This Is Us Season (4×01) Strangers Review

For our review of last season of This Is Us, click here.

Synopsis: In the Season 4 premiere, Jack meets Rebecca’s parents. (TVGuide)

This Is Us is back! It’s been a long summer but things are back to normal with this week’s premiere. In the promos and trailers, it was heavily hinted that there would be an element of mystery involved surrounding strangers. In fact, this would be the name of this week’s episode.

Strangers was a very fitting name for the premiere because almost immediately we were introduced to several strangers. There was no inkling of who they were, how they were connected to the story we already know, and where things were going to take us with them. But boy, it was incredible, beautiful, and the perfect start to the season.

As a viewer, from the minute the episode begins, it will be easy to start drawing connections. But before that, let’s talk about Jack and Rebecca really quick. Their story picks up in the past as their cross-country road trip comes to an end. By now, they are incredibly smitten over each other, and it’s so adorable. They joke around about who is going to cave and call the other first (it’s Jack) and go out on a date—with Rebecca’s parents. Since they would be going to a country club, Jack heads to a clothing store where he meets Miguel for the very first time. Miguel is an employee there and lets Jack borrow a nice jacket for his outing. It made me temporarily forgive him about the whole marrying Rebecca thing in the future.

Meanwhile, Jack’s first time meeting Rebecca’s parents was interesting, to say the least. It starts out rough, Jack manages to pick himself back up, but it ends with Rebecca’s dad telling Jack he’s not good enough for his daughter. And to think that I thought her dad was the nice guy.

Okay, now moving on to the strangers. Lets start with Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison) who is introduced while at a military base, and things don’t appear to be too great. There’s a lot going on there, and eventually, she leaves it all behind and heads home. Upon arriving home, things are worse than she could have imagined. She’s dealing with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and hasn’t been able to acclimate being home. Things come to a head when she accidentally hits her son after zoning out. Her husband tells her to get out and we later see her talking to a group of veterans dealing with similar issues. While talking to the group, someone throws in a chair through the glass window, and you’ll never guess who it is–NICKY PEARSON. And guess who is on his way to bail him for pulling that stunt? KEVIN PEARSON. Connection #1. Also, Morrison was amazing in this episode.

Next, we meet a young kid named Malik (Asante Blackk) who is the father of a beautiful baby girl. He works with his father and is hoping to make more money to help support his baby. But his father refuses to let him engage in any shady business and offers help. In fact, he tells Malik to enjoy being a kid still, and not let being a father take that away. And it’s a good thing because when he goes off to his friend’s barbecue, guess who he meets there? DEJA. And there’s definitely some sparks flying there. Even Randall noticed Deja’s cheesy smile after coming home.

Last but not least, our third stranger of the episode was a blind man whose name we don’t learn until the end of the episode. As fate would have it, one morning he ends up breaking a plate with his breakfast on it so he heads to the diner nearby. There he meets a waitress named Lucy, and well, the rest is history. They fall in love, they get married, they get pregnant, and they both find success in their careers (she’s a chef and he’s a singer).

So what is the connection here?

As we inch closer to the end of the episode, we see Kate and Toby at the doctor’s office. They find out that Jack won’t gain his vision back because of being born prematurely. He’ll be able to see lights and shapes, but that’s it. Guess who else has the same issues? The mystery singer who fell in love. Are you catching on yet? Yup, the young blind man is Kate and Toby’s son in the future!

It’s remarkable how This Is Us manages to fool us time and time again, but it’s absolutely incredible. This is what is so amazing about this show. Once again, this reviewer’s heart is full of all the things that went down this week. And to think, we’re just getting started, folks!

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Ariba Bhuvad