S03.E03 Katie Girls

[Lady Calypso]

Original Airdate: October 9th 2018

Quote

The Pearsons rally around Kate as she undergoes a medical procedure.

[ams1001]

Stray observations:

• I don't care what decade the Rebecca/Ex-BF scenes were set in. That mustache was terrible.
• "I love that you did your own thing." "I'm thinking of doing this." "No, don't do that, do what I want!"
• So they can put their issues on hold for the length of a feature film? I guess that's progress for this family.
• Terry Gross is tiny.
• Poor Beth. Please don't let this be a setup for them moving to Philly...
• Have we heard Toby's last name before? I didn't realize until tonight that I didn't know what it was.
• When will shirts have shoulders again?
• No words of wisdom for youngest Kate?
• Dammit, Randall.
• Why dry the dishes and then put them in the dish drainer...?

[Lady Calypso]

You know, I was actually super interested in Three Kates and a Jack storyline, but because the show was insistent on more William and pointless Rebecca/ex boyfriend stuff, we got far less than what we deserved. I think we needed more than four minutes of that dream sequence. Seriously, did we need MORE William here? Did we really need the scene of Randall visiting the Nigerian woman and her daughter in the hospital? 

But hey, finally Chrissy gets to act alongside Milo; she was the last of the Adult Big Three to have a scene with dead Jack. 

[ShadowFacts]

Anesthetized Kate interacting with her younger selves wasn't too bad until she decided to rejoin the living.  Way too trope-y. 

[CleoCaesar]

Another clunker of an episode. I miss the days of plot twists and actual plot development. And fucking enough with William already. No one cares.

My level of interest in Rebecca and Jack: The Early Years? Zero. We know they end up together. I’d much rather see the aftermath of his death, how Rebecca rebuilt her life, and how their awful children fell apart.

Laughed a lot at Kevin’s movie. One reliable thing about TV shows: Fiction within fiction that is allegedly brilliant is almost always terrible. That cheesy melodramatic speech at the end of Kevin’s movie? Ugh. Sure, that’s Ron Howard Oscar quality. Then again, the writers of this show WOULD think that cheesy purple prose is good writing.

[Dreamboat Annie]

"Hi Katiegirl."  The way he said it.  The way he was looking at her.  His eyes twinkling.  His smile.  I think I melted.

[Spartan Girl]

I loved the three Katie's dream sequence. Teen Kate was bitchy but worth it to see Adult Kate with Jack!

Teen Rebecca's 50s look was cute. And Other Guy seemed nice enough, but when it's not right, it's not right. 

Jack standing up to his dad and moving his mom out was awesome.

Poor Beth. Maybe this leads to a decent storyline for her.

[LoveLeigh]

I love this show. OK, I hate some of the cliffhangers and this season's glimpse into a mysterious future... but I love the story and the chemistry the characters have with each other. I could watch this show for a few hours every day. It would be a great night time soap opera. I love Jack. I haven't fallen in love with a character from a TV show or movie since I fell in love with Paul Newman in Hud. 

What was the big teaser in the promo about learning something about Jack? 

[ByaNose]

Rebecca ex boyfriend was creepy. So, glad she chose Jack. Jack’s father was a real joy. Of course, this was time when men sat in their Barca lounger waiting for their dinner. The 3 Kate’s was sad but teen Kate is PIA. I was glad Beth told Randall about getting fired. I would have been so mad if she let him go on & on & about himself. 

[Lady Calypso]

1 minute ago, ShadowFacts said:

Anesthetized Kate interacting with her younger selves wasn't too bad until she decided to rejoin the living.  Way too trope-y. 

I thought it was interesting, especially once we got the doctor telling Toby that Kate was having trouble waking up from the anesthesia. Despite knowin that she would wake, I expected it to be longer than a commercial break for Adult Kate to tell Teen Kate, Kid Kate, and Dead Jack "Actually, I'm gonna leave now. Peace!" I thought they'd at least milk the "will she STAY" for at least two scenes...and despite how cliche it is, I would have loved it if it meant more of Teen Kate bitching to Adult Kate.

[AmandaPanda]

This episode was just such a cloying, emotionally manipulative show. It contained everything I hate about the show all wrapped up in one big bow. I absolutely detest storylines where the character is in surgery and is being visited by past versions of themselves. It's almost painful to watch. 

[Katy M]

I don't know where to start.

I liked the dream sequence, but I was hoping it would end with Kate deciding she wasn't going to be a mother.  I did like her talk with teen Kate about how she would be OK.  I guess that means like she finally feels she's OK.  And that's good.

I think Randall had every right to ask about what Kate meant about adoption.  While I don't believe in IVF, I don't think he had a right to get all holier than thou about it, especially, as Kate pointed out that he had biological children well before he thought about adopting.

If neither Beth or Randall have jobs (and I don't think running for office coutns as a job until/if you win the election), I don't think they can adopt Deja.  So, maybe the IVF goes all wrong and Toby and Kate adopt her and she is the she in the future?  Who knows?  How much red tape is there to adopting an out-of-state ward of the state?

Rebecca, your boyfriend's mother does not want to hear about your new boyfriend.  She likes her son better than some guy you have had one date with.

Since they have 8 embryos, can Toby go back on his meds now?  

Kevin and Zoe did nothing for me this epi, but maybe I'll get into the whole Vietnam thing later as it progresses.

[ShortyMac]

Of course Randall has to try to save everyone and deal with their problems and not his own. Ugh at him running for Councilman. (Can he do that? He lives in NJ, not PA) I feel bad for Beth and love that she and Miguel text each other and vent about being in the Pearson vortex.

Enjoying the Kevin stuff. 

Kate is still annoying. I think her trying to have a baby at her weight is plain stupid and irresponsible. I can't help but love the stuff with Jack, though. Father/daughter moments get to me. 

[stonehaven]

I liked it..and yeah, I like Jack and Rebecca, the early years...so many times on shows, we get the perfect couple and never figure out how they got there. If we see Kate and Toby develop, then we should see Becca and Jack...and yeah, doing the dishes is it's own kind of sexy...

"Miguel is on point" was the line of the night!

[bettername2come]

I'm so glad Randall and Kate resolved their issues quickly. Randall overreacted a little bit because Kate's allowed to want biological children and he's getting his feelings from things she didn't say to him that he heard second hand. He had some valid points, but overstepped. Their reunion was nice.

Love the Jack and Rebecca stuff. I want Rebecca's purple eyeshadow. Fake Teenage Mandy Moore gave me early 2000s teen movie flashbacks. But why are we pretending the stuff the day after the Immaculate Reception isn't on Christmas Eve? If I can google sports trivia, writers, you can keep the facts straight. 

We can't just have Randall and Beth both happy and successfully working can we? But I love Randall stepping up into the best of Jack Pearson to help the community. 

2 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

But hey, finally Chrissy gets to act alongside Milo; she was the last of the Adult Big Three to have a scene with dead Jack. 

Aw, I hadn't even realized, Good for her. 

I'm looking forward to Kevin learning more about Jack's time in Vietnam. Still thinking he or bro have an unknown family in Vietnam. 

I want in on the Other Three's text thread of gifs and complaining. 

[notcreative enough]

I'm bummed that adult Kate and Jack didnt really interact. When he showed up to Randall and Kevin it was this huge thing. But the daddy's girl gets ice cream.

I'm also not surprised that 17 year olds don't really ask their parents about their lives before them. 

Um This is Us writers I would like to inform you that there is a huge as difference between PA and New Jersey. Like the state fucking line. Randall wants to run for office in a state he doesn't even live in. Sometime I feel like they start a story but don't know where it will lead. Like Kevin talking about destroying all of his model planes in season 1 only for Jack to die in a fire that didn't seem to touch his planes. Now I guess they either want to move the family or pretend William was living in Jersey all along. I hope Beth puts herself first and Randall let's he crazy plans go. Someone needs to work in that family. 

[Dreamboat Annie]

Jack and Rebecca.  Wow.  I would not have guessed that's how they got together.  I loved their respective backstories.  Jack a hero for his mom.  Rebecca, similarly, not liking as a child seeing her mom a servant to her dad.  Seeing a real man cleaning up, rolling up his sleeves and doing the dishes.  She could then see a life with him - and then without hesitation, he said yes to a trip out to L.A. with her. 

Not just his dream, but hers, too.  Both of them wanted to live in a house nothing like the one they grew up in.

[Katy M]

4 minutes ago, ShortyMac said:

Ugh at him running for Councilman. (Can he do that? He lives in NJ, not PA) I feel bad for Beth and love that she and Miguel text each other and vent about being in the Pearson vortex.

I'd think he'd have to move.  The thing is, it's almost November.  Is he going to wait until next year, or do a really speedy campaign?

[Lady Calypso]

6 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I think Randall had every right to ask about what Kate meant about adoption.  While I don't believe in IVF, I don't think he had a right to get all holier than thou about it, especially, as Kate pointed out that he had biological children well before he thought about adopting.

I think both were right and both were so incredibly wrong and self righteous. Yes, Randall has a point in bringing up what Kate said about a piece of Dad not being in Randall (or Kevin) and how condescending that is. He has every right to say "hey, biology isn't the only thing that matters." He also brought up the risks of this procedure, which is incredibly fair. However, Randall WAS condescending about Kate's choice to try biologically first. 

And then Kate had a point in telling Randall that she didn't dismiss adoption and that she'd choose it if IVF didn't work for her. That was something that did need to be stated, of course, and it's good to know that she wasn't just "bio kid or no kid". And Kate had every right to bring up Randall's two adoptive kids (remember them, Randall?) before adopting Deja and how trying for a biological kid, even if it didn't work, was important to her. But yeah, Kate's wording of a piece of Jack WAS harsh and she definitely didn't think that through when she first talked about it in the last episode.

Surprisingly, as annoying as Kate can be, I think her scene with Randall at the beginning helped put me on her side. I think the writers wrote Kate's perspective better than I thought they would.

[mtlchick]

2 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

Anesthetized Kate interacting with her younger selves wasn't too bad until she decided to rejoin the living.  Way too trope-y. 

I'm never a fan of that trope, but this was handled better than most shows I've seen it in.

But Randall needs to figure out that he can't save everybody.  Deja, the rec center...what's he going to do now that Beth doesn't have a job?  Does he even have a steady job now?

 

I have to re watch how Rebecca and Jack came together...I sort of mentally tuned out. 

[izabella]

9 minutes ago, CleoCaesar said:

My level of interest in Rebecca and Jack: The Early Years? Zero. We know they end up together. I’d much rather see the aftermath of his death, how Rebecca rebuilt her life, and how their awful children fell apart.

I feel the same way.  As Randall pointed out tonight, Jack died and everyone else has been messed up ever since.  Ok, so why not show us what was happening after Jack died?  That's important, that's the premise of the show, and they are not spending any time on showing us that.

I loved that Beth and Miguel talk, and that they and Toby have their own phone tree.  I'd have really liked seeing them talking instead of jsut hearing about it.

[Dreamboat Annie]

Is it weird that I wish we could see all the adult Pearson kids interact with Jack and have it not be a dream/hallucination?

[Eureka]

Random thoughts:

Randall needs to get over himself. I’m not liking his self-centeredness and thinking he alone can change the world.

I liked the three Kates scene.

Wow, Terry Gross is tiny!

Love Jane Kazmareck (I know I spelled that wrong)

Now that Toby has disclosed that the world isn’t good when he’s off his meds, he needs to get back on, stat! Sigh.

[Lady Calypso]

4 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I'd think he'd have to move.  The thing is, it's almost November.  Is he going to wait until next year, or do a really speedy campaign?

Well, they surprisingly had Kevin's movie premiere happen pretty much in the timeframe that most movies would be filmed and come out, so I do have some hope that the timeline of the campaign will work out. 

I do like the introduction to Beth's plot. Being fired and now having Randall want to run for politics is definitely not something she seems happy in. She didn't seem very pleased when Randall started talking about his woes when she was trying to tell him about her crappy day. I do hope that this storyline ends with Randall realizing that he needs to be there for Beth instead of trying to satisfy his own needs of saving the world. As much as I grumbled about William being shoehorned into the episode, I think this was the best use of him. He was used for Beth, to prop her up and give that speech about her being the soloist for once in the family. So it DID set up Beth's arc and I can't complain about that.

[Katy M]

3 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

Does he even have a steady job now?

He hasn't worked for like a year.  I don't know if they've been getting paid for being Deja's foster parents, but that's not much.  Beth did get severance.  Plus, now that Randall wants to run for office, they can sell their house and live dirt cheap in their building--which they probably lose money on every month.

[ShadowFacts]

I was a little put off by Rebecca asking Jack what he was doing on this side of town.  I know it could have been a harmless question and Jack didn't seem put off, but "this side of town" isn't a phrase I would choose because it can be taken wrong even if meant innocently. 

[Veronica]

I get that he wants to help fix up William’s old neighborhood, but I’m sure there are some shitty neighborhoods closer to Randall & Beth’s home. 

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, Eureka said:

Love Jane Kazmareck (I know I spelled that wrong)

That's who that was! I couldn't place her and she wasn't listed in the episode cast on IMDB. 

(It's Kaczmarek)

[Eureka]

Just now, ams1001 said:

That's who that was! I couldn't place her and she wasn't listed in the episode cast on IMDB. 

(It's Kaczmarek)

Thanks for the spelling, I knew the c was somewhere else. Lol. I saw her in the opening credits but if I hadn’t, I’m not sure I would have recognized her with the gray hair.

[Katy M]

1 minute ago, Veronica said:

I get that he wants to help fix up William’s old neighborhood, but I’m sure there are some shitty neighborhoods closer to Randall & Beth’s home. 

But, they're not Saint William's neighborhood.  You just made me realize something.  Randall spent most of his life looking for his bio parents, specifically his father. So, that makes his speech to Kate even worse, somehow, I feel.  I wonder how many kids who are left at a fire department by a drug addicted father, end up finding such complete saints when they go to look for them later in life?

[Dreamboat Annie]

3 minutes ago, Eureka said:

I’m not liking his self-centeredness and thinking he alone can change the world.

He seems to have ADD.  I'm quitting my job!  I'm foster-parenting!  I'm buying an apartment building!  I'm adopting a young teenager!  I'm running for city council!

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  He needs to go back to that job he liked and was good at before he talked himself out of it.  You know, the one with the corner office and nice views!

And with Beth's firing announcement, he just might have to.  But I really hope he does not blame her for it. 

[Katy M]

1 minute ago, Eureka said:

Thanks for the spelling, I knew the c was somewhere else. Lol. I saw her in the opening credits but if I hadn’t, I’m not sure I would have recognized her with the gray hair.

It was driving me crazy.  I never really liked Malcolm in the Middle, though, so I haven't seen her in too much.  But, I knew I knew her.

[Trillium]

Anyone else want to be in on the Miguel/Beth/Toby text chain? I really want to see those GIFs!

Edited October 10, 2018 by Trillium

[AmandaPanda]

12 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

I'm never a fan of that trope, but this was handled better than most shows I've seen it in.

But Randall needs to figure out that he can't save everybody.  Deja, the rec center...what's he going to do now that Beth doesn't have a job?  Does he even have a steady job now?

 

I have to re watch how Rebecca and Jack came together...I sort of mentally tuned out. 

It was handled decently. I also just had an atrocious day, so basically everything rubbed me the wrong way tonight. 

[Katy M]

Just now, Dreamboat Annie said:

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  He needs to go back to that job he liked and was good at before he talked himself out of it.  You know, the one with the corner office and nice views!

I don't know if they would take him back.  He made quite the dramatic exit.  And, even before that time, the job was probably in jeopardy because he backed off from his 16 hour days, or whatever ridiculous amount he said he was working.  I think he can find a good steady job doing something, though.  That's probably the only weather investment place (I have no ide ahwat he did) in town.  But, he's really smart, and this is the age a lot of people change careers.  He just needs to pick something and do it.

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, Eureka said:

Thanks for the spelling, I knew the c was somewhere else. Lol. I saw her in the opening credits but if I hadn’t, I’m not sure I would have recognized her with the gray hair.

Copied and pasted from IMDB ? (I looked up her page to see if this was listed there; it's not.)

4 minutes ago, Katy M said:

It was driving me crazy.  I never really liked Malcolm in the Middle, though, so I haven't seen her in too much.  But, I knew I knew her.

I didn't watch it either; maybe seen a handful of episodes. The gray hair was throwing me off, too.

Edited October 10, 2018 by ams1001

[Amethyst]

I actually thought this was much better than last week.  It's still manipulative, but they're fleshing things out.  Toby was stupid to throw out his pills, but at least he's letting people know why he was taking them.  Kate wants her father around, but she can't stay in Dreamland with him.  Stuff like that.  But wow, I really hated how Kate turned the tables on Randall when she never clarified what she meant by that stupid remark in the first place.  Genetics or not, it was a stupid thing to say, and she owed Randall an apology too.  

Can Randall even run for office if they don't live in the district?  Does this mean they're moving to Philly, now that Beth is also unemployed?

Poor Beth.  Forced to be the rock all the time, but no one for her to turn to.  William would have listened, but he's gone now.  It's not just Beth being fired, she's got to deal with the painful realization that despite her 12 years at the firm, she's not worth much to them.  That had to hurt.

Ngl, I didn't feel bad for Kate when she was getting railed on by her teen self.  Older Kate just sucks so much, and that opening scene with Randall put me off of Kate for most of the episode.

Finally, we get some backstory to Rebecca.  Not much, but it's enough to show why she would look up to her ex's mom the way she did.  What was the guy's name, anyway?  That was a bad pornstache he was wearing.

[CleoCaesar]

3 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Randall spent most of his life looking for his bio parents, specifically his father. So, that makes his speech to Kate even worse, somehow, I feel.

Only Randall is allowed to be obsessed with his DNA and biological parents, but god forbid Kate want to pass on her father's DNA to her own children. 

Kate isn’t obligated to adopt just because she hasn’t had success conceiving. And well done for her pointing out that his hypocritical ass had two biological children. “That’s a completely different situation!” Ugh shut up.

[Katy M]

2 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

What was the guy's name, anyway? 

I think it was Alan.

[tennisgurl]

I surprisingly liked the three Kate's coming together to have an adult Kate vision quest more than I expected. It was great seeing adult Kate interacting with Jack finally. "Hey Katie girl." Damn it, the feels! They got me again, those sons of bitches! I mean, adult Kate telling angsty teen Kate it will get better so she can get out and be a mom was pretty trope-y, but I know this show pretty well now. 

Enjoying the Kevin stuff, and him getting to know his fathers war time experience a bit more. I am actually pretty interested in seeing Jacks Vietnam experience, and what happened to his brother. It was nice seeing him sticking up for his mom, his dad really was a piece of work. I actually do like seeing Jacks dad, as I think it explains a lot about his parenting later on. He might have overcompensated with being Super Dad due to having such a crappy one, and wanted his kids to have the experiences he never did. 

Of course Randall wants to run for city council, and just after Beth gets laid off. Dude just cannot be settled for more than five seconds. Dude, just do volunteer work on the weekend, like normal people! You have a family, you cant be changing their lives every five seconds! Those poor girls are now pretty much inevitably going to get moved to a whole new city to stay in a crappy building so that Randall can live out his hero complex. Oy. It was sweet when he was apologizing to Kate though. Really, those two are way more alike than they look. They are both pretty much drama.

50s era Rebecca was cute, and I do kind of like seeing her and Jack early on. However, I could do without seeing Saint William for awhile. What was his point this week?!? We just had a whole flashback with him! I've seen him more than some characters on this show that are still alive!

[Dreamboat Annie]

3 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I don't know if they would take him back.  He made quite the dramatic exit.  And, even before that time, the job was probably in jeopardy because he backed off from his 16 hour days, or whatever ridiculous amount he said he was working.  I think he can find a good steady job doing something, though.  That's probably the only weather investment place (I have no ide ahwat he did) in town.  But, he's really smart, and this is the age a lot of people change careers.  He just needs to pick something and do it.

Yes!  I can't disagree with anything you've said.  But I will extrapolate - I know this is an age where people change careers - but I think Randall takes changing careers to a whole new level, as well as interests and hobbies. 

[Katy M]

1 minute ago, tennisgurl said:

I actually do like seeing Jacks dad, as I think it explains a lot about his parenting later on. He might have overcompensated with being Super Dad due to having such a crappy one, and wanted his kids to have the experiences he never did. 

That's a good point.  Abused children often have low self-esteem, so he probably saw that part of him in Kate.  And, so he wanted to give her everything that she wanted since he never felt loved by his father and that was the only way he could figure out to show it.  

1 minute ago, Dreamboat Annie said:

Yes!  I can't disagree with anything you've said.  But I will extrapolate - I know this is an age where people change careers - but I think Randall takes changing careers to a whole new level, as well as interests and hobbies. 

I would suggest he go to a career counsellor to focus himself.  And whatever he picks he just has to stick with it.

[Dreamboat Annie]

2 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I think it was Alan.

Well, it definitely wasn't Logan, and I for one thought that was obvious when we first saw him last week.

[tennisgurl]

13 hours ago, Trillium said:

Anyone else want to be in on the Miguel/Beth/Toby text chain? I really want to see those GIFs!

Oh my God yes! That was one of my favorite part of the episode. Please tell me someone is setting up a Miguel/Beth/Toby Twitter feed as we speak! 

I also loved Kevin watching his family watch his movie, and how happy he looked to see them moved to tears (although Randall was crying about something else) and how he looked so proud when they cheered for him. Thank God they actually showed up for him for one, it was touch and go last week!

[Dreamboat Annie]

At first tonight, I thought Beth's cousin could be a full on sociopath.  She wasn't interested in anything until it was something that could possibly benefit her.  Then, she did seem interested in helping Kevin to understand his Dad's time in Vietnam, appearing supportive and even suggesting he contact the men in the pictures.  But.. alas, I think she sees an opportunity for herself to produce a documentary.  Beth does love Kevin and did warn him about her. 

[Lady Calypso]

7 minutes ago, Dreamboat Annie said:

At first tonight, I thought Beth's cousin could be a full on sociopath.  She wasn't interested in anything until it was something that could possibly benefit her.  Then, she did seem interested in helping Kevin to understand his Dad's time in Vietnam, appearing supportive and even suggesting he contact the men in the pictures.  But.. alas, I think she sees an opportunity for herself to produce a documentary.  Beth does love Kevin and did warn him about her. 

I think so too. I'm still not sure if we're going to have Zoe's arc be about her learning to truly love Kevin and that he helps change her to become a more selfless person or if this is purely to end in heartbreak for Kevin when he finds out how right Beth was about her cousin. Nevertheless, she's not some girl that Kevin has dated, besides Sophie, who will just disappear if they do break up. Since she's Beth's cousin, she's part of the family and has a high chance of coming back.

But I honestly would find it more interesting if she does just use Kevin for her documentary. Not that I want Kevin's heart broken, but because I think I want a single Kevin by the end of the series. I much prefer Kevin when he's not in a love story, as it turns out. The addiction storyline and now the Vietnam storyline is more interesting than any of the love interest arcs he's had, and his thing with Zoe is no exception at the moment. 

[bybrandy]

Were Jack and Rebecca rinsing the dishes before they dried them?   

[Soup333]

Meh. 

I love William and will take any and all scenes with him and Beth. I’m not at all interested in the rec center, the girl and her bitchy mom or Randall running for office. At all. Especially if it causes tension/large upheaval in his marriage - which it is sure to do. I really wish they’d skip all of the above. 

Still not shipping Zoe and Kevin but I am intrigued by Kevin looking into Jack’s past. I’m thrilled that his movie is a success. At least that’s working out for him. 

Like some of you said, I’m more interested in seeing post-Jack scenes and how the family coped than seeing them get together. 

[Snickerdoodle]

Can we talk about Randall's magic plane that got him back and forth across country in a day? (Not sure it really was a day, but it seemed like it to me.)  Randall hops on a plane and in seconds he's with his sister!  What? Something happened in Philly? Hold on, I'll be right there.  Does he have that many miles left after all these plane trips?

[watcher1006]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

Stray observations:

• I don't care what decade the Rebecca/Ex-BF scenes were set in. That mustache was terrible.
• "I love that you did your own thing." "I'm thinking of doing this." "No, don't do that, do what I want!"
• So they can put their issues on hold for the length of a feature film? I guess that's progress for this family.
• Terry Gross is tiny.
• Poor Beth. Please don't let this be a setup for them moving to Philly...
• Have we heard Toby's last name before? I didn't realize until tonight that I didn't know what it was.
• When will shirts have shoulders again?
• No words of wisdom for youngest Kate?
• Dammit, Randall.
• Why dry the dishes and then put them in the dish drainer...?

Yes! That really stuck out for me. Why not have something to say to youngest Kate, who has the most time to live through and the most potential to change? Especially considering that Kate wants so much to be a mother from the very beginning of a child's life.