What I’m Watching: This Is Us

This Is Us: Season 4, Episode 3 “Unhinged” (B+)

I found this episode to be more compelling than usual, demonstrating that a show often known for its excessive sentimentality still has some very interesting and worthwhile material left to cover. The least enticing, though still decent, plotline was Jack making a big mistake at work and Miguel stepping in to save his job, showing the true power of their friendship, which extended much further than Jack could ever have possibly imagined. I like how Jennifer Morrison’s Cassidy is being incorporated, initially angry at Kevin for bonding in the waiting room with her son and then eager to laugh at the stupidity of what he was saying along with Nicky so that the three of them could get booted from an AA meeting for being disruptive. It was also sweet to see Deja and Tess bond after Malik stopped by to tell her about his baby, and we saw a similar friendship emerge between siblings when Kevin stepped in to calm Randall down after he panicked because his first black teacher wrote him up for not complying with the dress code. Randall’s open-door policy did create some issues, but, like his friend and chief of staff Jae-Weon said, they’re not in this to become career politicians but instead to effect actual change, which is why the risky decision to fire Bernice for constantly subverting him feels like the only Randall thing to do. It didn’t take Kate long to realize that Toby was working out, and after the argument they had, it’s nice that she found a kindred spirit to take walks around the neighborhood with in her recovering neighbor, played by Timothy Omundson from “Psych” and “Jericho.”