This Is Us Season Two Premiere Recap: “A Father’s Advice”

This Is Us might have taken some heat for dragging out Jack’s death last season but it’s clear the NBC show is finally ready to shed some real answers.

“A Father’s Advice,” spends a majority of the This Is Us season 2 premiere checking in with The Big Three on their thirty-seventh birthday but holds out on the real treat for the end of the episode. Hope you have your tissues ready because this premiere definitely brought about a few tears by the closing scenes.

Up first in “A Father’s Advice”, Kevin is back in Los Angeles filming his movie but unfortunately, Sophie isn’t able to join him for his birthday celebration. He puts on a happy face for her despite being sorely disappointed and instead expends all of his energy trying to give Kate the best dinner of her life along with Toby.

She desperately needs the distraction because she had an audition that she was unable to get through simply because the other girls were skinnier and in skimpier dresses. Bailing, she admits to Kevin that she left the audition much to Toby’s ire who feels as though his fiancée always runs to her brother over him. It’s a bit of an overreaction, but at least Kate finally stands up for herself as an independent woman and decides to go to the audition after all. While she doesn’t get the part, she learns that it has nothing to do with her weight and simply her lack of talent which she believes she can learn. It’s refreshing to see Kate’s storyline not bogged down by the same insecurity about her weight and to see her dive into a profession where her talent alone should get her by.

In the meantime, Randall is having a few marital woes when he discovers that Beth isn’t exactly on board with the adoption. “A Father’s Advice,” does a good job of painting neither parent as the bad guy with Randall wanting to honor both of his fathers through adopting a son while Beth is hesitant of just adding another infant into their lives. While it seems like she’s simply not interested in having another baby, through a flashback with William we discover the real reason.

She believes there are plenty of babies who will be adopted by prospective parents but the way to really make a difference is to foster a teenager who nobody wants. It’s an intriguing storyline for the rest of the season but based on Randall’s look of apprehension near the end, it might not be the last time one of these parents feels a little unsure.

Finally, back in the Big Three’s Teenage years, we pick up right after Jack and Rebecca’s brutal fight. “A Father’s Advice,” sees the two try to navigate their relationship while trying to keep their children calm. Rebecca takes the three to a movie while Jack tries to book her a gig at a bar but unfortunately fails.

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However, the movie is enough for Rebecca to realize that despite their troubles, they are a unit that needs to work together. However, the day alone made Jack realize that he has a serious drinking problem that needs to be addressed before he moves back in and closes the door on his wife’s shocked face. Yet, she isn’t going to give up that easily and with a little bit of pushing she convinces him to get in the car and return home with her to solve the problem together.

Cut to sometime in the near future, Rebecca is in her Steelers shirt driving home a bag of Jack’s possessions. Kate and Randall are sobbing with Miguel, with the former insisting that she find Kevin to tell him herself. The football star is busy making out with his girlfriend with a cast on his leg, which is most likely an important hint as to when Jack’s death actually happened.

However, the most brutal moment of “A Father’s Advice,” comes when Rebecca pulls up in front of her charred burnt house and lets out an anguished cry before collapsing into sobs while sitting in her car. This Is Us just can’t avoid fitting in one heartbreaking scene an episode, huh?

While “A Father’s Advice,” starts off a bit slowly because it seems like Kevin and Kate are once again stuck in the same old stories, there’s still a lot of promise for the sophomore season of the hit NBC show. After building up Jack’s death to reveal nothing last year, it’s nice to see the writers offer up some real clues rather than continue to string along viewers.

Next: “This Is Us” promotes seven more cast members for season 2

Hit the comments below with your thoughts on the season premiere of This Is Us and your theories as to how Jack died!