Sunday, February 27, 2022

What I’m Watching: This Is Us

This Is Us: Season 6, Episode 6 “Our Little Island Girl: Part Two” (B+)

This show has done this before, tacked on a supplement to previous titles of much earlier installments, in this case a season three episode. I appreciated seeing “Alias” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” actor Carl Lumbly again as Beth’s father, as well as Goran Višnjić as Vincent, the dance teacher who crushed Beth’s spirit. It’s nice to know that Susan Kelechi Watson wrote this episode, one that pays tribute to Beth’s enduring goodness and how she wanted to be an entirely different kind of mentor than Vincent was for her. While it’s still disconcerting to see Beth in the future apart from Randall, though that doesn’t necessarily mean anything since those flash-forwards could be at unrelated times, having her get tickets to see Stacey in “The Nutcracker” was a sweet and heartwarming resolution to that plotline. Paralleling Sophie leaving after Kevin told her what he did and Kate didn’t with Madison having to break the news that she wanted to be with the twins at her own Thanksgiving was very effective, and I like the idea that Kate might rekindle her friendship with Sophie since she could use a support system whose relationship with her brother is only slightly less complicated. Seeing Toby put all his energy into work and not realize the strain it’s putting on his marriage is unsettling, and his harsh reaction to Kevin trying to give him friendly advice was particularly off-putting. Elijah being honest with Kevin about being seen as the nice guy was a solid moment, one that should be a wake-up call to Kevin about what his future needs to look like with a woman who is the mother of his children but not his romantic partner.

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