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The latest episode of This Is Us Season 6 premiered today and the fathers of the Pearson-Damon family seem to have lost touch with their kids.
Created by Dan Fogelman, the family drama revolves around the Pearson family as they navigate life, recalling memories of their father Jack. Episode 3 of the final chapter, Four Fathers, sheds light on the challenges and demands of fatherhood. The episode was directed by Jon Huertas, who stars as Miguel in the series.
It's time to dive in and dissect the third episode of NBC's This Is Us Season 6.
Caution: This article contains spoilers and reflects the writer's opinions.
'This Is Us' Season 6 Episode 3 review
The latest episode of This Is Us Season 6 is about the challenges of fatherhood. In its entirety, the episode focuses on the four fathers of the series and their disconnect with their kids. The stressed-out fathers are seen struggling with the demands of parenthood due to lack of presence and communication.
The final chapter of the popular family drama seems to heavily focus on the concept of 'change'. From Rebecca's sickness to Randall and Beth's moment of letting Deja go, things are not going to be easy for the viewers.
Deja's Awkward Moment
The speciality about This Is Us is its ability to take a sitcom-like story and turn it into something genuinely thoughtful and moving, like the text mishap that happened with Deja in front of Randall. This was probably the moment that viewers related to the most, which is why the series elevated it and leaned into the details of that particular situation.
Randall, being the protective kind, freaked out over Deja's lie, but with Beth's help he allowed himself to adjust to the changes around him. He admitted on missing out on the first 12 years of Deja's life, which was not his faul,t but it's difficult for him to let her go and become her own person. He assures Deja that even if it takes some effort to switch his mindset, he will do it. This turned into an incredibly empathetic moment of parenting.
However, in Deja's defense, her troublesome childhood with her mother and time in the foster care system gave her a greater sense of independence. Usually, after such a major transgression, teens would count their blessings, but knowing Deja, she refuses to back down. The tension between them might not have been resolved, but This Is Us let the parenting moment shine in the best way possible.
The ideal parenthood
In this episode of This Is Us, viewers will see how Kevin idealized the idea of parenthood. He had this clinging fantasy of having the perfect family, where everyone sits down together at the dinner table and makes positive memories all the time. Somewhere in this fantasy, Kevin's parents are to be blamed, as even after having certain missteps in their relationship, they would always find a way to cover it with a blanket of positivity.
Kevin and Jack somehow shared guilt over not being present enough in their kids' lives. Jack worried that Kevin's little misadventure at the mall would scar him for life, so he tried to turn it into a positive memory instead. But ironically, that is what scarred Kevin for life, as he now wishes to have what his dad had with his siblings.
Early signs of cracks
The time-hopping premise of This Is Us is actually beneficial to viewers, as they get to know what will hit them in the future, and then see it unravel in the present day. That includes things like Toby and Kate's marriage coming to an end. If it was any other season, this tension between the couple would just be another rift, healed by a grand gesture, but the final chapter is here to draw conclusions and tie-up loose ends.
In episode 3 of This Is Us Season 6, viewers can see how their marriage is slowly falling apart. Like always, Toby and Kate are trying to put it past them with apologies and being more open about feelings with one another, but there are definitely unsaid things the two are keeping deep inside of themselves.
This was also the episode where viewers get an introduction to the Big Green Egg smoker. Bought by Toby to get his family together, this barbecue device will eventually become the very source of baby Jack's first traumatic memory.
At the beginning of Four Fathers, viewers can see an adult Jack Damon recalling this memory, proving that he still gets flashbacks of that day. It also proves Rebecca's theory of: "You never know what you’ll remember a day for until it’s over."
The day Toby decides to throw a barbecue for his family will also be the day his marriage ends. This is in contrast to the day Jack lost Kevin at the mall, which went from being about movie marathons and ice cream sundaes to the day Jack's mom died. The episode definitely had a somber ending to it, but also gave hope that maybe the next one might just give viewers a motherhood-centric episode.
Catch the latest episode of This Is Us Season 6, now streaming on NBC, Hulu and Hotstar.
