S06.E18: Us

[Ohmo]

20 hours ago, Irate Panda said:

I can’t even get into the nonsense of Kate, Mistress of the Universe to all things musical for the Blind.

This is a common form of ableism...to frame the experience of disability through the lens of the parent (or a non-disabled adult) and focus on what the non-disabled adult is doing to "improve" the lives of disabled children.  Kate's "mission" isn't all about Kate and what she's doing for students.  It's about the students themselves.  Fogelman made the disability experience and the character of Jack props for Kate.

[KaveDweller]

11 hours ago, PRgal said:

Plus Deja didn't "just find out" she was pregnant.  She was pretty much showing already, so it wasn't like she was six weeks.  Currently, you can get a chormosomal test done on your baby at around 9 or 10 weeks.  Who knows how early it would be in the 2030s?

I thought she did say she had only recently found out. She hadn't even told Malik.

However, she works at a hospital I think it is believable that she could get a test right away.

[PRgal]

7 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

I thought she did say she had only recently found out. She hadn't even told Malik.

However, she works at a hospital I think it is believable that she could get a test right away.

In an earlier episode, Annie told her that she couldn’t keep it a secret much longer.  She was definitely showing, after all. 

[januaryman]

The kids were my favorite Big 3 so it was good to see them one last time even if it was shot long ago. I'd have enjoyed a show with that version of the family. The shaving lesson was good but Jack of course had to get in one last boring monologue. 

I'll miss this show - the characters could be annoying and speechifying and sometimes the writing was cheesy (I couldn't care less about adult Kevin's love life and I still don't know what Kate and Phililp saw in each other) but the actors were great - someone must create a sitcom for Susan Kelechi Watson - and there were standout episodes like Miguel, Don't Let Me Keep You and Our Little Island Girl, among others.

[LoveLeigh]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:44 AM, Boo Boo said:

What's funny is how much I loved Sterling's portrayal of him and then even he started to irritate me with his ultra suaveness.

He became a parody of his own early portrayal of Randall. And then he and Beth slipped into some cutsey back and forth repartee shtik. It seemed not normal for some reason. 

[Beezella]

I wasn't feeling this episode much until almost the very end when Rebecca and Jack are lying face to face and she says to him, "I'm scared." And then he helps her cross over into death. I was destroyed.

[Notabug]

On 5/25/2022 at 3:51 PM, Ohiopirate02 said:

They are all living in different states with busy lives.  Kate's in California working full-time when she is not gallivanting around the globe and raising two kids, Kevin's running Big Three Homes in Pennsylvania also raising two kids, and Randall is a senator living in DC who is considering running for president.  They will have to consciously decide when and where to meet now that Rebecca has passed.  I was waiting for one of them to suggest a yearly Pearson family meet-up.  

They do have a very beautiful vacation home in the Poconos with a wing for each of them and their families to use.  I would think they'd meet up there fairly often.  Most families don't have a ready made option like that.

Edited May 28, 2022 by Notabug

[debraran]

27 minutes ago, Notabug said:

They do have a very beautiful vacation home in the Poconos with a wing for each of them and their families to use.  I would think they'd meet up there fairly often.  Most families don't have a ready made option like that.

I was thinking if Dan thought of my idea, I'd love to see a yearly special, Thanksgiving or better yet, a family reunion where they all meet up. I'm sure they will still find great young actors to play the kids and if done within 2 years, wont have to age the big 3 anymore. It's less stressful and expensive than a series and so many don't do well. I'm not sure a Randall spinoff will do well and he can't count on having guest stars from the old show keep showing up for ratings boosters. I think and probably in the minority, let that idea go and do specials the fans will appreciate and you can devote a lot of time planning.

Edited May 28, 2022 by debraran

[Scarlett45]

14 hours ago, Ohmo said:

This is a common form of ableism...to frame the experience of disability through the lens of the parent (or a non-disabled adult) and focus on what the non-disabled adult is doing to "improve" the lives of disabled children.  Kate's "mission" isn't all about Kate and what she's doing for students.  It's about the students themselves.  Fogelman made the disability experience and the character of Jack props for Kate.

I agree with this. I would’ve liked more of adult Jack and his career as a recording artist. He made it big as a singer when Rebecca & Kate gave up (nothing wrong with that, not every talented person is going to be a celebrity), but that’s a much more interesting story to me- seeing him taking the talents he inherited from his Mom and grandmother and being a huge star, than Kate and her curriculum. 
 

They did this a little bit in season 4 when they had Toby teaching him about the Star Wars score- and we see he has an aptitude for music at a young age. 

[OlderThanDirt]

My reactions to the final episode agree with most of what I've read here. I don't think Sterling K. really wants to be locked into Randell's West Wing. This feels like a good ending for the character on our screens. I do wish we had been given some hint of anything he accomplished as a City Councilman and as a Senator. I would hope he could have been more effective as a Ted Kennedy type senator than running around the country eating deep fried Oreos.

So many potential storylines were introduced,  then dropped over the six years.  Maybe someone will write a book about either the production or the story of the Pearson family.  So many good actors flashing by so briefly. 

[70sKid]

22 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I don't think that would fit timeline-wise, would it? Kevin/Randall's big fight on the lawn referenced the St. Louis trial and that was around the time-frame of baby Jack's first birthday/Madison telling Kevin she was pregnant/Big Three turning 40. The Big Three were seventeen when Jack died, the night Marcus was in the accident, so he was 8-9 years younger than them. Assuming Marcus was in Deja's age range when he didn't cure cancer with his first trial study, that would mean the clinical trial for Marcus' Alzheimer's drug would have to happen when Marcus was in his early 30s. 

It would, Marcus could very well have overseen an early clinical trial of the drug when he was in his early '30s.

Edited May 28, 2022 by 70sKid

[Jeddah]

2 hours ago, 70sKid said:

It would, Marcus could very well have overseen an early clinical trial of the drug when he was in his early '30s.

If he went to med school or got a PhD, that would take until his late twenties. Then he worked in cancer research for awhile. It seems unlikely that he would have been overseeing  a big clinical trial by his early thirties.

But mainly I don’t want Randall to be right that the clinical trial would have been the breakthrough that saved Rebecca, and so it was justified to manipulate her into going.

[GeorgiaRai]

It just seems like a cruel twist to add in as Rebecca is dying - that Kevin contributed to her decline?!  The same Kevin that built her dream house, and moved his family there so she could stay in familiar surroundings and be cared for by loved ones? The same Kevin that watched his mom wait for Kate, and squeeze Randall's hand (albeit unwittingly)?  The same Kevin that barely appeared in the funeral episode?  I mean, he's gotten some low blows from the writers, but this - implying Jack had a hand in inspiring Marcus to develop a treatment for dementia that Kevin later prevented Rebecca from receiving?  Too much.  I truly hope that wasn't want they meant for us to think.  

Edited May 28, 2022 by GeorgiaRai

[LexieLily]

4 hours ago, Jeddah said:

If he went to med school or got a PhD, that would take until his late twenties. Then he worked in cancer research for awhile. It seems unlikely that he would have been overseeing  a big clinical trial by his early thirties.

But mainly I don’t want Randall to be right that the clinical trial would have been the breakthrough that saved Rebecca, and so it was justified to manipulate her into going.

How did the St. Louis trial end? I forget. We're assuming it was a casualty of Covid and it was meant to be a bigger storyline, but as it was, did Rebecca decide after all not to do it?

[ams1001]

26 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

How did the St. Louis trial end? I forget. We're assuming it was a casualty of Covid and it was meant to be a bigger storyline, but as it was, did Rebecca decide after all not to do it?

It was postponed.

Quote

Nevertheless, the This Is Us Season 5 premiere revealed Rebecca did not go to St. Louis. At the start of the episode, Randall suggested the trial was postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Well, the clinical trial is officially postponed. After all that,” Randall told Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) in the premiere. “Thank god mom and Miguel went to the cabin before St. Louis. She says she’s comfortable. She’ll ride it out there.”

[70sKid]

4 hours ago, Jeddah said:

If he went to med school or got a PhD, that would take until his late twenties. Then he worked in cancer research for awhile. It seems unlikely that he would have been overseeing  a big clinical trial by his early thirties.

But mainly I don’t want Randall to be right that the clinical trial would have been the breakthrough that saved Rebecca, and so it was justified to manipulate her into going.

Who knows if the clinical trial would have helped Rebecca or not, but I would have tried my best to get my mother to join the trial too.

[LexieLily]

I wondered why we didn't see Cassidy or hear about her again after she was Kevin's plus one at Kate's wedding. She wasn't important to the Pearsons, no, but she was someone important to Kevin and Uncle Nicky, and you'd think she would have been there for both Kevin and Uncle Nicky as Rebecca got worse/Miguel passed/Kevin moved east. There could have easily been a one-sentence mention of her sending her love during the Kevin/Uncle Nicky scene at Rebecca's funeral.

[Jeddah]

1 hour ago, 70sKid said:

Who knows if the clinical trial would have helped Rebecca or not, but I would have tried my best to get my mother to join the trial too.

I wouldn’t if the only way to get her into the trial was to completely disregard her own wishes and tell her she has to uproot her life and do what I want because she owes me. That’s just not the way I treat my mother. 

[Johnny Dollar]

President Randall would bring so much Pearsonality to the job that foreign dictators and opposition party leaders would bow to his will as they cower in fear at the thought of having to endure another one of his speeches. 

[PRgal]

51 minutes ago, Johnny Dollar said:

President Randall would bring so much Pearsonality to the job that foreign dictators and opposition party leaders would bow to his will as they cower in fear at the thought of having to endure another one of his speeches. 

Yep.  Said that first.  And there'd be peace on earth (at least for a few years) because of said Pearsonality.  Though the Republicans may go on and on (if they can do that) about how Pearsonality can drive the country to ruins because nothing will get done due to five hour speeches.

[Empress1]

23 hours ago, OlderThanDirt said:

I do wish we had been given some hint of anything he accomplished as a City Councilman

I remember when he and Rebecca were going to get Deja and Rebecca was quoting Randall’s  magazine profile, he said the profile was targeted to get his name out there nationally because the DNC wanted him to run for senate. He said the “[ ] program is getting a lot of attention” but I can’t remember what the program was. I think they also mentioned his work when Malik was shadowing him. Nothing about his work as a senator though.

[Ohiopirate02]

48 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

I remember when he and Rebecca were going to get Deja and Rebecca was quoting Randall’s  magazine profile, he said the profile was targeted to get his name out there nationally because the DNC wanted him to run for senate. He said the “[ ] program is getting a lot of attention” but I can’t remember what the program was. I think they also mentioned his work when Malik was shadowing him. Nothing about his work as a senator though.

Randall was inspired by the junkie who broke into his home to create some kind of program in Philadelphia to assist addicts.  The show never went into detail about how he was able to help addicts.  It was something that only a child of addicts like Randall would be able to come up with.  

[Ducky]

Just a note from the previous episode continued here- My lil theory that the 'curriculum' could have been some sort of software program or something (I am going to see it that way :P - probably the only one).

This ep she mentioned something about opening many schools for blind/low vision kids. But as I'm typing- thinking/remembering that I think that was more in the line of "wishful thinking" or potential goals for the future not a reality in the 'present time --> day of Rebecca's funeral.

This episode...I really thought we'd see more flash forwards like Randall & Beth with new grandson; what happened with the younger generation Big 3 (Only thing is Hailey working at some art gallery); we see more of Jack D in the past 'flashforwards- nothing on Kevin's twins!

Overall good episode but WHY in the hell did it end on RANDALL.  I mean...I like the guy but the show was This is US not This is ME...would have figured closing scene would be the big 3 even further into the future with their kids grown or something!

[Ohmo]

On 5/28/2022 at 7:15 PM, GeorgiaRai said:

It just seems like a cruel twist to add in as Rebecca is dying - that Kevin contributed to her decline?!  The same Kevin that built her dream house, and moved his family there so she could stay in familiar surroundings and be cared for by loved ones? The same Kevin that watched his mom wait for Kate, and squeeze Randall's hand (albeit unwittingly)?  The same Kevin that barely appeared in the funeral episode?  I mean, he's gotten some low blows from the writers, but this - implying Jack had a hand in inspiring Marcus to develop a treatment for dementia that Kevin later prevented Rebecca from receiving?  Too much.  I truly hope that wasn't want they meant for us to think.  

But he didn't.  That was Rebecca's own wish to not do the trial.  Kevin didn't contribute to that except to honor his mother's wish,  It was Randall who tried to manipulate her into doing the trial, and he would have succeeded if it hadn't been postponed,

[Marley]

Way too much Randall. I have never cared about stupid Deja. Did we need to see all the stuff about the baby’s gender. Who cares. 

Was adult Kevin even in the episode? As usual he’s ignored. I mean they even gave Beth probably the longest speech to dying Rebecca.

I wanted to see the future. Honestly this ending made me hate the whole show I think. Just like the shitty ass How I met your mother finale. I loved that show but after the ending I won’t even watch reruns.

[debraran]

10 hours ago, Ohmo said:

But he didn't.  That was Rebecca's own wish to not do the trial.  Kevin didn't contribute to that except to honor his mother's wish,  It was Randall who tried to manipulate her into doing the trial, and he would have succeeded if it hadn't been postponed,

And if it didn't work as it doesn't for many, they would have thought, all those wasted years with her away and full of meds etc. It was a no win, so you honor what the patient wants. She wanted to be with her family.

[PRgal]

On 5/28/2022 at 6:39 PM, Jeddah said:

If he went to med school or got a PhD, that would take until his late twenties. Then he worked in cancer research for awhile. It seems unlikely that he would have been overseeing  a big clinical trial by his early thirties.

But mainly I don’t want Randall to be right that the clinical trial would have been the breakthrough that saved Rebecca, and so it was justified to manipulate her into going.

Marcus was what, eight or nine when he was in the accident?  That would make him about nine or so years younger than the Big 3.  This would make him 31-32 in the present-present, meaning 2022.  So we’re looking at cancer drug trial timeline.  Probably just started getting involved, too.  

[GeorgiaRai]

13 hours ago, Ohmo said:

But he didn't.  That was Rebecca's own wish to not do the trial.  Kevin didn't contribute to that except to honor his mother's wish,  It was Randall who tried to manipulate her into doing the trial, and he would have succeeded if it hadn't been postponed,

Oh, yeah - I agree with this 100% and was definitely Team Kevin when he stood up to Randall. But if the finale's intent was to imply that Marcus created a drug that would've helped Rebecca had she & Kevin listened to Randall, it would be an unnecessary and unfair shading of Kevin, in my opinion.  

I didn't take the Marcus storyline that way at all - just saw in the thread that others had drawn that conclusion.  

[watch2much]

On 5/24/2022 at 10:07 PM, Armchair Critic said:

Speaking of William, why did his face look so much fuller on the train last week? Seeing him again in this episode he looked so different.

he recently had a double lung transplant....probably steroids or immune suppressants causing it

[Tabbygirl521]

On 5/24/2022 at 7:17 PM, dingochick said:

They had mentioned in media that this ep would be a sort of epilogue, so I was okay with how it ended and served as a series finale. Because sometimes life is mundane, and it is the little moments we may regret missing or taking advantage of. Life is fragile, sad, and beautiful. And I like that in the end, the big three won’t drift. So much of the series has focused on spats and fights and issues that siblings (and parents have)…as someone who has lost both her parents, and has a brother, I totally get the fear of drifting apart. It rang true to me. 
 

Also, I wasn’t expecting anything huge or life altering. Life will go on for the Pearsons. 
 

I liked when Jack said Rebecca would be there…it made me feel better about my own losses. And I liked that we were spared a Randall eulogy, because omfg can we just not? I wasn’t super happy about the Jack and Randall ending, but I got me some William, so I can forgive it. 
 

As far as I’m concerned, as long as nothing ends like St Elsewhere did, it’s a win. :)

Lastly, anyone else feel like adult Deja sounds like regular Deja? 
 

I liked it, too. The demeanor of the Big Three felt very genuine. I lost my mom not long ago after a grueling illness and after the service we were just … tired. And sad and feeling a little bit at sea. I liked very much that we didn’t see the funeral in detail - just enough to see that all the “kids” either spoke or sang; all were shown at the lectern. We know them well and can “know” what they said without being hit over the head with it.

I loved Randall’s happy dance after learning about the grandson. And I liked the focus on him and Deja in this context. Family doesn’t have to be blood. And I liked that Madison and Elijah have been around. I have a big complicated cobbled-together family with good relationships between exes, etc, which is so easy on the kids. I love seeing that with the Pearsons.

I need to rewatch. What was the wisecrack Beth tossed out when talking about all of Randall’s parents, the RV, etc - something about he’d go swimming with someone’s mom. It made me laugh.

Loved the perfect day with nothing to do with the Pearsons doing mundane hints resulting in fond memories. Very real.

and Jack assuring Rebecca that he’ll show her the ropes, basically. She’ll be there  and so will Jack. (But I hope Miguel has someone he loves with him for eternity also.)

And I know in my heart that Kate is already planning to dump Phillip and get back together with Toby. 
 

Edited May 31, 2022 by Tabbygirl521

[bros402]

9 hours ago, watch2much said:

he recently had a double lung transplant....probably steroids or immune suppressants causing it

It looked like moonface to me

[debraran]

7 hours ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

I liked it, too. The demeanor of the Big Three felt very genuine. I lost my mom bit long ago after a grueling illness and after the service we were just … tired. And sad and feeling a little bit at sea. I liked very much that we didn’t see the funeral in detail - just enough to see that all the “kids” either spoke or sang; all were shown at the lectern. We know them well and can “know” what they said without being hit over the head with it.

I loved Randall’s happy dance after learning about the grandson. And I liked the focus on him and Deja in this context. Family doesn’t have to be blood. And I liked that Madison and Elijah have been around. I have a big complicated cobbled-together family with good relationships between exes, etc, which is so easy on the kids. I love seeing that with the Pearsons.

I need to rewatch. What was the wisecrack Beth tossed out when talking about all of Randall’s parents, the RV, etc - something about he’d go swimming with someone’s mom. It made me laugh.

Loved the perfect day with nothing to do with the Pearsons doing mundane hints resulting in fond memories. Very real.

and Jack assuring Rebecca that he’ll show her the ropes, basically. She’ll be there  and so will Jack. (But I hope Miguel has someone he loves with him for eternity also.)

And I know in my heart that Kate is already planning to dump Phillip and get back together with Toby. 
 

Here's the clip, the only time I laughed out loud. It's Miguel's mom..lol.  I pictured when Rebecca completely crossed over, her being with Miguel too, his family who passed, hers, anyone that would be a loving soul. I was claustrophobic in the caboose, just being with one soul gives me the same feeling. ; )

https://ew.com/tv/this-is-us-finale-randall-beth-worst-case-scenario-rebecca-funeral/

[Janie430]

On 5/25/2022 at 7:41 PM, Ohmo said:

I was underwhelmed...by a whole lot.  I'm also reminded that this was Dan Fogelman's choice, and I think it was an unwise one.  He wouldn't have had to extend the story any more.  This could have still been the endpoint, but we didn't have to get here YET.  There was plenty of material to fill in the gaps.  At least two years worth.  Like introducing Philip/Kate slowly.  Or if Deja ends up with Malik and has children with him, we see 2022 Malik and Deja beyond Randall picking her up after Malik breaks up with her.

Like Annie, what was the point of Toby and Kate even adopting Hailey?  NBC did not cancel this show.  Fogelman wanted it to be over.  This entire season was a waste of time.  We sprinted through the season to fulfill some artificial deadline, and then arrived at a bland finale. 

I think this will damage the series longevity in streaming.  I don't know that I'd tell someone to invest in the series knowing how it ends and how the entire last year was handled.  Can't put this on a network.  I'm sure NBC would have been quite happy to renew it.  This is all on Fogelman.

 Fogelman wanted it to be over because he didn't want to hand it over to another showrunner to finish.  I don't blame him for wanting to be done after 6-8 years of obsessing, writing, editing and probably 70 hour weeks.  Most showrunners depart after 4-5 years because they can't keep up the pace.  But he could have handed it over to someone to run another couple of years.  

[Tabbygirl521]

9 hours ago, debraran said:

Here's the clip, the only time I laughed out loud. It's Miguel's mom..lol.  I pictured when Rebecca completely crossed over, her being with Miguel too, his family who passed, hers, anyone that would be a loving soul. I was claustrophobic in the caboose, just being with one soul gives me the same feeling. ; )

https://ew.com/tv/this-is-us-finale-randall-beth-worst-case-scenario-rebecca-funeral/

Thank you!!

[ECM1231]

I only got around to watching the final episode last night as we had company all last week. I've not read any comments but mainly I wanted to say I was pretty underwhelmed with this finale. One good thing I enjoyed was that Milo was featured prominently in this episode. Not enough Justin/Kevin. TOO MUCH DEJA. Honestly, I don't know why the writers love her so much. I can understand why, to savior Randall, that he had to take Deja in. Also, as an adoptee, it was important to him. He and Beth did adopt her, right? For a long time, she referred to him as Randall, but in the jump forward to the end, she calls him Dad. I have nothing against her character or the actress that portrays her, but in my opinion, poor Tess and Annie got a raw deal. I was SO HAPPY that adult Tess and Annie got to say a line or two and then no, they had to get up and move aside so that Deja could talk to Randall and reveal he's having a grandson. Adult Annie is so cute. Adult Tess really looks like younger Tess. I never cared about Malik and Deja's relationship. Fine if she was their adopted daughter, but not at the expense of showcasing Annie and Tess, the original daughters.

Uncle Nicky was funny if a bit irreverent at the funeral service. I'm so glad we didn't get to hear a long, drawn-out eulogy by Randall. 

Not much else to say except that I will miss this show. 

[ECM1231]

On 5/25/2022 at 11:48 AM, A.Ham said:

But the winning moment for me was "worst case scenario" Beth imagining Randall coming back from Puerto Rico, and talking about swimming in the Atlantic Ocean with Miguel's dead grandmother.

🤣 Beth always has the best lines. I roared when she said that.

[Marley]

Deleted post - mistake 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Marley

[OpalNightstream]

As others have said, too much Deja and not enough of Tess and Annie. It seem like the writers decided a while ago that that other girls weren’t interesting enough so they had to add another kid, complete with the gifted/troubled boyfriend. I don’t know why after all there seasons the last episode focused so much on what I considered a secondary character other than to highlight Randall beyond his stellar career and doting son role. Disappointing. 

[PRgal]

1 hour ago, OpalNightstream said:

As others have said, too much Deja and not enough of Tess and Annie. It seem like the writers decided a while ago that that other girls weren’t interesting enough so they had to add another kid, complete with the gifted/troubled boyfriend. I don’t know why after all there seasons the last episode focused so much on what I considered a secondary character other than to highlight Randall beyond his stellar career and doting son role. Disappointing. 

You'd think that Tess's LGBTQ++ storyline would be interesting enough.  There are very few shows featuring kids like her - especially kids like her who aren't white.  

[Violetgoblin6]

On 5/25/2022 at 2:23 PM, Ohiopirate02 said:

Now that you mention the toys, I was trying to figure out what year that final flashback was set in.  The Big 3 are getting old enough for puberty and shaving, but I saw the NES in the background.  That system would have been outdated for Kevin and Randall.  They should have upgraded to either a Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis by the time of that flashback.  

I am thinking 1990? Rebecca said Jack had stepped up as dad a few years before which was 88? 89? And the kids looked the same as they did at the tenth bday party with Sophie and the Princess Bride. My brother got the Nintendo set with Mario game I for Christmas 1990 and played it religiously through 1991. 

[mostlylurking]

I thought it was a really beautiful way to tie things together.  It wasn’t as emotionally overwrought as the last few episodes, but it was so true to life.  Most of life is mundane, simple, even boring.  This show did such an amazing job of showing how precious these seemingly ordinary moments actually are.  That realness, plus the absolutely amazing casting across all the eras, is what I will miss so much.

Sigh.  I just loved it.  

[limecoke]

Ok, I was finally able to watch this final episode. Not terribly impressed but at the same time, it wasn’t bad. I’ve enjoyed the series a lot. There was a sort of genius to it that grabbed me from episode one.

Initially the character of Kevin was my least favorite of The Big Three with Randall much more likable. It’s funny how they flipped the script on that and made the Kevin character much more grounded and down-to-earth while Randall became increasingly insufferable. As for Kate, it’s sad but I never warmed to her at all. She seemed perpetually unhappy and petulant. I felt sorry for Toby having to continually compete with her brothers and dead father.  Don’t even get me started on Deja. A completely irrelevant character who never connected with the story until it was forced at the very end. Randall and Beth had two lovely daughters and it’s a mystery why the writers couldn’t do anything with what they had.

So, while I enjoyed the series for its innovative approach to storytelling, I’m glad to see the back of it and the merciful end to all of Randall’s perpetual naval-gazing.  It’s exhausting.

[Johnny Dollar]

How ironic that the final episode was written to reflect the simple and mundane things in everyday life when the show went out of its way literally every week to show that nothing this family did was ever simple or mundane, but instead was so profound and world-changing that books will be written about their greatness. 

[CarpeFelis]

On 5/28/2022 at 10:13 AM, OlderThanDirt said:

My reactions to the final episode agree with most of what I've read here. I don't think Sterling K. really wants to be locked into Randell's West Wing. This feels like a good ending for the character on our screens.

I really hope there isn’t a Randall spinoff. Sterling K. Brown deserves a much better role than Randall the Endless Pearson Speechifier and I’d happily watch him in whatever role that might be.

[Crs97]

I finally watched it and have serious issues with William giving a big speech about being a grandfather for seven months when Miguel is ignored completely.  I wonder if anyone ever names a child after Rebecca or Miguel.

Underwhelming.  

[mostlylurking]

13 hours ago, limecoke said:

It’s funny how they flipped the script on that and made the Kevin character much more grounded and down-to-earth while Randall became increasingly insufferable. As for Kate, it’s sad but I never warmed to her at all.

Agreed.  Randall was my favorite to start, but Kevin took over that spot somewhere along the way.  I always felt he was overlooked and his feelings diminished.  As for Kate, eh.  I did warm to her as the seasons went on but I didn’t like how she handled her issues with Toby.  She was very unrealistic on what living on (basically) one income actually means, and the sacrifices that go with it.  

I have to give a shout out to Beth and her worst case scenarios.  She’s so awesome.   Knowing Randall I feel all those scenarios could be possible.  Lol.  I think his reaction to Deja having a boy was ok.  It was already an emotional day so I‘m sure that played a part, plus Randall is just very extra in general.  I don’t think it meant he would have been disappointed with a granddaughter, it’s just going to be a different experience with a boy after so many girls/women. I’m glad we got a Nicky appearance as well. 

[mansonlamps]

I didn't have a huge issue with Randall's over the top reaction to having a grandson either.  Most families who have multiple kids of the same sex are overjoyed to have one of the opposite sex at some point.   I've seen it go both ways and there are tons of Tik Tok videos showing families full of boys being thrilled to finally have a girl too.  

I do think she was a little presumptious in naming the child William though,  since she never even met him.  I'll assume she discussed it with Tess and Annie and that they are on board.  One of them better get pregnant soon though so they can snag the sainted "Randall" name!

[Jeddah]

4 hours ago, mostlylurking said:

 I don’t think it meant he would have been disappointed with a granddaughter, it’s just going to be a different experience with a boy after so many girls/women.

I definitely think he would have been disappointed with a granddaughter. He was disappointed Annie was a girl. How would having a grandson be that much different than having a granddaughter? What can he do with a grandson that he wouldn’t have done with a granddaughter? Tess dated someone non-binary, which would have been a good opportunity for Randall to think about gender in a different way. But he would have had to pay attention to Tess and learn about her life, and he didn’t do that. Jack raised Kate differently than the boys, and it really screwed her up.

[PRgal]

14 hours ago, Crs97 said:

I finally watched it and have serious issues with William giving a big speech about being a grandfather for seven months when Miguel is ignored completely.  I wonder if anyone ever names a child after Rebecca or Miguel.

Underwhelming.  

Plus the kids DO call Miguel, "Grandpa Miguel."  To Tess and Annie, at least, he WAS "grandpa" - even though he and Rebecca married AFTER Tess was born.  I mean, they don't know anyone else.  I also don't think it's "right" for Deja to use William.  She never met him. 

Edited June 2, 2022 by PRgal

[mostlylurking]

2 hours ago, Jeddah said:

He was disappointed Annie was a girl.

He was??  I totally missed that.