What I’m Watching: This Is Us

This Is Us: Season 2, Episode 9 “Number Two” (B+)

I found this to be a much more effective episode than last week’s focus on Kevin, partially because Kate is a much stronger character than Kevin. We already knew the tragedy that was going to befall her, which made the bulk of this episode horribly devastating. The actual moment of losing the baby was so quick and seemingly inconsequential that even the thought of taking a shower was paralyzing to Kate. Toby spending the entire day at a warehouse trying to find the package that he wanted to make sure wouldn’t arrive on their doorstep was a very selfless gesture that will rightly go unnoticed, and Kate worked through things in her own way with an aborted stop at the buffet and the decision to tell her mom what was going on. Though she doesn’t usually say the right thing, Rebecca did just that in this case by telling the story of how she went after the woman who took the last bag of yellow onions at the supermarket and explaining that she didn’t take the chance to hold Kyle. It’s good to know that Kate and Toby are back on the same page after some reversed cuddling and a decision to take some much-needed healing time. Pairing these events with Rebecca listening to Kate’s demo for her Berklee application and opting not to critique but just to express her support was very effective, though as we know that didn’t go far enough since their present-day relationship is still somewhat strained. I’m not sure how Randall fits into all of this, but we’ll see in next week’s number three!