This Is Us Review: Songbird Road: Part Two (Season 3 Episode 12)

This Is Us Season 3 Episode 12, “Songbird Road: Part Two,” had an understandable amount of anticipation to live up to after blowing us away with an exhilarating part one and taking an agonizing two-week hiatus in celebration.

Of course, This Is Us has us eager to see how this all plays out. It’s not every day a show of this standard offers up a television event that promises to threaten the very Pearson family dynamic we’ve come to know — and actually delivers on that promise.

At the best of times, “Songbird Road: Part Two,” is a beautiful conclusion to a two-part story has given us more emotion, heartbreak, and phenomenal performances than any others this season.

Sure, the journey from Vietnam to present day Pittsburgh hasn’t always been smooth, but when it all ends in a sequin fight who even cares about the missteps along the way.

So is part two as good as part one? Maybe not, but how do you compare two episodes that are so drastically different?

Part one was thrilling, emotional, and explosive. Yet, part two is slow, calculated, and even uncomfortable at times.

This episode puts us through the grieving process, having us feel what one would have to assume you would feel if put in the same situation as Rebecca and the Big Three. In doing so This Is Us has managed to put us back in the Pearsons shoes and at just the right emotional high point for this Nicky storyline to resonate.

There are times where it feels like this episode is fighting to stay above water when working with a character as stubborn and damaged as Nick Pearson. Thankfully Rebecca manages to keep their conversation flowing and works as a strong conduit from which the other storylines play beautifully off of.

This Is Us does a wonderful job of making the physical connections between this older Nicky and the younger Nicky we’ve gotten to know this season. Everything from Griffin Dunne’s gestures to his speech mirrors Michael Angarano’s performance wonderfully.

However, it is Nick’s way of bringing parts of Jack into his own personality that really give this character some redeeming qualities to root for in the end.

Rebecca mentions that Nick has the same eyes as Jack, but it’s so much more than that.

Nick has that same need to make the people around him feel better, even if it takes being snippy first to bring out that quality. After hurting Rebecca, he chooses to skip the apology and give her something he knows she needs which is new untouched memories of her husband.

That undeniable Pearson quality to help others is something the episode showcases subtly in each brother’s situation as both Jack and Nick put their personal problems aside to comfort their family.

This helps drive home the gratification of Nick’s story and really shows off the brilliant way this episode uses its multi-storyline formatting to pull off many small victories like this.

Here’s to hoping this isn’t the last time we see Nicky — but only if his return is for good reason.

Seeing the past in darker, more complex ways has oddly made the future of This Is Us seem even brighter.

We have always relied on the Pearsons’ memories to tell us a reliable version of their story. So adding an unreliable narrative aspect to how Kate and Randall remember a specific moment from their childhood is a startling change from what we expect to see from this show — and isn’t in the least bit terrifying.

The entire argument over what went on the day of the sequin fight is reminiscent of something you would expect to see on Mr. Robot (thankfully no Pearsons were pushed out a window as a child), yet it seems like a perfect fit for the hit drama during this point in time.

Building this imperfectly perfect family portrait only to question it’s validation, later on, is a good use of Jack’s post-mortem character and frankly just an exhilarating change of pace for the show.

Despite the polarizing nature of throwing unreliable facts at viewers only to discredit them, This Is Us manages to use this device to reinstil balance between the Pearsons by the episode’s end.

This episode could have been left open-ended with the revelation that Jack Pearson is not the amazing father his kids have led us to believe.

Instead, the episode ends with an adorable family moment that shines as bright as the sequins that litter their living room floor and reassurance from Randall that their differing memories are not because Jack was a bad father, but because he made the good far more memorable than the bad.

A sentiment that perfectly encompasses Jack’s character and infuses a little bit of This Is Us wisdom into the story that makes this entire departure from what we are used to that much more impactful — and necessary.

“Songbird Road: Part Two,” is everything we have come to expect from This Is Us in terms of quality and yet that doesn’t stop this two-parter from finding ways to surprise us.

This episode doesn’t have the element of a surprise reveal, nor the heart-pounding excitement that part one had. Despite being given what feels like unwanted leftovers from the previous episode at times, part two handles the dark and complex so well it has us asking for seconds.

This episode clings to the trustworthy themes the show has built itself around while introducing exciting new directions for its characters. What allows part two to contend with a brilliantly executed part one is it focuses on the complexity of characters like Jack and Kevin, who have the sweetest highs but even rougher lows.

Songbird Road has been a story worth visiting and it will be hard to move on knowing not every episode that comes can live up to this same level of expertise — because wow This Is Us wow!

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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