kevin agreed to film the movie because it was being done in LA. If he had quit just as the production was moving to Vancouver, that too would have caused a delay. Moving the production to a foreign country during a pandemic and one of the stars has twins on the way? Seems like something one should plan for. 

I don't know of a place I've ever worked that wouldn't immediately tell the father to "go, go be with your fiancé" when their child was being born, much less 7 weeks premature.

Edited February 10, 2021 by kili

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, nixgirl28 said:

He was there when Kevin was born, but missed Kate and Kyle. I think Rebecca did too, didn't they knock her out? But I was thinking she was going to say something along the same lines too. Kevin went straight to the nursery and didn't get immediate bonding with either parent, maybe she was going to say something about that.

Jack was at the hospital the whole time though. Maybe they made him leave the room (especially likely if they knocked Rebecca out), but he was right outside the room. He wasn't hundreds of miles away in another country. 

[Cheyanne11]

Kevin was on his way to Vancouver Airport and then Miguel said he could only get him a flight out of Seattle.  So Kevin had to have his passport with him.  I'm guessing it's in his overnight bag and he'll suddenly remember that as he's begging the TSA person to let him thru.

[MissLucas]

2 hours ago, debraran said:

They never explored it because Randall was there and he would feel bad, but what did Kevin (or Kate) feel about having a brother that died? Some triplets who lost a sibling and some twins say they always felt something was missing. 

This bugs me since season one! We never got to see how Kate and Kevin reacted when finding out. We only got to see Randall when that horrid neighbor told him. But this should have been as much Kate and Kevin's plot and yet we got zilch! 

At least in this episode the writers remembered that Kate and Kevin have a twin bond. I loved their little convo about the edible arrangement. Too bad this bond is treated so inconsistently. (And I also liked the little reminder that Kevin is still using color coded index cards for memorizing lines.)

[txhorns79]

3 hours ago, kili said:

 

I don't know of a place I've ever worked that wouldn't immediately tell the father to "go, go be with your fiancé" when their child was being born, much less 7 weeks premature.

It probably depends on how much money is on the line, the particular importance of the person to the job and what the impact of the person leaving will be to everyone else.  With Kevin, IIRC, he left before he even confirmed that Madison was in labor.  Rather, she just told him she thought she might be in labor and the doctor had told her to go to the hospital as a precaution.  Kevin then kind of went into a panic and decided to leave.