I thought last night’s episode was vastly superior to the Kevin and Kate-centric episodes. Like @2VU0609 I thought the parallels between Randall deciding to have Deja go back to her mom and his own situation with Rebecca were so well executed. Definitely not a mother-like-son moment.
And I enjoyed having William back, however fleeting, especially those scenes about how it could have been when Randall was young.
Could anyone tell if they really filmed on Howard’s campus?
They did film on Howard’s campus (or at least in DC). Someone local I know told me they work with one of the extras.
Great episode. I love Randall! I feel like the experience with the foster child helped him understand why his mother made the choices she did. Interesting to find out that it was William who felt that his presence would be complicated and intrusive and that Randall had a whole life he didn’t know about. So actually Randall made the same decision that William did in deciding not to fight for Deja. I don’t have triplets, but I do have three kids and when Jack said "“one of you falls down, the other’s standing up” hit home for me. In this case, both Kate and Randall suffered loss, but decided to try again. Whereas Kevin is struggling.
I live in the DC area, and it would have been fun to have watched the filming!
Was Jack looking at his brother’s name on Vietnam Memorial wall?
I couldn’t decipher the names but Jack was talking to Randall about his time in Viet Nam. Can’t recall what happened to his brother.
This was such a fantastic episode! I loved everything about it and was so glad to see William again. And Sterling K. Brown is just amazing–I totally broke down when he was saying goodbye to Deja.
As far as Jack’s brother, I don’t think we know yet for sure what happened to him, although it seems likely that he died in Vietnam.
@jhs I am going to watch the episode. My daughter graduated from Howard in May. She actually got into NYU which would’ve been a stretch financially but we convinced her to attend Howard and it was the best decision she ever made. She is currently thriving! She too was used to being the “only” in her classes and it was a welcome experience for her at Howard.
Pile of tissues on my lap after watching that episode.
I want to marry Randall AND Beth. 
Be still my Sterling K. Brown loving heart: http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/aaron-sorkin-dreams-of-a-sterling-k-brown-west-wing-reboot.html?utm_campaign=vulture&utm_source=fb&utm_medium=s1
While I love This Is Us, I don’t think anything will ever replace The West Wing as my favorite all time show.
Great episode. I did think the Deja arc a bit unrealistic as she seemed to adjust rather easily to living with Randall and Beth. Somewhat unrealistic for a teenaged foster kid. But the scenes of Randall recognizing that she needed to go back to her mom were great as were the scenes between Jack and Randall at Howard and in DC.
I hope that the decision making process and gut reaction Randall had about Deja’s mom will finally, totally let him understand what Rebecca went through and forgive her fully. Also, I love the talk that Jack had with Randall, about how difficult life can be over and over. I need to do this with my own children more. With stories of my life, so they will see one fails, then has to pick themselves up.
Great episode as usual. Had to hold our breath at the end - thought #1 was going to have an accident and hurt his Niece
Jack was definitely showing Randall his brother’s name on the wall. I think they are saving that story line for another year. I was thinking that we were going to see Jack die this fall. Wasn’t looking forward to it but thought it was coming.
In the after show online, Sterling K. Brown says they will definitely let us know how Jack died before the season is over.
^^^I have forgotten to watch those after show interviews - will need to catch up on those - very insightful.
Is the show now on break over the holidays? I thought I read somewhere that they were doing these three episodes and then not returning for a bit.
^^^Correct. But most shows will be taking a season break in a week or two.
It’s only a short break. I think they said new episodes will resume on January 2.
Thank you. I only watch a couple of shows each week and don’t want to miss them. My other television is primarily binging Netflix.
Remind me of what happened to Randal’s bio mom.
His mother died shortly after he was born.