S04.E01: Strangers

[saber5055]

4 hours ago, Phoebe70 said:

Two times I almost bawled:  when he had the dog present the wedding ring, and when we saw that he framed the broken plate.

I was going to ask why the broken/fixed plate was framed, but @ams1001 answered it for me, so thanks!

The dog switch irked me because that was a full-grown American Eskimo dog "playing" a puppy, then they switched in a big white dog that resembled a Samoyed for the adult, and boogered with the ear so it was flopped like the Eskie's. I'm a show-dog person so it's something I notice and can snark on. Jack Jr. (and I add "jr." to distinguish that character from Milo's character) appeared to be able to see in the proposal scene, where he took the bag from the dog's mouth.

I was rather distracted by how handsome Milo was in the dinner scene.

[bybrandy]

3 hours ago, momma2rnr said:

Ok first, why are we calling him Jack Jr? He's not a junior, he's just named after her dad.

Because if we just call him Jack there will issues where people don't know if we're talking about Jack or Jack...   

[ShadowFacts]

9 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Rebecca's parents suck, but at least her dad has some kind of reason to hate Jack beyond snobbery like her mom. Granted, I dont think its a good reason (Rebecca has never seemed to care about living a country club lifestyle or being with someone who can give her that) but its better than "your poor thats gross" I guess. Or maybe its worse, considering he seems to be holding his service in Vietnam and his troubled family life against him, which is terribly unfair, especially how fast he was to bring up Vietnam. 

It came off as ugly to me for a couple reasons.  Daddy recognized Jack as a good man and said so, yet threw it in his face that he was haunted or whatever word he used.  Maybe this is meant to hint at the poor reception Vietnam vets got when they came back.  Jack was maybe a little quick to air his family's dirty laundry to his new girlfriend's parents, but I think Daddy was putting the kibosh on a guy who didn't have the right pedigree.  I think Rebecca is in for a new view of the father she seems to adore.

13 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Loved seeing Jack and Miguel meeting, even with Miguel's questionable 70s fashion sense. I also thought it was an interesting beat where Miguel seems to feel...guilty? When Jack mentioned struggling to find work after getting back from Vietnam? Like knowing that he wasnt drafted when so many guys his age were, and who died or came back hurt mentally and physically, gave him a kind of survivors guilt for never getting called up, and thats one of the reasons he gave Jack a break with the jacket. Granted, we know Jacks number wasnt called up either, but thats a LONG story. Its an interesting character moment if I read it right.

I really liked their meeting, too.  I didn't take it so much as survivor's guilt (though could have been a factor) as a look at Miguel's innate compassionate nature.  He couldn't have been making tons of money in retail himself, he could relate to not affording the jacket. 

[ams1001]

12 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

The dog switch irked me because that was a full-grown American Eskimo dog "playing" a puppy, then they switched in a big white dog that resembled a Samoyed for the adult, and boogered with the ear so it was flopped like the Eskie's. I'm a show-dog person so it's something I notice and can snark on. Jack Jr. (and I add "jr." to distinguish that character from Milo's character) appeared to be able to see in the proposal scene, where he took the bag from the dog's mouth.

I didn't think the dog in the beginning looked like a puppy, just a small breed, but when it went from small dog to big dog in one sweep of the camera I figured out it was supposed to be going from young to adult. 

(And he did say he could see some light and shapes, so I assume he could at least tell where the dog's head/mouth was to be able to take the bag from him.)

Edited September 25, 2019 by ams1001

[Eureka]

3 hours ago, AriAu said:

...and you just know something bad is going to happen to Omar Epps or his wife.

He was rubbing his left arm/shoulder in the car. I said to DS that he's going to have a heart attack this season. (My conjecture only, I don't know a thing.)

[bybrandy]

Matthison looks great but he's a bit old to play Rebecca's father in that time line.  I'm assuming that is because we're going to see him in the later time lines with the kids as young kids and or teens in the future.
 

[bybrandy]

1 minute ago, Eureka said:

He was rubbing his left arm/shoulder in the car. I said to DS that he's going to have a heart attack this season. (My conjecture only, I don't know a thing.)

Except it was his right shoulder.  

27 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

wonder what Jack Jrs relationship with his parents is like? I kind of wonder if Kate is jealous of him or resentful of his success in the field she dreamed of or his good looks.

It is possible but given how hard she's going to have to FIGHT to make sure that Jack gets every opportunity given his visual impairment I don't think the jealousy thing will be as much of a problem as her maybe having a hard time letting go and being a bit overbearing.  But we'll see how it comes out in the end.  It isn't that I'd have trouble believing she was jealous.  I just think that her musical aspirations are going to get completely put on hold by being a special needs mom and that music will be the thing that bonds them when everything else gets to be a lot. 

[saber5055]

3 minutes ago, Eureka said:

He was rubbing his left arm/shoulder in the car. I said to DS that he's going to have a heart attack this season. (My conjecture only, I don't know a thing.)

That was my thought too. I guess it's "stay tuned!" to see if we are right! Because what would this show be without some tear-jerking thing happening after we get to know and like a character. (Plus side is, they never really die, like Milo!)

[Ohiopirate02]

23 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Rebecca's parents suck, but at least her dad has some kind of reason to hate Jack beyond snobbery like her mom. Granted, I dont think its a good reason (Rebecca has never seemed to care about living a country club lifestyle or being with someone who can give her that) but its better than "your poor thats gross" I guess. Or maybe its worse, considering he seems to be holding his service in Vietnam and his troubled family life against him, which is terribly unfair, especially how fast he was to bring up Vietnam. 

I can see where Rebecca's dad would be concerned with her dating an unemployed Jack.  Rebecca may not care about the outward signs of wealth like the country club, but she did grow up privileged and has little frame of reference to living paycheck to paycheck.  Rebecca grew up in a home where there was always enough money in the bank to pay the electric bill, water bill, have food in the pantry, cars that are well-maintained, etc.  I don't see a problem with Rebecca's dad wanting his daughter to be with a man who can pay all the bills and save for a rainy day.  I'm a realist who doesn't see anything romantic in poverty. 

IMHO, Jack was too forthcoming at the dinner.  He did not need to lay it all out there like he did.  Rebecca's mother was rude with her questions, but all Jack had to do was say his father was in sales, mom is a housewife (just like Rebecca's mom), and he lost his brother. 

[Eureka]

7 minutes ago, bybrandy said:

Except it was his right shoulder.  

Was it? I thought we were seeing it in the mirror. Maybe my ESP was acting up. Lol.

[DFWGina]

I wish they had not had all the new people all at once appear without even a slight introduction.  I'm a little more irritated by the way they did things but still interested....

 I feel like Kate & Toby are dead because as a Pearson - they would have been there in multitudes for the post engagement party, the concert, probably one would have jumped out from behind the door to help him put the plate back together.  LOL

I thought Jack Jr was Kevin's son for sure after I got over thinking it was Kevin.  I do not care about the "war woman" as I took to calling her when texting with a friend trying to figure out her character.  I wondered if she was Nicky's daughter somehow vs being a love interest for Kevin.   Are we certain she is Kevin's love interest?

I thought Malik was in jr high as well and not old enough to be a baby daddy.  I am not interested at all in his and Deja's story.   It does seem to parallel Rebecca and Jack's story.

In fact, I thought that all of these folks were going to be parallel stories and not related.  *sigh*  Not good with the guessing.  But I am interested to see where they take it all.  

Edited September 25, 2019 by DFWGina

[CarpeFelis]

I liked Malik. In the initial scene with his friends where he was on his phone it seemed like he was constantly texting with some girl, and his friends made a comment about his spending so much time on her. It was kind of touching to find out later that he was actually watching his baby girl on the webcam. I wonder how long the show will take to get around to telling us what happened to the baby’s mother?

[bybrandy]

9 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

I wonder how long the show will take to get around to telling us what happened to the baby’s mother?

Three seasons.  

14 minutes ago, Eureka said:

Was it? I thought we were seeing it in the mirror. Maybe my ESP was acting up. Lol.

Well, crap, now I don't know....   Was it a mirror?   If it was in a mirror it was his left shoulder. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

4 hours ago, momma2rnr said:

Ok first, why are we calling him Jack Jr? He's not a junior, he's just named after her dad.

Simply put, calling him "Jack" would be confusing to the other posters, because we speak about Jack too.  It makes sense to me.

3 hours ago, roughing it said:

Well since teenage kids have been having sex and getting pregnant for oh 2,019 years or so now, it's not really that remarkable to provide some support rather than shame them.

I agree!  In high school I worked at a daycare, and it was very normal that some of the students had kids there.  And that was  20 years ago.

I'm so sick of the shaming too, as I get older and older, I really envy those teen moms.  LOL.

Jack Jr. had a really nice butt.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[greekmom]

4 hours ago, AriAu said:

And by the way, Cass couldn't just be a disaffected PTSD damaged soldier...she had to also be a child abuser! Yeah, Kevin is in for some misery too.

I don't think Cassie is a child abuser. We saw one scene of her which was triggered by the fact that the water heater and a person's life had the same price - $1300.  Her hitting her son was clearly an accident.  I think she has issues with drinking and full on PTSD.

4 hours ago, momma2rnr said:

Ok first, why are we calling him Jack Jr? He's not a junior, he's just named after her dad.

Future Jack? Jack II? Help me out people!

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, greekmom said:

Future Jack? Jack II? Help me out people!

Jack 2.0? I think I called him "Grown Up Baby Jack" at one point. But that's kind of a mouthful. (Baby Jack works for present-day scenes, at least.) 

Jack II is accurate enough, I think. He is the second Jack, even if there's a generation in between.

Edited September 25, 2019 by ams1001

[Eureka]

1 minute ago, ams1001 said:

I think I called him "Grown Up Baby Jack" at one point. But that's kind of a mouthful. (Baby Jack works for present-day scenes, at least.)

One of the recaps I read was using "New Jack."

[gonzosgirrl]

2 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Jack 2.0? I think I called him "Grown Up Baby Jack" at one point. But that's kind of a mouthful. (Baby Jack works for present-day scenes, at least.) 

Jack II is accurate enough, I think. He is the second Jack, even if there's a generation in between.

Yep. My nephew is named after my dad, and he's known as 'the II'. I think for my discussion purposes though, Jack Jr works the best.

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Yep. My nephew is named after my dad, and he's known as 'the II'. I think for my discussion purposes though, Jack Jr works the best.

I'm named after my mom and grandmother. I've been called A----- III even though it's actually both their middle names (which they went/go* by) and I'm the only one for whom it's really my first name.

*mostly, some people know my mom by her first name. And her mother died before I was born so there was never actually three of us to keep straight in reality.

(But I have no problem with Jack, Jr. either.)

[gonzosgirrl]

18 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I'm named after my mom and grandmother. I've been called A----- III even though it's actually both their middle names (which they went/go* by) and I'm the only one for whom it's really my first name.

*mostly, some people know my mom by her first name. And her mother died before I was born so there was never actually three of us to keep straight in reality.

(But I have no problem with Jack, Jr. either.)

Yeah, the "II" is a formality. They have always been known as Gord (my dad) and Gordie (my nephew).

Edited September 25, 2019 by gonzosgirrl
Because I apparently can't type even two sentences without a typo. Damnit.

[momma2rnr]

1 hour ago, DFWGina said:

I wish they had not had all the new people all at once appear without even a slight introduction.  I'm a little more irritated by the way they did things but still interested....

 I feel like Kaye & Toby are dead because as a Pearson - they would have been there in multitudes for the post engagement party, the concert, probably one would have jumped out from behind the door to help him put the plate back together.  LOL

I thought Jack Jr was Kevin's son for sure after I got over thinking it was Kevin.  I do not care about the "war woman" as I took to calling her when texting with a friend trying to figure out her character.  I wondered if she was Nicky's daughter somehow vs being a love interest for Kevin.   Are we certain she is Kevin's love interest?

I thought Malik was in jr high as well and not old enough to be a baby daddy.  I am not interested at all in his and Deja's story.   It does seem to parallel Rebecca and Jack's story.

In fact, I thought that all of these folks were going to be parallel stories and not related.  *sigh*  Not good with the guessing.  But I am interested to see where they take it all.  

But just because we didn't see them in those quick scenes doesn't mean they weren't there. When they elaborate on the party or the concert, they could very well be there. The showrunners have already said they wanted us to meet these people WITHOUT the Pearsons first, so it makes sense that they aren't there.

[bettername2come]

7 hours ago, Haleth said:

Jennifer Morrison and Omar Epps together again.  But not.

I'm so used to her role on Once Upon a Time, I didn't even make the connection before. And now I want Jesse Spencer to show up. 

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

The whole Jack Jr. storyline confused me. First, he's blind and has an American Eskimo dog. Then he appears to be able to see, like his blindness has been cured, and he has something that resembles a Samoyed dog. WTH.

I was thinking it was puppy to grown - but if anyone knows dogs, it's you, saber, so I'll take your word for it. Just a sloppy substitute, I guess.

1 hour ago, Eureka said:

Was it? I thought we were seeing it in the mirror. Maybe my ESP was acting up. Lol.

The father's left shoulder was by the car door, and he rubbed the opposite shoulder, as I recall. I remember thinking, well, that's the wrong shoulder, but I wouldn't put it past them to get the wrong one. Then my further thought was that I'm not sure I know that the cliche of rubbing the left shoulder is a dead on giveaway, or that it's always the one that's the harbinger of a heart attack.

Being of a certain age, I'm kind of thrilled that some of ya'll can dismiss a woman soldier's PTSD as cliche or stereotypical. Things have changed, and the casual dismissal of it being something new is a sign of progress (in some ways). Though having grown up in the military, I don't find PTSD stories cliched - for men or women.

I did find the rush to meet all the new folks a bit challenging - but I was okay with it. I have no trouble expanding the universe.

[saber5055]

24 minutes ago, momma2rnr said:

But just because we didn't see them in those quick scenes doesn't mean they weren't there. When they elaborate on the party or the concert, they could very well be there.

For me, an episode without Toby AND Kate is a big win win. If I were a writer for this show, I'd get rid of both of them. And in the most drah-mat-tic fashion!

[qtpye]

17 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

When we first met the young man who is blind after thinking his ass was fine I thought he looked so much like Justin Hartley....I called him being an adult Jack half way through the episode. Great job with casting!!

The teen dad is young but he looks far younger than his years. 

17 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

That is good to know.   I didnt put it together that he was Jack Jr because he did not look anything like I would have imagined him.  But when you are casting for a blind white guy who can act and sing, your talent pool is not going to be that large.

17 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Really? I thought the visual casting was great. This is Kevin Pearson’s nephew- I thought the actor looked a lot like Justin Hartley which would make sense. Not that it would be odd if he favored Toby’s side, but if he inherited the bent towards music AND Kevin’s good looks he would have a better chance of making it in the industry. 

17 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

The actor is a little more petite than I would imagine Chris Sullivan's son being.   I know kids can take after their aunts and uncles more so than their parents and Jack Jr is a preemie, so It does work.

That guy was fine and he is lucky to get uncle Kev’s good looks. Original recipe Jack is so handsome without the stupid facial hair.

its funny because I hate Mandy in the 70’s clothes. They make her look lumbering and ungainly. I think her 90’s wardrobe and wig suit her best...she looks so pretty in those looks.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

4 hours ago, Forsaken said:

The blind guy who turned out to be the baby. Song was generic as all hell and really boring. Given the year would have been around 2040-2050 it all looks exactly the same as now which didn't help either

Except Jack II and Lucy may have been sitting in a self-driving car before his concert, since he was on the driver's side.  Or, they were in the back seat of an Uber discussing  baby plans with an invisible driver. I can't be sure, but driverless car would make sense.

3 hours ago, saber5055 said:

And it would be cool if one could be sure a child would look like handsome uncle instead of disgusting ugly dad, although I do not believe we have that option IRL. Heck, for all we know, Kevin IS baby Jack Jr.'s real dad. New twisty storyline, folks! Kevin made extra cash selling sperm to that in vitro clinic!

Check out the pic @spinxella posted; Jack Jr. looks more like Seth Meyers than mom or dad. He should have at least acquired his parents' tendency toward overeating if not their facial qualities. I'm positive he's Kevin's kid.

So you think Kate and Kevin had a baby together? (There was no sperm donor; that's why Toby went off his meds.)

Toby is disgustingly ugly?

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Which of course he had glued back together and framed because it's the reason he went out for breakfast which led to meeting the love of his life and he's Jack Pearson's grandson so how could he do anything else.)

Which is totally for Lucy's benefit, since he can't see it.

Edited September 25, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse

[OhSarah69]

I totally thought bare-butt boy was Kevin Jr.....it never occurred to me that he was GrownUpBabyJack.  Seriously, until the scene with SmallBabyJack in Kate's arms at the doctor's office, it did not sink in. 

I found it a bit much that (Grandpa)Jack would tell his life story at the dinner table at the country club.  I figured he'd come back from the restroom and say something about the war...but that was not the place for a soliloquy on your little brother, your abusive parents, etc.  How would that make a good impression on your girlfriend's family?  Not that it excuses their snobby behavior.  It's just like, know your audience, man.

I think I really missed my Tuesday night emotional roller-coaster fix over the summer, so now that the show is back, I found that all through the hour, with all these new unfamiliar characters milling about, I was willing to just go with it (i.e. lay on the couch like a lump and let it wash over me, LOL).  I wasn't that fussed that one entire episode was used to jam these folks in...just hoping they're skillfully weaved in on future episodes without taking them over.  My feeling is, how do you keep expanding the characters without drawing in new experiences?  One way is by building onto existing characters or plot threads and that means bringing in new people sometimes.  Yes, I know sometimes it feels like they're cramming them down our throats.

Malik, the young teen father....I swear I thought he was 12 in his first scene.  How old is he supposed to be, maybe 14 or so (how old is Deja?).  When his mom made a comment about the baby waking up through the night, I totally thought the baby was Malik's little sister...totally bowled over that he was her daddy.  Please God, let Malik not get involved in drug running and inadvertently drag Deja in with him....I hope that's not where they are going with this.  Instead I hope she is a good influence on him and they have a relatively uncomplicated teen romance (but not a super-cheesy one).  Did we see Deja as a grown up in the Season 3 finale?  I wonder what happens to her...I loved her grinning face as she went home after the BBQ and loved Randall's and Beth's bemused faces as she strolled by them.

[Ohiopirate02]

12 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

I'm so used to her role on Once Upon a Time, I didn't even make the connection before. And now I want Jesse Spencer to show up. 

I would not put it past NBC or Dick Wolf to make that happen.  When you have 4 current shows existing in the same universe, why not one more?

[thesupremediva1]

So... I am burnt out after a season of caring about all the Pearsons from the first three seasons. I do not believe I have the emotional capacity to invest in anyone new.

Just because I know older Rebecca is going to pass on, and I know Randall and Beth stay together, and I know Kevin gets to be a dad doesn't mean I'm not still invested in their journeys. This was a nicely done episode, and a cute callback to the pilot, but it felt a lot like a reboot of an existing series (kind of like Homeland season 4) and I didn't really sign up for that. 

The last 3 minutes were great and almost made up for the other 49 minutes of total boredom, but not quite. Not sure if the main actors want to do other work and therefore aren't making as much of a time commitment to this show, but I'm not yet ready to care about and pay close attention to the third generation. 

I know shows love to "keep it fresh" and whatnot, but this really felt forced to me, and I had to force myself to keep paying attention. Not a good sign. 

Edited September 25, 2019 by thesupremediva1

[gail56]

When they showed Jack jrs bare butt, I was thinking, "What a nice butt!" Then immediately after, "Wait, this show is This is Us! Showing a bare butt???"

I don't know if Jennifer's character is going to have a relationship with Kevin, but it sure looks like she is going to have a connection with Nicky.  Maybe help each other get well?

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Except Jack II and Lucy may have been sitting in a self-driving car before his concert, since he was on the driver's side.

This was another reason I thought modern Jack had vision. He was driving?!

1 hour ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Which is totally for Lucy's benefit, since he can't see it.

Unless he can.

[Forsaken]

5 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

ETA: I am also of the opinion that Cassidy is not a 'child abuser'. She made a mistake, in the aftermath of a PTSD moment. She obviously felt immediate remorse, left the house/situation when asked to by the child's father, and it seems to be the push she needed to get herself some help. That doesn't scream 'abuser' to me.

I do get that she isn't a child abuser but I can't help but think they would not be able to get away with that had it been a male veteran clipping his son in the same way. 

[CarpeFelis]

1 hour ago, OhSarah69 said:

I found it a bit much that (Grandpa)Jack would tell his life story at the dinner table at the country club.  I figured he'd come back from the restroom and say something about the war...but that was not the place for a soliloquy on your little brother, your abusive parents, etc.  How would that make a good impression on your girlfriend's family?  Not that it excuses their snobby behavior.  It's just like, know your audience, man.

I think Jack knew exactly what he was doing. Rebecca said she’d told her parents not to mention Vietnam, and then that was the first thing her dad asked about - an obvious attempt to unnerve Jack and put him on the defensive, but he wasn’t falling for it. It seemed to me that being so upfront about what his family was like was a big “screw you” to the snobby parents.

[JenE4]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

The father's left shoulder was by the car door, and he rubbed the opposite shoulder, as I recall. I remember thinking, well, that's the wrong shoulder, but I wouldn't put it past them to get the wrong one. Then my further thought was that I'm not sure I know that the cliche of rubbing the left shoulder is a dead on giveaway, or that it's always the one that's the harbinger of a heart attack.

The soldier’s husband had his wedding ring on his right hand the whole show, so obviously there’s no one on set “fact checking” details like that.

[Jax7917]

I think I missed it but how do we know Kevin ends up with the soldier ? I know they showed him with a white kid last season but isn’t he still dating Beth’s cousin ? Couldn’t they have adopted a kid ? I know I probably missed something 

[Forsaken]

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Jack Jr. looks quite a bit like Kevin with a bit of Toby in him, I can certainly see how he could be their son. Him faking a panic attack giving his future wife almost a damn heart attack was the exact kind of awful joke that his dad would find hilarious, but his proposal was actually pretty cute. I would be totally down for an engagement involving an adorable dog in a dog tux and it was rather intimate, not some huge public gesture that Toby would probably engage in. 

The dog in a tux was very Toby as well though, perhaps keeping it private was Kate in him?

1 hour ago, OhSarah69 said:

I found it a bit much that (Grandpa)Jack would tell his life story at the dinner table at the country club.  I figured he'd come back from the restroom and say something about the war...but that was not the place for a soliloquy on your little brother, your abusive parents, etc.  How would that make a good impression on your girlfriend's family?  Not that it excuses their snobby behavior.  It's just like, know your audience, man.

I got that part. He was standing his ground as he didn't feel like just sucking it up anymore. He was being treated poorly and disrespected.

24 minutes ago, gail56 said:

When they showed Jack jrs bare butt, I was thinking, "What a nice butt!" Then immediately after, "Wait, this show is This is Us! Showing a bare butt???"

I don't know if Jennifer's character is going to have a relationship with Kevin, but it sure looks like she is going to have a connection with Nicky.  Maybe help each other get well?

Yeah, it seemed out of step with the show. But if that is what we are doing now how about we see Rebecca's brief stint as a stripper????

1 hour ago, thesupremediva1 said:

So... I am burnt out after a season of caring about all the Pearsons from the first three seasons. I do not believe I have the emotional capacity to invest in anyone new.

Just because I know older Rebecca is going to pass on, and I know Randall and Beth stay together, and I know Kevin gets to be a dad doesn't mean I'm not still invested in their journeys. This was a nicely done episode, and a cute callback to the pilot, but it felt a lot like a reboot of an existing series (kind of like Homeland season 4) and I didn't really sign up for that. 

The last 3 minutes were great and almost made up for the other 49 minutes of total boredom, but not quite. Not sure if the main actors want to do other work and therefore aren't making as much of a time commitment to this show, but I'm not yet ready to care about and pay close attention to the third generation. 

I know shows love to "keep it fresh" and whatnot, but this really felt forced to me, and I had to force myself to keep paying attention. Not a good sign. 

I thought they were just going to give us all these new people at first. Almost start fresh then I realized they would all tie in. But I feel the same, I don't care about them.

3 hours ago, DFWGina said:

I wish they had not had all the new people all at once appear without even a slight introduction.  I'm a little more irritated by the way they did things but still interested....

 I feel like Kate & Toby are dead because as a Pearson - they would have been there in multitudes for the post engagement party, the concert, probably one would have jumped out from behind the door to help him put the plate back together.  LOL

I thought Jack Jr was Kevin's son for sure after I got over thinking it was Kevin.  I do not care about the "war woman" as I took to calling her when texting with a friend trying to figure out her character.  I wondered if she was Nicky's daughter somehow vs being a love interest for Kevin.   Are we certain she is Kevin's love interest?

I thought Malik was in jr high as well and not old enough to be a baby daddy.  I am not interested at all in his and Deja's story.   It does seem to parallel Rebecca and Jack's story.

In fact, I thought that all of these folks were going to be parallel stories and not related.  *sigh*  Not good with the guessing.  But I am interested to see where they take it all.  

It was like watching a new show I agree. Especially soldier woman.

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

For me, an episode without Toby AND Kate is a big win win. If I were a writer for this show, I'd get rid of both of them. And in the most drah-mat-tic fashion!

Yeah I find them too much as well. And as cruel as it sounds, their weight and health issues have affected the baby.

[ShadowFacts]

Just now, Jaclyn88 said:

I think I missed it but how do we know Kevin ends up with the soldier ? I know they showed him with a white kid last season but isn’t he still dating Beth’s cousin ? Couldn’t they have adopted a kid ? I know I probably missed something 

We don't know it, it's speculation, but seems to be heading in that direction with him now heading back to Pennsylvania.  He and Zoe definitely broke up at the end of last season, with her packing up and moving out and them both being real about their desires for kids/no kids. 

32 minutes ago, gail56 said:

When they showed Jack jrs bare butt, I was thinking, "What a nice butt!" Then immediately after, "Wait, this show is This is Us! Showing a bare butt???"

Didn't old Jack do the same in one of the first episodes of the show?  Am I imagining that?

[S.Batts]

25 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

This was another reason I thought modern Jack had vision. He was driving?!

Unless he can.

I thought they were in the back seat of a taxi?  Grown Jack was not driving.  

[saber5055]

7 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

Didn't old Jack do the same in one of the first episodes of the show?  Am I imagining that?

I was just going to post that same thing. Yeah, we got Milo's full back-al in the first episode. It was quite the sensation (!) and he got asked about it on all the talk shows. I'm guessing there are some screen caps of it out there!

Edited September 25, 2019 by saber5055

[Cementhead]

1 hour ago, thesupremediva1 said:

So... I am burnt out after a season of caring about all the Pearsons from the first three seasons. I do not believe I have the emotional capacity to invest in anyone new.

Last year, I grew tired of the 'Randall The Politician' story and even more so the 'Kate and Toby try to make a baby' story so I never even finished watching the whole season.  I came here this morning to read everyone's comments to see if I should tune in again this season and start fresh because I did really and truly love this show when it first started and I am sad that I had to give it up.  Well, I gotta say, it was pretty exhausting wading through all of these posts about an entirely new group of characters that I did not ask for and I just do not have the energy or desire to start caring about new characters on a show with an already bloated cast of characters that are underutilized as is. 

[bettername2come]

5 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

. I'm guessing there are some screen caps of it out there!

Purely for research purposes.

[Forsaken]

9 minutes ago, Cementhead said:

Last year, I grew tired of the 'Randall The Politician' story and even more so the 'Kate and Toby try to make a baby' story so I never even finished watching the whole season.  I came here this morning to read everyone's comments to see if I should tune in again this season and start fresh because I did really and truly love this show when it first started and I am sad that I had to give it up.  Well, I gotta say, it was pretty exhausting wading through all of these posts about an entirely new group of characters that I did not ask for and I just do not have the energy or desire to start caring about new characters on a show with an already bloated cast of characters that are underutilized as is. 

I am at the end of my rope with it as well. I am sick of the flash back/forward thing they like to do and I hate how every new character also gets a flash back/forward as well as that new characters relatives. Did we really need much background on Deja's mother for example?

It seems that they can't get enough characters into this show and just keep adding more. The Uncle Nicky story line was one of the worst and it seems now that soldier woman might be some kind of relation to him if not his daughter. Cue more Nicky in the show!

Teen dad is boring too but I guess it means Deja gets to do the Pearson crusading as well. Even though Deja looks like this kids big sister. 

Randall the politician and his wife being a ballerina, especially the ballerina thing, wow. 

[gail56]

26 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

Didn't old Jack do the same in one of the first episodes of the show?  Am I imagining that?

I think they kind of did, but I don't remember that much of his butt showing, lol!

[bettername2come]

6 minutes ago, gail56 said:

I think they kind of did, but I don't remember that much of his butt showing, lol!

Spoiler

Edited September 25, 2019 by bettername2come
Classic Jack gif under spoiler for appropriateness

[gail56]

2 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

  Reveal spoiler

Wow! How did I miss that? It must have happened really fast!

[AriAu]

Quote

I don't think Cassie is a child abuser. We saw one scene of her which was triggered by the fact that the water heater and a person's life had the same price - $1300.  Her hitting her son was clearly an accident.  I think she has issues with drinking and full on PTSD.

I apologize for starting the "child abuser" debate by calling it that-i was trying to be glib about the fact that this is a misery driven show and she had to add even more misery to the equation....and no, I dont think she is an abuser, but her life is out of control from the PTSD, which is what this showed.

Quote

Which of course he had glued back together and framed because it's the reason he went out for breakfast which led to meeting the love of his life and he's Jack Pearson's grandson so how could he do anything else.)

Maybe Lucy, the love of his life put it back together, not him. But yes, he is Jack Pearson's grandson, so grand gestures are a thing.

And, as far as not changing the look of the things 25-30 years into the future, they were trying to keep the big secret that this was the prodigal Jack child

[mojoween]

Next week I assume are we going to get twenty scintillating minutes of Jack returning a jacket.

And he was eating shrimp cocktail, was he not?  Or am I high and that was actually lobster?

[LaJefaza]

6 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I would not classify what happend with Cass as child abuse.  There is a difference between accidentally hitting your child once as he is tugging on your arm and intentionally hitting the child repeatedly.  That whole scene was cliche piled on cliche with a cliche chaser.  The pacing of her storyline in the episode felt too rushed.  

Agree with this totally. She snapped, and I think the kid was more shocked than hurt. I think the husband overreacted. If THIS is what he considers a 'ring the alarm, get out of my house' child abuse situation then he has not grown up anywhere near a West Indian/Puerto Rican/ Dominican household. Because BAYYYBEEEE....

Quote

I wonder what Jack Jrs relationship with his parents is like? I kind of wonder if Kate is jealous of him or resentful of his success in the field she dreamed of or his good looks. I would like to think that Kate would be above being resentful of her own son, but she has a tendency to be petty and mean towards people she thinks are prettier or more successful than her, especially her mom, so I do wonder.

To be honest this is the direction I was worried they would go with if Kate had a daughter. I was just NOT looking forward to her projecting and lashing out at her pretty, talented daughter, the way she lashed out at her pretty, talented mom. And God forbid if her daughter were tall and thin?! That kind of jealousy and insecurity doesn't just disappear without some deep introspection, which I don't think any of the Pearsons are really keen on (her in particular). So it will be interesting to see how she treats her son.

Edited September 25, 2019 by LaJefaza

[saber5055]

3 minutes ago, mojoween said:

And he was eating shrimp cocktail, was he not?  Or am I high and that was actually lobster?

Hilarious, since that looked like cocktail sauce that dropped on his jacket, and lobster is eaten with drawn butter. Unless that club served lobster with cocktail sauce, a new invention, or unless Jack couldn't tell the dif between shrimp and lobster, and his calling shrimp "lobster" just reinforced what a wrong-side-of-the-tracks moron he is/was.

@bettername2come, thanks for that "spoiler"!

[Forsaken]

11 minutes ago, AriAu said:

I apologize for starting the "child abuser" debate by calling it that-i was trying to be glib about the fact that this is a misery driven show and she had to add even more misery to the equation....and no, I dont think she is an abuser, but her life is out of control from the PTSD, which is what this showed.

Maybe Lucy, the love of his life put it back together, not him. But yes, he is Jack Pearson's grandson, so grand gestures are a thing.

And, as far as not changing the look of the things 25-30 years into the future, they were trying to keep the big secret that this was the prodigal Jack child

It is a misery driven show. Even when a character seemingly has it all like Randall and his wife they find little things to be miserable over like not being able to do ballet lessons as a kid. Oh woe is me! 

6 minutes ago, LaJefaza said:

Agree with this totally. She snapped, and I think the kid was more shocked than hurt. I think the husband overreacted. If THIS is what he considers a 'ring the alarm, get out of my house' child abuse situation then he has not grown up anywhere near a West Indian/Puerto Rican/ Dominican household. Because BAYYYBEEEE....

To be really honest here, if that were a male character there would not be anywhere near as much sympathy as there is now. The character would be explaining their actions to the police and there would be outrage online. It's a female though so it's all ok. 

Also it wasn't just the kid being hit. I think it was everything adding up and the husband could see she wasn't stable.