After a rough day at work, I was looking forward to seeing all my favorite characters on This Is Us last night, so I was initially disappointed the show was flooded with new ones. I found the blind singer (grown up baby Jack) and Malik to be very compelling. Do we know who the mom of Malik’s baby is? Jennifer Morrison’s vet character isn’t my favorite, but it definitely seems like a setup to get her together with Kevin.
I figured out who the blind singer was by the time he was sitting in the diner (interest in music, pet dog, medical problem maybe from birth).
I had a harder time figuring out Malik, but knew they were in Phila from the Pearson bumper sticker on a car.
I kind of figured out Cassie, the female vet, after she left her husband and son.
I heard Justin Hartley on some show say we’d find out about his son and who his mother is this season.
Oh, I didn’t realize Jennifer Morrison was Emma on “Once Upon a Time.” I didn’t recognize her!
I like Vulture.com’s reviews of shows. I thought this timeline was helpful:
https://www.vulture.com/2018/03/this-is-us-chronological-timeline.html
This episode felt a lot to me like the very first episode, 4 stories and you aren’t quite sure until the end how they are connected. I enjoyed it a lot, except for my husband’s constant “who is that?”. Lol, stop trying to figure it out and just watch to see where it takes you!!
You’re a lot better than I am. I had no clue. And now I want to go back and re-watch his scenes to see what life is going to be like 25 +/- years in the future. Apparently small dogs grow into really big ones so that’s something. I liked the new actors/actresses but I’ll be happy if most of the stories focus on the originals for the rest of the season. Although I do love the way this show does expanding concentric circles with layers above and below.
As usual, the writers did a great job of drawing us into these new characters. I did not connect the dots on Jack until the end. Happy to have it back. Loved the look on Deja’s face and the Randall’s comment.
My husband quit watching halfway through, saying, “I don’t know who these people are.” I’m glad I continued to watch, as I thought it was very clever how they were linked to previous characters. The only one I didn’t get was the guy who threw the chair. When I thought about it for a while, and remembered Kevin’s phone call, I realized who it was.
Rebecca’s dad made me sad. Growing up with those parents, how can we blame her for anything? Who pointed out the tag on the sports coat? It must have been the friend of the parents. Rebecca’s father would have probably called her attention to it.
It was Rebecca’s dad who let Jack know about the tag. It was subtle. He gave Jack a pointed look. Jack saw the tag, fixed it, and gave the dad a little half-smile in thanks.
I think it was Rebecca’s dad who pointed out the tag. That just somehow made it worse when he gave Jack the speech after dinner - it was clear he respected Jack and understood where he was coming from and everything he had to go through. But even with that respect, for him to automatically write him off as not being good enough for his daughter is so much worse than the mom, who is biased against him from the start because of his not being from a ‘good enough’ family.
I too guessed that the blind singer was baby Jack after the restaurant scene because of the music connection. The actor also looked a bit like Kevin, so I guess he has the family resemblance. I thought that storyline was really compelling but really curious how much his story will continue on the show. On the one hand, it doesn’t make sense to focus so much on this if it was just a ‘one and done’ glimpse of the future. OTOH, I think it would be hard having a timeline so far in the future be a big part of the story.
I absolutely loved the episode. The introduction of the new characters allows new storylines for existing characters, which I welcome. The writing is great, and I feel confident everything will come together smoothly over time.
I apologize. I don’t know the Asia character.
I thought it was a great idea. I think this show needs the infusion of something new.
Who was Jennifer Morrison’s husband? I can’t place him and it’s driving me nuts.
Her name is Deja, not Asia. She’s the foster kid that Randall and Beth took in.
Did anyone else notice that the salesman that sold Jack the sport coat was Miguel?
Rebecca’s dad is a jerk (would like to use another word but, CC. 
) Funny because at first we are led to believe her mom is uppity. Turns out he’s even more of a …jerk.
Jack’s song and voice at the end MELTED me. Puddle.
Patsmom- I didn’t notice that! Good catch.
I caught Miguel right away. Funny Miguel seemed older than Jack in the store - but aren’t/weren’t they close in age? The time I remember seeing them as “young” was when that scene where they got beat up outside of that house (?? house).
Wasn’t Jack playing cards with Miguel the night he first saw Rebecca sing in the club? But then they didn’t seem to know each other in the clothing store.
Rewatching. I didn’t catch that new Jack was naked in bed just like old Jack was naked in the first episode of the first season.
@MaineLonghorn I rely on Vulture.com recaps, always details I find helpful. And we both said House doctor! For Jennifer Morrison and Omar Epps.
@toledo I never thought about bailing during the episode but we both complained “who are these people, I’m lost” etc.
@shellfell I picked up nothing about the singer, so loved the end of the episode
@abasket the only part of the show that didn’t surprise, Rebecca’s dad cold/cruel nature. Tim Mattheson played Allison’s dad last season on The The Affair.
Full episode rewatch before next Tuesday!
Thx, pats o
I forgot name Deja and thought Asia
Never caught the Miguel connection.