The Pearson family picked up the emotional slaying where they left off.
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EMOTIONAL BLINDSIDE: It must have been a long summer since I watched the last episode of the first season of NBC’s This Is Us, because for some still-unknown reason I went into it thinking I’d be ok; that I wouldn’t end up a pile of quivering mess with glassy cry-eyes by the end. But as the five-Kleenex adventures of the Pearson family both then and now returned with the force of a Claire Danes ugly cry, I was reminded that I am no match for the emotional one-two punch this show serves up week in, week out.
The season two premiere kept true to form on that front and was super solid across the board (save for Randall’s over-the-top giddy energy in the opening, which I didn’t dig), making good on a full season’s worth of character building as we jumped right into the action. These dynamics and connections were on full display, sometimes criss-crossing characters in interesting new ways (great stuff between Kevin and Toby), while going deeper with others (beautifully honest moments between Randall and Beth). This Is Us was back in full effect.
BUT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THAT ENDING: That said, the final act is already in the running for my favorite rollercoaster of WTF moments of the year this side of Game of Thrones. Let’s start at the beginning of the end, when Rebecca shows up on Jack’s (well, Miguel’s) doorstep, and his energy isn’t meeting hers, we know something is up. And then, when Jack’s face starts to really change as she’s talking about—proclaiming!—her commitment to him/them, and the whole time all I can think is, Ohmygodohmygod what is he going to say?!, because then (SPOILER ALERT) he tells her he’s drunk and has been “for weeks” (he really is his dad!). To top it off, after he turns her away to take care of his booze-soaked business on his own, they cut to black (screaming!), then she knocks on the door to declare that isn’t happening and orders him to the car to take him home. Oh, but wait, they aren’t done with us, because we then flash forward to (kinda) FIND OUT HOW HE DIES?! Nevermind Rebecca’s breakdown in front of what’s left of their ashen house, with Jack’s possessions in a plastic bag on the passenger’s seat. Nope, nothing to see here.
I’d really love to say something—anything—but I’m still shaking on my couch. Leave a message. Beep.
MILO AND MANDY ARE MVPs: Just about everyone on This Is Us is great (with one or two exceptions that I’ll leave for another post), but can we talk about recent Emmy nominee Milo Ventimiglia and should-have-been-nominated Mandy Moore in this episode? I’m always taken aback by the completely grounded, layered and lived-in performances they give as Jack and Rebecca, but they came bolting out of the gate in the premiere like purebreds on Derby Day.
Their choices zig where most actors would zag, injecting every moment with a what-will-happen-next? kind of unpredictability that’s sort of like, well, real life. Their monologues were expertly delivered (and written), and huge props on another front: It ain’t easy acting drunk (Milo) or old (Mandy, whose wrinkle makeup didn’t bother me for the first time ever), but both made it work, big time.
And while we’re talking MVPs, special side note shout out to Susan Kelechi Watson, whose Beth continues to be one of my favorite characters on TV with her honesty, intelligence, fierceness (“I’m not throwing down with you in an adoption parking lot”) and vulnerability (that scene on the park bench killed me).
THIS SUMS IT UP: Basically, if This Is Us is off to this good of a start, I can’t even imagine what’s in store between now and May. But if nothing else, I’ve already learned the hard way it’s going to require better planning on the Kleenex front.
Photo credit: EW.COM/ RON BATZDORFF/NBC