Miguel Speaks and Tess Drops The Mic - S:3 Ep. 8 “Six Thanksgivings"

Here are this week’s Really? Moments:

Jack gives super pep talks! Every show Jack seems to give at least one “Keep going, Champ!” talk. This week Miguel gets “Jack’ed up” when he’s sad because he’s a bad father. Jack reaches deep and tells Miguel he should be proud: He learned golf, thus becoming a big businessman and supporting his family. It’s an odd pep talk, even for Jack, but you work with what you’ve got, even when it’s just golf.

The actor playing Miguel must have been floored with so much dialogue. Overall, Miguel is seen and not heard, but in this episode, it’s a Thanksgiving miracle. Miguel gets his voice. And guess what, Miguel is a decent guy. He is not exactly fascinating, but Miguel is really a part of the Pearson family and not just some guy silently driving Rebecca around.

Tess knows how to drop a bomb. Tess steals this show. Kate is being a great Aunt, talking Tess through her first period. Kate tells Tess she is headed for her first kiss with a boy and without missing a beat, Tess says “or a girl.” Boom. Mic drop. No wordy This Is Us monologue, just three little words and she comes right out as gay. Nicely done. If only all the Pearsons cut back on the words and just laid down the drama, this show could become a tight half hour.

Toby continues to rock. Kate and Toby are asked to make Thanksgiving dinner while Randall and Beth feed the homeless. And Kate and Toby are not asked to cook just a basic Thanksgiving, Randall wants complicated dishes like homemade cranberry sauce with fresh mint. Who does that? Cranberry sauce in the can is a tradition, Randall. But when the cooking goes south, we find out why Toby is the coolest. He kicks it into gear and loads up on all the best fast food from places like Popeyes that he can. A Thanksgiving no one will forget. Also, it is a great idea, because no one has to eat homemade cranberry sauce.

Kevin seems to hate Thanksgiving. Kevin appears in the flashback about his family’s last Thanksgiving with Jack, and he Skypes into Randall’s Thanksgiving fast food fest, but other than that, he is nowhere to be seen. There’s no Kevin Turkey Day backstory. Even William and Jessie are brought back and given a backstory. Maybe there’s a huge Kevin Christmas story coming.

Really? (Rating from 1-5: 1 means nothing too far-fetched happened; 5 means that someone else has died at the hands of a faulty crockpot):

I give this episode a 1. Nothing too crazy happened this episode. Ups and downs and drama on Thanksgiving is par for the course for any family.