Tag: Episode

Categories
Health

'This Is Us' Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: Kate Finds Out Something Life-Changing


Tonight’s episode of This Is Us revealed something huge—and I mean huge. I don’t even want to do any throat-clearing; let’s just get right to the recap, which is organized by character and time period this week. (Spoilers ahead, of course.)

The ’80s:

It’s snowing. The Pearson clan is at a video store, and Rebecca’s trying to force everyone to watch Broadcast News. Hmm, first Tom Hanks movies and now this; Rebecca has some vanilla-AF taste. Young Kevin apparently has the chicken pox, and I know I should feel sorry for him, but he’s a terror, so I’m ambivalent.

Child Kate also has the chicken pox, and a doctor encourages Child Randall to also contract them because of…reasons. It’s allegedly good for siblings to get this sickness at the same time. Moving on. Rebecca’s horrible mom shows up unexpectedly to help with the chicken pox-infected children, which will obviously end badly. If you forgot, this woman sucks. She literally bought Child Kate a Little Mermaid costume that was too small and said it can be her “goal dress.” She then gives Randall a basketball because…he’s black?! She’s a monster.

Jack’s grand plan to help Child Kevin deal with his chicken pox is having him growl like a tiger. It’s supposed to be cute, but it’s mostly just loud. Rebecca’s mom walks by and tells them to STFU, which is the first (and only) time this episode I liked her.

She quickly fell back into my bad graces when she insulted Child Randall’s science project. How can you be mean to Child Randall? He’s the most angelic creature on Earth. Oh, Jack now also has the chicken pox, which means Rebecca’s going to be stuck alone with her maybe-racist mom and the sick kids.

“Did Grandma shoot him?!” — Child Randall, asking if his racist grandmother killed Martin Luther King Jr.

Yup, Rebecca’s mom is definitely racist. She makes some disgusting comment about how it’s shocking Randall got into private school and not Kevin and Kate. Rebecca, naturally, blows up at her mom, saying she’s not going to expose Randall to such demeaning behavior. She flat-out calls her mom a racist…and Child Randall is right behind her, hearing this entire thing. Oof. So difficult to watch—and also, true to This Is Us form, emotional whiplash. We went from 0 to 100 in five seconds. White Jack explaining to 10-year-old Randall what micro-aggressive racism is might be the most awkward, cringe-worthy thing that’s ever happened on this show.

Rebecca and Jack are so desperate to get Rebecca’s mom out of their house that Jack goes outside—with the chicken pox—to shovel snow off the driveway so she can drive home. Rebecca’s mom says Randall is “foreign” to her and that she has to “try” to see him as part of their family. Rebecca, obviously, is having none of this, but things end on a somewhat sweet note: Rebecca’s mom looks at Randall’s final, finished science project and calls him a special boy. Randall, the shady icon he is, simply responds, “It took you long enough [to realize that].” Kid Randall for all the Emmys.

Present Day Randall

Randall and Beth’s foster child, Déjà, still DGAF about connecting with their family. They notice that Déjà hasn’t washed her hair since she’s moved in, and Beth says they need to have a hygiene talk with her about it. Randall doesn’t want to because he’s afraid it’ll push her further away—which is understandable. That’s a difficult conversation to have!

Oh no. Adult Randall takes the girls bowling, and one of the girls at the alley makes a joke about Déjà’s “nasty” hair. This causes Randall and the girl’s father to get into a full-on fight, which ends in Déjà saying she isn’t Randall’s daughter. This is all very sad and difficult to watch. I miss when Randall was just hot and made dad jokes. Randall gives in and asks Beth to chat with Déjà about her hair.

“Are we seriously having a conversation right now about the order of Annie’s boo-boo kiss?” — Beth

Which was the right decision all along. Beth gives Déjà a genuinely moving speech about how her sisters bonded by doing each other’s hair. This softens Déjà up, and she asks Beth to do her hair. Beth is the best person on this show, and I’m crying.

Déjà apparently has a hair condition that causes locks to fall out when she’s stressed—and it appears her traumatic childhood has only made that worse. Beth offers to braid Déjà’s hair in order to cover up the patches. Again, this is all so beautiful and wonderful, and that’s all I have to say.

Randall opens up about his panic attacks to Déjà in an attempt to connect with her. I get why he’s choosing this method, but isn’t that a little deep for a pre-teen? He tells Déjà Beth told him about her stress-related hair problems; Déjà’s understandably upset by this. She cuts all her braids off in retaliation, and Beth is devastated.

Present Day Kate and Kevin

Kate’s working out and trying to distract herself from the muffin placed in front of her. Meh, this is exactly the kind of reductive weight-loss crap I thought we were done with. Anyway, Toby tells Kate her weight-loss goals have turned obsessive and that they haven’t been connecting (read: boning). This is annoying; like, Kate has her plate full, man. Stop making her feel bad for not sleeping with you! Apparently, her first big singing gig is happening soon, and she has a dress she’s determined to fit into. This is similar to the “goal” dress her grandmother bought her as a child. Yikes, what a destructive concept! Just buy clothes that fit!

This isn’t the only destructive thing Kate does, though. It appears she wants to buy herself pills or laxatives to help accelerate her weight-loss process. Maybe Toby’s right about this turning into an obsession. She ultimately fits into the singing-gig dress, but for some reason she isn’t happy about it. WTF?

Adult Kevin’s a colossal idiot and didn’t tell the medic on the set of his movie that his knee is messed up. One of the producers is pissed about this, and now they have to change the shooting schedule. Kevin has to get surgery on his knee, and while under anesthesia he starts having flashbacks about his dad. It’s sad, but also, like, Kevin wouldn’t be in this situation if he wasn’t a flop actor.

“Look at all of that kiwi on a stick.” — Kevin

Kevin’s out of the hospital, and Toby and Kate agree to care for him. However, Toby flips out when Kate wants to go to her yoga class minutes after Kevin comes home, further confirming his controlling worm tendencies. Just let Kate live. Kevin refuses to take the pain medication prescribed to him, which is more evidence he has addiction issues. (Remember last week when we saw him take those pills and Kate made some ominous comment about how he’s just like Jack? Subtlety isn’t this show’s strong suit.) He tells Toby he’s going to rip his cast off so he can recover faster, which seems like a dumb idea. But this is Kevin, so I’m not surprised.

Awww, now I’m feeling a little sympathy for him, though. A production assistant drops off a revised movie script to his house, and it looks like they’ve cut some of his lines due to this injury. Toby walks in on Kevin working out his knee on the treadmill—the exact opposite of what the doctors told him to do. Kevin finally opens up about why he has such a complex about this: He was a star athlete in high school, but a knee injury forced him to stop playing, which irrevocably changed his future. Now he’s afraid the same thing will happen to his acting career if his knee doesn’t get under control. Here’s the thing, though: This is why he needs to rest! Ultimately, Kevin chooses to take the pain medication and go back to work which, if last week is any indication, is a bad, bad idea.

But who cares about any of this, because This Is Us just dropped the biggest bombshell to end all bombshells: Kate. Is. Pregnant. That‘s why she’s been such a stickler about her diet and fitness regimen. That‘s why she was eyeing laxatives/pills at the pharmacy (there were pregnancy tests in that store too). The final scene of this episode shows Kate having an ultrasound done; she’s six weeks along, and nobody knows. You guys, everything is about to change now. My body is covered head to toe in goosebumps, and I don’t care how ridiculous that makes me. This show is lit.

Parting thoughts: KATE IS PREGNANT!!!!

Related Stories:

The Story Behind Kate and Rebecca’s Explosive Fight on This Is Us



Source link

Categories
Health

'The Big Bang Theory' Season 11 Episode 4 Recap: Howard and Bernadette Are Having a Boy


In what was perhaps the quickest reveal in The Big Bang Theory history, it took less than five minutes for the show to announce the sex of Bernadette and Howard’s second baby: a boy! The Wolowitz’s, who welcomed baby girl Halley into the world last December, find out they’ll be having a son come 2018; but prior to the reveal, they tell their doctor they don’t care. (“For the first one, we really wanted a girl, but this time around we don’t have a preference,” Howard says; “yeah, boy [or] girl…as long as it’s healthy,” Bernadette adds.) Their real feelings, however, are made clear as soon as the ultrasound indicates they’re having a boy. “Oh,” they say—and that’s it.

The scene definitely felt like a stark contrast to the way other shows have handled the “is it a boy or a girl?” question. For those shows, the episodes are usually cute in nature but never really amount to much. The audience waits 20 minutes into the program before finding out whether subsequent episodes will feature a pink or blue nursery. And then, TV kids generally don’t have much of an identity until later seasons, if at all. Of course, The Big Bang Theory has already bucked that trend altogether by never even showing us baby Halley, though we did notice she has her share of “Daddy’s Little Girl” outfits and red tutus in tonight’s “The Explosion Implosion.”

But that’s why Howard and Bernadette’s reaction was so interesting. When Raj comments that they can’t be that disappointed to have a boy, Howard opens up the conversation with this gem of a line, “I barely know how to be a man myself! Now I have to teach someone?”

PHOTO: Monty Brinton/CBS

I haven’t conducted any scientific surveys, of course, but aside from having a healthy baby, it seems like many parents want either what they’re familiar with (the “mini-me” syndrome) or a re-do of the childhood they never had growing up. But it’s frustrating to see parents basically decide on a child’s personality before the kid has a chance to form their own. Tonight’s Big Bang, however, at least got us a little closer to resisting that trend.

Howard admits to Sheldon that he’s scared to have a son because his own father abandoned him, and he never had a masculine influence in his life. As the two work to build a rocket (the same one that Howard never got to work on with his dad), Howard says, “Sheldon, help me. What do I know about raising a boy?” Sheldon’s response: “What do you know about raising a girl?” I’ve been hard on Sheldon this season, but his answer was brilliant.

See, that’s the thing. You don’t raise a gender; you raise an individual. To break down a child by ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ stereotypes is to limit who your individual child could become. No one fits into a box, yet society gives us extremely limited options during those early months pre-birth.

But let’s get back to the episode. Bernadette asks Raj if it’s wrong that she wanted a sister for Halley, considering she grew up with all brothers. “Of course it’s wrong,” Raj exclaims. “You don’t know what this little boy is going to be like! Maybe he’ll be rough and tumble, or maybe he’ll be sweet and sensitive, or maybe he’ll be all those things like me!” In the span of 20 seconds, Raj just became my favorite character. As long as a child grows up to be a good human being, it doesn’t matter if they’re into sports, fashion, a combination of both, or neither. And note to Bernadette: I love my sister more than anything, but we fought and argued so much growing up that our cat had to go on anti-depressants because we stressed her out so much. Be careful what you wish for.

Before the episode concludes, Howard ends up coaching Sheldon as he drives on a long stretch of road back home (remember, Sheldon got his driver’s license a while back and then didn’t tell anyone). In the moment, Howard nails what a great father is: being supportive and knowledgeable. “You’re a good teacher,” Sheldon says sweetly. “Your son is going to be lucky to have you as a father.” “Thanks,” Howard says. See, no sports knowledge required.



Source link

Categories
Health

'Riverdale' Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: Fred Andrews' Fate Is Finally Revealed


Today’s the day! The sun is shining! And Riverdale is finally, finally back! Tonight’s episode was a doozy, to say the least. We learned more about Fred Andrews’ shooting, plus Bughead and Varchie turned up the heat. So let’s just dive into the details, because I know that’s what you care about. Warning: Spoilers ahead.

We open the episode with a pretentious voiceover from Jughead. I forgot how much I disliked his beanie until this exact moment. Anyway, Archie—who is better than Jughead, don’t @ me—doesn’t have a license but is driving his father, Fred, to the hospital because, remember, Fred was shot. Whether or not he lives or dies is still a mystery, but a psycho dream about Fred missing Archie’s graduation makes me think it’s bad news.

Pan to Betty, who’s awkwardly telling her mother (Alice) about her almost-sex with Jughead, whom Alice loathes. Alice makes some shady remarks about the Southside Serpents, which I love because I’m not Team Jughead. Meanwhile, Veronica is drinking the champagne her mother got for her father because she’s a queen. Their fun is interrupted, though, when Archie calls them—and Jughead—about Fred’s shooting. There’s a shot of Jughead dramatically hopping onto a motorcycle and rushing to the hospital, which is just ludicrous. Who is he? The Dark Knight?

At the hospital, Archie tells his friends about the shooting; he feels guilty, but Jughead makes him feel better by calling him “Pure Heart the Hero,” which is cringe-worthy. My new favorite character, Alice, gives Jughead the stink eye at the hospital and insinuates the South Side Serpents had something to do with Fred’s shooting. Archie calls his mom—Molly Effing Ringwald—to tell her the news.

The salt-and-pepper snack sheriff (Kevin’s dad) pulls Archie aside to get more information about the shooter. Jughead tags along because he’s nosy and lives for the drama. When the sheriff insinuates a South Side Serpent did the deed, Jughead flips out. The sheriff asks Archie what the assailant did after shooting his father; Archie hesitates, like he knows something, but doesn’t say anything. Jughead catches onto this fuckery and suggests the shooter’s motive wasn’t just robbery. Jughead asks Archie why he hesitated to tell the sheriff the full story, and he says it’s because he thinks one of the South Side Serpents who worked for Fred could’ve done something. Jughead agrees to check this out, because of course he does.

In another weird almost-death dream, Fred has visions of his dead relatives literally knocking on his trailer to take him to the afterlife. These are eerie, and I want them to stop.

Veronica’s shook because she doesn’t know how to deal with Archie being sad. She can only handle him when he’s, like, hot and shirtless. They leave the hospital together to get Archie some non-blood-splattered clothes, and Veronica’s uneasy about how to handle the situation.

The first thing Archie wants to do when he gets home is walk his dog. He doesn’t want to change his bloody clothes. He just wants to walk his damn dog. Veronica’s creeped out, but goes along with this anyway.

Meanwhile, Jughead confronts the South Side Serpents about what Archie told him at the hospital. They agree to look into it, but who the hell cares about this because minutes later Veronica gets naked and hops in the shower with Archie. (!!!) Keep in mind that Archie is washing his father’s blood off his skin. And Veronica’s turned on! This isn’t hot! This is deranged! WTF kind of vampire shit are Archie and Veronica into?!

Betty tells Kevin that Jughead told her he loves her—and that she said it back. Kevin, the genius he is, tells Betty she needs to stay far away from Jughead because he’s a South Side Serpent. I mean, I get that’s the logical reason to stay away, but I think Betty should ditch Jughead just because he’s insufferable and wears beanies.

Then, Chery Blossom shows up in the hospital looking bomb AF and spews some lies about how a candle started the fire at Thornhill. (Remember, she torched her house in a rage last season!) Her mother is burned really badly and is rushed into a hospital room; Cheryl hovers in the hallway and smiles, looking iconic, as per usual.

Meanwhile, post-sex, Archie flips out on Veronica for losing Fred’s wallet—which she didn’t even do. Archie’s just being a jerk. Archie tells her to leave, but because Veronica’s a saint she refuses and instead comforts him as he cries into her arms. It’s tender. OK, Archie’s back in my good graces.

The salt-and-pepper snack sheriff makes Archie pick from a line-up of masked robbers, which seems like a pointless exercise. These men…are wearing masks, and Archie saw the shooter for a split second. How could he possibly identify someone? This is dumb, but they’re doing lots of close-up shots of Archie’s beautiful eyes, so I’m fine.

Jughead goes on a convoluted rant about how it’s “entirely conceivable” Fred’s shooting was intentional. Veronica asks Jughead and Betty to go to Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe to look for Fred’s wallet. They go. I’m bored.

Veronica insinuates that her mother could’ve shot Fred because she has a motive: She knew Hiram Lodge and Fred wouldn’t get along, and because Fred wouldn’t sell his half of his construction company to them, it’d be easier if he was gone.

But good news: Fred Andrews is stable! Archie goes to his hospital room and starts saying positive things in the hopes he’ll wake up. Fred has another scary death dream. Wow, they’re dragging this out.

Pop, who owns Pop’s Chock’lit Shop, tells Betty and Jughead that he doesn’t think the assailant was a robber. Betty confronts Jughead about joining the South Side Serpents; he says he isn’t going to join and says that he’s moving into F.P.’s trailer—not with his foster parents. He wants to wear F.P.’s jacket and ride his motorcycle and live in his trailer to be close to him. Betty’s worried. I’m worried. The bottle of water I just finished is worried. Betty doesn’t want him to get hurt, which is understandable. Side note: Why am I so bored by their relationship?

Cheryl goes full-on Baby Jane and threatens to kill her mother if she tells anyone the truth about the fire. It’s a really creepy scene, but I love Cheryl and would jump off a cliff for her. Yas, queen. Read your awful mom for filth! You look so good!

Archie tells his friends that he was paralyzed with fear when the assailant shot Fred. He just got on his knees in the moment and closed his eyes until he heard the shooter leave Pop’s—so it’s totally possible this guy nabbed Fred’s wallet. Archie’s ashamed, but he honestly needs to go easy on himself.

Then Archie walks in on Cheryl creepily kissing Fred on the forehead. She says she’s giving him the kiss of life, which would sound weird coming from anyone but Cheryl. Again, Cheryl can do no wrong.

Oof! Another psycho-death dream. This time it’s Veronica in that wedding dress, which explains all those photos that leaked a few months ago. Minutes later, Fred wakes up…unsurprisingly.

Betty comes around and tells Jughead she’s cool with him “exploring” the South Side Serpents if it’ll make him feel closer to his dad. This is a horrible idea. My evidence? The bloodied-and-beaten dude the Serpents interrogated in F.P.’s trailer about Fred’s shooting! These guys are bad guys! Take your beanie and run, Jughead!

Veronica comes home, and guess who’s waiting for her?! Her father, Hiram Lodge, who eerily says it’s “disrespectful” that she wasn’t there to greet him. Her dad is hot. This family is hot. Veronica shadily tells her parents that Fred Andrews woke up and saunters off.

Holy shit! Ms. Grundy is back! And she’s making out with another student! Also, WTF again! But Fred’s shooter is now killing Ms. Grundy! Who is this guy?! This is literally how the episode ends, and I just can’t.

Parting thoughts: This show is so goddamn magnificent. I’ve missed you, Riverdale.

Related Stories:

Riverdale Star Cole Sprouse Has Bad News for Bughead Fans

Riverdale‘s Veronica Lodge Was Supposed to Be Another Brunette Bad Girl—Now She’s Something Greater



Source link

Categories
Health

'This Is Us' Season 2 Episode 3 Recap: Trouble Might Be Ahead for Kevin


This week’s episode of This Is Us can be divided into three sections: a sad foster-child subplot, Sylvester Stallone mumbling, and Rebecca throwing a bag of burgers on the ground. It was weird, ridiculous, and, at times, actually moving—if you can see past Rebecca committing the aforementioned unforgivable sin.

And now, the recap:

We open with Jack at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He’s been sober three weeks, apparently, though he admits it’s hard talking to Rebecca about his problems. The camera’s really close to Jack’s face as he’s saying this, and his beard has never looked more mesmerizing.

Teenage Randall is hungry to meet his birth parents, so he sneakily places an ad in the local newspaper asking for anyone who left “a newborn baby at a firehouse” to contact him. And now I’m chuckling at the idea of multiple people doing that. Like, what if Randall’s phone starts blowing up? Eventually, someone responds to his ad and asks to meet at a park.

Adult Randall and Beth applied to a foster care agency three weeks ago, but they haven’t heard anything back. He’s pissed, makes some comment about how their large kitchen island should put them at the front of the foster-parent line, and Beth tells him to chill TF out.

“Guys like that kid from My So-Called Life are in.” —Jack

The agency, unsurprisingly, calls minutes after Randall’s freak-out. They have a child for them: a 12-year-old girl named Déjà. Randall’s lit and starts going on a nonsensical rant about how fostering Déjà will help him fulfill his family’s legacy. It’s corny, but cute—and I’m tearing up, so this dialogue is clearly working. It always works.

Déjà shows up to Randall and Beth’s house. She’s quiet, shy, and shows no interest in getting to know the family—which worries Randall. He was expecting a more “responsive” child but, like, Déjà was just forcibly removed from her home because her mom was sent to prison, and Randall’s a stranger to her! He needs to calm down.

Beth finds cigarettes in Déjà’s room and tries to take them away, but Déjà flips out, calling her a “bitch” and even grabbing her. But the second Randall walks in, forcefully, Déjà cowers in fear. The implication here, I think, is that Déjà’s last foster father (or maybe even her birth father) was abusive. Later in the night, Déjà shares a tender moment with Randall and Beth’s daughters in a scene that mimics the first night William stayed at their house.

We’re now on the set of Adult Kevin’s film that I don’t care about. Sylvester Stallone is his co-star. Like, not an actor played by Sylvester Stallone: Sylvester Stallone playing himself. I would 2,000 percent not see this movie in theaters if it were real. Kate’s naturally shook meeting Sylvester and tells Kevin she wishes their dad was there to see this.

Kevin coldly brushes off this comment, which I know is supposed to make me wonder, “Why doesn’t Kevin want to talk about his dad?”—but all I can think about is how Kate called Sylvester Stallone “Stallin” moments before. Is that a nickname I don’t know about? Does she know it sounds like Joseph Stalin? The dictator?

“I’m Jack Pearson-ing you!” —Rebecca

Kate gives a genuinely nice speech to Sylvester Stallone about how he was Jack’s favorite actor. Oddly enough, it’s Rocky mother-effing Balboa who talks sense into Kevin about brushing off memories of his father. He tells Kevin that it doesn’t matter how much time has passed; either memories matter or they don’t. Kevin furrows his brow and frowns at this. It’s touching in a “two macho dudes talk about something other than cars and beer for once” kind of way.

But this conversation ends up ruining Kevin’s first scene with Sylvester in the “movie.” All the emotion he’s feeling about his father causes him to screw up his lines repeatedly. So what’s the takeaway here? Dealing with your emotions causes you to…fail at work?

“”Everyone on The Manny just looked pasty and sad.” —Kate

Kevin chews out Kate for his bad performance. In his opinion, if Kate never told Sylvester Stallone about their dad, he wouldn’t have stunk up the set—which is faulty logic. Own up to your flop performance, bro. Kate confronts Kevin about why he never wants to talk about their dad. Kevin says that he feels no need to talk about it or walk around “sad and damaged” like she is, which is a beyond jerky thing to say. I’m sorry, but Kevin’s the worst, and he’s been the worst since the 1980s.

Kevin’s redeemed, slightly, when he’s shooting a scene for his movie and starts thinking about his father. The emotion seems to be helping him this time, and we learn he was sleeping in a car—for some unknown reason—when he found out about his dad’s death. Naturally, this ends with Kevin tripping, hurting his knee, and screwing up the scene…again. Maybe Kevin’s a bad actor?

Kevin and Kate make up on the phone. He tells Kate he hurt his “bad knee” on set. This explains the leg cast we see Kevin wearing the night of Jack’s death. Connections! He tears up talking about his dad. Again, it’s sweet in a “frat bro talks about his feelings” way. A voiceover of Kate saying, “He’s just like you” happens as Kevin takes pain pills for his knee. So does this mean Kevin is…also an addict?

Back in the ’90s (blah), Jack bypasses morning breakfast, which raises Kate’s eyebrows. Rebecca’s wearing a brown floral dress that I can’t get past. Randall’s freaking out about potentially meeting one of his birth parents and doesn’t have time to answer Kevin’s question about whether Brandy or Mariah Carey is hotter. (Ahhh, the ’90s.) Teenage Randall tells Teenage Kevin and Kate that he’s meeting his birth mother at the park. Bah!

But the woman who answered Randall’s ad was, horrifically, just a woman trying to scheme money out of him. He storms out of the park in a mix of rage and devastation and, honestly, this might be the most heartbreaking scene in This Is Us. This is seriously sad—and not in the manipulative way.

Nineties/Swoop Bangs Rebecca is complaining to Miguel’s ex-wife about her marriage problems, which is very ironic. Rebecca confesses that she and Jack haven’t had sex in a while, and Miguel’s wife essentially tells her to get on that or her marriage will fall apart. I love that they’re drinking wine with their lunch salads. Opulent.

“I hope they don’t end up cavemen, like me.” —Jack

Rebecca takes Jack to some abandoned parking lot that has some sort of significance that I missed and also don’t really care about. She tries to sleep with him, but he’s not into it. Rebecca’s immediately mortified. It’s awkward. But they have burgers in the car with them, so silver lining?

They get home—burgers still in their bags, unfortunately—and Jack admits that getting sober is hard because he has to confront all the ugly parts of his past. He doesn’t think he can do it, but Rebecca reassures him he can by just saying the phrase “I know” 6,000 times in a row.

“Kids in need love themselves big kitchen islands.” —Beth

Apparently, this does the trick because Jack tells Rebecca to get back in the car so they can finish their date. And then Rebecca throws the bag full of burgers away and gets in the car. What the fuck?! Any sentiment this scene was supposed to convey is now lost on me because these monsters willfully wasted fast food.

Jack tells Rebecca that he’s been keeping a lot of secrets from her, and that he’ll tell them to her in time. This is more creepy than comforting, to be honest. What’s he hiding? Regardless, this admission was enough to light the fire between Jack and Rebecca, and they wind up having sex in their car like two horny teenagers. They come home and a dog is eating their burgers. This dog is the only person on this whole damn show with his priorities straight.

Annnd now I’m crying. Again. Jesus, I’ve cried so much in this episode that it’s embarrassing. Randall tells Déjà the story of his own adoption, and that he sees a lot of himself in her. That seems to put her mind at ease, and for the first time Randall and Beth seem to have hope in this situation. It’s beautiful, but I’m still low-key thinking about Rebecca throwing away those burgers.

Unfortunately, the moment’s ruined when Randall tells Déjà her mom isn’t coming back for a while. She storms out of the room and breaks the photo of Randall, Jack, and Rebecca.

Parting thoughts: There were not one, but two vocal dubs in this episode. Noticeable vocal dubs. Whatever, they were kind of iconic.

Related Stories:

Regina King Just Revealed a This Is Us Spoiler That Involves Three Main Characters



Source link

Categories
Health

'This Is Us' Season Two Episode Three Revealed New Clues About Jack's Death


Was your head spinning at the end of tonight’s This Is Us episode, too? There were so many flashbacks to unpack, including new scenes of Kevin and Kate on the night Jack died and the days (or was it months?) leading up to his passing. And in the process, new clues were dropped throughout the episode; not only did we find out how that scrappy dog became part of the Pearson family, but we might have uncovered a side of Kevin that was never even on our radar.

The good news is that the writers of tonight’s episode—executive producers and co-showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger—understand your confusion. They may not be able to answer everything we’re dying to know, but they were happy to clarify the episode’s biggest moments and what to look out for as the season unfolds. But be warned: If you haven’t seen tonight’s episode, then proceed with caution.

When Kevin and Stallone are in the middle of filming their movie, Ron Howard says to Kevin, “Remember, [Stallone] is like a father to you and he’s going to die on your watch if you don’t save him.” Was that meant to indicate Kevin feels like he wasn’t able to save Jack?

Elizabeth Berger: I definitely think it’s triggering feelings of Jack; Stallone is an actor Jack loved, so having to do a scene where he’s saving him from death is a big mixture of complicated emotion. It’s not necessarily touching on the specifics of his death, but touching on having lost the father he loved so much.

Later on in the episode, Kevin tells Kate, “I don’t need to walk around and be sad and damaged just like you are.” That was such a powerful line that called back to last week’s exchange of words between Kate and Rebecca. Was there something more to his comments we don’t know about yet?

Isaac Aptaker: That’s one of my favorite lines from the episode. What that line speaks to is last season we saw Kate start to do a lot of work when she went to the weight loss camp and it sort of broke her open and moved her closer to being able to talk about what happened to her dad and the tragedy of her family. Kevin hasn’t done any of that, and that’s kind of him putting on his defense mechanism because he’s scared his sister is making this progress and he’s unable to. He lashes out in the moment, but what’s really going on there for Kevin is he’s a little bit almost jealous of his sister that she’s been able to move on with her life and deal with her feelings.

PHOTO: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

The last five minutes of tonight’s episode were loaded with flashbacks and clues, starting with the moment we see teenage Kate approach Kevin and Sophie asleep in a car to tell them about Jack’s death. Then we see another flashback of Kevin being in the hospital with a cast on his leg, and Jack puts a necklace around his son’s neck. What was the significance of that necklace?

Isaac: It’s a necklace that we will reveal the significance of later in the season, but that’s the necklace that Kevin as an adult wears around his neck every day.

Elizabeth: It’s one that we’ve seen Jack wearing throughout the series.

Later in present time, Kevin calls Kate to apologize for his words and says, “Kate, it’s really hard for me with Dad.” This, of course, is the first time we see him verbally acknowledging the pain from Jack’s death. Justin Hartley’s performance was absolutely beautiful, so please tell me we’ll see more to this side of Kevin.

Elizabeth: Justin was absolutely amazing. Kevin has a lot bottled up and moves through life being charming and friendly, but as we saw last season in terms of how much he was there for his siblings, there’s so much more to him than meets the eye. There’s a lot churning beneath the surface. Part of his journey, even within the season, is going to be bringing some of that up and being able to verbalize his feelings on Jack’s death.

When Kate and Kevin get off the phone, Kate looks longingly at Jack’s urn and says, “He’s just like you.” At that moment we see Kevin pulling out some prescription drugs because obviously he’s in pain from his knee injury on the film set. Were you alluding to an addiction problem there? He hesitated at first when taking the pill, which one doesn’t normally do. What should the audience be thinking in that last minute of the episode?

PHOTO: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

Elizabeth: They should be thinking, I wonder what’s going to happen! [Laughs] There’s a more sort of obvious interpretation in terms of…it’s an episode where Jack has been struggling to verbalize his feelings and speak out loud about everything he’s been going through. And yes, perhaps Kevin might be like him in other ways that we explore.

Last season when Randall’s hands started shaking, my first thought was, “I hope he doesn’t have Parkinson’s or a neurological disorder.” Surprisingly—and refreshingly—it wasn’t that at all. That’s why I ask, am I reading too much into this? Or could Kevin really have a problem with addiction?

Elizabeth: We are glad you are wondering because, yeah, you’re gonna have to stay tuned.

Isaac: It’s open to interpretation. With Jack and Kevin last season, in the episode “Jack Pearson’s Son,” where Kevin [comes to Randall’s aid], it shows all the positive ways Kevin is like his father, and how he is there for his brother and a support system for Kate. Then this year, in this episode, we’re looking at the less than exemplary ways that Kevin is like Jack with the withholding of feelings. So yeah, whether or not that also encompasses addiction is something that we’ll have to wait and see.

Let’s move on to Jack and Rebecca. He tells her he feels like he’s holding on by a thread. Obviously he’s referring to his alcoholism, but was that statement made to foreshadow his death?

Elizabeth: That line in the moment speaks truly more to his emotional state. I don’t think there’s anything too hidden in that.

Meanwhile, it was interesting to see Rebecca and Miguel’s ex-wife, Shelly, together since it adds a whole other layer to how Rebecca and Miguel became a couple. Have we established whether Shelly is alive in the present day?

Isaac: We have not. We’ve said nothing about Shelly’s whereabouts in the present day.

Is that a story we are going to see explored this season? The fact that Rebecca is talking about her sex life with Jack to Shelly would make me think things are going to get awfully complicated down the line with Miguel. What can you speak to about that?

Isaac: There’s definitely something that will come up at some point. We’ve told the audience and shown that Rebecca and Shelly were best friends for a big part of their adult lives, so certainly once Rebecca does get with Miguel, whenever that is, the Shelly side of the equation is something that will need to be dealt with.

Elizabeth: We are going to delve a little bit more into Miguel and Rebecca’s relationship this season because there’s a lot to be explored there. We will get a better sense of what happened there.

PHOTO: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

It was so sweet to see Jack with this stray dog at the end, but obviously heartbreaking because we know Kate was holding this same dog closely on the night Jack died. What can you tease coming up?

Elizabeth: I don’t know how much we can tease, but we definitely are going to give some really big answers this season, as Jessica Radloff Dan Fogelman has promised. We hope that people consistently feel like they are receiving satisfying information.

Isaac: It’s the question on everyone’s mind, and we’re going to tell the story exactly as we’ve always intended to, which we think will play out in a very satisfying way.

Just tell me we will get a lot of future scenes with Milo and this stray dog.

Elizabeth: There will be definitely some of that. [Laughs]

Isaac: I feel like that should be a calendar. We should sell that at the NBC store: Milo and this dog. Or maybe there’s a spin-off we should create. There’s no dialogue, just Milo playing with a dog for a half hour.



Source link

Categories
Health

'The Big Bang Theory' Recap Season 11 Episode 3: Sheldon and Amy Set a June Wedding


PHOTO: Michael Yarish/Warner Bros.

Sheldon Cooper‘s descent into groomzilla-land took approximately 20 minutes before that reign came to a much-needed conclusion on tonight’s Big Bang Theory. While his obsession over the perfect date wedding date was totally in line with his personality, the need to spend almost an entire episode on it—or the meaning behind his dreams—was honestly a waste of time. Thank goodness the stress of picking a date was too much for him that by the end of the episode he gladly handed the task over to Amy.

So when will Shamy tie the knot? It looks like we’ll get to see Amy fulfill her lifelong wish of being a June bride, but the exact date—or year for that matter—is TBD. However, since Big Bang has only been renewed for another season after this one ends, one might assume that Shamy will tie the knot in the 11th season finale (which airs in May). On the other hand, it could also mean June 2019 if the writers decide to make that the series finale (should the series conclude after season 12).

Or course, those details are still a bit murky—but the location is as clear as can be. No, really; in the episode, Amy reveals that her dream is to be married “on a cliff overlooking the ocean at sunset,” and Sheldon is on board. Considering the couple already resides in Pasadena, a trip to Malibu or one of Southern California’s beachside communities should be a breeze. And although Sheldon has yet to go shopping for a tux, we do know that he plans on wearing “a boutonniere, close-toed shoes, and a Star Trek uniform underneath.” (In that case, I hope Amy finds a way to incorporate her love of Harry Potter into the mix).

Even so, all of this could still change. At the end of the episode, an outdoor-averse Sheldon muttered to himself, “Outdoor wedding…I know what I’ll be using that cliff for.” Hey Sheldon, let me give you some advice: Don’t give Amy a reason to push you off it—because right now, you’re testing everyone’s patience.



Source link