After incessantly rewatching episodes of shows I used to watch on Netflix and that I had seen at least 100 times, I decided it was time to give the classic Friends and How I Met Your Mother episodes a break. After hearing my mom raving about, “This is Us” all Thanksgiving break, I decided to give it a try myself. Let’s just say that one week and nine episodes later, I am already caught up. If you too are in need of a binge watch, or just have a few intervals of 40 minutes on your hands, you should give it a try, you won’t be disappointed. I will try to persuade you to watch this whirlwind of a show without giving too much away.
The show follows the lives of a family (past and present) that is not your typical cookie-cutter American family. After losing one of their triplets during a complicated pregnancy, Rebecca and Jack Pearson take in Randall, who was left by his own father outside of a fire station shortly after his birth, along with their other two children Kevin and Kate. Each episode is marked by moments of struggles, hardships and love felt by all five Pearson family members.
The episodes shifts back and forth between the childhood of Pearsons and their current adult lives, following the same struggles each triplet had growing up and continues to have into adulthood. Kate, the only girl of the triplets felt like an outsider from an early age because of her overweight physique. She is alienated by other girls her age and her insecurity with her weight takes over her life until she one day decides she is going to “lose the damn weight” and the episodes that follow show her ups and downs of dieting.
Randall probably struggles with the most hardships as a child. Knowing he was adopted instantly from his different color skin, Randall spends most of his childhood searching for his birth-parents, asking questions to African-American strangers, hoping they are somehow connected to him. He does not give up on his search as an adult, eventually finding his father, leading to complications and effects he never considered when searching.
From childhood and in the present, Kevin has always struggled to find his place. Because as a child he did not have quite the visible problems of his siblings, he was often overlooked by his parents who felt that Randall and Kate needed more attention and coddling. This led Kevin to feel like he wasn’t important and couldn’t find a sense of self as a kid. Through his acting career as an adult, we see this is still evident as he dramatically quits his role on a comedy series for not being taken seriously. He then takes to the Broadway stage, hoping to find himself.
Despite the adversity the Pearsons face, and the fights and heartache that they put upon each other, this show displays the meaning of family and authentic relationships in a way many shows do not. Each episode sends the audience back in time to a flashback that will pull their hearts out of their chest. Do not miss out on watching the show everyone is talking about, but make sure you have tissues handy!
Photo courtesy of screenleaks.com.