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This is Us 2×18 “The Wedding”

Big Three Moments of the Week 

And that’s a wrap on season two — congratulations to This is Us for successfully being one of the very few shows that hasn’t fallen into the season two curse (aka the terrible twos of a TV show.) It’s been a fantastic adventure, dear readers, and we’ve reached the end of a wondrous chapter celebrating with a wedding. Who doesn’t love crying through a union and a cliffhanger that we’ll have to wait months for? No part of me is okay, all of me is shook, and my eyes hurt from crying. How are you guys feeling?

However, on a serious note, I appreciated the series bringing us back to its core theme, which is the power of our choices — the strength that’s found in making the hard decisions in life. The serenity that’s found in choosing to let go of what’s burdening us and choosing to walk down the hard paths for it’ll lead us towards a better victory in life. “The Wedding” took everything we knew about This is Us and moved us towards a journey into the future, a journey that’s a clear result of the choices people have made, and a clear portrayal of just how vital human connections are.

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This is Us 2×17 “This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life”

Big Three Moments of the Week

This is Us knows how to make its viewers care, and I care a lot about Deja — I care about her well being, and I even care about her mother’s. And it was fascinating to me to have an episode that wasn’t focused on the Pearsons, but somehow tied them to the story intricately. “This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life” was the profound reminder of just how dark this world can be in foster homes, and where a great one is found, it must be held onto.

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This is Us 2×16 “Vegas Baby”

Big Three Moments of the Week

It’s wedding season on This is Us and the nerds are headed to Vegas. But instead of something in Hangover fashion, we’ve got confrontations, struggles, and a whole lot of heart to hearts. And if a tear wasn’t shed, would it still be This is Us — would it … would it? Probably not — let’s be real here. “Vegas Baby” was an interesting choice after the three part episodes dedicated to Jack’s death, but allowing us to see these sides of the characters made for intriguing episodes knowing how each of them distinctly deal with grief.

That said, we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming of “Big Three Moments of the Week” — moments that all heighten the fact that human beings should never ever make assumptions and communication is the key to any successful relationship.

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This is Us 2×14 “Super Bowl Sunday” and 2×15 “The Car”

To Jack Pearson | Part II and III

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Jack Pearson is a superhero — and sometimes, the superhero dies in the end, and though he is gone, the superhero’s story lives on, the superhero’s legacy paves the road for what’ll lie ahead. The people the superhero leaves behind learn of the fact that in being themselves, they played a vast role in giving him the powers he’s had. And that’s not to undermine the superhero, but rather, it’s intended to highlight a kind of greatness, which showcases that all-consuming, immaculate adoration has great power to inspire human beings to be the very best versions of themselves. Jack Pearson is in all of them — because they are him. They are the reason he’s chosen to lead the kind of heroic life, where unbeknownst to him, to everyone, he’s consistently done everything in his power to protect those whose love tirelessly fueled him. Therefore, when a hero like that leaves this world, all that remains is strength, perseverance, and profoundly comforting wistfulness.

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This is Us 2×13 “That’ll Be the Day”

To Jack Pearson | Part I

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source: IMDB.com

We’re always told that life is precious — a gift, in fact. We’re told to live each moment as though it’s our last because we could never be certain of what tomorrow will bring, or if it’ll even come at all. But as human beings, for the most part, we’re incapable of grasping this to a full degree. We knew Jack Pearson’s life was tragically cut short, and we knew that each of the kids harbored their trauma differently, but what we didn’t know is that it occurred at a time where teenage phases get the best of us. I’m no doctor or psychologist, so the amount of research I could do on the matter wouldn’t be qualified coming from someone with an English degree. . .but we all go through a certain phase when we’re younger where we prefer to spend our time with our friends or our significant others at the time. And the tragedy is that there’s nothing malicious about the intention, but when something as horrifying as this fire occurs, everything changes — guilt takes over.

And that’s the thing about life, every moment matters whether we’re able to get another or not. It’s authentication of the fact that while there’s a great number of things we cannot control in this world, we can control how we treat one another. We can control how much time we spend with a person. We can control how long we go without apologizing or atoning for our mistakes. We can control how often we tell people we love them.

These next two episodes are special ones, and as you’ll notice, I’ll be branching out to discuss the episodes in their entirety as opposed to choosing just three moments. We’ll resume our usual structure for episode 15.

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This is Us 2×12 “Clooney”

Big Three Moments of the Week

Sometimes, I hate this show. I really do. And by that I mean, I don’t actually hate it. However, it frustrates me. It makes me want to claw my eyes out and then two seconds later it makes me want to cry, but basically, the emotional rollercoaster always ends up being something I want to talk about, thereby, here we are. “Clooney” was something alright, and I believe, for the most part, it served as the perfect reminder of the fact that as human beings, we need to ask questions — as opposed to assuming, asking the right questions generally makes life bearable and better.

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This is Us 2×11 “The Fifth Wheel”

Big Three Moments of the Week

Welcome back to the first review of the year, and I hope 2018 is treating you all beautifully so far. I debated changing up the structure for this review because I had an enormous issue with this episode that I wanted to single out, but for whatever reason, I decided against it. However, here’s the thing, in my honest opinion, “The Fifth Wheel” could have been perfect — it could have been one of the best episodes in not only This is Us history, but in the general TV verse. And that was far from the case — perhaps, I’m wrong in my analogy, perhaps, I’m right, but I’ve never once felt this uncomfortable watching a therapy session before. On the bright side, the idea, or more so the fact that we all view life through a different set of glasses could not be more true, and I appreciated the series for reminding us of this.

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This is Us 2×10 “Number Three”

Big Three Moments of the Week

It is the age-old fact that every choice we make changes the course of our lives. There’s a reason we shouldn’t challenge the “what ifs” and simultaneously, a reason why we always will. Whether we understand the concept that things happen for a reason or not, we’ll continue questioning it until there’s a tangible answer in front of us. An answer, we may never even get in the way we want. There’s not a single decision that doesn’t change something – whether a drastic change or a small, often unnoticeable one. And choices are especially pivotal in the Pearson family. “Number Three” concluded the emotional trilogy in a way so heart shattering, it’s left me, and Randall with nothing to say. A stammering attempt to break down the questions into seemingly tangible answers. And that’s perhaps the most interesting thing about this life, some emotions, some events are so hard to describe you rummage through every corridor within your brain trying to find the perfect description. Sometimes, in the midst of those attempts, a genius motto is born, other times, Pac-Man – something simple, something bizarre, but nevertheless, oddly comforting.
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This is Us 2×09 “Number Two”

Big Three Moments of the Week

There are moments in every human beings life when nothing they’ve done could’ve changed the outcome of their situations. And it is those very moments that define how human beings move forward in the face of tragedies. The darkest events in our lives are directly correlated with our growth process and the approaches we take in keeping our inner peace. While “Number One” dealt with the ramifications of harboring emotions for too long, “Number Two” allowed us to see that direct confrontation is the key to not only freeing the demons within ourselves, but improving the relationships we have with other people while simultaneously helping them heal as well.

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This is Us 2×08 “Number One”

Big Three Moments of the Week

There will come a time in every human being’s life where they will need the guidance of another. Those moments come differently to all, in some scenarios, it happens gradually without any sort of spiral. In others, it’s darker, bleaker, lonelier, and when the spiral comes, help isn’t always around. And while that moment of loneliness may be man’s most vulnerable time, it’s also his bravest. The choice to admit that there’s pain residing within a person awakens the kind of courage that showcases the magnitude of their heart. If they’re still aware of their emotions, then they haven’t shut their heart off to the world — they haven’t accepted the cold, overwhelming darkness that leads to far more treacherous roads. This trilogy surrounding the kids starting with Kevin is an interesting touch to the series, which is making it far more exciting than the usual flashback/present day episodes. I for one, am definitely here for this mini trilogy.

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