SPOILER ALERT: This story contains key plot points from Kyle, Tuesdays episode ofThis Is Us.
Did you see that?
For the first time this season,This Is Usdid not end an episode on a game-changing twist.
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
(See:Theyre all related!Theyre not together anymore!)
And who will give him the truth about William?
(Andclick herefor the casts thoughts on the episode.)
DAN FOGELMAN:They were into it.
It was our first thing we did when Mandy was [playing the older version of Rebecca].
You were afraid to breathe on the set.
We did two takes, and [directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra] knew we had it.
This development means that Randall has something of a false narrative about William.
William didnt just abandon him; he actually wanted to be a part of his life.
When is he going to get that story?
Its exactly that: Randall has a false narrative of his existence.
For a kid like Randall, its a huge formative part of his existence.
In the fourth episode, you see that.
So he has this false narrative thats defined him.
You introduced Chekhovs gun in the form of a secret.
It has to be fired.
You feel the clock ticking.
So how truthful was William being with Randall when he told him that fire station story?
Was he just trying to protect the secret?
Thats a good question.
Its a loaded question.
That gets explored as we move forward a little bit.
I think the truth is probably somewhere in between.
At this point its been 30-plus years his memory is hazy.
I mean, hes just lost somebody very, very recently.
So I dont think his memory is completely correct.
I think what hes saying to Randall in this episode is a half-truth, just to protect the secret.
Maybe a little betrayed?
Its something we get to deeper in the season.
This is not the last interaction in the past between William and Rebecca.
How gray is what she did?
How do you view her actions?
This is something we always talk about with our show.
But very good people can make very flawed decisions.
Were in a gray area here.
What Rebecca does in this episode feels pretty not-gray to me.
She feels vulnerable, and you understand why shes doing what shes doing.
The gray area comes with regards to what she doesnt tell first her husband and eventually her son.
And then at a certain point, youre protecting everybody, or so you think.
Can you talk about that opening montage?
We have a lot of monologues and speeches in the show its what I do, right?
We have the ability toreallytell stories visually in this show and play with time.
And you see the house evolving, and youre hearing the voices in the house.
We do a lot of stuff like that, with music and imagery.
Its a techniqueBreaking Badhas used to a certain extent.
But theres that romantic melancholy that creeps into ours.
You see the deterioration of this guy right down to the writing in his journal.
Could you talk a little bit about what you wanted to communicate in that scene?
Its just that life in snapshots kind of thing.
Maybe in the future, well tell a whole arc exploring young William and where his life took him.
But sometimes as a storyteller, you dont have that flexibility to focus on that for that long.
So, that was a little bit of the intent.
This was a really complicated story of this man and his deterioration and his relationship with this woman.
Can we tell that whole story in six shots, essentially?
And I think the guys did a really effective job on it.
Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) receives that unexpected, big monologue near the end of episode 2.
And then in episode 3, you open on a young William.
Its a bit of a surprising move.
Were trying to do two things.
And my job is tonally to keep it in that romantic, comedic, melancholy space.
Were not always all of a sudden doing a really awful episode about everybody hating each other…
Were going to start with an opening format thats just him and a woman without any dialogue.
Because I think with confidence comes better storytelling.
Its when you start getting scared and tight that you start making mistakes.
To read what Mandy Moore and her castmates had to say about episode 3,click here.
