We enter into the first season of This is Us where Jack’s death is known. This opens the doors to the storylines of how young Kate, Kevin, Randall, and Rebecca deal with the sudden loss. And those storylines show how big of an impact Jack’s death had on them.
For Kate, her overeating habit begins. After revealing she never sent in her final tape to Berkeley she also tells Rebecca that she has gained 25 pounds since Jack’s death. It is something that would have set Rebecca off, but instead we see a more somber Rebecca who just responds with, “It’s been a hard few months.”
It’ not until the present when Rebecca realizes and admits to Kate that she should have tried harder to help her. When Rebecca accidentally learns about Kate and Toby doing IVF she tries to talk her out of it. It’s something Kate was trying to avoid because she knows Rebecca wouldn’t understand.
Long after, Kate says that one of the many reasons she is willing to risk IVF is to pass on a piece of Jack. She says she wants to look at her possible child and see her or Toby or even her dad looking back at her. It’s a statement that many couples across the country who decide to go with IVF face. Many couples want that chance, even if it is slim, to be able to have a child that is a part of them. And for Kate to reveal that one of the reasons is because she wants a part of her dad with her is heartbreaking, but understandable.
It is this statement that leads Rebecca to reveal the hardship she faced after Jack’s death. While standing in a bathroom stall at Kevin’s first movie premiere, Rebecca reveals to Kate she is scared for her because she doesn’t want Kate in harm’s way. Rebecca says after losing Jack she didn’t think she could come back and now, her kids could go there.
It is also worth mentioning the realness that is felt throughout Kate and Rebecca’s moment during the IVF scene. It’s a scene you rarely see on television and honestly, it’s only something that couples going through it know and understand. You can read about it and hear stories, but unless you’ve been the one getting or giving the shot, it’s something you can’t describe. And to see it between and mother and daughter is moving.
In the last moments of “A Philadelphia Story,” at the premiere of the movie, Kevin mentions what Kate said about being the only one to pass on a piece of Jack to Randall. It’s the look on Randall’s face that breaks millions of hearts. It’s something that will undoubtedly be addressed in an upcoming episode as Randall continues to struggle with his role in his family and society.
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