Us Review: Episode 1 (Season 1 Episode 1)

A mini-series beginning with the end of a marriage is bound to go on some exciting and potentially emotional twists and turns, and that’s what happens on Us Season 1 Episode 1.

There’s plenty to mine as Douglas and Connie come to terms with the end of their marriage, confusion, and uncertainty. At the same time, Douglas is determined to repair his relationship with his son and wife.

Of course, it’s not easy, and there are plenty of missteps along the way that makes you sympathize and hurt for Connie, Douglas, and Albie at different points throughout the first 2 hours.

The first hour deftly moves between the present and the past when Douglas and Connie first meet at a dinner party his sister is hosting. It’s immediately clear that they’re opposites, but they spend the night talking and more.

Meanwhile, the present-day serves us a family and relationship on the rocks with a determined husband to fix it all and get his wife and son back.

The parallels make for a far richer story and an efficient way to give us context and reasons to be invested in the Petersen family’s story.

Tom Hollander and Saskia Reeves do an excellent job of bringing depth to Douglas and Connie in a way that immediately makes you feel for their precarious situation, especially for Douglas whose strait-laced demeanor sometimes feels like a bit too much. You can feel his pain at his wife’s decision, the desire to get closer to his son, and his despair when he inevitably gets left behind.

It makes Douglas’ moment with Connie by the river all the more heartbreaking.

Douglas: If there had been four of us.

There’s an unspoken sorrow at that moment, but it’s gone too soon as Douglas and Connie move on to some other topic. It doesn’t get a chance to make the conversation as impactful as it could be.

But with that quickness comes a realistic feel to the scene and the entire episode. The feelings are big but subtle, opting for the more subdued most of the time rather than overt and overstated. It makes the story that much much more resonant.

The second hour dives further into Connie and Douglas’ relationship both in the present and the past. While we see the moments that bring them together in the past, we see all the cracks that have deepened.

The shift towards more somber, introspective aspects in the second hour creates a more filled-out picture of what the Petersens have gone through and what they’re going through in the present. There’s the return of the topic of a baby girl we don’t see in the present.

From their wedding day to the baby’s birth, there’s a sweetness and tenderness that exists between Douglas and Connie that is missing in the present. It only serves to strengthen the mystery, of sorts, of what went wrong along the way and where she is.

The first 2 hours have built a compelling world of a family in trouble and left crumbs of hope among the miscommunications and missteps. Is there a chance that the Petersens could work through it now that Douglas is hopping from train to train to bring Albie back home?

Stray Thoughts

• Iain de Caestecker in another project playing another scientist is so delightful, honestly. (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fans know what I’m talking about.)
• Freja’s introduction towards the end of the second hour set off warning bells. Could it lead to trouble for Douglas?
• Will Douglas be able to rekindle the spark with Connie? What’s the shared trauma that stunted their relationship? Does Albie know about it?

What did you think of this episode of Us? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Us airs Sundays at 9/8c on PBS.

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