When Randall said, “I made a promise to a community”, I thought at least Beth would say, “You made a promise to me, too.” And that’s why he landed on the couch. And I assume that the fight went on off-screen longer than we saw on-screen.
I think Beth gets a job at an arts teaching facility or maybe even a ballet company, and moved up into the various management positions.
Plus one on Almost Famous. For years it was my daughter’s favorite movie; maybe it still is. Our much-beloved prior dog was named Penny in part after Penny Lane, whose birth name, like our dog’s before we adopted her, was “Lady.”
Getting back to This Is Us – I thought maybe Future Beth was running an arts program for kids, hence the ballet class.
I thought Beth was being selfish and destructive because:
– She was asking Randall to abandon a passionate project he had taken on and that was only three or four weeks from conclusion on the basis of a family crisis that consisted of some things that were just predictable, course-of-time stuff (Tess’s period and Deja’s desire to maintain a relationship with her mother), Tess’s confession that she was attracted to girls (not a crisis, and hardly something that needs Randall’s deep involvement over the next three weeks), and Beth feeling sorry for herself. Beth was effectively asking Randall to be precisely the dilettante and hypocrite that people in the Philadelphia community think he is. That’s OK in the end if his family is really suffering significantly from his engagement, but it’s not OK because she’s worried the family may suffer sometime in the future based on no real change in circumstances.
– Beth’s near-takeover in Randall’s campaign and conflict with his campaign manager were self-centered, tone-deaf, and destructive to the campaign.
As smart, successful and “with it” as Beth and Randall may be, I think they are very intertwined and dependent on each other. Nothing wrong with that but I think at least “in them moment” Beth needed to close the outside and focus -with Randall in their family cocoon - on family issues. I would probably at least want to do the same.
Who knows next episode she may see the light and said “go for it”.
To some extent, I’m on both sides of the Randall/Beth issue. I’m a man, so I’m a little sensitive to a situation where a woman is implicitly accusing a man of abandoning his family because he is following an idealistic goal that takes a good deal of his attention for a limited period of time. But in my real life, I have mostly been on the other side of this situation, keeping the home fires burning and handling the issues while my spouse was Accomplishing Great Things that required 100% of her available time and attention, often hundreds or thousands of miles from our home. I certainly know what it feels like to want to say what Beth said. But I never said it.
IF Beth thinks the campaign is taking Randall’s attention, what does she think will happen if he wins and is a councilman? He will be eating rubber chicken every night.
However, with this episode, I have realized that I have to 100% suspend all disbelief because there are so many flaws in the time-space continuum (besides the obvious time-jumping) that I have to learn to ignore them. Things like Kate an Toby flying to the east coast for thanksgiving but then she can’t sit in a car for 2 hours? And how many times have them flown coast to coast? Where does current day Rebecca live? Not in Pittsburgh any more, because she is at Randall’s a lot. Etc etc
If Kate and Toby are in LA only because of Toby’s “job” in IT it would be a good move to relocate them to Rebecca/Randalls area now.
Even Kevin is currently not on LA time!
Tess’s talk with her parents made me cry. Well acted young lady!
I think they’ve done a brilliant job of finding young actors/actresses to play the kids! Also older Tess is spot on for younger Tess.
It’s on tonight!
Good one!
Next week looks good. Finally more about what happened with Jack’s brother.
I didn’t care for last night’s episode. “I don’t want you to run.” “I do want you to run.” “I want to live with you.” “I don’t want to live with you.” “I want to live with you.”
Spoilers alert. Was not a fan of the outcome of Randall’s election. Seemed way to predictable and not very believable. But I guess they wanted to move him from Wall Street guy to public servant.
I really liked the scenes with Jack and Randall in DC. And Kate selling the priceless Star Wars toys (perhaps not believable but still interesting).
Randall’s scenes are almost always my favorite and last night was no exception. I loved his interaction with the reverend about the pie and his decision to not sling mud on his opponent.
I think the electorate had a right to know about the opponent’s corruption, but of course we had to have another Saint Randall moment. But he never even offered to pay for the blueberry pie!
I think the show is rapidly losing steam and the producers should start thinking about wrapping things up. The continuing trials and tribulations of the Big Three are too contrived and just not that interesting anymore, and Jack and Rebecca’s story, which I think was crucial to the show’s early success, has been fully told. I hate it when shows don’t conclude gracefully and just hang on. It never ends well. It’s time, This is Us.
Selling Star War mementos wasn’t believable to me, just like Randall’s win.
@MommaJ , I think it’s time for you to stop watching! It’s just a tv show if it doesn’t give you pleasure turn the channel. The ratings would indicate that a huge audience is still interested. 
I thought it was an excellent show. But I am not having huge expectations besides let me continue to hear the story of this family that is very woven and at times funny or touching or questioning (what DID happen to Jack and his brother?).
If you ask me, it seems more who Randall is (with his background and compassion, etc.) to be a public servant rather than a wall street guy.
I don’t feel good about Kevin’s relationship. I just have not connected with this woman.
I saw the actor who plays Kevin on the red carpet for Golden Globes. He said he knows how the show concludes, as do the other actors. I don’t know how those people keep that kind of secret!
I’m with @abasket . I still enjoy the show! I’ll never look at Kevin the same after Bad Moms Christmas, though!
I thought this episode was kind of boring.