One of the most wonderful - and
encouraging - discoveries of the 2016 fall season was NBC's This is Us. A moving, funny, and heartwarming series
dealing with one of the most realistic television families since we met the
Bravermans on Parenthood, the series managed to win over just about
everybody who watched. It averaged over thirteen million viewers per episodes
and became the first network series in five years to get a Best Drama nod,
taking a couple of prizes just a few weeks ago.
Now, as the series transitions
into its second season, it becomes clear that it's more than willing to go into
even more heartbreaking territory than last season. Jack and Rebecca (Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy
Moore) seemed to get through the fight that caused them to separate last year,
but it seems to have revealed darker problems, as Jack now realizes that he is
an alcoholic. The fight has put various scars on the Big Three: Kate, who has a
resentment of her mother wants to believe her father, Kevin is more in
disbelief, and there are scars on Randall, who came home to witness the bitter
fight. Jack seemed to turn a corner last night, going to his first AA meeting,
but we know there are problems ahead.
In the present, everybody is
dealing with issues of their own. Kevin (Justin Hartley) seems to be trying to
find a balance for his career, currently making a movie with Ron Howard, and
trying to have a relationship with the one who got away, his ex-wife, still
living in New York . Kate (Chrissy
Metz) is trying to follow a bliss that has haunted since her childhood,
becoming a professional singer, and finally committing to Toby (Chris
Sullivan). Randall (Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown) is making the biggest
changes of all. Having quit his stressful job at the end of last season, he is
now trying to adopt a third child. Wife Susan, however, (Susan Kalechi Watson,
arguably winning the prize for best spouse since Monica Potter) is dealing with
her own grief over losing William, and has been pushing her husband to foster a
child closer to their own roots.
The series seems determined to
play into darker fields than last season, if possible - we are now finally
facing the major conflict between Kate and Rebecca head-on in a heartbreaking
scene after Kate's first major performance. The series does cause a fair amount
of pain and tears, but they are balances with some genuine laughs among them. I
was pleasantly surprised by a wonderful scene in last night's episodes, where
Kevin, who has never had the easiest relationship with brother told Susan that
the biggest risk Randall ever took was asking Susan out - and then telling her that he was on the phone for most of that
date.
Of course, even the most loyal
fans of the series are still trying to find out
the critical question: How does Jack die? We got some critical clues in
the final scene of the season premiere, and the producers assure us we will
find out by the end of Season 2. But as one of the few people who really didn't
mind that we didn't find out by the end of the first season, I'm really not
that urgent to discover it. Sure, I want to know what happen and how Rebecca
ended up falling in love and marrying Miguel. But This is Us is a series that is fundamentally about human beings,
not about some complex mythology. I realize that not every story in the saga is
going to have a happy ending - you cry a lot in this series for a reason - but
I care about this family in a way that I haven't felt for a TV family in a very
long time.
This is Us is one of the most brilliant series to come out of any
source in a long time. It has a perfect command of season, cast and writing
that we've grown accustomed to only finding on pay cable, but they wouldn't try
to have a whole family. This is a triumph and I hope it stays around a long
time.
My score: 4.75 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment