This Is Us Review: A Manny-Splendored Thing (Season 2 Episode 2)

On This Is Us Season 2 Episode 2 “A Manny-Splendored Thing,” time is used very interestingly.

The show has been creative in the ways it incorporates time, but this week’s episode takes it to a whole other level.

Much of “A Manny-Splendored Thing” focuses on Kate and her troubled relationship with Rebecca, juxtaposed with her great relationship with Jack. It’s an interesting dichotomy that I’m happy to see explored.

When Kate gets the opportunity to sing on stage in front of a crowd, Rebecca gleefully attends. But Kate, who has years of frustration and complicated feelings pent up inside of her, goes off on her mom.

The flashbacks reveal why. Kate has always found it difficult to measure up to her perfect mom. As she later says in the episode, Rebecca is not only beautiful and thin, but she has perfect pitch. How is Kate supposed to live up to that?

The answer is that she isn’t. And it’s a shame that she’s gone through her entire life feeling like she should. It’s an incredible amount of pressure to live with, and the emotional ramifications of those feelings probably caused her to have an eating disorder.

In contrast, Kate’s relationship with Jack is rock solid, and it’s really sweet to see. She not only needs him, but he needs her, as evidenced by his stopping by in the middle of the day to see her at school.

This episode, Jack is trying to get a hold of his alcoholism. Not in the 90s, but back in the 80s when he first started having problems. We see that Jack is greatly unfulfilled at work and has a lot of issues from his own childhood that he hasn’t confronted, including his abusive father and time during the Vietnam War.

There’s a lot to Jack, and a lot that has happened to Jack that we haven’t explored much yet, that informs who he is, and explains why he became an alcoholic despite his amazing life with his beautiful family.

“A Manny-Splendored Thing” unearths past traumas and shows us how they cling to us years after the fact.

The most memorable part of the episode occurs towards the end, as Kate sings her rendition of “Landslide.” In this montage, we get Jack, fiercely pounding on a boxing bag, trying to fight his dark side. We see Kevin and Sophie connect in the past and present through laughs. We see Kate, taking on her fears of singing in front of an audience, and own her moment.

Elsewhere, Kevin is learning to rise above his diva personality when he returns to The Manny for a guest stint. A light-hearted plot to an otherwise heavy episode. Kevin seems to be the character to bring levity to the show, though he is capable of having a lot of depth as well.

His conversation with Beth is evident of that. As Beth and Randall have disagreements on fostering an unknown, troubled kid, Kevin is able to give Beth the confidence she needs — the confidence to convince Randall that together, they can do anything.

It’s true, Beth and Randall are a force to be reckoned with. As the show’s own version of #relationshipgoals, it’ll be interesting to see them embark on this journey that will no doubt, be rocky and difficult.

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 8/9c on NBC.

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