S01.E05: The Game Plan

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Rebecca and Jack get into an argument about starting a family. The family backstory behind the long line of love for the Pittsburg Steelers is revealed. After accepting his part in the play, Kevin realizes his script is relevant to his own life. Randall and Beth encounter an unexpected turn of events.

Promo:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Clip:

[ShadowFacts]

Oh hell's bells, this is the first time I've liked adult Kevin. 

[chocolatine]

"The bigger the hotel room, the emptier you feel" - oh, the predicament!

[Guest]

"What Au Pair"... LOL

[RachelKM]

I've been inclined to like Kevin due to my affection for Justin Hartley.  And, based on the depth of the other characters on the show, I expected that he had more to him and was just, perhaps, less immediately accessible than the other characters. I'm pleased that it looks like that might be true.  Also, Beth is still my TV wife.  I love her to pieces.  

Edited October 26, 2016 by RachelKM

[J0nas3]

Oh my god, they killed Milo!

 

Although I could see it coming. All of the talk about Jack's love, it would seem hollow if she ended up with Miguel because of a divorce.

Edited October 26, 2016 by J0nas3

[Spartan Girl]

There we have it: "present Jack" is an urn.

Is it wrong that I'm relieved? It's better that he's passed on and not a deadbeat dad. Plus, it wouldn't make ANY sense for Rebecca to keep wearing the moon necklace if they split up.

[Primetimer]

If you feel like someone just read your emotional scrapbook to the world, you're not alone.

View the full article

[CleoCaesar]

Justin Hartley was especially hot tonight.

Jack, no. :'(

[pianogirl73]

This episode did a lot to explain Kevin. Even in the flashback where the family was watching football, Rebecca hugged Randall, Jack hugged Kate, and Kevin threw his arms around them all. Poor kid!

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

So, did they just up and kill William without any fanfare? He advises Kevin, then *poof*, Randall is boxing up his stuff five episodes in? Never meets Kate, never has a final moment with his son, doesn't even get a midseason finale death for his trouble? What a waste of a character. And what a host of unexplored storylines. I'm mad. 

Edited October 26, 2016 by ZuluQueenOfDwarves

[MissT]

I think I have something in my eyes!!!   Jack is dead!!   I knew it.   It was a great show.   I'm sitting here bawling.   Did I inderstand that William died?  

[mtlchick]

Well I called it...Jack's dead in the present day.  Go....me? (shudders.) 

Kevin's attempting to explain ghosts leading to death made me slap my forehead and cackling throughout.  Those two girls are going to be traumatized! What a horribly hot uncle should be shirtless more often -- AHEM. Sorry.   Then he has the moment with the painting and I'm in shock.  He's more profound that I gave him credit for.  And I wonder if it's something his family will have picked up on.  Starved for attention, but more profound. 

Randall getting ready to get lucky at the hotel only for the wife to say "I'm late" and his look of puzzlement and terror SLAYED me.  And then he got me good packing up William's things.  

GOD DAMMIT NBC. YOU WON.  YOU SUCKED ME INTO THE NEW PARENTHOOD!  (sobs) 

[Pallas]

So Jack probably died in 2005, before the 2006 AFC championship in January.

I loved the 'wayback flashbacks exploding at the end, like strokes of Kevin's painting. Ghosts.

Not ghosts.

[SimoneS]

So Jack is gone. I wish that Toby had let it go with Kate, but it is good that they seem to be communicating better.

Randall and Beth are stars. So they jumped ahead and William is dead.

I want to, but just can't with Kevin. I think he is the weakest link.

[BuckeyeLou]

14 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

Oh hell's bells, this is the first time I've liked adult Kevin. 

I loved Kevin's scenes with William and also his scenes with his nieces, those little girls are so cute.

[stonehaven]

Each week, this show amazes me...and makes me laugh....I was afraid we were going to lose Grandpa for a second...and I am not so sure we didn't...

Still, Beth and Randall are the best part of this..and her "Glory" praise hands had me cheering...

[Thalia]

I think I hate Toby.  Good grief, let the woman spend an evening by herself because, I don't know, BECAUSE SHE'S AN ADULT AND WANTS TO SPEND AN EVENING BY HERSELF. 

I'm pretty sure that William's death was a flash-forward, and that he'll be back next week in the "present." 

Edited October 26, 2016 by Thalia

[chitowngirl]

I feel like now that wer know about Jack, we can move forward with stories. It always seemed like we were in limbo. Was he or wasn't  he alive? Now we can unfold his story and see how they got to where they are now.

[pianogirl73]

2 minutes ago, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

So, did they just up and kill William without any fanfare? He advises Kevin, then *poof*, Randall is boxing up his stuff five episodes in? Never meets Kate, never has a final moment with his son, doesn't even get a midseason finale death for his trouble? What a waste of a character. And what a host of unexplored storylines. I'm mad. 

I think that was supposed to be when Jack died because they showed the hat from the his great great? grandfather. 

[BuckeyeLou]

2 minutes ago, MissT said:

I think I have something in my eyes!!!   Jack is dead!!   I knew it.   It was a great show.   I'm sitting here bawling.   Did I inderstand that William died?  

I'm crying too...so many emotional scenes!  But yea, I'm confused about William's demise...are we going to get any more details...I liked the character & am sorry he is gone.

[greekmom]

3 minutes ago, Pallas said:

So Jack probably died in 2005, before the 2006 AFC championship in January.

I loved the 'wayback flashbacks exploding at the end, like strokes of Kevin's painting. Ghosts.

Not ghosts.

How old are the girls again?

[BuckeyeLou]

2 minutes ago, Thalia said:

I think I hate Toby.  Good grief, let the woman spend an evening by herself because, I don't know, BECAUSE SHE'S AN ADULT AND WANTS TO SPEND AN EVENING BY HERSELF. 

I'm pretty sure that William's death was a flash-forward, and that he'll be back next week in the "present." 

I am getting annoyed with Toby too...he's so pushy. And also, does he have a job?!  He doesnt seem to do anything except go to his weight lose meetings

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

Are we supposed to find it sweet and romantic that Toby never just drops the subject when Kate says "no" to something? Because I find it pushy and disrespectful. 

[BuckeyeLou]

7 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

Well I called it...Jack's dead in the present day.  Go....me? (shudders.) 

Kevin's attempting to explain ghosts leading to death made me slap my forehead and cackling throughout.  Those two girls are going to be traumatized! What a horribly hot uncle should be shirtless more often -- AHEM. Sorry.   Then he has the moment with the painting and I'm in shock.  He's more profound that I gave him credit for.  And I wonder if it's something his family will have picked up on.  Starved for attention, but more profound. 

Randall getting ready to get lucky at the hotel only for the wife to say "I'm late" and his look of puzzlement and terror SLAYED me.  And then he got me good packing up William's things.  

GOD DAMMIT NBC. YOU WON.  YOU SUCKED ME INTO THE NEW PARENTHOOD!  (sobs) 

I loved the series "Parenthood" and now I am enjoying "This is Us"....Kevin was annoying at first, as the dopey actor, but tonight he revealed the deeper part of himself and I liked that...he is so cute with his nieces.

[CleoCaesar]

There seems to be a camp of viewers who think Toby is romantic and determined because he's so into Kate, and a camp that thinks he's incredibly pushy, crass, and obnoxious. I am firmly in the latter. Grand romantic gestures don't mean squat if you can't do something as basic as respect a person's alone time.

[AuntieL]

I just started watching this show last week and I thought I was sucked in then. Then I watch this week and Rebecca's friend is wearing the same Steeler hat my mother gave me 15 years ago that I still wear. Wow did they get the Pittsburgh steeler 70s/80s football scene right! I've lived in south Jersey for 30 years now and this took me right back home. And Kevin was so in over his head with the girls. I love his relationship with them. I adore Beth. 

[ShadowFacts]

I have to say I was kind of meh about the football contrivance.  Just wasn't feeling that.  Too heavy-handed.  Our family loves football, let's put a hat on dad's urn.  Ok, got it.  As usual, Randall's family was the heart of it for me, and Kevin is definitely getting more interesting. 

[MissT]

Just now, CleoCaesar said:

There seems to be a camp of viewers who think Toby is romantic and determined because he's so into Kate, and a camp that thinks he's incredibly pushy, crass, and obnoxious. I am firmly in the latter. Grand romantic gestures don't mean squat if you can't do something as basic as respect a person's alone time.

I totally agree!    Toby is very needy.  I like my alone time.   And like someone said earlier-does he have a job?  

Also if he wanted to be with Kate, why invite a friend over?     

[bybrandy]

I've been pretty supportive of Toby, and I may be again in the future, but in this episode?   No.  Just no.  Woman told you she wanted to be alone and you wouldn't drop it.  Then she agreed to watch the game with you and you invited somebody else.   Just NO!   

Beth and Randall, man, Beth and Randall...  I would watch a whole show of Beth and Randall just hanging out and being Beth and Randall.  

I didn't really want to watch William get sicker and sicker and sicker so I'm glad if his death is handled in that low key kind of way rather than with drama.   However, I am not ready for him to be dead, yet.   Or, you know, ever.   Because Wm man.  He even makes Kevin likeable.   

Clearly Toby needed a dose.   

[BoogieBurns]

Guys, I need to know if William is dead.

I sobbed like he was a family member when Kate grabbed the urn. I can't lose two grandpas in one episode. No, I won't do it. I need more William. Why did they make us love him so much? I really hope that was a flash forward.

11 minutes ago, greekmom said:

How old are the girls again?

I think 11 and 8, possibly 10 and 8. But they had 10 years until they are both off at college.

[SimoneS]

3 minutes ago, CleoCaesar said:

There seems to be a camp of viewers who think Toby is romantic and determined because he's so into Kate, and a camp that thinks he's incredibly pushy, crass, and obnoxious. I am firmly in the latter. Grand romantic gestures don't mean squat if you can't do something as basic as respect a person's alone time.

I am in the camp where like Kate, Toby is an imperfect character who make mistakes and can be liked anyway. 

[Jodithgrace]

Maybe Randall's scene packing up William's stuff is a flash forward, since we were dealing with dead Dads in that scene. I'm sure they aren't just going to disappear him, especially since the actor is so good.

Apparently this episode had the entire cast bawling during the table read, according to an interview I heard with Mandy Moore. 

I really was pissed at Toby not letting Kate have one evening to herself. Even if he thinks it's weird. I don't like that kind of controlling guy..even if he comes with cute art projects. I'm not sure if we are supposed to like Toby or not. Is he supposed to be charming or borderline creepy? Will he be Kate's soul mate or will we be looking at a restraining order by the end of the season? I honestly don't know. It could go either way at this point. He's one character I have a tough time pinning down. 

I like Kevin. His massive insecurity makes him come off shallower than he probably really is, always putting himself down and being afraid to try anything really challenging. I like the fact that he was really working on that play and taking notes, etc. instead of just goofing off, like one might almost expect. And I think that there is a good actor hidden in The Manny somewhere, and he will surprise himself and everybody else by being really good in the play. 

[bybrandy]

2 minutes ago, MissT said:

And like someone said earlier-does he have a job?  

Um, probably.  He has an apartment and a really nice TV.   But this whole episode took place on a Sunday so who knows, but him not being at work in this episode really wasn't a problem.

[ohjoy]

About ten minutes into the episode I planned to come here with this statement: "I think Justin Hartley is doing really great work on this show, that even when I'm physically cringing away from Kevin on the screen I still want to know more about him." And WOW, he so validated by the end. That was beautiful.

In a way I'm relieved about Jack. I can go back to innocently enjoying his life with Rebecca, and even his friendship with Miguel, without being suspicious of how they came together. And having Kate make the introduction (although I'm still 60/40 on Toby) was not nearly as weird as she was worried it would be.

Randall and Beth are so real, and so great. And of course, so was the "wise old owl." I'm pretty sure that was a flashforward of Randall packing up William's things after his death; it was part of the montage during Kevin's explanation of life -- past, present, and future -- being represented in that painting.

Oh, and we got Randall and Kevin interacting! Kevin was being typically self-absorbed self at first, but I actually loved when the exchanges when Kevin offered to babysit. Beth was not amused, but Randall was. That was when I could see what it might have been like during childhood moments they actually got along.

Another stellar episode.

[Pallas]

I think William's death is a flash-forward, to accompany the flash-backs, illustrating Kevin's theme: life is what is all happening at once. We're already gone; they're always here; this is, was, and will be, us.

[bybrandy]

11 minutes ago, CleoCaesar said:

There seems to be a camp of viewers who think Toby is romantic and determined because he's so into Kate, and a camp that thinks he's incredibly pushy, crass, and obnoxious. I am firmly in the latter. Grand romantic gestures don't mean squat if you can't do something as basic as respect a person's alone time.

I wasn't feeling Toby in this episode but I generally like him.   But it isn't because of the grand romantic gestures.   I like him because he's sarcastic and funny and I like sarcastic and funny.   

[memememe76]

Some interesting tidbits of information. Rebecca has a sister who probably has a ton of kids. So, Rabdall et al have a bunch of cousins. Miguel has at least 2 kids, so we'll probably see them. Would an interracial couple be so accepted back then?

So, Rebecca is 6 years younger than Jack, right?

I really enjoy the Kevin and William dynamic. Maybe William can become Kevin's assistant. 

[BoogieBurns]

1 minute ago, memememe76 said:

Would an interracial couple be so accepted back then?

Judging by how many of my friends are two races and around that age, I say it was somewhat accepted.

2 minutes ago, memememe76 said:

So, Rebecca is 6 years younger than Jack, right?

Yep. Means she is 66 in present day.

[Chaos Theory]

There is just something about the way Toby treats Kate that rubs me the wrong way.  It's cool that he likes her but when she tells him she would rather spend a day alone he got offended like she told him she had a date with another guy.  Then he goes and invites someone else when she agrees to hang out with him and they don't watch the game.  He gets offended at that too that she would rather watch a football game then spend the day with him and a friend,. She already told you that.

[LaJefaza]

You know, I just KNEW Jack was dead coming into this episode, so why the hell is it still so upsetting?

I definitely don't hate Toby, but his behavior this episode was just grating. Springing some random friend on her after she SAID she preferred to be alone? Pausing the game to tell some lame story they could have told literally any other time? Good GOD. And he just...doesn't respect boundaries or the word no. I'm not saying his ex probably wasn't awful to him, as he said... (and he certainly didn't deserve that). It's probably all true...but I'm starting to think that one-sided sad story he told about what led to his divorce probably wasn't the full story.

[buttersister]

*Sobbing* geez, well-played, Show. Wise owl, indeed.

But I got whiplash from Toby---he can't let her be alone, "hears" that she has a football ritual, wants to share it so he invites a pal over. More whiplash, I'm glad that he wants to make her happy, but it feels like only on his terms. Which, you know, sorry, run, Kate.

Kevin and Beth ftw. Always. But props to Josh Hartley---nailed it.

Edited October 26, 2016 by buttersister

[WhosThatGirl]

I don't like Toby. I wish he had just let Kate be and be by herself like she first wanted. 

The reveal wasn't a shock so it wasn't it a gut punch to find out Jack was dead. I figured as much. I'm more surprised that Miguel was married before and has kids of his own. 

[Cardie]

This was a very strong episode. It confirmed some suspicions (Jack is dead, Rebecca is a reluctant mother) and provided deeper insights into Kevin, whose doofus and clueless behavior masks a sensitive, creative inner core. That table read scene was priceless, as he digs a deeper and deeper hole for himself and the girls become more and more terrified. The expression on that darling younger girl's face was terrific. I do think that William as wise old owl is a bit too perfect to be believed. Even if he didn't have his difficult past, he was getting near "magical Negro" territory in reading Kevin's psychology. I do think the scene of Randall packing up his things was a flashforward. Still, William may be best if he's not around forever, although I bet the writers are having second thoughts about not having Cephas-Jones on the show longer.

Toby should definitely have given Kate her space. He is way too controlling.

Miguel and his wife seemed very happy together. Did she die early as well?

[AuntieL]

When Toby paused the game I was all "Dude!  Have you never met a football fan before?" 

[Amethyst]

Good episode, but not as captivating as last week.  I called the babies' conception being on the night of the Steelers game.  Something about it was too important to Kate; it wasn't just her time with Jack.

If William is dead, I may actually cry.  He's too good with everyone!  I laughed at Kevin calling him the wise owl.  Speaking of which, I thought Kevin's end speech with the girls was too heavy-handed (especially for the younger one) but I was glad that he wanted to rectify his mistake.

You could practically hear the needle scratch when Beth said she was late.  

So Jack is dead.  At least they confirmed it.  

[Laurie4H]

I can understand Toby being attracted to someone bigger but would he really be into someone that drastically overweight especially after who he was married to?  I know that sounds shallow but just wondering. 

So I wonder how Jack died.  Was it a long battle or was it sudden.

[chitowngirl]

Maybe Randall was going through Jack's box in the present. It was Super Bowl Sunday, and that was a big day in their family. He was probably missing his dad, knowing he's going to lose another dad soon, and mourning the baby he thought they might be having.

[DearEvette]

27 minutes ago, Jodithgrace said:

Maybe Randall's scene packing up William's stuff is a flash forward, since we were dealing with dead Dads in that scene. I'm sure they aren't just going to disappear him, especially since the actor is so good.

Yeah, that was my take too.

I really loved Kevin in this episode.  He was funny, awkward, and I loved his teasing of Beth and Randall. He was poignant and an awful manny.  But then he became an awesome uncle.  Really strong scenes between Justin Hartley and Roger Cephas Jones.

Also I totally went to IMDB and looked up a Hugh Grant, Meryl Streep film that sounded like a black name!  Ha!

This is the first episode I really disliked Toby.  Like, Dude, c'mon who pauses a football game?

Finally I love how Beth and Randall argue.  They feel like a fully realized couple who have been together forever.  So comfortable with each other.  And I was tickled at how thrilled they were with not being pregnant.