What I’m Watching: This Is Us

This Is Us: Season 2, Episode 10 “Number Three” (B+)

I thought that the focus on number two would be the most heart-wrenching hour of these three, but this one packed a punch too. The exploration of how teenager Randall struggled to fit into his world was well-paired with Déjà being reunited with her mother. Randall’s desire to look at Howard made a lot of sense, and it wasn’t lost on him that the environment was the complete opposite of what he was used to at home. Jack initially thought he was ashamed by his white father, but it turned into an important realization about his experience. This visit to the memorial where Jack opened up was particularly powerful. I’m a sucker for montages of what could have been (I was a big fan of the end of “La La Land”) and therefore the scenes of William being there throughout Randall’s most formative life moments was very effective. The return of Déjà’s mother was a huge threat to the connection that Randall and Beth had made with their foster daughter, and they were right to point out that it was Déjà who had to tell her mother that she wasn’t going through the appropriate channels to get her back. Randall helped her with the project, but now it seems like she’s gone and won’t be coming back soon even though they’d love to see her. That was a fitting moment to bring all three stories together and have Kevin show up. It’s a good thing that he managed to only get arrested and not to hurt the niece who snuck into the back of his car. Hopefully this means help is coming soon – we’ll find out when this show returns in January.