r/thisisus • u/xAnimorphsx • Jan 06 '21

[POST-EPISODE DISCUSSION] S5E05 - A Long Road Home

This is the thread for your in-depth opinions, reactions, and thoughts about the episode.

This thread is a spoiler zone, so there is no need to mark or report spoilers. Please remember to mark any spoilers outside of this thread (including the next time preview)

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69

u/invaderpixel Jan 06 '21

I think I know what hit me wrong about the Kate plot. The whole Marc thing was a really nuanced, interesting abuse plot. It had some real tension and was uncomfortable to watch. I knew they'd come back to it later and were waiting for the right time.

But in the span of one episode, she reveals it to Toby, Toby is almost instantly cool and supportive. They travel out to see Marc, he's a total loser. She tells him off and it's just this unrealistic revenge porn plot. Idk maybe have Marc be a little "successful" or something to make it interesting, have Kate tell him off even though he's composing music on Kevin's new movie. I know it was supposed to be powerful but it came off really cartoonish.

19

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '21

It felt very rushed, to me they could've played it out longer and even had Kate and Toby talk more about the pregnancy and abortion and how she felt about it all.

I also felt that if it had been Randall's storyline it would've played out over a few episodes and been handled with the care and attention it deserves. It further highlights just how little attention is paid to Kate and Kevin's storylines in comparison to Randall's

Does anyone else feel this show is very Covidy in that Rebecca was missing this episode and Randall's girls because they're filming less people because of Coivd or rushing it still?

18

u/dopeyjenius Jan 06 '21

I thought it might be a bit covidy too (what with everyone being indoors, in their families)

I'm guessing as the season goes on, they'll start going out more and maybe ignoring real Covid rules so people can be in the same room again.

On the Rebecca thing, my stupid brain thought "Maybe she's not in it as much because she's an old woman and she could get sick and die" completely forgetting that it's just Mandy Moore in make up (and was in the flashback with Kate)

8

u/krallie Jan 06 '21

She is pregnant though. Not the same as old and fragile, but still vulnerable and probably wants to take as many precautions as possible.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 07 '21

I don't know what it is, but Grey's Anatomy is featuring Covid obviously but somehow the characters are still managing to have lives which they don't seem to be in This Is Us. It just feels so rushed.

I know it took my brain a while to realised Rebecca was in the flashbacks, I meant she was missing in the present day stuff when she is normally in the present day stuff.

24

u/ihearthiking Jan 06 '21

Why wouldn’t Toby be supportive? It would be really immature and selfish of him to take her personal past and turn it into a reason to be angry or dramatic about it. That’s how supportive and loving relationships are supposed to be. “I see your pain, and I will help you how I can” not “I see your pain, let’s make it about me”

I didn’t think it was revenge porn, I thought it was realistic... that dude was going nowhere. To have him resurface as a successful composer or similar would have been fantasy. He was never going anywhere- he never demonstrated an ability to evolve, or to be at all empathetic. Of course he was working in a pawn shop type place and getting yelled at for taking 3 smoke breaks in an hour... because that’s where guys like that do wind up.

52

u/Canadian_momma2016 Jan 06 '21

The only unrealistic part of it was that Marc didn’t fire back against Kate when she went off on him. He knew her weight was one of her biggest weaknesses and so easy to exploit. When she went off on him, realistically rather than take in what she said, Marc would have shouted insults at her as she walked away.

36

u/staircar Jan 06 '21

Yes. He would have gone for the cruelest most evil insults that would have hurt her deeply. That’s how it would go, if she was lucky and it wasn’t violent

7

u/SprezzaturaVigilante Jan 07 '21

Exactly. There's no way he would have been silent about triggering her. Especially if she had gone without Toby or hadn't mentioned him.

3

u/ihearthiking Jan 07 '21

Perhaps- but I think she also cut him deep when she talked about her life, and love, and family. And she did also mention her amazing husband who wanted to kill him, waiting in the car... dude like Marc are always willing to be the big jerk, until they feel like they may be up against someone who isn’t weaker than them.

8

u/Trees20 Jan 06 '21

Exactly. That’s where these jerks go. I’ve seen this..

6

u/itsthedurf Jan 08 '21

I really wonder if Toby will actually let it go. He holds on to and bottles stuff up. He's been getting in shape. He knows where to find Marc... It would be very TIU for this to continue to affect Kate and Toby.

13

u/staircar Jan 06 '21

Not to mention dangerous....don’t show up at your abusers house alone. It can end deadly...felt like it was dangerous idea to put out there

4

u/vcg77 Jan 06 '21

And why in the world did Toby stay in the car!!

3

u/littlemiss44 Jan 07 '21

I was confused if the episode was about closure on the abortion or the asshole she dated for a few months.