“No one person can be my MVP.” – This Is Us Recap – Six Thanksgivings

This Is Us Season 3, Episode 8
“Six Thanksgivings”
Posted by Shannon

Thanksgiving is the perfect Pearson holiday. It’s got just the right dash of drama that comes with families of all sorts coming together and making traditions, without the pressure or religious implications of the end of year holidays. It’s just family, in whatever form that takes; found, blood, or otherwise. Last year, the Thanksgiving episode was the culmination of the Big Three trilogy (still one of my favorite things the show has ever done) and it centered on Randall. He’s got the emotional last word this year, too, and looking back, that episode touched on so many things that are mirrored this week; Jack spoke about serving in Vietnam for the first time, Randall decided to apply to Howard, William got an impactful flashback, and Tess stole a scene. The Pearsons sprawl over six Thanksgiving vignettes this year, touching on all those moments and more.

Jack and Rebecca

 
 
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It’s the last Thanksgiving before the Big Three graduate high school, and Rebecca and Jack opt for a quieter holiday at home, no extended family allowed. (And considering what we know about the extended Pearson family, that seems like a mercy in general.) Miguel’s the exception to the rule; he’s in the midst of his divorce from Shelley, and since she’s heading to Connecticut with the kids, he’d be alone for the holiday without the Pearsons coming in for a rescue. The emotional politics are rife from the get-go; Rebecca and Jack don’t want to take sides, but Rebecca is still close with Shelley at this point, while Jack’s loyalties lie with Miguel, so a little tension is only natural. I’m sure Miguel didn’t want to be alone for the holiday, and it’s completely in character for him to join in with Jack and Rebecca, but I was immediately worried about him in this delicate emotional state, surrounded by an idyllic family scene.

Sure enough, he comes in hot, fighting on the phone with Shelley while the Pearsons practically act out a Norman Rockwell painting. (Also, end the call BEFORE you walk in the house, maybe?) The Pearsons are suffocatingly happy this holiday, and Miguel can’t make it through dinner without having to excuse himself. To his credit, Jack does exactly what he should do in this scene. He’s honest with Miguel about his flaws, admitting that he wasn’t as engaged as a father as he should have been, but also speaks to the dedication he saw in Miguel as he fought his way through upper management. I’m so glad we got this scene, because the Miguel we met all the way back in season one who couldn’t imagine why Jack didn’t want to spend his days off golfing has seemed so far away – but as we connect to Miguel’s family, it’s important to remember that context. And the flip side of it is huge, too – Miguel was a Puerto Rican kid who never went to business school. He had everything working against him. But he thought every step of his career through, and pushed, and succeeded. There’s no good guy and no bad guy in this. It’s not a cut and dry life.

Speaking of shades of grey, Randall is hard at work on his college essay, and he’s pulled his whole family into the writing process. The prompt, to discuss the person who most impacted your life, is flawed by his standards. Despite everyone pushing him into it, Randall refuses to take the easy way out and name the fireman who brought him to the hospital. Look, this is exactly the kind of corny, beautiful content that I LIVE for. I love this bookend in every single way, and the old Writing Center tutor in me practically stood and applauded for his final draft. As Jack says – you’re in, son.

Jack and Nicky

For fear of sounding like a broken record, every single extended sequence in Vietnam just leaves me feeling conflicted, confused, and frankly ill-equipped. This sequence is no different. Jack has had Nicky in his care for all of a week. Nicky was, in fact, on something when Jack first found him. With whatever it was out of his system, Nicky has fallen into a dejected, hardened, traumatized reality. He doesn’t give a shit that a local boy cut his foot on the fence, doesn’t want to join in the Thanksgiving meal. Jack doesn’t seem to know what to do with his new baby brother and honestly, same. This is just so clearly not the kid we met previously. But of course he’s not – he’s been staffed as a medic. (Jesus, this just keeps getting worse.) To say Nicky has seen some shit doesn’t even come close. Which is not to say Jack hasn’t seen some shit – but Nicky got thrown into the deep end and he’s come out a different man. He flat-out refuses to treat the little boy’s cut and infected foot, even when Jack makes it an order.

Jack isn’t a changed man. Not yet, at least, and maybe not ever in the way Nicky is. Jack is still going to make a plate of leftovers for the family that hasn’t caught any fish lately, and mime his way into the cottage to clean the infection and very likely save the kid’s life. He’s still going to help carry buckets of water (getting his photo taken along the way – the very photo that will send Kevin on his trip decades later), and earn his necklace as a gift of gratitude. But Nicky just isn’t that kid who couldn’t bear to kill a spider anymore. He’s seen a man killed for his kindness. He’s changed. And there’s no going back for him.

Rebecca and Miguel

Shelley and her husband are out of town, and Amber, Miguel’s daughter, has recently moved to Scarsdale, which means Miguel and Rebecca get to split their holiday with Miguel’s kids before joining the Pearsons for dessert. Miguel’s family has been a question mark for all three and a half seasons, and now that we’ve met them, I have to say I don’t think we were missing much. Miguel’s got a sense of dread about him from the beginning, but he puts on a brave face, trying to make a connection with his new godson and trying for some small talk about Amber’s job. Except he’s a year out of date, and Andy, his son, is ready to jump down his throat about any wrong move.

Amber seems fine enough, but Andy had me yelling “FUCK THIS GUY” every time he opened his mouth. He’s insufferable, and I would watch Rebecca go toe to toe against his attacks on Kevin’s movie career every damn day. She’s the personification of “kill them with kindness” the entire dinner, not reacting when Andy cuts her off and keeping her cool even when Andy ultimately goes for the jugular.

Okay so first, how does this GROWN ASS MAN think it’s okay to act like a child in a family dinner without consequences or pushback from the other adults he’s acting out against? And WHERE DOES HE GET OFF saying that Rebecca “stole” Miguel from Shelley when by every estimation, Shelley remarried YEARS before Rebecca and Miguel got together? It doesn’t even make sense. His argument is flawed and I hate him. Miguel finally gets to say everything he always wanted to say – and honestly, they’re things he probably should have said a long time ago. This very well may be the first step towards he and Amber reconnecting, and I’m pulling for them every step of the way. Andy, though, can stay the hell home.

Randall and Beth

Randall is deep in campaign mode and plans to spend his holiday trekking out to a soup kitchen with the entire Pearson family – not for a photo op, but to connect with the community. That latter part is Beth’s idea, and to say that Jae-won wasn’t thrilled about it is an understatement. In hindsight, it was a careless move for Randall to offer Beth a job without so much as a text to Jae-won. I get it – and I’m not saying hiring Beth was wrong – but Randall needed to at least keep up appearances with his newly hired campaign manager and go through the motions of consulting with Jae-won. But he didn’t, and now Randall’s campaign manager and field director are in a standoff when they really need to be a team. (“I’m aware of what a field director does, because I usually hire them” really says everything it needs to here.) Randall is a rookie politician and it shows. He’s put both Beth and Jae-won in a difficult position, and practically guaranteed that they’d work against each other.

Sure enough, they spend the entire day at odds, with Randall doing neither of them any favors. Every time Randall answered a question of strategy with the words “she’s my wife,” he did Beth a disservice and undercut Jae-won all at the same time. These two both have good ideas, and they deserve to work well together, but they need a leader who will see both of them for what they are. Beth’s got a point about Randall needing to connect with the community rather than go for a photo op – and indeed, this smaller church gives Randal the opportunity to really spend time with the constituents, hearing about their problems with no concerns that he’s just there for a picture. But Randall is still unknown, and he NEEDS that push of publicity. Jae-won’s compromise was a good one, and Randall refusing to budge was a bad move all around. (I audibly winced when he said “I don’t care if it’s a mistake, she’s my wife” – COME ON, MAN.)

I do love that we don’t get much in the way of resolution in this episode; it’s not a neat and tidy problem, and it’s not something Randall can just fix with a speech. Beth does call Randall out on his behavior, asking “how many times were you just trying to make me feel good because you thought your recently fired wife could use a win?” And Randall is starting to get the idea that he owes both Beth and Jae-won better than this. For now, though, they rush home after finally receiving a flood of texts from Tess which had been caught up in bad cell service until they walked outside.

William and Jesse

I know I say it every single time we get a William scene, but I miss him SO MUCH. Whenever I watch Ron Cephas Jones on screen in this role, I let out a deep breath, knowing we’ve got master at work. This sequence is no different; William plays piano at a meeting and makes conversation with Jesse for the first time. Jesse’s immediately entranced by William, and honestly, how could he NOT be. They have a gentle connection right off the bat. But honestly, even if they hadn’t, William would have done the exact same thing when he saw Jesse coming out of a liquor store a few days later. (“Technically cocaine is my problem, not sparkling rose.”) We’ve seen this in William’s character over and over and over; he’s quietly generous, insistent, and entirely kind – while also taking no shit. He KNOWS Jesse is spinning a tale when they get back to William’s for dinner and he won’t let it stand. Jesse told the same exact story at a meeting, of being a bond trader in London, using cocaine to manage his job and his complicated marriage, before moving to the states to be with his sister. William smells something off, perhaps because Jesse used the exact same phrases in meetings, or perhaps because he’s just better at reading people than I am, and he insists Jesse tell him the truth.

So he does. “I liked Manchester United, I loved cocaine,” Jesse begins, diving into his real story. This version’s got a lot less bond trading and a lot more honesty; the sister and the “complicated mismatch” of a marriage were true, at least. Holidays can be fraught for a multitude of reasons, and sure enough, Jesse is not one for Thanksgiving. (“Isn’t it to celebrate you for defeating us in your independence?”) William has been through this, and found a group of sober musicians to play with every year as they celebrate. And again – he’d have invited anyone to join him who needed a safe place to go. It’s just how William is. But his face when Jesse shows up – not alone, but with an unknown woman – gives his real feelings away. William lights up when Jesse walks in the door, and plays a perfect, quiet disappointment when he notices that Jesse’s not alone. Jesse doesn’t seem to notice, but corners William later in the night and assures him that she’s just a cousin. It’s a perfect William meet cute: quiet, chill, and jazzy. I can’t help but think of Jesse for this latest Thanksgiving, and hope that wherever he is, he’s listening to some music and finding some peace.

Kate, Toby, and Tess

 Kate and Toby are back on the East coast (honestly how many frequent flier miles are they racking up at this point) and holding the cooking side of things down at Randall and Beth’s house for Thanksgiving. Babysitting wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal, but with Tess not feeling well that morning and Toby assuring her concerned parents that “my comeback is about small victories,” they end up watching over the eldest whilst working their way through Randall’s color coded recipe binder. Toby’s feeling more himself, but the pressure of cooking for this particular holiday in this particular kitchen starts to get to him. Still, he’s pushing through and makes Tess a comfort plate – just in time to find her walking out of the bathroom, looking quizzically at boxes of tampons.

Kevin has had some good Uncle scenes (and some not-great Uncle scenes) but Kate had yet to have a real connection with either of her nieces. And damn, does this make up for it. Kate handles the practical questions for Tess off-camera, and is there for her to talk through her embarrassment of running into Toby. She shares a story about running into Andy – Miguel’s bratty kid from earlier in the episode, equally bratty as a teenage boy – the night she got her first period. (Side note – Kate plays it like a funny, cringe worthy story, but I LOVE that she just snapped at Andy when he tried to make her feel embarrassed. Teenage Kate takes no shit and adult Kate takes no shit and I love her for it.) Kate knows that Beth and Tess have a good relationship, and that her mom was her first call; but she also knows that sometimes, you need someone a little farther out of the immediate family circle to trust with more sensitive topics. So it was natural and lovely for her to invite Tess to talk to her about her first kiss and first boyfriend – or GIRLFRIEND.

Reader, I SCREAMED. And look at her face in that last moment of the scene – a weight we never even knew Tess was carrying has been lifted from her shoulders. Kate handles this perfectly (of course she does) and, whenever Tess feels comfortable coming out to her parents, Beth and Randall will too.

Colors of the Painting

• Toby snapping and ordering delivery after spilling sauce on himself, then dropping said turkey and finally stepping on it is, indeed, “Jack Pearson level magic.” HOW he managed to find a store to get him a turkey, I will never know.
• “Katoby on three!”
• “My fingers are basically tension assassins.”
• Little character moments are my favorite character moments and Toby and Kate using Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart’s turkey recipe just feels so right and SO them.
• Deja’s relationship with her mom is still so fraught, and I hope she’s getting the emotional support she needs. Much like Randall at her age, Deja is one to push through and act like she’s fine, holding memories of being on the other side of a soup kitchen line without a word to an adult who could possibly help her navigate this emotional whiplash.
• There has never been a better description of William than “an inexplicably pleasant man worthy of the truth.” He is very much all of those things.
• I fully admit that I got teary watching Annie jump up onto Miguel, yelling “GRANDPA” all the way.

• A word for Kate’s Thanksgiving eye makeup, which was SO ON POINT.
• This week’s quality 70’s song entry comes in with a classic – Donovan, “Catch The Wind.”
• This:

http://david-harbour.tumblr.com/post/180453240819

• HOW are there no working gifs of Randall in his underwear, Tumblr, you’re all fired. 
• NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: IT’S A THANKSGIVING MIRACLE I FOUND SOME. –Kim

What did you think of “Six Thanksgivings”? Let us know in the comments. 

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