This Is Us tackles a different relatable topic each week, from needing parental approval, to feeling isolated because of your appearance – this week was all about feeling validated at work.
Randall’s (Sterling K Brown) been on the edge of a quarter life crisis for a while now, but his performance at his daughter’s career day really tipped him over the edge. He tried to make his job (which is so complicated we can’t even remember the title) sound cool by writing and performing an original song despite the fact he can’t sing or play the piano. Needless to say it was a complete disaster. My favourite moment was when Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) instructed her daughters to, “look away”, while their father crashed and burned on stage so they weren’t scarred for life – harsh, but fair.
Kevin (Justin Hartley) is really bad at stage acting. His bitchy co-star Olivia (Janet Montgomery) tricks him into attending a stranger’s memorial in an effort to spark an emotional response that Kevin can use in the play. The experience does force Kevin to confront emotions he’s been refusing to engage with in relation to his own father’s death that we STILL don’t know any more about! At first, I could handle the idea that Olivia would try to pull off this pretty insensitive lesson. But when the two of them fell into bed in a dead stranger’s house – I was a little disappointed. It seemed like a pretty tactless act and slightly off point scene from the incredibly high standards I’ve come to expect from the show so far.
All was going well with Kate (Chrissy Metz) until she realised she was only hired as her boss thought a “bigger lady” might be able to connect with her overweight, rebellious teenage daughter. To her credit, she manages to rectify the situation and work it to her advantage.
Back in time, we get to see a little more of Randall, Kevin and Kate’s upbringing by parents Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia). Rebecca and Jack struggle over the decision to send their gifted son Randall to a private school. We start to see Kate develop a complex about her mother’s beauty. We also see Kevin continuously compete for attention, especially from his father. All of this occurs as Jack realises he can’t take a risk on starting his own company when it means he mightn’t be able to provide for his family.
Overall it’s another strong episode. But for me, the stand out storyline is that of Randall and his family. Everything about them just keeps getting better and better each week and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
