Five weeks ago, the highly-anticipated NBC show "This Is Us" premiered to 10 million viewers. Starring Mandy Moore (A Walk To Remember) and Milo Ventimiglia (Gilmore Girls), we could not wait to watch this show. When I first watched the series premiere, I had no clue that there would be such a shocking twist. Spoilers are ahead, so beware.
We start out following four people on their 36th birthday: a man whose wife is pregnant with triplets (Jack), a woman who is struggling with her weight (Kate), a man who feels complacent in his job as a sitcom star (Kevin) and a man who meets his biological father (Randall). As the show goes on, you realize that Kate and Kevin are twins, but there's no way to expect what happens next.
On his 36th birthday, Jack's wife Rebecca goes into labor. There are complications with the birth and one of the triplets dies. At the same time, a little black newborn boy is left at a fire station and is taken to the hospital. As the doctor is explaining to Jack that he must take what life gives him and make something of it, Jack goes up to the nursery window. The screen pans out and we see that this scene is set in the late 1970's/early 1980's and everything should click into place.
Jack is looking through the nursery at his two children (Kate and Kevin) and a black baby, who we realize is Randall when the scene switches to the three cribs in their home. Jack and Rebecca adopt Randall and we later see the confirmation in a photo in Kate's living room.
Cue the tears. Randall has been married for 17 years, Kate is on a weight-loss journey and Kevin is trying to get out of his joke of a job on The Manny. The twins are close and live near one another, but in later episodes we see that Randall isn't as close to Kevin as Kevin didn't treat him very well as they grew up.
We also jump back and forth between timelines as we follow Jack and Rebecca as they raise triplets. We get to see the struggles of balancing children, maintaining a marriage and Rebecca's road to recovery after losing her third triplet.
One thing is for sure: this show is worth watching. Every episode has left me feeling both emotional and satisfied. It's a well-written drama with tears, triumphs and laughter and well, you're missing out if you haven't checked it out.
