A Beth-centric story battles for screentime as the Pearsons prep for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving has long been the signature holiday of This Is Us, so I'm glad the show didn't stop this season's delayed broadcast schedule from squeezing in one last Turkey Day episode with Pearson. Two, in fact, because this week is really just the prelude to whatever fireworks awaits in the next installment. After all, you'll need to brine the turkey before cooking it—at least if you're following Emeril's recipe. And "Our Little Island Girl: Part Two" keeps some Thanksgiving-related storylines simmering on the stove as it puts Beth's emotional journey front and center.
In fact, it's almost a little strange how much of a screw Kevin and Kate get in an episode that's otherwise designed as a sequel to season three's "Our Little Island Girl." While the first deep-dive into Beth's backstory dedicating its entire runtime to the little island girl who danced before she could walk, this episode throws too many balls in the air. After last year's brief COVID-season, it seems like This Is Us is scrambling to fit everything in before it ends. (It's too bad the show didn't order 20 episodes to make up for the two hours it lost last season.) But within those parameters, I think "Part Two" does a solid job of giving Beth a moving emotional arc. does, even if it keeps things ticking elsewhere.
It helps that Beth's story is ultimately a very simple one. Her new job as Head of New Student Recruitment and Development at Philadelphia's City Ballet offers her another chance to reflect on the painful end of her own youth ballet dreams. While the first "Our Little Island Girl" was associated with Beth's dance journey as it pertained to her parents, "Part Two" examines it through her relationship with her teacher Vincent (a returning Goran Wisnjic). . Co-written by Ebony Freeman and Susan Kelechi Watson (aka Beth herself), the episode is thoughtful in its dissection of the difficult power dynamics between teachers and students in competitive artistic fields such as ballet.
Vincent isn't abusive or cruel in the traditional way—in fact, he's always kind and polite on the surface. But there is something troubling in his cognitive dissonance with his students. When Beth is his star disciple, he treats her like a human being, deeply invested in her physical and emotional future in the world of dance. When she begins to struggle, however, he throws her aside for another dancer, falling back on the idea that it is her job to develop talent, not emotionally caress her teenage pupils. Vincent is an embodiment for "the way things are" in the dance world. But Beth believes there are better, more humane ways to raise children, whether they become stars or not, than through the rigors of dance.
Although I initially thought of the scene where Beth rushes onto the stage to help her fallen student, Stacy, was too much, it won me over the moment Beth firmly anchors herself to the stage. and tells Stacey that she will sit with him until the entire audience is done. She leaves if she wants. Sure, this episode is clearly exaggerating the nuances of the ballet world to make its point, but I also think it's best to identify with the way Beth decides The way is one child at a time. (I just started crying in anticipation of that shot of his board full of successful alumni.) Plus I enjoyed the mix of wish-fulfillment fantasy and the "you walked out of the deep end" craziness of the scene where he meets Vincent. Decades later finally calls her "screw you!" Speeches she wanted to give as a teenager. This isn't completely rational behavior on his part, and that's what makes it so compelling.
Speaking of rational behavior: Let's talk about "brunch beauties" aka Kevin, Kate, Madison, Toby, and Eliza. A big part of the fun of watching This Is Us is debating the behavior of its characters after the fact, and this half-episode has no shortage of opportunities in that department. Where should twins spend their first Thanksgiving? How can Kate be good friends with both Kevin and Madison? Is Elijah really the good guy in all of this? And why on earth don't Kevin and Madison have a formal custody arrangement yet?
Here's my view: If Madison can't get away with the twins because she's breastfeeding, the show needs to be clearly established because otherwise it seems like the most obvious solution for Kevin is to have the kids with his family. The cabin is meant to bring Thanksgiving. Madison enjoys a quiet vacation with Elijah. (In exchange for celebrating Christmas with the twins or whatever they do.) This special holiday is clearly more important to him than that, especially with Rebecca's declining health. And I don't think Madison is particularly great at refusing to accept her, especially when Kevin goes out of his way to invite Elijah to join in as well.
Of course, even Kevin is not the epitome of virtue. The way he keeps offering to drop Kate and Toby home if they want him too, is great character detail only to ignore the very obvious hints that it's really what they want. This gives Kevin a laudable denial that he is wrong, while still allowing him to get what he wants. Ever since he was a child, Kevin has been defined by his dual desire to prioritize his own comfort and to think of himself as the "good guy." And throwing parenthood into the mix is turning those desires to a head in increasingly irreversible ways.
Speaking of self-proclaimed good people: I'd be particularly curious to hear how people react to Elijah in this episode. I think the show really wants to play its big "I'm not going anywhere" monologue as a romantic moment, but I really found it kind of offensive and off-putting. While Elijah has been charming enough before, there's an undercurrent of weaponizing his "good guy" status that raises some red flags for me. Is he a really supportive partner like Miguel or is he like Rebecca's 1990s beau Matt, who seems too eager to invite himself over for Thanksgiving?
Indeed, the flashback portion of this episode mostly sets up things we've known for a long time: Miguel and Rebecca continue to lean in the "just friends" direction, probably to both of their regrets. Kevin reveals that he cheated on Sophie not long into their teenage marriage. Kevin and Kate continue to tread the line between supporting each other and enabling each other. Also the show tries to parallel the Kate/Kevin/Madison situation in some Thelma and Lewis-style best friendships for Kate and Sophie, even though she has never really been a part of its worldbuilding before. . (I'm firmly calling the shenanigans on that.)
However, it is all mostly scheduled for next week. The climax of "Our Little Island Girl: Part Two" focuses on shutting down Beth emotionally and giving her a new direction in life. Like many Pearsons, she had to walk a rocky road to eventually find her full circle of happiness. Only in this case, he is able to make that path a whole lot less rocky for the dancers following in his footsteps.