Andrew Robinson
I will try to avoid spoilers in this review, but minor spoilers may appear.
In what has been an up-and-down third season of This Is Us, “Kamsahamnida” delivers both the ups and the downs. With things from the season two finale flash-forward seeming to come together, however, the show is as intriguing as ever.
Summary
Randall continues to campaign for his election. Beth and the girls try to sell Girl Scout cookies. Toby struggle with depression. Kevin begins to obsess over his father’s time in Vietnam. In the past, Rebecca and the 12-year-old Big Three (hereafter referred to as the Young Big Three) learn of a strange habit of Jack’s. Young Randall wants his father to teach him how to fight.
Analysis
My biggest gripe with “Kamsahamnida” is the fact that some of the dialogue just seems to be unrealistic. For instance, Deja’s talk with Beth, while cute and emotional, just isn’t something that I could really see a 14-year-old girl saying; I have worked extensively with teenagers over the past few years, and I think my head would burst if I heard one of them say something like that. I love that she has this talk with Beth – I think it’s a great way to show the audience that Deja is beginning to enjoy her life with the Pearsons, and is a part of the family – but it just seems to be a bit too much. Similarly, the fact that Kevin brings up something that occurred when he and Randall were five years old, and metaphorically connects it to his current situation is completely unrealistic. Rarely do people speak in metaphors, let alone metaphors that involve something that happened to them when they were five years old (side note: both Kevin and Randall remembering something that was fairly inconsequential that they did when they were five is a massive stretch). Kevin using this metaphor to make his current situation more understandable is something that stuck out like a sore thumb to me.
With that said, “Kamsahamnida” also has some fantastic dialogue. Young Randall’s talk with Jack (“I know I’m your son, but he’s your son son”) is easily the most emotional moment of the young season – it nearly ruined me. Lonnie Chavis is far and away the MVP of the episode as Young Randall; the way he delivers his lines, and the emotion that he shows in his voice, is simply fantastic. Similarly, the way that Milo Ventimiglia portrays Jack responding to Young Randall’s deepest feelings is amazing to watch. The entire exchange is enough to make even the most cold-hearted of people emotional. The scene involving these two is probably the best scene of the season thus far, and possibly top-5 of the show’s history. Off the top of my head, the only scenes that I can think of that made a bigger impact on me were the tear-inducing Jack and Young Randall karate class scene, and the jaw-dropping scene between the Pearson family at Kevin’s rehab facility last season. I’m getting goosebumps as I write this, simply thinking about those incredible scenes.
Mandy Moore also does a fantastic job in “Kamsahamnida.” Whether it be responding to Kate’s calls and offering her advice, or speaking to Jack in the past, Moore makes her presence known. It’s subtle, but when Jack speaks of his brother, the camera stays on Rebecca, who the viewer sees instantly perk up, ecstatic and shocked that her husband is speaking of someone that he never talks about. Then, the viewer is able to see Rebecca’s internal struggle over what to say (and, perhaps more importantly, what not to say) in order to make her husband feel like he can continue to talk about Nicky. Moore’s facial features are excellent, and add to the viewer’s understanding of just how little Jack talks about his brother – even someone as perfect as Jack seems to be has secrets, and needs to find a way to give himself some sort of release. This is all subtle and very easy to miss, but the fact that Moore is able to make all of this known – along with the superb camerawork – is a huge plus for the episode, and the show as a whole.
Toby is still really struggling, and it’s hard to watch. I love Toby – shockingly, he gets a lot of hate online and through message boards, which is simply baffling to me – and it is hard to see him struggle. I do believe that it is important for the show to portray depression as it really is, though; nearly impossible to predict timing-wise, and something that can incapacitate even the best, most lively of people. Depression is real, and it affects many more people than most believe. Some do a better job of hiding it than others, as Toby proves through the first two seasons. However, anyone that has suffered from depression before can attest to the fact that it can hit at any time, and one cannot hide it forever, no matter how much (s)he tries. TIU portraying the daily struggle that Toby faces is an important thing to do, and I highly commend them on the bravery it took to do so. Here’s to hoping that things start to look up for Toby!
I tend to have an issue when a character runs for political office in a television show (Parenthood having Kristina Braverman run for mayor later in its run comes to mind), as I think it’s a cheap way for a show to try to introduce new issues. However, with that said, Randall is certainly an ideal candidate to run for political office, and it is entirely in his character’s make-up to do so. Still, it seems like such a long shot for him to actually win, that I’m afraid a sense of realism will be lost if he does in fact win the election. We’ll just have to see what happens as the show moves along, but I fear that introducing this storyline could harm the show in the future.
The season two finale flash-forward scenes seem to be nearly here! With Kevin and Zoe furthering their knowledge on Jack’s time in Vietnam, it seems as if that storyline is reaching a climax. While we still don’t know who the “she” is in the far future, involving Adult Tess, I’m thinking that we’ll continue to get clues on that as the episodes go by.
Verdict
“Kamsahamnida” is a difficult episode to rate. It has some really unrealistic dialogue (Kevin’s metaphor and Deja’s speech to Beth), but also features some fantastic dialogue and scenes (Young Randall and Jack, as well as Rebecca and Jack). Some of the storylines seem to be forced (Randall running for office), but also somehow realistic.
While I cannot say that this is the best episode of TIU to date, I believe that the positives (barely) outweigh the negatives. I simply cannot not rate an episode featuring such a beautiful scene between Jack and Young Randall at least somewhat highly.
7.75/10
TIU is off next week, and will return on Tuesday, November 13th @ 9 PM on NBC.
Image: via Ron Batzdorff/NBC
