One word best describes this episode: forgettable.
There’s nothing particularly bad about The Most Disappointed Man, but there’s nothing especially great either. It’s a filler outing that’s amusing and easily digestible but not much else. It doesn’t help that This Is Us chose to bring back young William, who I find to be a dreadfully boring character. Why are we still following his journey when the show is brimming with intriguing characters at every turn?
On the bright side, I enjoyed Jack and Rebecca’s legal adventures as they finalized Randall’s adoption. Delroy Lindo is a fantastic presence on The Good Fight, and he’s terrific here as a judgmental judge (see what I did there?) who doesn’t think the white couple is fit to raise Randall. If I’m being honest, the subplot doesn’t really explore anything we haven’t seen before, but it’s got reliably great performances by Milo and Mandy, and it’s pretty harmless across the board.
More successful is Randall taking Deja to see her mother at prison. Thankfully, the writers don’t paint Deja’s opposing parents as good & bad, as a case can be made for each of them to raise Deja. In fact, I genuinely worry for the Pearsons now that Shauna has announced that she’ll be coming for her daughter, and that certainly makes for some good drama.
On the other hand, how lame was Kevin’s storyline? I’m hating the addiction storyline, and his breakup with Sophie fell flat since we’re barely invested in the relationship as she’s never around. Ugh.
Heartwarming Bits
– Toby referring to Kevin as “Mount Keverest” made me laugh.
– How adorable is the adoption lady? I wish the episode focused more on her.
– Linda destroying Randall with the deaf child story was SAVAGE. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever used that word in a sentence; I like it.
– Toby talking to the urn made me laugh. His sweater proposal was also nifty.
– The one thing I did like about William’s storyline: the idea that he was about to get high just before Randall arrived at his doorstep in the pilot.
– Not so groundbreaking twist: The two judges are friends. Come on This Is Us, you’ve done this twist countless times before.
Triplet Talk
Randall: You need to be focused on what’s best for Deja.
Shauna: Oh, let me guess. That’s you?
Randall: I’m on this side of the glass, aren’t I?
Must-Download Tune
If We Were Vampires by Jason Isbell & The 4400 Unite
Conclusion
An entertaining but underwhelming hour that doesn’t really add much to the overall narrative.
Nad Rating
B
The episode title is describing ME as I was sitting through this hour 😜
But I did love that song. Immediately looked it up while watching. And Toby’s proposal was sweet. But everything else…meh, I expect better from this show!
Indeed! The more I think about it, the more I realize how forgettable it was!