This Is Us - S3 Ep. 3

We started this week's episode with an actual look at a young Rebecca. She had seemingly loving parents who fit the mold of their day (the man works, the woman stays at home), and she had to learn how to be a woman of the house, which meant baking and sewing. But high-school Rebecca was a rebel who wanted to take shop class and break the mold. It's there that she meets a boy who says she is the loveliest woman he's ever seen or ever will. They apparently dated, but Rebecca wasn't feeling it.

This goofy-mustachioed shmoozer appears again later in life. When, you ask? Oh, right when Jack comes into Rebecca's life, of course. I don't recall a mention of another guy when she's dating Jack previously, let alone the fact that she actually decided to move to New York with this Schmuck the night after her date with Jack. Maybe all of this was just what Jack needed to know how he truly felt about her (even though they barely knew each other).

Thank goodness Rebecca and Jack bump into each other in the store! Rebecca gets caught red-handed - well, it's not like she did anything truly wrong, but she acted completely guilty, so it definitely feels like she was caught red-handed - for kissing this Shmuck who suddenly returned to her life and asked her to go to New York with him. She agrees, even though she ended things with him the first time when he asked her to go to London with him. When she talks to Jack about it, she asks him what his dreams are, and he explains how he just wants a good job and a better life for him and his family than what he had growing up. You know, like a real family man.

Though the final scene with Jack and Rebecca was extremely well-executed (especially by Mandy Moore), it kind of makes no sense. Apparently Jack and Rebecca just up and decided to drive to Los Angeles together, which seems a little fast for a second date, if you ask me. The clarity and peace Rebecca feels with Jack is clear and palpable (again, bravo Mandy Moore), and the fact that Jack finished washing the dishes just showed Rebecca how steady and responsible he is, which obviously is a big part of why she eventually marries him. But it's just odd that there is so much spontaneity that shaped their relationship.

It was so fun to see Kevin get interviewed about his role in his hit movie. He was asked if Jack's time in Vietnam served as an inspiration for his role in the war movie, but Kevin honestly wasn't sure about much of Jack's involvement in the war. Perhaps a little too transparently, the radio host mentioned that sometimes men don't talk about these sort of things with anyone other than other war vets; coincidentally, Kevin just now starts wondering why he never asked about his dad's experience in the war. Thankfully, this leads to him reaching out to a veteran who served with his father. I'm excited to see what comes out of this. Maybe Kevin will help this man through some challenges just by lending an ear. Of course, there's the risk that he finds out stuff about his dad he may not want to know.

Kate decides to go through with surgery to help her chances of getting pregnant. It was weirdly executed, though. After she's administered the anesthesia, she goes into a weird state of mind, which isn't really what happens in this situation, but whatever (She has an argument with multiple Kates). But thankfully the surgery produced eight eggs for the chance to produce an embryo. Time will tell.

Notes:

Funny lines:

"We have a text chain. It's mostly just GIFs, but sometimes we talk about how messed up y'all are," Beth said to Randall regarding texting Miguel.

-It sucked that Beth got fired. She's becoming one of my favorites more and more, and I hate seeing such a bad thing happen to her. But maybe this will be for the best. I'm excited to see this character face a little adversity of her own instead of fitting into the supportive role, mostly for Randall (albeit she is great at that, too).

WIFE'S TWO CENTS: She doesn't think they executed the story of Rebecca dating this other guy before all that well. It felt very much like a Hallmark movie instead of just a grounded, realistic set of events. It was a good idea to have her date someone else, but they completely rushed it. And Rebecca just showing up at Jack's friend's house (where he brought his mother to get away from his father) one random night didn't seem to fall into the normal pattern of the show.

PREMIERE EPISODE:

I missed the blog about the first episode, so I'm recapping a couple thoughts:

-The best thing about Jack and Rebecca's first date was the correlation the writers made with the Immaculate Reception, the historical NFL play that will live on in Steelers' lore forever. The date itself could've been much better, sure, but there was a chance for a miracle at the end, and it worked out.

-I like how efficient Jack was with money knowing his severe limitations. He made sure she had a good time, which is all most honorable guys want to do on first dates, anyway. The cute "leave behind a jacket" trick was nicely written, too. It was a good set-up of their relationship that seemed very fitting.