This Is Us Season 2 Episode 16 Review: Vegas, Baby
Lizzy Buczak
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Vegas, baby!
After a series of intense, heart-breaking episodes, This Is Us Season 2 Episode 16 owed us something a little less grim. And what's better than Vegas? Nothing.
We deserved Beth drinking from the bottle even if it felt a little out of character. This just goes to show you that we still have so much backstory to explore outside of the core five! Who was Beth in college or before she met Randall? I need to know more about wildin' Beth!
For now, we're content with Beth being all heart.
Deja returned at the end of This Is Us Season 2 Episode 15, and we found out it's because she needed cash to keep the heat on in the apartment.
Her requests put the Pearsons in a tight predicament because obviously, Shauna isn't capable of taking care of her daughter, yet the Pearsons can't do anything about it.
Related: This Is Us Season 2 Episode 15 Review: The Car
Randall couldn't simply send her Deja off without any money, but he wasn't comfortable not checking in on her fully, either.
And even weeks later in Vegas for Kate and Toby's bachelorette/bachelor weekend, Randall couldn't shake his gut feeling that something wasn't right with their foster daughter.
Randall: You know we're pity invites, right? Nobody wants their brother or sister in law watching them go wild in Vegas.
Beth: Hey, I'm totally down with a pity invite, okay? I deserve a pity invite. I have two children, work a full-time job, and manage a tenement because you saw a mural and imagined a cat. Hey, I deserve this.
Beth, on the other hand, was ready to live it up for just one weekend and asked him to keep it Deja-free. She even suggested they take ecstasy — she was a woman on a mission to let loose. Honestly, Randall seeing Beth on-stage with the Magic Mike strippers may have been my favorite scene.
Bachelor and bachelorette parties are stressful as hell, especially when you don't have a tight group of friends and are planning everything yourself. Thankfully, Kate now has Madison, her saving grace and a much-needed comedic relief for the show.
Madison calls Toby "Toblerone" and "Toby Bryant" and even designed witty Moby Dick party favor T-Shirts. Hilarious.
But aside from Madison, Kate doesn't really have anyone in her corner. There are a few ladies from the support group, and Beth, with whom she surprisingly doesn't have much of a relationship.
There has never been much of a focus on Kate's friends, so I never realized that she's spent most of her time hanging out with her brothers and being intimidated by powerful women which explains her strained relationship with her mother.
Kate: You found me.
Randall: Wasn't very hard. Only person still drinking Cosmos in 2018.
Kate: Carrie Bradshaw — that girl is timeless and so are her favorite cocktails.
I was upset that Toby wasn't feeling the love on what should have been the wildest weekend in his life. His brother bailed, and he paid some "filler friends" to for the weekend, so he could look cool in front of the Pearson brothers.
Toby tried so hard to fit in with the two dudes that meant the most to Kate, and they could have cared less about the whole event.
Related: This Is Us Season 2 Episode 14 Review: Super Bowl Sunday
If you thought a Pearson fight during therapy was intense, you haven't seen them fight in a strip club. Men were thrusting their greased-up body parts everywhere while our perfect couple, Beth and Randall, were going at it and yelling about "taking a break."
Kate had to insert herself, which is understandable cause they were kind of ruining her bachelorette party vibe, but of course, regrettable things were said.
To be brutally honest, everyone sucked as guests. Randall was too pre-occupied with Deja and even though it was warranted and he was following his gut, it wasn't fair to Toby. Beth wasn't 100% there for Kate; she was more interested in enjoying herself for the night.
Kevin's the only one who gets sympathy from me (finally) because it takes a strong person to face Vegas after rehab. Sin City is probably the least appealing place for a recovering addict, and I respect him for removing himself from the situation the minute he felt any temptation.
You're always right. I like it. That's why I put a ring on it.
Toby
Randall, however, fails on the big brother front because he didn't even think twice about Kevin skipping out on the party early.
Kevin not falling off the wagon even when he found out the crushing news about his movie proves that he really is on the right path. He made Mount Everest his b*tch!
After they realized Toby was looking forward to bonding with them, Kevin and Randall decided to make it up to him.
Seeing them just talk through their feelings instead of getting wild made for more meaningful moments.
Thanks to Toby's advice, Kevin found the courage to call his director and instead found out that he wasn't cut from the movie, he was the movie. And fittingly, it went from a romance-angle to a father-and-son story. How perfect. Kevin's big break comes from working with his father's favorite actor, Sylvester Stallone!
Toby was welcomed into the family with open arms, as long as he takes care of their sister, which you know he will!
Oh no-no-no. The Brothers Pearson are all mine this weekend. I got one scoop of dark chocolate Pearson, and one scoop of creamy vanilla Pearson and I'm gonna be the ruddy strawberry that brings it all together, baby.
Toby
While Kate may not have her father anymore, she has three strong men who care about her deeply. She's going to be just fine.
Beth may be the definition of flawless, but it was nice to see her vulnerable for a change, especially in front of Kate who, from the outside looking in, thinks Beth's life is perfect.
Kate was so intimidated by Randall's badass wife but, in reality, Beth was crumbling under all the pressure of her job, the tenements, and her concern for Deja.
Contrary to what Randall believed, she was too attached to Deja and decided to ignore everything and remain strong for the family.
There's a reason you always listen to your gut, though; 99% of the time it's right. On their way back from Vegas, they took a detour to find that Shauna and Deja no longer lived in the apartment.
They found them sleeping inside a car, which I'm sure would be grounds for Child Services to remove Deja from her mother's care. That explained why she's been lying and covering up for her.
The flashbacks gave us some sweet moments between young Kevin and his parents, which were nice to see for a change.
After suffering the loss of Jack Pearson, we needed to be reminded of better days and just how perfect Jack really was as a husband.
Every year for their anniversary, he would make some grand gesture, but one year, he honored Rebecca's wishes and didn't celebrate.
It's so cute that the kids were worried it was a sign that their parents were divorcing, especially Kevin, whose concern stemmed from Sophie's divorcing parents. In a way, it served as foreshadowing; Kevin was so scared his parents would split, and he ended up splitting from Sophie in the future.
The mini-Jacks decided to surprise their parents with an anniversary party complete with a fine-dining experience and a meteor shower. How was it possible that I was balling my eyes out even during a happy scene? They definitely raised them right.
Kevin impressed with his romantic side, his exceptional cooking skills and his knowledge of his mother's favorite meal. He could make some girl very happy one day. The Big Three definitely need to revisit their eight-year-old-selves to find some date-night inspiration!
Is it possible that Jack becomes more charming as more episodes go by? I mean, the daily meteor shower line on the roof — swoon! Jack, you made it very hard for men to compete with your standards.
I don't need anniversaries to see you. I see you every day. You are my daily meteor shower.
Jack
Though, I cannot be the only one who cringes every time Jack is in the kitchen, right? I know what happens, yet I still want to prevent it!
Lizzy Buczak was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in June 2021..
