This Is Us Review: Brothers (Season 2 Episode 5)

At its best, This Is Us  is able to seamlessly interweave various timelines in one episode without feeling too forced or on the nose.

And that’s certainly the case for This Is Us Season 2 Episode 5, “Brothers,” where several character have strong moments both in the past and present.

“Brothers” is the best episode of the season thus far, and it feels a lot like early season 1, when small things in the past have deeper meaning in the present, reaffirming who the Pearsons are.

When Jack takes Randall and Kevin camping in 1990, Rebecca is left to deal with an unexpected situation alone. Jack’s dad, who is living in a nursing home, is dying.

The show excels at placing its characters in difficult positions where they’re feeling conflicting emotions. Jack clearly has a troubling relationship with his father, who was an abusive drunk, and who treated Jack and his family horribly.

The two of them have been estranged for years, but the look of pain and remorse on Jack’s face was hard to miss when he realized that his dad was going to die without any sense of reconciliation or closure.

But it’s so informative of who Jack is. Him deciding to stay with his boys and bond with them during this trip — a trip that’s not exactly going perfectly because of Kevin’s constant bullying of Randal — just shows how committed of a father Jack is.

His efforts to discipline Kevin and get his sons to bond just shows how much Jack cares. It shows that Jack is who he is in spite of his father.

By the end of the episode, we learn that there’s another reason why Jack is the protective, amazing person that he is.

Through flashbacks to the 50s, we see a very young Jack get left in the car while his dad goes to a bar to drink. But Jack’s not left completely alone. He’s with his little brother Nicky.

We’re not sure what happened to Nicky. All that’s clear is that Jack and his brother fought in Vietnam together, something Jack reflects on by skimming through old momentos late at night. But there are so many questions.

Why haven’t we heard of Nicky before? Did he die in war? What does it mean for Jack to have had a brother? Did Nicky ever meet Jack’s family? Will we see him in the present day?

I’m so intrigued for the show to explore this additional member of the Pearson family.

Rebecca is an interesting predicament as well. She takes a gentle, empathetic approach to this man who represents something so ugly in Jack’s life, and it’s a perfectly compassionate scene.

For a second, I want there to be a cathartic moment. I want Rebecca to give this dying person a moment of dignity and peace. I want him to ask for forgiveness, and to ask Rebecca to give a message to Jack.

But alas, that moment doesn’t come. But then again, we don’t actually see Jack’s father die, so maybe there is a message Rebecca will share in a future episode.

Meanwhile, Kevin is spiraling. He’s in pain and out of meds, and making a mess out of things.

I see how the show is trying to connect Kevin’s childhood to his poor decision-making in the present, but something just feels missing. Without the missing piece in the puzzle, it’s hard to understand exactly why Kevin is the way that he is.

We know that Kevin has felt ignored growing up; it’s the main reason why he was so shitty to Randall, and Kevin’s line to Randall about trying to feel nothing is telling.

But there’s something else the show hasn’t gotten to yet, something that explains all of Kevin’s relationships, and explains why he doesn’t like talking about Jack, and I’m just waiting to learn what that is.

Other final thoughts:

• Kate also has an interesting arc this episode. She tells a very enthused Toby that she’s pregnant, but unlike her fiance, Kate admits that she can’t allow herself to get too excited. All the risks of being overweight and being pregnant in her late thirties gives her pause. Chrissy Metz is pretty terrific this episode, especially in her scene in the car.
• I’ve been really loving the Jack and Kevin scenes. Milo Ventimiglia and Parker Bates play off as father and son in a believable, sweet, and uncomfortably real way. When Kevin yells at Jack that he doesn’t want to talk about it, man, I got flashbacks to being a frustrated little kid myself.
• Randall’s notes about how to handle Kevin when he’s being mean, and Kevin reading it and feeling bad broke my heart. It’s painful stuff like this that the show gets right.
• The direction in this episode was killer. There were beautiful shots throughout. Randall’s face through the crack in the bathroom stall, the wide shot of Rebecca walking in the nursing room hall, and Jack and Kevin inside the blue tent were all just really cool looking cinematography.
• A scene I could have done without? Toby dancing in the random coffee place. I mean, come on.
• Next week’s episode is gonna be a fun one. Our Big Three are in their 20s and I’m here for it.

 

What did you think of this episode ofThis 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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