This Is Us Review: A Father’s Advice (Season 2 Episode 1)

Our favorite family feel-good show is back! Now, all is right in the world.

On This Is Us Season 2 Episode 1, “A Father’s Advice,” we meet the Big Three on their 37th birthday.

Kate gives it a real go at singing by going on auditions. Kevin juggles his new/old relationship with Sophie and his new acting gig, and Randall and Beth figure out this whole adoption thing.

Flashback to the 90s, we pick up right in the direct aftermath of Jack and Rebecca’s guttural fight, as they process this new situation in their lives.

I realize that I just naturally care more about the past timeline than I do the present. While the adult Big Three are enjoyable to watch in their own right, watching Jack and Rebecca navigate through parenthood and marriage is the smoothest journey on the show, in spite of the non-linear storytelling.

In the 90s, Jack and Rebecca gather the teens to inform them of their separation. Suffice it to say, they don’t take it well. What I like about this scene is how unique everyone’s reaction is.

Kate is visibly the most upset and takes Jack’s side, voicing that she’d prefer to live with him. When she storms off, it’s a stoic Kevin that goes after her. And Randall displays his disappointment more quietly, but undeniably all the same.

What This Is Us does well is color these characters in such believable ways.

The family dynamics of the Pearsons with Jack and Rebecca at the helm are very strong, and I’m excited to see more of the teen years since adolescence tends to be a volatile phase in one’s life, especially when it comes to parent-child relationships.

Rebecca tries to lift the kids’ spirits by taking them to the movies, and it’s kind of sad.

In envisioning a life without Jack, a a family without its soulful patriarch, the picture is incomplete. They’re still a family with a lot of love to share, but Jack leaves a giant void, and it’s the first time we actually see what life is going to be like for them when Jack inevitably dies.

In the present day, Randall and Beth unsurprisingly have the best plot.

Randall has baby-fever, badly. And it seems like he’s the only one.

It’s pretty crazy that Randall and Beth are in the early stages of the adoption process when Beth is clearly not on board. Randall is usually more perceptive, and for him to totally misread or disregard Beth’s feelings on adoption is baffling.

But it’s part of the journey.

After Randall and Rebecca have a talk about his own adoption, it dawns on him that as much as he reveres his parents’ relationship, he and Beth have a different kind of marriage. He realizes that he can’t push her to adopt because they’re partners.

It’s a great makeup scene that gets even better when Beth shares her side of things. While she isn’t on board to adopt a baby, she is willing to honor Randall’s parents by taking in a teenager who doesn’t have a home or needs direction in their life.

It may not have been what Randall originally wanted, but it may prove to be the perfect thing for Randall and Beth.

Meanwhile Toby, Kate, and Kevin are entangled in a plot that questions boundaries.

If the plot serves to demonstrate how Kate and Kevin are at best, each other’s best friend, and at worst, codependent, then it works. But sometimes it comes off as cliche and redundant.

We get why Kevin and Kate are close. As Kevin says, the’ve gone through life by each other’s side. And this point is further made when we flashback to the 90s.

It’s suggested that after Jack’s death, the twins got even close, becoming each other’s guardian and caretaker in a sense. It’s a bond that’s rock solid.

Kevin and Toby later air out their issues and come to an understanding about their respective roles in Kate’s life.

“A Father’s Advice” is a decent episode up until this point, but it’s really the final minutes that provides the kicker: Jack’s death is revealed. Or at least, implied.

We don’t actually see Jack die, but we do find out that it was a fire that likely killed him as a devastated Rebecca drives up to their scorched home.

How the fire started and what the exactly happened isn’t clear yet, but this revelation feels especially brutal given that Rebecca and Jack reconcile their relationship at the end of the episode.

We sang Milo Ventimiglia’s endless praise last season after seeing the amount of depth and love he inserts into the character of Jack. This episode continues to showcase his talent when Jack admits his alcohol problem to Rebecca, who decides to work it through together as family.

The look on Jack’s face is excruciating as he admits his shame and disappointment in himself. We know Jack isn’t perfect, but it’s still striking to see him this way.

This season promises to stitch together the story behind Jack’s death, but in the meantime, we’ll continue to see how the impact of Jack’s life is still deeply felt in the characters’ lives.

Other finals thoughts:

• I still struggle to care about Kate and Toby’s relationship. Why am I so lukewarm about it? I can’t quite put my finger on it.
• It’s a sweet relief to see that William still has a presence on the show, as seen in the opening flashback, but I hope they avoid more ghost-like appearances, or imagined conversations and just stick to flashbacks.
• “It’s better to have loved and lost, to never have loved at all,” William writes to Randall. But more importantly he adds, “But try not to lose it at all.”
• Randall witnessing Jack and Rebecca’s fight is an interesting touch. The small things that inform the Big Three’s personalities and memories are some of my favorite details about the show.

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

 

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

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