This Is Us Review: The Big Day (Season 1 Episode 12)

In an episode solely taking place in the past, This Is Us Season 1 Episode 12 “The Big Day” cements what the show does best.

The strengths of this often unsteady, schmaltzy, and relentlessly optimistic dramedy lies in the earnestness of its sympathetic characters.

“The Big Day,” which recounts the day The Big Three are born, filling in details we didn’t get to see in the pilot, is a wonderful episode.

I know some people might have a problem with the show relying too heavily on the past, especially when it doesn’t exactly push the story forward, but I love episodes that show us who these characters are to their bare bones.

Moments like Rebecca feeling so guilty about forgetting Jack’s birthday that she’ll walk several blocks in the heat in her pregnant state to buy ingredients for a birthday cake, or Jack being so in love with his wife that all he could do is think about being with her despite Miguel’s attempts of distraction, reveals a lot about who Jack and Rebecca are.

We also learn more about Dr. K’s personal life, and his struggles following the death of his wife.

In a very humanizing approach, we see Dr. K battle with loneliness. Seeing him at his wife’s grave the day he delivers the triplets, and offers Jack life-changing advice, somehow enhances the whole experience of the pilot.

Adding this much background somehow makes the fateful encounter between Dr. K and the Pearsons more profound.

Not only do we see more of Dr. K, but we also surprisingly take a peek into the life of the firefighter who found Randall at the firehouse.

The decision to give this secondary character so much focus and a backstory is a little odd, but, it somehow works. In an effort to fix his collapsing marriage, the firefighter suggests keeping Randall as his own, but his wife refuses.

What was the actual point of showing this? To prove that fate brought Randall into Jack and Rebecca’s lives? To further color this web of interconnection with more details and nuances? Perhaps both, and again, it somehow works.

There are a lot of sweet scenes sprinkled throughout this gem of an episode, including Rebecca speaking to the babies in her belly about her own reservations about being a mom and Rebecca and Jack making up after their fight, which leads to the opening birthday-dance scene in the pilot.

And watching Jack console Rebecca after the death of their baby is even more shattering than the first time, because we actually get to see the scene without the music over it.

This Is Us has a different groove than most shows.

The stakes are not high, the drama is low, but it attracts its viewers nonetheless. It commands investment in its characters, and it follows its own rhythm, even if that rhythm feels disruptive at times.

I sometimes still have real reservations about where the story is going, and what the grand plan is, but episodes like these remind me to just enjoy watching these endearing characters experience their daily lives with authenticity, and for the moment, I relish in the simplicity that is offered.

What did you think of this episode of This Is Us? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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