This Is Us Review: Déjà Vu (Season 2 Episode 3)

On This Is Us Season 2 Episode 3, “Déjà Vu” it’s the Kevin’s hour.

I admit that when it comes to Kevin, I’m a little biased. He’s lowkey my favorite.

OK, maybe it’s not so lowkey. I’ve been pretty vocal about it. Kevin is a character I have long identified with since the beginning of last season, and he tends to fly under the radar, especially with Jack and Randall at the forefronts of the past and present timelines, respectively.

But, Kevin is the underrated heart of the show. Yeah, I said it.

We love Jack, and we love Randall and Beth (what is their ship name, anyways?), but Kevin manages to tug at my heartstrings the most out of anyone. And it’s because you get the sense that this guy hasn’t always fit in with his family.

His self-centeredness, his terrible treatment of Randall, it all boils down to Kevin’s relationship with his parents, especially Jack, something that’s largely unexplored on the show.

“Déjà Vu” addresses Kevin’s complicated feelings for Jack head on.

The episode, which features Sylvester Stallone (and also Rob Howard for the second time), follows Kevin on set of his new big movie. Stallone plays his dad, something that visiting Kate gets emotional about when she meets him because Stallone was Jack’s favorite actor.

All the talk of Jack makes Kevin uncomfortable, so much so that it makes it hard for him to perform his lines, and later, he injures himself during a stunt because of his distracting memories of Jack..

After an argument with Kate, Kevin admits that Jack is not an easy subject for Kevin.  He can’t even talk about him without looking like he wants to jump out of his own skin.

We’ve seen in the past that Kevin and Jack were not the closest. Jack seemed to have stronger bonds with Randall and Kate while Kevin kept his distance, especially in his teen years.

Randall has the memory of sitting with Jack at his job, of lying on Jack’s back as he does push ups. Kate looks at her dad as her hero, for making her laugh, for making her feel better about herself. What are some of Kevin’s memories of Jack? When have two of them — just the two of them — spent a day together?

Although it’s not clear exactly what Kevin and Jack’s issues were, we can imagine that maybe Kevin has regret over the fact that he wasn’t more close to his dad.

Another interesting thing that happens in the episode is after Kevin injures his leg during the shoot, he tells a concerned Kate that he’s hurt this leg before, and he’s not going to let it ruin his life again. We know that Kevin’s leg is in a cast when Jack dies. Is there a connection? Why is it so difficult for Kevin to speak about his dad? Does he feel responsible in any way for what happened?

Justin Hartley is also fantastic in this episode. He plays Kevin’s vulnerable side so beautifully. His phone conversation with Kate at the end of the episode is easily one of the highlights of this season so far.

There’s just so much there to be explored when it comes to Kevin and his family, and I’m eager to see more of it fleshed out.

I don’t mean to shortchange the rest of the characters. Some cool stuff happens for Randall and Beth as well.

They take in a foster child named Deja, and there’s a rocky road ahead of them. It’s not clear what Deja’s situation was, but she’s in need of a stable and loving home. Though it’s going to be hard, we can hope that eventually Deja will find her place in the family.

In the past, flashbacks reveal Randall’s restless desire to find his birth parents. He contacts a woman he believes to be his birth mother. After realizing that it’s a con, there’s a really sweet scene between the Big Three where Randall tries to explain why he’s searching for the people that left him, but the twins get it. It’s also a nice, rare moment between Randall and Kevin.

Also, in the past, Jack and Rebecca attempt to fix their relationship. Rebecca makes romantic gestures, and Jack just wants to talk. And they do. And it’s great.

We’re already getting a lot more of the 90s timeline that we did in the past, and of course it’s because Jack dies during this period, so these scenes have a lot of weight and built-up anticipation to them.

It’s also the most complex time in the Pearson family history. Alcoholism, marital troubles, teenagers, and death.  Everything is amplified.

I can’t help but feel like we’re building towards something really  big here, and I’m anxious for it.

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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