S02.E10: Number Three

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

Randall and Beth face a hard choice; Jack takes Randall on a college tour.

[ShadowFacts]

This is the first episode this season that I liked in its totality.  The writing and acting for the Randall-centric stuff blows #1 and #2 out of the water.  Add in George Harrison and Cat Stevens, and the show is drawing me back in. 

[MyAimIsTrue]

This was all the proof I need that I could watch Randall, Beth, Old, and Young William in an episode and not miss any of the other characters.  See also "Memphis."

[Spartan Girl]

JC when Tess popped up in Kevin's car when he was driving drunk...I can't remember feeling so terrified in the last few minutes of a show. Thank God the cops showed up and pulled over.

While letting Deja go was ultimately the "right" thing to do, I don't blame Beth and Randall for considering fighting the mother. The way she just showed up out of the blue in the middle of the night, threatening them and accusing them of mistreating Deja...not cool.

I hope Deja is going to be okay. And I can't wait to see more of the little boy that's obviously going to turn out to be their next foster kid.

[katycat74]

I was bracing myself for a terrible car crash.  Glad to say,  thank God he got pulled over.

[stonehaven]

I loved that Randall finally shelved his arrogance about Deja....I was really starting to despise his character at the beginning of the episode.....and I will add I loved all the Jack/Randall scenes...especially the undercurrents of "All Things Must Pass".....

Great episode...now let's get on with the New Year!

[chocolatine]

Phew, I'm just glad that Kevin didn't crash the car with Tess in it. When I first saw her popping up from the back seat, not wearing a seat belt, I was sure the crash was coming and the mid-season cliffhanger was going to be whether Tess would survive.

Edited November 29, 2017 by chocolatine

[MyAimIsTrue]

6 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

Add in George Harrison and Cat Stevens, and the show is drawing me back in. 

Tomorrow is the 16th anniversary of George's passing so to hear "All Things Must Pass" in the episode along with the visual of how it was used made me a bit emotional.

[Runningwild]

Really tired of Randall being so nasty to the social worker. Poor Kevin. And now everyone’s going to be mad at him and he probably (again) won’t get any love. 

[AttackTurtle]

I was going to demand the death of Kevin if he wrecked the car.  No sooner did I think it, that Randall said virtually the same thing.  Randall's episodes really blow the others out of the water, but the actor is also far and away the best of the three.  

[voiceover]

Ha! Randall filling out the paper Harvard application made me think of what was going around Twitter the other day:

”Without revealing your actual age, what's something you remember that if you told a younger person they wouldn't understand?”

Edited November 29, 2017 by voiceover

[Guest]

Randall, you suck. Good for your privileged self always having plenty of food in the fridge. 

Oh goodie. More William. Stay dead, old man!

That ending. Oh Kevin. :(

[Sammich]

The best episode this season and I finally cried.  William and Randall are magic. Kevin is breaking my heart! 

[WhosThatGirl]

Holy cow. The last couple minutes when Tess was in Kevin’s car, I legit was covering my eyes, thank god he got pulled over which while not good is better than them being hurt. God, I was terrified. 

Also how is no one observing him and not noticing he’s drunk at like I’m guessing in the morning, Randall Made a comment but that’s all?

[balmz]

good episode overall

 

i was half expecting that kevin would be so startled by tess appearing that he'd crash the car and that would be the finale

wonder what tess meant by she hates the house right now

i forget, where does randall live that newark is too far away? i mean he drove there to see the mother

the next foster kid they might get is interesting but it'd be more interesting if say the kid was a poc other then black

randall was getting on my nerves about deja a bit, at times it seems like he was treating her more like some pet that needs saving, not a person

[NYCFree]

My son's comment during the last few minutes "mom, why did you gasp at the tv?" Me, "oh God, don't less Tess die..."

I liked how Jack was talking about keeping an eye on the wrong kid when things go wrong.

[Amethyst]

I said I wasn't going to cry and wouldn't you know it, I ended up all weepy during Deja's farewell.  This show, I swear.

Although Randall's episodes tend to be the best (more fleshed out plots and top notch acting) I still think that Kevin's was the most illuminating of the three.  Nothing really surprised me with Randall or Kate's stories.  Still, seeing Randall at Howard meant a lot.  Knowing how much inner turmoil the kid went through, it was nice to see him so happy, and you could tell that he felt welcome there.  

I was pleasantly surprised at how it went with Deja.  Randall's been a self-righteous ass most of the season, but he finally started focusing on what was best for Deja.  Still, the whole thing felt so black and white.  Is there no probationary period when it comes to returning a foster child to their parents?  I wasn't expecting Linda to approve Deja going back home so soon, but after a few weeks when she knew Shauna was truly settled in.  While I didn't love the plotline, Lyric Ross did an impressive job with a difficult role.  I look forward to seeing her work in the future.

Also, Beth is absolutely gorgeous.  It's not really relevant to this week, but it still applies.  And her and Randall's relationship really is what people strive for.

I was shaking my head during that last scene.  If Kevin hurt Tess, there's no way he would be forgiven, even if he was unaware that Tess was in the car.  Looks like there was too much emotion at Randall's house so Kevin made a quick escape.  But driving under the influence (and in heavy withdrawal) is just so stupid.  He got lucky with the police showing up. 

Tess' "I hate my house" really intrigues me.  Does she just mean everyone's upset because Deja is gone, or is something else going on?  

That last bit with the little boy was subtle, huh?  I wonder who's gonna end up fostering him?  Seriously, that scene was overkill.  Randall and Beth's conversation already made it clear that they were going to try fostering again.

[WhosThatGirl]

Also did Kevin not know Tess was in the car? I feel like she surprised him right? He didn’t drive knowing she was there, correct? I feel like Kevin is well aware at the moment he might have a problem so I feel like would have deterred Tess or Annie from coming in his car.

[MyAimIsTrue]

1 minute ago, Amethyst said:

Lyric Ross did an impressive job with a difficult role.  I look forward to seeing her work in the future

I completely agree. For such a young actress she played the part perfectly.

[chocolatine]

3 minutes ago, WhosThatGirl said:

Also did Kevin not know Tess was in the car? I feel like she surprised him right? He didn’t drive knowing she was there, correct? I feel like Kevin is well aware at the moment he might have a problem so I feel like would have deterred Tess or Annie from coming in his car.

That's right, she surprised him. Kevin wasn't so far gone that he would have deliberately taken Tess on a drive.

[Neurochick]

39 minutes ago, stonehaven said:

I loved that Randall finally shelved his arrogance about Deja....I was really starting to despise his character at the beginning of the episode.....and I will add I loved all the Jack/Randall scenes...especially the undercurrents of "All Things Must Pass".....

Great episode...now let's get on with the New Year!

I think Randall and  Beth just didn’t want Deja to become a statistic.  She has a good chance of becoming one with that mother.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Neurochick

[wilnil]

Yeah, thankfully they didn't go with Tess startling Kevin into crashing. I hope they have Tess admit to her parents right away that she'd stowed away in the car and that Kevin didn't knowingly drive drunk with his niece in the car, so we don't prolong the drama of "how dare he risk our little girl's life?" and get to move on to "Kevin has a problem" before too much more time passes.

14 minutes ago, balmz said:

i forget, where does randall live that newark is too far away? i mean he drove there to see the mother

He lives, IIRC, in Alpine, NJ. It's only one county to the north of Newark, but both are in the most high-density and high-traffic area of the state. So unless you do the drive in the off hours, it can be a longer, slower slog than a map would indicate.

[milner]

Déjàs mom is still no innocent angel.  There was a gun in her car just not hers. So why was it there and who is she hanging out with who needs a gun. Also she is just out of jail but has an apartment , car and money to buy Déjà new clothes.  I would have thought the fact that she only escaped jail time because she “cooperated “ would have counted against her big time. 

[chaifan]

This was, by far, the best of the 3 episodes.  I'm not sure what we really learned from Randall's backstory, sort of like the other kids, but it was nice to see the interaction between young Randall and Jack.   I like both the character of Deja and they young actress that plays her.  I'd like to see her as a recurring character, but I'm afraid they'd make it into some emotional manipulative plot line.  Like her mother shaking Beth and Randall down for money, or something like that.  I think it would be interesting for Beth and Randall to adopt a young white boy, a little role reversal. 

Let's get Kevin in a diversion program for first time offenders, and into rehab, and put this addiction plot line to bed.  It's boring.

And I still don't care about how Jack died. 

[NeverLate]

For the first time in forever, I was a little bored. Big house, fancy car, really? Okay Randall.

The young man that played Randall was excellent. 

Seeing Kevin drive drunk, I said please don't end this with an accident, then I knew Tess had to be in there, and I knew he'd slow down or get pulled over. I'm happy he was pulled over! 

Loved seeing the end with all three. I just have a feeling we will see Deja again. What a lovely young lady.

[izabella]

Did they explain who Randall's friend Keith at Howard was?  I think I missed that part.

[Scarlett45]

2 minutes ago, izabella said:

Did they explain who Randall's friend Keith at Howard was?  I think I missed that part.

I assumed it was the son of the woman Rebecca met last season at the pool....sorry blanking on their names. The other episodes showed they formed a steady friendship throughout the years. 

[Chewy101]

58 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

Really tired of Randall being so nasty to the social worker.

It's the job, though. Randall's anger is because he cares, and her greatest enemy is actually apathy. Social workers have such difficult and special roles, dealing with jaded cynics and disappointed idealists. 

[chocolatine]

Just now, Scarlett45 said:

I assumed it was the son of the woman Rebecca met last season at the pool....sorry blanking on their names. The other episodes showed they formed a steady friendship throughout the years. 

Yvette. It must have been her, since Jack mentioned her, and we know that kid Randall's only black friends were Yvette's kids.

[Chewy101]

17 minutes ago, chaifan said:

This was, by far, the best of the 3 episodes.  I'm not sure what we really learned from Randall's backstory, sort of like the other kids, but it was nice to see the interaction between young Randall and Jack.

Randall, the type A control freak, let go and let Deja go back to her mom, because he listened to his father. For him, that's a big deal.

I suppose, with "Number One", we learned the depth of disappointment a cocky teenager can face and how badly they handle it. And then how much one can fold under a repeated circumstance when you didn't give up the cocky. 

Not sure with Number Two. Some accidental pregnancy with a horrible man is not in my wheelhouse for being moving. 

Edited November 29, 2017 by Chewy101

[ChromaKelly]

I wanted more of Randall at Howard. Would there be any awkwardness with Randall being in an all-black setting for the first time in his life? Maybe they will explore his time at college more in the future..
Why did Tess say she hates her house?
I was really hating Randall and Beth. I'm glad they came around. They were acting awfully arrogant. I would think Randall out of anyone would recognize that Deja needs to be with her mother. What was with Beth's look this episode? She looked like the 90's.
SKB really is a better actor than the other two. He is much more capable of carrying an episode.

[Lady Calypso]

At first, I thought this episode was going to be my least favourite of the three, because of Randall's attitude at the beginning toward Linda. But as the episode went on, it did get better. Personally, I still loved Kevin's episode the most. However, this does come a close second.

I like that they showed Randall and William flashbacks again. I like how it tied in with the Deja situation. Sterling does knock things out of the park. He is definitely the best actor on the show, and he's helped me warm back up to Randall after being irritated by him for most of this season. I absolutely teared up at the goodbye scene with Deja. That was just so well done and so sad. I could feel the heartbreak from them. I mean, they had to send her back to her mother, but it was clearly so hard to do. 

I also loved the Jack/Teen Randall scenes. The scene in the car, and then the one with them talking about Jack's time in the war was extremely well done. I also teared up there, mostly because they had to throw in yet another anvil of Jack's impending death. I thought Milo did a good job at portraying Jack's discomfort. I think it came from him not being able to connect with Randall fully while he watched Randall get immersed in Howard.

There was more Kevin than I thought there'd be here. I was totally worried when he was speeding in the car, and then my heart lept when Tess popped up. I was super glad when he just got arrested, but it'll be enough to get Randall and possibly Kate mad at him. Which means I'm pretty sure an overdose or suicide attempt is coming with him. After all, what better way to isolate Kevin from everyone than to drive drunk with Tess in the car? 

[Chewy101]

It's funny how Milo never had to do squat playing on Gilmore Girls, and in this he is showing so much heart and depth. 

I think Kevin's episode is also my favorite. And this one came around for me when Randall realized he is just as pushy and demanding as the woman he was hell bent on judging and shutting down (Deja's mom) .  And as usual, his wife saw it, too, so they teamed up nicely.

Kevin had no idea Tess was in the car, so I hope no one blames him for that. Blame him for a lot, but he was as horrified as we were to see her there in that situation. 

[chocolatine]

4 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

There was more Kevin than I thought there'd be here. I was totally worried when he was speeding in the car, and then my heart lept when Tess popped up. I was super glad when he just got arrested, but it'll be enough to get Randall and possibly Kate mad at him. Which means I'm pretty sure an overdose or suicide attempt is coming with him. After all, what better way to isolate Kevin from everyone than to drive drunk with Tess in the car? 

I hope that getting arrested and the ensuing negative publicity (TMZ is going to be all over it) will be enough of a rock bottom for him. I really, really don't want to see Kevin Princing or Chris Cornelling himself.

[Runningwild]

18 minutes ago, Chewy101 said:

It's the job, though. Randall's anger is because he cares, and her greatest enemy is actually apathy. Social workers have such difficult and special roles, dealing with jaded cynics and disappointed idealists. 

It’s not her job to get yelled at. It’s not Randall’s job to yell at her. Beth and Randall are so conceited and clueless. A very bad combination. 

[BuckeyeLou]

Another excellent episode, this show tugs at my heart & emotions.  Gosh, I teared up at the scene of Jack taking young Randall to the Vietnam Memorial in DC and showing him his brother's name on the wall.  And then when Randall said goodbye to Deja and she let him hug her, oh my heart was breaking.  And loved that Deja recognized that her Mother made some bad decisions but she had learned from Randall & Beth how to work hard & strive to make something of yourself.   Again, the young actors who portray the Teen 3 are so good...loved the scenes of Randall in the car with Jack & Jack realizing how Randall felt.  Loved the scene where Jack sees his family sitting contentedly in the family room, the dog on the floor & Rebecca smiling at him.  Loved Jack saying when you are busy watching one kid, something else is happening with another kid, so true!    Wow, that scene of Kevin in the car & Tess pops up unexpectedly...yikes, I was afraid he would crash the car & Tess would be injured or killed!  Hopefully, the family will recognize Now, that Kevin needs help!  I loved all 3 episodes and how they all showed the same scenes, seen from the 3 different perspectives.

[Chewy101]

1 minute ago, Runningwild said:

21 minutes ago, Chewy101 said:

It's the job, though. Randall's anger is because he cares, and her greatest enemy is actually apathy. Social workers have such difficult and special roles, dealing with jaded cynics and disappointed idealists. 

It’s not her job to get yelled at. It’s not Randall’s job to yell at her. Beth and Randall are so conceited and clueless. A very bad combination.

Definitely frustrating and disheartening, but my friends in the foster care business seem to think it is par for the course. It isn't all rainbows, too much pain and agenda going on at all times. Heck, these days a bus driver can't yell at a kid to sit down and stay safe, and a teacher can't fail a student without some parent ripping them a new one. It's annoying watching Randall do that, but in this self entitled society, it is common, and realistic. My teacher friends cry all the time, just trying to do their job. Lots of rocks and hard places. The show depicted the reality of an idealistic couple very well. And they backed down and corrected themselves, so that is good. 

[pennben]

Are we to take it that Kate and Toby will be raising their resurrected shower curtain as their child now?:) I noticed that shot of them looking lovingly in front of the shower curtain last week and noticed they put that shot in again this week.  It made me giggle both times....("this is our child, Curt, we've been through a lot, but he's doing better now":)).  

As to this episode, we had one of the big three yelling at an outsider, so, check. 

I was happy to see Randall/Beth come around.  All in all a good episode.  

[Chewy101]

1 minute ago, pennben said:

I was happy to see Randall/Beth come around.  All in all a good episode.

I dont always agree with either of them, but boy do they communicate well and team up for the greater good. Healthiest relationship on the show.

5 minutes ago, pennben said:

Are we to take it that Kate and Toby will be raising their resurrected shower curtain as their child now?:)

LOL! I hope that is all they raise. 

[Cardie]

25 minutes ago, BuckeyeLou said:

the scene of Jack taking young Randall to the Vietnam Memorial in DC and showing him his brother's name on the wall.

I wasn't sure if he did show him his brother's name, or even if Nicky died in Vietnam. Their conversation after that was very general, about all the horrible things Jack saw (and did, I'm sure) in Vietnam.

[NeverLate]

28 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

It’s not her job to get yelled at. It’s not Randall’s job to yell at her. Beth and Randall are so conceited and clueless. A very bad combination. 

They are a bit' know it all ' for my liking. Beth has a quick temper, kind of like Dejas mother..

Quote

Kevin had no idea Tess was in the car, so I hope no one blames him for that. Blame him for a lot, but he was as horrified as we were to see her there in that situation. 

I love Kevin, he'll be great once he gets help! 

Quote

Which means I'm pretty sure an overdose or suicide attempt is coming with him. After all, what better way to isolate Kevin from everyone than to drive drunk with Tess in the car? 

I do hope you are wrong, that would be heartbreaking

[Cardie]

1 hour ago, Amethyst said:

That last bit with the little boy was subtle, huh?  I wonder who's gonna end up fostering him?

The kid would rival Annie in the adorable department though.

[Amethyst]

32 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I was super glad when he just got arrested, but it'll be enough to get Randall and possibly Kate mad at him. Which means I'm pretty sure an overdose or suicide attempt is coming with him. After all, what better way to isolate Kevin from everyone than to drive drunk with Tess in the car? 

The writers did say things would get worse for Kevin.  As much as I don't want to see him raked over the coals further, Kevin got seriously lucky.  I can't blame the Pearsons if they call him out on that.  Even if Tess hasn't been in the car, Kevin put his and other people's lives at risk.

That said, I hope this was his rock bottom.

[Aileen]

Going into the episode, I was sure that Randall was going to find an OD'ed unresponsive Kevin at the end of the episode. I was terrified when Tess was in the car. 

[elle]

2 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

the scene of Jack taking young Randall to the Vietnam Memorial in DC and showing him his brother's name on the wall.

Did Jack tell Randall about his brother?  Did we see the brother's name?  

Quote

I wasn't sure if he did show him his brother's name, or even if Nicky died in Vietnam. Their conversation after that was very general, about all the horrible things Jack saw (and did, I'm sure) in Vietnam.

I am wondering this too, Cardie.  I thought they were standing at the Wall and then we see them at the bench where Jack tells Randall about being drafted at 25, etc.

Another nitpick, Jack comments that he wasn't that much older than Randall when he was drafted.  Randall is supposed to be 16 at this point, right?  That is 9 years.  Even if Randall is 18, that is a 7 year difference.  A lot changes in that time.

2 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

3 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Lyric Ross did an impressive job with a difficult role.  I look forward to seeing her work in the future

I completely agree. For such a young actress she played the part perfectly.

Yes, she was the best part of the story.

This was better than I expected, but I still felt disconnected to the story.  For example, I was completely distracted during William's flashback within a flashback.  He had just enough, a $20, to have a cab follow Rebecca home.  So, are we just to figure out that he walked back home after that?  Then, he looks over at the bikes with the personalized name plates.  I thought you have got to be kidding me, those nicknames are okay I guess in the context of the family but on the back of the kids' bikes?

The scenes with Randall at Howard were good.  Was that supposed to be Beth in the dorm room group?  That actress certainly resembled Beth.

Edited November 29, 2017 by elle

[Rae Spellman]

53 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

It’s not her job to get yelled at. It’s not Randall’s job to yell at her. Beth and Randall are so conceited and clueless. A very bad combination. 

It's not Randall's job to yell at the social worker. However, lawyers, foster youth, foster parents, bio parents, and almost anyone interacting with the foster care system in any way is under some amount of stress. Sometimes they yell at social workers.  And, social workers are expected to be able to respond appropriately when it happens. 

I work for a county social services agency.  When I was a social worker there was a question during the hiring interview about how I would respond if I was at a client's home and the client yelled at me. In the interview for my current position supervising social workers, there was a question about how I would respond if one of my subordinates yelled at me during a staff meeting.  

[camom]

Do we know how long Deja was with Randall and Beth?  And what a horrible day for Tess.  Deja leaves and then she watches her beloved uncle being arrested.

[laffytaffy997]

I think this was the first time that I can remember actually cheering when someone got a DUI. 

Since this is the last episode before the winter break, I thought for sure when we saw Kevin driving recklessly, it was going to end with him getting into an accident. I was just like, "oh no..." Then when Tess popped up, I was like, "OH GOD, PLEASE NO!"

[methodwriter85]

1 hour ago, Cardie said:

I wasn't sure if he did show him his brother's name, or even if Nicky died in Vietnam. Their conversation after that was very general, about all the horrible things Jack saw (and did, I'm sure) in Vietnam.

I was about to say- I can't picture this show saying definitively that Nicky died in Vietnam in the early 1970's. Hell, it doesn't even look like Rebecca knows.

[CelticBlackCat]

3 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

This is the first episode this season that I liked in its totality.  The writing and acting for the Randall-centric stuff blows #1 and #2 out of the water.  Add in George Harrison and Cat Stevens, and the show is drawing me back in. 

"All Things Must Pass" was beautiful to listen to on this show.  I even liked the use of Cat Stevens' song cuts too.  Just thinking about George along with the Vietnam storyline was enough to make my eyes weep.

3 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

Tomorrow is the 16th anniversary of George's passing so to hear "All Things Must Pass" in the episode along with the visual of how it was used made me a bit emotional.

OMG you're right.  What timing.  It's true.  George Harrison's music will always be with us, adding even more depth and meaning to our lives, not just living in the past.