This is Us

I love this show. Anyone else watching? I finally got caught up on last week which was a beautifully edited show. The sequence with Goodnight Moon was brilliant and would speak to any parent.

I'm not watching it yet, but with all the praise it's been getting, I'll marathon it one of these evenings. Brdmom, if you had to compare it to another older show, what would you compare it to?

I love this show. It's deeply emotional but somehow the characters mostly stay true and the stories themselves are mostly solid.

I really liked the episode brdmom referenced. It was a direction the show wanted to follow more than felt obligated to follow. The ending bugged me a little because there was another solution but from a dramatic pov I understood it.

What show is it like? Any family drama I guess but this one pulls out all the stops. I'm watching it on Hulu.

Zaphod wrote:

I'm not watching it yet, but with all the praise it's been getting, I'll marathon it one of these evenings. Brdmom, if you had to compare it to another older show, what would you compare it to?

Z - try to watch the pilot, in particular, knowing as little about the show as possible. It was so powerful when I saw it the first time.

I'm not sure what it's like - it's a family show like Family or Parenthood (which I never watched...), but it incorporates flashbacks and surprises in a way that is a little reminiscent of LOST (but not in the annoying ways ) - there are some big questions, but they get answered eventually.

It has something for everybody who has ever been part of a family - and it will make you cry or at least feel moved.

It's just good. It's one of the few shows I watch that has the "No talking during the show" rule. LOST was like that too.

The one question I have (this is a little tiny bit spoilerish) is why in Randall and Beth's apparently big house is there no guest room?? Surely that house has at least four bedrooms, and I'd think it might even have five. Just something I've wondered about since the first season.

Also a little tiny bit spoilerish, but don't Randall and Beth have that apartment building? There may be no room in that inn, but you'd think they'd mention it. My guess is that after that night Randall and Beth were going to try to work something out somehow anyway. But...

There might be room at the apartment building, but there are also people living there! I don't know if Shauna can turn things around for herself.

I think Shauna, from her pov, had a moment of clarity. Of course Deja smiling more with the girls and with Randall and Beth might have solidified an already evolving decision. Dramatically, it all makes sense. But the show conveniently skips over resources. I think Randall and Beth would have offered or arranged for something, but maybe Shauna preempted all that.

davidalan wrote:

I love this show. It's deeply emotional but somehow the characters mostly stay true and the stories themselves are mostly solid.

I really liked the episode brdmom referenced. It was a direction the show wanted to follow more than felt obligated to follow. The ending bugged me a little because there was another solution but from a dramatic pov I understood it.

What show is it like? Any family drama I guess but this one pulls out all the stops. I'm watching it on Hulu.

I mostly agree with this. Dunno about the 'pulling all the stops', tho. I'd say that this show is kinda on level with Parenthood in it's better days, but occasionally plays it safe/pulls punches too. I've heard some say that it's the 'best family show ever' (er whatever). Far fewer even said that about Parenthood. For me they both pale in comparison to the inimitable Once & Again. While season two seems to be finishing strong, I think that season one was better overall.

davidalan wrote:

I think Shauna, from her pov, had a moment of clarity. Of course Deja smiling more with the girls and with Randall and Beth might have solidified an already evolving decision. Dramatically, it all makes sense. But the show conveniently skips over resources. I think Randall and Beth would have offered or arranged for something, but maybe Shauna preempted all that.

Remember how Randall offered Deja an account with a monthly payment and she said her mom would never accept that? I think Shauna, like many people, has an aversion to accepting "charity". Also, she's also made it clear that she puts her boyfriend above her daughter. She used money to pay the rent to bail out that deadbeat. Who leaves their daughter alone with all those strange men? That scene made me really worried, but I'm glad it wasokay.

I agree brdmom. I forgot that Shauna felt this impulse to bail out her loser boyfriend. When there's a kid, the kid comes first. No exceptions. At least in my I've never been a father experience!

I wanna try this show, but I so do not need something so heavy it's going to eff my emotions more than they already are (I am in a stupid weird place now, long story, nobody needs to hear it, i will figure it out.) I think it sounds great and look forward to watching it, but need to stick to stupid lighter watching stuff.

This is one of my favorite shows right now. The acting is great, the stories are great, the editing and directing are very well done.

Just watched the season finale. A multi kleenex box episode, for sure! It was so good. And new complexities are introduced.

I didn't realize it was the finale. It was a good place to end. Everyone at various stages of life and resolution.

davidalan - did you have any favorite parts? I cried at the scene with Kate and her mom while she's getting dressed.
I'm not sure "Worst Case Scenario" would make me feel better, but maybe I should try it with my husband because he'd be really good at it. I loved when Randall said to Kevin something like "You are too good at this."
Dan Lauria looks really old. I loved Wonder Years when it was in its first few seasons.
I know some people will be mad at Deja, but I am so filled with sympathy for her. She must be devastated that her mother gave her up after all Deja had done for her. She must feel so betrayed and rejected. No wonder she is so angry. I think she also must have feelings of inadequacy - What did I do? I must have done something wrong. Okay, I'll do something really bad to prove how awful I am since even my own mother doesn't want me.
Somebody, please, get her a really good therapist who can support her.

And that's all I have off the top of my head.

hmmmm

I did enjoy that moment when Kate and Rebecca spoke. I think Kate through her episodic journey had major revelations.

The Worst Case Scenario didn't bother me as much as it made me chuckle at all as a neurotic defense mechanism.

I think Deja was who I meant by various stages of life and resolution. I mean look at how long it took for Kate and Kevin and Randall and even Rebecca to reach some sort of place where clarity can even happen. The destruction of Randall's car was of course symbolic but in so many ways. Against Randall himself and his success. And a black man who was raised by a white family. Against a successful black family. Against a successful black family who have the resources to "lower" themselves to help others, but even more than that, that family's success allowed the opportunity for Deja's mother to leave Deja at their house. Of course, in terms of Deja's mother, they both ended up living in a car because of Shauna's own decisions and there was nothing that Deja could really do about that. Also the gun that started all the problems was stashed in the car. Also it was interesting that the bat was the weapon of choice because that in a different circumstance could have been young Kevin's own weapon of choice. As for Randall's and Rebecca's response, goodness I just don't know what that'll be. There's a difference between yelling and bashing a family symbol with a baseball bat. I now recall the genesis of the bat: that Deja favored Randall. That freaked Deja out. Her identity totally disappears. Deja's journey will be interesting.

One part of the show I liked very much was the bouncing through time. We see some elements in the future. Toby's crisis and Kate's helping him and then the implication that Toby himself for his own reasons is susceptible to depression.

I also liked Kate's dreamy visions which I thought at first was just a directorial presentation of an alternative reality: if Jack had lived. It was sweet and mysterious.

I also liked Beth's cousin (?). I liked that she walked right up to Kevin and basically made a move.

Woohoo!!!

Season three premieres tomorrow!! Set your DVR!! Get your kleenex ready.

The Pearsons are back!!! I love them all. I loved this episode.
However, a semi-nitpicking detail but it relates to such an important plot point that I'm disappointed with the writers. Having gone down the IVF road, I am quite sure Toby's sperm count would not have mattered because they would have done ICSI with them (I think it's pretty much standard with all IVf now) which means they don't wait around for a sperm to meet up with the egg - they grab one and inject it right into the egg, so as long as there are a few sperm, fertilization can happen.
However, it was still a great episode. Yeah for Deja.

Another thought about last night - I was surprised when it turned out that Beth was concerned about her cousin and Kevin being together not because Kevin would hurt her cousin but because she didn't want Kevin to get hurt! I love Beth.

I love Beth too. That was an unexpected twist.

I know zero about IVF. Could Toby's sperm count be so low that a good one is hard to find?


I wonder who Randall and adult Tess have been trying to visit over the past two episodes. Looks good for it being Kate but I'm not so sure about that. Maybe it's Rebecca with Alzheimers. Or anyone. Too many choices.


I liked the conversation between Kevin and the two girls on the stairs.


I liked that Deja actually did become like Randall and confront her father but in a different way.


Weirdly, I also liked the Franco Harris motif. In the beginning, I wondered what that was about. And then, well...


So Rebecca and Jack didn't automatically connect fully right away. Makes sense. But it was my least favorite part of the episode. Maybe because we see Randall and Tess jump in years that the episode felt almost too stretched out. This will all lead to Jack winning Rebecca over somehow. Maybe her current beau will be a douchebag.

I'll be back as soon as I can throw away these wet Kleenex.

In the beginning of the episode, I thought, with the way they set it up, that the new character was gonna be Deja's dad. Then it ended up being  frakkin' Franco Harris! I was like WTF?!  Then they ended up tying that pretty seamlessly into the shows' narrative. Well done.  As a Steeler fan, who was actually round for the Steel Curtain era, I was especially giddy at the inclusion. Overall a pretty solid premiere. Still intrigued at who the frak they're all going to visit at the end. However, I'm assuming that that particular reveal won't happen till at least the S3 finale, if not later.... Which will (of course)  probably send the series mythos into total disarray.  

Wow - kinda surprised there's not more posting on this show. Very strong episode. Finally get to see Jack's brother Nick. Plus get a bunch of Jack's family history and his time in Nam.

Thought the Thanksgiving episode was excellent. Huge twist at the end of the Fall finale. Anyone else still watching?

I'm still watching. I liked the Thanksgiving episode, but I thought the Fall finale was weak. I feel like the whole Randall running for city council was a stupid storyline. No one is allowed to run for a city office if they don't live in the city, and owning a building does not count as residency! There was plenty of meat in the Deja storyline around trauma/adoption/building a family that they could have explored. I feel like Beth's character has been completely short-changed. There is no way her character would have broken down in an interview the way she did. And have they completely forgotten about Randall's breakdown? That whole family should all be in therapy - I mean that not in a snarky way but in a realistic way - that's how a family like that would be handling things. I hope the second half of the season is better.

I think they're overplaying Randall's obsessive nature. Yes he'll bounce to the latest cause but he'll also bounce back more effectively than he's been doing here (in terms of writing). The political campaign for example was a total mess. I didn't believe a moment of it. As for Beth I think the writers felt a need to fulfill William's prophesy of Beth not standing in the background; however, since the writers have basically pushed her to the background, I guess we're stuck with that. The only believable crisis (if that's even the word) was Tess coming out. That felt more real. And I like that she came out to Kate first.


As for other story lines, I liked the modern Vietnam story more than the sixties one. It just worked better. Plus I liked the one dude getting the shirtless Manny pic for his sister. His sister? Yeah sure. I wonder though if Jack didn't help his brother stage what I guess would be his death or disappearance or desertion. I'm reminded now of when Jack too teenage Randall to the Vietnam Memorial where I certainly thought Jack was honoring his brother's name. It was probably the one guy whose parents Jack visited in California. Now that was a great scene, Jack and the parents.


The one heartbreaking scene which comes to mind now is where Randall and Kevin double date for the prom and the one girl's father can't accept Randall as the date and walks away. Even Kevin is horrified by the father's response.


What the show needs to be careful about is falling into the wall to wall crisis model. Joy and success are good counterbalances to crisis and grief. Plus people actually experience them.

This week's episode:

I liked parts of it more than the whole thing. I liked Beth and Randall conversations. The political campaign still annoyed me. But I liked the way it ended and how the episode ended. Also I liked Jack and young Randall together in DC. More hinted at details there. But the essential truth is conveniently stumbled on after Kevin and Zoe figure things out with them. I like Kevin an Zoe together. I just didn't care for this episode's drama. Although I did like the line: I carry pepper spray. The end of the Kate and Toby story was better than the journey.

I found this episode disappointing. I wish someone had said way back when "Randall can't run for city council if he doesn't live in the city. Maybe we should have them move to Philadelphia." That would have been an interesting storyline. I just find that storyline really annoying because of its implausibility. I'm liking the Kevin Zoe storyline, but when did Kevin turn into such a good guy? He was pretty questionable when he was with Sophie. Is it just because he's sober? And while there was a story to tell about Kate selling the action figures, that also didn't ring true. Don't most people write KEEP on the box of stuff they don't want sold? or SAVE. No one writes DNS thinking that someone will know that means Do Not Sell.
I hope things improve for the rest of this season.

Yes, basically, things are being skewed to fit with past or future plot elements more than are ringing true. What rings true on the show works best. I could watch Jack and young Randall in DC and just listen to them talk. The show also needs to get away from panic mode character discussions. Kate and Toby, Kevin and Zoe. Maybe Beth and Randall too, but those characters are just too solid to wind up talking as though they're in a perpetual therapy session. My advice: have more dinners and do other more normal human things and reduce the quantity of hyperdrama. Or spend more time with Randall, Kevin, and Kate in their late teens/early twenties because that's the character development that I want to see.

Well here was a very solid episode. Quite moving as well.

Some memories are remembered with greater clarity. And some secrets are told but are all too easily replaced by others.

I just got caught up. That was a fine episode. How family remember events differently is always interesting - it's true in every family. I'm a little concerned that the writers are going to have to keep manufacturing conflicts.
Do we think Kevin only just started drinking again? It seems weird that he would decide to drink on the spur of the moment just because a bottle is in front of him. More likely, he's been drinking on the qt for a while.

I think Kevin has been tempted to drink earlier than at the trailer. Whether he has indulged or not is for me a toss up. But it is interesting that we see him drink where we might consider the lowest place or the end of the road for his uncle. If he has drunk earlier, the question is how much? Has he become drunk? I don't know. I think Kevin's expression in the car was a more important scene than his having drunk something. He actually looked, ironically, battle-fatigued. I kept waiting for him to say take me to rehab---or at least a meeting. But that moment in the car tells me how deep his substance abuse problem is and that in fact his therapist at the clinic who seemed to kick open a hornet's nest was in her own clinical way correct.


Oh I forgot to ask: do you think that Beth's story about her mother is true? I wonder two things. Either Zoe herself is also crashing and Beth is privately intervening. Or if Beth is doing something else secretly on the side. An affair? She doesn't seem the type. But something???

I think Kevin was once again coming up against feeling like he is a fraud - his mother was heaping praise on him while he knows he has fallen off the wagon and he feels like a failure. Believing you are living a lie is a terrible feeling.

Do we know much about Beth's mother? I'm not great at keeping everyone's backstories straight.

I agree with you about Kevin. He was doing so well---maybe. What he has is that universal Pearson quality of trying to fix the world and/or make everyone happy. And when that impossible premise fails, he fails.

I don't know anything about Beth's mom, which leads me to wonder if Beth isn't lying. For whatever reason.

I had to skip over the first three quarters of this episode over and over. it was a lethal combination of heavy handed and dull. The last conversation between Beth and her mother was actually well done and I sat at their table for that. And the spot where Bethany shortened her name to Beth and then bumped into Randall was delightful. And adult Beth and Randall in the car was good. The final statement would have been better if Beth's choices would have been left more to our imagination.

There were good moments in this episode.
Completely unrelated - I am having a flashback to some tv episode which I feel like was This is Us, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't -
A female character, probably a mom, returns to audition for a dance role in theater but she's much older than all the other dancers. I can't remember if she works really hard and gets a part or she works really hard but gets told she isn't going to make it - I can visualize the scene, but I can't figure out what show it was. Any ideas?

No ideas right away. I'll give it some thought.

I am not loving this season. I feel that the writers have no idea where they are going, and they are recreating Beth and Randall into totally new characters, and they are also having them behave in ways no real couple would. Beth and Randall would have talked about the reality of him being on the road for three hours a day *before* he ran for councilman. And maybe they would have discussed her new job... the whole things feels completely contrived as a way of having a conflict that needs to be resolved.

My problem with Randall and his politics far from home is that the scenes have never been convincing. That's where the writing was especially weak. However, I think the writers are now and have been paving the way for a Beth and Randall divorce or a possible divorce or a red herring divorce. And even though i hated most of the political scenes, I think however that Randall's impulsive obsession to this and to everything has been patterned and realistic (for his character) and Beth's so far supportive responses have also been realistic (for her character). That Randall isn't considering Beth's feelings happens in marriages. That Beth finally is beginning to declare her opposition also happens. I wish she was more vocal however. Like dude you're full of shit. But I think part of their dynamic has been for Randall to be mercurial and wonderful and for Beth to admire him because she was raised to put herself second. I think the point is they have a great marriage on the surface but below the surface they're actually pre-modern: the man first; the woman second. Go back to Beth and William's conversation: William says Don't put yourself on the back burner. Well, it's time for Beth to be on the front burner. So I guess I'm not as bothered by their characters this season. I see the veneer as finally cracking. Frankly anything short of divorce or separation wouldn't make sense.


My problem is more Kate and Toby who say the same things to each other over and over. They need to fast forward and have that baby already.


Kevin's relapse is interesting. Now is the time for AA which may provide an interesting dynamic.

Rebecca's grieving was okay. I wish though there was more of her alone or her with the kids.

Also what I wish was way more time with the kids finishing high school. Theirs is an interesting character dynamic but all the insanity of course manifests itself when they're adults so the writers think we need to hurry up and get there.

Not sure about this episode. I think the writers were trying to make some point that might have worked better in a Sartre play. The actors were fine. I think it was the point of view. I think of the happy grandma who wandered in and disturbed all the worry and misery. What about the show from her and other outsiders point of view? The nurse for instance. But she must have seen everything. I would think a series of people wandering in and abruptly leaving and then telling someone about these wackos. And then have someone from the group overhear them? Anyway when I said that the baby should hurry up I certainly didn't mean this! I liked the one line from Zoe about the water bottle. And then I thought the reason why you've always run is because you had sense! But I still think it'll be Beth who will run. You can't have a conversation with Randall. You have to act.

This week's episode was I think a carry over from last week's with the characters radiating out of the waiting mostly into the future but for Rebecca into the past.

It seems that the episode was dividing the characters and by that I mean parents or potential parents into stages. Kate and Toby of course have a newborn and you think of Rebecca and Jack and their triplets however defined. You have a parallel of Randall and Beth with their girls and then Rebecca and Jack with their kids at the dance. You have Kevin and Zoe discussing children and Zoe finally saying (rightly I think not only because of herself but because Kevin is seriously just grasping at straws meaning at some fantasy ideal as a coping strategy to rescue him from a more valid one day at a time approach to his addiction) that kids are not in her future. You wonder at what point Zoe isn't going to leave. I figure it'll be some self-sabotage Kevin does that'll drive her away. Also though there's this plot element we can't walk around that Beth is going to become the new walkaway Zoe. But Beth's outrage for me is simply long overdue. Randall is remembering that time in his life when his parents were solidly together and had rather for them traditional roles, meaning that the mother was always there and father was there when he could be. If Randall is going to rely on that paradigm for his marriage, he's in trouble. But more importantly if I were Beth, I would be telling Randall that he is on his own in terms of his political life. And as a fan, I wish the political life would just vanish because it's so fake that it's a cringe-worthy distraction. But I think there's no turning back in terms of Beth. If the show is going to be honest.

One of the interesting aspects of the show is we don't see modern Rebecca after the waiting room Sartre play. One aspect of that is that the theme of the episode didn't involve adult children. But also I think Rebecca is ill in some degenerative way and her "disappearance" from the theme of the episode is almost as telling as who was covered.

But did I like this episode? I feel almost the same way as I did last week. I identified the themes of both episodes more than I felt them. Where I felt things the most this episode was with Kate and Toby because their baby is real and not just a possibility in progress and with Rebecca and Jack taking their kids to the dance. The rest---sure. The couples counselor moment was interesting.

There is so much about this episode that I just found irritating - the Beth Randall situation is so implausible. If my husband had an event he asked me to make, and my new colleagues wanted me to come join them for a casual after work event, I would say (like a normal person), "Oh, I would love so much to join you all. Unfortunately I have to schlep to a work event for my husband. Can I join you the next time?" And a normal family would either move to Philadelphia or hire a sitter for the nights Beth is out. And someone else pointed out that the girls should be doing a whole lot more work around the house - helping with the dishes, getting their own snacks, etc.
I did find the scene between Toby and the other guy in the NICU waiting room totally believable. It is so hard when your baby is in the hospital. My younger son had heart surgery right after he was born, and he was in hospital for almost a month. I found Kate and Toby's interactions really touching.
Kevin - I don't trust you at all. Your intentions are good, but you have a lifetime of getting what you want. And I'm not sure you can change at this point...but it was a lovely gesture to send Sarah Billy Joel tickets.
I didn't really like the flashback either - as my kids would say, Rebecca was totally cringy about the first dance. And in real life the Pearson kids would have been totally mortified by their parents being there and their mother being so effusive.
Geez - I am turning into such a negative Nellie!! sorry!

No don't worry about saying what you don't like about an episode or the show. If you and I are voicing negative responses then other people are too. And maybe the show will ultimately correct itself. But this season is of course lost to any change because all the episodes are ready to air.

The writing this year has certainly been uneven. THEMES have overtaken natural moments.

Jack and Rebecca at the dance didn't bother me but then again I'm not a parent who would hear from their kids Oh No Don't Ever Do That! I think that Jack and Rebecca were reliving something of their lost non-parental youth and that theme of people trying to reclaim what they remember ideally is a common small-letter theme (haha) that does very well on this show. It's a universal quick or longterm obsession for people who reach a certain age. Their adult kids though have this pattern of trying to reclaim the past but with modern players and that never ends well.

I also found the scenes with Kate and Toby and the baby and people (after the crazy family left) some of the best moments of the episode. The scene had focus and gravity and didn't seem frivolous or contrived. I can't imagine what your family went through. Having children must be rough. Joyous but rough.

again i found this episode frustrating. but more from a construction viewpoint. i liked the bookending of beth and randall arguing. and i liked young randall being all uptight and trapped in this need for perfection. but i hated the switch from the young actors/characters to a fake-younger version of the current beth and randall. i think this episode style was a deep mistake.

You guys see the finale? Kinda figured that they were all there to see Rebecca (mom). They tried to cleverly disguise it as possibly being Kate, but the law of averages was against it. I will say they red herringed the heck outta Randall & Beth being divorced. Was glad, and a little miffed at myself for missing that. Well played writers, well played.  However, I agree with david that the political & marriage strife story line seemed more, or less contrived, and kinda annoying.  

The finale was definitely one of the highlights of the season. I'm glad Randall and Beth FINALLY decided that moving to Philadelphia was a good idea. I loved Deja taking Randall somewhere to give him "the speech". I think the writers missed a big opportunity by not exploring Deja's experience with the family more. Did she ever get in touch with her mom? Wasn't that a plot point earlier this year?

I'm a little shocked that someone with as many significant breakdowns as Randall has had was never in therapy and that he Beth never did couples therapy. Also, Beth had her own role to play in that marriage - being a control freak with the baby - always a bad idea. Maybe if she had believed someone else could have picked up the slack, it could have happened. Beth and Randall think they are the only ones who are capable of doing what they think needs to be done.

I'm glad baby Jack goes home and grows up. I don't think they'd kill off Kate. That would be bad. And this isn't Game of Thrones.

yes a great episode. glad to have gotten here. but i hated the traffic detours.

rebecca just looks older. nicky's there. miguel? i bet he's deceased.

so are older kate and toby divorced? seems like it.

where's older kevin? at an AA meeting? apparently he married or had a kid on his own. the new little kevin reminds me of modern kids. beelining to the bedroom electronics.

i especially liked deja's street debate. it's tough to make a character than young wise without making the experience artificial.

and i liked tess's and kevin's chat. a good way to look at life. maybe the philadelphia move will be good for tess. the family can always live in the dance studio. however the move to philadelphia means we are trapped by city govt scenes. yuck.

let's hope next season improves by being more solid and focused.

Ive watched the first four episodes of this season. I liked the first episode best because of the new people brought in. My favorite of the new people were Jack and Lucy because they were through Jack's reaching adulthood anyway (I hope to see Lucy's because I like her just as much) transcended outside of the remaining repetitive behaviors of the adult Kevin Kate and Randall. In the first episode I especially liked the long timeline between Rebecca and Jack's early days and then Jack and Lucy starting out as well---although for them there is some forward time movement and personal success. Meantime I wish I could like the trials of Cassidy Sharp more than I do but I think the role is a little trapped inside some sort of war is always bad socio-political statement and even worse she is being overshadowed by Kevin Pearson Mania. Things might have gone better if we didn't get all the war horror all at once either. Maybe some even more fragmented or mysterious moments there would have worked. Even so I didn't realize who the actress was until I looked her up. Different from OUAT definitely. As for Malik and family and the Randall Pearson crowd I guess it's all okay if a bit predictable. I don't hate it or anything. It's just okay. Kate and Toby are kind of interesting in their efforts to strengthen Jack's other senses. But since we already know the outcome I think another approach in telling this story might have been better. In the end, I'd prefer for the Jack and Lucy story because they bring a certain freshness to the table and leave a lot of same character baggage and repetition behind.

Past episode dull and pointless. A lot of fastforwarding. The closest story of interest was between young Randall and his same-ethnicity teacher. Didn't really need Jack in those scenes. The show really needs more of episode 1 and next generation Jack and Lucy. Don't need all this angsty pain all over the generations.