What I’m Watching: This Is Us

This Is Us: Season 3, Episode 15 “The Waiting Room” (B)

It’s interesting to see that this show can be particularly effective when it stays grounded in the present and doesn’t involve any flashbacks. Those can be one of its strongest assets, but they’re also prone to being quite manipulative. In this case, the Pearson family members were able to invoke memories that stand out for them without us seeing them, as Rebecca picturing Jack on those seats would surely have been powerful but her description of how she remembered them was just as resounding. Also, not seeing Toby and Kate until the very end of the episode was effective since this was the experience of those on the outside, who felt bold enough to demand answers from those between the desk but as tangential family members weren’t actually entitled to an urgent response. Things did get dramatic, leading to a moderately irritating repetition of the same line thanking people for putting up with them, and it’s a rare circumstance in which Madison is the most sympathetic one in the room. Toby’s joke about Kate wanting to see Miguel first did feel a bit mean-spirited, especially coming from one of the outsiders, and Miguel got some aggression directed his way from Beth too when she felt he was speaking for Rebecca, who has a tendency to burrow within these moments and not take care of herself. Zoe acknowledging the contents of Kevin’s bottle doesn’t speak well to his imminent recovery, but it seems like she’s going to try to stick it out with him knowing where things stand at the moment.