Randall's Campaign | "Kamsahamnida" (306)
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On today's episode of That Was Us, we're diving into Season 3, Episode 6, Kamsahamnida. Toby continues to battle depression, Randall gains momentum with a new campaign manager, and Kevin makes a bold move to uncover the truth about Jack's past.

How are we doing today, ladies and gentlemen? Doing so well, so well. Another excellent episode by Vera Herbert. Vera Herbert. I call her Black Vera because she got nominated and won an NAACP Image Award, and Black Vera's not black at all, but she did win. Got booed off the stage when she accepted the award. She's Black Vera now. Wow, you're falling. Your mic's falling. I got it, I got it.

I'm good. Okay. We're straight. What's the Herbert, Sherbert? What's Sherbert? What's the difference between Sherbert and sorbet? Let's get to the good stuff, guys. I think Sherbert feels like the- Is there dairy in Sherbert? No, there's no dairy in Sherbert, I don't think. There's no dairy in sorbet. There is in sorbet? There's no dairy in sorbet. I thought about this the other day. Inquiring minds. I saw a Sherbert on the ice cream menu. I don't know if I've ever had Sherbert. You have. Have I? Yeah.

Sorbetto. I want to know. You have. Here's the difference between sherbet and sorbet. Sherbet contains dairy. There you go. Oh, that's interesting. Sherbet contains dairy. Yes. I...

And if you're saying sherbet, you're wrong. I never liked sherbet. There's my hot take. I don't know if I've ever had it. Ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first. Mandy Moore, I hate sherbet. Detest. No, I really don't like it. And I just have visceral memories of my childhood. My dad loved it. Really? My brothers loved it. Do you think it's a combo? Because sherbets are generally like a fruit or a citrus flavor, right? And mixed with the dairy and that combo is not...

- Orange dreamsicle? - Nope, not a fan. - Oh yeah, I'm not a fan either. - Not a fan. - Nope. - That's weird. If you don't give me dairy, give me dairy. If you're not, mm-mm. - I don't want dairy and citrus, that combination. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I don't want fruit in my salad. - You know what? Here's a hot take. I don't like fruit in my pie. - Oh, that is a hot take. - Okay, you're a cream pie guy. - I'm a cream pie. - You like non-fruit pies.

Okay, so you like a chocolate silk. You like a banana cream. All of the above. You like a pecan. I like a pecan. I like a sweet potato. Pumpkin. Sweet potato pie? Sweet potato over pumpkin? No, listen. Here's a hot take. If you want to go at this weekend, this is cultural. Let's go. No, but listen. What? When the holidays come back around and we're doing these podcasts, I'm going to bring you a slice of my mom's pumpkin pie.

And that'll be the end of this debate. Okay. Listen, I love you. Yeah. I don't think you're right. But it's your mom. No, but I can't wait for you to be wrong. But it's your mom. And I'm open to being wrong. Wouldn't it be great if you were wrong and you had the best slice of pumpkin pie of your life? So you give me a slice of your mom's pie. I'm sure it's for that. I'm going to give you a slice of my wife's sweet potato pie. Okay.

And we'll have a little taste test. I just prefer a sweet potato over a pumpkin in general. Sure. I understand what you're saying, but that's because neither of you have had my mom's pumpkin pie. I haven't had your mom's. Sure. I'm open. I'm open. I've also had a sweet potato cheesecake. Yes. Delicious. Oh, boy. So what is your favorite pie? Sweet potato. I like a banana cream if it's done well. My mom used to like, so my mom, God, are we going to talk about the show? Yeah, yeah. No, but my mom used to love a banana pudding.

with the vanilla wafers. Yes, vanilla wafers. But see, I don't like fruit and sweet together. That's funny. I just said I don't like citrus and cream. Right, right, right. Like citrus and milk. I hear you. But banana's not citrusy. Exactly. Banana, berries, I'm fine with that. Wait, berries are citrusy. No, they're not. No, they're not.

Berries are not a citrus. They're not? That's not even a hot take. That's just a fact. Was that just dumb, what I said? No. No. Just says. You could say it. Did you hear my voice go up? No. No. Just unimportant. Let's own it. No. I thought berries had citrus. No. Lemons, oranges, limes. What else? Grapefruit. Grapefruit. Yeah. Clementines. Okay. Any version of orange. Red orange. But that's it. That's all citrus. Those are your citrus. Yeah.

I don't know why I thought grapes had... No. Grapes? What are we talking about grapes? Not citrus. Grapes got a berry. I knew that. Wait, is a grape a berry? Grape is not a berry. I don't think a grape is a berry. No, grapes have a berry. It does have a seed. It does have a seed. You guys, the point is Vera Herbert, Sherbert, Mandy doesn't like it. Anyway, this episode... This episode's fantastic. It is. It is a good episode. We get introduced to a brand new character who comes to be a fixture on the show, who I...

I just forgotten about it. I just hadn't seen the show in so long. And I'm like, here comes Tim Joe. Tim Joe. Love Tim Joe. Okay, because we'll get to it. We're going to get Tim Joe on the show. We have to get. We have to get Tim Joe on the show. J-Wan has got to make an appearance on the show because, and this wasn't even like me sharing anything with the writers. One of my best friends in life

Dr. Philip Kim is Korean. We've known each other since freshman year of college. He's been in my wedding. I've been in his wedding. There's like a group of six of us or whatnot. So it was really funny. Like as this storyline was coming up, like all my friends were asking, hey, Phil, did you like contribute to the storyline? Did they tell you that they know that you guys are friends? Like there's a lot of excitement in the friend group around this whole thing. So it's pretty awesome.

While we're booking guests, Sam, we should also try and get Rob Morgan on here, too. Rob Morgan's outstanding. Outstanding. He's outstanding. Well, let's just go with the sort of the Pearson, Black Pearson storyline first. Sure, sure. Always, always. Right? Randall is still sort of learning, trying to entrench himself in the community, Philadelphia, whatnot. So he's got to go to

Church. He picks the blue shirt for church over the white shirt, which I thought was cute. He picks the blue shirt. Although there was the teal shirt. The teal was also a thing. He picks the teal shirt. He picks the teal shirt. He picks the teal shirt. He says blue or white. Yeah. Okay. And she's like, what about teal? And he's like, isn't that overdoing it for church? She's like, there ain't no overdoing it for black church. Got it, got it. You're right. Which...

is true. Tell me about your black church outfit. I'm going to tell you, well, I think you probably have more black church outfits than me. I've got a lot of them. My man, Sully, if you guys have not like keyed in on his fashion sense. If you have not seen me at black church. It is very much of the black church. Why don't we pause the podcast, do a quick Google search. Welcome back. Do a quick Google search. This dude kills it. And like, because there are certain sort of like,

fashion stores that are in the community that you go and look in the window and you're like, Oh, that is a statement. Yes. And then you go to church and you see statement after statement after statement, bright colors. You know what I'm saying? Like there's nothing muted. It is a celebration, bro. And we go all at it. Especially if you guys have seen honk for Jesus, they talk a little bit about the women and their hats or whatnot and the crowns.

Come on, Sully. Crowns. You better give me something for that one. Sister on their crown, man. I mean, the hats are long. And we didn't have that in this episode because I think they take up too much space. But Lord have mercy, the crowns are something special.

Anyway, Randall goes to Black Church and he's sort of like, I love like seeing me clap and like just be smiley and happy and just sort of, you know, fitting in and whatnot. And then it turns out that Councilman Brown is going to say, he's doing the first reading of Scripture of the Day.

He gets up there. He's all happy and not not. And he decides to introduce his friend, Randall Pearson. And I'm like, and you can see in my head, Brown says, in my head is like, this Negro. You know what I mean?

I know exactly what he's going to do. You know exactly what you're doing. And he said, now people think that we can't be friends because he's actually running against me. But, you know, he wants to do something positive for the community. He makes sure to point out exactly where you live and where you don't live. He's joining us all the way from Alpine, New Jersey. All the way. And I said, you know, I actually bought a building right around the corner, so I'm right here. And he's like, well, why don't you show us your beautiful family and whatnot? They weren't able to make it. Well, maybe next time.

You know what I'm saying? And it is just, it is, it reminds, my wife recently told me that, bear with me, women are capable of greater cruelty because they're smarter.

And the way in which they can hit you are in ways in which everybody else can't see. Councilman Brown was on that level of hitting you where nobody else was perceiving the hit. Yeah. Right? But Randall was feeling it most palpably. I would agree with that. Mandy would agree with that, too. Yeah. I know.

I kid, I kid. Yeah. I think she was talking about, because we were having a conversation about mean girls and the way like friends of ours with high school girls and the way that they go at each other. Oh, yeah. Where dudes will just hit each other. Yeah. And there's a- It's on the surface. It's on the surface. I don't think we have the same facility with language and whatnot. Like your brain goes, oh, it must hit. Yeah. And that's how it goes. Whereas women will- Because testosterone is a poison. There you go. Yeah.

There you go. There it is. So he goes through this thing and then Kev winds up hitting him on the phone after he leaves church saying that, I want to talk to you. I want to hang out. I want to do something. He's like, look, man, I'm up in Philly all day.

I don't have time for this or what have you. - Yeah, no, it's just a funny thing where Kevin's like, I just am doing some soul searching. He's like, bro, I'm running for political office. - I'm trying to figure this out. And he's like, look, I know where your office is. So I, you know, I don't respect boundaries. - Yeah, I'm gonna come and see you. - So he's like, all right, I'm gonna tell you a spot where we can meet. And so I send him a little text and he winds up coming to meet me.

And it's at a Korean restaurant, right? In Koreatown outside of Philadelphia, which is still in the district. Because you don't want your famous white brother. Yeah. Spoiling whatever little street cred that I already have. Yeah, yeah. This is strategic. This is strategic. So we go to this Korean spot. Do you guys like Korean? Yeah. Yeah. Dude, some of my favorite. Korean barbecue? Kalbi? Yeah, yeah. Korean short rib? Yeah, please, please, please. Okay. Korean fried chicken?

Out. Those spots here in town? They're popping up all over the place, man. I'll tell you what, just so people know, if you don't like Korean, you should give it a shot. And the first time you smell kimchi, you'll think you don't like it. Eat it anyway.

You may not like it. I love it. It's so good for your gut. I love it. It's so good for you. I love it. It's one of my favorite things. I love it. Anyway, we go to this Korean spot. And it seems like Kev is getting a little bit of notice. He says something like, yeah, it's me. Oh, this is me. This is me. You get free stuff. People are walking by smiling at him. He's like, yeah, it's me. Compliments of the chef. It is...

The way Justin does celebrity. Manny was the number one show in South Korea. The way Justin does celebrity as Kevin really cracks me up because he's not like this in life at all. But he's so grandiose. Yeah, it's me. Yeah, it's okay. Don't worry about it. Like if I could see myself doing that in real life, I was like, oh my gosh. Cringe. Cringe city.

But Randall's clocking it as they're sitting in the spot. I kind of did it the other day with Rachel. What'd you do? We were walking into Costco because we started shopping at Costco. Yes. And we were walking in and this couple was walking next to us. And Rachel was like, why does that woman keep looking at us? And I went, baby, I'm medium famous. Medium. Are you medium famous? Yeah. Is that how you feel? Yeah. Yeah.

That's a good, medium's good. Yeah. How do you feel? I would say that sounds accurate, medium. Mandy Moore. Don't put yourself in the same category as Sterling K. Brown and Chris Sullivan. I almost got sketchy. Don't do that. I mean. Mandy Moore. I feel like you don't make the presumption. I feel like I oftentimes get that look of like, do our kids go to school too?

together did we go to high school together did we like there's like a knowing glance of familiarity without being able to necessarily place it i get that to be fair mine was a callback because back when we were doing up fronts in new york rachel and i were getting our nails done in midtown and we were both sitting there getting our manicures and i was getting my nails painted you were black at that time what's that what color uh

I remember black sometimes. I think I went red. I think I was, I might've been there for the Tonight Show. So I was, yeah, bright color. And a bunch of people in the place started to like, hi, hello, hi. And I would say, hi, hey, hey. And the lady to my nails asked Rachel, she goes, are you famous? Is he famous?

And I said, yeah, I mean, yeah, I guess. And her follow-up question was, how famous are you? And hold on, hold on, hold on. And I didn't want to answer. So I turned to Rachel and I said, I don't know, Rachel, how famous am I? And Rachel, without looking up from her nails, goes, I don't know, medium famous? Yeah.

Amazing. It was like the delivery was like, only from your partner can that come. Oh my goodness. And so it was like a eight year callback. I'm like, Rich, I'm media famous. I get that question from time to time. Are you famous? And I say, if you have to ask them, probably not. That's right.

And then we keep it moving. So Kevin and Sterling are sitting in this Korean restaurant. Kevin and Randall or Sterling and Justin. Sterling as Randall. What did I say? You said Kevin and Sterling. So listen, me and my wife are in this restaurant. And Randall starts to clock that like everybody is sort of swarming around Kevin. And he's like, oh, dude.

like the Manny is like the biggest show in South Korea. And you're like, what? What are you talking about? And so he starts to see like, oh my gosh, I'm in my district. I just got my butt handed to me in church, right? The last week I got my butt handed to me at the barbecue restaurant. And there's a whole untapped sort of like community of voters. We wind up going back to my campaign office and he's got the posters up. Kevin's like, oh, you get it. It's all official and everything.

And I realized that only 25% of registered voters voted last time, and 90% of them voted for Saul Brown. Yeah. But there's a whole community of people that didn't even show up to vote. Didn't even register. Didn't even register to vote. So maybe if I can register and vote, maybe I have a chance. And now my brother, who may have hurt me...

with the brothers might be like the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Right. And, and political Randall's my favorite Randall. Kev is so in like just from jump. He dies right in. He's like, let's make it happen. Right. So we start canvassing in Korea town. I love sober, healthy Kevin. It's pretty awesome. Like not a narcissist, not selfish. He's just ready to be of service. It's awesome. And we're going around, we're meeting the people, et cetera, et cetera. And then,

Tim Joe rolls up and he's like, okay, so you're getting your butt handed to you in the black community. So you step foot into a place that you probably haven't stepped foot into before saying like, oh, I can mind these people for voting and then you'll be gone once anything happens. Yeah. Never come back. Nice play. Right. And Randall says, hey man, look,

You got me. This is my first time here. But what I love about Randall is that he is observant. He does care. And he does care. Yeah. Which you can't fake. You can't fake that, right? He's like, I've seen...

Storefronts boarded up. I saw a brother holding his bicycle tire under his wheel because he knew that was the only way he could keep it. I've seen potholes. And so I've seen things that could be addressed, but I don't really know what you want. And I don't really know what you need. But if you talk to me, right, I will listen to you. That's a path forward. Yeah. And we can do something. And I said, I don't know a lot of Korean, right? Because he heard his brother, I think, earlier in the episode say, but I do know one word.

And it's, which is, thank you. Right? So, thank you for having me and whatnot. We'll see what happens. And the whole time he's doing this, this is my favorite part of this scene, is Tim Joe's sister or cousin or whatnot is interpreting. Yeah. Impromptu stump speech. Impromptu. And he's like, if your dope ass sister just keeps interpreting for me. And she perks up like such as like, she felt so full and proud or whatnot. I was like, that was my favorite thing.

And so at the end of it, well, this is Kevin and Randall together. And Kev is talking to Randall early in the episode. And he's saying like, you remember we had this room

And there was like this little piece of wallpaper that was sort of coming off at the corner or what have you. And then like we couldn't help ourselves and we just kept pulling at the wallpaper until we saw like this whole blue wall underneath it or what have you. So he re-references that conversation with regards to like why he sort of fixated on finding out more about that. Because in the restaurant as well, when they were there, he's like, look.

Dad was pretty clear. Randall says dad was pretty clear. Like this wasn't a part of his life that he necessarily wanted to share. Right. And then at the end of the episode, Kev's like, I think I kind of got to follow this as far as I can. I said, you got to pull the wallpaper. He says, yeah, I do. And I said, I hope you find what you're looking for. Right. Which is a beautiful moment. And then Tim Joe comes in at the end and he's looking at the campaign office and he's talking about his grandmother.

And this moved me. And it moved me in a way that I think even like right now, it's like the power of the vote. And in the midst of where we are as a country politically or whatnot, and I know through the election cycle, the level of disenchantment with like, does it matter?

I felt like there's a lot of people that had a real strong feeling of like, whether I do or whether I don't, it doesn't really matter. Doesn't move the needle. Doesn't move the needle. So for Tim Joe to come in and say, "Look, my grandmother who moved here from Korea has never voted in her life. She didn't vote there. She hasn't voted here, whatnot. But she can't stop talking about the black men that she met with the nice hands today."

And this is a real thing for Sterling because I do moisturize. You do. They're very nice hands. And I try to keep them soft. I don't like the hard hands. They're very soft. They're very soft. It's usually a circle butter. Don't use the clippers for your nails. Yeah. We were talking about that too. He clips his cuticles with nail scissors. I do. With like nail, with like, you need the cuticle numbers. You wouldn't know they look very nice. Thank you very much. They're very soft. It gets it done. It gets it done. Very, very soft. Thank you, Sonia. I appreciate that.

One more time. They're just so soft. I appreciate it. But he says in the context of the speech, he goes, but she can't stop talking about the black guy with the nice hands and whatnot. And for the first time in 75 years, she registered to vote. Yeah. And I got a little misty like watching it all play out. Tim Joe says that, or J. Juan says,

Says that I am a political science major from here. I've worked on other campaigns. I heard you don't have a campaign manager I like the job. I say what's your name? He goes j1 But you know most non-korean people just call me Johnny and whatnot and I say j1 Welcome to the team right which I thought was a really cool moment good writing. I is really good writing You opt for his Korean. Yes that you opt for his Korean name and very like this is who you are This is what I'll call you right?

More That Was Us after these words from our sponsors. Gang, I need to plan a summer trip. Got to keep the kids entertained. We got soccer camps and like flag football camps and all these things we can wind up going to.

To St. Louis to visit family or whatnot, but I'm trying to figure out what's the best place to stay where we can enjoy our time. Yeah, I've realized now that I am a dad. I am a summertime dad, which means the trips are upon us. You need the trips for kids. We're going up Northern County. You need plans. Yeah, you have to. You have to.

We have to have plans with children. Yes. If there are no plans... If there's no school, we need plans. You're in big trouble. It's chaos. So where are we going? We're going to San Francisco this summer to celebrate the 100th birthday of a great uncle. Wow. We're going to go to San Diego to celebrate Bear's birthday. We're going to Illinois...

to celebrate the 4th of July with Rachel's family. So there's going to be a lot of Airbnb-ing going on. Let's do it. I like the sound of that. And if you're going to be away, it's the perfect time to think about hosting your home on Airbnb. You're making use of space that would otherwise just sit empty. And you're helping someone else feel at home while you're out having an adventure. It's practical. It's easy. And it just makes sense, especially during the summer when everyone's looking for a place to stay.

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is where David comes in. Come on, David. You guys, I always have one on me. I have one in my purse. I have one in sort of my travel totes. Yeah. I'm someone that lately has just forgotten to eat a meal sometimes. Yeah. And so it's like knowing that I always have my go-to protein snack on me.

with me has become essential. It's secondhand. You introduced us to David because you love David. They're my favorite protein bars. And since we started working with them, they sent us a bunch and I literally have not walked out my front door without one in the last three months. It's the perfect little treat. I have to tell you. I just, I crave them now. Favorite flavor? Peanut butter. Peanut butter. Yeah, the salted peanut butter. They hit different. David protein bars are different.

They're packed with 28 grams of protein. 28 grams of protein. Yeah. Only 150 calories and have zero grams of sugar. And with 75% of their calories coming from protein, they beat every other bar I've tried. Yeah, and most protein bars are basically like candy in disguise. Yes. David is not. Come on, David. All right, it's high-quality nutrition that fits into real life.

And they're available in a variety of fantastic flavors. All of them worth trying. I have literally tried all of them. Yes. And I have enjoyed them all. Yes. That's why I always have David Protein Bars with me. David is offering our listeners a deal to buy four cartons and get the fifth free at davidprotein.com slash that was us. That's davidprotein.com slash that was us to get your fifth carton free. Humans aren't perfect, but David is.

Let's go back to Beth, can we? Yeah, let's go back to Beth. Let's go back to Beth and how they converge. Because as Randall is going to church, the girls sort of come in and they're a little...

that Randall's working and he's campaigning because they have to sell Girl Scout cookies. And Beth is like, well, I can help you guys sell cookies. You know, I don't have a lot on my plate right now and I'm happy to help you. They go try to find a place to sell cookies. She brings them to a grocery store at first and realizes when they get there, there's another troop that's set up. Somebody's already working the corner. They're already working

the corner. They're working the outside of the grocery store. Spots taken. So they have to pivot, find another place. And where did they end up? An empty-ass strip mall. It's another mall that's clearly lost foot traffic to something else. Correct. And the one guy who comes by and is like, you know what? I will buy four boxes of cookies. Here's my credit card. Tess sort of looks at her mom like, where's the swipey thing? And she's like, what now? Like, I need what? She has not brought...

the card reader. It was pre-COVID, so you didn't know. It was so sweet. She's like, if you just let me write down your credit card number, then I'll rip it right up out of your mouth. And this white man looked at her like, I'll see you later. Like, for $16 worth of cookies, I'm going to keep walking. The girls are so disappointed. He keeps giving her grief and whatnot. Do you guys eat Girl Scout cookies? I mean... What's your go-to in a Girl Scout? It is.

Thin Mints? I love a Samoa too. Yeah. The Samoa is the one with the chocolate caramel on the outside and whatnot. Yeah. I used to just love that. What are the peanut butter sandwiches? Peanut butter patties. Peanut butter sandwiches. Oh, peanut butter patties are the chocolate covered ones. Yeah. But the peanut butter sandwiches were my jam. Oh, yeah. Those were great. Even just the straight up, like what that guy orders, the shortbread, really good. Delicious. Regional. Regional.

You dip them. You dip them in something. I think. I think. Cream pie. No, no. The Thin Mints in the freezer. Thin Mints in the freezer. That's good. Thin Mints crushed up over ice cream. Ooh. Yeah. You're a connoisseur. Yeah, well, I don't burn 1,200 calories. No.

That's a callback to a previous episode. But this is the regionally, you know, they change by region. The cookies do? Yeah, the names do, but so do the cookies. Oh, really? You get certain cookies in certain regions. Look at this guy. Well, I get them from all kinds of regions. All walks of life. All regions. When I was a Girl Scout, the Samoas were called Caramel Delights. Yes. Caramel Delights. Yes. Yeah. You can say caramel. Caramel, caramel. Caramel.

Some say caramel, some say caramel. I say caramel. Caramel. How long were you a Girl Scout? I was a Daisy, then a Brownie, then a Girl Scout. Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah. So were you singing and Girl Scouting? No, no. So all before the music career. Yes, I abandoned the Girl Scout before. You could have sold cookies on tour. I could have. You would have killed, sorry. I would have killed. Oh, man, you would have definitely got the pizza party. Sold the most. Mandy sold- Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas. Mandy sold 27,000 boxes of pizza.

Listen, she was outside of NSYNC concerts. That's right. At her meet and greet. That would have been amazing. Signing autographs and giving away Girl Scout cake. There's something called a lemonade. What? That is a large format vanilla shortbread cookie with lemon icing on the bottom. It's just all over the bottom. That's cool.

That does not sound good. That is not my cup of tea. You don't like a limited bottle. You mean the actual cookie or just the way I'm saying it? The description and the cookie itself. They also go in the freezer and they're excellent. Okay. Okay. Boy Scouts, we just sold popcorn. I digress. Poor Beth. So Beth is- Was getting-

harangued by her children. She was getting harangued. The kids were sort of giving her grief. I should have gone with so-and-so's mom. She never forgets the swipey thing. Beth is catching it in all directions. Well, she's catching it from Tess mostly because Tess is just going, going, going, going, going.

And this is the point I want to talk about. And then Beth says, like three or four times in a row, shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Yeah. Parents, are you guys there yet? Have you had this moment? I haven't gotten to shut up. I'm sure I will. But I've gotten to, oh, okay. Okay. I've gotten to that one. Yeah. I like that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think I have too. So one, I've only done it once.

I think it happens usually when they're older and they're more verbal, just like it happened with Tess and Beck. I was cutting Amari's hair. Now, Amari Michael Ryan Christian Brown is the sweetest thing in the whole wide world. But like cutting his hair, old boy just won't sit still. He keeps moving and everything and you're trying to line it up and do all this stuff, et cetera.

And he's complaining. He's like, I can't hear the TV. The clippers are too loud. I was like, you can turn it up a little bit. He's like, but you keep standing in front of me. I need you to move to the side. I was like, let me do this lighting real quick. He's like, I need you to move now. I just shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up. I said it like five, six times in a row. And he looked at me and his eye watered. And I said, I'm sorry, dude.

I said, I just kind of need you to sit still so I can do this thing real quick. And I feel like it's being a little bit harder than what it needs to be. Daddy shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I apologize. This happened when Amari was six years old. Amari will be 10 later on this year. Every couple of months, he goes, you remember when you told me to shut up? Amari. Oh, God. I said, yes, man, I remember. And I'm really, really sorry. Oh.

Here's the thing. One of these days, he's going to be like, remember when you told me to shut up? I get it now. Because he's going to have his own moment with somebody else. Sure. And he's going to be like, and he's going to have that context. He's going to be like, oh, that was the moment we were in. He very well did. You'll see it from the other side. But until then, I just have to feel like crap like every three months, like quarterly. Quarterly. Just a reminder. Yeah. Just a quarterly reminder. Yeah.

Toby had his shut up moment a few episodes ago. Yes, he did. Oh, yeah. Beth gets hurt. Beth has had hers. So now Miguel needs one. So like the other big three. Does he get one? I don't think so. I don't think so. Miguel would never. Miguel's lived long enough that if it happened, it happened when he was younger. I feel like he does have some sort of outburst about Kevin or something. I think so, too.

Yeah, well, I mean, Artie called Kevin out before, right? Yeah, but I feel like in my mind there's something that he just gets pushed and poked. No, it's me. He comes after me. And understandably so. Miguel does?

I guess we'll just have to re-watch the show. Do you remember this? Like closer to the end. You guys, I'm going to re-watch this entire series until I find that moment. Good call. That's the plan. That's the move. That's the plan for everybody. All right, good. So Beth has her sort of meltdown.

And afterwards, they go back home. And this is the moment you were speaking about before. Okay, I was talking about this in the last episode, and I was in the wrong episode. I apologize, folks. Sometimes when you watch all three together, it becomes like one two-hour movie. I have to intentionally put space between her. I can't get the, yeah. Yes. And Deja is talking to Beth, and she says, you know, when I'm not feeling great sometimes, like, has Randall ever called you exceptional? No.

And he called me that one time and it felt so natural and so easy that I almost believed it. So if you're not feeling good about yourself, you should just talk to him and he'll tell you you're exceptional and you'll feel much better about this whole thing. But you kind of have to let him know if you're sad. You have to tell him. You have to tell him. And I'm like, there's something about lyric and just sort of like,

The simplicity and authenticity of everything that comes out of her mouth, that you just believe her. Oh, yeah. And she's just this old soul that we are privileged enough to parent that has already been here and is now teaching us as we're supposed to be teaching her. I was like, no, this girl has given us everything, right? And Beth even says, you're really good at these speeches. And she's like, you stay around here long enough, you learn your way around to speak. Yeah. Yeah.

Just like through osmosis or something. Like you can't help yourself. You can't help yourself, right? So we're converging on Beth and Randall seeing each other at the end of the night. Randall comes into the house and he's like, Beth, I got myself a campaign manager. He's totally excited. He's got a new lease on... Sorry, excuse me. Before he goes home, he goes to visit Councilman Brown. That's right. Okay. Okay.

And he says, like, that was real cool what you did. You want to talk about the past? You want to set it up? Let's talk about all the boxing leading up to that. Go for it. But finish this conversation with Beth first, and then we'll do that. So I got a campaign manager feeling really great about it, and Beth has had this very difficult day. She winds up telling her husband, she goes, I lost my job. And he goes, I know. You tell me. He's like, but no.

I've been pretending like I've been okay about it, but I'm really, really not okay. Right? And you see Randall sort of has a shift in posture after being all excited about his campaign manager, et cetera, et cetera. And he goes, after listening, this moment happens when he gets an idea and he looks at her and he's like, why don't you work on the campaign with me? And she's like, I don't need no pity jobs. And she's like, he's like, stop right there. Like,

You are the best partner that any person could have in life. I have 20 years of experience You remember the wedding that we pulled off for like five thousand dollars people still talking about them cramp crap puffs She was like, you know, there's some good crap pops. Yeah, like whatever we decide to do together We do something beautiful. So let's make something beautiful together Right, and it's a really lovely moment. It's sort of it does remind me as a husband of

this is real because my wife was here a couple weeks ago she does bother me but i do love her i do love her a great deal and it is a beautiful thing like when i hear you guys talking about music and you and rach every once in a while do some things together like when you find that partner and you guys can make something together like you're not just

You're building something in terms of family and raising children, et cetera. But when you get a chance to be creative and productive in that way, that lets your partner know that like, oh, I'm a value, not just in raising children and not just in this, but like in every facet of life. Yeah. We are capable of doing something extraordinary together.

It was a good lesson for me. Yeah, it was pretty powerful. Yeah. I love seeing them come together like that. It's dope. Should we... You want to dive into the past part now? Yeah, let's dive into the past. Well, wait. Before that, because I don't want to short shrift Kev, because Kev and Randall are sort of together in this thing.

Kev decides that it's something that he wants to pursue in terms of finding out more about- Peeling the wallpaper. Peeling the wallpaper back. He goes and talks to Zoe. He gives her something. She goes, what is this? He's like, I would wish people wouldn't ask me that. If you just open it up, then you get to see what it is. And it is like a visa to Vietnam. Yeah. Right? And he's like, look, I have to go on this journey. Which came in a bag and probably could have been on the envelope. Probably could have done it smaller. It seemed bigger than what it was going to be. Yeah.

She's like, there's nothing else. Maybe it was a misdirect. There's nothing else in here. An intentional misdirect. Over-promised and under-delivered, but still it's a trip to Vietnam, so it's a pretty big deal. But then over-requested? Maybe. With a visa application? Yeah, I don't know. Do you need a visa to get to... I guess some countries you need to. Maybe if they were potentially going to be filming something. I don't know. Okay. No. No writers know. Blackberry knows better than us. Trust the writers. Yeah. And she agrees to go with him. And I think she actually...

in that sort of sense of partnership too appreciates that like he's not looking to me just to be you know physical or anything like that like I need mentally emotionally like please go on this journey with me which is also a very intoxicating thing I would imagine if someone invited me in that way I'd be like oh wow you really appreciate all of me you know so now let's go

Back in time. Yeah. Shall we? Let's start with this. Let's start with Milo coming in acting like the hat over his face. Is not going to elicit any. Was going to be something that didn't elicit. Questions. Anything at all. I was like, hey, big pimpin', what you doing with this hat? Yeah. On you. Yeah.

So we come to find out that Jack has been boxing after work with some buddies. Rebecca thinks he's just been using... Hitting the heavy bag. Exactly. But he's actually physically been boxing with friends of his. Sparring. Sparring, sorry. And he got a black eye. He got a black eye. Stuart punched him in his eye. Oh, Stuart was his name? Stuart. Stuart's his name. His guy's name's Stuart. Stuart's not going to hurt you, right? Yeah. Right before he walks into the house, I believe...

Kev jumps on top of Randall. They're wrestling. And he's just sort of wrestling him. But like Randall is catching like, he's not getting anything. There's nothing he can do. He's just totally pinned down. Also, side note, my favorite part is seeing McKenzie

Just sitting on the couch. Who has grown so much. Like maybe a foot. That they can't put her standing next to the boys. Yeah, because she towers over them. Towers over them. So she's just sitting there like, I'm big, but I'm being down. And they're just like messing with each other over here. You know that like later on in seasons, they had to actually build things for people to walk on. Next to her? To make her appear bigger.

i can believe it when you say people do you mean milo well i'll just you can decide lots of other people that were in the scene for everybody for everybody for everybody she shot up yeah she shot up which is as i'm watching my sort of middle school boy happen yeah girls shoot up that's when it happens the girls shoot up pretty fast um so yeah they're boxing and um catching it later randall tells his dad dad you gotta teach me how to box

And he's like, "What for?" And he's like, "I don't think your mom's gonna like that." He's like, "Listen, I've been getting bullied by this dude at school." Dylan. His name is Dylan and he makes fun of me. He just came in from New York and I don't want to talk on him because then people say that I'm ratting him out or whatnot. I just need to learn how to protect myself. I'll only use it if I absolutely have to, but please just show me, right?

And he's like, all right. So he puts on... What are our parental views on this? Yeah, what would one do in this situation, Sterling? Okay, so this comes back to something where we were talking about before I wanted to revisit in terms of Jack's reason for why he boxes or whatnot. You know, sometimes he just... He articulates it later in the episode, but I'll just speak for me. There are moments in time when I have such...

pent-up energy inside of me if something has frustrated me at work or in life, etc. And I don't know what to do with that energy. And as I was saying before, like sometimes words leave me even though I think I'm a fairly verbal and communicative person. But like there are times in which they just escape me. So I have a heavy bag in my garage and

That I will use. And then sometimes, I remember one time in one particular incident, I was so angry and I didn't know what to do with it. So this is a la Randall and a la Jack. I ran for 12 miles until I just was tired. And I couldn't hold on to the anger anymore because the exhaustion had depleted it.

Right? So it's either that or I will go and hit this bag or whatnot and just wail on it. Like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Boxing is one of my favorite. And it tires you out so completely. It's a very healthy response. I like to hold it in for years until I start mistreating the people around me. That you love the most? Yeah, the people that I love the most. That makes sense. It's the Irish way. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

But it is an incredible release. And I do find, because I played football when I was a kid, and you were talking about the poison that is testosterone, and semi-jokingly. But I do think boys need some sort of healthy conduit to release. Mm-hmm.

And it's different. Like, my wife will look at the two fellas doing stuff and, like, wrestling like little bear cubs. And she's like, what's going on? I was like, they're just playing. Getting it out. And she's like, really? And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally. That's how they do it. And she's like...

Okay, you say so. You know what I'm saying? So I am a fan of constructive outlets for that. And I think it wasn't always constructive when I was a kid because I got in so many fights when I was young. Before I was 10 years old, I couldn't tell you how many fights I'd been in. I've never been in a fight. My son has never been in a fight. Neither of my children have ever been in a fight.

I do think that it's probably an offshoot of the corporal punishment that I received. And then I was like, oh, this is how you solve problems. You solve problems by causing pain to somebody, right? And so I made a decision to, Brian and I made the decision that that wasn't something that we wanted to continue with our children. Like there's still consequences. They still lose things, et cetera, right? Privileges, et cetera. But like that part of it, we took away because,

Because the talking part was probably more important. Explaining to them why you're receiving these consequences, et cetera, so that they can learn that articulation later on in life. You understand what I'm saying? Like, I think there's a direct sort of correlation and carry through from one to the next. I'm already so worried about it because Bear is too big for, not too big. He's a big boy. Big for his age. Yeah.

which gives people the wrong idea about how old he is. But he's also more verbal than he should be at his age, which doesn't help people gauge his emotional maturity on these things. But he's wide open, right? And he travels through this world. Hi, I'm Bear. Do you want to play? What's your name? Like, it's like his script on Playgrounds. And like, you find somebody and just the number of times that this kid already at age four is like getting...

things thrown at him. Like he said, some kid hit him on the playground. It's like, what do you do? I don't know what to tell him about like, yeah, I'm first of all, I'm really sorry that happened to you. But like, yeah, some people are like, well, I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do. So like this, this whole plot line was like, it's such an old, like I'll teach you how to throw a punch and then you can use it if you need it. It's like, um,

You know, it seems antiquated. But there's also value in being able to feel confident in your body. Absolutely. And that you can defend yourself if you need to. Yeah. So that if you feel that you can, then maybe you won't need to. There you go. You know. But yeah, I don't know. I like that. What's your take, Mandy Moore? My take is I feel very aligned with Rebecca of like, we're going to call the principal. Like Rebecca does find out about this from Jack. And she's like, first of all, I wish she would...

talk to me about... Correct. Because she catches Jack and Randall in the act of sparring. Yeah, because she said, I told you not to, like, spar anymore, and so you thought you took that and decided to teach our son how to box. Yeah, like, I'm not sure I'm understanding this connection. Yeah. And so Rebecca basically says, like, we're going to solve this by calling the principal and speaking to him about Dylan and who this kid is and why is he

hurting our child or threatening, you know, like... Would you not have your boys do boxing lessons or a martial art or anything like that? Oh, if they were interested in that, for sure. I agree with, like, being literate and knowing how to use your body and feeling comfortable in your skin and feeling strong and empowered. Like, I'm all for that. If they also recognized...

that it wasn't something to be used in particular cases. Like it wasn't the, shouldn't be the first line of defense. Absolutely. Being really intentional with your, your words and, and, or talking, you know, understanding that something's not right or you feel uncomfortable in speaking to an adult and having an adult like intervene and help with the situation. Like, I mean, maybe that's not the way it goes in psychology.

high school or something, but at least with like, when I'm thinking about little kids, you know, the ages that my kids are right now, like having them understand the difference between like, it's okay to recognize when

you don't like something when, you know, someone's taken something without asking you or someone's hitting you or that you can, you don't have to hit back. Like, I mean, we go through this all day with the boys. It's just like, Ozzy takes your toy. Like you don't go hit him. You would say, Ozzy, now I was playing with that. Can I have it back, please? And, or come get me or dad or like, we'll help. We'll, you know, explain to him. He's also two, two and a half. Like he's,

He's not a big boy like you. He's not quite at the age where he understands how all of this transaction works. Right, right. Gus is like, no! Oh, yeah, exactly. And just like chucks him against the wall. But also I'm like, dude, Ozzy's about to be bigger than you any day. Is he really? He thinks he's gonna? Yeah, Ozzy's gonna be bigger than Gus. I think Lou is gonna be bigger than all of them. She better be. She's gonna be the big sister that towers, the little big sister that towers over everybody. I got you.

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So, we wind up finding out, because you go in, you wind up talking to the principal. There's no Dylan. Yeah. He's made this all up. Jack's like, I gotta go talk to him. She's like, you want me to talk to him? He's like, no, he lied to me. I gotta figure out why he lied to me. Yeah. He goes, dude, mom talked to the principal. There's no Dylan. Like, what's going on? And he goes...

Kevin knows how to box and fight. He's good at all these physical things and whatnot, and he's a lot like you. He gets that from you. He gets that from you. I just wanted to have... I know I'm your son and whatnot, but he's your son's son. I just wanted to have a piece of you...

you know, that, that, that Kevin has as well. Is it the first time? And maybe the only time he says something like that to Jack about the sun, sun line hit me hard. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think for him to have that realization that young. Yeah, I think so. It was, it was a rough one. Yeah. The, the, the whole deal. Well, because the, is a,

an echo from a few episodes before where like the only one to pass something on a piece of dad yeah you know what i'm saying so and he says dude you are my son's son and you me and kev may be able to have this thing but you know you have this brain man and you're going to be able to think your way out of so many situations that you're not going to have to use this other thing that's your superpower that's your superpower right yep and so uh

Randall went and saw the Councilman Brown or whatnot, and they're talking about, they show in the flashback, also they're all sitting around watching a boxing match. And he goes, you know, every once in a while when you catch your opponent with a really good shot, like you don't like wince in pain, you don't do anything like that. Like all you do is just smile.

You smile and you're like, it's you sort of acknowledging that the shot landed, but I'm not letting you see me sweat. You know what I'm saying? I'm not wincing in pain from that. And the scene between Rob Morgan and myself, Councilman Brown and Randall, like I walk in there, I was like, hey man, you got me pretty good in church today. You know what I'm saying? Letting people know I was the outsider, how I don't really belong, etc.,

That's good. Which that's what I thought the scene was about. Right. Because the voiceover and you're smiling. Yeah. He hit you with a good shot. He hit me with a good shot. And then I say, but, you know, I went into, I got a new campaign manager. Right. And I said to him, I'm going to win Koreatown.

Right? And then Rob smiles back. You know what I'm saying? It's just like, oh, it's on and popping down. Yeah, game. Recognize game. The game is afoot, ladies and gentlemen. And it's about to go down. His name is J-Wan. His name is J-Wan. And that's when you see Rob's face shift a little. Oh, shit. I know what that means. It is a good storyline. It is.

It's one of my favorites for Randall and Beth together. - Yeah. - To see them enter into this journey together and also like the repercussions of how when things don't necessarily go the way that you want them to. Yeah, it's the first time you see them like under real-- - Duress. - Pressure. - Yeah. - Pressure, yeah. Which is also why I also get worried about doing things with Ryan, but I should probably still do them anyway. - Yes. - You should. - Thank you. - I think you guys are--

strong enough. Thank you. Do we have anything else? Oh, Kate! Yes, please! Kate and Toby! Kate and Toby. What about them? Well, Kate is pregnant and the episode starts with her calling pretty much everybody. Us being goofy and excited. Kevin, Randall, everyone's so excited. Randall and Beth, like, we're getting it!

Yeah. And Toby's what? Toby's what? Toby's depressed. Toby is not feeling great. Because he's having a baby? Yeah. Well, he hasn't gotten his medication yet. Correct. Yeah. And you sort of see, like, when we left him at the last one, crying over the sink, et cetera, now he's just sort of laid up in bed. Yeah. And you see Kate crying.

Try and keep it together and maintain positivity or whatnot. She decides to take Audio for a walk or what have you. Oh, this is what I love how you had Audio just on your chest. He's just drooped over you. Who's the trainer? Is it you? Is it the trainer? Is it a combination? Like how amenable was the dog? Oh, I don't even remember. I think Audio and I at that point were pretty tight. You guys were pretty tight. You did have his tongue in your mouth.

What's that? He remembers. He remembers. He's very grateful. He remembers. He's very grateful. Very grateful.

Guys, here was my date to the Emmys. I don't do golf times. Audio then gets into some garbage. Yeah, they go to garbage. At the park. Who's Kate was talking to somebody on the phone? She's talking to mom. She's talking to mom. On the phone just saying like. Yeah, she's starting to come to her mom for advice, which Rebecca is loving. And she is loving. And like, I think even in that conversation, like, look, Kate.

listen, I appreciate you asking me what I think, like, what I should do. Oh, this is later, because the dog had already ate something, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she's like, you know, and Rebecca says, like, no, take the dog home. You know what I'm saying? Like, see if it just sort of passes naturally. And if anything takes a turn, you can always take him back to the vet, right? And she's like, Mom, I wouldn't know what I'd do without you. I mean, I need you to move out here when I have this baby, et cetera, et cetera. And you're like, listen, I appreciate that. It's really sweet. But, like, stuff is going to keep coming up. And as stuff keeps coming up...

You're going to figure it out. Yeah. You just have to trust your gut, take a deep breath, and make a choice. That's what she does. That's what we all do. And you'll get through whatever the situation is. It is a beautiful thing because, well, motherhood, fatherhood, parenthood in particular, you feel like you have no clue. Like you have the baby. In you guys' case, and in my case, it's slightly different. You're at the hospital, and then like, all right,

See you later. Yeah. In my case, it was like, I had the baby at home. And then everyone leaves. And you're like, we have another person. Yeah, yeah. We didn't have to sign anything. There was no driver's test. Nothing at all whatsoever. It's just sort of like crazy. But to have that validation of...

You're not going to have all of the answers, but you do have the ability to make choices. Trust yourself to make the right choice. I think it's a beautiful thing to pass along. Beautiful message from mother to mother. Because I don't know if every parent does that. I think a lot of them really just want to tell you what to do sometimes.

And that can be their way of fitting in and feeling like they're a part of something. Sure. But it's actually sort of self-serving rather than selfless in that way. So grandparents, don't do that. Don't do that to you. Don't do that to your daughter and son-in-law. They get back...

Toby has tried. He's made an effort. He's gotten out of bed. He's taken a shower. He's gotten dressed like he's giving it the old college try. Kate comes home and sees and he's just sort of has to admit to himself and her like.

This, I'm just, I'm not, I'm not ready for this. I need to be in bed. This medication still hasn't like taken its course. And I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know where I am. I just, I know that I can't like venture out. Yeah. I thought putting it on was going to make it all better, but it's not. And so she says, listen, I think you should go for it. Like, I think she suggests like maybe you go for a walk with this. And I think she reiterates it. Like you should go for a walk with this. Right. And you're like, okay.

And what I love about this turn in the storyline is very sort of reflective of Randall and Beth as well, because she referred to you as her rock before in an episode. And you see sort of the rock cracking a little bit. And she says, listen.

We made vows. For better or for worse. Better or for worse. And sickness and health. And it's forever. And I'm here. And we're going to figure out a way to get through this together. This is really beautiful. And I'm sure it's probably for the people re-watching the show. It's also sort of like, boom. You know what I mean? Because they're not going to get through this together. That's correct.

In the end. In the end, none of us get through this together. You're just alone in this world. You were born alone and you die alone. And in between there are taxes. Yeah, appropriate. Thank you for watching the That Was Us podcast. Don't forget to like and subscribe. Support our sponsors. I gotta go. Pause the podcast. Never turn it back on.

also say something that I observed. You guys get to the park and you just let the dog go. After the whole thing? Mandy, I noticed the same thing. He's like, click. And the dog, he's like, there you go, audio. And that dog runs like it's never coming back. That's what I thought. It didn't like sniff around. That dog ran like it was never coming back. I

You said earlier in the episode, you're like, and you weren't watching him? Why weren't you watching him? And the first thing he does...

Goodbye, dog. Yeah. Goodbye. But it wasn't like, oh, we're in the dog park. Like, you guys are just walking up and you're like, all right, there you go. So I think I remember this being a logistical thing. Yes. I can't remember who directed this episode. John Fortenberry. Yeah, John Fortenberry. I think it was one of those things where it was like, we got to get the dog out of the shot. Basically. I knew that when I was watching it. But I'm like, what is it? What is it?

This is a random audience member thing when Toby just goes. I mean, that dog doesn't wander off. Yeah. It is like, it was like the firing gun at the 100-yard dash. Dog is gone. Yeah. Yeah.

And that was the end of audio. But eventually, yeah, eventually audio is just gone and we never see him again and it never explains why. Never addressed. Is that the last time we see him? No, no, no, no. Who knows? You know what they say about life. I guess we'll have to keep watching. You never know when's the last time you're going to see audio. There you go. We'll have to keep watching. Do you know what I mean? I guess I'll just have to keep watching this show. Yeah. See if audio comes back. It's a lot of things. The groundwork is laid for a lot of beautiful things. We're now anxiously anticipating the arrival of young Damon Childe.

We're looking to see what's going to happen with Beth and Randall on this campaign trail. Kev and Zoe are going to go to Vietnam. And we as a show actually go to Vietnam, right? And so we get a chance to uncover Jack's past. This is this season, right? Later in the season. They're on the plane actively to go there right now. Back then, right now.

Back then. Back then. Back then, right now. Exactly. Right this moment, back then. There you have it. So that was this episode. And now we have a fan segment. We do. You know we do. Let us take a break. Baby, you know I was going to give you a fan segment. I'm going to give you this fan segment coming up right after this. Uh-oh. Hot take!

Hot takes. You guys, you know we had to bring this segment back because the fans always have something to say. We have a lot of bold opinions to share with you today. A lot. We comb through your emails, DMs, and comments to find the spiciest takes. So buckle up, Buttercup. Let's see where we land on this.

Okay, hot take. Go for it. Kevin didn't have a single relationship with a woman that didn't involve sex. A friendship with a woman would have shown growth. I wish they could have let him just be friends with Cassidy. That tryst was so unnecessary. Hot take! Hot take. What do you guys think about that? That's interesting. I don't disagree. I don't disagree. So? I mean...

Kevin, he's Kevin. He's not going to have a relationship. The whole point of the dysfunction is that Kevin cannot have a relationship. He can't just have a friendship. But I think he does.

I think him and Beth are friends. Is that not fair? Is it because they're family? They can't be friends at the same time? Yeah, yeah, yeah. A woman that you would potentially think there would be a romantic element to, and they were just friends. Hot take. If she would give him a shot, he would. I know, I agree. Hot take! Beth is the best character. That's not such a hot take. No, we both, all three of us. Everybody agrees. I'm going to say it again. Everybody just go dead quiet and look directly into your camera. Hot take! Beth is the best character.

Not a hot take. Not a hot take. We're good with that. That didn't ruffle my feathers at all. Susan Kolechi Watson kills it. How dare you. Kills it. How very dare you. How very dare you. I will murder you in your face. Well, here's the thing. I think a lot of people feel that, right? And, you know, it focuses on the Pearsons and all this stuff and love Jack and they love Randall and Karen. But, like, Beth is just like this quiet center that sort of holds things together and is...

Hysterical, when it's time to be hysterical. - That's right. - Poignant. - It's beautiful and poignant when it's time to be-- - It's poignant. - It's poignant. - That's a hot take. - That is. - Hot take. - Poignancy. - There's no G, why is the G in there? Hot take. - Hot take. - Next one. - Hot take. We didn't see enough of Tess and Annie in the last season of the show. It felt like they disappeared and I missed them. - Aw. - Hot take.

I see where you're coming. Yeah. Weren't they working? Wasn't that the thing? They were there. They were in school. They were doing things like Tess is now at USC. There's a film major there. So that's pretty cool. And Annie is now about to start school because I did a letter of recommendation not too long ago. So I'm very excited about that. But I guess they're saying there's a lot of Dej. And Dej is great. And Dej is wonderful. She killed it all. And they're just saying they wanted to see a little bit more of the girls. How does your letter of recommendation open?

To sir or madam. No, to whom it may concern. To whom it may concern. You know what I'm saying? I am American actor Sterling K. Brown. Winner. Emmy winner. Emmy winner. Academy Award nominee. Oh my God.

And that is all you need to know. No, I believe it would be two-time Emmy winner? Two-time Emmy winner. Multiple nominated. I got three. No, no, no. Oh, three. Three. Sorry. Three-time Emmy winner. He just says Emmy winner, but he sends the letter three times. That's right. Three. We got any more hot takes? Let's do it. Let's get to the next one. Hot take. Yeah.

Season six should have spent more time showing Kate and Philip's relationship and less time explaining why Kate and Toby got divorced. That is a hot take. That is a hot take. That's hot. That's hot. That's a hot take and I'm going to disagree. I'm going to disagree too. I'm going to disagree too. Well, listen, because- I'm going to disagree most. The investment that we have is from the people from the beginning. I think that would have been a short shrifting of Tobias. Yeah, like what? Because then the hot take would have been the opposite.

Exactly. You know what I'm saying? Like, what happened with Kate and Toby? Can you imagine if they just moved on to Philip and they were like, but what happened? It's all right. But what happened? Nah, you don't need to know. But why did they get divorced? I think that, yeah, like, it is important. I think you said this before, Sully. Like, we get a chance to see relationships in all different phases of coming together and coming apart, right? And I think what was beautiful about it is that even though it was painful or whatnot, they were able to...

unconsciously uncouple in a way that actually felt healthy. Yes. And that both people said, like, this is probably the best thing for both of us. Yeah, this is where the road ends for us as a couple. We've ended this session, right? We were good for each other up to this point, and now we need something new for ourselves. Yes, absolutely. So there you go. Hot take! I was never feeling Zoe for Kevin. I felt like she wasn't really into him and only did things that benefited her. Okay.

That is a hot take. I agree. That's pretty much what Beth had to say. That's what Beth had to say. Listen, we're good. I don't disagree. I don't either. I wish I... I want to disagree. I think that was also kind of the point. There's a part of me that wants to say racist, but not, because it's true. It's true. And that would be unfair to you, whoever you are. Steph. Steph, hold on. 32. That would have been unfair to you.

I absolutely agree. There was something off about the dynamic from Jump Street. And I think just like the documentarian in her and the curiosity of like where he was in his life probably kept them together as long as they were. And also, we didn't know if we were going to be able to get Sophie back. You know what I'm saying? So we had to explore as many love options as possible. Sure. And then roll the dice and say, anybody free? Yeah.

Virgin River still on? Okay, cool, cool, cool. All right, hot take. Beth deciding to start dance again right at the crucial moment in Randall's career. I suppose it added to the drama, but it didn't mesh their whole vibe as a couple. Oh, they always had each other's backs and worked together. This just felt awkward and selfish on Beth's part to insist that she do it right now.

That's a hot take. Listen, Sue and I have discussed this. Oh, yeah? We actually discussed this because the moment, I think this is coming up in this season when Randall asks her to put a pin in it. Oh, yes. Never what you want a man to say. Yeah. Never what you want to hear from your husband. And we had this conversation in terms of like, in a relationship, you guys could discuss, we should discuss this a little bit.

Do you think one person's career takes precedent over the others?

I think there can be moments in a career where someone is busier. Yes. Or the focus sort of has to be on them in a case-by-case situation. Sure. But recognizing that things fluctuate. Things are constantly going to be moving and shifting and evolving. And I don't know. I'd be happy to sort of... I mean, I guess... It's a complicated equation. It's a complicated equation. And I think as, you know...

Being in a partnership with someone who is also creative, who also has to spend a lot of time away from home and away from the family for his job. We constantly have to be checking in with each other. And I understand like Taylor's on tour right now for a couple more weeks. Like I'm home. I'm not working. I'm like keeping things sort of steady on the home front. And hopefully there will come a time soon where I have to work and he has to sort of like

buckle up and kind of be the primary parent at home holding things down. So I don't know if I necessarily agree with this hot take. This take for me is one that I agree and disagree because

The reason why it's so important is that she is actively a woman in search for purpose. Yes. You know what I'm saying? Losing that job wasn't just losing the job. It was like this was something. Losing her identity. Identity. I was doing something of value for community, building up housing, designing parks, et cetera, for underserved communities. Now, what am I? What is it that I want to do with myself? I spent so much time being the support.

Being the backbone for my husband or whatnot. Championing you. When is my moment? And so there's little moments that we've seen. The conversation with William saying like, when it's your turn, don't just sit there twiddling your ring or whatnot. Make sure you step up and say what it is that you need to say. Right? So I understand where they're coming from, but there was a real need on her part. Because that has been her role. Yes. In their relationship for the majority of their relationship. So it feels like she has...

She is worthy of taking this moment and relishing it and being on the hunt and having her man support her at that time. And this isn't just a career move. It's a soul fulfillment. Yes. Every partner deserves to pursue those endeavors. Amen. Even more so than, no, I got to take this job. Like, this is something that her soul needs. Has much deeper meaning, yes. Gotta dance. Yeah. Yeah.

We got any more? Hot take. Incorporating the pandemic derailed the writing. That is...

So let's be respectful in our response to this. Please unlike and unsubscribe. Stop. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Kristen Longford. You're not the only person who felt that way. We talked about this. Right? I would say that 501 was probably one of the most divisive episodes that we ever did. We lost some viewers. We straight up. They said, listen, if I wanted the news, I would turn to that. I come to this show to escape. What not? Respect.

Respectfully. Everybody is entitled to their opinion.

I talked to Dan about it, and he said, like, I feel like our show has such a unique opportunity to address what's happening in the world. Yeah. With regards to the pandemic, with regards to Black Lives Matter, right? That if we didn't do it, we would be doing— A disservice. The show a disservice, right? So while you think— I don't think he was wrong. I don't think he was wrong either. I think that hot take is garbage. And we were still able to do everything we wanted to do, and respectfully. Respectfully, I think it's garbage. Bam. There you go. Next one.

Sorry. Like a double scoop of Sherbert. Hot take! Not wrong. Kate and Phillip felt so incredibly forced. Hashtag justice for Kotopi. Well, that's the opposite side of... Well, I guess it's saying the same thing because they're saying they wanted more time with that or just it felt not right. Big guys, new segment, dueling hot takes. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

This is two very hot takes, two very hot sides of the same coin. What's your take on it? I'm curious because you're part of this equation. No, I mean, it's, again, they probably would not. I understand what they're saying. Yeah. Because it was quick as far as like the amount of time dedicated to their development of their relationship. Sure. If we'd had one more season, we'd have a lot of time.

We could have slowed our roll a bit. This hot take never would have happened. That's all I'm going to say. Hot take! Hot take. Older Rebecca was too somber and serious.

The fantastic thing about Mandy Moore is her smile and the sparkle in her eyes. I flip the table. Hot take, Jodi. I mean, listen, she was sad. Yeah. She was a sad lady. Also, Jodi, have you ever met old people? They are sad. Jesus Christ. They're very somber and serious. They're very serious. I have in my day. Yes.

Music today is just noise. I think there were plenty of moments for older Rebecca where she was able to... Like, her grandkids were the love of her life. Like, she was...

I think as we went on, she was able to find a little bit more joy. She's also suffering from dementia, Jodi. Well, that's what I'm saying. Like, how old is she talking about? Like, at what point in time did she find her too somber and serious? Oh, she means like 26-year-old Rebecca. LAUGHTER

It almost feels like, I'm glad it comes from Jodi because it almost feels like, could you just smile more? Yeah, it does feel like a man. You'd be so much prettier if you just smiled. Just make sure you smile a little bit.

Heard that before. Do we have any more hot takes? I do these all day. Oh, dude. This segment is too good. I could take some more hot takes. Hot takes. Gang, if you want to give us any more hot takes, you can always hit us up at thatwassuspodcast at gmail.com. If they want to call us with a hot take, you can hit us at... They would just call us. It'll be 10 phone numbers in a row. One of them begins with a four. 410? They would just call us at...

At 412. 412. And then the numbers after that would be. Or 508? Will be. Keep it in. Keep it in. This is going to be 412-501-3028. Call 412-501-4328. No, not the one. What is it?

Golf 412-501-033-028.

Or you can just like and subscribe. You know what? Just find me. I'm usually wandering around Santa Monica in the morning. Find me there. Tell me your story. I'll repeat it here on the podcast. You'll record it on your phone. I'll record it on my phone. I'll bring you. I'll bring you to my house. You can stay at my house.

I Airbnb it for a very low rate per night. And then you can be a guest on the podcast. Don't forget to like and subscribe. Thank you for tuning in. Thanks for listening. God bless you guys. We'll see you next week. Bye. That was us. Whether you like it or not. That Was Us is filmed at Rabbit Grin Studios and produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. Da-da-da-dum.

That was us.