This is Us 3x01 "Nine Bucks" Episode Review

Welcome back to the world of crying because you have a heart. This is Us returned Tuesday night and instead of giving us concrete answers, they developed two mysteries in the distant past and the far away future. Let’s talk about the present first!

The Pearson Siblings (The Big 3) turned 38 years old in this season premiere. Two years have passed for them since the pilot episode, and Randall’s first meeting of his biological father, William. It feels like forever ago, but two years it is. I’m crying already…

In the aftermath of Deja’s attack on that poor defenseless car, Randall and Beth had not attempted to talk to her about it. Randal decides to connect with her through their adoptive backgrounds, but Deja gives it to him straight: they are not the same.

Her father didn’t want her and her mother didn’t want her either. They made choices that she had no control over. As Randall put it, “it was lame of [him] to say they were the same”.

This is because of the unspoken pain she has over her biological father. She decides to confront him at the store he works at and afterwards, makes a real choice for herself to move on with the Pearsons. Deja is getting formally adopted.

Beth and Kevin also have a real conversation over her cousin, Zoe. She provided the comedy of the hour with her strong belief that those two were “knocking boots”. Beth catches on quickly and has a blowout with Zoe before confronting Kevin.

I loved this talk they had. Beth admits for the first time since the show started that she does indeed love Kevin. Beth never admits because she’ll lose her coolness, but it’s been said. She doesn’t want Kevin to get hurt because Zoe has proven to have hurt men in the past (man-eater), which is crazy because of her obvious disdain for Kevin during this entire show. The relationship between Zoe and Kevin is rocky from there, but we got good insight on the in-laws’ bond.

Toby and Kate are trying to have a baby through vitro fertilization. He ends up dumping his anti-depressant pills to help better their chances of having a child. However, we already know this leads to him going through his depression again. It also shows he may no longer be with Kate in the future, which is an excellent addition to the “her” mystery. Who is “her”?

More importantly… WHO IS “he”? The past gives us a deeper look into Jack and Rebecca’s first date, which does not go well despite them being a “super couple”. He only has nine bucks to his name and makes the date worse by not disclosing his problems.

Rebecca, against her better judgment, decides to give him a second chance when they kiss in the car, and have a good heart to heart about his struggles after the war. However, this second chance is apparently destroyed when an unknown character shows up at her doorstep and starts kissing her. Jack sees this and drives away the following morning.

WHAT IS GOING ON?

Not exactly a “super crying” episode. I did shed a few tears, but that’s because I know the pain and suffering is just starting. Overall, an excellent start to a “dark” season. I can already tell we’re going down a path of tragedy that we can’t escape from. Once we learn who “her” is, no matter who it is, hearts are getting broken.