To start, we're in the summer of 1988! In the kitchen, Rebecca's making lunch and reading Stephen King's "Misery" while Kevin and Randall are at the kitchen table fighting over a Rubik's Cube, as Randall grabs the cube out of Kevin's hand, thinking that he can solve it faster. Rebecca comes over to take the Rubik's Cube away only to find that Randall has completed the cube almost instantly! To Kevin's dismay, Randall doesn't get in trouble; however, Rebecca does scold Randall for itching a scalp rash.
Meanwhile, there's a bigger problem on the horizon; the Pearson's air conditioner is broken to the dismay of Rebecca and the kids! In walks Jack, wearing a shirt that Rebecca hates that features an alligator riding a surfboard and the slogan "Florida Surf's Up!". When she asks why he's wearing the shirt, he tells her:
"I'm wearing this shirt because it makes me think of fun. It makes me think of sun. And because we are going to the pool!"
On cue, Kate enters showing off a kid's Care-Bears bikini. Randall asks if they can go to the Greenview Swimming Pool, the one with the diving-board to which Rebecca agrees. With that, "The Big Three" are off to put on their swim trunks! Once the kids leave the room, Jack tells her they'll have to call someone to fix the air conditioner but that this trip will allow Rebecca the opportunity to finish "Misery", which she's been trying to read for two years. He's packed a cooler with all soft drinks and says that they just need a day to relax. Cut to the pool where there are a bunch of screaming kids running around. That'll be fun!
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This is an interesting setting for conflict. In this episode, however, we'll see how each of "The Big Three" and even Rebecca seems like the odd man out.
In the present, Randall and Beth are in the kitchen braiding and brushing the girls' hair before getting them off to school. In walks William, whom Annie has begun calling "Grandpa". When she asks him to brush her hair, he obliges. As he begins brushing, Tess notices scars on his arm and inquires. He proceeds to tell Tess that in the '80s, he helped the Urban League with the desegregation of school buses assuring that black kids were able to get to school safely. This surprises both Randall and Beth, but William doesn't stick around to explain any further as he excuses himself to take his morning walk.
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| Courtesy of NBC |
Randall's iPad rings, and it's Kevin FaceTiming. He's touched down in NYC ready to be taken seriously as an actor. He begins to tell Randall about the play he's auditioning for, but Randall's attention is elsewhere. Unfortunately, Randall's attention is elsewhere, as he looks out the window to find William being stopped by their neighborhood security guard. Randall, who hasn't told his siblings that he located his biological father, quickly says goodbye and then rushes out the door.
Outside, William's refusing to show the white security guard his I.D and demands to know why he was stopped. Randall arrives in the nick of time and is informed by the security guard named Tony that he got a call from Randall's neighbors about someone loitering. William, believing he was stopped because he's black, is quick to get defensive, telling Tony that he was on his way to "literally smell the roses" and then sarcastically inquiring as to whether there's a "rose-smelling ordinance" that he's violated. To William's dismay, Randall doesn't seem sympathetic to his plight and quickly apologizes for his behavior, and they're sent on their way. Randall, knowing that William is right but unwilling to make waves, tells William they'll have to buy him some new clothes.
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At the mall, William looks through the racks of shirts and pants, commenting on how expensive the clothes are. Luckily, Randall's paying. As they walk through the store, Randall asks if they're going to discuss the "elephant in the room," to which William feigns ignorance. To this, Randall responds by telling William that going up against a security guard and Randall's insurance-selling and owl-collecting neighbors would not be a worthy cause. William asks Randall if he's ever been hosed to which Randall says he's sorry, but he hasn't. William responds, "Don't be. It hurts."
This sets Randall off as he accuses William of judging his upbringing.
"[..] Because I grew up in a white house, you think I don't live in a black man's world."
He sets William straight, telling him that he indeed knows what it's like to live in a black man's world.
"The one where that salesmen there has been eyeballing us ever since we came in here. Or where that security guard has moved just a little off his mark so he can keep us in his sight. And where they'll definitely ask for an I.D. with my credit card, when I go to pay even though they haven't asked for anybody else's. Plus a million things every day that I have to choose to let go just so I'm not pissed off all of the time."
In this episode, Jack and Rebecca have to confront the cultural differences between them and their son. He's a Pearson, but that didn't protect him from decades of racial intolerance even if that's what William believes.
In Los Angeles, Kate and Toby are out to brunch, eating some kale and baby arugula. Toby gets up to pay. After a while, Kate looks up to see Toby talking to a thinner woman. When he returns, Kate is surprised to learn that the woman was his ex-wife Josie.
From there, Kate's insecurities are unleashed, as she begins "internet creeping" on Josie to figure out how Toby married and divorced a thin woman. This creeping eventually lands her at Josie's boutique, where she ends up meeting and getting hired by her, although Josie has no idea who she is.
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| Courtesy of NBC |
Back at the pool, the Pearson children are eager to jump in, but first, Rebecca insists the kids put on sunscreen. Kevin protests, saying that he doesn't even like swimming, to which, Rebecca just tells him to stay in the deep end, and bring Randall with him to Kevin's protests. When Randall asks if he needs sunscreen given his darker complexion Rebecca and Jack less-than-confidently assure him that he does. The kids run off, and Rebecca calls out to Kate, asking her if she's sure she doesn't want to put on a shirt. Once they're out of hearing range, Rebecca voices her concerns that people will stare at Kate because of her weight and that Kevin is jealous of Randall. Of course, Jack assures her that the kids will be fine, and of course, he's wrong.
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| Courtesy of NBC |
It all begins when Kate gets confronted by two of her "friends" Samantha and Vicki who give her a napkin with a handwritten message:
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| Courtesy of NBC |
Kevin meanwhile, feels he's competing for his parents' attention with Randall and Kate. Kevin tries to impress his parents with pool tricks, but Rebecca's more interested in Randall's whereabouts. When Kevin tells her he doesn't know where Randall is, Rebecca scolds Kevin for being inattentive to his brother and goes searching.
She finds him at the other end of the pool playing with some kids who are also black. As she scolds Randall for disappearing, the children's mother steps in:
"When a white family has a black child and they don't introduce themselves to any of us, we tend to take notice."
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| Courtesy of NBC |
Feeling a little insecure about being a white mother to a black child, Rebecca puts the mom in her place.
"That's my son, and I'm his mother. And I don't know if you have some sort of problem but also, I don't really care."
Unfortunately, the mother has the last word telling Rebecca that Randall needs a proper haircut because he has razor bumps on his neck:
"You need a barber who knows how to cut black hair."
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| Courtesy of NBC |
As I said before, Randall's a black child with white parents, and with that comes some cultural differences. Rebecca already believes she's failing her children. To her, this interaction is validation that she's failing Randall.
A bit later, Kevin's jealousy comes to a head when he almost drowns trying to get his football from the deep-end. When he rises to the surface, he runs over to his parents and goes off on them:
"[...] You never watch me. You always watch them. And you're so busy making sure that Kate's not eating too much...and...Randall's not too adopted, and meanwhile, where's Kevin? Oh, guess what? He's dead."
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Kevin walks away, but Jack catches up with him and apologizes.
"I should have been watching. [...] I'm trying, okay? Look, I know that I'm bigger than you. I know that I'm an adult, but I...th-th-this is my first time, okay? This is my first time, too. I got three of you and I'm trying."
With that, they hug. Meanwhile, Rebecca's watching Randall as he continues to scratch his head. Begrudgingly, Rebecca goes to find the mother from earlier and asks if she has the name of a barber. Pleasantly surprised, the mother says yes. She then tells her to put more lotion on Randall after he gets out of the pool otherwise, his skin will become ashy. Rebecca, thankful for the advice, pauses and then asks if Randall could come over to play with the woman's children some time to which the woman agrees. Having broken the tension, Rebecca asks her the question she's been wondering about this whole time; does Randall need sunscreen? To that, the woman just bursts out laughing, and Rebecca smiles.
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| Courtesy of NBC |
In the present, Kevin goes to his first Broadway audition. Although he assures the show's playwright Sloane Sandburg played by Milana Vayntrub (known for her role as Lily Adams in a series of
AT&T commercials), he's not there for a quick theater stint to feel better about himself the pressure gets to him, and he stumbles through a read-through with a less-than-enthusiastic seasoned Broadway actress named Olivia Maine played by Janet Montgomery ("Salem).
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| Courtesy of NBC |
Later that day, he runs into Olivia on the street and apologizes for his performance though he tells her she wasn't much help. She invites him out for a drink where she tells him to quit while he's ahead:
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| Courtesy of NBC |
"[...] You said it yourself. Pretty people come here from TV or movies because they want to do something real. I mean, even if they've...never had a genuine moment in their entire lives. Do you know what they find out? That guess what? It's hard. It's so hard. It's not...it's not pretend, it's not "Guys and Dolls" in some high school cafeteria."
She says somewhat condescendingly that while she believes Kevin is good at what he does--being a sitcom actor--theater acting isn't the same. She tells him that if he's really serious about doing this, he needs to get some formal training. Kevin, of course, looks devastated having had his insecurities validated. Luckily for him, Olivia gets a call at that exact moment telling her that Kevin got the role because the director believes "The Manny" will sell tickets. She leaves the bar furious.
As a child, Kevin felt visible. In adulthood, he's visible to millions of people but often as the butt of a joke on "The Manny."
Back in Los Angeles, Kate has to face the music and goes to tell Toby she went to see Josie. Of course, Toby is furious. Kate tries to defend herself, saying that she needed to figure out how Toby married and divorced someone so skinny and beautiful.
"Do you want a skinny person?" she asks him. "No, but I would like to be with a sane person, Kate." Of course, Kate thinks Toby's being unfair and proceeds to go on her spiel about how all of her life she's been fat, but Toby's tired of hearing it.
"[...] I get it. I empathize, clearly. I empathize, then I say something cute, then you feel better, rinse and repeat."
He then proceeds to tell her that Josie cheated on him and took half his money in the divorce. A year later, he gained 95 pounds and was having suicidal thoughts.
"[...] You haven't corned the market on problems, Kate," he tells her.
She apologizes but tells him her problems aren't going away overnight to which he tells her that he isn't either. Kate's dealing with some clear childhood trauma; she always stood out for the wrong reasons. Yet what I don't like is that Kate does believe she's cornered the market on problems. Her relationship with Toby is doomed if she doesn't get help and maintains this attitude.
In the past, after discovering the note from Samantha and Vicki, Jack finds Kate looking sad on a lawn-chair with a towel wrapped around her. He asks her if she wants to put on a shirt, but she tells him that she didn't bring one. Luckily, Jack brought his "Florida: Surf's Up!" shirt and tells her the story of how he got it, although he takes some liberties:
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| Courtesy of NBC/theodysseyonline.com |
"I got it....in Florida. A magical land called Daytona Beach", where he makes Kate promise, she'll never go. "[...] One night, I was walking back to my hotel, and...I came across this man...a traveler. He was wearing ragged clothes and had a strange way of talking."
Jack tells her that three young guys were bothering the traveler and Jack stepped in.
"[...] I chased the jerks off. [...] And the traveler was so grateful, he wanted to repay me. You know, he-he didn't have much, so he reaches into his little satchel and he pulls out this shirt."
Jack tells her that when she puts on the shirt, other people will see her as she wants to be seen. She puts it on and tells him that she wants to look like a princess, and Jack tells her that to him, she already is one.
In the present, William, Randall, Beth, and Annie go to see Tess in her school's production of "Snow White And The Seven Dwarves." During the performance, Randall can't help but look around at the predominantly white audience as they laugh and take pictures.
At home, Randall and William have a heart-to-heart as William apologizes for judging Randall's character. Randall then asks him what year he helped the Urban League. When William tells him that it was around 1986 or 1987, Randall tells him that he would've been a black kid living in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, which he says, "is pretty much the whitest place on Earth." He goes on to say that he'd carry around a notebook and make tick marks in it every time he met a new black man, wondering if it was his biological father. However, he tells William that he never told anyone about it because he was content with the life he was living.
"I'm a strong, successful, black man. My wife and I give a lot of thought to how we raise our girls, believe that. The fact that my daughter doesn't find anything unusual about her playing Snow White? That's the whole idea. Right? [...] I wouldn't change a thing about my parents, or the way that I parent, and I will not apologize for any of it."
William, however, does apologize, telling Randall that he did everything wrong by him but that Randall was doing everything right. Their sweet moment is cut short as the doorbell rings. It's Kevin who's wondering if he can crash with Randall and his family for a few days. Randall and Beth both hesitate before agreeing. Kevin soon finds out why, as William steps into the foyer. Randall bites the bullet and tells Kevin that William is his biological father. Although he's shocked, Kevin shakes William's hand before being whisked away by Tess. There's another moment of silence between William, Randall, and Beth before William asks a burning question, "Was that "The Manny"? He leaves to grab his autograph book, and Randall and Beth are left standing in the foyer unable to keep from smiling.
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| Courtesy of NBC |
This episode marks the first moment of genuine connection we get between Randall and William. There are 30-plus years they'll never get back, and William knows that and can only say sorry and thank Randall for his kindness, despite William's poor choices.
Back in the past, Kevin sits on a water cooler, looking out onto the water eyeing his abandoned football. Jack, who's taking a nap with Randall and Kate, opens his eyes, sees what Kevin's doing, and pulls the water cooler towards him, and Kevin lies down. Then we get close-ups of the napkin note, the marker washing away as water pours out of the cooler onto it and Randall's notebook, showing several tick marks. Jack, who's resting his head on Rebecca's lap, suggests that they have another kid, however, she's not to be bothered as she finishes the last page of "Misery."
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That's it for this week! What did you think of the episode? Let me know in the comments. Don't forget to subscribe to the blog and like my page on FB @TheTelevisionZone and follow me on Twitter @TelevisionZone. Remember, you can follow along on this journey by watching "This Is Us" on the NBC website. See ya next week!
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