This Is Us Review: The Graduates (Season 3 Episode 14)

This Is Us Season 3 Episode 14, “The Graduates,” doesn’t quite know if it wants to be a celebration or a pity party.

And that uncertainty, coupled with some rather unnecessary melodrama leads to an episode that feels as uneven and as it does dizzying.

This episode means well with every storyline it introduces, but with its messy execution not every feel-good moment has the emotional impact that it should. And how can it when the content of multiple episodes are being crammed into one hour of television.

Once more with feeling, This Is Us — and maybe some direction couldn’t hurt either.

That being said, there are some really great gems in “The Graduates,” worth salvaging if you can sort through all that extra noise.

Rebecca and Kate are particularly great in the flashbacks of the Big Three’s graduation day, as well as in the present day. Their portrayal of lasting grief and the fear of time moving forward is beautiful, heart-wrenching, and vulnerable — truly This Is Us at it’s emotional best.

The rage that slips out of Rebecca as she falls apart in front of Miguel is as chilling as the silent grief her character has fallen into since the events of Super Bowl Sunday. Mandy Moore more than makes up for the absence of her character’s loving counterpart with powerful scenes like this.

Seeing her put words to the pain of losing Jack hits us with that raw emotion of the hospital bed scene all over again.

Continuing her development with Miguel in this scene is something to be appreciative of as well.

So many little interactions take place in this episode that it’s easy to overlook Rebecca and Miguel’s moment outside the school. But given how uncomfortable the romantic advancement earlier in the episode makes Rebecca, it is nice to see Miguel go out of his way to be there for her simply as a friend and crutch.

I’m still not at the point where I can fully be okay with Miguel and Rebecca getting together but if Miguel continues to be a respectful gentleman I won’t stand in his way.

However, there is one man who isn’t so respectful and — I can’t even believe I’m saying this — it’s Randall Pearson.

It’s not necessarily the decision Randall makes to tell Beth she has to put aside her dreams and be the mother while he runs off to his new job that is aggravating to watch — although it is.

No, It’s watching This Is Us deliver us a scene that is so out of character and offbeat for this show that I can’t help but shake my head in confusion.

We did not just watch an entire Beth-centric dance episode to have her husband shut down her dreams like that with no real rhyme or reason other than the pathetic excuse coming from his mouth. This scene is rushed, out of character, and uses Deja’s strongest work this season to build to a lazy conclusion that benefits no one.

Just when it looks like we are moving on from the campaign storyline to greater things it pulls us back in and threatens to dredge up everything we’ve come to resent about Randall’s character this season. 

Unfortunately, Kevin’s tormented relapse with his alcoholism is another causality of this crowded episode.

His drunken behavior and damaged soul has all the makings for some powerful Pearson tear jerkers. Instead, he is overlooked by an episode that decides to show off the fact that Kevin and Kate have been incredibly close since they were babies with adorable home videos and some very misplaced flashbacks.

Instead of adding emotional weight to Kate’s realization that Kevin is drinking again, these quick reminders squander the chance This Is Us has yet to take when it comes to showing just how strong of a bond the two twins have together.

The only salvageable moment for this storyline comes on the phone when Kevin has to admit to Toby that he can’t drive Kate to the hospital because he has been drinking and all the viewers can hear is inaudible yelling from Toby on the other end.

That little scene manages to save a storyline that should have been headlining this episode, not on the sidelines with Madison and her super corny drink names.

Unfortunately, Kate’s pregnancy issues finally catch up to her in what is suppose to be the big scary climax of “The Graduates”. But the reveal that her water has broken at 28 weeks is easy to dismiss coming off the cusp of Kevin and Randall’s separate meltdowns.

The whole thing feels like too much melodrama for a show that usually finds emotional significance in the subtle and insignificant — much like this episode does with the family camera in the opening scene.

The baby drama, on the other hand, was guaranteed to rear its ugly head at some point and I’m ready to see how This Is Us will deal once again with the sensitive subjects surrounding birth complications.

But coming out of the gate, I am not a fan of how drastically different the tone and set up of this situation is compared to the compelling and gripping moments we spent with Rebecca in the hospital at the beginning of the series.

This Is Us has never been a show that busts down doors, barrels through the monologue, and chews up the scenery. This show has always been precise and clean in its execution. So to see an episode that lacks reason is disappointing, especially this close to the season finale.

“The Graduates,” is strong in the moments that strike a sentimental cord through the lens of the family video camera and weak in the moments that feel unauthentic to the This Is Us experience.

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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