'This Is Us' Season 1, Episode 11 Review

Image from IBT

By Darian Scalamoni

            After weeks of wanting our favorite new hit network drama This Is Us back, we finally got the return this past Tuesday with one of my favorite episodes of the show thus far. Following the wild mid-season finale in which Toby was rushed to the hospital, things slowed down and made them more intimate over the return of the show.

            We find out that Toby has a heart problem and must have surgery to fix it. He first opts to not have it because he’s very worried about the complications but Kate, of course, wants him to have the procedure. After a little thinking, not only does Toby decide he’s going to get the surgery but he tells Kate that he loves her. It’s supposed to be believable but honestly, it’s a bit cheesy when its presented. It comes out of nowhere and it seems like the writers are trying to get a heart wrenching moment but it feels very forced. Not only that but after the surgery Kate tells Toby that he loves him as well and then they jump into marriage talks. The relationship is moving WAY too fast and it could throw the audience in a very off putting situation with how quickly they’re jumping from being in love to marriage.

            Though it seemed that Toby and Kate’s story started poor in the second half of Season 1, it was surprisingly Kevin’s story that had me loving this week’s episode. After Olivia disappeared for a few weeks, Kevin began a fling with the writer of the play he was cast in, Sloane and she’s become a good character since she’s began to appear in a bigger role. It’s helped not only for Kevin on a personal level but it’s also led to an artistic growth for him. When Olivia shows back up though supporting an awful new blonde pixie cut, she tells Kevin that she;s back and she’s made the changes necessary to be back in the play and back in his life in a romantic sense. It’s another moment that doesn’t feel like it was earned in the slightest but Justin Hartley continues to improve week by week as Kevin and he plays everyone’s favorite lovable idiot when he tells Olivia that he can’t be with her because it’s “not the right thing to do”. Sloane hears this and is rightfully upset so she leaves Kevin with no one after this tumultuous love triangle.

            Another big surprise we got before This Is Us went on a hiatus was William’s relationship with a man named Jesse. With the crazy life that Randall has had, it’s not surprising to know that he’s thrown for a loop when he discovers that his father is bisexual. It’s a needed viewpoint though in television and reminds me of a similar kind of relationship that Christopher Plummer had in his Oscar-winning turn in Beginners. Ron Cephas Jones has done an amazing job as William and this unexpected character choice by the writers will give him even more of a platform for him to shine. Unfortunately, he might not have that much time as it seems that his cancer is getting worse and worse. In one of the best scenes in the entire show thus far, Randall and William have a talk in which they both share heartfelt and tear-filled words that William would like to stop taking his chemo pills. Not only because it’s affecting him physically but more so because he doesn’t want his son to see him die. This whole tense scene is fueled by genuine nature and love for his son and you can see both Jones and the always spectacular, Sterling K. Brown giving their all.

            Last but not least there is my favorite story for this episode by far and it was Jack and Rebecca finally finding out that they’re going to have triplets. After discovering this new information, Rebecca and Jack start going into crisis mode and begin to ask their parents for help. Upon further discovery, we see that their parents are truly terrible people. Well at least Rebecca’s mother and Jack’s father. It’s heavy handed but it gives the audience a better look at the households these two came from and why they chose to raise their kids their own way. It’s inspiring and sweet though to see that Jack goes back to ask his father for money in which he uses to buy a house for him, Rebecca and the triplets they’re expecting.

            All in all, this past week’s episode was one of the best of the show thus far and I’m really looking forward to the way this season finishes up because I’m officially hooked on This Is Us.

9/10