S01.E16: Memphis

[mojoween]

Randall's birth mom is a stone cold fox. 

And is the baby who played Baby William the most adorable little punkin ever or what?

[Enigma X]

I just finished watching. You all warned me. I am crying such a big ugly snot cry that my head hurts.

William "meeting" Jack was awesome. Cousin Ricky was nice too. He has had the best aging makeup job of all the actors thus far. So William and his mother had cancer? That is said.

Beth and Randall truly are adorable. 

Sterling and Ron Cephas Jones were wonderful.

I thought I was ready to type, but it is too soon. 

[theatremouse]

I cried twice during this, but I felt manipulated into it rather than it having been earned. I didn't feel especially moved. But the pieces were there enough that I couldn't help crying and then was annoyed that I did. I do, however, love the Peabody. Went as a child. Too bad he didn't make it to it but was amused by William's excitement over it.

That they zoomed past the fallout of Randall's breakdown makes me wonder if these writers are all build-up and reveal, but not actually willing/capable of delving into what these big reveals ought to entail. Just zoom to the next thing. Even though I did appreciate SBK's delivery of the list of synonyms.

[whoknowswho]

34 minutes ago, tarheel220 said:

My first post on here. Just watched the episode and at the end, all I could think was he sent Randall the ducks! I was a sobbing mess.

This. So. correct. 

I raise chickens, geese, and ducks.  Birds and death are often close together--he sent Randall the ducks--they turned and looked at the car and it absolutely destroyed me. In my life--I learned of my father's death from a bird, so...this scene lambasted me.  

[Tiger]

11 hours ago, Biggie B said:

Thank you! Done! Listening now...

The cousin actor could certainly teach Mandy something about singing on television.

I am very dissapointed we didnt get a final even breif scene with William & Beth. That relationship earned a sendoff.

That said, thank god we didnt get some wacky-hijinks B-plot that so many other shows often due in episodes like this seemingly out of fear of ticking off certain actors and/or certain characters' fans.  Even halfway thru, I was worried we were going to get some random story with airtime-hog Toby.

[tarheel220]

24 minutes ago, whoknowswho said:

This. So. correct. 

I raise chickens, geese, and ducks.  Birds and death are often close together--he sent Randall the ducks--they turned and looked at the car and it absolutely destroyed me. In my life--I learned of my father's death from a bird, so...this scene lambasted me.  

Yes! I forgot about them looking at the car! That whole scene just got me.

[chocolatine]

3 hours ago, Crs97 said:

I thought when we first met him, Jesse said that he wanted to be with William for whatever time was left.  William said he didn't want Jesse to see him die, and Jesse was mad that he was making the decision for Jesse.  Not having him there bothered me.

As hurtful as it must have been for Jesse, it was William's choice who should be by his side when he dies.

[sara416]

People talk about this show making them cry all the time. I've been choked up a few times, maybe tears in the corner of my eyes, but this was a completely different level. This was Steel Magnolias level ugly cry. 

Just give Sterling K. Brown all the Emmys. All of them. 

I love Memphis, it is one of my favorite cities, and the music in this episode was just spot on. I want to go see that fictional band, because they were a great blues band. And now I'm craving BBQ. But I can't eat it because I think I'm still crying. 

[MsChicklet]

I, too, knew once William said goodbye to the girls the way he did that he wasn't coming home with Randall.

The decision to make this a standalone episode was absolutely the right decision. William and Randall needed to be the focus, no distractions, for the trip and William's end to unfold with the full emotional impact. Oh, and what an impact. My first tears were William and the girls. The first sob was William talking to Jack. These two amazing men, who never met but still brought forth their amazing son into the world.

Nerdy Randall is awesome. I needed the levity of his call to Beth, his "chocolate sauce" comment, his Oprah moment and "I was raised by white people" comment with his cousins, and the robot. He and William and their family had that night, that wonderful gift. From the hospital to the ducks, I was a sodden, sobbing mess. Thankfully MrChicklet was on the computer in the other room with his headphones on.

What I love about "This is Us" is how what happened here will radiate outwards. Beth and the girls. Kevin, who bonded with William. Rebecca, who will always have to carry her guilt. And what about Jesse?

[Crs97]

42 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

 

4 hours ago, Crs97 said:

I thought when we first met him, Jesse said that he wanted to be with William for whatever time was left.  William said he didn't want Jesse to see him die, and Jesse was mad that he was making the decision for Jesse.  Not having him there bothered me.

As hurtful as it must have been for Jesse, it was William's choice who should be by his side when he dies.

 

I agree with this, but that then makes me disappointed William decided to start dating Jesse again.  Now Jesse gets to be abandoned twice by William.  Maybe William should have stayed away from the AA meeting to begin with.

[Emily Thrace]

9 hours ago, Laurie4H said:

I really liked this episode but have a few questions/comments.

What was the point of William being gay?  It wasn't explored,  they didn't show him say goodbye to his partner.  Was it just added for political reasons?

I think it was just to show that William had a life before Randall came along that was more than just a cat. I don't think politics entered into it. Which was nice actually waaay to much of the time shows deliberately "make a character gay" or use them to prove a point. It was refreshing to see this type of lowkey representation.  It was one of the more realistic storylines the show has done. I also William chose his ending and who was with him very specifically. It was mentioned that William had only been with his partner a few months I can see him wanting Randall there more. William also wanted to go home so he did. In the end those things mattered more than a partner of a few months. I do hope we see him again next week though. 

[Enigma X]

This is going to sound harsher than the spirit that it is meant in. I am glad that William admitted he did not have a good life and was afraid to die. Many shows try to place a brave face on death, especially when terminal illness is involved, and have a cliche saying by the dying that their life was good after we watch them go through shit. Whether they caused it is irrelevant.

[memememe76]

20 minutes ago, Enigma X said:

This is going to sound harsher than the spirit that it is meant in. I am glad that William admitted he did not have a good life and was afraid to die. Many shows try to place a brave face on death, especially when terminal illness is involved, and have a cliche saying by the dying that their life was good after we watch them go through shit. Whether they caused it is irrelevant.

What I find interesting about William's life is that his happiest moments are infused with loss and sadness. His relationship with his mother is linked with the loss of his father. And his relationship with his son is linked regret and knowing his time with him will be short lived. William was likely most wholly joyful while playing music with his cousin.

[Dowel Jones]

9 hours ago, AriAu said:

I would not mind a little more back story on why the "cuz" was sooooo pissed.

I thought it was because of the song he had written, and it had enjoyed such popularity.  Cousin Ricky probably thought they were going to get a recording deal and maybe some touring out of it, which fell through when William vanished.  Since he is still sitting in the club, it makes sense that it was a failed opportunity.

In reference to Randall and William's visit to William's childhood home (great analogy, by the way - look past the bricks), that reminded me of a long ago occurrence in my life.  When my father retired, we moved into town in an old Craftsman style house, circa 1920 vintage (1800 sq. ft, $15,000 in 1967).  One night the doorbell rang, and a couple who had owned the house in the 40's was there.  We certainly gave them the tour, and they pointed out all sorts of changes that had been done (but no treasures).  Then they offered us all a ride in their car, which turned out to be a 1939 Packard touring car.  After all of this, we went back inside and looked at each other with that same expression as those two folks in William's house:  What the hell?

And yeah, by the way, it was really dusty in my house too.  Randall is never going to look at the world in the same way again.  Hopefully in a kinder, softer way.  And I hope Beth gets over any guilt she had from being short with William.  It's part of life.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Dowel Jones

[Court]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.yahoo.com/amphtml/tv/this-is-us-brian-tyree-henry-interview-memphis-episode-044332813.html

Re: aging makeup on BTH (Ricky), he says he brought in a picture of his dad and the makeup people just copied that. 

[SlackerInc]

17 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Interesting perspective. To me it seemed a very logical slide into addiction. Drug addicts didn't start out being bad guys (well, maybe some of them). They started out, like everyone, with potential.

I would go further and say they don't necessarily become bad guys after they become drug addicts.  They may be perfectly nice people with a drug addiction.

15 hours ago, MelGoLightly said:

There is a NBC owned "This is Us" playlist on Spotify that adds every song featured in the episode as soon as it airs. It covers Madonna to Cat Stevens to Sam Cooke. It's excellent. 

Oh man, I would love this--but I switched from Spotify to Apple Music.  Does this exist there as well, anyone know?

14 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

There's only so long you can keep a character around who you introduced while he was dying before things start to get cheap and overly dramatic.

Cosigned.  [I'm looking at you, BSG.]

[NutMeg]

8 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I cried twice during this, but I felt manipulated into it rather than it having been earned. I didn't feel especially moved. But the pieces were there enough that I couldn't help crying and then was annoyed that I did. I do, however, love the Peabody. Went as a child. Too bad he didn't make it to it but was amused by William's excitement over it.

That they zoomed past the fallout of Randall's breakdown makes me wonder if these writers are all build-up and reveal, but not actually willing/capable of delving into what these big reveals ought to entail. Just zoom to the next thing. Even though I did appreciate SBK's delivery of the list of synonyms.

For me, it's not whether I'm being manipulated, it's whether I'm willing to let myself go and feel the emotions as intensely as I can.  And I do like letting myself experience emotions to the fullest - ugly cry and all - but I also know some shows or movies I'd better experience on my own, otherwise I feel auto-censored and I do repress the emotions which I find cathartic to release periodically - if that makes sense. 

This is us has been very helpful for cathartic release so far, especially this episode.

[Tiger]

5 hours ago, Court said:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.yahoo.com/amphtml/tv/this-is-us-brian-tyree-henry-interview-memphis-episode-044332813.html

Re: aging makeup on BTH (Ricky), he says he brought in a picture of his dad and the makeup people just copied that. 

Maybe Mandy and Jon need to show the makeup folks pictures of their respect parents?

Because there's no reason why makeup can do a great job aging a guest star, but can't do it beleivably on two regulars.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Siddhartha Kosla, Sterling K. Brown, and Ron Cephas Jones talk about the song used in this episode:

[Clanstarling]

5 hours ago, SlackerInc said:

I would go further and say they don't necessarily become bad guys after they become drug addicts.  They may be perfectly nice people with a drug addiction.

I agree. I don't personally know an addict (well, that I know of), but I have known a few alcoholics, and most were good people with a problem.

[TVForever]

I want to think that I'm exaggerating, but I really think this was the finest single hour of episodic TV I've seen in a really long time, if ever. Not one low note, and like everyone else, I cried like a baby.

It's rare to see genuine tenderness between men depicted on TV, rarer still between Black men.

Geez, this was just great to watch, and I'm firing it up again OnDemand when I'm done with work later.

Edited February 23, 2017 by TVForever

[Archery]

7 minutes ago, TVForever said:

It's rare to see genuine tenderness between men depicted on TV, rarer still between Black men.

Loved that the whole story was told through the perspectives of black people, and that, aside from Jack in the flashback, there were no white people in the episode.  That blew my mind. 

[Katy M]

5 minutes ago, Archery said:

Loved that the whole story was told through the perspectives of black people, and that, aside from Jack in the flashback, there were no white people in the episode.  That blew my mind. 

Wow, I didn't even notice that.  Were both the doctors black?

[PRgal]

4 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Wow, I didn't even notice that.  Were both the doctors black?

The psychiatrist is Asian. 

ETA:  I don't know if this was intentional, but mental health is an even bigger stigma in many Asian cultures (as in many Asians, even those born/raised in the west, seek help at a "sicker" stage than other demographics), so casting an Asian actor/writing the psychiatrist as an Asian character, to me, is a gentle "nudge-nudge" for the communities to address the issue.  Not sure if others (in the communities) would "get it," however. 

Edited February 23, 2017 by PRgal

[Archery]

My memory sees both "Dr. You Two Are Adorable" and "Dr. Your Dad's Not Leaving" as Asian, but I'm pretty sure neither was white. 

[sugarbaker design]

On 2/21/2017 at 10:18 PM, CofCinci said:

This episode clearly demonstrates that Sterling K. Brown is a completely different acting class than his two television siblings.

Oh absofuckinglutely!  They should jettison those two non-entities and change the title of the show to This is Randall and his family!

[cardigirl]

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

Oh absofuckinglutely!  They should jettison those two non-entities and change the title of the show to This is Randall and his family!

Well, I would stop watching if they did that.  I enjoy all the siblings. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 2/22/2017 at 0:47 AM, memememe76 said:

In terms of flashbacks, I would like flashbacks of when William wrote one of his poems for Randall. It would cover a part of his life we don't really know about.

They had showed "Poems for my Son" in one of the early flashback episodes; I think William showed it to Rebecca when she made her second visit.  I was actually surprised that Randall didn't come across it in the same drawer in which he found William's boyhood picture of him.

On 2/22/2017 at 9:49 AM, Clanstarling said:

On 2/22/2017 at 0:38 AM, breezy424 said:

Sorry but I didn't cry. I did like Randall and William going back to William's roots.  What bothered me was the 'jump' from Willy being this great guy and song writer going from that to a drug addict.  Yeah, his mother died and his girlfriend went from this sweet caring person to drug addict because of a neighbor of William's mom?   I get that William's mom dying was a very big deal.  It just was a really big leap for me, for both characters.

Interesting perspective. To me it seemed a very logical slide into addiction. Drug addicts didn't start out being bad guys (well, maybe some of them). They started out, like everyone, with potential.

Don't some people have the sort of biology where one try is enough to get them hooked on drugs or drinking? And he had no one to turn to after his mother's death, except Laurel, who was already addicted, as shown by her demeanor on the bus and when she entered William's mother's room before her death, so the slide into addiction was probably quite easy.

Edited February 23, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Mya Stone]

Dear Mya, 

 

You're still not over it. You're crying listening to this. 

 

Love, 

Mya 

[booboopbedoo]

Ugly cry with snot and gasping for air. Looked at Hubby and so was he.

I knew it was coming but somehow I hope some Magic and Faerie dust.

 

Great episode!

[ShadowFacts]

26 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

They had showed "Poems for my Son" in one of the early flashback episodes; I think William showed it to Rebecca when she made her second visit.  I was actually surprised that Randall didn't come across it in the same drawer in which he found William's boyhood picture of him.

By that point William had been living with them for a couple months and had been back and forth to his apartment for his cat, so he likely brought it with him in preparation for giving it to Randall when the time came.  He wouldn't want Randall to just come across it after he was gone. 

I wonder if they will pick up on a bit of an earlier thread where Randall said he was taking piano lessons and would have a recital in spring.  I remember thinking I hoped William would be able to be there for that.  It's probably a small enough detail that they won't revisit it. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 2/22/2017 at 9:55 AM, 3 is enough said:

I also wish that William's dad had been with his mom at the very end.

 

On 2/22/2017 at 10:05 AM, PamelaMaeSnap said:

Totally agree in wishing William's dad had been there in that last scene ... am actually surprised they did not go that route. I would have cried even more than I already did.

Without getting into a debate concerning the afterlife, I took that scene as more of William's expectation as he was taking his last breath; after all, he saw his mother at her peak (from his point of view), not as she actually was as he last saw her, yet his body was still old and frail, not that of a pre-addiction young man, which he would likely possess if the afterlife were consistent.  Since he never met his father, he didn't have an image of him in his mind as he was dying.  What actually happened after death, and who was waiting for him, is speculation, of course, but in addition to meeting his father, one could hope that he would see Randall's mother, as beautiful as she was when he first saw her on the bus.

On 2/22/2017 at 0:28 PM, elle said:

On 2/22/2017 at 9:39 AM, PRgal said:

This is off-topic, but what happened to Milo's arm?

He said on The Tonight Show that he had to have surgery on his arm due to a few torn tendons. 

Maybe doing those push-ups with Sterling on his back took their toll.

On 2/22/2017 at 0:28 PM, elle said:

 

On 2/22/2017 at 0:07 PM, luna1122 said:

I did find it absurd that his cousin was just sitting there in the same spot, and that they hadn't spoken in 40 years, for whatever reasons, if that's what the implication was. But weirder things happen, I suppose

He said he owned the club, so in that context it makes sense.

If he hadn't owned the bar, it would have been really silly.  William seemed kind of socially awkward when young.  I don't find it unbelievable that he wouldn't have called to say that his mother was sicker than he thought, and once she died, he got into the drugs and that was that.

On 2/22/2017 at 0:15 PM, saber5055 said:

I would think during all the time William lived in Randall's house he would have mentioned all the cousins in Memphis. If not, then that could have been part of the 16+ hour drive.

The cousins could have been Ricky's kids (and their spouses) who didn't exist when William last saw Ricky.

[Katy M]

9 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

  On ‎2‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 1:07 PM, luna1122 said:

I did find it absurd that his cousin was just sitting there in the same spot, and that they hadn't spoken in 40 years, for whatever reasons, if that's what the implication was. But weirder things happen, I suppose

You don't think Norm is still just sitting in the same spot at Cheers?

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 2/22/2017 at 4:14 PM, Biggie B said:

I think Mark Greene's death on 'ER' was the only time I actually had a tear or two run down my face and even that was largely driven by the music that played as he died. Music affects me far, far more deeply than acting. I can barely listen to certain pieces of music without gasping back the sobs.

And also the knowledge that he had so much left undone, especially with his older daughter:  "fix Rachel."

Edited February 26, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[booboopbedoo]

Quote

I did find it absurd that his cousin was just sitting there in the same spot, and that they hadn't spoken in 40 years, for whatever reasons, if that's what the implication was. But weirder things happen, I suppose

I used to run a bar and we had 4 guys that came in every day at 415pm for years. They even had name plates at the chair where they sat. Many,many folks sit in the same spot day after day after day

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 2/22/2017 at 0:08 PM, topanga said:

  On 2/21/2017 at 10:14 PM, mtlchick said:

Sterling is making me tear up in his Facebook live video (which just ended.)  He's crying along with the rest of us! https://www.facebook.com/sterlingkb1/videos/1162183470565264/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

I haven't seen this mentioned here, but Sterling's father died when he was 10.  Some of his tears on the show may come easily.

[ShadowFacts]

28 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

 

Without getting into a debate concerning the afterlife, I took that scene as more of William's expectation as he was taking his last breath; after all, he saw his mother at her peak (from his point of view), not as she actually was as he last saw her, yet his body was still old and frail, not that of a pre-addiction young man, which he would likely possess if the afterlife were consistent.  Since he never met his father, he didn't have an image of him in his mind as he was dying.  What actually happened after death, and who was waiting for him, is speculation, of course, but in addition to meeting his father, one could hope that he would see Randall's mother, as beautiful as she was when he first saw her on the bus.

I tried to take that view that you describe, but for me it would have been more clear if the camera had only shown his mother, and not him from behind.  Then it would have worked for me that his final thought was of his mother.   I would have liked that better, him seeing Randall who was telling him to breathe, and then seeing his mother's face, and then fade away.  That said, I did not hate the way they did it. 

[whoknowswho]

3 hours ago, TVForever said:

I want to think that I'm exaggerating, but I really think this was the finest single hour of episodic TV I've seen in a really long time, if ever. Not one low note, and like everyone else, I cried like a baby.

It's rare to see genuine tenderness between men depicted on TV, rarer still between Black men.

Geez, this was just great to watch, and I'm firing it up again OnDemand when I'm done with work later.

From this first moment of this show, I loved it. My husband doesn't like TV, except for Vikings--but he does not get to turn the channel to news when This is Us is on. I characterize it as this--a "SWEET" show. Sweet as in lovely, beautiful, poignant. Not full of unneeded sex, not full of hate--it's a positive and upbeat show if there ever was one. Are there problems with it? Sure, lots of them--but most of all, this show is about family, and how important it is to have family.  As one who has lost all her family, it always makes me a bit wistful because I would give so much to have another minute with my father or mother. I absolutely thought it was probably the best episode of any show that I can remember in a long, long time.  I have teared up a few times--but I was sobbing, full on bawling at 2:00 am when I knew it was William's exit.  When Randall took his face and told him to breathe, just breathe.  And then, the ducks--turning to the car, God--I just cried my guts out. If my husband had woke, he'd have been very worried because the last time I cried that much was when I lost my own father. 

It's a beautiful hour of TV, and this episode--was the best. I'm going to have to watch it again. 

[sara416]

12 hours ago, Archery said:

Loved that the whole story was told through the perspectives of black people, and that, aside from Jack in the flashback, there were no white people in the episode.  That blew my mind. 

I did not realize that, but it is really a great move by the showrunners to do that. I kind of want to rewatch the episode to fully appreciate that choice, but I'm not sure I can emotionally handle that. 

On 2/22/2017 at 3:14 PM, Biggie B said:

 

I think Mark Green's death on 'ER' was the only time I actually had a tear or two run down my face and even that was largely driven by the music that played as he died. Music affects me far, far more deeply than acting. I can barely listen to certain pieces of music without gasping back the sobs.

 

To this day I cannot listen to Over the Rainbow without getting all the feels. I think the song they played last night with the "look up, not down" lyric (don't know the actual song) was something that really got me. 

[whoknowswho]

1 minute ago, sara416 said:

To this day I cannot listen to Over the Rainbow without getting all the feels. I think the song they played last night with the "look up, not down" lyric (don't know the actual song) was something that really got me. 

I played this song over and over for Dad when he was in the process of dying. I made a special tape for him in the hospital, unfortunately he died alone, after we had gone home to rest--I'm a nurse, I was trying to be there till the absolute end, but that end was a slow 11 days. I can't listen to it, either. 

[RedDelicious]

I really, REALLY hope this isn't setting us up for a Randall cancer storyline :(

[Cardie]

5 hours ago, Archery said:

My memory sees both "Dr. You Two Are Adorable" and "Dr. Your Dad's Not Leaving" as Asian, but I'm pretty sure neither was white. 

My memory saw the latter as a dark-haired white man but he could easily have been Middle Eastern or Asian. The actor is named Peter James Smith but he was born in Taiwan so probably has some Asian ancestry, as his photo indicates also.

[ZaldamoWilder]

23 hours ago, luna1122 said:

I disliked the emotional scenes in 'Steel Magnolias' (tho I liked the stage play) for just this reason--so over the top and histrionic. I adored the "Six Feet Under' finale tho I don't recall crying; I just found it immensely, satisfyingly sad, and didn't find it manipulative. I actually cry easily and often over art and entertainment that I love, sometimes even when it's not necessarily a great show, tho more often when it is.  I wept for days over the 'Hannibal' finale, I cried over the deaths of Henry Blake and Glenn Rhee and Gary Shephard and Jin and Sun and Charlie and Jack and Vincent the dog on 'lost', etc, etc. And it could certainly be argued that some of those are manipulative, tho they didn't feel that way to me at the time, which might be the difference.  I'm feeling a little Scrooge-y here, being so unmoved by this episode.  Well, I wasn't actually unmoved, the acting was lovely and the death, tho expected, quite poignant. It was all just so predictable to me tho. Not that he'd die, that was a given, but the way it was handled. All so projected. The very instant Randall told about Jack comforting him, I knew EXACTLY how it would end, and it did. I get that that doesn't bug some people, it just truly does me. And I haven't lost a parent, so those who found it touched upon a real life experience--well, I get that, of course.  But I was taken out of it all as soon as I knew how it would all play out. And don't get me started on the ducks, tho they were adorable. But I'm clearly a minority opinion here.

You've nearly completely covered my tv sob resume.   Add in a few Breaking Bads, a Boardwalk Empire or two, Denny's death on ER and the Budweiser Clydesdale with a helluva memory commercial and it's kind of a wrap.

Randomly weird, probably not supposed to be sad moments got me in this episode.   When William and his mother were at the bus depot as she was leaving to head up North.  The way he looked at her before she went and then at her back as she walked through the door.   I cracked wide open.  I thought nooooo mama-William don't go, you'll never see each other again!!!    I was good for a while until the shot of William and Randall drinking out of the whites-only fountain.   Shit.   I'm getting verklempt again just typing this but, both my parents, still alive, were raised under Apartheid.   To watch him check over his shoulder?  I was already watching this sitting up in bed, ya'll I keeled over on my side and made a sound I've never heard before.   I know it was supposed to be a lighthearted moment but it had a significance that his son won't ever really experience first hand, thank God.   Because of his father, there are things that Randall can take for granted not ever having to do.  Like look over his shoulder to get a damn sip of water.    I'm almost embarrassed at feeling/going back so deep and personally about a tv show but, woomp there it is. 

Fun fact?  Tear duct juice is salty enough to melt eyelash glue. 

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, whoknowswho said:

I played this song over and over for Dad when he was in the process of dying. I made a special tape for him in the hospital, unfortunately he died alone, after we had gone home to rest--I'm a nurse, I was trying to be there till the absolute end, but that end was a slow 11 days. I can't listen to it, either. 

It's kind of a weird thing to say, but I think my mom waited until she was alone to die. We'd attended to her night and day (at home), someone was always at her side. But that day, we turned on her favorite mix tape (for the first time) and both of us left the room to have lunch. I think being alone, finally, and listening to the music helped her slip away. In fact, oddly enough, my father, brother, and sister, all died after being left alone for a few minutes. We're private people, I guess.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Clanstarling

[doodlebug]

5 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

It's kind of a weird thing to say, but I think my mom waited until she was alone to die. We'd attended to her night and day (at home), someone was always at her side. But that day, we turned on her favorite mix tape (for the first time) and both of us left the room to have lunch. I think being alone, finally, and listening to the music helped her slip away. In fact, oddly enough, my father, brother, and sister, all died after being left alone for a few minutes. We're private people, I guess.

I think this happens a lot.  A dear friend who was dying actually asked us to leave the room for a minute.  We told her we were going down to the cafeteria to get coffee.  We had just gotten there when they paged us to return to her room.  She was gone just that quick.  I think she picked her moment and slipped away.

As for the show, sure they made dying look cleaner and neater and more predictable than it actually is, but, when the acting and overall storytelling is there, I don't mind.  The audience is not going to find weeks' long death bed vigils to be very watchable.

Edited February 23, 2017 by doodlebug

[Arcadiasw]

So will Randall grow an afro again? I would love to see that.

[sandyskyblue]

30 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

It's kind of a weird thing to say, but I think my mom waited until she was alone to die. We'd attended to her night and day (at home), someone was always at her side. But that day, we turned on her favorite mix tape (for the first time) and both of us left the room to have lunch. I think being alone, finally, and listening to the music helped her slip away. In fact, oddly enough, my father, brother, and sister, all died after being left alone for a few minutes. We're private people, I guess.

Clanstarling, sorry for your losses, I believe my husband also waited until he was alone to pass also....we were waiting for the nurses to get him settled in a hospice room, I went to check on him after about 10 minutes, and he was gone...I truly believe when we are close to passing, we are able to wait for the right moment....

[Empress1]

I just - like, this morning - buried a relative, and then I came home and watched this. I was unspoiled. Suffice it to say, I cried. I laughed too, at Randall going full nerd, but I also cried.

I didn't know Brian Tyree Henry could sing!

41 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

It's kind of a weird thing to say, but I think my mom waited until she was alone to die. We'd attended to her night and day (at home), someone was always at her side. But that day, we turned on her favorite mix tape (for the first time) and both of us left the room to have lunch. I think being alone, finally, and listening to the music helped her slip away. In fact, oddly enough, my father, brother, and sister, all died after being left alone for a few minutes. We're private people, I guess.

Most of my grandparents waited until they were alone, with the exception of my dad's father, who died peacefully in his bed with my brother and uncle in the room. But the other three died in their sleep when no one else was around.

[ShadowFacts]

You people are making me get emotional all over again.  I'm sorry for all your losses.  My mom left in a similar way to what you've described.  Even my dog waited until I went in the shower to slip away.  I was afraid in this episode that William had slept away in the hotel room.  It was sanitized for t.v. of course, no struggling for breath, etc., but I was humbled by the both of them, their strength and grace.  The acting was so superb. 

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, sandyskyblue said:

Clanstarling, sorry for your losses, I believe my husband also waited until he was alone to pass also....we were waiting for the nurses to get him settled in a hospice room, I went to check on him after about 10 minutes, and he was gone...I truly believe when we are close to passing, we are able to wait for the right moment....

Thank you, Sandyskyblue. And I am sorry for yours.

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

I just - like, this morning - buried a relative, and then I came home and watched this. I was unspoiled. Suffice it to say, I cried. I laughed too, at Randall going full nerd, but I also cried.

I didn't know Brian Tyree Henry could sing!

Most of my grandparents waited until they were alone, with the exception of my dad's father, who died peacefully in his bed with my brother and uncle in the room. But the other three died in their sleep when no one else was around.

Oh Empress1, I'm so sorry. That is a very fresh pain indeed.