On tonightsThis Is Us, Storybook Love, Pearson plot lines are woven around two mirrored dinners.
The other dinner is in the era right after Jacks death, when the kids are in college.
The lesson embedded in the dinner plot: to move forward, you must embrace the past.
THIS IS US — “Storybook Love” Episode 405 — Pictured: (l-r)Logan Shroyer as Kevin, Mandy Moore as Rebecca, Niles Fitch as Randall, Rachel Wilson as Beth, Hannah Zeile as Kate — (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC).Ron Batzdorff/NBC
But events around a playfully impatient Jack and a comedy of errors ensue.
Cut to Post-Jack Dinner.
Then Beth breaks out a housewarming gift: hot sauce.
Everyone squirms because Jack loved hot sauce, and its painful for them to think about.
But Beth forges on and happily tells them her late father loved hot sauce, too.
Newlywed Sophie and Kevin then arrive, giddy.
In Pre-Kids salad, Rebecca hands a still-starving Jack celery for a salad.
In that moment, says Kevin, I realized I couldnt wait another second to start our lives together.
Soon Kates record store co-worker Mark shows up, uninvited but sweetly.
Kate lets him in and Mark introduces himself as Kates boyfriend.
Later, in the kitchen, the siblings ask one another what they think of their dates.
Its punctuated comically by Mark asking Miguel who he is.
In Pre-Kids wine, Jack insists hes still excited about the lasagna.
Post-Jack Dinner Rebecca wonders to Miguel if the family will ever overcome Jacks death.
He and Rebecca broke out laughing.
Then comes the aftermath of both failed meals: pizza.
Jack and Rebecca laughing, kissing, and sharing pizza.
Theres a deeper meaning behind each dinner phase.
Hors doeuvres represent the introduction of an idea.
Salad is the preparation.
The dinner is when things go wrong.
Wine is accepting that things go wrong.
Pizza is the celebration that comes when we embrace how things turned out, the happy resolution.
KEVIN
Kevins episode arc is both about his relationship with Nicky and his relationship with Cassidy.
Also unhappy to be there is Cassidys soon-to-be ex-husband Ryan, who likewise flees midway through the game.
Kevins vowed to help Cassidy win Ryan back.
(About this, Nicky says to Kevin: You really do have the strangest relationships with people.
Could anything more perfectly describe Kevin… or all of the Pearsons?)
Anyway, Ryan seems to want nothing to do with Kevin or Cassidy.
Kevins hors doeuvres are his ideas for helping Nicky and Cassidy.
His dinner is the moments Nicky and Ryan leave, angrily.
But in the end, both work out to pizza level.
When Kevin drops Cassidy and her son off, he confronts Ryan.
Then he tells Kevin to stay away from his wife, and storms off.
Cassidy walks up and finds Kevin smiling.
Kevin tells her Ryan still likes her.
Their mission might work out well after all.
Later, Kevin shows up at Nickys.
Nicky tells Kevin the ice cream thing came from Nicky and Jacks father and grandfather.
Its one of the only kind things his father ever did with them.
She had a panic attack at school.
But he hates that his anxiety issues turned out to be one of those things.
Then he also storms off, saddened.
Soon, Beth drags her husband and daughter back together.
She says the thing they both hate having, anxiety, makes them who they are.
Then Beth shows them Williams Seltzer trick.
Sadly, that happy pizza moment resolution isnt the end of the Randall-Beth plot.
She spends the whole day waiting at home for a baby gift from Randall and Kevin.
Thats Kates whole storyline until she claims the episodes last-minute huge cliff-hanger.
Adult Kate goes through the photos taken that night of the dinner.
Rebeccas looking over her shoulder.
Then Kate sees the photo of her and Mark.
Rebecca says, I was trying so hard to hold it together…
I wanted to believe so badly that you kids were happy, I didnt see what was happening.
Kate says she didnt see it either.
Did Mark hurt Kate in some horrid way?
Or are they simply referring to some wedge bubbling between the family members?
How long until we find out what thats all about?
