The show is so well done, the way it seamlessly moves among time periods.
They gave us this very minute flashback of Jack in Vietnam with a brother when he took Randall to visit Howard. I feel like there is more to that story, but they just canât develop that right now.
Ah yes the cat. Didnât pay attention to the name.
I also thought Jack was being glass half full. But thatâs because I usually am to a fault - perhaps like Jack!
I couldnât read the Magic 8 ball either - but right, thatâs what he was fooling with at home and altering - so he put in his own message? Man, as a kid I would have LOVED to do that!! 
Kate had markered a 7 on her wrist as a goal. When that fit, she kicked it aside and tried a 5.
I think it is too obvious to have Jack die in the fire. My though is there is a house fire and he rushes home only to have a horrible car wreck. This would explain his personal effects with Rebecca, and her driving up to the house.
Just my made up version of the story
My made up version is that he had to go back to rehab and Rebecca was driving past the house with his baggy of
personal stuff after the house had burned down. He died another way.
That said, I do think he died in the fire because everything leads to that and this is a feel good show and a detective
show.
I think we are going to see Kate with an eating disorder that involves binging and purging. Something that I think probably was, and still is, a secret from the rest of the family. When I saw all of the containers that fell out of the trash last week I thought to myself that she must be binging and purging. You can be bulimic and still not really lose weight. It kind of depends on if you throw up everything or just certain things. I am guessing in her teen years that is how she was losing and then after her father died she just stopped caring enough to even do that. I love Kate as a character because I can identify with teenage Kate and her struggles. I was always thin as a teen but never thin enough for my mother and comments were constantly made about my eating habits. Once I was out of the house I ate whatever I wanted and hence my current struggles with weight. It is as much an eating disorder about control as any other eating disorder.
Itâs funny, I guess I never quite realized how much this show is about the âperfect familyâ and how pretty on the outside does not always mean pretty on the inside. Everyone has their damage I guess.
To me, there is a difference between being a âhalf-fullâ person and being dismissive of someone elseâs pain, especially when it is real and current. Kevin went from being a recruit to a big football program to not knowing who he was. Jack didnât seem to get that.
" Kevin went from being a recruit to a big football program to not knowing who he was. Jack didnât seem to get that."
If this was real life, Iâm sure there were many discussions about it before the trip to the mall, probably ad nauseam. The mall trip wasnât coming immediately after the injury. At some point, pretty much any parent would give their kid the glass is half-full, âchin upâ speech. You can only wallow so long.
Yep, but Miguel had just found out that his ex-W was going to remarry and Jack wasnât let him wallow.
It also really does a great job of showing how shocked we may all be as parents when OUR kids come back telling us how damaged they thought their childhood was. Rebecca and Jack come households with very difficult parents, especially Jack. But their home was full of love and tolerance. YetâŠtheir kids blame them, have all these issues, etc. it makes me wonder what my kids will end of saying or feeling, as I feel weâve raised them in a healthy, loving, supportive environment. It must hurt, as a parent, to be told all the things you did wrong.
SAG awards spoiler alert??? (not sure when it airs on the west coast)
The cast at the SAG awards tonightâŠcuuuuttteee how thrilled they all were!!! Loved seeing all the âkidsâ on the stage.
@conmama, our middle child was home at Christmas and blew up at us one day, exclaiming that he still has a lot of issues from his childhood. ??? I managed to bite my tongue and not laugh in his face!
@MaineLonghorn âŠthatâs exactly what I mean! My DH said something to me when the kids were little and they were in daycare, as I worked FT for many years. I was feeling very guilty and sad about this. His mother worked. He said that kids remember the best and worst of their childhoods. 90% of the rest is just life and it doesnât stand out like the rest. That made me feel better at the time. Now after watching this show, I hope those bad times arenât what is foremost in their memories.
I guess itâs the same with us. I blame my parents for a lot of dysfunction in my family, and there was. But their family lives were much, much, much worse growing up. One grandfather would beat the grandmother. My paternal grandfather deserted the family of 8 kids. So, comparatively I grew up in a happy healthy environmentâŠto them at least. I wouldnât call in happy or healthy, but it was supportive and no abuse. I guess itâs just which side of the generational divide youâre on.
I found that scene with the therapist - and the therapist! - irritating. I had a sibling who went through a lot of therapy during in their 20s/30s and would come home blaming the family for everything. Did we have some interesting family moments in our childhood? Occasionally but I doubt no more than other families and definitely not dysfunctional. It was hurtful to my parents and kind of a load of BS. One problem with therapy, IMO, is the therapist is only hearing one personâs perspective of things. The idea of a perfectly functioning, 1950s tv sitcom family is extremely rare in my experience. Most families have their quirks because we are real people with both foibles and strengths. There is some true dysfunction out there and it wasnât my family and itâs not the family portrayed in this television show. Itâs one thing to understand yourself in the context of your upbringing and and quite another to blame your upbringing for your problems. I do think there is a difference. If you are an able bodied adult, barring true dysfunction, use your wits and find your willpower to pull yourself up and at the same time realize that imperfection is okay, too.
The Kevin character has had so many blessings in his life. Maybe he needs to start counting them.
I find it hard to âtrustâ the therapist on the show because she played a mean spirited character on Scandal! Thatâs all I can think about when I see her!!!
As in real life, we sometimes need reminders or a crisis to ourselves or a loved one to sometimes be reminded to count our blessings.
Yes! When we sent our then 11-year-old son to a therapist, her first conclusion was that he suffered from âsituational depressionâ and his dad and I were the situation! To her credit, after a few sessions, she realized that wasnât the case.
I didnât mind the therapist until she directed her questions to Rebecca. The first question, something along the lines of âdid you discuss the parts of Jack that werenât perfectâ seemed fine. But, before Rebecca could even answer, she then asked, in a very accusing manner, whether she had discussed addiction with her kids because there could be a hereditary component. Seemed very blaming and accusatory. I could see this question coming up later and in a more gentle manner but, after that, the therapist lost credibility for me.
And I agree with everyone else; Keven had a loving, positive and fortunate upbringing. That doesnât mean he, along with just about everyone IRL, doesnât have some resentments and (possibly skewed) thoughts about how things werenât equitable or caused pain while growing up. As I said upthread, my kids all know they were lucky to grow up the way they did but each can articulate a resentment or two of times when they believe things werenât âfairâ.
I follow this is us on Twitter. Ken Olin posted that there is a show after the super bowl. Based oon what he wrote, thatâs the episode we will see how Jack died.
Thanks @eyemamom. This is where Iâm going to whine. I alway DVR This is Us and I find that the DVR is basically useless after a sporting event. On the east coast Iâll be asleep by the end of the super bowl.