"You came up with that all by yourself?"
Hi, there, sorry for the late reviews. Things have been crazy so I'm doing both episodes together, just in time for the season finale. This couple of episodes couldn't be more opposite, they're both very This Is Us, but Vegas, Baby is their best kind of light(ish) fn episode, and This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life is one of those heavy hitters we've come to know and love, and also cry a bit, because that just couldn't be missing from any episode of this big, amazing, beautiful show. So, let's get to it.
Vegas, Baby
For the light, fun part, we begin with a beautiful montage of Jack and Rebecca's anniversaries, the gifts they make each other, up until Rebecca gets tires of being outgifted by Jacks and asks for a gift-free anniversary, and as per their amazing marriage, this eventually ends in her understanding that just because Jack is such an amazing gift-giver and it comes naturally to him, it doesn't mean she should feel guilty, that's just a part of who he is.
But there's a whole journey before getting there. When the kids see there's no big plan for the anniversary, little Kevin proposes they handle the whole thing, and for the first time we see a thoughtful Kevin, attentive to his parents' well-being, eventually, we find out he was just worried they were going to get a divorce like Sophie's parents. At first, it's all a bit messy, but ends up being perfect, Rebecca apologizes for de-Jacking Jack (LMAO), and they watch a meteor shower on the roof.
Vegas is the center during this episode, as in where Jack and Rebecca had their first anniversary and where Toby and Kate's bachelor and bachelorette parties are happening. It was nice to see a bit of their future marriage, and how that would work, they're both so in sync about their worries and fears. Also, Maddison seems to be a sweet but annoying fixture around them, especially since she's the one handling Kate's bachelorette.
Both parties are very short-lived thanks to the Pearson brothers, but we know later they'll provide all the heart. Kevin is committed to his sobriety, but once he learns there have been changes made to his movie and he might not even be on it, he freaks out and seems to struggle even more, so he leaves Toby with his "filler" friends, since Randall also leaves for his own personal reasons. It seems after Deja's visit it has gotten harder for him to let her go, and not worry about her at a distance, we see he gave her money for her and her mom to pay the bills and he's been on edge since.
This is also hard on his marriage since he feels Bet is not as bothered as he is, and once he crashes Kate's bachelorette and
finds on stage at the strip club. They have a big fight in front of Kate, and she lets out some frustrations of her own. So Randall goes after her and they reminisce a little bit, and it was nice to see they actually had a sweet relationship that didn't include Kevin. She tells him she felt she lost him when he et Beth and he says she could never lose him, that there's no way he would've binged Sex and the City for anyone else. Then, she learns they left Toby and tells him they were the people he most wanted to spend time with. So he gets Kevin and they go up to Toby's room to take him for a walk, the Pearson brothers explain why they left the party opening up to him and Toby tells them he has a brother who's not even willing to show up, and he felt this was his change of having new brothers, he tells them they are amazing people, and after making him promise not to hurt Kate, they welcome him to the family.
Kate decides to have some real talk of her own and goes up to Beth's room, she confesses she always felt intimidated by her, and that to her she's perfect. Beth says she's far from that and opens up about Deja, about caring about her and trying not to think about it because it will change nothing, and it was nice to see them share this moment. The next day Kate leaves some candy on Beth's door and promises not to tell anybody how much heart she has. Kevin also decides to act on his newfound wisdom, he takes Toby's advice and talks to Ron Howard to tell him it was a mistake cutting him out of the movie, but the answer he gets is that his scenes with Stallone are the best thing of the movie and he might have to get ready for Award Season.
This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life
This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life is one of those intense one-hour movies This Is Us is so brilliant at creating, it kicks off with the beginning of life, all the mothers of the show in labor, Rebecca, Beth, Randall's mom, and Deja's mom (Shauna). And though it's filled with some parallels with the Pearson family, this is Deja's true introductory episode and it's all about her. Giving birth at sixteen, Deja's mom was understandably upset, and she had a hard time bonding with her daughter, we learn Shauna's grandmother was the one always there to make sure Deja was alright until she died right in front of a very young Deja. And so we move to loss, also portrayed with parallels.
With Shauna lost and wondering what to do without her rock, Deja held her up the best way she knew how, imitating Gigi, and so we see the beginning of a pattern for them up until the day Deja met Linda for the first time. She was trying to make dinner for her mom on her birthday and cut herself pretty badly, she called her mom but there was no answer, so she went to the emergency room by herself and this made the hospital contact social services (Linda). It turned out Shauna wasn't a work, she'd gone out and her phone had died, which didn't look so great, Shauna being boy-crazy is a recurring theme in their relationship.
Deja ended up at a foster home with a girl named Raven, but the guy was beating her until Deja told Linda and she got them out, but Raven told her that wasn't the worst place she'd been in and she gives her some advice, amongst which is to hold on tight to the first bed she finds where she feels safe. After some time, Deja finally gets back to her mom, but once again Shauna is in a relationship with a guy that's no good for them, Alonzo, he's the owner of the gun Shauna got arrested for. Once she gets out of jail and gets Deja back, Shauna is determined to get it right, but we all know how that turned out, we learn Shauna spent the money Randall gave Deja on paying her boyfriend's bail and that's why they got evicted. Thankfully this is where Randall and Beth step in, and thankfully Shauna is not too proud to let them help.
They have a very nice and funny night, they play games and watch TV, and we see Shauna's face, watching her kid carefree and happy for once. When they're all getting ready for bed, Beth and Shauna get to talking, Shauna explains how she got there and tells her it' the first time she's seen her daughter being a kid, she confesses she always told her baby girl she didn't know what she'd do without her and realizes it's too heavy of a burden for a little girl. Upstairs Randall and Deja have a heart to heart, and she confesses she's exhausted, he just hugs her and when he goes back down he sees Shauna ready to leave. It is heartbreaking that she looks like she's leaving without saying goodbye, but it's probably for the best, otherwise, she puts her daughter in the position of having to try and leave with her, since she can't really shake the way their relationship works that easily,
This last episode was filled with parallels of everyone's life, and showing the exact charm we fell in love with from the Pilot. One of the best things This is Us has is the ability to tell one person's life's story in snapshots, little scenes that show you everything you need to know, and you get the full depth of one well-rounded character in just one hour. This is what they managed to do with Deja's character, and even Shauna's. I have to admit in the beginning I wasn't the biggest fan of either of them, but this episode did wonders for my understanding of them, their relationship dynamics, and it made me okay with Deja staying, I don't like the idea that Shauna coming back could become a regular thing so I hope it's for good now, or at least until Deja is a few years older.
"Such is life"
What did you think of these episodes? Which kind of trademark This Is Us episode is your favorite? I look forward to your comments and I leave you with the favorite-scene polls.
