There was cause for concern nearly everywhere on Tuesdays installment of NBCsThis Is Us.
Beths mother broke her hip.
Williams health was breaking down.
Randall himself seemed headed for a breakdown.
Kevin was stressed that he would tank on the opening night of his play.
Jack and Rebeccas relationship took a turn a hard one for the worse.
(And what about Toby and Kate?
Dont get us started, because, well… there wasnt much to get started on.
Sacrifices made for love are now being thrown back in each others face.
Those are the issues that drive a wedge that never really were resolved.
She put some of that behind her.
But it certainly is a significant issue.
We saw another side of Jack in the second episode, when he was drinking too much.
In this episode, an unpleasant jealous, insecure side reared its ugly head.
And then Rebecca represents, in his mind, a kind of salvation for him.
He is deeply in love with her, and she makes him reach for his best self.
But that doesnt necessarily mean that all those issues and all those demons dont exist anymore.
To the world, many people think, Oh, this is a perfect Dad.
Lets talk about the conversation Ben and Jack had at the bar.
Is it more than that?
What is Ben thinking?
What is Rebecca thinking?
Where is this a product of Jacks insecurities and where is he really perceiving something accurately?
And then by the end of the season, it reaches a pretty critical mass.
(Laughs) No!
Why would he tell him that?
We wanted him to play the part!
Theres a part of him thats soavailable, which I love in terms of this part.
Those are the questions I love the ambiguity, where he is.
I didnt see it coming.
He can just talk to Jon, who has some experience there.Right.
There have been so many melodramatic twists in their relationship arc.
Can they be successful at operating at this lower, quieter frequency?Its a good question.
Thats certainly Dans brilliance, which is, Yeah, but thats life too.
Afterallthe things that they went through, they got to a pretty calm and very solid place.
So, thats the fun of it.
That conversation felt very meta.
I would say what Dan said.
(Laughs) Its always good to agree with Dan when it comes to the vision of the show.
Thats what this was all about?
I mean, I do think this is a question that is there and its been raised.
But its also organic to the characters.
Its organic to the situation that theyre in.
Its organic that her fiance would want the answers.
Did you tinker with different possibilities?No.
But we dont go further than what is truthful.
I think we went to a point where it is truthful.
That I think audiences could resent.
I think he really paid a real price to contain that kind of emotion.
The way that his character is so frozen, the energy that that took from Sterling was enormous.
Thats what I remember most at the end of the day how spent he was.
To me, it was so moving what they did, and its filled with so much love.
Hes holding so much in that he cant move.
That was an enormous accomplishment and a real feat for him as an actor.
In episode 2, Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) alluded to him being paralyzed on the ground.
And that is as important as anything.
This relationship has grown.
Its more important than Is he going to be okay?
Andthatsa story weve been telling over the course of the season.
Itll probably take time.
But I think it does.
But you know what is great about Jon Huertas?
He just keeps his head down and plays the role.
Thats all you could do.
How did the Katie Couric dream sequence come about?
Shesreallyfun, and shes a real trouper.
Weve been in Sterlings nightmare once, and now Kevins, so I would imagine well do that.
But I would imagine that well go other times.
It can be effective.
What kind of repercussions will Kevin experience in his career for walking out on the play?
And it will certainly be dealt with in the last two episodes of the season.
To read what Sam Trammell, a.k.a.
Ben, had to say about playing the man in the middle of a Jack-Rebecca conflict,click here.
And for moreThis Is Usintel, follow@dansnierson.
