Oh, Brother | "The Best Washing Machine in the Whole World" (S1E7)
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On today's episode of That Was Us, we'll be discussing season one, episode seven, the best washing machine in the world. William unexpectedly reveals a secret to Beth when they're together. Rebecca and Jack admit that there is a distance growing between them. And Toby strays from his diet. Are you looking to take control of your skincare routine and discover a product that redefines anti-aging technology?

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Visit Lima.life, L for live, Y for younger, M for masterful, A for approved, and learn more about the Lima Laser. That's L-Y-M-A dot life. Here we go, friends. How's everybody doing today? Wow, how are you? Yeah, good. I'm doing quite well. Welcome back. It's a beautiful day. Good to see you guys. Likewise. It's great to jump into this washing machine with you. This episode was beautiful as ever, but uncomfortable.

- Comfortable. - Yeah, we were talking about that off mic, offline. - Yes, we were. - Yeah. - I mean, so, okay, let's start with the beautiful. Let's start with this sort of montage that we have at the beginning of the different washing machines. - The eras of the family. - Of the Pearson household, right?

and sort of how it echoes a passage of time, because it's the first time that we get a chance to see the big three as teenagers. - Correct. - Right? Which I was sort of like, it sort of reminded, I was like, oh, here we go. - Yeah. - Same, same.

It's funny re-watching. You're reminded of things that happened way earlier. Yeah. My recollection was like, oh, yeah, halfway through. I guess this is kind of sort of halfway almost. But that was sort of jarring to me. So we meet Niles, Logan. And Hannah. And Hannah. Yeah. Were they even cast when we first started filming the show? No. As a matter of fact. Oh, I was going to say.

Go, go, go Mandy Moore. As a matter of fact, no one really knows this. Yeah. But there were three other younger young people. Another age group. Another age. Yes. And we actually shot all of the football scenes with them. Yes. Okay. And then it was decided that there wasn't enough audience

of a definitive age gap between-- Interesting. Right. The younger big three. Right. And these were supposed to be teenagers and take us through that whole storyline and Jack's passing, whatnot, whatnot. So it was a heartbreaking moment, I'm sure. Oh. The realization of these three very, very talented young people

just for the sake of being a little too young. - They wanted to age them up just a little bit. - Yeah, they had to, so they recast Hannah, Logan and Niles and this was the first time we got to work with them. - That's crazy, the rest is history. - Crazy. - And they're fantastic. - Yeah, gosh. - They're fantastic. - Immediately from the jump. - Yeah. - As our younger big three was too, it's just like, it's so incredible again to sort of be reminded of that, like, wow,

These young people really knew who these characters were from the get-go. There was no sort of like training wheels. They just took off. It took me halfway through the episode to realize that this was the first time we were meeting them. Yeah. Like I was like, I feel like I've known them forever. Yeah. Right? Because we've seen the babies, we've seen the grownups. And I'm like, oh yeah, there they are.

I was like, oh wait, this is the first time in the series that we meet him. - Yeah, the continuity of character that we've been able to like sort of pull off in that show is kind of remarkable. - Yeah. - 'Cause when I watch it, I'm like, all right, what's Randall doing at this age? What's Randall doing at this, what's grown Randall doing? Like, I don't even see like, it's just like, it's Randall.

all the way through. It's Kevin through Kate through. It's very cool. Yeah. Um, but so we get to this beautiful moment of this montage of washing machines and we get to this new period of time for the Pearsons. And we also find Jack and Rebecca, um, with a little bit of distance. Sure.

And we were saying to each other... Casual distance. Pedestrian distance. Which you can call a benign neglect. Yep. Parallel lives. Lot of mercy, man. Just missing each other. Made me so daggum uncomfortable because we all know it. Yes. You know? And it's like...

Gosh, you wish there was some sort of cruise control button on marriage that you could just go like, beep. All right, it's going to be cool for the next year, so I can go ahead and do this. The problem is there is one, and people hit it. And this is what happens. And that's the problem. Yeah. You're probably like, I'm in a good cruise control, and everything's fine. Where the car drives itself. You want autonomous driving. Something like that. It doesn't exist. No potholes. Nothing to contend with. It doesn't exist. So Jack,

He says to Miguel later in the episode, because he's about to run out of the house to go to work. And Rebecca's like, Jack. He's like, oh. And what caught me in particular, too, that it was on the cheek. Because I know Jack and Rebecca, they'd be opening their mouth. Lips be interlocking after that kiss. I was like, oh, see, that was just a little cheek, Jack. That didn't feel right to me. That kiss in and of itself was to me like, hmm, something's going on. So then he goes to work.

He's kicking it with Miguel or whatnot. And Miguel's eating this. First of all, John Huertas is so dumb. Yeah. He's so dumb in the most delightful way, eating this dead girl sandwich. And is it his secretary? Yeah, someone that works in the office. Two secretaries. Comes in and she's clearly very flirtatious.

and he has no qualms with it. And it's so, watching Milo as Jack be so bothered. Like he's just really like, oh, this is what we do. - Yeah, you can always tell when Milo does the like back of the hair pat, pat down. It's like, this is, I don't like it. - His hackles are up. - Yeah, totally. - He's putting them back down. - I don't like what I'm seeing. - He didn't like it at all. And so they have a little flirtation and then she comes back in.

And his tie is sort of askew or his button on his collar was undone. And so she comes in, does the button. And he looked like, woman, I don't know why you're touching me.

- And then she said, "Your wife should have caught that." - Come on now. - I was like, excuse me, ma'am. I was offended as the character. It is not my job to button his shirt, but okay. - Real talk. - Real talk. - And so he mentions that it was the first time they hadn't kissed in a minute. Rebecca has her first rehearsal in a long time. Really excited, wanting to share it with it.

He's busy, he's got a client that he's gotta sign tonight. She's got the rehearsal. The kids have the football game. And it just like, it's one of those moments, one of them life moments. And you're like, oh snap. All right, we'll figure it out. - Yeah, how, but we will. - We don't know how, but we'll figure it out.

there's a real enthusiasm. First of all, Mandy Moore, when she up there on that stage singing, she's like, oh, I haven't done it in a while. I'm so nervous. And then she's like, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, do, do, do, do. Okay, side note, I saw Mandy perform at Carnegie Hall. Wow.

and she tried to pull the same stuff in front of a carnival. She's like, guys, this is not my day job. And I haven't done this in a while. - I was watching the episode going, I don't even remember singing that song. - Hold on. - It's wild. - I'm not done complimenting you. Don't try to bring it back to the episode. I went to the show with a vocal coach and classically trained singer. And he was like, what was she talking about? That was the best sounding voice all night.

- Oh, golly goops, that's not true. - Killed. - Oh, golly goops, guys. - Killed, golly goops. - Jesus. - Sang the Forever Now. - Did she really? - At Carnegie Hall. - Lord have mercy. - With who? - Taylor Goldsmith. - You and your husband went and did that song. - It was beautiful. - Thank you, Chris. - But anyway, she gets on stage here on this episode and knocks it out of the park again. - Totally knocks it out of the park. - You know what? - The hat too, I wanna give props to that. - That's very kind, yeah. Hala and the costume department just like,

re-imagining this like iteration of Rebecca was a lot of fun. - Yeah. - It's also interesting because I feel like this was, again, our first indication of Rebecca revisiting something that meant a lot to her as a young person.

And sort of the complications that will arise from that in terms of like family and scheduling and making that work and Jack's jealousy. And there's just, there's a lot, I think that sort of, um, being built into what's coming. Correct. That's percolating. There's, I heard something on another podcast recently. It's a husband and wife who once a week sit down and talk and record it and put it out there for the world. And it is extremely funny and vulnerable and one of my favorite things. But, uh,

One of the things they mention is nobody tells you when you have kids how much you're going to miss your partner.

Nobody talks about that. You better stop preaching here. Nobody talks about that. We going to church? Is that what we doing? Yeah. Come on now. And my wife, Rachel, and I have gone through this episode. Yes, sir. And we have a three and a half year old and a one and a half year old. And so we've kind of done it twice in the last four years where you have to like redefine yourself. Yeah. And you get so stuck.

trying to take care of this, this being, this human being and all of your oxytocin is focused on this point that you forget to point any of it at each other. Yes. And this is where that parallel living comes up and it takes active action.

intervention to prevent it. Like you can't just, yeah, wait, wait, wait, figure it out. - So on my Instagram feed the other day, something came up about like how the transference of oxytocin or serotonin, I can't remember which one, happens with like a 20 second hug or a six second kiss.

It hit me how long it had been since I kissed my wife. - For six seconds. - For six seconds. - Wow. - And so I kissed her this morning, this morning. And each time I tried to kiss her, she kept trying to feel like, "This is long enough, right?" I was like, "No, it's supposed to be six seconds." I had to tell her. - You put a timer on your phone. - I had to tell her. - Hold on a second, hold on a second. - We put an alarm on. - I had to tell her for six seconds because man, it is so easy to fall into that benign neglect. - Yeah. - Yeah. - We got five, six soccer games this weekend, football games.

Anyway, we can all relate. - Absolutely. - But a big part of what Rebecca is doing in this episode, even Rachel has started to do, is like, okay, I'm done just being a mom. She just did her first five minutes of standup. She enrolled in a vocal workshop. No joke, is starting Aikido. - Wow. - Because she's like,

I don't care. I don't care if I understand it or like it, I need to find myself again. - Yeah. - And I've been the same. I'm like, "Rach, I gotta go back to New York and do some theater."

I have to, like I have to, like, and giving, making the space for each other to do that and support each other to do that. And kudos though for you as an individual recognizing like, I need to do this. Cause I think sometimes it's easy just to flail or to continue down the path that you've been going down, but to recognize like, this is truly what's going to feed me, make me a better person, a better partner and a better parent is wise. It was one of those things where we need to stop trying to, and I think maybe I've said this on here already, but sometimes,

somebody else, it's probably on a podcast because all I do is listen to podcasts. I record podcasts, I listen to podcasts. We need to stop trying to take care of each other. The reverse of it is the best way for me to take care of you is to take care of myself, right? And to make sure that I have what I need so that I can arrive fully to

whatever we're trying to do here as parents. - Self-care ain't selfish, big dog. Self-care ain't selfish. Speaking of, that's a good segue. Can we go into Kate and Toby? - Please. - I think it's a good segue. So we see Kate kicking ass and taking names. She is like very diligent in her exercise routine, very diligent in what she's putting into her body, right? Like is really trying to like focus on a path to health and wellness, et cetera.

So she goes, they go to the OA meeting. Shout out to Divine Joy Randolph, who was hosting that meeting again. Academy Award winner. Excuse me. And they have the, is it a monthly weighing or a check-in? Yeah. Kate had lost a pound and a quarter. And a quarter. And a quarter. And she was like, yo, I've been busting my ass. Yes.

And I got a pound and a quarter. So she's like, all right, it's cool. Whatever. I'm not feeling great about it, but it's a loss. Then old Tobias Damon rolled up onto the scale. He's like, all right, let's see what we got. You know, don't care about it. Don't do the walk. He just, you know, he does a little thing. He walks up there. Eight pounds for Tobias. And he's like, oh, cool. Knowing full well, he's like,

- Kate ain't gonna be happy about it. - Yeah, this isn't gonna work. - Like he knew stepping onto, I feel like you tell me, I feel like you stepping on the scale, like I had the sort of feeling that like, I've lost more weight than my girl and it's not gonna go away. - This is a lose-lose. - Yeah, she said eight more pounds. So it's like this, it's been a good month. - Yeah, and you see Kate just sort of like,

Slip out the back. Yeah, right. She's like I can't be present for this joyful moment So let me excuse myself, which I think is not a bad way of doing right? Yeah, she gets on the phone later She's like look. I know I ducked out. I'm sorry about that. Let's get together. I want to see you that it I told me didn't answer Toby always be answering the phone Toby for his girl. Yeah, so she's like, you know, I'll go knock on this dude's door clock clock clock and

Toby opened the door like... Suspicious. When Toby opened the door and is like standing at the doorway. Yeah, I was like, wait, is there someone in there? I was like, Toby, who you got in your apartment, dog? Yes, I thought the same thing. I forgot. I was like, don't be doing that now. He had Sarah Lee. And she goes, he's like, can I come in? And you're like, yeah. And you had...

- Bags upon bags of things. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was a full-on binge. It was a full-on binge. It was a full-on binge, which, you know, in a program like that, you know, you kind of set your own guidelines with what it means-- If it's a technical OA meeting, you're-- what it means to be sober around food, making sober decisions around food. And he clearly was feeling guilty and feeling like he was gonna hide it. - Yeah. - And...

the the kind of resentment that comes out in in that relationship is that whatever you're doing doesn't work it's not working for me yeah like i'm doing all right i lost eight pounds like i mean kind of like not allowed but like like the what works for some people doesn't work for other people and you can't force yourself into uh into something that is going to make you

- So do you think like, for folks who are going through similar situations, like, is it a real sort of thing for him to articulate? Like what you're doing is not necessarily right for me, even though I know what I'm doing here is not right for me either. I have to sort of recalibrate my own path vis-a-vis yours. - I think, I can't remember the language he uses, but withholding from myself or abstaining, like drove him to this. Like not being able,

to indulge, you know. Moderately. Moderately. Sure. Which he says, but then the props department at the end gives Toby the largest. That cake at the dinner that you guys went to? Marshmallow cookie chocolate. What was that? I was like, that is a long string of

- It was marshmallow. - Caramel or marshmallow-y? - It was marshmallow. Let's just put it this way, it was delicious. - Glad to know. - Is what it was. But I think the further point of like this rupture is that you see, so there's unconscious parallel living that we're talking about, like just circumstances kind of like sent you down this road.

but then there's this situation where kate and toby have set out on the same path yeah to do the same thing and this is the first hint that no matter what they do that they're gonna have to walk two separate roads yeah to get this which is difficult for a couple very much so i think that like what it felt like in watching chrissy who is just for you guys who don't know chrissy metz is one of the most um

Everything lives right here. - Right on the surface. - Like right there on top. - Yeah. - So it makes her such an incredible actor. - It's what makes her- - 'Cause she has access to all that. - Yeah. And so like you see on her face, it's like, oh, well,

this is like, you can't keep things from me. - Yeah. - Right? Like if we're gonna do this and be together in it, like I know that I said that this is what I want and if it's not what you want, but you have to be, for you to be with me, you have to hide who you are. - Right. - Like that doesn't work either. - It gets complicated, yeah. - So you guys decide to go on the dinner later on and you tell her like, look, I can do this, I can do it my way and when I'm with you,

I will not be a stumbling block for you. And she's like, okay, so you guys have a healthy dinner, et cetera. Waiter comes by, says, are you guys interested in the menu? You say, no. She goes, yeah. And you're like, huh? He's like, yeah. I mean, otherwise you may just go home and do it behind closed doors. So you might as well do it here. And essentially, I'm glad that you told us it was delicious. And props to the props department. Because looking at it, I was like,

Lord have mercy. Like there's a way to like baby toe your way into the dessert department with your girl. She was like, no, we gonna do it. It wasn't a piece of cheesecake. We gonna go all the way. I'll have the eight cookie marshmallow chowder, please. One spoon, one spoon. Just for one. Yeah.

It was full swing. Yeah. So it leaves you wondering, I think the state of Kate and Toby, Katobi, is sort of like, all right, how do we progress from here with this sort of new dynamic that's introduced, right? It's funny that everybody seems to sort of be following suit with that idea and theme in this episode. Yeah. Because we also get to really experience Kevin and Randall's

-Dynamic for the first time. -The root. The root and understanding a little bit more, excavating a bit deeper as to what caused this rift that we sort of experience present day with them. Yeah. So it goes to the back. We have them in the same bedroom, the two boys, which makes total sense.

Randall's studying, Kevin trying to get some sleep, lights kind of bother him or whatnot. Kev just being the Neanderthal dude that he is, just throws the football, knocks over the Coke, jacks up my man's homework.

and they start arguing with each other. Mom comes in, fellas, what's popping? Can we calm down? He's like, this dude's got his light on. I got a big football game tomorrow, says Kev. He's like, well, I got to finish this homework. And you're like, yo, your brother started football too, so he doesn't have as much time to study. So can you cut him some slack? He's like, Kev's like, no, I want to go to the basement. Right. Right. So now we have active parallel living. Yeah.

- It's like a conscious choice. - I don't wanna be here. I wanna be here, 'cause here is away from you, right? And you see Randall almost immediately like, "No, dude, I'll just turn off. I'll turn it off, I'll go down to the kitchen, it's all good." - The ultimate compromiser. - And he's like, "No, I'm done."

And it hit me. It hit Sterling who played Randall. I was like, God, bro, I'm trying to do something and you just won't take anything. It was brutal. He goes down to the basement or whatnot. And you see the first interaction between teen Randall and Kate. Yeah. Right? Just being like, why doesn't he like me? Yeah. Right? And Kate's like, you just tried too hard, man. Like, go easy with it.

And so you see the first example of Randall going easy, like telling some terrible joke. Like making fun of his new digs. Making fun of his place or whatnot. And Kev is just through. He's like, bro, why don't you just leave? Yeah. He's like, I'm trying to help. I was trying to be funny. Like, what are you talking about? He's like, nah, man, like.

You're lame. I can't remember what he said, but shout out to Logan. Cause Logan, Logan's one of the nicest young men that you can ever meet. But he captures a dick. Oh, real daggers. That essence of Kevin as a teenager. Yeah, for sure. It was killer. And so before we even get to like the present day story, so they

Kevin has a football game and Kevin's like a prospect. He's a quarterback, you know, doing- - But Randall started playing football this season too. - So Randall started playing football too at a different school and they got to play against each other, which shout out to Rebecca, who's dressed all in beige. - Yeah. - But with one pom pom of each color. - For each school, right? And Jack is like, "What are you wearing?" He's like, "I want it to be as neutral as possible."

smart it's very very smart yeah she figured it out yeah but watching the football game it sort of remind it reminded me okay let's go fast forward to the future they're jogging in the neighborhood together yeah and uh randall's a little bit ahead of kevin kev catches up to run with him and then randall goes forward a little bit and then kev catches up and then these cats are just like taking off you know what i'm saying so you go back to the football game and randall's playing defense

And like one of the first plays, he wallops his brother. - Yeah. - And there are these moments in life when you're like, what I want to do in life, I can't. But because I have these pads on. - That's right. - They like applaud me for it. And it's like, nothing gives me more joy than to just blast you. And you see him look at it. You see Kevin look at him like, and Randall's like, yeah.

Yeah, and it happens again, right? And then they just start fighting. And I remember the days of being testosterone infused and it's still there.

But I'm saying when you are a teenager, it's a poison. The ability to make rational decisions because of this hormone that surges through you. Messes with your brain. You have no, I was like, oh, fight? Ah, yeah, hit. This is what I do. Don't do that to the mic. I won't do that to the mic. I apologize. Sorry, everybody. Sorry, everybody's fine. I just jacked y'all up. My fault. It was like Hulk smash.

And for an intelligent dude, because it's like everything else that he has tried to this point has failed him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? So these dudes are there. Go to present day, and they're about to go meet their mom for lunch. Kevin's going to come to Randall's office, and then they're going to go to lunch from there.

Unfortunately, Rebecca can't make it to lunch for some reason or another. Wait, because Miguel has gout. His gout was flaring up. I'm sorry. This was just such a- I was like, hold the phone. How did we never bring this back up again in the history of the show? There's a couple of those. Because early on, it was just, fuck Miguel. It was just like- I was like, wait, Miguel has gout? Yeah. What? What?

You were so casual on the phone, like, oh, Miguel's gout's acting up again. Oh, it's flaring up. Okay. We'll see you later, Mom. In a funnier show, that would have been the first in a long line of phone calls like that. We can't make it because of his hemorrhoids. Yeah. It's like a new, like he constantly is dealing with something embarrassing. And then the next time you see Miguel, he has to walk. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And the actor's like, will you stop? Giving me all these ailments. Yeah. We're going to be gone for like a week. Sorry, I just wrote that down. He has to get surgery. No, it's a good note. He wrote gout, exclamation point? It's a good note. He has to get surgery for his lazy eyes. It was just like such a slam. Miguel and the holdovers. Which one do I lick? Yeah. More That Was Us after these words from our sponsors.

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So they're stuck kind of like having to hang with each other. And they're both like, you know, if you have something to do, like, no, I'm free. Like, if you have something to do, no, I'm free. So they go. And Beth sort of hinted at it before, like, oh, you and Kev are going to spend some quality time together? Like, yeah, he's my brother. What are you talking about? Like, we spend time with each other all the time. It's like, yeah, but you're usually not the only two people there. You're like, well, mom will be there. Anyway, so we get a hint of like what's to come.

Kev comes to the office. I love this moment because Randall's in the middle. He's in his wheelhouse where he's the man. Being the star. Where he's the man. Yeah. Then in walks the manny.

and all attention goes straight to the Manny, which I think is so interesting because they both have this interesting relationship with each other of like, oh, everybody loves and sort of revolves around you. And I think everybody loves and revolves around you. They're both stars in their world. They're both stars in their world, right? Then they go to this place.

And this one was even ice cold for SKB. They're at this place, it's very she-she, whatnot. It's not necessarily his vibe or what have you, but it's cool. And then Kevin's co-star from The Manny comes up. He's like, yo, what's going on, man? How you doing? It's good to see you. We have to catch up, get together, da-da-da. I'm like, who's that? And he's like...

Really funny, bro. And I'm like, okay. And then you just see Randall just keep eating. We find out. Randall has never, never seen the show. Never watched the Manny. Yeah. And like, as an actor, like you say, you relate to Randall. That was the moment where I was like. I relate to Kevin. I was like, you ain't watched not one episode of my dadgum show, bro. Yeah. He's like, he's a serious regular for four seasons. Yeah. Four seasons. And Justin, Justin. Yeah.

- Seriously, the way Justin delivers that vibe. - Oh, my favorite when he was like, "What was my character's name?" He's like, "Don't tell him." And turns to the guy, "That's Tim!" - Was that improvised? - That was improvised. - Of course it was. - It's totally improvised, it's great. So that is also one of the first times that "This Is Us" went on location.

Because while we shot that in LA, the exterior that follows it, we actually went to New York City. Just for that. Just for that scene. Just for that scene. Well, so Kevin leaves the restaurant in a huff. You go chasing after him. Yes. Where a fight sort of ensues. An argument that then leads to like a physical altercation. Correct. A surprisingly uncoordinated fight.

- Well, listen. - For two very coordinated men. - It's an actor and a dude who sells trades weather. - Listen, listen, listen. The fight, ironically, was a great relief. - Yeah, yeah, it was. - From the rest of the episode. I would rather see you physically fight. - Totally. - Than sit and have dinner together. When you guys actually started fighting, I was like, oh, thank God. - Well, because,

- Before, what precipitates the fight is a really heavy conversation. - Yeah. - Yes. - 'Cause Kev says something about Marl. - Not because you're black, because you're black and adopted. - Right. - I just remember thinking as I watched it, I was like, oh, these are sentiments they've never really relayed to each other.

They've talked around it, but never said these exact words to each other. No, because Kev drops this bar. Kevin sees the black Manny poster with- Morris Chestnut. With Morris Chestnut. Mo Nuts, thank you very much. And he goes like, oh, great. Replaced by another black man. Yeah. And I was like- Oy. Woo.

I was like, so you just gonna drop that and not talk about it anymore? And then he goes on to like, "You always got special treatment," says Kevin. I said, "Because I'm black?" He goes, "No, because you're black and you're adopted." Yeah, hit the jackpot with that combination. Couldn't have had it any easier. In our house you did, with our mother you did. All right, okay, here we go.

Kevin says, why can't you just admit it, man? What? If you're going to do the whole scene, let me play Kevin. You want to play Kevin? I don't have to do the whole scene. I don't have to do the whole scene. But it is this things that you said that have not been talked about or being talked about for like the first time. Yeah. Right? And...

Underneath that too is this idea that like, yeah, mom had my back because she recognized that like- - You didn't. - The person that I was trying to connect with was just ghosting me. - Right, right, right. - Right?

And so they get into this fight, right? They start, it gets physical. They get down on the ground. We're mashing each other's face. We're on the streets of New York and we're careful of like, what the urine percentage is on the concrete at that time. I was like, please don't make my head touch the ground. He's like, please don't make mine. And we're like pushing. Wait, they didn't clean the ground? Oh no, we just laid up right outside the town. Oh no, no, no, no, Sterling. Yeah, it's dirty. Yeah. It's dirty. Yeah. No one came in, pressure washed anything for you? No, I don't think so. Oh.

And so what a beautiful moment, Seth Meyers. - Seth Meyers, our guest star. - Yes, walks by, he's like, "Hey Kev." He's like, "Oh, hey Seth." Like, "You okay?" He's like, yeah. - You need me to call anybody? - Yeah, you need me to call anybody? Yeah, it's fine, he's my brother. He's like, "Okay." I was like, "Hey Seth Meyers," and he's gone.

And then you hear an alarm, or a siren, police siren. And I love that they kept this. And I was like, oh, we should go. And then Randall says, I'm still black, which is definitely something that Brown said in the moment, because I was like, I don't mess with police. Whether we're playing or not, I was like, we gotta get out of here. Oh, a clip from South Myers. Oh.

Hey, everybody. This is Seth Meyers. I remember when I was asked to cameo on This Is Us, my first thought was, I can't believe Fallon said no. But I did jump at the opportunity to do it. I was very excited to work with Mandy Morgan after we collaborated on the film American Dreams. True story. Yeah. Pausing. For applause. For standing ovation. No one saw it. So...

Then I showed up and obviously was massively disappointed that my scene was not with Mandy, but with Sterling and Justin, mostly because they spent the whole night asking me how I stayed in such good shape. And I just had to break it to them. You know, you either have it or you don't. Or you don't. I was very excited to get to hang out with Ken Olin. That's right. That's his last name. Because I'm a huge fan of his. I didn't realize he was the director and we were hanging out in the tent and I was asking him about-

The show Easy Streets, which only ran for eight episodes, but that was a big bantam. And I'm going to go out on a limb and say Ken had not been asked about Easy Streets for a long time. It was very clear that we were in a fictional universe because Sterling and Justin both recognized me as Seth Meyers and the people in New York City who passed over the course of the night that we shot it did not. So that was jarring that I'm so...

Much more famous in that universe. Oh, my God. I can't. Oh, my God. And overall, though, it was a great experience. I hear about it all the time because it's a show that obviously endures. And so people start over from the beginning. And every now and then on social media, I will get a lovely shout out from somebody who saw the cameo. It was the first time I met Justin Sterling. And that was very lovely. And it was a very cool show to be a part of because it was one of those rarest films.

That was a hit right away and everybody really liked it. So I am incredibly grateful to have been a part of it. And I don't want to be too sentimental because especially when you're talking about a show that did genuine human emotion better than almost anything on TV. But if I was being honest about why I am happiest, I did it.

It's the residual checks. Yeah. Yeah. It's the cold hard cash. Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. This is us, but that is me. The money. Also, I'm

- Hoping I'm getting paid for doing this? - Yes. - Not at all. - Thanks for having me on. - Yay! - Thank you. - Oh, we love Seth Meyers. - That dude is so damn funny, dude. - He's so funny. - That's Seth Meyers of the Family Trips podcast that he does with his brother, Josh.

- It must've been nice. Remember when he was on TV? Now he does podcasting like us. - Now he does podcasting like us. He- - Oh, is he still on TV? - Oh, okay. - He's still on TV, for sure. It was what was cool too in that moment, 'cause I was talking to, I had always, I watched SNL. Everybody watches SNL, but I was like, man, I wanna host that show.

I was like, "Seth Meyers, what is it like when the guests come on? Give me some tips just in case I ever get a chance to do it." And he started talking to me about highs and lows, things to do, do's and don'ts, et cetera. And then as fortune might have it, I don't know how long it was after that episode that I got to host. And it was so cool, you guys. - You killed it. - I can't even imagine. - I look forward to when we all get a chance to share our mutual war stories over the whole thing. You get exhausted.

And I think that's the secret of it. They just sort of exhaust you. So by the time it's 11:30 at night on Saturday, you're just like, all right. - 'Cause they don't give you cocaine anymore. - They don't give us cocaine anymore. - They used to, but they don't anymore. - Back in the, if I would've got to host in the 80s or something, that would've been cool. - Just coffee. - But I would've been seven. - Yeah.

Yeah, it was a great time and he was so cool. Very warm. Done his show a few different times. Genuine, cool human being. Yeah, he is one of the best and truly one of the very funniest people I've ever met in my life. Hysterical. Hysterical. Agreed. Agreed. If you haven't checked out their podcast, it's incredible. Yeah. Very, very funny. Nice surprise, producers. What a great surprise. Look at you guys surprising the hosts.

- Look at you. - Yeah, he was definitely a nice little highlight of that episode. - That was well done. I'm saying that for the people who are, you know, there's people back here off camera that do things. - BTS. - That surprised us. Well done. - Thank you. - You're welcome. You can say something. You're welcome. Okay. - Now we have Sam Trammell live. This is your life. - So yeah, that sort of ends with them coming back home

And so being like, that was the first time that you ever called me your brother. That was the first time that you have publicly claimed me in our 36 years of life. You've called me Webster. You've called me all kind of different things, but to hear a brother come out was cool. And so there's a mirroring of going to the basement because he got moved to the basement. - And there's a real quick response that he gives that's extremely healthy. - Yes.

-That sucks. -He just says, "That sucks." He doesn't argue. He doesn't try to think of a time. Like, when we talk about the show being a handbook for life, like, that's how you respond to that. -Yeah. Not defensive. -That sucks. -Yeah. -Yeah. -That's what we'll say. -Just an admission.

We come home and we'll get into the storyline next, I would say, because we find out that William and my wife have been doing the wacky tabacky, the cannabis, the ganj together. And I was like, y'all getting high together? That's cool. That's cool. And Kev's about to go down to his office, to my wife's office, which is now his bedroom, but he got relocated downstairs. So there's a mirroring of Kevin being in the basement.

and he invites Randall to hang out with him. And like, you can see Randall, like every fiber is just like giddy and he's just trying to be like, yeah, okay. That'll be, you know, if you want to. That's if you're cool with it. And see two brothers. What I loved was honestly two brothers under one blanket. Cause you don't get under a blanket with a grown man in no situation at all whatsoever. But with your brother. Hold on. You would get under a blanket with Sterling? You are lying to me.

If you wouldn't get under a blanket with me while we were watching a movie. I would get under a blanket with you, but you have to be very close. And that's the kind of closeness. That's the kind of closeness that I loved about just seeing two brothers sitting on a couch under a blanket, enjoying each other's company. Okay. It was a great note to end it on. It was a great note to end it on. Who wants to start off the William Beth storyline?

I mean... Which is probably one of my favorites in this thing. I mean, it is incredible. It is lovely to see them scheming about after the kids go to bed and her...

baking up a special treat for them. - Yeah. - We can talk about Susan's laugh, her high laugh, which rings out through the ages. - Susan Kalanchoe, from the beginning, when she first introduces it, she has this sort of conspiratorial glee of like, so, you know, I got some brownies and we can do a little something on the side. Like once we put the kids to sleep and just like, okay. - And it's all to help William because the cancer obviously has ravaged his appetite and she wants to get him to eat a little bit.

Pain relief. I mean, that's how it started. That's how it started. Then he eats a little too much and accidentally over the course of the conversation reveals one of the biggest bombshells of the series. Correct. Uh...

in episode seven. - They start talking about this, he starts reciting, she starts reciting the poem. - He does and she joins in. - He starts reciting this poem and then she, thank you very much, she joins in

And she's like, how do you know this poem? And she's like, oh, this book that Randall's had for the longest time. Since he was a kid. Since he was a kid. And he goes, oh, yeah. I forgot I gave that to Rebecca. Boink. And then you see Beth be like, go from hi to hi. And you see William be like, I said too much. He's like, actually, I think I need to go to bed. Ha ha ha.

Try to backtrack. And it is, and that one, I mean, obviously has reverberations and repercussions. The audience, of course, knows that. We saw that earlier in the season. So the audience is aware that they knew each other. There was a bit of a relationship. But we've come to understand that no one else in the universe, save for the two of them, know about this existing relationship. It became really real.

- Yeah. - Correct. And as a viewer, I had forgotten that it happened so early in the series. We were talking about that. Like so many of these monumental moments that happen in this family's life happen in these first seven episodes so far. - We set a lot of stuff up, man. There's a lot of dominoes. - And we've talked about this before, I think, in previous episodes, but this raises the question,

How do you navigate? I was about to ask that. How would you guys have navigated knowing this news? Do you share it with your spouse? Because Beth obviously immediately was like, I have to tell my husband. And he's like, no, no, no, no, no, you can't, you can't.

And this would hurt their relationship. You know how much he loves his mother. And she was just sort of like, that's my husband. How would each of you navigate a situation? It's so interesting because when I think about it from Rebecca's perspective, I think I agree with Rebecca. But when I think about it from...

Beth's perspective, I'm with Beth. You know what I mean? Like when I try to think, oh, what would I do in that situation with my son? And I found his father. Do I keep from doing not? And this is the exact opposite for me. You have to share. This is the thing. I would say this. From my perspective, you asked the question, what would I do?

I do believe that it is either William or Rebecca's information to share. Sure. Right. So I would talk to them, which I think is what Beth is doing, and be like, listen, this is something you have to tell your son. But maybe you put a timeline on it because if you don't, like, I don't know if I can physically walk around keeping this from my partner. Yeah. You know, that creates distance and space and whatnot. So now that I have it.

I have to do something with it, but it's really yours to do first. We have a fan segment this week. Her name is Lindsay, and she talks about a secret that was her mother's to share with her, but her mother didn't.

but her grandmother knew and so her grandmother kind of put her on the clock and saying to her daughter you have to tell your daughter what we know because if you don't buy a certain time then i'm going to tell her right i think i would operate in a similar sort of fashion wanting the person whose secret it is to share to be the person to say it sure but if they don't

And I'm gonna have to let them know. - I feel like I would find it so hard to walk around with that information and not share it with my spouse. But I do agree with you. It's not, I don't believe it was her information to share. - Right. We'll be right back with more "That Was Us."

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So in the sum total of it all, where are you guys left as audience members at the end of 107? I think this tantalizing information of Beth figuring out that Rebecca and William had this existing, pre-existing relationship. They knew each other. It's like, what is going to happen from there? Getting more information about Jack and Rebecca and where they are in their marriage and not sort of being in sync with one another. I feel like this was a very...

open-ended episode. - It's one of the great examples of the art of the cliffhanger that our show is very, very good at. - I think the only non-cliffhanger which has a feeling of some sort of leading to healing is Kevin and Randall. - That's right. - Correct. - Which feels good. - Yes. - Because there's a lot of things not to feel great about. - Right, right. - It's nice to have something to be like, these brothers are gonna be okay. - All these parallel lives and at least one of them are starting to come back together. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right. Good episode? Yeah. Great episode. All right. Should we do this again? Let's do it again. Don't forget to reach out to us at thatwassuspod at gmail.com. Yep. You can also give us a call at 412-501-3028.

Leave a message. Let us know what's going on with you, how we may be of service. We're not licensed professionals, but we love to talk. And listen. We love to listen. Rate, review, and subscribe. It really helps us pay for this wonderful production. A lot of people haven't heard of our show. And bring these episodes to you. Yeah. If you can give us the support that we need, we appreciate it. And I mean that sincerely and also not. Thank you for listening. That was us. And thanks for coming together, man.

- We're all in this together, friends. This is fun. - Always a pleasure, gang. - Likewise. - Till next time, y'all. - Okay, it is time for another segment of our emotional support hotline presented by Talkspace. This has quickly become pretty much our favorite segment, I think, of the show. - Immediately. - Immediately. We are not licensed professionals, remember that. But if you would like to speak to one today and explore that process, check your insurance coverage and visit Talkspace.com/insurance.

T-W-U to get started. It's been amazing. You guys, all the listeners, you guys are amazing. Yes. Yeah. Ditto. Echo. Everything you just said. I love it.

Let's see who we are talking to today. - Oh, it's Lindsey. Okay, let's hear it. - Here we go, Lindsey. - Hi guys, my name is Lindsey and I am from Baltimore. I watch your show religiously every week. The relationship between Randall and his birth father

is what got me every single time. As someone who did not know their father or meet their father until well into mid-20s, it definitely made me cry every single week seeing Randall and his journey of having this amazing father.

but knowing something was missing. I didn't exactly get the same closure and happiness out of my meeting that Randall did, but just seeing it all come together, really. You know how to make me cry every week, guys. Thank you. - Oh, wow. - That's pretty powerful. - Okay. I'm gonna call Lindsay. Lindsay, we gotta talk.

It's my first phone call, everybody. Mandy and Chris have done the last ones. So here we go. I'm going to say her number. I'm just going to type it in. Thank you. Chris had to learn that lesson. He was like, welcome to my life. It just means mumbling to myself. And somebody would be like, what? Nothing. Here we go.

Hello? Hi, is this Lindsay? Yes, it is. Hi, it's Mandy Moore. And Chris Sullivan. Hi. And Sterling Brown. How are you doing today, Lindsay?

I'm good, thank you. How are you? We're doing quite all right. We just listened to your voicemail. Thank you for calling the emotional support hotline. Your show, I don't know if it was emotional support as so much as emotional distress. Well, hey, we're here to talk about it. We're here for either one. Do you want to share anything about what it was like meeting your father and how it came to be? Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

Well, my mom was a single mother and basically from what I've been told is she gave him the choice of, you know, you're either 100% in this or you're not at all. She basically was like, this isn't going to be a thing where you're here one day and then three months you're gone and then you make a promise of showing up and then you don't, she said.

You're either in it or you're out. So obviously he took the out option. So she didn't really share with me anything about him or who he was. Just we lived in a small neighborhood where it's one of those things where

You either know everyone or you know someone that knows someone. And I think it was more of a, if she told me a name, I would find him. Right. Or I would know someone who knew him and would have the opportunity to reach out myself without her knowing. Yeah. And she just didn't want that to happen.

So it wasn't until I was around, I think, 22 where I was hanging out with people in my neighborhood more and was just getting into her ear of, okay, but mom, what if I'm hanging out with a cousin and I don't know it's a cousin? What if I end up liking this person? It can get complicated. Important information. Right. I don't want to start dating a cousin and not know and that's just strange. Yeah. So...

My grandmother ended up telling me who my father was. And it turned out. Quick, quick, let me ask a quick question. Did your grandmother get permission from your mom or she just decided it was time that you knew? Well, so I had had the conversation with my mom and my grandmother, like, okay, guys, it's time. I need to know a name. Yeah. And my grandmother basically told my mom, this is the timeline you have to tell her. And if you don't,

by this day, I'm going to tell her. And the time came and my mom still didn't want to tell me. So my grandmother did. Gotcha. Okay. Continue, please. So then that caused a little bit of an issue with my mom being very upset at my grandmother for quite some time. So that was a whole other thing to deal with. But once I was given the name,

Then I realized, oh, okay, so I may not have known who this person was or met him, but I actually know people that he's related to. So it turned out like I had a half-brother, and I used to play with him growing up, and I didn't know he was my half-brother. Or one of my friends, her mother had gotten married, and the guy she married was my uncle, and I didn't know he was my uncle.

So I would do like sleepovers at her house and I would go on vacations with her family. And I was on vacation with my uncle. This is a complex situation. It really is. It's like the TV shows. Yes. Yeah. So then the last one was I started having my first job. And one of my first days at the job, an older woman walked in and she first question, who are your parents?

So I told her my mom's name and then she's like, what about your father? I said, I don't know. She let it go. She would come in every day when I worked. She always gave me tips. Like nobody gave me a tip, but she gave me a tip. Every time she came in, she was my grandmother. I knew it. She recognized you. She knew immediately. Oh my goodness.

Oh, wow. Yeah. So once I was told a name, then all the pieces kind of fell in place where I was like, oh, okay. So I didn't know any of these people were related to me, but they all knew and just weren't allowed to say anything. Oh, wow.

Lindsay, do you know now? Like, do you know all the, like, do you see these people? Do you? So I made arrangements through my friend's mom who was married to my uncle to meet my dad and

were both very shy people so it was a very uncomfortable meeting of meeting at their house and just kind of staring at a stranger that shouldn't have been a stranger um then i went to a couple of family functions where i i was had the opportunity to meet his parents his brothers and sisters cousins that happened a couple of times

Then I went to his mother's funeral and I was one of, I was his only child that went to his mother's funeral. This is the woman who left you tips? Yes. Okay. Wow. I only had the opportunity to meet her once knowing that she was my grandmother.

So I went to her funeral with him and as we were leaving, he just, he said, "I wish I had known about you." And I knew that he did know about me because my mom had finally opened up and told me more stories about encounters where she was like, "I thought he was going to come over and say something and I thought it was going to start something, but he just kind of like stood back and watched you from afar and left it at that."

So I knew he knew about me. So him saying that was just kind of a trigger for me where it just hit me the wrong way. Sure. So that was the last time I saw him was his mother's funeral. Was that years ago? Was it months ago? I would say it was probably...

probably five years ago. Oh, wow. Okay. Thank you for being vulnerable enough to share your story with us. That is... Yeah, not a problem. I mean, like I said, watching...

The relationship between Randall and William just struck so hard. I've never seen a relationship like that on TV. So then seeing it and being able to relate to it so well. And obviously Randall having a much better turnout of events. I mean, I know William eventually passes away, but he got the time to be with his dad and learn about him and find out.

why certain things happened the way they did. Yeah. Some closure. Definitely. So watching it, I was like, okay, I'm glad at least someone got what they needed out of it. Wow. That's incredibly magnanimous of you.

Because the reaction could be something different, like how come it went well for him and it didn't go as well for me? Sure. You are clearly a person who's gone through a lot and has learned how to make peace with a lot. I'm sure you're not completely at peace all the time, but the fact that you are where you are right now, I find kind of remarkable. Yeah. Because that's a lot, Lindsay. It is. Yeah. For a young person to have on their plate and to have dealt with and digested.

and come out the other end so well adjusted and articulate and like Sterling said to just have such a grasp of like the bigger picture is really, really inspiring.

Well, I think knowing my mom's side of the story also and being older now where I'm able to see where she came from. Because when I found out who my father was, she was basically around the same age that I am now. So I couldn't imagine. I mean, there's no handbook of how to handle something like this and how to deal with this sort of situation. So I know in her mind.

she was doing the best she could to keep me away from a person that she knew could potentially or would potentially end up hurting me in some way. Yeah. So just seeing it from that perspective helps also. Yeah.

It takes sort of like getting to that age. I think part of the show is like we hold our parents up on a pedestal or expect perfection from them. Then we sort of reach the age that they were or have kids of our own. We realize that we're all human beings making the best decisions that we know how to in real time. Yes. And it's nice that you're able to have that level of perfection.

perspective and just sort of like grace for your mom. Exactly. Right. And I will say, I think that's part of what the show helped with also is you get to see Rebecca and Jack together and they're having these children and the process that they're going through them while they appear to the world is like the greatest parents ever and have everything together. You're watching the show seeing, okay, but these are the real conversations that they were having behind closed doors that not everybody else saw happening. Yeah.

Yeah, I've heard, you know, we grew up in a, in a, we meaning us here in the podcast room, in a time where parenting...

we often saw the fracture, heard the argument, saw the fight, saw the whatever, but then our parents would make up in private. Right. And then go about their life as if nothing had happened, which is extremely confusing. Yeah, because you don't see the repair. Right, you don't see the repair. And it's like third degree gaslighting for children because children are like...

Wait, everything was just a mess. You guys were not cool the moment it came. And then you went in this magic bedroom or office and we heard Lowe talking and now you're fine? How does that work? The show, in a way, even for me, like watching it,

You said the word handbook, and I had said several times that this show is a handbook for living. You said that. Like there's so many different scenarios. How would I handle this? How do you handle this? How do you handle this conversation? How do you handle this relationship? And the show shows the healthy conversation.

it not only shows the destruction but it also shows the repair right yeah which i've always maybe sometimes more of the healthy evolved way to yeah sort of the resolution that we all should be aiming for yeah and plus i feel like there's so many different characters with so many different personalities that there's at least one you're going to be able to cling on to where you're like that's the one that i identify with yes just go along with their story and see how they handle certain situations and compare it to what you

Do or have done in the past right? Yeah, right, right, right agreed Lindsay. Thank you so much for sharing your story Thank you for being a rock star and I hope that whatever happens in the future with your your dad and his side of the family that they Learn to recognize what a beautiful human being you are because it's his loss right now. I

Thank you. You're welcome. And I have to say thank you to you specifically, because like I said, your storyline specifically, I love the show as a whole, but your storyline specifically with William is really what what struck me and what had me watching every week.

Thank you. We're going back and watching it right now, and it's a gorgeous storyline. And to Ron Cephas Jones, who I don't know if you knew this or not, the guy who played my dad, he actually passed away last year. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, so...

I'm glad I got a chance to spend that time. We're all glad that we got that chance to spend time with him while he was still here because he was a beautiful man inside and out. And I'm glad that it resonated with you. Yes. And your story is not over, so I can't wait to hear the rest of it. And by sharing, there's somebody listening right now who is being helped by hearing your story.

I hope so. I hope something good can come out of it, just like with the show with someone going through a situation where they can watch it and be like, okay, I'm not the only person that has this happening. Amen. Amen, sister. Well, thank you again, Lindsay. It was really, really lovely to talk to you. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us and to leave us such an incredible voicemail.

all right well thank you guys have a good one lindsay talk to you later thank you bye bye i'm gonna tell you something guys i'm gonna tell you something i'm i'm being a bit overwhelmed but in a in a way that means this show is allowing people to share things with the like yeah this is us on paper

If you read it, you're like, this isn't real. So there's triplets, but one doesn't make it. And this isn't real. It's too specific. This is too much. And then you hear a story like this.

that if you had written that in and pitched that to like someone at the TV show, they'd be like, that's not real. That can't be real. And there's a broadness in the specificity of This Is Us. For sure. Her story was so different from yours and William's, but yet she was able to find her way in. Yeah. And that's the remarkable thing of being a part of a show like this and to have the ability to chat with people after the fact now. We're going back and re-watching the show, but for people to be able to share their recollections of,

Their connection with the show is just, it's mind boggling. It's amazing. All right. That's another emotional support hotline. Hello? Oh, you want us to keep doing more of these? Yes. Sure. It's Ryan Reynolds. Hold on. It's Ryan. From Mint Mobile. We have unlimited minutes on Mint Mobile. I guess we'll just do these forever then. Okay.

Can't wait to see the next movie. All right, Talkspace. Thank you guys for sponsoring this section. It's my favorite. Me too. It's my favorite. Till next time. That Was Us is filmed at The Crow and produced by Rabbit Grin Productions and Sarah Warehunt. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith.