Unpopular Opinions Thread

[OtterMommy]

Unpopular opinion #1: I have lost any interest at all about how Jack dies.  Honestly, if they just sort of mention the cause of death in passing before getting onto some more interesting story lines, I'll be happy.  I kind of think that they are stretching this out because they don't know/haven't figured out how he die and that is....disappointing.  It's pretty obvious when shows pull that crap and I honestly thought TIU was above that.

Unpopular opinion #2: I am neither Team Jack not Team Rebecca.  I don't think Jack is a saint (and I don't think the show is necessarily painting him that way--I think he might look that way to his kids, which is completely natural) and I don't think Rebecca is a harpy.  I just think they are two people, who have a very typical marriage, and are raising kids.  Frankly, I find them a bit dull...

[shoregirl]

Here's my unpopular opinion because Dan Fogelman created this and the show Pitch. While despite the issues I have with show I mostly like it, I think Pitch is a much better show and it disappointing that not as many people watch that than watch This is Us.  

[OtterMommy]

4 minutes ago, shoregirl said:

Here's my unpopular opinion because Dan Fogelman created this and the show Pitch. While despite the issues I have with show I mostly like it, I think Pitch is a much better show and it disappointing that not as many people watch that than watch This is Us.  

My husband and I tried to watch it (I didn't know until recently that both shows were Fogelman's) and it was a case that we enjoyed the show well enough, but never felt compelled enough to tune back in.  That and my husband really thought the "pitch" should have been a knuckleball.  Seriously,he never shut up about it--that's probably why I never felt especially compelled to turn Pitch back on.

I'm more perplexed/amazed/amused/whatever that Fogelman also wrote "Tangled."

[Wings]

1 hour ago, OtterMommy said:

Unpopular opinion #1: I have lost any interest at all about how Jack dies.  Honestly, if they just sort of mention the cause of death in passing before getting onto some more interesting story lines, I'll be happy.  I kind of think that they are stretching this out because they don't know/haven't figured out how he die and that is....disappointing.  It's pretty obvious when shows pull that crap and I honestly thought TIU was above that.

Unpopular opinion #2: I am neither Team Jack not Team Rebecca.  I don't think Jack is a saint (and I don't think the show is necessarily painting him that way--I think he might look that way to his kids, which is completely natural) and I don't think Rebecca is a harpy.  I just think they are two people, who have a very typical marriage, and are raising kids.  Frankly, I find them a bit dull...

I agree with all of this.  They do know how Jack dies though.  The cast has said that in interviews.  His death had to be written at the onset because the characters react/respond to it (especially Kate) through the entire first season.  It marked their lives in a big way. 

Jack's death will be drawn out for several episodes.  The shock, the tears, the funeral cannot be covered in one episode.  Well, it could but they are not going to do that!  LOL

Edited March 15, 2017 by wings707

[Guest]

Several episodes?  Several seasons, I think!   DF did say the show will always be about these 8 people.   

I think they could just tell the actors act crushed and guilty without details.  But I believe they told them.  They seem proud of their work.  

[pennben]

From an interview with Mandy & Milo on the finale:

Quote

Do you think America will ultimately forgive Jack?

Ventimiglia; I think they will. Dan Fogelman thinks they will. He said, this is gonna crush people. This is going to destroy them. but I think I found a way for them not to hate Jack in the end. And that’s the thing I hang on to. He made a mistake. He is not perfect. But his intention is always a good place.

Will America forgive Jack??????? First, let me state:  hahahahahahahahahahahahahah! <breathe> heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee! <breathe, wipe tear away> Whoooooooooooo!  The interviewer is worried that America is mad a Jack?! Unbelievable.  Then Ventimiglia's answer, folks are going to be crushed....destroyed even, but hopefully we've found a way to give them some reason not to hate Jack.

Are you freaking kidding me??!!!  Almost no one hates Jacks nor blames him for anything, it's apparently solely Rebecca's fault that all of this has happened.  If there is some sort of bubble in which these folks live and are worried they may have to try to "redeem" Jack next season because this episode made America mad at him, it is incomprehensible to me what this show will look like. 

I think they need to figure out how to start presenting Rebecca so that 90% of the audience doesn't hate everything about her, because I really don't believe that that is the intention of the showrunners/writers or what they think is actually happening,  I hope they spend some time in the off season and see how folks are seeing Rebecca outside whatever bubble they are in.  I'm not even sure they can fix things at this point now that there's a season worth of hate built up for Rebecca on this show.

Edited March 16, 2017 by pennben
because comprehensible actually means the opposite of incomprehensible, which is what I meant to type.

[OtterMommy]

4 minutes ago, pennben said:

From an interview with Mandy & Milo on the finale:

Will America forgive Jack??????? First, let me state:  hahahahahahahahahahahahahah! <breath> heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee! <breath, wipes tear away> Whoooooooooooo!  The interviewer is worried that America is mad a Jack?! Unbelievable.  Then Ventimiglia's answer, folks are going to be crushed....destroyed even, but hopefully we've found a way to give them some reason not to hate Jack.

 

I really, really detest when a show tells me how I'm going to feel.  If they need to tell me how to feel, then they must realize that what they give me won't make me authentically feel however they think I should feel.

[Wings]

Quote

Mandy Moore warned us that the season finale of “This Is Us” was going to “destroy America” — 

Fortunately I pulled myself together and put the Drano down.  

[HeyThere83]

I'm eliminating cry, destroy, Kleenex, and probably some others from my vocabulary.

So I guess Mandy Moore felt the need to make an Instagram post defending the finale? I like Mandy Moore and all, but.....I don't get the need for this?? People watched it, and obviously felt some kind of way about it that didn't involve tears. I think part of the show's problem is that it DOESN'T get critiqued at all because tears are usually flowing and the 18-49 demo isn't awful. But these problems have been there since the beginning.

Oh well....Dan Fogelman said just last week FU (literally) to anyone that didn't like what they were doing.

[OtterMommy]

3 minutes ago, HeyThere83 said:

So I guess Mandy Moore felt the need to make an Instagram post defending the finale? I like Mandy Moore and all, but.....I don't get the need for this?? People watched it, and obviously felt some kind of way about it that didn't involve tears. I think part of the show's problem is that it DOESN'T get critiqued at all because tears are usually flowing and the 18-49 demo isn't awful. But these problems have been there since the beginning.

Oh well....Dan Fogelman said just last week FU (literally) to anyone that didn't like what they were doing.

I had to go look that up.  That was, um, strange....and I noticed that she suggested that we better accept all this or find something else to watch:
 

Quote

And for those somehow frustrated with the finale not revealing how Jack passed, I would encourage patience. Otherwise you might be watching the wrong show. 

Honestly, all this is just strengthening my belief that either TPTB don't know or haven't yet decided how Jack died or they had a plan and then scrapped it.

[HeyThere83]

The other issue is....since when does this show require much patience? Pretty much every plot point with the exception of Jack's death has moved at lightning speed. Dan has said multiple times....I want to make em wait. In the sense that....I want to keep the viewers in suspense so they come back and that translates into a high 18-49 demo. Not in the sense that it just takes time to tell this particular story. That's BS!

[PepSinger]

54 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

I really, really detest when a show tells me how I'm going to feel.  If they need to tell me how to feel, then they must realize that what they give me won't make me authentically feel however they think I should feel.

As an actor, I think Mandy's perspective is skewed, and it's understandable. She was probably feeling so much while filming the episode that she thought the viewers would feel the same thing. It does not always happen that way.

Edited March 16, 2017 by PepSinger

[OtterMommy]

Just now, PepSinger said:

As an actor, I think Mandy perspective is skewed, and it's understandable. She was probably feeling so much while filming the episode that she thought the viewers would feel the same thing. It does not always happen that way.

I don't disagree, but MM is not the only one saying this (she's just the one whose quote I referenced).   There are a lot of actors who have said similar things and I'm sure it is because they come at the show from a different place.  There are also a lot of actors who repeat the "company line" about a show....

I'm far more bothered by those behind the camera saying the same thing--in fact saying things in a far more forceful way.  We've heard from both MM and DF that basically, if we don't like the show, there is something wrong with us.  You know, it is possible for someone to not like a perfectly good show because it just doesn't click with them.  It is also possible for people to not like a show because it isn't delivering on what it should.  If they have the hubris to say that they are going to wreck us, that we are going to leave our hearts bleeding on the floor, that we will be destroyed, they darn well need to deliver on that.  

What would be far more effective is to say something like, "We worked very hard on this and we hope you enjoy it" and then see how people react.

[ShadowFacts]

9 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

What would be far more effective is to say something like, "We worked very hard on this and we hope you enjoy it" and then see how people react.

For sure.  And so much more gracious.  The "you are going to be destroyed" line I don't get.  Seeing someone in a drunken bar fight, and then a spousal knock-down-drag-out verbal fight isn't going to reach that level.  Seeing Jack almost commit robbery also didn't destroy me, it struck me as loopy. 

[kieyra]

27 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

I had to go look that up.  That was, um, strange....and I noticed that she suggested that we better accept all this or find something else to watch:
 

Honestly, all this is just strengthening my belief that either TPTB don't know or haven't yet decided how Jack died or they had a plan and then scrapped it.

I've been saying for a while now that the show felt like they were making stuff up as they went, even on a week to week basis, and that was why they kept everything so vague. 

They basically redid the "Lost" model as a nighttime soap, with Jack's death as the big suspense-builder, and now they have to retroactively figure out what the smoke monster was. 

(Maybe Jack was killed by a polar bear ...)

[CleoCaesar]

Quote

 

Do you think America will ultimately forgive Jack?

Ventimiglia; I think they will. Dan Fogelman thinks they will. He said, this is gonna crush people. This is going to destroy them. but I think I found a way for them not to hate Jack in the end. And that’s the thing I hang on to.

 

Man these writers and actors are sounding more insufferably pretentious and ridiculous with each new interview. It seems that all of them have their heads up their own asses and they genuinely think they're creating Timeless Art, as opposed to a schmaltzy, by-the-numbers, manipulative nighttime soap opera. This is the TV equivalent of a Nicholas Sparks novel/movie.

That being said, Mandy Moore gave an awfully good performance last night, particularly during her fight with Jack. She's been doing consistently good work.

[doLLish]

I'm actually really tired of the cast and others acting like the reason people are disappointed with the finale was solely because they didn't reveal Jack's death.

That has very little to do with it as far as I'm concerned. I had already read they weren't going to do that so I wasn't expecting it. The episode just happened to be the worst one of the season at the very worst time. "Memphis" would have made an incredible finale. Jack and Rebecca had a fight. Okay, and?? It was disappointing in many ways and this straw man "its not that type of show" argument is so weak. The episode felt like filler in the worst way. They gambled and lost with this finale, period. Better luck next season.

[Dowel Jones]

6 hours ago, wings707 said:

Mandy Moore warned us that the season finale of “This Is Us” was going to “destroy America” — 

Hey, maybe she meant that 70's band by the same name.  Her onstage band was going to cover one of their songs, but when she left, it fell through.  Just a theory....

[laurakaye]

On 3/15/2017 at 3:00 PM, potatoradio said:

Perhaps dear show has misinterpreted all the tears. Those are tears of frustration, not the sadz. Just kill the damn guy already. He is not the first beloved parent and husband to ever die in the history of mankind. Then again, if what we're looking at watching post-Jack-kicks-bucket is Kate trying maintain a singing career and her self-hating mope fest schedule and Kevin agonizing over how to manage twue wuv and an acting career he doesn't even struggle with and Randall suddenly deciding to add a dozen kids or so to the home that already didn't have a guest room....well, I can see the hesitation. 

LOLZ...but wait...didn't I hear that his house had four bedrooms?  Or was that just a rumor?  Which is it - four bedrooms or no more room at the inn?  I need to know!  But in that case, why the hell did rich, former TV star Kevin plop down his suitcases at Randall's house when Randall's girls were already sharing a bedroom because William was there?  Who invites himself to stay with a family member who already has a full house?  I already think Kevin is a vapid cardboard pretty-boy.  That whole set-up just made me not care one bit for what happens to him.

 

On 3/15/2017 at 8:21 PM, OtterMommy said:

I had to go look that up.  That was, um, strange....and I noticed that she suggested that we better accept all this or find something else to watch:

Really?  Do they honestly all believe that they are creating such brilliance with their show, their stellar acting, and the mesmerizing never-before-seen storylines that it's their viewers who have the sticks up their collective arses for not buying into it all hook, line and sinker?  Wow, that smacks of some really enormous egos at work.  Or a cult.  

 

On 3/15/2017 at 8:55 PM, CleoCaesar said:

Man these writers and actors are sounding more insufferably pretentious and ridiculous with each new interview. It seems that all of them have their heads up their own asses and they genuinely think they're creating Timeless Art, as opposed to a schmaltzy, by-the-numbers, manipulative nighttime soap opera. This is the TV equivalent of a Nicholas Sparks novel/movie.

++++++++++++++++++1.

They'd better be careful and work on honing their crafts, rather than tell their viewers that you need to be a blubbering mess of snot at the end of every episode or you're just WRONG and we don't need your stupid viewership anyway.  I feel like they are alienating those of us who gave it a chance but the show came up short for us.  The next group they tick off might just be the loyal viewers who are getting tired at being told how to feel. 

[potatoradio]

29 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

They'd better be careful and work on honing their crafts, rather than tell their viewers that you need to be a blubbering mess of snot at the end of every episode or you're just WRONG and we don't need your stupid viewership anyway

This just makes me feel even more like we're in 1984-Orwell-world, except that instead of 2 Minutes Hate, we have to collectively gather and have 1 Hour Cry. If you don't emerge from the Cry with a full face-coating of snot, you will be taken to the Ministry of Feels where you will be rehabbed. You will have your head stuffed into a Kleenex box and Mandy Moore will sing to you and Kate will pout at you and Beth will "call emotion" on you...until you emerge with only one question that consumes your heart: "Can I forgive Jack?" 

Oh, the existential pain...

[laurakaye]

8 minutes ago, potatoradio said:

This just makes me feel even more like we're in 1984-Orwell-world, except that instead of 2 Minutes Hate, we have to collectively gather and have 1 Hour Cry. If you don't emerge from the Cry with a full face-coating of snot, you will be taken to the Ministry of Feels where you will be rehabbed. You will have your head stuffed into a Kleenex box and Mandy Moore will sing to you and Kate will pout at you and Beth will "call emotion" on you...until you emerge with only one question that consumes your heart: "Can I forgive Jack?" 

Oh, the existential pain...

Holy crap, I don't know whether to LMAO or hide in terror!

EDIT: can Mandy sing "Candy" to me?  I always did think that was a kick-ass song.

Edited March 16, 2017 by laurakaye

[ChromaKelly]

14 hours ago, kieyra said:

I've been saying for a while now that the show felt like they were making stuff up as they went, even on a week to week basis, and that was why they kept everything so vague. 

They basically redid the "Lost" model as a nighttime soap, with Jack's death as the big suspense-builder, and now they have to retroactively figure out what the smoke monster was. 

(Maybe Jack was killed by a polar bear ...)

Funny you should say that. My husband also said this is like Lost but a schmaltzy version. Instead of what's in the hatch it's who's got cancer or how did Jack die.

UO - I don't find Jack attractive at all. I find his voice really annoying too. 

[luna1122]

13 minutes ago, ChromaKelly said:

 

UO - I don't find Jack attractive at all. I find his voice really annoying too. 

I never found milo attractive either--well, I mean objectively I could see he met the standard requirements to be considered generally attractive by most--but he never 'did anything' for me personally and I often outright didn't like him. For some reason, tho, I do find him extremely attractive as jack, even tho I don't care all that damn much about jack. And that's all despite the pornstache and slicked back hair. And part of the appeal for me IS his voice, which reminds me of Keanu Reeves', even tho I have never cared for Keanu Reeves. So--it's basically all inexplicable. 

[Guest]

I like the dark and shaggy look and his lovely build but something about the Sly Stallone-like thing kinda bugs me.  I know MV is probably Italian, too, and they both have the odd mouth thing, but I feel like Milo kind of lays on those two things a little thick in some scenes and it feels a little phony.  Or it did at times in the ep to me, anyway.

Edited March 16, 2017 by Guest

[JudyObscure]

15 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

That was, um, strange....and I noticed that she suggested that we better accept all this or find something else to watch:

I'm probably going to take Mandy's suggestion and  find something else to watch.  I'm just sorry that she's going to think it's because I couldn't forgive Jack. 

[ChromaKelly]

13 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I like the dark and shaggy look and his lovely build but something about the Sly Stallone-like thing kinda bugs me.  I know MV is probably Italian, too, and they both have the odd mouth thing, but I feel like Milo kind of lays on those two things a little thick in some scenes and it feels a little phony.  Or it did at times in the ep to me, anyway.

Yes, he does remind me of Stallone. I also felt like this episode, particularly in the flashbacks, he was laying it on thick. Like this whole lovable lunkhead working-class guy. Then contrasting him with boring Ethan - omg he works in finance! He works in an office! How dull! Not nearly as exciting as gonna-rob-a-bar, fixing-old-lady-cars Jack! (Ok, I can't get passed the almost-robbery...)

[Guest]

Exactly!  

[OtterMommy]

16 hours ago, kieyra said:

I've been saying for a while now that the show felt like they were making stuff up as they went, even on a week to week basis, and that was why they kept everything so vague. 

They basically redid the "Lost" model as a nighttime soap, with Jack's death as the big suspense-builder, and now they have to retroactively figure out what the smoke monster was. 

(Maybe Jack was killed by a polar bear ...)

You know, when this show started, one of the reasons I really liked it is because it felt like the writers had their act together.  No, we didn't know how Jack died, but I knew (or thought I knew) that the writers knew what happened to him.

Well, mark that down as another crumbling facade.  

It's frustrating because that is really one of my biggest complaints about TV shows--and this was not the show I thought would be guilty of it. 

Oh well, my bad.

[Optimist48]

6 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

You know, when this show started, one of the reasons I really liked it is because it felt like the writers had their act together.  No, we didn't know how Jack died, but I knew (or thought I knew) that the writers knew what happened to him.

Well, mark that down as another crumbling facade.  

It's frustrating because that is really one of my biggest complaints about TV shows--and this was not the show I thought would be guilty of it. 

Oh well, my bad.

The main actors have stated for several months that Fogelman has all told them the circumstances of Jack's death.  They don't know all of the pieces along the way, but they know the basics.  

One may disagree with the speed at which they are disclosing this story, but I don't see any evidence that the creators have had to change the original story. 

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, Optimist48 said:

The main actors have stated for several months that Fogelman has all told them the circumstances of Jack's death.  They don't know all of the pieces along the way, but they know the basics.  

One may disagree with the speed at which they are disclosing this story, but I don't see any evidence that the creators have had to change the original story. 

You're right..I have no evidence that they (the writers) have changed their mind.  But I do have that feeling, which I did not used to have watching this show, that things are rudderless and that they are sort of scrambling.  This episode was the worst for me in this regard, which was surprising because the previous 2 episodes were much stronger and, normally, shows save their best for the season finales.

It's because of that "rudderless" feeling that keeps nagging me (and getting stronger) that I am suspecting that they are either trying to change things or, possibly, that they never had a clear destination to begin with.

[kieyra]

17 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

You're right..I have no evidence that they (the writers) have changed their mind.  But I do have that feeling, which I did not used to have watching this show, that things are rudderless and that they are sort of scrambling.  This episode was the worst for me in this regard, which was surprising because the previous 2 episodes were much stronger and, normally, shows save their best for the season finales.

It's because of that "rudderless" feeling that keeps nagging me (and getting stronger) that I am suspecting that they are either trying to change things or, possibly, that they never had a clear destination to begin with.

This moment happened for me with the "William is bi" reveal. Hastily introduced, and swept under the rug almost as quickly.

[SlackerInc]

On 3/15/2017 at 10:07 AM, ProudMary said:

I'm tired of the fact that the how and when of Jack's death has become the overriding story arc for the entire show.

Yes, and I'm utterly at a loss to understand how this became so predominant.  The show had huge ratings before it was even revealed that Jack did die at all!

On 3/15/2017 at 8:47 PM, ShadowFacts said:

For sure.  And so much more gracious.  The "you are going to be destroyed" line I don't get.  Seeing someone in a drunken bar fight, and then a spousal knock-down-drag-out verbal fight isn't going to reach that level.  Seeing Jack almost commit robbery also didn't destroy me, it struck me as loopy. 

 

17 hours ago, ChromaKelly said:

Yes, he does remind me of Stallone. I also felt like this episode, particularly in the flashbacks, he was laying it on thick. Like this whole lovable lunkhead working-class guy. Then contrasting him with boring Ethan - omg he works in finance! He works in an office! How dull! Not nearly as exciting as gonna-rob-a-bar, fixing-old-lady-cars Jack! (Ok, I can't get passed the almost-robbery...)

This may seem nitpicky, but it's a pet peeve because I've been seeing this word misused so much around this episode: what Jack was contemplating doing was theft, not robbery.  To be robbery, he would have had to use force, threats, intimidation, or some other kind of coercion.  To grab a bunch of bills out of a cash register when the bartender isn't looking is not robbery.

[ShadowFacts]

Yeah.  Jack planning to rob a bartender is just easier to say than planning to thieve, planning larceny,  etc.  He wasn't planning to use force, he might have thought he had an invisibility cloak, he might not have expected goons to appear out of nowhere like they did last time, so simple sleight of hand was what he had in mind.  Still a serious crime and messing with wise guys.   Now that I'm thinking of it, he was an ass to involve his friend Daryl in a serious crime.  You know, we've seen it lots of times on t.v., the scheme doesn't go as planned, the bartender resists, falls to the floor, hits his head and now it's felony murder for both of them.  Not just t.v., I know of a cousin of a friend who went to prison for 20 years just like that. 

[laurakaye]

I watched part of a video where the cast apologizes for making us cry.  I made it halfway before I turned it off.  It was very cutely produced, with the cast pretending to flub their lines, laughing at their cleverness, complimenting each other's previous acting roles, saying things like "our show was renewed for another season mere hours after the first episode premiered."  Wow - those are some mighty big inflated egos.  And I realize that part of their job is to promote the heck out of the show, but that video was over-the-top twee and inside-jokey.  If I didn't feel like crying before I saw that, I certainly don't after seeing that video.  I truly do not need the cast of the show to pretend to be sorry for making us cry when that's exactly what they are aiming for - at the expense of good writing and convincing storylines.

I honestly don't think I would have such issues with "This is Us" were it not for the sledgehammer approach to "THIS is how you will feel!  And if you don't feel JUST LIKE THIS, you are doing it WRONG!"  If the show had aired, with the catchy concept of the three siblings and a good, solid family story, I likely would've watched, decided it wasn't for me, and moved on.  It's the relentless promoting that makes me hate-watch at this point.  I guess that love it or hate it, the show is getting people to tune in.  Maybe it's all part of some grand master plan?

Edited March 17, 2017 by laurakaye

[SlackerInc]

I have never seen any of this promotion.  It does sound annoying!

[Guest]

7 hours ago, SlackerInc said:

Yes, and I'm utterly at a loss to understand how this became so predominant.  The show had huge ratings before it was even revealed that Jack did die at all!

It was at the end of episode two though where we found out that Jack was no longer married to Rebecca and #wheresjack started trending on twitter, so the huge ratings had only been 2 episodes for a heavily promoted show.  Even that though started the mystery of "Where's Jack? Is he dead? Are they divorced?" etc.  

[Literata]

On 3/15/2017 at 10:07 AM, ProudMary said:

UO:  I don't care when Jack died.  We already know, via the funeral flashback scene, that the big three were teenagers at the time of Jack's death.  Does it really matter if they were 15?  Or 16?  Or 17?  Or 18?  Is it somehow better if Jack died when they were 18 as opposed to 15?  No, of course not.  They were kids when they had to bury their father.  Heartbreaking.  That's enough for me.
I also don't have to know RIGHT NOW! how Jack died.  We know he's not alive in the present day.  That's also enough for me.
I'm tired of the fact that the how and when of Jack's death has become the overriding story arc for the entire show.  I'm much more interested in the present day life stories of the big three.  The effects of the loss of a parent in their teenage years, while huge, is not the only thing that gives shape to their lives almost two decades later.  I'm pretty sick of having that rammed down my throat.

Second UO:  During the Jack/Rebecca argument in the S1 finale, all I could think was:  Here's their Emmy submission; and I thought that in a pretty cynical way.

While I plan to watch the series again when autumn rolls around, my affection for the show is definitely diminishing.

I absolutely get this. But here's why I want to know how Jack died.

- My mom died when I was little. She had cancer. Everyone was sad. But we don't all have totally fraught relationships with one another because of it. Like we're being led to believe about Jack's character, my mom was a very good person, and she died young. But the fact that we lost a mother, while tragic and life-altering, didn't fracture our relationships with one another, our surviving parent, or our eventual stepparent.   

- Kevin and Kate obviously have HUGE issues with Rebecca. Kevin also dislikes Miguel. Something, or a chain of somethings, had to have happened to impact those primary relationships. Until we begin to understand what transpired, we can't begin to invest in the interactions between those characters.

[Katy M]

15 minutes ago, Literata said:

I absolutely get this. But here's why I want to know how Jack died.

- My mom died when I was little. She had cancer. Everyone was sad. But we don't all have totally fraught relationships with one another because of it. Like we're being led to believe about Jack's character, my mom was a very good person, and she died young. But the fact that we lost a mother, while tragic and life-altering, didn't fracture our relationships with one another, our surviving parent, or our eventual stepparent.   

- Kevin and Kate obviously have HUGE issues with Rebecca. Kevin also dislikes Miguel. Something, or a chain of somethings, had to have happened to impact those primary relationships. Until we begin to understand what transpired, we can't begin to invest in the interactions between those characters.

Kate's issues with Rebecca go back before Jack's death. And lots of people have issues with their stepparent. 

My ex-boyfriend's mother died of cancer and his father remarried about a year later.  Ex was so mad, that as of 3 years later he had cut off all contact with his father and absolutely hated his father's new wife who he didn't even really know.  None of that had antying to do with the manner in which his mother died.  And I don't think Kevin and Miguel's issues are related to Jack's death, other than the fact that he did die and his mother remarried. 

[Literata]

15 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I don't think Kevin and Miguel's issues are related to Jack's death, other than the fact that he did die and his mother remarried. 

It remains to be seen, I guess. And it's typical for moms and daughters to clash ... but if, as Kate says, she feels responsible for Jack's death, that no doubt added an extra layer to the uneasiness of the relationship. It's also telling that prior to Randall's learning that Rebecca had kept William from him, he didn't seem to harbor the same degree of resentment toward her. Yeah, he was her favorite. But I still maintain there's more to it, and whatever that is has to do with the months or years immediately leading up to Jack's death. 

[CleoCaesar]

8 hours ago, SlackerInc said:

This may seem nitpicky, but it's a pet peeve because I've been seeing this word misused so much around this episode: what Jack was contemplating doing was theft, not robbery.  To be robbery, he would have had to use force, threats, intimidation, or some other kind of coercion.  To grab a bunch of bills out of a cash register when the bartender isn't looking is not robbery.

THANK you. This was low-key bugging me too. Same goes for when (on Gilmore Girls) everyone kept saying Rory "stole" a yacht. Theft is taking without permission or legal right and without intending to return it. What Rory and Logan did was called "joyriding", not theft. It's a lesser criminal charge. You're right, on This Is Us Jack intended to take some money without permission or intention of returning it - that's theft, not robbery. Legal terms get muddled up with informal language.

[jhlipton]

I think the reason people are calling "robbery" here is because that's what Jack called it.  To him, the two are probably synonyms, so it fits.  Then the word gets etched into our brain, so we use it too.

[ChromaKelly]

2 hours ago, CleoCaesar said:

THANK you. This was low-key bugging me too. Same goes for when (on Gilmore Girls) everyone kept saying Rory "stole" a yacht. Theft is taking without permission or legal right and without intending to return it. What Rory and Logan did was called "joyriding", not theft. It's a lesser criminal charge. You're right, on This Is Us Jack intended to take some money without permission or intention of returning it - that's theft, not robbery. Legal terms get muddled up with informal language.

OK, sheesh. He was planning on stealing then. It's not as forceful as robbery but still wrong and still very WTF. I have money problems so I'll go steal money after trying to win at a back-alley poker game didn't work.

[KnoxForPres]

8 hours ago, laurakaye said:

I watched part of a video where the cast apologizes for making us cry.  I made it halfway before I turned it off.  It was very cutely produced, with the cast pretending to flub their lines, laughing at their cleverness, complimenting each other's previous acting roles, saying things like "our show was renewed for another season mere hours after the first episode premiered."  Wow - those are some mighty big inflated egos.  And I realize that part of their job is to promote the heck out of the show, but that video was over-the-top twee and inside-jokey.  If I didn't feel like crying before I saw that, I certainly don't after seeing that video.  I truly do not need the cast of the show to pretend to be sorry for making us cry when that's exactly what they are aiming for - at the expense of good writing and convincing storylines.

I honestly don't think I would have such issues with "This is Us" were it not for the sledgehammer approach to "THIS is how you will feel!  And if you don't feel JUST LIKE THIS, you are doing it WRONG!"  If the show had aired, with the catchy concept of the three siblings and a good, solid family story, I likely would've watched, decided it wasn't for me, and moved on.  It's the relentless promoting that makes me hate-watch at this point.  I guess that love it or hate it, the show is getting people to tune in.  Maybe it's all part of some grand master plan?

No shit- there's a video out there where they apologize for making us cry. Wow.  

Remember the quasi recent Amazon commercial where the parents got the dog a lion mask so the baby wasn't scared of the dog?  I cried. Everyone in that commercial (including the pup and tyke) played that so well.

 If TIU peeps had done it they would have had the mother sobbing in relief, the baby using sign language  of "I love you" to the dog and the Dad facing the camera saying "this was a hard transition but we did it (fights tears). We did it". And I would have hated the commercial. 

Meaning viewers absolutely can be moved by major and minor things. They lack the awareness of how to pull it off.  They think long (and lame as hell) speeches of main cast with quick cuts to flashbacks or forwards is enough where we will dissolve into tears and be gutted and shattered. Give me a fucking break. 

I bring not only UO but good news, my friends. My two kool-aid drinking co workers both felt let down by the finale in a myriad of ways. Internally it gave me joy but also made me know that this show isn't teflon and even the "omg how many Kleenex" types have their limits. There is hope!  I will now dramatically march through my town a la Les Mis style to capture my subtlety of joy.

[HeyThere83]

10 hours ago, laurakaye said:

I watched part of a video where the cast apologizes for making us cry.  I made it halfway before I turned it off.  It was very cutely produced, with the cast pretending to flub their lines, laughing at their cleverness, complimenting each other's previous acting roles, saying things like "our show was renewed for another season mere hours after the first episode premiered."  Wow - those are some mighty big inflated egos.  And I realize that part of their job is to promote the heck out of the show, but that video was over-the-top twee and inside-jokey.  If I didn't feel like crying before I saw that, I certainly don't after seeing that video.  I truly do not need the cast of the show to pretend to be sorry for making us cry when that's exactly what they are aiming for - at the expense of good writing and convincing storylines.

I honestly don't think I would have such issues with "This is Us" were it not for the sledgehammer approach to "THIS is how you will feel!  And if you don't feel JUST LIKE THIS, you are doing it WRONG!"  If the show had aired, with the catchy concept of the three siblings and a good, solid family story, I likely would've watched, decided it wasn't for me, and moved on.  It's the relentless promoting that makes me hate-watch at this point.  I guess that love it or hate it, the show is getting people to tune in.  Maybe it's all part of some grand master plan?

So much this. I can't stand the back and forth twitter party during each episode airing with the constant complimenting of all their brilliant performances. Over the dang top.

[methodwriter85]

I don't think Rebecca is a bitch for ditching her gig right before they started. I'm sorry if this screwed over the band, but it's all on Ben for putting her in the situation in the first place, and what was Rebecca supposed to do? "Oh, Jack, I know you're upset and drunk and they're kicking you out of the bar, but do you mind just sitting in the car and taking a nap to sleep it off while I finish my first and only gig? Meanwhile, I'll just sing and smile flirtatiously at my bandmate who wants to bang me." Maybe a better person could have, but I don't think she was wrong to walk away right there.

Edited March 18, 2017 by methodwriter85

[luna1122]

I don't think she was wrong to leave, and I also don't think she would have been wrong to stay. I don't think yours is an unpopular opinion. More posters seemed appalled by the idea that she'd finish the gig or the tour after she got hit on. I think that would have been no big deal either. But I also think she left more because jack was being a drunken asshole than anything. 

Also an UO, probably: I don't really think Ben is a skeeve. Hitting on married people isn't admirable and cheating sucks, but he apparently had feelings for Rebecca and he took a shot. He stopped when she shut him down. If he was one of our protagonists, instead of the enemy of perfect jack, some would cheer him on for fighting for love. 

I love that lion-dog commercial. Yes, it has a subtlety this show has no acquaintanceship with. 

All the over hyping and smugness about making America cry is annoying, but I don't actually want the show to suddenly nosedive and fail, either. I like most of the cast, I don't want them to crash n burn. I just want the writers to do better. 

[kieyra]

I don't expect a big crash and burn, but I also expect it to follow an "Empire"-like trajectory of hype. Meaning I expect the hype train the slow considerably about midway into season 2. 

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, luna1122 said:

All the over hyping and smugness about making America cry is annoying, but I don't actually want the show to suddenly nosedive and fail, either. I like most of the cast, I don't want them to crash n burn. I just want the writers to do better. 

I want the writers to step back and maybe listen to a bit of the criticism of the show and then tighten their game.  I think TIU is a good show, but not a great one (despite what we are told to believe).  I do, however, believe that it could be a great deal better than it is.

I also want them to stop making the "We are going to destroy you" and "You are going to sob your eyes out" talk.  If the show needs the writers and actors to say things like this, someone isn't doing the job they should be doing.

[Trooper York]

Here's an unpopular opinion. 

Jack should have told Rebecca if she went on tour with her ex she should stay on tour. She should stay home and live  in the real world and get a real job because they have three college tuitions coming up. 

She could stay home and work on their marriage. Or she could go on the road and work on her career!

Edited March 18, 2017 by Trooper York

[SlackerInc]

9 hours ago, jhlipton said:

I think the reason people are calling "robbery" here is because that's what Jack called it.  To him, the two are probably synonyms, so it fits.  Then the word gets etched into our brain, so we use it too.

He did?  When?  Can you describe when this was (ideally a time stamp)?

9 hours ago, ChromaKelly said:

OK, sheesh. He was planning on stealing then. It's not as forceful as robbery but still wrong and still very WTF. I have money problems so I'll go steal money after trying to win at a back-alley poker game didn't work.

Yes, it's still wrong but words mean what they mean.  This is especially important regarding legal terms.  And if younger people grow up reading people using them incorrectly, they will not learn the distinctions properly.

Also, I think a lot of people missed that Jack wasn't just randomly stealing from a bar.  It was a bar owned by Ray, the mafioso who sent his goons to beat them and take their money in the alley after the card game.  So he was getting their money back from Ray.  Still a crime, but morally it's far short of "robbing" a random bar.