S03.E07: Sometimes

[Lady Calypso]

As said in our main mod note as well in previous episode threads, preview talk is off limits in any episode thread. Take any talk about previews to the appropriate thread. Posts have been removed accordingly. Any future posts with preview talk with be removed and posters will receive warnings. 

[LoveLeigh]

21 hours ago, GSMHvisitor said:

Couldn't agree more about Kevin and Zoe. There is no chemistry whatsoever. The weird thing is they had the actors do a chemistry read together before the actress was cast. Did nobody pick up that it's not working? Just because they're both pretty people doesn't mean they also work well in front of the camera.

I think the issue with the chemistry is coming from Kevin not Zoe. I think the problem is his acting skills, not the actual chemistry. He is just not "acting" that really into her. She is so gorgeous, and does not seem like she is going to "destroy" Kevin so I am not sure what the problem is. There is no romantic edge. He acts with her the same way he interacts with his sister, Kate. Kevin's eyes are blank. His face is expressionless. 

Edited November 15, 2018 by DakotaLavender
typos corrected

[rogueprinzess]

12 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I really hope they don't go down that road.  To me, Zoe has not worked through her issues enough to be a mother.  She is just starting to open up to Kevin.  I want to see them grow as a couple before adding a baby to the mix.  They already rushed Kate and Toby, I don't want that happening again.  Also, a magical Pearson baby is not going to fix all of Kevin and Zoe's issues no matter what the writers may think.

The reality of life is that most of us don't get to be "perfect" before becoming parents. Most of us also don't actively try to be parents, more oft than not, families start 'by accident' (I have issue with this term simply because the act of sex is literally reproduction so, every time is trying and if you don't get a it, you lucked out) While I agree that children should not be used to 'fix' people's issues, I do believe that they can be a huge driver for people to make those changes (and realistic).

12 hours ago, nkotb said:

Totally agree, @Ohiopirate02, & maybe I'm wrong, but that was my first thought. I was shocked that no one else on this board had mentioned suspecting a Zoe/Kevin pregnancy. 

I too think that Zoe will get pregnant this season, if she isn't already. I think the show has been giving us pretty heavy anvils from Kate's infamous "only one to carry on a piece of dad" line, to being sure to show us their physical relationship, to Kevin saying that the idea of being a dad makes him nauseous, to of course, being sure to show us Zoe being sick, when they easily could have shown her laying in bed with stomach cramps. I also (sadly) think that Kate's baby isn't going to make it, so it won't be baby overload. 

 

12 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I agree about the song and the crying.  Didn't move me really. I did like the parallel road-trip-of-discovery storylines, but honestly, I felt Rebecca outshone Jack in theirs.  For some reason, it just seemed that Mandy was really bringing it while Milo just wasn't for me.  She's the one that kept my attention.

re: Zoe, I think a person and a relationship can be all those things.  I also don't think her molestation is about her relationship with Kevin at all.  That was all about her.  I think those things show a progression in how she sees her relationship with Kevin evolving.  She went into the relationship insisting on casualness because that is how she's learned to not get too involved with people over the years.  I feels to me like she saw the relationship getting deeper and kept giving herself reasons to keep it from progressing.  The first step in her deciding to actually move it from the casual was the race stuff -- how much of me to I allow myself to reveal to this person?  It was also like she was looking for yet another reason that the relationship wouldn't work.   I think finally with the molestation reveal all the rest falls into place.  We finally see why she fought so hard to keep him at arms length.

I actually do believe Kevin is really in love.  In every case, with the exception of Kate, Kevin's interactions with the people closest to him, it has always been about him.  He saw his parents' affection for the other kids as a rejection of him.  Even with Sophie there was an air of her being his and all about how much he needed her.  His little speech to Zoe about it being ok for her to stay closed off felt like the most adulting Kevin has ever showed on this show.

I like Kate and Randall, but I agree it was nice to get a break from their issues for awhile.

I agree that Kevin is really in love as well. His past relationships were based on a false version of himself (the one that was always okay and perky) who was desperate for attention. This is the first time he's had to work to get someone to fall for him, but as you mentioned, not be looking for the ego boost or validation from his partner. I think Kevin finally feels needed by someone in a way that isn't temporary or interchangeable, especially now that Zoe's showed such a vulnerable side of herself to him. I really like their dynamic a lot. They have so many ways to help each other grow and improve in healthy ways 

[DebbieM4]

22 hours ago, Snapdragon said:

Apparently I'm emotionally dead inside because I didn't feel anything when Rebecca singing made Jack cry.  It was just all too cliche.  Also, I can't get into their road trip storyline.  If someone told me that they were going on a cross country road trip with a guy they barely knew, I would say, "You make bad life choices."  And yes, I know that lots of shows have done something similar but those are usually teen dramas where you're rooting for the characters to get together.  This show is aimed at adults and is supposed to be a little more grounded.  Also, we know these two get together so glimpses into their dating life are just boring and have no real impact on anything else in the show.

 

I didn't feel anything either, and I cry very easily - especially if I see someone else cry.  But the whole Jack and Rebecca backstory is really boring to me.  And yes, "too cliche".  This episode was way too much Jack & Rebecca for me.

16 hours ago, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

Wow, I hated this episode. Jack was an asshole to burden those grieving parents with his guilt. I hate when people ask to be taken care of by the grief-stricken. Hate it in fiction, hate it in life. 

Also hated Jack asking if Bao was a good guy or a bad guy. From his own perspective, he’s a good guy no matter whose side he’s on. Jack’s a foreign soldier commanding Bao’s country. As far as he’s concerned, Jack is a bad guy. 

The less said about the stupid spider story, the better. 

 

I thought the same thing.  He wanted to unburden himself from guilt, so he really was there for selfish reasons.  Showing up like that and having that conversation resulted in HIM feeling better, not them.  I hated that he did that.

And the spider story had me rolling my eyes.  Seriously?  I'm surprised that guy didn't laugh in his face.

[WhosThatGirl]

I didn’t feel anything when Rebecca sang either. Also.. again, I said this when Kate sang as Adele and chrissy has a great voice(better than me) as does Mandy Moore, But are they as good as the show implies to us? Enough to be flawed over appraised the way they are? It’s hard for me to be impacted by it the way I think I need to be.

I really like Kevin this season.  I really want them to give JH more to work with though on the show, I’m one of the few who loved his Kevin centric episode last season.

[DebbieM4]

9 hours ago, PRgal said:

Isn't her attitude pretty "typical" of many Millennials?  Making fun of old(er white) people who seem ignorant abroad? 

I know a lot of millennials, and this is not true of any of them.  I've never heard that making fun of people is a millennial thing, and IMO it's an insulting generalization.

4 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

 

The thing about Rebecca though, is that she's played by Mandy Moore, who is otherwordly beautiful.  She's too perfect to be exactly my taste, but come on.  She's perfect looking (IMO).  That's why she "made it" as a popstar.  I feel like her looks are kind of being ignored here.  Are they pretending that Rebecca isn't that good-looking, or that Mandy isn't that good of a singer?  Is Mandy downplaying her singing abilities?  LOL.  So many questions.

Obviously beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I don't think Mandy Moore is otherworldly beautiful or even beautiful at all.  She's attractive, but not more so than many other women.  JMO obviously, but I don't think her looks are being ignored or that they're pretending anything.   

[Squirrely]

James really liked the bat soup on Survivor. They showed it in detail too. *gag*

I'm enjoying the Vietnam flashbacks and Kevin's journey so far. I kind of hope Kevin finds out nothing and accepts it. Locating the woman in the picture in any way, especially after learning that necklace is a dime a dozen, is going to be going too far, even for this show. Which means nothing, I know!

The roadtrip was odd. It's Rebecca's dream, yet she's willing to give it up because the first company she took her demo to didn't jump up and down and sign her immediately? Does she not know that nearly every great artist had to bust ass and pitch their demos to multiple agents and labels? 

Next week can we learn that Randall's political story was all a dream? Pretty please?

[DebbieM4]

4 minutes ago, Squirrely said:

 

The roadtrip was odd. It's Rebecca's dream, yet she's willing to give it up because the first company she took her demo to didn't jump up and down and sign her immediately? Does she not know that nearly every great artist had to bust ass and pitch their demos to multiple agents and labels? 

 

Yes, that made no sense.  She went all the way there just to hear one company's opinion of her demo?  And then she took one man's opinion to heart so much that she decides to turn around and go home.  What was her plan?   Because it's crazy that she didn't seem to have one.  She said her friend would let them stay with her as long as they wanted, so she certainly could have pursued her dream at least a little bit more even if she just got a gig singing in a local LA club while trying to make contacts and get her demo out to as many people as possible.  Or something.  Giving up the way she did didn't make her look very motivated to pursue her dream at all.

[ThisIsMe]

This episode moved a bit slow for me, and I never really "connected" with the various plot lines.

Road trip:  It had some sweet moments but not enough of them.  I didn't cry or get choked up either when Rebecca was singing.  I think it's because we already know that Jack's PTSD runs deep.  All in all, the scenes did not add much to what we already know about the characters.  Oh, I did like the "you're Pittsburgh good" scene.  We've all had to face disappointments and had a dream or two crushed ... so this scene felt quite authentic.

Vietnam:  Again, not much new going on other than moving Jack and his brother to the same location where we will presumably learn what happened.  

Kevin & Zoe:  I agree with the others who have said that these actors don't seem to have much chemistry together -- so, I'm not as invested in how their relationship unfolds.  Maybe now that Zoe has told Kevin about the abuse, that will change.  Right now, I don't much care whether they stay together or not.

[Sharon]

I think Kevin finds the woman of the necklace and either a cousin or half-sibling left behind, unknown at the time by the dad. It’s Hallmark, after all. A little bit more of dad/Jack...maybe. 

[Kirkydee]

4 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Good question. I don't know much about military history but I bet if they had to draft people for the war, almost anyone who willingly signed up was offered a higher position as a sort of "thank you."

If I had to guess I believed Jack received some blood stripes.  Battlefield promotions due to fatalities. Nicky's alpha 1-5s  wouldve prevented him from climbing the ranks.  I can also seeing some early streamlining to E-2 and E-3 due to Jack just outPearsoning everybody in training.  Especially if he regaled superiors with his arachnid sparing sibling stories

Edited November 15, 2018 by Kirkydee

[Dowel Jones]

Rebecca could have had a drop dead beautiful voice, and she still might not have made it at that company.  Maybe they were looking for Rod Stewart types for their stable, instead of Joni Mitchell (to use the obvious parallels).  But, yeah, there's more than one record label in LA.  EMI rejected The Who, and Decca rejected the Beatles.

I couldn't help wondering if the actor playing the record exec was thinking "I just kicked Mandy Moore under the bus.  My life is over."

1 hour ago, DebbieM4 said:

And the spider story had me rolling my eyes.  Seriously?  I'm surprised that guy didn't laugh in his face.

Or a spider happens to conveniently walk on the desk and the CO clobbers it right in front of Jack.

Jack has to be some kind of stupid to walk back to his base, alone, through VC held country.  We know he was going to make it, and it gave us a storyline, but, no.  He also mentally blocked the memory that, after Squirrel was killed by the IED, an entire squad of VC opened up on his squad, killing half a dozen of his soldiers.  In all likelihood, Squirrel was dead the moment they stopped at that clearing.  If he blames himself for that death, he's got several others on his conscience.  Not that he should; I'm just saying that shit happens in wartime.

It would be cool if Jack & Becca took a detour on the way home and stopped in Austin, or even Nashville.  Country cameos abound!

[GSMHvisitor]

2 hours ago, DakotaLavender said:

I think the issue with the chemistry is coming form Kevin not Zoe. I think the problem is his acting skills, not the actual chemistry. He is just not "acting" that really into her. She is so gorgeous, and does not seem like she is going to "destroy" Kevin so I am not sure what the problem is. There is no romantic edge. He acts with her the same way he interacts with his sister, Kate. kevin's eyes are blank. His face is expressionless. 

I love Kevin, I love Justin Hartley, but I would lie if I said I hadn't noticed this as well. The thing is, Justin can do it. I've watched some stuff of his and he can be very good at making the heart eyes. In fact he did that with Sophie pretty well. It's what sold me on them in the end, even though the writers only did the bare minimum with them. But the way he played those scenes made me believe that he loves and loved this woman for decades. Maybe this is a bad example, since most people weren't so keen on that relationship. But for me it worked, even though they got waaay too little focus.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

18 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

What really bothered me about that is Rebecca immediately went back to Pittsburgh after the meeting.  She didn't even try to book a gig in LA.  She is never going to get a record contract if she stays in Pittsburgh.  She needs to permanently move to somewhere where record company personnel can hear her live.  She has already tried singing in bars in her hometown and that has not brought her desired outcome.  I'm listening to the Pretenders while typing this and am thinking about the difference between Chrisie Hynde's music career and her brothers.  Chrissie moved to London from the Akron area and was able to make it big.  Her brother Terry stayed in Akron and music is a side job for him.  I used to know Terry back when I lived in Ohio.

ITA - if you want to make it as any kind of performer (acting, singing, dancing, modeling, etc), you have to be persistent. You have to keep putting yourself out there to get exposure because no matter how talented you are, the chances of becoming an overnight success after ONE meeting are slim to none. You also have to have a thick enough skin to take repeated rejections and keep trying. If you're going to give up after one meeting, then this isn't the right career for you. If you're going to give up because one person said you weren't the most amazing performer he's ever seen, this DEFINITELY isn't the right thing for you to do (even if you become an international megastar, there will always be people saying you suck).

Let's be honest - Pittsburgh isn't the music capital of the world so singing in a bar there was never going to result in a successful singing career for Rebecca. She never thought to try New York? And even worse, she was already in LA with a free place to stay and she didn't bother tryingto book any gigs while she was there? She just turned around and went home. When I was in college, I came up with a travel rule: take the amount of time required for the round trip and double it - that's the minimum amount of time required for me to feel like it was worth my effort to get my ass there. If we took a short road trip that was 100 miles away, that was four hours in the car round trip so I would only do it if I spent at least eight hours at the final destination. Jack and Rebecca drove from Pittsburgh to LA, which is 36 hours if you don't stop. That means it's at least 72 hours round trip, so I would have stayed in LA for at least a week just to make it worth my while. And why not? It's not like they had anything pressing to get back to in Pittsburgh. Go to the beach or Disneyland or the Hollywood sign. Look for dive bars and ask if you can sing there. Just do SOMETHING besides go straight home immediately!

18 hours ago, DFWGina said:

But seriously, bat?   There is a fine line between adventurous and stupidity....  

9 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I don't think eating a fried bat is any worse than eating monkey, guinea pig, rats, dogs or cats. All common in countries not the United States. Not that I'd want to, but still. You won't die from it.

I'd rather see a traveler like Zoe who is enthusiastic about trying the local cuisine than the kind of people who go on vacation and then eat most of their meals at American chain restaurants like McDonalds because they think the local food is "weird" or "gross."

12 hours ago, Kdawg82 said:

In HS I took a drama course as an elective for some unknown reason. It was all the "musical" kids. Anyway, our teacher said How everyone thinks they'll "make It big" bc they're the best in their high school or whatever. He said once you get to L.A., it is ALL the prettiest, most talented people who were the "best" in their HS as well and that's who you're up against.  Like the old tale of the big fish in a small pond becoming a small fish in a big pond. Pittsburgh good, indeed!

When I was in middle school, I read a book about a group of women who became friends when they were at Radcliffe in the 50s. At orientation, they were told to look at the girl on their left and the girl on their right and know that everyone in that room was the valedictorian of their high school so they all needed to adjust their expectations and realize that they were no longer the smartest one in the room. There's nothing wrong with thinking that you're good at whatever you do, but you do have to realize that unless you have an Olympic gold medal, you're probably not the best in the world, just one of MANY people who are good or even great at something. The question is whether you're willing to go the extra mile to distinguish yourself from everyone and put in the work to be amazing, not just the best one in your hometown.

11 hours ago, chabelisaywow said:

Her lookalike sister - Madeline Zima was the youngest daughter on the ... Nanny. lol

I remember her from Californication!

10 hours ago, debraran said:

I also don't get Kevin looking for a woman in a picture in Vietnam. How do you do that ? I know it's TV but really, he doesn't even have a name does he?

He'll just give a Pearson monologue to every person he encounters in Vietnam until someone brings him straight to her!

[debraran]

11 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

He'll just give a Pearson monologue to every person he encounters in Vietnam until someone brings him straight to her!

Thanks for the morning laugh, I could help but picture him randomly showing his dad's picture around and someone saying, "Jack!, Jack Pearson!, that was your dad, he was our savior! My daughter is dead but her son isn't". Hmmm, Nicky's or Jack's. ?  Way too Lifetime but This is Us does get over the top saccharin at times.

[IDreamofJoaquin]

20 hours ago, Jaclyn88 said:

I enjoy this show.. the only thing that annoys me is that the characters do the most cliche things and I always know what's gonna happen by the end of the episode. The beginning of every episode always starts off with a character not wanting to talk about something serious in their lives and they deflect and joke around about something else. But you know by the end of the episode, they're going to end up opening up and having a 5 minute monologue about what is bothering them to their significant other or whoever is in the room.

I feel the same way.  I liked the episode as well but feel like the themes are getting repetitive.  Rebecca and Jack go on a trip early on in their relationship at the same time as Kevin and Zoe.....Rebecca says something about not dancing enough and Jack swoops in and dances with her.......Jack gives a few speeches to try and draw something out in someone. The spider speech was the stupidest one they have ever had.  

I don't understand why Zoe's dad would have her as a friend on Instagram.  Or is hers public?  Can she block him?  

Rebecca's costume design was incredible this episode.

Edited November 15, 2018 by IDreamofJoaquin

[ShadowFacts]

5 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Jack has to be some kind of stupid to walk back to his base, alone, through VC held country.  We know he was going to make it, and it gave us a storyline, but, no.  He also mentally blocked the memory that, after Squirrel was killed by the IED, an entire squad of VC opened up on his squad, killing half a dozen of his soldiers.  In all likelihood, Squirrel was dead the moment they stopped at that clearing.  If he blames himself for that death, he's got several others on his conscience.  Not that he should; I'm just saying that shit happens in wartime.

The superior officer told him to do it so he ranks even higher on the stupid scale.  As to how he became a staff sergeant, not sure but his age/maturity could have something to do with it.  He's nearing 30 whereas the other soldiers are really just kids, 19 and 20, and there probably were slim pickings in terms of guys who stayed in past when their tours were over.  

6 hours ago, DebbieM4 said:

Yes, that made no sense.  She went all the way there just to hear one company's opinion of her demo?  And then she took one man's opinion to heart so much that she decides to turn around and go home.  What was her plan?   Because it's crazy that she didn't seem to have one.  She said her friend would let them stay with her as long as they wanted, so she certainly could have pursued her dream at least a little bit more even if she just got a gig singing in a local LA club while trying to make contacts and get her demo out to as many people as possible.  Or something.  Giving up the way she did didn't make her look very motivated to pursue her dream at all.

I'm actually happy we didn't have to see any of that.  The Vietnam story may be unrealistic in many ways, but I prefer that  to the trying to make it in show business/music or the trying to get elected to office plots.  You're right, she didn't appear to be super motivated, more like a bit of a lark. 

[marceline]

Just to weigh in I like Kevin and Zoe. I think Kevin has really matured since his relapse. I found Kevin's relationships with Sophie and Sloane irritating. Or more accurately he used to irritate me in those relationships. I feel like the Kevin we're looking at now has grown considerably. He's able to nurture another human being instead of always grasping to be the center of attention. He seems way more comfortable in his own skin.

As for the Vietnam story, I don't find it terrible. I find it implausible though for a lot of the logistical reasons mentioned upthread. I am interested to find out how Jack's brother died and I do like the exploration of Jack's PTSD. His flinching at the champagne cork popping was a nice example of how quickly all this stuff can be brought up again. I found his conversation with Squirrel's parents very moving. It's obvious that Jack feelings about Squirrel are mixed up with his feelings about Nicky.

I kind of like how quickly Jack and Rebecca hooked up. Life in pre-AIDS America was a lot simpler. ;-)

[Jax7917]

58 minutes ago, marceline said:

 

I kind of like how quickly Jack and Rebecca hooked up. Life in pre-AIDS America was a lot simpler. ;-)

Yes I like that we didn't get the whole.. they're about to have sex but Rebecca stops it and then by the end of the episode she's ready and they have this whole romantic first time. I like that they just got right down to it. The only non-cliche part in the whole episode.

[watcher1006]

One thing that I wonder about with the Jack-in-Vietnam plotline is Jack's birth date. Kevin says that the first "twenty eight years" of his father's life is a complete blank to him. The height of the Vietnam War was around 1968, Jack being in his late 20s then is consistent with how he's being presented in Vietnam. He would then have met and married Rebecca in the 1970s and had his now-approaching-40 children a few years after that. He died as his children were reaching college age, I think that would have been in the latter 1990s. The Vietnam War story therefore seems to place his date of birth around 1940. That makes Jack look a little young in his late life scenes but no big deal. But I wonder about Rebecca. If she had also been born around 1940 that would make her in her mid-to-late 30s when she was pursuing a singing career. And I can't believe she would be in her late 70s in the present day. So are we to believe that Jack is older than Rebecca, by about a decade or more? That would make the most sense.

[sadie]

Echoing what has already been said. I’m just bored this season. I loved the premise and Season 1, Season 2 was mostly very good but this season is just leaving me cold. I think them having to force Milo to the front of the show to keep him the star is crippling the writers. Add in some of the most implausible events (they delivered his brother to him in a helicopter when from what I know would neve ever happen in real life) and it drags what is supposed to be a show set in reality and makes it hard to watch. I have loved Milo from his GG days but he is wearing thin for me. 

I get this is the story they are telling now but to keep jumping farther back in time to tell Jack/Rebecca’s story isn’t working because we know how it ends and what they are showing isn’t compelling enough to make me care. I want the Big 3’s stories with bits of backstory thrown in, it’s what the premise presented the show to be but it is morphing into the Jack show to its detriment. YMMV 

[WhosThatGirl]

This episode is odd because I makes it seem like Rebecca is done with the singing thing, doesn’t it? Or at least trying to make it big. But we know she’s not? She keeps singing in small bars and clubs, because she thinks that will further her career?

The episode in season one when jack said he does want kids and then Rebecca said at the very end she does too but she isn’t where she wants to be.. singing wise, I, like many others am really confused now by her actions. Her saying to Jack that she’s going  to take “Pittsburgh good” as a compliment and that she wants to go back home implies that maybe she thinks of singing as a fun hobby, but this doesn’t match up with her actions in quite a few past episodes.

I think obviously she stops singing when she has the big three but like I said in the season one episode for the super bowl she says something like “I’m not where I want to be with the singing” so... she was still singing in a local Pittsburgh bar hoping to get noticed? I mean back in that season I would have never thought she and Jack road tripped to LA for a meeting and then she just said “well I’m done with LA, I’ll just go back to PA and sing at the bar and restaurants some more”. Unless we see an episode where they go somewhere else for her dream. It sort of makes the season one finale and Jacks feelings toward Rebecca and singing make sense. Sort of. 

This makes me kind of sad because normally the show is consistent with their episodes and story and this just isn’t matching up.  

[Lady Calypso]

2 minutes ago, watcher1006 said:

One thing that I wonder about with the Jack-in-Vietnam plotline is Jack's birth date. Kevin says that the first "twenty eight years" of his father's life is a complete blank to him. The height of the Vietnam War was around 1968, Jack being in his late 20s then is consistent with how he's being presented in Vietnam. He would then have met and married Rebecca in the 1970s and had his now-approaching-40 children a few years after that. He died as his children were reaching college age, I think that would have been in the latter 1990s. The Vietnam War story therefore seems to place his date of birth around 1940. That makes Jack look a little young in his late life scenes but no big deal. But I wonder about Rebecca. If she had also been born around 1940 that would make her in her mid-to-late 30s when she was pursuing a singing career. And I can't believe she would be in her late 70s in the present day. So are we to believe that Jack is older than Rebecca, by about a decade or more? That would make the most sense.

Jack was 36 when the Big Three were born. We know Rebecca was 30 from the first big football episode (when she conceived the triplets), so there is a six year age gap. So Rebecca, when she met Jack, was in her early twenties. Of course, the issue is having Mandy play someone in her early twenties, as she definitely doesn't look that way anymore. But they didn't want to recast a younger Rebecca meeting Jack if they could hope the audience would dismiss the appearance enough. 

[Sharyn]

9 hours ago, ThisIsMe said:

This episode moved a bit slow for me, and I never really "connected" with the various plot lines.

Road trip:  It had some sweet moments but not enough of them.  I didn't cry or get choked up either when Rebecca was singing.  I think it's because we already know that Jack's PTSD runs deep.  All in all, the scenes did not add much to what we already know about the characters.  Oh, I did like the "you're Pittsburgh good" scene.  We've all had to face disappointments and had a dream or two crushed ... so this scene felt quite authentic.

Vietnam:  Again, not much new going on other than moving Jack and his brother to the same location where we will presumably learn what happened.  

Kevin & Zoe:  I agree with the others who have said that these actors don't seem to have much chemistry together -- so, I'm not as invested in how their relationship unfolds.  Maybe now that Zoe has told Kevin about the abuse, that will change.  Right now, I don't much care whether they stay together or not.

Regarding Jack breaking down and crying during Rebecca's song...I believe it was not the song itself but actually feeling spent after admitting guilt to the parent's of the lost soldier.  He had dreaded meeting them.  He told Rebecca he never cried.  He had a lot of pent up feelings:  his emotionally-abusive father, ALL he'd seen in war, losing his brother; all those feelings came rushing forward.  It wasn't the song, in my opinion.  Although that line about faults being forgiven was impactful. (Is that a word?)    

[ShadowFacts]

14 minutes ago, Sharyn said:

Regarding Jack breaking down and crying during Rebecca's song...I believe it was not the song itself but actually feeling spent after admitting guilt to the parent's of the lost soldier.  He had dreaded meeting them.  He told Rebecca he never cried.  He had a lot of pent up feelings:  his emotionally-abusive father, ALL he'd seen in war, losing his brother; all those feelings came rushing forward.  It wasn't the song, in my opinion.  Although that line about faults being forgiven was impactful. (Is that a word?)    

That's just how the scene played to me.  He was not really so focused on the song, he was lost in his own thoughts.  He didn't want to talk about it with Rebecca, didn't cry, but what he had just experienced helped open the floodgates.  Probably very temporarily.  I also don't think he was looking for absolution from those parents.  Having someone who was right there when your son was killed and able to explain it would undoubtedly be both painful and valuable to them, and I think he was confessing what he thought was his wrongdoing, not trying to excuse himself. 

[Snickerdoodle]

14 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Good question. I don't know much about military history but I bet if they had to draft people for the war, almost anyone who willingly signed up was offered a higher position as a sort of "thank you."

I think there is something to that.  My dad volunteered for the army in ‘66 or so.  He said that he signed up because he saw the writing on the wall: get drafted and go into combat or volunteer and possibly have a choice in his army career.  So he volunteered and ended up at the Army’s language school, and the later was stationed in Germany during Vietnam. (They monitored the Russians at the Czech border via radio transmissions - hence the language school part.)  This of course was before the draft lottery, but Jack may have had some choice by volunteering. 

[SueB]

Well, I'm apparently the sap in the crowd because that last song had me crying.  It's a beautiful lyric and I can see how it went straight to Jack's heart.  Quick comments on topics discussed and more:
Jack in Vietnam:
- Being a staff sargeant makes sense to me.  Older, volunteer, responsible and competent.  I think had already learned to take care of himself and others because of growing up in the abusive household. And a staff sargeant talking his way onto a helicopter (with permission from his CO... commanding officer) is reasonable IMO.  NOT reasonable was the other CO sending him walking back to his unit.  It was guerilla warfare, there was no safe place for him to walk.
- Jack taking a ride from Bao -- risky.  Jack seeing Bao with IED supplies?  Dangerous -- I'm surprised he wasn't killed right then and there.  If Jack doesn't report what he saw?  Stupid.  Bao was Viet Cong.  Jack has to know this.  Maybe if his brother didn't show up he would have taken action.  IDK.  But not reporting Bao is going to bite him in the ass.
- The CO dumping Nicki off with his brother?  Again, CO's had a lot of authority.  He could have given him temporary duty for two weeks with Jack's unit in an attempt to save the kid.  Nicki really is at the bottom of the barrel.  Better to try and recover him than send him home in a body bag.

Kevin & Zoe in Vietnam:
- Zoe honey, you ate bat.  You deserve to toss your cookies.  And then drink coconut water.  Zoe always come off as a bit pretenscious to me.  If she keeps that "better than the proletariat" attitude, she's going to treat Kevin poorly.  But I think she's responding to Kevin's earnestness.  And her opening up to him about her father, specifically her reason - to not let him ruin her relationship with Kevin - was good.  If part of her 'maneater' rep came from how she dealt with her abuse, then she may be realizing that her recovery is needs more work.  I like that they had Kevin say "strong".  It was the exact WRONG word to say.  And if she wasn't half dead from bat poisoning, she may have had her defenses up more and closed down.  But it's a great word from a narrative perspective.  "Strength" is her robe she wears everyday.  She prides herself on it.  By saying "strong", it made her say she IS strong.  And in that vulnerable moment, I'm hoping she realizes is that true strength is being able to look at what happens and continue to function.  BTW, I wonder if Beth also warned Zoe -- those Pearson men are sneaky and get under your skin.  Bottom Line: I'm invested in this relationship.  I'm worried Zoe could rip Kevin to shreds emotionally if she's hurt, but I think Kevin may be having a profound impact on her that she's not prepared for.

Rebecca in LA:
- I'm so VERY greatful they didn't try to push Rebecca to the casting couch.  I was afraid that was where it was going.  And it IS confusing as to why she had to come to LA.  I'm guessing the 'interview' was a favor and went along the lines, 'have her come in and we'll see'.  Maybe they want to look at the singer to see if she's marketable. 
- The party they first arrived at felt a bit skeevy.  I can see both Jack and Rebecca feeling a bit uncomfortable. 
- I think ultimately, the skeeviness and "Pittsburg good" comments were devastating to Rebecca.  When she compared that to the connection she felt with Jack, she wasn't prepared to stay in LA.  She may have just started the relationship with Jack, but she wanted that more than she wanted to face another 100 skeevy situations just for the hope of a career.  I think as others have said, the sweat equity to get recognized is huge.  And pre-Jack she might have stuck with it.  But I can see her looking at Jack and thinking - nope, I'm not risking losing a shot with this guy.  Yes, she's in the "love bubble" of a new relationship.  She may have second thoughts later.  But Jack's a fully-commit kinda guy.  I think he'll keep her feeling like she made the right call to say 'let's go home'.

Jack in LA:
- I think Jack going to LA was 90% about spending time with Rebecca and 10% apologizing to the family.  He wouldn't have made that trip if it hadn't been her idea IMO.  I think he took the opportunity because it was there.  I don't see him as someone who went there to leech grief support from the family.  His personal code of honor made him want to apologize to the family for a man under his command who died.  It's not uncommon for the leader of a team to visit the family and say kind words.  Also to be there to answer "what happened" questions the family might have.  It helps with their closure.  I think Jack went there to help the family find closure and was surprised when the Dad offered him support.  I can headcanon that the Dad was prior service and saw what a good man Jack was for just coming out and trying to offer what comfort he could.  It makes the Dad a great man that he could see the goodness in Jack and that he needed support at that moment.  I had no problem with the scene at all.  I think it's realistic Jack went, realistic the Dad provided comfort back.

Rebecca & Jack love story:
- I liked how the road trip added layers to them.  It was an incredibly impetuous move and yet they both gained so much from the experience.  Totally worth the risk.  It could have turned out very badly.  There are moments in relationships that bind you -- this clearly was a big one. They were more "at home" together than in LA.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Every time I see the episose title, I hear this song in my head:

[Kirkydee]

THATS THE WORD - SKEEVY

That whole scene seemed so hippie communal- definitely not for your garden variety yinzers.  Even though when I was on IMDB when they had their forums a bunch of posters on Pittsburgh shows/movies would bemoan that no show ever had a good representative of a yinzer

[nexxie]

I loved how these three stories fit together, and how they moved from one to the other using what I think of as “echo” shots. 

[Dowel Jones]

31 minutes ago, Kirkydee said:

That whole scene seemed so hippie communal- definitely not for your garden variety yinzers. 

Well, it was supposed to be early 70s LA.  Probably Hollywood Hills, so that could be accurate.

Edited November 15, 2018 by Dowel Jones

[PRgal]

21 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Interesting!  My parents are Boomers, and when they took me to one of their home countries they were careful to avoid anything "too touristy" and wanted to give me the real experience.  Who knew they were just snobby Millennials in disguise?  LOL.

Besides, we don't even know how old Zoe is.  Kevin himself is barely Gen X, so she could be too.  Although you would think Beth would be Randall's age and yet she strikes me as way older than Zoe.  Not because of her (extremely heavenly) looks, but because of her maturity and attitude and lifestyle.

It's like how a bunch of us were the smartest kid at our elementary school, but when we made it to the best high schools or universities, we simply become average!  (That's my experience anyway, and it was shown I think really well in "The Royal Tenenbaums".)

Zoe, played by Melanie Liburd is 31 (so yes, a Millennial).  My guess is Zoe is around there, maybe a little older.  I don't think she's older than 35.  I know 35 year olds like to claim the Xennial category (which the Big 3 are), but Xennials are typically '77-81 or '82.  If she IS 35, she would have JUST missed it!  

[bluebox]

58 minutes ago, PRgal said:

Zoe, played by Melanie Liburd is 31 (so yes, a Millennial).  My guess is Zoe is around there, maybe a little older.  I don't think she's older than 35.  I know 35 year olds like to claim the Xennial category (which the Big 3 are), but Xennials are typically '77-81 or '82.  If she IS 35, she would have JUST missed it!  

The Xennial range goes to '85.

[PRgal]

4 minutes ago, bluebox said:

The Xennial range goes to '85.

It's been extended to '85?  Merriam-Webster defines it as '77-'83.  Zoe's attitude seems to lean more towards "entitled millennial know-it-all" more than a more subdued Xennial-Xennial (like Randall - though I'm not sure if that "I'm Gonna Save The World" (or at least The Neighborhood) by Running for Office attitude is necessarily "subdued").  Even Kate and Kevin seem to have less of an "attitude."  

[MBayGal]

4 hours ago, Kirkydee said:

THATS THE WORD - SKEEVY

That whole scene seemed so hippie communal- definitely not for your garden variety yinzers.  Even though when I was on IMDB when they had their forums a bunch of posters on Pittsburgh shows/movies would bemoan that no show ever had a good representative of a yinzer

"Skeevy"?  Got it.  But "yinzers"?  I guess that means people from Pittsburgh, but why?

[DebbieM4]

13 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

 

I'm actually happy we didn't have to see any of that.  The Vietnam story may be unrealistic in many ways, but I prefer that  to the trying to make it in show business/music or the trying to get elected to office plots.  You're right, she didn't appear to be super motivated, more like a bit of a lark. 

Oh, please don't get me wrong.  I thought it was ridiculous and unrealistic that Rebecca would have heard one rejection and decide to head back home.  But for sure I did not want to see more of that storyline.   We know what happens going forward, and I'm not at all interested in any more slow-moving stories about Jack or Rebecca from way back.   Rebecca's passion for singing is boring to me.  It always has been, but after this episode, I really don't care about it at all because she didn't act the way someone with a passion for it would.  So I'm glad we're not seeing anymore about it (at least for now) too.

10 hours ago, sadie said:

Echoing what has already been said. I’m just bored this season. I loved the premise and Season 1, Season 2 was mostly very good but this season is just leaving me cold. I think them having to force Milo to the front of the show to keep him the star is crippling the writers. Add in some of the most implausible events (they delivered his brother to him in a helicopter when from what I know would neve ever happen in real life) and it drags what is supposed to be a show set in reality and makes it hard to watch. I have loved Milo from his GG days but he is wearing thin for me. 

I get this is the story they are telling now but to keep jumping farther back in time to tell Jack/Rebecca’s story isn’t working because we know how it ends and what they are showing isn’t compelling enough to make me care. I want the Big 3’s stories with bits of backstory thrown in, it’s what the premise presented the show to be but it is morphing into the Jack show to its detriment. YMMV 

I agree.  There are other characters, other situations, and more interesting stories to tell.  So many other possibilities!  I'm feeling more and more that this show has lost its way.

7 hours ago, SueB said:

.  I don't see him as someone who went there to leech grief support from the family.  His personal code of honor made him want to apologize to the family for a man under his command who died.  It's not uncommon for the leader of a team to visit the family and say kind words.  

Yes, it's not uncommon to do that.  But Jack went to unburden himself, to ease his own guilt.  Expressing condolences, answering questions, and saying something nice about the person is fine.  But he clearly needed to rid himself of the burden he had been carrying.  He should have confided that to a counselor or a priest or a friend.  He was nervous about going because he didn't know how the parents would react.  He knew that the information he provided might have made them angry and might have added to their grief.  If they had asked, and he had told them only because they wanted to know, it would be different.  But it was very clear that it was his main purpose in going, and that he was motivated by a need to clear his own conscience more than to console grieving parents.   

Edited November 16, 2018 by DebbieM4

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, MBayGal said:

"Skeevy"?  Got it.  But "yinzers"?  I guess that means people from Pittsburgh, but why?

People from Pittsburgh have a really distinctive style of speaking.  They will often say ‘Yinz’, a kind of bastardized version of you ‘uns as a replacement for the word you. 

Examples: “ Yinz need to button your coats or you’ll freeze in this weather.”

“What are yinz getting your mama for Christmas?”

So, people from Pittsburgh and the surrounding area are yinzers.

On show, nobody has an actual Pittsburgh accent, unfortunately.

[Kirkydee]

49 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

People from Pittsburgh have a really distinctive style of speaking.  They will often say ‘Yinz’, a kind of bastardized version of you ‘uns as a replacement for the word you. 

Examples: “ Yinz need to button your coats or you’ll freeze in this weather.”

“What are yinz getting your mama for Christmas?”

So, people from Pittsburgh and the surrounding area are yinzers.

On show, nobody has an actual Pittsburgh accent, unfortunately.

Thx doodlebug

 

I set that 'yinzer' comment on purpose, figuring the nation as a whole didn't know about yinzers. But I know there are Pittsburghers out there that watch and would chime in.  Watching a show about Pittsburgh ( and especially blue collar people like pappy and grand pappy pearson) and it's practically unrealistic to NOT have some yinzer, at least in the background.  Similar to Boston and their Baaastan enunciations.  Has there ever been a show or movie about Boston without the distinct accent that everyone in the USA recognizes?   I can see Rebecca not being a typical yinzer.  Her status conscious mama probably forbade it in the home.  I can see her mother telling a teenage Becca " You want a good husband? Dont be a yinzer...

 And dont ever MARRY a yinzer"

[MBayGal]

Thanks for the explanation, Doodlebug.  I'd love to hear. some real yinzer accents on the show.  But then I'd probably be confused at to why they were talking "funny."

[marshmallows]

Wow sometimes I feel like we as people watch the same show, but are somehow watching different shows lol.

Interpretation is so amazing!

I didn't think Jack went on the trip to win the girl. I felt like he went to support the girl and while he was there he would take care of some business on his own that he would have never have done if it wasn't for Rebecca & this road trip.

I felt like Jack genuinely felt like it was his fault that, that kid died in the war. And being the noble man Jack is wanted to apologize to his family.  The family didn't have to tell him it wasn't his fault, but that is what most decent humans would do. I just didn't take it as Jack trying to get forgiveness or to feel better. I took it as him trying to do what he thought was right thing to do. 

I also don't think Jack was that horrible to Rebecca with her singing career 20 years into their marriage. Yes, it was a big dream of hers when she was in her twenties. The dream didn't pan out. She ended up living a different dream.  They were together for a long time before they had children. It's not like kids were sprung on her.  And I'm sure she could have sang more throughout their marriage if she wanted to, but it kind of seemed like a part of her life she left behind while she and Jack raised their family.  So when the kids were older she tried to sing again (nothing wrong with that.) I think she should pursue it again if it makes her happy. But, Jack was busting his ass at a job that did provide for the family and Rebecca was acting like what she was doing was just so much more important lol.  I was so confused as to why she was acting like that.  And the things he said about her singing "career" were just heated things people say in an argument. Rebecca said some pretty awful things as well. Overall, from what we have been shown of their relationship Jack treated her like gold while Rebecca treated him like silver (good but not as good as he treated her).  I feel like Jack is getting a lot of unnecessary hate over this singing stuff lol.

[Cementhead]

On 11/15/2018 at 1:59 AM, GSMHvisitor said:

I love Kevin, I love Justin Hartley, but I would lie if I said I hadn't noticed this as well. The thing is, Justin can do it. I've watched some stuff of his and he can be very good at making the heart eyes. In fact he did that with Sophie pretty well. It's what sold me on them in the end, even though the writers only did the bare minimum with them. But the way he played those scenes made me believe that he loves and loved this woman for decades. Maybe this is a bad example, since most people weren't so keen on that relationship. But for me it worked, even though they got waaay too little focus.

I was going to try and post this very same thought yesterday but didn't.  You have said it much better than I could have and I agree 100%  I loved the Kevin & Sophie story line.  I thought they had mad chemistry together.  And as far as Justin Hartley goes, this show is my only experience with him and I have wanted to chime in and say this about him but couldn't really work it into the conversation easily so I will do so now -- I LOVE his voice.  His voice has to be the sexiest voice on my tv right now.  For me, it adds to his attractiveness. 

[readheaded]

On 11/13/2018 at 10:39 PM, tennisgurl said:

"Your Pittsburgh good." I cant even explain how they made that sound like the worst possible insult, but...damn. 

I thought it was true, though.

7 hours ago, marshmallows said:

Wow sometimes I feel like we as people watch the same show, but are somehow watching different shows lol.

Interpretation is so amazing!

I didn't think Jack went on the trip to win the girl. I felt like he went to support the girl and while he was there he would take care of some business on his own that he would have never have done if it wasn't for Rebecca & this road trip.

I felt like Jack genuinely felt like it was his fault that, that kid died in the war. And being the noble man Jack is wanted to apologize to his family.  The family didn't have to tell him it wasn't his fault, but that is what most decent humans would do. I just didn't take it as Jack trying to get forgiveness or to feel better. I took it as him trying to do what he thought was right thing to do. 

I also don't think Jack was that horrible to Rebecca with her singing career 20 years into their marriage. Yes, it was a big dream of hers when she was in her twenties. The dream didn't pan out. She ended up living a different dream.  They were together for a long time before they had children. It's not like kids were sprung on her.  And I'm sure she could have sang more throughout their marriage if she wanted to, but it kind of seemed like a part of her life she left behind while she and Jack raised their family.  So when the kids were older she tried to sing again (nothing wrong with that.) I think she should pursue it again if it makes her happy. But, Jack was busting his ass at a job that did provide for the family and Rebecca was acting like what she was doing was just so much more important lol.  I was so confused as to why she was acting like that.  And the things he said about her singing "career" were just heated things people say in an argument. Rebecca said some pretty awful things as well. Overall, from what we have been shown of their relationship Jack treated her like gold while Rebecca treated him like silver (good but not as good as he treated her).  I feel like Jack is getting a lot of unnecessary hate over this singing stuff lol.

I think it's very common that military leaders feel the full weight and responsibility when people in their command die.  

[doodlebug]

11 hours ago, Kirkydee said:

Thx doodlebug

 

I set that 'yinzer' comment on purpose, figuring the nation as a whole didn't know about yinzers. But I know there are Pittsburghers out there that watch and would chime in.  Watching a show about Pittsburgh ( and especially blue collar people like pappy and grand pappy pearson) and it's practically unrealistic to NOT have some yinzer, at least in the background.  Similar to Boston and their Baaastan enunciations.  Has there ever been a show or movie about Boston without the distinct accent that everyone in the USA recognizes?   I can see Rebecca not being a typical yinzer.  Her status conscious mama probably forbade it in the home.  I can see her mother telling a teenage Becca " You want a good husband? Dont be a yinzer...

 And dont ever MARRY a yinzer"

I'm not from Pittsburgh, but my mother was from western PA (Indiana, PA).  Weirdly enough, she lost her accent completely and never sounded like the rest of her family. She had 2 brothers who also moved out of the area, and both of them were Yinzers to the end despite not having lived there in decades.  Still have cousins there and it's great to hear their voices on the phone, 'How're yinz doin'?'

There aren't any actors from that area who've maintained the accent, but, there are several former NFL quarterbacks from the Pittsburgh/western PA area who've still got the 'yinz'.  Joe Montana, Joe Namath and, especially, Dan Marino, all have that 'Yinz' to their speech, especially if you listen to interviews from their college and early NFL days.  Bernie Kosar, from Youngstown, only an hour or so from Pittsburgh, has a Yinz-adjacent accent.  I just saw a new Isotoner commercial with Marino, and it's still there although less than in the early days.

[qtpye]

On 11/14/2018 at 3:14 PM, izabella said:

That was really offensive.  Jack is there as part of a mission that is killing natives, for political reasons rather than anything else, and he is asking a native if he's a good guy  Are you and the American army that invaded his country good guys, Jack?  Is that how you see it?

Thank you. Jack is going around asking local who have probably been through Hell because of foreign soldiers to give him a ride and then gets put out because the guy has the nerve to ask for a little compensation. This is a place where gas or petrol probably costs a fortune for the average person. It makes me think that Jack is a simple man and only thinks in term of black and white, at least at this stage in his life (which is not unrealistic for younger people).

On 11/14/2018 at 7:40 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Weird coincidence!!

The thing about Rebecca though, is that she's played by Mandy Moore, who is otherwordly beautiful.  She's too perfect to be exactly my taste, but come on.  She's perfect looking (IMO).  That's why she "made it" as a popstar.  I feel like her looks are kind of being ignored here.  Are they pretending that Rebecca isn't that good-looking, or that Mandy isn't that good of a singer?  Is Mandy downplaying her singing abilities?  LOL.  So many questions.

 

On 11/14/2018 at 8:20 PM, Biggie B said:

The way I see it, we already know that Rebecca never made it big as a professional singer. Thus, her flashbacks need to support that part of her story line. It also lays the foundation for her feelings about Kate's singing in light of Rebecca's own non-singing career. I don't think the producers of the show are ignoring Mandy Moore's singing skills but the Rebecca character does sing at points throughout the show, so it behooved them to cast an actress who actually can and does sing (although, sure, they could've hired anyone and dubbed in the singing if they really wanted to). As for Mandy Moore's looks - that's subjective - I don't think she's anything special. Pretty, yes, but not incredible. But that's just how I see her. As others have mentioned, I did think that when Rebecca went to that interview in LA, there was going to be the singing equivalent of the casting couch. Glad that didn't happen.

 

 

On 11/15/2018 at 12:08 AM, DebbieM4 said:

I know a lot of millennials, and this is not true of any of them.  I've never heard that making fun of people is a millennial thing, and IMO it's an insulting generalization.

Obviously beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I don't think Mandy Moore is otherworldly beautiful or even beautiful at all.  She's attractive, but not more so than many other women.  JMO obviously, but I don't think her looks are being ignored or that they're pretending anything.   

 

On 11/15/2018 at 12:25 AM, DebbieM4 said:

Yes, that made no sense.  She went all the way there just to hear one company's opinion of her demo?  And then she took one man's opinion to heart so much that she decides to turn around and go home.  What was her plan?   Because it's crazy that she didn't seem to have one.  She said her friend would let them stay with her as long as they wanted, so she certainly could have pursued her dream at least a little bit more even if she just got a gig singing in a local LA club while trying to make contacts and get her demo out to as many people as possible.  Or something.  Giving up the way she did didn't make her look very motivated to pursue her dream at all.

It is so funny. I remember Mandy from her "Candy" debut, even though that really was not the type of music I was usually interested in. The song was silly but I thought she was sooo pretty. In fact, a lot of people thought she got a record deal because of her looks and dismissed her as another Brittney/Christina wannabe. I also remember she had a show on Mtv and even hetero girl me thought her lisp was cute. I was talking about this show with a work colleague who had never heard of Mandy Moore either as a singer or actress. He kept on describing Rebecca and "an ungainly lantern jaw women with linebacker shoulders". He thought Kate had a much prettier face and actually thought Jack could do much better since Rebecca was "flaky and not that great looking". I disagreed with him in that I thought young Rebecca was not flaky as she seemed pretty focused on her singing career. This episode proved me wrong. One record company executive rejects you and you are ready to head back to Pittsburgh (my husband's favorite city)? What the hell...where's your drive? It is okay if you are content to be a lounge singer in Pittsburgh but don't pretend you gave the big time a fair shot because you left after one little rejection. Fred Astaire first casting call had this comment "Short, balding, and can dance...a little". Artists have to get used to rejection. If you had been in LA for years  (and she even had a friend who would let her crash at her boyfriend's amazing house) I could understand you going back, but turning back so quickly just seemed stupid and only done for plot purposes. 

On 11/15/2018 at 12:46 AM, Sharon said:

I think Kevin finds the woman of the necklace and either a cousin or half-sibling left behind, unknown at the time by the dad. It’s Hallmark, after all. A little bit more of dad/Jack...maybe. 

I think he finds Nicky's child and we will get another Pearson that Kate will have to assassinate because only she is allowed to pass on the Pearson genes.

[Ohiopirate02]

3 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I'm not from Pittsburgh, but my mother was from western PA (Indiana, PA).  Weirdly enough, she lost her accent completely and never sounded like the rest of her family. She had 2 brothers who also moved out of the area, and both of them were Yinzers to the end despite not having lived there in decades.  Still have cousins there and it's great to hear their voices on the phone, 'How're yinz doin'?'

There aren't any actors from that area who've maintained the accent, but, there are several former NFL quarterbacks from the Pittsburgh/western PA area who've still got the 'yinz'.  Joe Montana, Joe Namath and, especially, Dan Marino, all have that 'Yinz' to their speech, especially if you listen to interviews from their college and early NFL days.  Bernie Kosar, from Youngstown, only an hour or so from Pittsburgh, has a Yinz-adjacent accent.  I just saw a new Isotoner commercial with Marino, and it's still there although less than in the early days.

I've never really heard the yinz in Bernie Kosar.  To me, he sounds like my drunk uncle even when Bernie is sober.   

 

For anyone who wants to hear what a Pittsburgh accent sounds like, I recommend Pittsburgh Dad on YouTube.   The accent is very distinctive and I wish the show would utilize it.

[maddie965]

I'm totally invested in the Kevin/Zoey relationship. I see many people saying they don't have chemistry, but I don't think that's the issue here. For some reason, it seems to me that the writers are really underusing Kevin this season. I don't feel the chemistry in their relationship because we haven't really seen their relationship. How many scenes did they have together? How many conversations? Two, three, tops? WE haven't seen them reacting to one another. We haven't seen their passion evolve. Maybe Justin doesn't have heart eyes because he hasn't had the opportunity to really express Kevin's love for Zoey. Their scenes have always been so rushed. I'm sure that, if the writers really give time for the relationship to grow, the chemistry will be there, and Justin will be as wonderful as ever.

Speaking of which I was so hoping this would be a Kevin-centric episode. Why did they have to pile up two flashbacks here? If it were just Kevin and Jack in Vietnam, it would have been so much better. We would have time for Kevin and Zoey, and we could wrap it all up in one single episode. Instead, we'll have to put up with Vietnam all over again next week (I suppose). No need for that.

Oh, I think Mandy Moore is absolutely stunning. One of the most beautiful actresses out there. Just perfect.

Edited November 17, 2018 by maddie965

[AllThatJazz91]

Seeing Rebecca and Jack in their early years was really moving. I enjoyed watching them slow dance and getting to know one another. I wasn't surprised that they slept together so quickly. The both of them seemed to be quite attracted to each other from the start. 

I've been on the fence about Zoey and Kevin, I was nervous about what Beth told him. So I figured she would end up hurting him and he would relapse. Not to mention I wasn't sold on Zoey yet. After this episode I'm glad to see she has strong feelings for him. My hope is she will continue opening up to him and their relationship will grow stronger. I forgot to add that I feel like they have a nice chemistry. Better than him and Sophie. I was never really sold on them. 

Edited November 17, 2018 by AllThatJazz91

[drafan]

On 11/14/2018 at 11:57 PM, WhosThatGirl said:

I didn’t feel anything when Rebecca sang either. Also.. again, I said this when Kate sang as Adele and chrissy has a great voice(better than me) as does Mandy Moore, But are they as good as the show implies to us?

 

I only saw MM as the girl in A Walk to Remember , and as (formerly) married to  Ryan Adams. I kept seeing references to her as "the Candy singer", so one day I googled it and was skeeved out. The video was a combination of kiddie porn and someone attempting to produce another Brittany Spears. Really awful.....mediocre voice, lots of pouty lip action, and she looked 12.

Not liking either voice. Totally believable that neither would be signed to any label.

Anyone know what's wrong with Jack's crooked mouth? Always looks like someone just punched him.

His brother looks like Ernie from My Three Sons.

[Biggie B]

I feel as if Rebecca threw in the towel right then and there on her singing career because of Jack. She told her friend Nicole that she wanted to be wherever Jack was. Seeing him cry in the car, as if some sort of dam was breaking, perhaps she knew he needed to head back home - that whatever he'd done while she was in her meeting had been a dark cloud over him and had sort of broken him and now, he was done. Time to go home. And if Jack was gonna go home, well, then so was she. That's why I think she didn't decide to stay in LA and try to make a go of a singing career. For reasons even Rebecca couldn't identify, she simply wanted to be with Jack, and if that meant Pittsburgh, then that's where she was going to go. I'm the least religious human on earth - a tried and true atheist - but I thought of the story of Ruth: 

"In the book of Ruth, there's a beautiful story of self-sacrifice, love and loyalty. After Ruth's husband dies, her mother-in-law urges Ruth and her sister-in-law to go back to their own mother's house. There, they be fortunate enough to find another husband. However, Ruth decides to stay with Naomi. 

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.  Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried...""  -- source: http://www.everydaychristian.com

I know it's kind of a stretch, but that's what I thought of - that Rebecca was willing to follow Jack and make a life with him, even though it meant not pursuing anything in LA.

[WhosThatGirl]

8 minutes ago, Biggie B said:

I feel as if Rebecca threw in the towel right then and there on her singing career because of Jack. She told her friend Nicole that she wanted to be wherever Jack was. Seeing him cry in the car, as if some sort of dam was breaking, perhaps she knew he needed to head back home - that whatever he'd done while she was in her meeting had been a dark cloud over him and had sort of broken him and now, he was done. Time to go home. And if Jack was gonna go home, well, then so was she. That's why I think she didn't decide to stay in LA and try to make a go of a singing career. For reasons even Rebecca couldn't identify, she simply wanted to be with Jack, and if that meant Pittsburgh, then that's where she was going to go. I'm the least religious human on earth - a tried and true atheist - but I thought of the story of Ruth: 

"In the book of Ruth, there's a beautiful story of self-sacrifice, love and loyalty. After Ruth's husband dies, her mother-in-law urges Ruth and her sister-in-law to go back to their own mother's house. There, they be fortunate enough to find another husband. However, Ruth decides to stay with Naomi. 

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.  Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried...""  -- source: http://www.everydaychristian.com

I know it's kind of a stretch, but that's what I thought of - that Rebecca was willing to follow Jack and make a life with him, even though it meant not pursuing anything in LA.

But she didn’t throw in the towel..? Years later as I said in another post in the season one football episode, she was still hoping she would make a career out of singing and more than just bar singing clubs. She told jack she was hesitant about starting a family because she “isn’t where (she) wants to be” with signing. This implies she was still thinking she would be a famous singer or something.

But this episode definitely seems to not remember that little bit of info and I say this because Rebecca knew going back to Pittsburgh even with the record people being all “give us a call if or when you have show and maybe we can get someone out there” knowing full well that there was a zero likely choice of that happening. So she knew what going back home meant.