This is Us Episode 5 Review

This is Us Episode 4 and 5 Review

by Julie Perez

For the 5th week in a row I have gone to bed crying and I have This Is Us to blame. When I signed up to watch this show, I wasn’t prepared for the dehydration that happens after every episode. I’ll be honest, the show started off on a very high note and I was worried that it would eventually loose it’s steam but if anything I fall more in love with this show after every episode.

The beauty of the show is in its storytelling format, within one episode you get a present time look at their lives as well as a look back on each character’s journey. There is no order to the way we find out these stories but that’s where the magic lies. Episode 3 begins with William’s (Randall’s biological father) story, we meet him as a healthy young man who is a writer. We quickly see his journey of meeting Randall’s biological mother, the toll the drug use took on both of them and the decision that William made to give up Randall. On episode 3 we also get to see Jack and Rebecca deal with bringing the babies home. We witnessed how difficult it was for Rebecca, not only to have triplets home but also dealing with the fact that they lost a baby on the same day that they adopted Randall. It’s during this episode that we find out that Rebecca and William knew each other, she met with him a few days after bringing the babies home and she asked him to stay away from Randall. It’s a secret that they’re both keeping from Randall and we all know it’s going to eventually come out, right?

Episode 4 was about the family going to the community pool together. This is where we get a glimpse of each child’s personality. We see how Kevin feeling as if he’s the child that gets ignored, we witness Katie wearing a two-piece bathing get bullied by some girls at her school and our hearts break for Randall who just wants to hang out with children that look like him. This episode may be my favorite so far; it’s full of heart and the acting by the children as well as Milo and Mandy is superb. Milo Ventimiglia is truly at his best when portraying a father, the way he connects with the children may be the reason why I’m finding myself slowly falling in love with him (in a completely normal and platonic way).

Episode 5 hit me out of nowhere. I wasn’t ready for it and I went to bed with a tear-stained face and a heart that just wasn’t the same after the episode. In this episode we see Jack and Rebecca before the children; we saw their lives full of morning shots and football fun. Many Moore sang in this episode and I suddenly remembered how much I miss her music. We see the struggle Rebecca and Jack enjoying their single life and struggling with the fact that Rebecca seems to not want children. Thankfully, they work through the issue and come to the realization that children are inevitable for their future.

This episode was centered around football and my non-sport-loving heart was very confused. Can we take a minute to love Kate and Toby’s relationship? Toby (Chris Sullivan) brings a light-hearted energy to every emotionally-charged episode; his character has me constantly laughing out loud and silently yearning for a man like Toby. Turns out, for this episode, the laughter would be needed because the last ten minutes of the episode had me sobbing. We got a big revelation at the end of this episode when Kate tells Toby that she watches football with her father. Toby says he would like to meet her father and Kate agrees, she then goes and picks up an urn. AN URN. JACK IS DEAD. Look, I get it this is a television show but it gives them NO right to rip my heart out like that!

Why is it that my favorite character always dies in television shows? I’m looking at you Ned Stark.

This Is Us has quickly become my favorite television show. It’s the only show I watch in real time; seriously don’t call me on a Tuesday night and every single tear is worth it. We’ve stumbled upon wonderful television here and it seems to be getting better and better with each episode.

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