Andrew Robinson
Spoilers will be mostly avoided in this review, but minor spoilers may appear.
Well, that’s it, folks! With This Is Us now off until January, “The Beginning is the End is the Beginning” is our final look at our favorite characters in 2018. The episode delivers some major storyline-altering revelations but, as always, leaves us with more questions than answers.
Summary
During the Vietnam War, Jack continues to try to help his brother, but has issues doing so. In the present, after arriving at where his father served in the War, Kevin learns new information. Back in the States, Kate has trouble accepting her new normal. Randall debates Councilman Brown. Beth and Randall have a disagreement. Tess and Deja both struggle to speak to their parents, but for very different reasons. In the future, the identity of “Her” is revealed… somewhat.
Analysis
The promo for “The Beginning is the End is the Beginning” promised major developments, and the episode certainly delivers on that front. While I cannot sit here and say that I’m on board with all of the developments (one felt cheap, while another felt completely out of character), the episode certainly changes things moving forward.
The Vietnam War storyline hasn’t been the most well-received by fans but, personally, I haven’t minded it too much. The scenes during the War present in “The Beginning is the End is the Beginning” are strong, and the emotions are high. I’ve enjoyed the look into the relationship between Jack and Nicky, as well as how war has changed Nicky in a way that seems irrevocable. I think this is an important thing to note because, well, war does change people, as sad as it is to say, and many pieces of entertainment – especially those on broadcast television, where the level of violence and language present must be censored – tend to gloss over that point. While it’s certainly arguable that TIU victim to this with Jack, it does a good job at including a secondary character – Nicky – who is profoundly affected by the horrors of combat. I think that’s extraordinarily important.
With that said, the reveal at the end of the episode regarding the Vietnam storyline feels very, very cheap to me. I hope they know where they’re going with the storyline because a reveal like that can be quite alienating, and seems pretty unfathomable. I feel as if it could be there simply as a way to keep Kevin’s storyline in the present moving forward, as he’s kinda been stuck in Vietnam doing next-to-nothing for awhile, and I’m just not a fan at the moment. Hopefully that changes.
I applaud the show for going where it does with Randall and Councilman Brown’s debate, and the whole Randall-getting-into-politics storyline. This seems like the most logical, realistic course of action (assuming the show sticks with it), and I always love realism. However, I find what the show does with Beth and Randall to be way out of character for Randall. For someone who deals with major anxiety attacks, as we saw in Season 1, and loves his family as much as Randall seems to, him acting the way he does at the end of the episode is simply out of character. As someone who deals with high amounts of anxiety myself, I can say with a pretty high degree of certainty that, if I were in Randall’s position, I’d do everything I possibly could to remedy the situation, realize how ridiculous I’m being in my thinking and how that ridiculousness can negatively affect my family, or at least talk to the person/people who are going to be affected by my rash decision. If I didn’t do that, I’d probably have some sort of anxiety attack. Since we already know that Randall is prone to anxiety attacks, him dealing with this situation the way he does just seems to be completely out of character to me, and is quite off-putting. Plus, with everything going on with his family, I simply find it unbelievable that Randall, who the show has actively attempted to make into the present-day Jack, would value his own, unlikely (at best) aspirations above what is best for his family. I couldn’t be further against this development.
Eris Baker has what are easily her most poignant, emotional moments in her time on the show when Tess (Baker) speaks to Rebecca, then later her parents, about her feelings. First, I’d like to highlight her interaction(s) with Rebecca. After Kate (wrongfully) breaks Tess’s trust, Rebecca tries to talk to her, and she immediately turns away, unwilling to discuss something that she told someone else in confidence. First of all, Kate shouldn’t have said anything to Rebecca about Tess. Despite what were good intentions, this was completely the wrong move, and a huge breaker of trust. Baker is then forced to portray a teenager who is 1) shocked that her trust has been broken, 2) forced to discuss a very private matter that she shouldn’t be forced to discuss until she is completely ready, and 3) just completely, heartbreakingly, blindsided by the developments. She does a fabulous job at portraying these complex emotions. Then, when she has her second conversation with Rebecca, Baker portrays a character who is angry at first, and then slowly willing to listen to what her grandmother has to say. Her ability to show these emotions almost solely through facial expressions is commendable. And then, of course, Tess has the extremely emotional conversation with her parents. This is the best scene of the episode – she is fantastic, and Sterling K. Brown and Susan Kelechi Watson do a great job at bringing the surprise of Randall and Beth, and then their immense love for their daughter, to life. Here is where Baker’s abilities as an actress are on full display. The writing is very strong in all three scenes, but Baker is the one who has to bring make everything work, and she does a fabulous job at making the viewer feel for the character. I hope she gets more emotional scenes in the future because she is brilliant.
(Spoiler in following paragraph. Sorry, I couldn’t avoid talking about it)
That flash-forward scene, though. Wow. I am very, very worried for Randall and Beth’s future; they didn’t seem to be the most hospitable. Maybe I’m overanalyzing the scene (I tend to do that!), but I just didn’t hear a huge amount of love in Beth’s voice when she discussed the situation. Also, I’m still not sure that “Her” is who we probably think it is. I feel as if Beth likely would have called this character by name if it was who makes the most sense… I still have no idea how Toby fits into the picture, though – remember, he was also notified of the meeting with “Her” in a scene earlier in Season 3. Maybe they’re visiting a character who has died – that could make sense as to why everyone is having trouble going to see her, and could explain why Adult Tess said she “isn’t ready,” plus why Toby is involved. My preliminary guess is that the character in question is indeed the character who makes the most sense, but she is no longer living. I could be way, way off-base, but that’s what I’m going with until we receive more information.
Verdict
“The Beginning is the End is the Beginning” gives us a ton of updates in storylines to salivate over until the show returns in January. Some of these developments are warranted and done well (the scenes in the future, as well as with present-day Tess stand out to me), while others feel cheap (update in Vietnam), and just flat-out wrong personality-speaking (Randall). Therefore, it is difficult for me to rate this episode. I really enjoyed the vast majority of it and believe that many of the scenes were acted extremely well, but some of those developments are just really, really difficult for me to get behind. However, Eris Baker, the scenes during the Vietnam War, and the flash-forward still make this a good episode.
7.5/10
This Is Us will return on January 15th, 2019. To hold you over until then, I recommend checking out Parenthood, which is available on Netflix. I’ve described it as “This Is Us before This Is Us,” and rate it as my 10th-favorite show of all-time.
Photo: via TV Guide
