This is Us Future: What plots or storylines do you want to see?

[balmz]

Was wondering, with this is us going for more seasons, what would you want to see it cover for new plots?

[methodwriter85]

I want to see Mandy Moore as Old Rebecca have a scene where she wears a pretty dress on a date with Miguel and we see that yes, even Baby Boomers still have some boom left. Because I do agree with the posters that it's kind of annoying that present Rebecca seems to dress so dowdy. If Sally Field can pull it off, so should she. This is Sally at age 66, rocking some very pretty and decently form-fitting dresses:

There are plenty of ways to dress a woman in her late 60's without making her look dowdy or making her look like she's trying to desperately look young again. I kind of wish they'd adjust that at least a little bit.

I also want to see Old Rebecca hang out with some fellow 60-something gal pals. She really doesn't seem to have any sort of life beyond Miguel and her children. Maybe Karen Allen or Debra Winger?

Edited February 22, 2018 by methodwriter85

[topanga]

I’m interested in Randall’s love life. What happened to his HS girlfriend? Did the romance fizzle when they went away to college, as HS romances often do? And how did he meet Beth? I’m assuming it was in college since Kevin helped him over the phone to develop something resembling game. And was it a big deal that she was black? I don’t think we’d ever seen Randall talk to a little black girl before. The closest I was the black Pool Mom (why am I blanking on everyone’s names this morning?). 

[debraran]

On 2/22/2018 at 1:03 AM, methodwriter85 said:

I want to see Mandy Moore as Old Rebecca have a scene where she wears a pretty dress on a date with Miguel and we see that yes, even Baby Boomers still have some boom left. Because I do agree with the posters that it's kind of annoying that present Rebecca seems to dress so dowdy. If Sally Field can pull it off, so should she. This is Sally at age 66, rocking some very pretty and decently form-fitting dresses:

There are plenty of ways to dress a woman in her late 60's without making her look dowdy or making her look like she's trying to desperately look young again. I kind of wish they'd adjust that at least a little bit.

I also want to see Old Rebecca hang out with some fellow 60-something gal pals. She really doesn't seem to have any sort of life beyond Miguel and her children. Maybe Karen Allen or Debra Winger?

 

I love Sally, has asked for her hair cut (or close to it) in the past. ;  ) I hope for that too. For pete's sake, Rebecca has nice figure, she had style, they don't have to age her by being dowdy. I'm 58 and many of my friends and cosworkers are 45 to 70 and no one dresses that way, very casual at times at home, but not dowdy. ; )   The have varied interests and stay active. They wouldn't have Jack dressing like he's 80 and I'm sure Jack would have remarried, probably sooner.

Please show her happy, show her having joy, not just giggling on the couch over Tiny House with Miguel (although that was nice) You don't honor someone who died by neglecting yourself and you don't honor your present husband by hiding affection in front of your grown children.

My sister married a widower, his family was in therapy for 2 years when his wife died of cancer. They met 4 years later, 5 years started dating, 6 years got married. Two of the 3 kids got very upset, didn't want dad to "replace mom" but he said he was ready and he wasn't replacing, but he found someone to love again. Money wasn't issue, they had it in will but the manipulation was there. Now they adjusted, took a year or two but told my sister how glad they can see him happy and it wasn't a legacy to be sad or mourn your remaining years. 

Edited February 27, 2018 by debraran

[BoogieBurns]

I want to meet Beth's family, Miguel's kids. I want them to show Kyle's burial or memorial or however they dealt with their stillborn baby.

I want Kate to be a songwriter and be happy, like not happy even though she's fat. I want to see her be happy full stop. 

I want to see Annie french braid hair again. I bet she got so good after all those soccer games!

[methodwriter85]

I kind of want Kevin to have a fantasy sequence where he imagines Kyle is alive (maybe played by Ryan McPartlin or Trevor Donovan?) and Kyle is basically the favorite like Randall and Kevin was still the afterthought.

Edited February 27, 2018 by methodwriter85

[BoogieBurns]

On 2/26/2018 at 7:41 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I kind of want Kevin to have a fantasy sequence where he imagines Kyle is alive (maybe played by Ryan McPartlin or Trevor Donovan?) and Kyle is basically the favorite like Randall and Kevin was still the afterthought.

Ryan McPartlin would be Awesome (pun super intended) to play a fictional living Kyle.

[methodwriter85]

6 minutes ago, BoogieBurns said:

Ryan McPartlin would be Awesome (pun super intended) to play a fictional living Kyle.

I know, right? I can just see him being around and Justin Hartley/Kevin being insecure around him. Kevin has always come off as the guy who puts on a performance to get everyone to like him. Ryan McPartlin just feels like the Golden Guy who has always been liked and has never had to work at it.

I do think the show will go there at some point, especially if

Spoiler

we're seeing a fictional living old Jack.

It would go back to what Kevin said about how he'd be the star of any other family, and it'd be funny to see him STILL be the afterthought if Kyle had survived.

[TwoGrayTabbies]

I would like to see Randall process the inconsistencies in his life.  He nearly destroyed his mental health with his high-powered career ambitions, yet he brags about his six-digit car and encouraged his kids and foster daughter to pursue big houses and expenses cars.  I would like him to reflect on his relatively modest but happy middle class upbringing, William’s success in living a meaningful life despite poverty and crushing misfortunes, and the genuine, If dysfunctional, loving relationship between Shauna and Deja.  So he realizes that he’s wasted a lot of time and energy on seeking happiness from material goods, sells his house and car, and moves his family into the low-income apartment complex that he’s improving with his liquidated assets.  Yes, it’s sappy, but this show hasn’t been shy about schmaltz, and this story would reconcile some of its contradictions.

 I want to add that in my scenario Randall will give this a lot of thought and THOROUGHLY DISCUSS this with Beth and gaining her agreement before implementing any part of this plan.  Heaven forbid another male Pearson impulsively imposing a radical change on an unconsulted wife.  Tess and Annie will have input also.

Edited March 2, 2018 by TwoGrayTabbies
Lack of clarity

[ShadowFacts]

1 hour ago, TwoGrayTabbies said:

I would like to see Randall process the inconsistencies in his life.  He nearly destroyed his mental health with his high-powered career ambitions, yet he brags about his six-digit car and encouraged his kids and foster daughter to pursue big houses and expenses cars.  I would like him to reflect on his relatively modest but happy middle class upbringing, William’s success in living a meaningful life despite poverty and crushing misfortunes, and the genuine, If dysfunctional, loving relationship between Shauna and Deja.  So he realizes that he’s wasted a lot of time and energy on seeking happiness from material goods, sells his house and car, and moves his family into the low-income apartment complex that he’s improving with his liquidated assets.  Yes, it’s sappy, but this show hasn’t been shy about schmaltz, and this story would reconcile some of its contradictions.

Agreeing, and riffing off of that, I'd like to see Randall and his family not only out of their white enclave, but interacting with other black people on a consistent basis.  This show has as part of its premise a black baby adopted into a white family, and has not exactly been bold about showing much of what that is like, in the past or the present.  Randall was happy and excited to meet his relatives in Memphis, more of that, please. 

[Portia]

Do we know whether Randall ended up attending the historically black university that we saw him visit?  I've always hoped that we would see him blossoming in that environment--and meeting Beth there.

[PRgal]

21 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

Agreeing, and riffing off of that, I'd like to see Randall and his family not only out of their white enclave, but interacting with other black people on a consistent basis.  This show has as part of its premise a black baby adopted into a white family, and has not exactly been bold about showing much of what that is like, in the past or the present.  Randall was happy and excited to meet his relatives in Memphis, more of that, please. 

We've seen that Randall's neighbourhood isn't "super-white" - there are at least one or two Asian families on his street (the Asian couple with the baby this season and an older Asian man seen watering his lawn last year).  It's most definitely an upper middle class district, though.   

[chocolatine]

5 hours ago, PRgal said:

We've seen that Randall's neighbourhood isn't "super-white" - there are at least one or two Asian families on his street (the Asian couple with the baby this season and an older Asian man seen watering his lawn last year).  It's most definitely an upper middle class district, though.   

But his neighbors still called security when they saw William taking a walk in the neighborhood.

ETA: I don't agree that Randall and family should leave their neighborhood and move into the tenement. There is absolutely nothing wrong with providing a lovely home and a great education for his daughters. He just needs to emphasize the security and opportunity aspects of it more than the material aspect.

Edited March 2, 2018 by chocolatine

[PRgal]

41 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

But his neighbors still called security when they saw William taking a walk in the neighborhood.

ETA: I don't agree that Randall and family should leave their neighborhood and move into the tenement. There is absolutely nothing wrong with providing a lovely home and a great education for his daughters. He just needs to emphasize the security and opportunity aspects of it more than the material aspect.

I assumed his neighbourhood was gated and anyone who wasn't registered as a resident could be questioned - especially someone who is staying longer than what is "typical" for guests (I live in a condo and our security people have asked individuals they're not familiar with who they're seeing - the building doesn't have a buzzer system, so anyone who goes through (and doesn't have a key) must check in)).

[ShadowFacts]

5 hours ago, chocolatine said:

But his neighbors still called security when they saw William taking a walk in the neighborhood.

ETA: I don't agree that Randall and family should leave their neighborhood and move into the tenement. There is absolutely nothing wrong with providing a lovely home and a great education for his daughters. He just needs to emphasize the security and opportunity aspects of it more than the material aspect.

I don't think they need to move into the tenement, either, but moving beyond their neighborhood, which is maybe not super-white, but surely is super non-black, would be something I would like to see.  I don't know if they would need to move to Philadelphia from New Jersey.  Maybe they don't have to physically move out of their house at all, but get involved more in the black community a little beyond Alpine. 

[debraran]

8 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

I don't think they need to move into the tenement, either, but moving beyond their neighborhood, which is maybe not super-white, but surely is super non-black, would be something I would like to see.  I don't know if they would need to move to Philadelphia from New Jersey.  Maybe they don't have to physically move out of their house at all, but get involved more in the black community a little beyond Alpine. 

I think the school system where he lives is excellent and cheaper being public and it was quickly mentioned once a a plus for his area. I am part of a mixed couple, mixed kids and mixed neighborhood but middle class. Upper middle class is a few blocks away but I feel it's not your home, it's what you do to experience different cultures and ways of life.

I was lucky, my street had such a richness of cultures, black, white, old, young, Jewish (Hasidic and Reform) a gay couple, Asian and other mixed families. I really didn't have to do a lot to teach my kids about other cultures, they saw it, they saw how stereotypes weren't really true and that people, nice and not nice cross every race and culture.  They never grasped prejudice as they went off to college, how ignorant so many were but not many grow up outside of a bubble, and it's hard.

I think Randall's TV family are fine, they will learn about his bio father's side and southern roots and I don't think Beth and Randall would not give their kids as much education in all areas as they can. Randall knows how it is be feel like he's in a bubble, I don't think he'd do that with his children.

Edited March 3, 2018 by debraran

[GSMHvisitor]

What I want to see is context for Kevin and Sophie's relationship. I doubt we'll actually see how they met, the kid actors are growing up fast after all. But I want to see more of them as teenagers. I want to see how Sophie supported Kevin after Jack died. I want to see how Kevin decided to go to New York with her. And I want Sophie to become a more fleshed out character. There's gotta be more to her than being Kevin's pretty (ex) girlfriend/wife/teenage love. And if Sophie comes back in the present day story (which I hope for) I want the writers to actually write them a nice love story this time, not a rushed one like in s1.

[methodwriter85]

I want a young Rebecca and Jack to go on a romantic backpacking trip throughout Europe as a celebration of their marriage. They watch an opera while sitting on the roof of an Italian palazzo, go skinnydipping in a river, and run into trouble when they get robbed by a quirky backpacker they meet on a train, forcing them to walk and hitchhike to get their way to a musical festival taking place in Berlin. They also get a free gondola ride and night at an inn because Rebecca tells a kindly Italian man that she married Jack against her parents wishes and yay romance.

We'll also include a bungee jump and a night camping with Germans going to the music festival with some bonding over S'mores. Oh, and Rebecca gets harassed by some guys at the music festival and Jack rescues her.

Edited March 4, 2018 by methodwriter85

[Guest]

Ha!  Why not just send them on The Amazing Race?  : )

[chocolatine]

37 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

I want a young Rebecca and Jack to go on a romantic backpacking trip throughout Europe as a celebration of their marriage. They watch an opera while sitting on the roof of an Italian palazzo, go skinnydipping in a river, and run into trouble when they get robbed by a quirky backpacker they meet on a train, forcing them to walk and hitchhike to get their way to a musical festival taking place in Berlin. They also get a free gondola ride and night at an inn because Rebecca tells a kindly Italian man that she married Jack against her parents wishes and yay romance.

We'll also include a bungee jump and a night camping with Germans going to the music festival with some bonding over S'mores. Oh, and Rebecca gets harassed by some guys at the music festival and Jack rescues her.

That's cute, but gondolas aren't operated by the same people who operate inns, so Rebecca would have to convince at least *two* kindly Italian men to get those freebies. Also, s'mores aren't a thing in Germany - you'd be hard-pressed to find marshmallows or graham crackers in a German grocery store - and the only big music festival in Berlin in the 70s was JazzFest. I doubt either Jack or Rebecca care so much about jazz that they would go through all that trouble to get there. :)

[PRgal]

On 3/3/2018 at 6:10 AM, debraran said:

I think the school system where he lives is excellent and cheaper being public and it was quickly mentioned once a a plus for his area. I am part of a mixed couple, mixed kids and mixed neighborhood but middle class. Upper middle class is a few blocks away but I feel it's not your home, it's what you do to experience different cultures and ways of life.

I was lucky, my street had such a richness of cultures, black, white, old, young, Jewish (Hasidic and Reform) a gay couple, Asian and other mixed families. I really didn't have to do a lot to teach my kids about other cultures, they saw it, they saw how stereotypes weren't really true and that people, nice and not nice cross every race and culture.  They never grasped prejudice as they went off to college, how ignorant so many were but not many grow up outside of a bubble, and it's hard.

I think Randall's TV family are fine, they will learn about his bio father's side and southern roots and I don't think Beth and Randall would not give their kids as much education in all areas as they can. Randall knows how it is be feel like he's in a bubble, I don't think he'd do that with his children.

Pretty much THIS.  I've found that people who live in more mono-cultural neighbourhoods - regardless of race (i.e. white, black, Asian or otherwise) - tend to be more ignorant, even if they work outside of their own communities.  Markham (a suburb of Toronto) is probably 30-40% Chinese (not just ASIAN, but CHINESE) and there are plenty of residents there who are pretty much never exposed to other cultures.  They've never had, for example, falafels or might even look at you funny if you told them the pizza they're eating is Neapolitan (thin crust, Neapolitan style was a "thing" in the city (and probably still is)).  To them, a pizza is a pizza, and not specific to any part of Italy.  We aren't talking about senior citizens, but people in their 30s and 40s.  Sad, but true (don't these people Google??).

[methodwriter85]

18 hours ago, chocolatine said:

That's cute, but gondolas aren't operated by the same people who operate inns, so Rebecca would have to convince at least *two* kindly Italian men to get those freebies. Also, s'mores aren't a thing in Germany - you'd be hard-pressed to find marshmallows or graham crackers in a German grocery store - and the only big music festival in Berlin in the 70s was JazzFest. I doubt either Jack or Rebecca care so much about jazz that they would go through all that trouble to get there. :)

Isn't Rebecca supposed to be an aspiring jazz singer? I do think in Chasing Liberty the gondola guy happened to have a relative that was running an inn, so that's how Mandy and Matthew Goode got both comps. (It's been a really long time since I watched that movie so I could be wrong.) The S'mores thing...you got me there.

In all seriousness, I do think a road trip episode for a young Rebecca and young Jack would make a lot of sense. It would fit the tone of their relationship and what we know about their pre-Big 3 life (that they were kind of free spirits), and it would delightfully echo (or pre-echo?) the Pilgrim Rick episode. This show also seems really determined to pay homage to romantic comedies and the "young lovers on a road trip" is definitely a staple of them.

Also, can we have Rebecca try on different outfits to a bouncy pop song while she dances in front of her full-length mirror?

I also think that post-Jack's death, Rebecca should signify a new period of her life by cutting off all her hair and going for a pixie cut that looks like this:

That would be a great mom cut, and really true to the late 90's/early 2000's. Rebecca really, really needs to branch away from the Farrah Hair that she seems to have kept from about 1988 to 1998.

Edited March 5, 2018 by methodwriter85

[Amethyst]

• More on characters besides the Pearsons.  I know they're the foundation of the show but can we spread it a little?  We know William back and forth, what about Randall's bio mother?  What about Beth's family besides Zoe?  Miguel is married to Rebecca yet we never see him.  Hell, what about Tess and Annie? 
  • I don't count Toby because we're learning more about him through Kate, namely his depression.
• Stop introducing plots/ideas if you're not doing anything with them.  Beth said that she hates her job, but there's no mention of it beyond one episode.  Kevin paints well but we never see it again.  Randall has been unemployed for a year, and it looks like Beth is the only one making any money.  How's that apartment building full of tenants we never see?   

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

I want a spin-off where Plaza murders their mother and Eloise in a fit of jealousy-soaked rage for not getting the normal name. 

[methodwriter85]

If Kate dies because of her insanely high-risk pregnancy, can we have Rebecca recite Sally Field's monologue from Steel Magnolias?

It would be doubly meta because Age Makeup Rebecca looks like a Sally Field and Diane Keaton mash-up in frumpy clothes.

[AllThatJazz91]

23 hours ago, Amethyst said:

• More on characters besides the Pearsons.  I know they're the foundation of the show but can we spread it a little?  We know William back and forth, what about Randall's bio mother?  What about Beth's family besides Zoe?  Miguel is married to Rebecca yet we never see him.  Hell, what about Tess and Annie? 
  • I don't count Toby because we're learning more about him through Kate, namely his depression.
• Stop introducing plots/ideas if you're not doing anything with them.  Beth said that she hates her job, but there's no mention of it beyond one episode.  Kevin paints well but we never see it again.  Randall has been unemployed for a year, and it looks like Beth is the only one making any money.  How's that apartment building full of tenants we never see?   

I've been dying to know more about Tess and Annie since season 1. Don't get me wrong, Deja has stolen my heart but I feel like she is completely overshadowing her adoptive sisters. It would be nice for those three to have some scenes together. 

[topanga]

19 hours ago, AllThatJazz91 said:

I've been dying to know more about Tess and Annie since season 1. Don't get me wrong, Deja has stolen my heart but I feel like she is completely overshadowing her adoptive sisters. It would be nice for those three to have some scenes together. 

Yesss. And I rarely see Bess and the girls have a moment. I know Randall is one of the stars of the show,so he's in most of their family scenes. But Beth seems like a good mother. Yet I rarely see her mother her own girls. She had a great scene with Deja last season (when she braided her hair and talked about her sister). 

And I can't wait to learn about how Beth and Randall met. 

Basically, more Beth.

 

Oh, and I know find myself very invested in Rebecca and Miguel's relationship. Probably because we've seen just about everything we needed to see to understand Rebecca and Jack. And I liked the scene when Kevin came to their house, and they seemed genuinely content. So how did they get here. What happened after that initial facebook message? What was their first date like? How did they tell the kids they were getting married?

[AllThatJazz91]

2 hours ago, topanga said:

Yesss. And I rarely see Bess and the girls have a moment. I know Randall is one of the stars of the show,so he's in most of their family scenes. But Beth seems like a good mother. Yet I rarely see her mother her own girls. She had a great scene with Deja last season (when she braided her hair and talked about her sister). 

And I can't wait to learn about how Beth and Randall met. 

Basically, more Beth.

 

Oh, and I know find myself very invested in Rebecca and Miguel's relationship. Probably because we've seen just about everything we needed to see to understand Rebecca and Jack. And I liked the scene when Kevin came to their house, and they seemed genuinely content. So how did they get here. What happened after that initial facebook message? What was their first date like? How did they tell the kids they were getting married?

I didn't even notice that Beth doesn't have many scenes with her two younger daughters. That's something else we need to see. Maybe she helps Tess deal with her first crush, or a mean girl at school. 

 

I'm pretty sure we are going to see more about their life together this season. I'll admit I'd like to see how their first date went. Good ideas!

[debraran]

I'd like to see joy with Rebecca that doesn't include Jack, it does happen, it doesn't have to be the passionate kind you have younger, but she loves Miguel. I know she was trying to make excuses to her kids, Kate I think, how she loves him, but not like with Daddy and I cringed. They are almost 40, Jack's been gone so long, do they think Jack would never remarry or have a female friend?

I'd also like Beth to be more than one-liners and show more of their relationship.

One more thing, I saw a pic of the kids younger but really young. Do I not remember this show or it didn't happen yet? Cute toddlers and I really want little kid flashbacks. Happy scenes ; )

 

[Scarlett45]

17 hours ago, topanga said:

Yesss. And I rarely see Bess and the girls have a moment. I know Randall is one of the stars of the show,so he's in most of their family scenes. But Beth seems like a good mother. Yet I rarely see her mother her own girls. She had a great scene with Deja last season (when she braided her hair and talked about her sister). 

And I can't wait to learn about how Beth and Randall met. 

Basically, more Beth.

 

Oh, and I know find myself very invested in Rebecca and Miguel's relationship. Probably because we've seen just about everything we needed to see to understand Rebecca and Jack. And I liked the scene when Kevin came to their house, and they seemed genuinely content. So how did they get here. What happened after that initial facebook message? What was their first date like? How did they tell the kids they were getting married?

Me too on your entire post. How are Tess and Annie doing with Deja as a new family member? What’d Beth think of Randall when they met?

I’m glad Rebecca & Miguel found love and companionship later in life. I was never one who disliked Miguel or anything of that nature.