This is Us

[scarlet]

Feb 27, 2019 22:07:13 GMT -4 laurenj said:

Anyone still watching this? I'm struggling to maintain interest, partially because it doesn't seem to be on regularly and partially because it feels more segmented than ever. Even when I kind of enjoy a storyline, it feels like a standalone.

Still watching, but having similar feelings. I didn't care for the VietNam episodes or reconnecting with the Uncle in present day. And I agree about the standalone aspect. I think there's only a couple more episodes this season, so I don't know how much depth we're going to get.

[Ladybug]

The thing with the uncle was so soap operaish. In real life, Jack could not have kept a secret like that for that long. He didn't even tell his wife! It felt so contrived. I was sticking with the Vietnam story until that was revealed. To keep a show like this going, with the flashbacks and the present drama, there will have to be these contrived plots, but it stretches credibility every time.

The other thing, and this bugs me about many shows, is that Beth hasn't danced in 20 years, goes back to one class, and decides she is going to be a dance teacher. That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works! Please show her retraining her body for dance, leaning teaching techniques, becoming qualified to do the job! And in the flash forward, it looks like she owns a dance studio and/or heads a company. It's just really a stretch.

I did love Beth's backstory, and it completely had me until that final scene.

[Ladybug]

Anyone watch last week's episode? Another "wait until the last scene" ep. I was thoroughly annoyed and bored just watching the Pearsons fight in the waiting room. Then they finally cut to Kate, Toby, and baby Jack and I became a mess of sobs. I can't imagine what it's like to be a parent of a preemie, but the weight of the situation seemed so evident in those scenes. Kate and Toby were helpless, everything depended on medical science and their baby's strength. Kate talking to her father did not seem weird to me at all. The actors were outstanding, and Kate, who usually annoys me, was so great trying to be strong.

[Mugsy]

That was a typical tv birth, where every character on the show rushes to the hospital the moment the mom goes into labour and then sits in the waiting room for hours (or days!) waiting.

Nobody does this in real life, at least nobody I know. Real life is more like: Mom goes into labour, they go the hospital, have the baby, and then call the family. If my entire family (including tertiary girlfriends and such) was in the waiting room throughout my labour, I'd be ticked. Or worse, coming into the labour room.

I realize this was a bit different, since Kate went in early and there was heightened concern, but still.

On to the Beth and Randall saga. This is standard soap opera - take the happy couple and give them some issue to ruin their marriage. They are both being irrational here, but Beth is vicious. I can't see them recovering from this (but they will). Randall should never have run for office, esp in a district where he doesn't live, so soon after taking on a foster child. Families can only adjust to so much at one time, and if you have choices, you avoid needless turmoil.

[laurenj]

Mar 21, 2019 15:03:26 GMT -4 Mugsy said:

That was a typical tv birth, where every character on the show rushes to the hospital the moment the mom goes into labour and then sits in the waiting room for hours (or days!) waiting.

Nobody does this in real life, at least nobody I know. Real life is more like: Mom goes into labour, they go the hospital, have the baby, and then call the family. If my entire family (including tertiary girlfriends and such) was in the waiting room throughout my labour, I'd be ticked. Or worse, coming into the labour room.

I realize this was a bit different, since Kate went in early and there was heightened concern, but still.

On to the Beth and Randall saga. This is standard soap opera - take the happy couple and give them some issue to ruin their marriage. They are both being irrational here, but Beth is vicious. I can't see them recovering from this (but they will). Randall should never have run for office, esp in a district where he doesn't live, so soon after taking on a foster child. Families can only adjust to so much at one time, and if you have choices, you avoid needless turmoil.

I can forgive the waiting room thing only because Kate is clearly a high risk pregnancy and there was a decent chance that something could happen not just to the baby, but to her as well. Family will flock to a waiting room if there's a fear that someone may not make it through a medical emergency, especially since this family after the way Jack suddenly died out of nowhere while in the hospital.

Granted, the friend being there was a bit weird.

There was one episode recently that felt a bit more like the old show, was it this one? There was some additional backstory about Rebecca and Miguel, right? At the very least, I appreciated that there was an attempt to do some more storytelling from the eras of the family that I find most interesting.

I find Kevin's drama really uninteresting and Randall and Beth are starting to irritate me with this sudden arrested development. This simultaneous "follow your dreams" routine that appears to be taking them to the edge of divorce is neither fun to watch nor does it really make any sense. 3 kids, including a foster child, and they suddenly both need to make these enormous changes that don't fit their lifestyle or budget? It's such a departure in character.

[Deleted]

I've actually asked HGTV once or twice, "Is he supposed to be having a nervous breakdown?" about Randall. He's a good, loving dude but every damn decision is IMPULSIVE.

I think I like how they're handling Kevin's addiction, but I find myself not caring about the romance with Zoe.

Kate and Tobes have grown on me.

[scarlet]

Mar 9, 2005 10:38:10 GMT -4 @mulva said:

I've actually asked HGTV once or twice, "Is he supposed to be having a nervous breakdown?" about Randall. He's a good, loving dude but every damn decision is IMPULSIVE.

That voicemail he left Beth was so stupidly impulsive, but yet, felt real in the moment. Still, though: stupid.

I'm so glad the Sophie business seems to be fully in the past. I was very relieved when she said she was engaged, because I found her and Kevin dull.

[laurenj]

Mar 21, 2019 17:07:13 GMT -4 @mulva said:

I've actually asked HGTV once or twice, "Is he supposed to be having a nervous breakdown?" about Randall. He's a good, loving dude but every damn decision is IMPULSIVE.

I think I like how they're handling Kevin's addiction, but I find myself not caring about the romance with Zoe.

Kate and Tobes have grown on me.

The show is not selling me on Kevin and Zoe at all. There's zero chemistry between the actors and I find myself wondering what on earth Zoe is even doing with him. She clearly has a lifestyle that isn't meant to settle in any one place and does her own thing, why is she attaching herself to a guy with addiction issues, no job, and who is tethered to his family to a sometimes unhealthy degree. It just doesn't fit.

Kate and Toby have somehow become the most likable characters on the show.

[Ladybug]

Is anyone still watching this show? Last night's episode had such a disappointing ending.

SPOILER: Click to show

I can't believe Kevin hooked up with Kate's BFF Madison. Is this supposed to be his future pregnant wife from the flash forwards? Please, no, no. It makes no sense. They wrote Zoe out, Sophie has moved on, I was kind of thinking he'd go find the PTSD alcoholic vet he hooked up with, but no. Kate's annoying friend. Ugh, this show.

[scarlet]

I actually liked last night's episode--Kevin has become my favorite--and I think the ending might be a red herring.

Spoiler:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Given Sophie had that end scene of looking at her grandmother's ring--and her mother had told teenaged Kevin he had to "earn" it--I'm still thinking she's endgame.