This Is Us picked up right where it left off after the season 4 fall finale honing in on many light and dark moments in the Pearson family’s life. As the mid-season premiere titled “Light and Shadows” might suggest, the new episode tackles tough moments while also lifting us up.
As Kevin’s new love interest Lizzie (played by Sophia Bush) makes her series debut we also learn more about the start of Rebecca and Jack’s relationship — And reminded that parents not believing love is enough is, unfortunately, a thing.
In the last episode aired before Thanksgiving, we saw Rebecca’s father take Jack golfing not as a day to get to know his daughter’s new boyfriend but as a way to play into Jack’s insecurities. And Jack, in doing what he thought “best” for Rebecca *spoiler alert* says they should no longer be together. Thankfully Rebecca is smarter than that, although her realization of Jack’s motives only became clear after she spoke with her mother, who made it obvious she nor her husband approved of the relationship.
While we are in a flashback sequence and times have (hopefully) changed, the conversation Rebecca has with her mother is one that I fear people still have. Love should not be defined by the amount of money someone has in their bank account or by how many things one owns yet sometimes a parents’ worry can take over if they feel their child may not be provided for.
But despite the fear Rebecca’s mother has about her daughter’s life with Jack, she steps back acknowledging it is Rebecca’s life to live. “Make sure he gives you a love story for the ages,” she says.
And that, he does.
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