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The latest episode of This Is Us Season 6 premiered today. Titled Heart and Soul, the episode sheds light on different forms of love - the young, the new and the old.
The title is in reference to the first song Rebecca taught little Kate to play on the piano, hinting that the episode revolves heavily around the mother-daughter duo.
Heart and Soul was directed by Chris Sullivan, who portrays Toby Damon in the show.
It's now time to dive in and dissect the fifth episode of NBC's This Is Us Season 6.
Note: This article contains spoilers and reflects the writer's opinions.
'This Is Us' Season 6 Episode 5 review
The latest episode of This Is Us Season 6 revolves around finding love and accepting it for what it is.
The first half of the episode shows Randall and Beth trying to guess Deja's secret, Cassidy and Randall discussing Kevin's love life, and Kate and Rebecca bonding over music. In short, the Big Three seem to be dealing with romance from different points of view.
Meanwhile, in a flashback, teen Kate is dealing with her mom dating again, while adult Randall is struggling with his daughter's romantic dreams. Kevin, on the other hand, is still grappling with his own love life.
Here, timing can be considered somewhat of a troubling factor. This is because the episode shows the start of several love stories while also letting Kate and Rebecca's relationship take center stage.
Understanding love
Heart and Soul delivers a strange mix of storylines but simultaneously gives viewers relatable lessons on love and parenthood.
Malik and Deja's plans to move in together came as a shocker to both Randall and Beth. However, the episode did a great job highlighting just how overwhelming and difficult it is to parent a teen. Kudos to Beth for understanding the situation better than Randall did.
On the other hand, Kevin and Cassidy's storyline was also portrayed and played well. Their frank discussion about hooking up and Cassidy's rejection of Kevin's attempt at a romantic relationship was wonderful.
Viewers of the show are aware of Kevin's desire for love and how he needs a reality check once in a while. Cassidy's comments about how they wouldn't work as a couple were actually a good way to make Kevin realize what the reality was.
The hardships of parenthood
In the end, it's the Kate and Rebecca storyline that is the most compelling part of this episode. Their story starts off with a tiff about Rebecca stepping into the world of dating. Their squabble shed light on the difficulties of dating as a single parent.
As Rebecca continues to cope with grief, she is reminded of the importance of taking her children's emotions into account when trying to date again. Her regretful act of slapping Kate is both brutal and believable. It shows that she still carries an unbearable grief with her every day, which makes moving on a difficult task to accomplish.
A forever bond
Heart and Soul gives a striking and visually powerful jump-cut between teen Kate's tensed relationship with her mom and the warmth of their present-day bond.
Additionally, Kate's empathy after Rebecca's reaction to her and Toby's decision was admirable. Instead of snapping back at Rebecca, she chose to make things right and bond with her mother over music, just like old times.
Readers can catch the latest episode of This Is Us Season 6 on NBC, Peacock, Hulu and Hotstar.
