S01.E08: Pilgrim Rick

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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As Jack, Rebecca and the three kids make their way to Rebecca's parents' house for their traditional Thanksgiving holiday, an unforeseen detour occurs. Kate makes two drastic life-changing decisions. Kevin brings Olivia to Randall's house for Thanksgiving. Randall's heart is broken when he learns about a lifelong secret his mother has kept from him.

Promo:

[chocolatine]

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Kate makes two drastic life-changing decisions.

I hope one of them is to dump Toby and the other is to move to the East Coast to be closer to her brothers.

[Tiger]

Im already annoyed that Kate is spending Thanksgiving with Toby instead of her family or Jami Gertz or ANYONE ELSE!

[memememe76]

Maybe Kate can become Randall's new assistant, to replace the one who says "like" too much. I bet Kates know what Randall's job entails. 

Edited November 16, 2016 by memememe76

[Tiger]

2 hours ago, memememe76 said:

Maybe Kate can become Randall's new assistant, to replace the one who says "like" too much. I bet Kates know what Randall's job entails. 

I would much rather see Jami Gertz's apparantly very rich and successful husband poach his wife's employee to run Operations for a new division of his company in NY after hearing about and seeing how talented she is.

Especially after seeing her kickass at work in the last episode, it was painful to watch her acting feckless with Toby this week.

Edited November 17, 2016 by Tiger

[Indy]

On 11/16/2016 at 4:18 AM, chocolatine said:

I hope one of them is to dump Toby and the other is to move to the East Coast to be closer to her brothers.

QFT.  The whole gang needs to be on the same coast. I want to see Kate and Randall interact. And Toby needs to go. He needs to go far, far away.

[GodsBeloved]

Kevin brings Olivia ...

 

[Big Mother]

Is the life altering change to go for bariatric surgery? That would be the best....

[CleoCaesar]

Did anything happen in this episode? It all felt like filler, leading up to an explosive Thanksgiving dinner conversation. Which turned out to be tacked on the last 4 minutes of the episode.

[Primetimer]

And we might as well be thankful for it.

View the full article

[Valny]

I loved Pilgrim Jack. He was awesome.

Ruh roh! Mom gets busted. That was a rough ending. Poor Randall. But if it was me, I wouldn't have confronted her in front of the family, would have done it in private.... because I don't like scenes.

Liked the hat tie in.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Valny

[Jx223]

I thought that the way that Randall found out about Rebecca's/William's secret was more unexpected than Beth spilling the beans like I thought she might. I can understand why he's upset about the secret. But I hope he will forgive Rebecca and understand her motivation behind keeping it.

Kevin doesn't seem to like Miguel much and was rude to him in tonight's episode. But I am glad he let Miguel be Pilgrim Rick for the girls. I also liked seeing him and Rebecca interact. She was touched when he let Miguel be Pilgrim Rick.

I am interested in seeing where this storyline of Kate deciding to pursue surgery goes. But (unknown to her) she decided to announce it at a dramatic time and I think that is one reason why her family looked the way they did at the end after she made her announcement.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Jx223

[J0nas3]

Poor Kate. Big decision, big announcement, everybody's thinking of something else.

 

(I didn't want Miguel to get the hat. Shut up, Miguel.)

[mtlchick]

So can we start etching Sterling's name into another Emmy or give it a few more weeks just to be sure?  DAMN, he is so good in this.  While I hate that was the way he had to find out the truth (and the trope to go along with it) he is killing it on this show. 

Jack was the MacGyver of Thanksgiving.  

Still not feeling Olivia, but William was right: if a guy liked that was offering me pie, I would NOT turn him..er, it down.  I mean it. I swear!

[Spartan Girl]

Jack's Pilgrim Rick was legendary.

i know we are supposed to give Miguel a chance, and while Kevin was being rude, but like the PTV story said, he doesn't have to try to horn in on the traditions and pout when he doesn't get to wear the hat right away. The kids call him grandpa, so give the "older kids" some space.

Rebecca's parents sound awful. Glad she told them off at the end.

Poor Randall.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Spartan Girl

[msani19]

When did Milo (aka Jess from my Gilmore Girls days) get to be so freaking hot? I was astounded every time he was on screen! Whoa!

I will/may have actual thoughts on this episode which was quite powerful, once my primal brain has settled down #shallow

Edited November 23, 2016 by msani19

[ShadowFacts]

I could have done without the Pilgrim Rick schtick, and Olivia who is awful and doesn't fit. 

Kate's decision seems a little impulsive.  I did like her scene with Toby, and not just because she broke up with him; the actress really sold how hard that was. 

How sad was it that l'il Randall told Rebecca that's how he wanted to have Thanksgiving for the rest of his life, and henceforth it will never be the same.  At least he had a good many years of it. 

[bettername2come]

Miguel had no rights to the hat. Father-son legacy. Hell, Randall and Kevin actually agreed on taking turns with the freaking hat. They agreed on something and you got in the way of that, Miguel.

[DearEvette]

I guess Olivia's overriding personality trait is utter rudeness?  "You're the adopted one."  To Randall, um... really? And then "How does it feel to die." To Wiliam.  Seriously.  Who says that to a stranger?  She was uniformly terrible.

Poor Randall.  What a contrast from the beginning of the ep when he was so excited, dancing and happy -- to the ending when he was a crying and upset.

And Beth continues to be awesome.  What a straight shooter she is every time.

I hated that Kate only showed up at the end.  I really wanted her there earlier.  Oh well.

Dad Jack gets more perfect each episode.

Edited November 23, 2016 by DearEvette

[greekmom]

4 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

Miguel had no rights to the hat. Father-son legacy. Hell, Randall and Kevin actually agreed on taking turns with the freaking hat. They agreed on something and you got in the way of that, Miguel.

And the the pouting when Kevin did the Pilgrim Rick thing which made Kevin feel sorry for him.

Screw you Miguel. You have no rights.

[DrSpaceman73]

Well Kate's announcement surprised me.  Reinforces that she does care more about weight loss than Toby.  Her life changing moment convinced her to have surgery, not go back to him.  A wise decision. 

Not sure why the adult kids don't like Miguel, other than he is the stepdad.  Of course we don't know how long they have been together. 

It was a nice story, even though you could tell where it was going the whole time.  That would be my one complaint about this show.  It could use a bit more subtlety in its messages. 

He really is the wise old owl. 

[callmebetty]

They really setting us up to be totally gutted when Jack dies. I do not want that episode.

Otherwise ,  MVP to Chrissy and Sterling what great performances. I'm so glad we got a new episode before the holiday . 

[Jx223]

9 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

 

Not sure why the adult kids don't like Miguel, other than he is the stepdad.  Of course we don't know how long they have been together. 

 

Randall seems to be okay with Miguel. Kevin definitely has issues with him. Not sure about how Kate feels, though it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't care for him much. I had thought she might be the one that likes him the least. But maybe that is Kevin. I remember Sterling saying that some of the kids like Miguel less than others and that Randall wasn't the sibling that was the most antagonistic towards him.

I wonder how long Miguel and Rebecca have been together. Kevin's animosity towards him seems kind of "fresh" but Miguel did say "years" when he was talking about how long he had the witnessed the tradition. Maybe he got with Rebecca after the kids were well grown but has still been around long enough to have a strong bond with the grandchildren. 

Edited November 23, 2016 by Jx223

[DrSpaceman73]

2 minutes ago, Jx223 said:

Randall seems to be okay with Miguel. Kevin definitely has issues with him. Not sure about how Kate feels, though it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't care for him much. I had thought she might be the one that likes him the least. But maybe that is Kevin. I remember Sterling talking about some of the kids like Miguel less than others and that Randall wasn't the sibling that was most antagonistic towards him.

I wonder how long they have him and Rebecca have been together. Kevin's animosity seems kind of "fresh" but Miguel did say "years" when he was talking about how long he had the witnessed the tradition. Maybe he got with Rebecca after the kids were well grown but has been around long enough to have a good bond with the grandchildren.

I have been under the impression Randall is not that fond of him either.  Maybe not as bad as Kevin, but there still seems to be some tension between the two.  And he is the one that would know him best given he lives the closest to them and would see them the most. 

[photo fox]

Wow, that scene with Kate and Toby was amazing. You go, Kate! Now, move to New York so you can interact with your brothers. 

After everything last week, it was nice to see young Kevin and Randall chasing and playing. And adult Randall jumping on Kevin in bed and slapping his ass. lol

I'm hoping that it doesn't cause problems between Randall and Beth when he finds out she knew about Rebecca before him. Not that she was hiding it, but people aren't always rational when they're hurting.

I don't understand why the show is trying to make Kevin and Olivia happen. I don't mind them dating, but why make it a serious thing? "Adore" her? He barely knows her. Whatever. 

[betweenthebanter]

I'm glad that other people had issues with Miguel wanting to wear the hat. I could have had a little sympathy for Miguel if the storyline had just been him feeling left out of the Pearson's Thanksgiving traditions and him wanting to create his own tradition with the granddaughters. He had no business trying to infiltrate the tradition that Jack started, and that Kevin and Randall had already figured out the way they wanted to continue that tradition.

Isn't Miguel supposed to have his own kids?

Edited November 23, 2016 by betweenthebanter

[againstthewind]

Milo in this role continues to set my ovaries on fire. Best tv dad ever? He may challenge Coach Taylor. It's heartbreaking watching these traditions carry on when he isn't there.

Edited November 23, 2016 by againstthewind

[Court]

Miguel and Olivia can both leave. I don't think Randall is ok with Miguel. I think the holiday was making him be nicer. 

Miguel quit pouting like a baby. You don't deserve the hat. I wonder if Kate married him because she needed the financial support when Jack passed away. 

[photo fox]

1 minute ago, betweenthebanter said:

Isn't Miguel supposed to have his own kids?

I sure thought so. But given his exchange with the secretary in the last episode, maybe he had an ugly divorce and his kids chose sides.

I found it strange that he would even WANT to wear the hat. He wasn't there! 

Regarding the Jack/Rebecca/Miguel timeline, Kevin told Olivia that his mom married his "dead dad's best friend". I took from that that Jack was already dead before they got together? 

[Jx223]

10 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I have been under the impression Randall is not that fond of him either.  Maybe not as bad as Kevin, but there still seems to be some tension between the two.  And he is the one that would know him best given he lives the closest to them and would see them the most. 

I remember some people saying that they thought that Randall seemed kind of cool towards Miguel when him and Rebecca showed up at his home in an earlier episode. But I thought Randall treated him pretty decently tonight and defended him a bit from Kevin. He also put his hand on his back in one scene in a caring way when they were talking. I think that Randall might like/tolerate Miguel the most of the siblings (at least definitely more than Kevin).

Him being around him more might be why he has less animosity towards him. He probably has witnessed his relationship with Rebecca more and understand that she loves him. His kids are also close with Miguel. I could see Miguel getting with Rebecca making Randall uncomfortable at first, but I think ultimately he is okay with it. I am interested in seeing how Kate treats Miguel and see how her treatment of him compares to how her brothers have treated him.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Jx223

[Court]

Just now, photo fox said:

I sure thought so. But given his exchange with the secretary in the last episode, maybe he had an ugly divorce and his kids chose sides.

I found it strange that he would even WANT to wear the hat. He wasn't there! 

Regarding the Jack/Rebecca/Miguel timeline, Kevin told Olivia that his mom married his "dead dad's best friend". I took from that that Jack was already dead before they got together? 

Or that's just what Kevin knows. Perhaps they were having an affair before. With all these twists, who knows.

[random chance]

26 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

How sad was it that l'il Randall told Rebecca that's how he wanted to have Thanksgiving for the rest of his life, and henceforth it will never be the same.  At least he had a good many years of it. 

True, now it's always going to be the holiday where he learned his mom betrayed him, even if he forgives her. P.S. never choose a holiday as your wedding date, this has been a public service announcement.

[voiceover]

I'm always charmed when the "stuffy" one gets giddy, e.g., Randall all sparky & bubbly on Thanksgiving morning.

[willco]

Olivia is hot, maybe that's why they are writing Kevin that way, let's be honest the guy isn't the most mature person around ( and also impulsive, based on the way he quit his show.) I kind of like Olivia, but if I was a British person watching the show, I think I'd be offended. Just because you're British, doesn't mean you act that way.

I hate the "Say what you are thankful for" stuff at Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for many things, but I hate being put on the spot in a room full of people. If I want to say it, I will, but don't expect me to announce it to the whole room. I'm probably alone in that, though.

[possibilities]

6 minutes ago, photo fox said:

Kevin told Olivia that his mom married his "dead dad's best friend". I took from that that Jack was already dead before they got together? 

And also that Miguel and Jack were still friends when Jack died.
 

3 minutes ago, willco said:

I hate the "Say what you are thankful for" stuff at Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for many things, but I hate being put on the spot in a room full of people. If I want to say it, I will, but don't expect me to announce it to the whole room. I'm probably alone in that, though.

You are definitely not the only one.

I didn't understand why they couldn't just change the tire. Do they not have a spare on hand? Or was the car wrecked also, not just the tire?

[DearEvette]

Also, young Kevin once again brings the best quote.  "We get it dad, we can call him Al."  after listening to Graceland for hours.  Ha!

[msani19]

7 minutes ago, random chance said:

P.S. never choose a holiday as your wedding date, this has been a public service announcement.

I think any holiday for an important event is a bad idea but certainly, agree for weddings. A close friend got married on Halloween and now that she is no longer married, it's not such a fun holiday anymore. 

[Jx223]

16 minutes ago, photo fox said:

I sure thought so. But given his exchange with the secretary in the last episode, maybe he had an ugly divorce and his kids chose sides.

I found it strange that he would even WANT to wear the hat. He wasn't there! 

Regarding the Jack/Rebecca/Miguel timeline, Kevin told Olivia that his mom married his "dead dad's best friend". I took from that that Jack was already dead before they got together? 

He mentioned how he wanted to wear the hat for Tess/Annie. I think he just wanted to wear the hat to entertain and bond with them some more. He may be the only grandfather they've ever really known(prior to William showing up) They never knew Jack and they may have never known Beth's deceased father as well. I think they are really close to Miguel and that he just wanted to have some fun with them.

Also, I think that Rebecca/Miguel may have gotten together after Jack died and the kids became grown. I don't think anything was going on between them when Jack was still alive.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Jx223

[Arcadiasw]

Did Kate invite Toby or did Toby invite himself to Thanksgiving? He does have a tendency to invite himself to things. Guess it doesn’t matter since he didn’t go but I don’t think he’s out of Kate’s life no matter how it looked. I hope Kate doesn’t go through the gastric bypass or at the least really think about it first. I don’t think that’s a decision to make after a near death experience on a plane.

Why didn’t William go with Randall? I know he’s ill but he could’ve rode in the car with William. We can’t say Rebecca didn’t try to talk to Randall but I don’t agree with Beth forcing Rebecca to tell Randall on Thanksgiving.

Rebecca’s mother sounds like a piece of work. Olivia IS a piece of work. If I’m alone and someone invites me to spend time with their family on Thanksgiving, there’s no way I would be rude. Not feeling Olivia and Kevin as a couple at all.

Miguel can take his poutiness and spend time with his own kids on Thanksgiving. He already has his best friend’s wife. He has to shoehorn in a tradition his best friend created with his kids, too?

[Dejana]

12 minutes ago, willco said:

Olivia is hot, maybe that's why they are writing Kevin that way, let's be honest the guy isn't the most mature person around ( and also impulsive, based on the way he quit his show.) I kind of like Olivia, but if I was a British person watching the show, I think I'd be offended. Just because you're British, doesn't mean you act that way.

I hate the "Say what you are thankful for" stuff at Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for many things, but I hate being put on the spot in a room full of people. If I want to say it, I will, but don't expect me to announce it to the whole room. I'm probably alone in that, though.

If Olivia is British why does she have childhood Thanksgiving traditions? Did I miss that she has an American/Canadian parent or grew up somewhere where it's a big holiday?

Olivia and Toby should get together, neither seems to have any boundaries.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Dejana

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I just realized that when Kate said that she had bought two plane tickets, she may have been referring to Toby's unused ticket.  Otherwise, she was not planning to sit next to him.  I hope she offered to reimburse him for the cancelled ticket!

1 minute ago, Dejana said:

If Olivia is British why does she have childhood Thanksgiving traditions? Did I miss that she has an American/Canadian parent or grew up somewhere where it's a big holiday?

I believe she said that her mother was American.

[Dejana]

1 minute ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I believe she said that her mother was American.

Didn't hear that about Olivia's mother, thanks for the info!

The show has a lot of work to do, to show me why Rebecca was ever won over by Miguel.

[wilnil]

15 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I didn't understand why they couldn't just change the tire. Do they not have a spare on hand? Or was the car wrecked also, not just the tire?

The whole wheel looked bent where the tire blew out. I think the rim was bent at a minimum.

13 minutes ago, Arcadiasw said:

Why didn’t William go with Randall? I know he’s ill but he could’ve rode in the car with William.

My read on that was that he wanted to surprise William (plus William probably would've protested that it wasn't necessary).

[Clawdette]

In an interview Chrissy Metz said she was required to lose weight in her show contract since Kate will be losing weight. She didn't mention anything about what method she (Chrissy) was planning to use. 

[OptimisticCynic]

Quote

Miguel and Olivia can both leave. I don't think Randall is ok with Miguel. I think the holiday was making him be nicer. 

It's becoming obvious to me that this show is not the greatest when writing love interests. I don't care for Toby or Olivia and really want them to disappear, though I get the feeling the show really wants me invested in them. I also don't give a fig about Miguel.

I adore Beth though.

[voiceover]

31 minutes ago, willco said:

 I kind of like Olivia, but if I was a British person watching the show, I think I'd be offended. Just because you're British, doesn't mean you act that way.

 

Eh.  I can handwave it. Partly because I've seen how Americans are depicted on British TV -- either a tree-hugging granola-eating bore or a Frankenstein redneck made up of the worst parts of every Southern stereotype known.

And with the Brits? cheerful wise Cockney or stick-up-the-ass second cousin to a Royal.

[againstthewind]

I love the trajectory of watching Jack's dad skills improve so exponentially since early on we saw that he was "bringing their score down".

[Randomosity]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

I guess Olivia's overriding personality trait is utter rudeness?  "You're the adopted one."  To Randall, um... really?

Not that she couldn't be nicer in general, but I read that line as deadpan humor, not rudeness.

27 minutes ago, Arcadiasw said:

I hope Kate doesn’t go through the gastric bypass or at the least really think about it first. I don’t think that’s a decision to make after a near death experience on a plane.

But she was clearly already pondering it after group therapy lady said she lost 30 lbs that way. I knew that's where this was going as soon as they showed Kate eyeing the woman as she told her story.

25 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I just realized that when Kate said that she had bought two plane tickets, she may have been referring to Toby's unused ticket.  Otherwise, she was not planning to sit next to him.  I hope she offered to reimburse him for the cancelled ticket!

I didn't read this as it being Toby's seat. I feel like someone Kate's size would be a candidate for voluntarily purchasing two seats for herself to make it easier on all involved. Which could mean she bought the tickets after ditching Toby. Which would be hard to do for a last-minute turkey day flight? Who knows. TV...  But consider how tight the seating would have been with Toby and Kate, each in a single seat. That's pushing space limits, and I say that as an overweight (and tall!) person myself, so I'm sympathetic with the plight of those who don't fit in airline seats very well. But I would not want to be in the third seat with the two of them next to me.

11 minutes ago, Clawdette said:

In an interview Chrissy Metz said she was required to lose weight in her show contract since Kate will be losing weight. She didn't mention anything about what method she (Chrissy) was planning to use. 

Yikes. Talk about a hard job expectation to live up to. I hope it works out well.

[Richness]

Damn this show. Actually, no. Bless this show.

When Pilgrim Rick 2.0 showed up, I was laughing and cringing in second hand embarrassment. By the time they got to Thanksgiving hotdogs, there were tears mixed in. And I'm kicking myself for thinking about trying Thanksgiving hotdogs, as I really don't like hotdogs and don't think that sounded the least bit tasty. Yes, I'm that susceptible to their emotional manipulations.

Loved how Chekov's gun/3.4 mile hike tied into it as well. Yes, bless this show.

[Lady Calypso]

I really bought Kate's devastation when she broke up with Toby. I felt for both of them because they both knew it wasn't what they wanted, but Kate knew it was the only thing she could do. I have been warming up to Toby and I assume he'll be back in her life soon enough. I do get the sense that he'll be sticking around throughout the series. It's fine because he's more tolerable than Olivia. Speaking of her....

Olivia is such a miserable person. Every time she speaks, I find it hard to listen to her. She's so bitter and mean. I really don't get why Kevin likes Olivia. I wouldn't be able to stand being around someone like that in real life, but now I have to suffer her possibly sticking around all season to be Kevin's love interest. There may be plenty of people like her in real life, and I've known a couple of them, but I doubt I can tolerate her on this show for very long. Hopefully she disappears after this season.

Randall's excitement over Thanksgiving was great and so infectious. All those traditions he thrusted upon his family really was parallel to Jack's want to create their own Thanksgiving traditions. How Randall found out about his mom and William was rough. I speculated that Rebecca kept in contact with William over the years, but through an unintentional letter and pictures? How long did it go on for? It went on for at least the first eight years of Randall's life. 

I do think that Randall is not fond of Miguel and may not even like him any more than Kevin does. But because he's so close with Rebecca and especially this episode with Kevin taking over the hostility, he might just be trying to be nice and put up a front. I can't forget his passive aggressive behaviour toward Miguel in his first episode.  

I do get the sense that something more than Miguel's marriage to Rebecca is behind the reason for the brothers not liking Miguel. At least, that's the hope. Because I assume they've been married for a few years now, and Kevin/Randall can't still be this bitter over them. Maybe they can, but I think there has to be more. 

Miguel, in the meantime, can go off with Olivia...preferably off a cliff. Ok, that's mean. Just off of my screen. He's really rubbing me the wrong way. He may be trying to be friendly with the family and be part of it, and I assume none of them have really made him feel welcome, but he's too pushy and too pouty. "Wahh, I want to wear the hat this year." What are you, 12? He sounded like a boy on the verge of a crying fit. No, fuck off with your entitled ass thinking that you should wear the hat because you're Rebecca's husband. This isn't your tradition; Kevin and Randall get to choose who wears the goddamn hat.  

What did Rebecca see in him when they first got together? What does she see in him now? Is the sex between them really that good? Ok, I'm done with the comments. Really. Well, for now. I think I'll be bitter until they reveal how Miguel/Rebecca got together. I don't think they had an affair together, but I do think the story isn't as simple as "Miguel/Rebecca fell for each other way after Jack's death". Miguel hasn't been a good guy in any way to me. 

Now looking at the flashbacks, Rebecca's family are pieces of work. I'm starting to understand why Rebecca is so overprotective of Randall. And I am going to be gutted when Jack dies. I don't know if I'll be able to get through that episode when it comes. So, thanks show. Thanks for that.