This Is Us season 2 episode 5: The tale of Jack’s father
Is “Brothers” the final time in which we are going to see Stanley Pearson on the show? Judging from the last scene with him and Rebecca it seems possible, and it also feels as though Jack, in the end, seems to have come to grips with this. He doesn’t think of his father as living now, which is why he refused to see him even when Rebecca made the decision to track Jack and the boys down at a camping trip in order to tell him. She was almost the surrogate for him, going to his father and making it clear to him the sort of man Jack ended up being a — a great one, and a great father. There are some people who revert into the way they were brought up, whether it be because of some trauma or some terrible belief that this is actually the way that they should be treated for whatever reason. Jack never did that to his kids. He was always as good to them as he could be.
For evidence of this, you just had to see Jack in the camping trip, desperate to ensure that both Randall and Kevin forged a great bond and don’t put themselves in a position where they are increasingly distant from one another.
If we lose Jack’s father here, it only makes sense that it would come about in this way. Nothing in life is ever neat, and very rarely are all loose ends tied together in a neat little bow.
Oh, and how about THAT twist in the closing minutes: Jack seems to have had a brother, who we suspect may have died in Vietnam. This makes the title all the more perfect. The mystery of Jack’s brother should be another big one to explore.
Other things to know
When it comes to Kevin, his addiction problems are clearly spiraling out of control. He ended up embarrassing Sophie royally by skipping out on her gala, mostly because he was off trying to get his Vicodin refilled by any doctor who would take him. To make matters worse he’s not being honest with anyone about what is really gone on and tried to mask some of what he was up to by helping Randall with his latest problem with his foster daughter. While at the gala he accidentally did something that was an emotional trigger for her and they had to figure out a way to work through some of their issues.
Meanwhile, Kate and Toby are in the process of celebrating their pregnancy now that he knows — you can sense that there is still some hesitancy and fear, but not to the point where the two of them are shying away from enjoying the idea of themselves as parents.
What did you think about This Is Us season 2 episode 5?
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