That Was Us - A Childhood Tragedy Changes Everything | "The Challenger" (601)

Episode Date: July 14, 2026

This week on That Was Us, we’re breaking down This Is Us Season 6, Episode 1: “The Challenger.” Through the lens of one of America’s most shocking tragedies, the episode explores how children process grief, fear, and uncertainty. From the Challenger explosion, to Randall’s need to save others, to Rebecca’s growing memory loss, this episode reminds us that the moments we never fully understand as kids often stay with us forever. In this episode, the hosts chat about: * The surprising return of Pop-Tarts (including the new protein-packed versions) * Their own childhood lemonade stand successes (and failures) * Talking to young children about death, grief, and mortality * How kids process difficult events differently at different ages * Getting older, staying healthy, and confronting our own mortality They also break down the episode, including: * The Challenger disaster and why it became such a defining moment for a generation * How Kevin, Kate, and Randall each react differently to the tragedy * Rebecca's fear that Randall will spend his life trying to save everyone around him * The origins of Randall's "catcher in the rye" instinct to help people in need * Randall's encounter with the man who burglarized his home and his decision to help rather than punish * Rebecca's growing memory concerns and the significance of the missing word "caboose" * The heartbreaking PET scan results that reveal plaques forming in Rebecca's brain And a friendly reminder, you can catch new episodes of That Was Us every Monday, a day early, exclusively on Hulu. Available on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts on Tuesdays like usual! That Was Us is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. ------------------------- Support Our Sponsors: - Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to https://Quince.com/twu for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. - Get a $49 annual membership with promo code podcast at https://www.shipt.com/offer. Terms apply. - If your glasses are overdue for a refresh, now is the time. Use code PODCAST15 for 15% off your first order at https://bit.ly/4viuTlw - See how K12 Powered Schools can help unlock your child’s full potential! Enroll online today at https://k12.com/thatwasus - Fatty15 is on a mission to support Healthy Aging for All, including all ages and stages of life. You can get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription Starter Kit by going to https://fatty15.com/THATWASUS and using code THATWASUS at checkout. ------------------------- 🍋 About the Show: The stars of This Is Us, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, and Chris Sullivan, dive back into the world of the Pearsons, reliving each episode and all the life lessons that came with it. Together, they dig in and dig deep, have the tough conversations, bring in very special and familiar guests, share never-before-heard behind-the-scenes moments, and feature listeners in highly anticipated fan segments. Join your favorite family back in the living room to examine our past, cherish our present, and look to the future with new episodes of That Was Us every Tuesday. Executive Producers: Natalie Holysz and Rob Holysz Creative Producer: Sam Skelton Production Coordinator: Andrew Rowley Video Editor: Todd Hughlett Mix & Master: Jason Richards About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com. » SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1 » FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum » FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/ » FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a headgum podcast. On today's episode of That Was Us, we're diving into season six, episode one, The Challenger. Rebecca faces a heartbreaking reality about her memory. Randall is reminded of the humanity behind addiction and mental illness. Kevin begins to accept that life as moving forward in ways he can't control, and Kate and Toby continue navigating the challenges of balancing family, work, and their future together. Ladies and gentlemen, a new school year means a fresh start. For families that are looking for a new path to help their child succeed,

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What's going on, buddy? Hi, friends. How we doing it? Compassion around addiction. Here we are. Here we are. here on the table. Let's just like jump into it, guys.

If you're watching, you can see, if you're listening, we have. If you're watching a day early on Hulu, which you should be friends. Currently not a paid sponsor, but I realized over the weekend that Pop-Tarts now come with protein. They do. If you've listened to this pod, you are well aware that the cinnamon, well, yeah, brown sugar cinnamon. Frosted. Yeah. It's...

It's kryptonite. It used to be a problem. It used to be a deep... Like an entire box gone. So they used to come in six in a box. Yeah, yeah. I would kill the box. Then they moved up to eight.

Eight is what we see here. And for a while, I don't know if they still have them, but they would have... They'd do 12. Yeah. And this was all... What in one sitting? Wait. Somebody at Pop-Tarts is like, they're killing six.

Hold on. We got to bump this up. Eight? All right, eight. That's a small box. Would you eat 12 Pop-Tarts in one night? One at a time. Yeah.

I bet two at a time sometimes. Probably sometimes with some ice cold milk. Okay. Coming out of the toast. What time of the day? Whatever time. Whatever time. It don't matter.

Over the course of a day or like. Probably take about 40 minutes. You ever eat them room temp? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. How did you not get sick? Twelve feels like.

Probably did. Probably did. Just so over. But when you're what, eight, nine, ten? Yeah. Yeah. You were like 35, 36? No, no, no, no.

Through probably, like, college. Okay. Yeah, and your stomach's messed up all the time when you're that age, because who knows what you've... I wish I'd heard about this at the road. Guys, I would eat so much sugar. Like, I think I would have, like, a knot in my stomach, and I'd be like, what's wrong with that?

Yeah. And then I would just keep eating. Yeah. It was bad. Okay. You'd just poop out jolly ranchers. Basically. Yeah.

But it wasn't candy. It was pastry. No, no, that's what your system turned the sugar into. Oh, yeah, basically. Just, like, hardened. Compressed, hard-in. Yeah. Right, right, right.

Sugar. Yeah. I was on my, on my IG, and they were talking about, like, the seven least healthy things that you can get in America. Yeah. Pop-Tarts was number one. Number one. Really? Number one.

Literally not a single. Yeah. Not a single. No nutritional. Also, 10 grams of protein, what? Per. 400 calories. Yeah, there's 400 calories.

Is this, like, for one pastry? I think it's two Pop-Tarts is 400. is 400. calories. Is that what one serving is or is one serving one tart? It says a serving is two tarts. So there's five grams of protein in each little tart. Yeah. Which there probably always has been. Yeah, by the way, I'm like, you know what we should start promoting. This is not a good source of protein. So here's the thing. Like right now my wife goes to Trader Joe's and we have this cookie. It's a vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.

Yeah. You know this cookie? Oh, yeah. It's pretty taste. Talk to me, Joe. And it's a bit of advice for me, too. And so Ryan, I think under the guise of having something, a treat for something in the house for the kids,

keeps buying these cookies. And you're like, don't buy these cookies. Now, I think she's buying this cookies, guys, because I look pretty good right now. Yeah. And she's trying to sabotage you. She's trying to undercut your cutness. Listen, sir.

Undercut the cut. You said it. Not me. But I'm thinking it real loud, sir. And she has done this in the past. Yeah, you're getting sabotaged. Really? She will buy things that she knows that, like, I...

You can't resist. Yeah. And so I... I want to say, like, I truly believe... I feel like Taylor is in line with you. He's like, stop buying the cookies. Please not. Stop going and buying those chocolate chip cookies.

I'm like, I'm buying... them for me, he's like, yeah, but you have willpower that I don't. There you go. That's what Ryan has. My strength is choosing what comes into the house. Once it's in the house, it's all fair game. Like a dog. I'm going to eat it.

You know what I'm saying? So please don't bring it into the house. And so Chris was teasing me. He's like, oh, we're going to have one on camera. I was like, would I offer you a drink on camera? And he goes, I didn't realize it was like that. I didn't realize it was like that. So now...

So Rob, come get these... Yeah, out of respect. We're just going to remove... I mean, I think we've thoroughly... We've thoroughly made sure that Pop Tarts is not a sponsor. Sorry, Kellogg's. And... Big pastry.

We can get on with our episode, Big Pastry. It's so funny to call them pastry. Yeah, I'm sorry. Big... No, that's what it says in the box. They are. Just to be technical. And they do taste very...

Big sugar. Good. Yeah. On purpose. Well, honestly, if they were strawberry-frosted, I'd go in. That's more of your jam? That's more. That was my jam as a kid.

Or just plain strawberry. Plain strawberry? They used to have like a PBJ one. That was okay? They did? Yeah. I maybe would have gone for that. Maybe.

That's actually how our episode opens. Rebecca is making peanut butter and jelly. Just to bring in full circle. Oh my God. That is professional podcasting right there. Mom is making some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids in the past. They're going to school. It is the day of the Challenger launch.

It is. Before we can get to this channel, in your line. Which made me, like, when I was watching, I'm like, oh, am I watching the right episode? No, this is the first episode. Because they use some of the footage. He has a lot of callbacks to the pilot. Yeah, yeah. In this episode, which was like, I see he's bookending.

I thought I had uploaded the wrong episode for a second. Did you really? Yeah, because I saw Justin talking to the classroom. The women and the, yeah. Yep, yep, yep, yep. No, you're right. Bookends. I want to say two episodes in a row, we hear the dulcet tones of Milo Ventim.

Yeah, a little singer. And has he sung in the show? No, no. That's what I was saying. He's not a singer. But he was singing, and I was like really charmed. I was charmed by him singing and I was charmed by you listening to him saying. Yes, charmed.

And I was so glad that he was not good at it. Something. Right? Yeah. Because you're like, again, you're like, you can't, we were talking before we started rolling. Like, can't be that good at acting and that handsome. And funny.

And with a butt like that. Yeah. With a butt like that. And you can sing, get out of you. There you go. And you know everyone's name on the crew. And you know, get out of here. Stop it.

Was I your speed wagon a big thing? No. I mean, yes, but like they weren't the new Beatles. But I didn't know if they were like. Yes. They were a big thing. They were a big thing. But they weren't the new Beatles.

That was a funny comment that Jack made. No. He's like, mark my words, they're the new Beatles. Got you, got you, got you. Yeah. What? Yeah. No one's the new Beatles.

It's a real moment in white history. REO speedwagon. That's why you don't need to know about it. Okay, just checking. I was like, did I miss something with a huge? How do you guys want to do it? Yeah, well, just, I guess like just kind of jump into this particular. So it is the day of the Challenger launch.

It's the littlest big three. Yes. They're, you know, mom is making takes. She's making lunch. It's a big day. It feels celebratory. And I actually grew up near Cape Canaveral. You did.

So, like, I have a real connection to any time there's, like, a shuttle launch just because we were probably like we were in Orlando. So we were, you know, in the middle of the state and Cape Canaverals on the west coast. But you still would see the shuttle launch. You'd feel the shuttle launch. You would feel when they landed again. Yeah. You could feel it.

Mm-hmm. Oh, wow. Sonic boom. Oh, wow. Yeah. So I grew up, like, very much like this, this sort of watching it at school or knowing about it, it being a big deal was it just kind of, even though I wasn't alive for the Challenger, it does, like, bring.

Were you not alive? No. Yes, you were. No. For the Challenger? You were alive. You just don't remember. How?

Wait, it was 80. You're right. I was alive. You were alive. Because I was in fourth or fifth grade. Yeah. I was two. That's what I'm saying.

I was little. So I don't remember it. Sure. But yes, they, I was alive. But so we see the littlest big three. They go to school. Obviously, it was a huge event. They wheel in a television set.

And you watch the teacher and the class sort of watched the launch and then the impending disaster and the teacher sort of clock that like, because it is confusing when you're watching the footage, you're like, oh, the rockets were supposed to, you know, I guess like separate, exactly, separate from the rest of the fuselage and it continues going. And so watching her sort of clock like, oh, I don't know if it was supposed to look quite like this and quickly like turn the TV off and wheel it out. And obviously, it was an incredibly emotional traumatic event and you're watching these kids watch. Yeah. The first time through in season one, I didn't frame it the way I did in this one. I mean, I think they did this on purpose. But obviously now we are looking at it

from the perspective of like the forced introduction of the idea of mortality. Yeah. To little kids. Sure. Like it was such an event that we were so unused to that nobody... The possibility of this being... This wasn't in the realm of possibility. A worldwide trauma was not a possibility. And so for it to unfold like that and for little kids to be introduced maybe to death

for the first time in their life in this fashion. In a very visceral way. Yes. Yes. Unavoidable way. Yeah. Yeah. You're right.

is like, and watching, I mean, this episode is also like the trauma and how we all react differently to it. Right. In, in, it's sort of presented with the big three and how they each sort of react differently to it and how that grief then shapes them and how they take that grief into every chapter of their life moving forward. Right, right, right. How they respond to it.

You're the same age as the big three, pretty much. You and Chrissy both. Do you have a recollection at all? Vague. Vague. Yeah. Of the Challenger. Yeah.

I don't think we were watching it in class. You weren't. But I remember, like, later that night, like news clips. Okay. Or maybe I'm just, like, putting it back on my memory. But, like, I don't think we were watching it in class. We had a TV. Yeah.

Because I was fifth grade. I was fourth and fifth grade. And they rolled the TV. See, maybe I was just a little, maybe because I'm a little too young. A little young. Five years young. longer than you. Yeah.

It would have been six years old, so I would have still been in kindergarten. That's what I'm saying. The same age as them. That's what I'm saying. Yeah, like maybe too little to watch that. Yeah, but I think not too little to watch, but too little, the memory of it all. And then sometimes teachers do a good job of like, oh, we have to keep the day going. Yeah.

So that it's not the premier thing that's happening in that day. Like I think I remember it happening and us having like, just a what just happened. happened. Like there was just sort of, that couldn't happen. Like, they're supposed to go and come back and everything. And it was more shock. And you knew about all

of the astronauts, too. It's like there was Kristen McCullough, like there was a teacher. Like, it, so it was personal. It was so personal. There was such a, like, deep awareness I think, around the individuals in the way that maybe we just like experienced Artemis in

a sense, too. I feel like there was a similar sort of like we all were on this journey together and it felt like a unifying experience. Like when Katie Perry went up there. Yeah. Same thing. With Katie and Gail. Like we were all jamming that mission. But back to the show.

The back to the show. Historic moment. Thank you, Chris. Thank you very much. Well, it's interesting. I can talk about this in a way that like our, my next-door neighbor just passed away. He was in his 80s. I'm sorry.

And it came on kind of quick. But my kids knew him very well. Saw him all the time. We had a little window cut in our fence where we would pass. He made homemade tortilla chips and we made guacamole and we'd swap. And he would always have the kids over and help. We would go over there and he'd show them how to make cookies or whatever. And so they knew him.

Knew him by name, knew him by sight. And then he passed away. And so now these conversations are happening with a five-year-old and a three-year-old about just. and passing away. And I can already see Bear handling it a little like Kevin, where he's like, okay, like he understands it. He understands that it's sad, but he's maybe protecting himself a bit and moving through it. Whereas Ifa, already at three, is like, wait a minute, does that mean that you, that we are all going to pass away at some point?

And she's processing it still, like even now, yesterday we were at the pool. And she's like, let's play a game. Pretend that I've passed away and you're coming to find me in the forest. And I'm like, maybe. I don't want to play this game. That's a game I don't want to play. Let's play a different game. Please.

Pretend I've passed away and come find me in the forest. And it's such a, it's such a, it's something I don't want to obviously play, a game I don't play. But also like such a profound moment to witness a little. three-year-old mind working through it. Like figuring out what it means. And we see it with the big three. You see it with the big three.

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Fatty 15 is on a mission to help support healthy aging for all, including all ages and stages of life. You can get an additional 15% off your 90-day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.com slash that was us and using code That Was Us at checkout. And, you know, Rebecca picks the kids up from school and obviously is chatting with them about what happened and Jack gets back and he asks how the kids are and she says they're sad. But Kevin oddly feels unaffected. And you see Rebecca going to try to talk to Randall about how he feels.

and, you know, he kind of admits to his mom that, like, the astronaut, the teacher that went up in the shuttle, didn't she have kids? Yeah. And what are her kids doing that night? And who's making them dinner? And it's just, it's heartbreaking that that's where his mind goes, that he immediately is like, oh, she's a mommy and she has children. and who's taking care of her children if she's not there to take care of her children and watching Rebecca have to deftly try to handle that

and he wants to send them some macaroni and cheese sweet Randall because they had macaroni and cheese right that night. And you see Rebecca and Jack, sorry, I'm just like jumping back around. You see them sort of like in bed later that night going, did we handle that even remotely correct? Like, I don't even know. I'm sure as you and Rachel are questioning, like, how do we handle this? This is something we didn't know that we were going to be confronted with because it is one thing when it's something personal and it's sad and it's unexpected, but there is something so collectively traumatizing about this experience that Jack and Rebecca, the whole world is sort of feeling at the same time, right?

This like immense loss in such a catastrophic fashion. And Jack says, you know, that it's really Kevin, his brain just protecting itself. Right. Because Kev, it said, he goes, hey, but, you know, when I was a kid, Jack says to Kev, you know, I didn't really like talking about things where they're happy things or sad things. There's anything you want to talk about. And he's like, no, it's not real. It's on TV. Right? Like he's sort of just like, it's in a box. Yeah. That was like, that was there. And this is real life. So why is everybody getting so worked up? something that didn't really happen. Yeah. And he was like, all right, cool.

Randall and his saying, and then Kate, too, beautifully, was like, you know what? It's a good thing that they were so close to heaven, so they don't have that far to go in order to be there. Yeah. You know? Three kids, three different reactions. Yeah. Same household, you know. Yeah. And it is interesting that our writers bring it back to this, right?

Because we think about the big mortal moment in this show. Yeah. being the loss of their father. Yeah. But, I mean, Kevin says at the beginning of this show, and here again... It all started with the Challenger. It all started with the Challenger. Yeah.

Which is such an interesting thesis. Yeah. Statement to be reminded of that this is where they get their worldviews. Dan, like just to bring it back? Yeah. To bring it back. Like, what a callback. Fogelman!

Fogelman! Like... There's tons of them in the story. You know, like, why? what was in his brain about, like, it must have, I'd be curious to ask him, like, was the challenger, like, a formative thing for him? Yeah, I mean, it must be. In his young mind. And, I mean, I'm sure for him to write about that and write that to come out of Kevin's mouth during the pilot. And, like, did he know that somehow, some ways, somewhere it was going to factor back in again six seasons later? I think it's just him sort of like, because he's, doing something similar with Paradise.

Like, I think that there's a sense of closure that he is initiating with, you know, this first episode of season six echoing back to the pilot of the show. Streaming episodes now on Hulu. There you go. There you go. It's poetry, you know what I'm saying?

And I think even with regards to, like, the main through line of our train in this episode, you know what I'm saying? Don't even get me crying yet. There you go. We'll take our time. No, no. You're right.

And, I mean, there is sort of a, Rebecca brings up the Catcher in the Rye, which kind of factors into her dad reading The Catcher in the Rye on the train, which we'll get to. But she asks Jack if he's ever read The Catcher in the Rye. And he was like, yeah. Of course. No. No. I mean, just so perfect. It's a great delivery.

Yeah, because he's like, wait. Why do I have to lie about this? Yeah. I didn't read it. And just the still look on your face of like, okay, buddy. That's, yeah, I was expecting that answer. And she basically says, I'm worried that Randall, like, they're looking at each of their kids and the different reactions they've had to this horrific day.

And Rebecca's like, I'm worried that Randall is the catcher in the wry. I'm worried that he is going to spend his whole life trying to save everyone. And it's going to be a beautiful. but perpetually disappointing ride for him, that he's just going to try to be this savior. And that factors into Randall's storyline present day, which I kind of like I had forgotten about this episode as well. I remembered glimpses of it, but in totality,

it's so fun to be on this journey with you guys because there is so much of a revelation. Getting to rediscover and watch the show again. And then I love like it made me cry as well when Rebecca's just like what a thing being a parent. Yeah. Like what a thing. It's just like, whoa. And then Jack is like, what a thing being a kid?

It's like, wow, yes. Both sides of that coin. Let me interject. May I interject something? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was talking to Omarie Brown the other day who just won his second basketball championship. Yeah. They won the last game 31 to 30.

Wow. It went down to the wire. Winning shot? Not a winning shot. Like they won with a free throw left or whatnot. But like he had a drive where it was an N1 where he got filed and he made the layup and he made the free throw afterwards or whatnot, which was huge, right? It was very good.

And he's talking in the car about not wanting to be an adult. And I was like, why is that, but? And he's like, taxes, bro. And I was like, you see? Seriously, it's like, you got to pay taxes. It's the worst part. Like, you know what taxes are? Or is he just like, has he picked that up somewhere?

I don't know. That that's a thing. Because I don't talk about, listen, I don't talk about taxes. I talk about him. I've just introduced him to the idea to bear. Did you? The dad tax. Oh, we heard about the dad tax.

Which means I get 10% of everything he eats. Yeah. Whatever you're eating, I get 10%. That's right. That's right. That's the dad tax. But he was just talking about how. how, like just growing up.

So then yesterday, day off school, I think, I woke up in the morning, I went for this lovely walk, I meditated, I had a great work. I was able to run three miles on the Achilles, which was pretty cool. And then I was like, okay, I got a Brunee Brown book, I'm like standing ground or what? Her new book, yeah.

Yeah, her new ground, like something ground. And I was like, today's just gonna be a me day, right? So then I have like this hive of little boys come to the house. Then do you remember, I haven't done my taxes. And they want to do a lemonade stand, right? Now, Ryan Michelle, shout out, is a champion. Because, like, she goes through shipped. She winds up bringing in a butt ton of lemons.

Yeah. Right? We didn't have, like, sugar in the house. She's got sugar and everything. Do I just want to know what a butt load is? It's from alcohol, right? It's 246 gallons. 246 gallons.

Because it's B-U-T-T-E. That's right. Like the butt of a something, like a vehicle or something? Huge barrels used to be called butts. Oh, okay, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you think it's B-U-T-T-T. No, no, isn't it?

You can have that fact for free. B-U-T-E. Got it. And, like, it's like a herd of cats making lemonade. Like, they just start, like, they find a squeezer, whatnot, and I sort of panic because I like a lot of order. I'm with you. I'm with you.

You're looking for a cash box. But there was so much joy. Listen, there's so much joy that they had. Like, I didn't want to stop them. Now, I had to make sure, like, everybody cutting lemons and stuff, like, okay. Being careful. They seem like they're doing all right. But then I was like, Ryan, I need you to come help me because, like, there's so much going on right now.

I was like, I don't think they're doing this the right way. But I think they're doing it. And she came in. And she was just like, she can see the disorder and do like, all right. boys, this is what we're going to do. And they were like, yes, ma'am. And they just sort of snapped to. It really is amazing.

It is. Because I was, I was, and like I started freaking out. And so Ryan started freaking out a little bit too. And I said to her, I said, they can be only one. I said, this is your time to shine. Let me freak out. You step up. You know what I'm saying?

Like, I don't freak out that much. But right now, I need you to hold it together, something. I went outside. I got the folding table. I got a couple of chairs for them to sit up. They had a bull. Bullhorn. Oh, whoa.

Now, boys versus girls, the way that you drum up foot traffic, please come buy some lemonade! Just nuts. Yeah. Just absolutely. Did anybody buy some? Yeah. They made $90.

Wow. The most successful lemonade stand in the history. $2 a cup. It's $2,000. It's $2,000. Damn. Inflation. And they said that this is artisanal.

Like, this is handmade. Artisanal. Wait, did they pay back for the Spanish? flies? No. I asked Ryan that too. I was like, when are they going to get these sunk calls taking care of? But it was just reminding me of like childhood. Yeah. And like... Quintessential. And there are these moments where the wool gets, not the wool, we're not, but like the rose-colored glasses become a little bit murkier. And once they do, you can't go back to... No. Right. You know, and the challenger is representing just a moment for these kids in their

where it didn't take away their childhood, but like, oh, the introduction of like, it doesn't go on like this forever. Sure. Is the first time that it's injured. Sad things happen, too. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And Kevin and Kate, at the end of the episode, you see little Kevin and Kate get together in bed, right?

And they talk about how mom and dad are going to die one day. Yeah. I was like, oh, no, I'm not ready for this. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Home and dad are going to, yeah. I mean, that was IFA's, the night he passed, our neighbor passed away with Rachel at bedtime. Wait a minute.

Are you going to pass away? Yeah. Like, instantly, she made the connection. Yeah. It's just like. That's it. Yeah. Anyways.

Like, yeah, you can't unring that bell. Unring that bell. Shh, night night. Yes, we all are going to die. Yeah. Sleep, wow. Sweet dreams. Good night.

Good night. Nobody. Nobody. Good night old lady whispering hush Until she dies Until she passes away That's what good night nobody is Yeah

Good night nobody because she's gone She's gone She died What storyline do you would do that Side note I did a lemonade stand When I was a kid But I lived on a cul-de-sac No one came

Real depressing So you have to go to I didn't even think about it I needed to yes Sometimes they have before are gone up to an intersection. They'll take the table up to an intersection. They'll set up.

But we have an ice machine in our house, so if things get warm, like they can just go get some more ice to keep it going. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. I wish I had... They did mint lemonade because we grow mint in the backyard.

And they did a watermelon lemonade because we also run, juice the watermelon and then added it to... You know what I'm saying? That is artisanal. Yeah. Yeah. It was real.

I'd pay $2 for that. I'd pay $2. Thank you. Thank you very much. I do. I guess we could jump into... It's hard because there is a montage in the beginning, right? That kind of like sets up each of the storylines, right?

We have like pilot footage. And then it shows you where these characters are present day. Well, do you want to get into that Catcher in the Rye theme and go with Randall? Let's go around. Yeah, let's do it. I mean. Let's do it. Because what you said or what Rebecca says, I'm worried that he's a catcher in the Rite.

It's going to go around trying to save people and it's going to be a constant disappointment for him. Yeah. I mean, my thesis on him is that he is trying to save a lot of people, and it doesn't always work out. And it doesn't seem to disappoint him. I was like it doesn't deter him. Yeah. It only seems to.

He never gets a lesson of, like the lesson is never, oh, well, I guess, like, poor me, I'll never do that again. Yeah. Because we see him in the pilot, obviously. it's everyone's birthday, right? And Randall's in his office. People are coming in and singing happy birthday while he gets an email

that the private investigator has found his father, William. That's right. There's a picture. And that is juxtaposed with getting an email, right? That they have found the man who burglarized their home and who terrorized them with a knife two years ago,

a year and a half ago, however long it was. And they have, in evidence a picture of their wedding, like from their wedding day of Randall and Beth. And it's in like a little evidence baggy. Right. And so from there, hold on wait, real quick. Sorry, sorry, sorry. No, it's okay.

No, because I love this. I just want to, because this will factor into next episode. Because Beth, Beth is hanging out with the girls. And Daya's just looking at like a picture that Malik sent. or something and they're all sort of gag-gai or a note. And she's like, oh, you're looking at notes from Malik? That's so sweet, you know. And Randall used to send me notes back when I was in school

and his whole letters with cursive and everything. And it's so beautiful. And the girls are like, all right, Mom, we don't necessarily need to hear all about. Yeah, Randall comes down and shows, tells Beth, like, can we talk in the other room? Betts, like, it's really just one room. Just beautifully undercutting the tension of it all.

Yeah, open concept. So he says, like, they found them, and I think I wanna go down to the arraignment. And she's like, it's your birthday, man. Yeah. And she's like, look, you got a couple options here. Like, your wife is together. Door one. Door number one, door number two.

She's got a new job. I love, and I give you credit for this too in this episode, I believe, exposition done artfully in line with character. Sure, sure. Because sometimes you're giving like some exposition, and you're like, We're going to get this out.

I got to say this. We're going to forward this story. Yeah. Yeah. You got to keep this train running, no pun intended. But she's got a job, so we know that. And she's in a good place, et cetera. And she's looking great.

New skincare regimen. Or you can go down to see this dude. Well, hold on. She invites you. She's like, you come upstairs. Yes. She's offering. That is door number one for your birthday.

It's her. Blanche. Birthday. Yes. It's about to go down. Yeah. And she gets right up on them and whatnot. And she's like, you're going to.

choose the other door, she's like, I want to look them. I need to look them in the eye. Yeah. I need to confront this dude. And I always say just like, because Dan wrote this and because Dan had his home broken into, and Dan would show us like the camera footage of like the guys like hopping over the fence,

whatever, everybody in there all black, et cetera, et cetera. Like it was traumatizing. And it was interesting to see, Dan in particular, because Dan doesn't wear like emotions on his sleeve, but you can see him in the works. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And so when he talks about it, it was like, guys, look it.

Isn't this crazy? And it's crazy? Like, yeah, man, it's crazy. But he's not, like, showing this part. Yeah. And then you read what he wrote and you're like, this is. That's how he felt. This is what's happening.

And that's a lot of Dan. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I'm talking about. Everything. Yeah. Yeah. About everything.

Yeah. He's so funny about, like, being a dad. Yeah. And, you know, it's like goofy about this and blah, blah, blah. But then it's like, oh, he is just one giant, walking, beating heart. There you go. He's all heart.

There you go. With big cheeks. With big cheeks. Cutest cheeks in the world. My little chipmunk. But so he chooses, and then she's just, the life, she was walking up the stairs and she looks in the mirror and she's like, I would have chose door number Beth. Door number Beth is the best line.

I love that shit. I love that cheek, man. But I love to when she's like, you are a strange man. You're so strange. Like, how could you have this? or to go see a man who terrorized you. Yeah. You're going to choose that.

I just had to give her a shot. Her flowers for sure. She, Jordan and her Beth is incredible. So continue, please. Randall goes to the hearing. Yeah. And they kind of just like, it's perfunctory, right? Like they're like, we're actually going to schedule another hearing, another like a raiment or whatever for a month from now.

And as he's on his way out, Randall walks up to. the officer. Oh, yeah. Right? And is essentially like, you know, hi, I'm councilman, whatever you say. Absolutely. Is it like, can I actually have a minute with this gentleman? His name is David.

Yeah. And he's played incredibly. Yeah. By Tobias Jelinek. Yeah. If I'm saying that right. Yeah, he was wonderful. Incredible.

And so Randall has a conversation with him. Yeah. And again, the bookend, did you catch it? He starts off by saying, my name is Randall Pearson, which is the exact same thing that he said. said to William when they first met. And he's about to give him a whole diatribe. A spiel. He's ready. He's got his whole spiel plan.

And then the guy's like, you're the guy for my picture. You're the guy from my picture. And Randall saw the clock and like, oh, man, this is not what I thought it was going to be. Like, clearly my man has gaps in his memory. He winds up saying as much. Like, you know, and he was talking about the picture. And he said, like, I took the picture and you looked happy in it. And I was thinking it was from like, a good time in my life, but now it looks like it was from a bad time in my life. Yeah. We come to find out this guy has very little memory of anything that he has done.

There's obviously drugs involved in addiction, and he has these gaps in his life, and he's in a lot of ways, has no idea how he even got where he is. Yeah. He asks you some of the same questions, right? He asked twice about his dog. Do you know what they did to my dog or, like, do you know where my dog is? Yeah. And you're like, I will find out.

Like you, watching Randall process, like, oh, this guy is not fully here. Right. He clearly has some mental health challenges and as well as addiction issues. And this is not going to unfold the way that he had hoped. Yeah. Right. And his own human concerns. Yeah.

Like of everything going on. You know, like you said, who's going to feed my dog? Yeah. Like who's going to feed, you know, they're talking about the kids. Yeah. Yeah. That it's just like it activates that side of Randall of like, how can I help here?

I was coming in with one expectation of how I was going to approach and handle this situation. And this man has presented something entirely different and unexpected to me. And now I'm probably going to go in a different direction. He goes in a completely different direction. So he gets home and tells Beth that essentially he bailed him out. Yeah. And he's going to be helping him get into a shelter. That night he's going to go back and meet him at the shelter.

Yeah. And, you know, Beth is sort of just. like any of us would be like, what are you doing? Yeah. Yeah. I think Randall, in certain ways, for Dan, for like the way that he was perceived by the public, sometimes it's like, man, I wish I could do that. Like, like, there's a part of me that as I even played him, I was like, this guy is kind of like,

I wish my heart was that big too. Not to say that I have a small heart. Right? Like, nobody, you know, I don't think anybody. But I was like, oh man, like that's a lot. He reminds me of my brother. He reminds me of my- Randall Pearson.

Got it. Randall K. Pearson reminds me of Armin K. Slaughter. And that he will use himself up almost to the point where he's pouring from a half-empty cup. Yeah, in the service of other people. In the service of other people, right? And I tell my brother from time, I tell him, hey, man, you need to go fishing. You need to go do something. Like, he loves to fish, right?

I was like, take a moment to do something for yourself so that you're not so depleted when it comes to being of service and of value to other people. Because you don't burn yourself out, bro. And I would think about him a lot as I was playing Randall. I was like, oh, this must be. what it feels like to be my brother, right? To feel like, because my brother, like, Randall said one time, with regards to Rebecca's care or something, he said, if I don't do it, who will.

Who will? Yeah. Right? And I've heard my brother say that. Yeah. Yeah. So she says, listen, I'm going to give you one more shot. After he says all this stuff, he's like, you're crazy, but you are fundamentally decent, human being. Yeah. So you can still get it. And so because of that, you get to knock these boots right quick. And then she's-

If you choose the correct door. If you choose the correct door. But he also says something like, you know, like I chose something with the first time I saw you. She's like, look, man, just finished. Close the deal. Yeah, yeah. Quickly. She says something- I don't need, yeah, yeah.

What would she say? It was a great line. I'm trying to find if I can real quick. I do love. I just want to point out that, like, Randall says, you know, she's just sort of like, like, what? Essentially, like, why this guy? Yeah. Like, why do you have to be so invested in this person?

He's like, because I see William and Kevin and my dad and Laurel and Shauna and all these addicts. Yeah. I see thousands of addicts in my district who I'm not doing nearly enough for. And also, him turning towards this guy and walking towards this guy and learning about him and humanizing him. Yeah. releases Randall from his... The trauma. Yeah.

Yeah, it does. You know, it's to look deeper and to try to understand. Yeah. It's a very evolved position. Yeah, to try to have compassion is certainly a nice thing to do for that person. Sure. But also... A gift to himself.

Yeah. Because at that point before, this is a person who did this to me. And then I meet the person. I was like, this is a person who's going through. whatever X Y and Z. You know what I'm saying? I think I wrote it down right.

She said, don't be cheap now. Just get it done. Something like that. Then he goes to, she says if he doesn't show up, I'm going to be disappointed. You see Randall waiting outside of the shelter and my man does not show up.

So then he goes home and he's talking about not being a young man anymore. And what was he? I don't know if I wrote down all this stuff about it. Beth got him some cufflinks. Yeah, to replace the ones that were stolen. And he was touched by that because it was very sweet.

And he says, I need to do more to help the people who are hurting in the city. And she says, I know. But there's this moment of, I think I just had this now at 50. And I think this is also setting up. Remember that we saw him in that magazine cover at the end of season, even in the season five. So it's like, okay. are the things that are possibly going to lead Randall to whatever got him onto that magazine cover, right?

But this idea of like time, I think for Randall, for the big three, like the introduction of mortality or whatnot is like, how do we use our time? And I think 50 in particular for me, also at 45 because I was the same age as my dad when he passed away. But there is this thing that's happening that like, I I know, sounds dark, but like, bear with me. I know I'm going to die eventually. But I don't know, like, Ifa has this moment, but I don't, that moment comes and goes. Sure. It comes and goes, and you're like, I'll just keep living.

And I'll just keep living. And there's something about, like, this moment that I was like, all right, I've probably done the majority of it, which is a different feeling. Yeah. It's like, I've probably done the majority of it. There's less ahead than there is behind. You know what I'm saying? It's an interesting thing. And it's like, all right, now, what do I want to do?

Like, what is the fat that needs to be cut off and left behind so I can, like, be pruned and flourished to maximum possibility with the limited time? I feel the limitation. Interesting. Now. Before I was just like, I'll keep going. And I think also what happened this year with the Achilles. And this happens because I toured the ACL during the show.

And I'll have these moments of like, I am destructible. Because believe you know that guys, for most part, I kind of think I'm indestructible. But now it's like, no, no, it's coming. But I'm not going grace, like I'm not going to allow myself to just sort of deterior. Right. You know what I'm saying? Like if I grow older, I'm not going to age like, well, you know, that's just what happens to the body, fuck that.

I'm going hard. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. All the fucking way. You know what I'm saying? Like, I want the last day to be like, oh, he was just walking like six miles the other day. No one is it? Yeah. That's how it's going down for Brown.

Yeah, heart attack mid killer crossover on the court. Killer crossover. Yeah. Even better. Just to sleep. Yeah, just to sleep. Just to sleep. That's how we all want it.

Just to sleep. Stero wake up, man. Oh, wow. He's gone. He had a whole box of Pop-Tarts before. He went out the way he wanted, an entire box of Pop-Tarts. No, it's an interesting, it's an interesting thing to meditate on, right? The finite nature of all of this and the fact that we're all going to die someday.

And it can be taken both ways. You know, it could be depressing to some, and it can be enlivening to others. It can bring them into the present moment and motivate them in a way. You know, I have a few friends who, as a few friends who, as, kids had scares like with leukemia or things like that and and i can think of one friend in particular who who it just sent down a nothing matters road yeah and and one friend who is a living everything to the fullest road sure you know and and i think what do you think what do you think depends like determines how how how we take it i mean i have a thousand things a thousand things a thousand little

traumas, a thousand little challenger explosions. Sure. You know, like the idea of, of, you know, this guy who breaks into your house, the thousand things that have to put a human being in that position, you know, that go all the way back to his upbringing and the foster system that he was in or the abusive father or the, you know, who had to work jobs and couldn't be home. And it's, yeah, it's like it's an endless. sliding doors situation. If we can turn towards each other, the way Randall turns towards this,

even though Randall is turning towards it in a way that's like, no, no, I'm going to tell him what he did. He has given this larger picture. You know, it's the zoom out to the bigger picture that brings him compassion and understanding and forgiveness. Yeah. You know? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because that resentment that he's holding on to, that resentment that he's holding on to for this guy is, is like, is rust on the bottom of a car. You know, it's just slowly eating away at the metal until all of a sudden the bottom falls out. Yeah. But if we can release that resentment, no matter what, like, no matter what it takes, like,

it's the most important thing to release these resentments. Yeah. No matter what it takes. Not just for the sake of people around us, but for our own sake. Sure. So we don't end up, you know, ate Pop-Tarts deep.

Come on now. In a darkened room. As he looks at the Pop-Tarts on the ground under the table. I see you. Stop. You're hiding under the table. Let's do. More that was us after these words from our sponsors.

Gang, my family and I took a road trip recently. And there's something about being in a car for an extended period of time that reminds me of This Is Us, right? It's everybody talking, somebody's telling an old story. Somebody else remembers it completely differently. What's your favorite road trip memory? I love taking road trips right now with my kids.

They talk about it forever. They talk about stuff we did even two years ago. Really? Things that I can't believe they would remember. Places we stopped in restaurants, the little toys that they got. I mean, it goes such a long way, I think, at these specific ages. And truthfully, the Pearson's also spent half of their lives talking in cars. This is seriously.

But that's what I love. about road trips. You get these long stretches where you're not rushing anywhere. You're just experiencing the trip. And that's, you know what, that's getting harder to do these days. Exactly, sir, which is why I had at this moment halfway through the trip where I thought, my house is just sitting empty right now. And meanwhile, you're out creating memories somewhere else. And it got me thinking about listing my space on Airbnb while I'm away. Yeah. The challenge isn't the idea. It's finding time to manage everything. Yes, yes, especially with schedules as busy. as ours. And that is why Airbnb's co-host network is such an interesting option. Game changer.

You can hire a vetted local co-hosts to help handle all the logistics. Yeah. This is the kind of support that has been holding me back from doing this. It's like I don't know if I have the time to be. Or the bandwidth. Or the bandwidth. The human bandwidth. Yeah, truly. Just to welcome a guest, make sure they have everything they need. Yes. Make sure the place is well taken care of, well-stocked, all of these things. You need a co-host, bro. A co-host can help with guests. communication, reservations, on-site support, all of that. Which means I could spend less time checking my phone and more time enjoying the trip that I am actually on. If you are interested in listing your space on Airbnb, find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host.

All right, gang, check this out the other day. We were hanging out. Amari and all of his little friends were over at the house. They're kicking it. Playing basketball, playing in the swimming pool, whatnot. Ryan gets excited. She says, I'm going to make an apple cobblers. for you guys. She goes all in, makes this apple cobbler, she's about to go divvy it all up, goes into the fridge to get some ice cream. No,

no ice cream. No ice, don't say it. Not a problem. That's not an apple cobbler. Not a problem. Why? Shipped to the rescue, bro. I said we need some premium vanilla ASAP. Wow. Cobbler's still hot, ice cream melting on top. The kids had a perfect time. See, this is what I'm talking about. With shipped, it's never just delivery. All right? You know, You get groceries and more shopped same day in the same way that you would if you were there yourself. But you don't have time. You got to watch these kids in the pool. You can't be running to get ice cream. Yeah. And with shipped, you get everything you need.

We're talking groceries, decor, gifts, and more delivered. Same day from nearby stores. And a lot of different stores, you know, including national retailers like Safeway, Albertsons, Michaels, Target, PetSmart, as well as local grocery stores in your area. Use code podcast to get a year of shipped for only $49. that's half off the regular $99 price at shipped.com slash offer. That's s-h-i-p-t.com slash offer. Terms apply. Let's do Cotoby before, because I think Kev has like the most,

I want to finish with Kez. Yeah. Most nuance. We see Toby is somewhere else. San Francisco. He is calling in. He has a quick phone call. for exposition that is not only quick,

but is made more quick in the dialogue because a man is about to interrupt this phone call. So know this, it is your birthday. I am not there. Please take this massage in exchange for me not being there. Yeah. Oh, what was it? The exposition that you had was Nikki coming to live

with Rebecca and Miguel? Yes. Yes. Yes. And I was like, I said, Chris, you better act, dog. You're going to throw that shit out there. Like, you know what I'm saying? I just got to say this shit real quick because it's your birthday.

But they're going to come take care of the baby. And you know how they're dealing with Nikki right now because he went to moving with it. But anyways, there is a lot happening here at the top of this season. But we got to get people together. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So she goes and she has her massage.

Yes. Because she knows her. She likes a woman with strong hands, something like that. and you know exactly what she likes. And she enjoys her massage. And she says, you have a really lovely husband. He's like, yeah, it's pretty cool. He's like, he's normally sort of a dude who does like the big gesture thing or whatnot.

He doesn't normally outsource it. But this is pretty cool, too. I'm happy. Can we talk about massages? Yeah. You guys, this might be an unrelatable topic for podcasting. Give it to me. Is there anything worse than a mediocre massage?

Like you've taken the time. You're like, you know what? I'm going to get a massage. Today, I'm going to pause and allow some, and you get there, and Rachel and I call them cream pushers. Are they're just like, and they're just like pushing cream around on your back? Where are you going for this massage? Listen, all over the world, we've been to all kinds of places.

And sometimes you're like, most of the time it's great. Once in a while you get somebody, you want to know one of the worst massages? It was that weekend that we had as a cast at the world's nicest hotel. Yeah. I was just talking to Dan about this. Worst massage. I almost, and I wish I had called it off like 10 minutes in. I was almost like, you know what?

We're okay. Are you serious? Lady put on, lady put on like lunch lady gloves. What? You know, not like latex gloves. Like the. loose lunch lady gloves. And at first I was like, what is that sensation?

And I kind of like, glanced back. A plastic on my body. Just lunch lady gloves and lotion. It was just like pushing. I've never heard anybody glance back in the middle of a massage. Like your head is buried. Like, what is that? You're like lift up and you're like, what?

I could hear the crinkling and the lotion. Oh, you guys. And I was like, I keep. This is unacceptable. You go to the exposition. She's talking to the masseuse. In the middle of the masseuse, she gets a text from Philip saying there's an emergency at school needs you. She's supposed to have the day off.

All of a sudden, she doesn't have the day off. Yeah, because the kids are at the train park with Nikki and Miguel and Rebecca. Where was that? Where was that? Griffith Park? Yeah. The train we go on all the time. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. So she goes to school and she's outside of Philip. office. Covered in lotion. What was that? Guys, tell me about this breakup. This is like, that was one of the moments that I was also like, I'm sorry, what show are we watching? He was like, look, you bore me. He says, you're just boring. You bore me. But I'm like, wait, who is this woman? Why is this happening at school? Why is the door open? Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why. I wanted to know. Listen, I called you and my co-worker Kate back-to-back. She should be here any minute so we could finish this.

She might be waiting outside the door right now. You bore me. Can we be done? She's like, you're... You're beautiful, you're sexy. You're... You're smart. You're smart.

Yeah, except for me. Except for me. I don't want you. You're boring. I was just like, wait, why... What is this trying to tell us? I think it is we know that they're getting married from the end of last season. So we're trying to see, like, I think folks...

women is trying to create like, how did this happen? If this dude just did this douchey thing. I also was like, why do we need to see him break up with somebody at school with the door open? Yeah, he could have just kicked a dog or something. He could have just been him. We already knew he was a prank. Yeah, it's like, we get it. Yeah, but, you're an asshole. Okay, so that, that happens. She leaves. And then Kate was like, what was that? He's like, oh, nothing. Come on, I got to show you. Yes, again, I was like, let's trim the fat, guys. Trim the fat, right. There is.

Hot take. Hot take. I like it. Totally unnecessary. It wasn't, yeah. You're probably right. You're probably right. They go outside.

He's like, you know, the kids insisted on, you know, doing something for you. We heard that this was one of your favorite songs. And these little blind children, listen, that's what they are. I'm not saying anything. These little blind children. They sang their asses off. Oh, so sweet. Like the purity of like sound that is coming from the vocal boxes of these children.

It's so beautiful. It starts to melt your boy like almost instantaneously. Also, back to just like, you guys will know this because it's a, it's, it's, it's what Brown calls a quintessentially white song. But the montage song that is an echo back to what's been used before. Yeah. That shit gets me every, every time I hear that friggin' song. Watch me. Don da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da it's at the beginning.

Oh, it's no, no, no, no, the Sufian Stevens song. Oh, yeah. That shit gets me. That's some white shit that gets your boy every time. Yeah, Sophion is. Suffian Stevens is one of our white kings. He is a white king. Listen, I mean, he is the-

Put me on. Yeah. Put me on because I was like every time. Because we use that song a few times throughout the course of the show, don't we? Yeah, it's in the pilot for sure. Yeah. in this episode. It might have like been, yes, I love it. Somewhere, it's trinkled in somewhere else.

Yeah, it's trinkled in a couple of this spots, but I love it. So, okay. But here's the thing that I got from the scene too is that she was just talking about Toby normally is the grand gesture dude. Yeah, he said this is nice, but yeah. And he kind of came up with something because he made it seem like it is an emergency. It wasn't an emergency. It was actually a surprise. And it was a surprise that meant something. So I don't, you guys clock that. But even through all of that, he was like, he was like, he was like, he was. like apparently they like you a lot. Yeah. And this song like means something to you. I've never seen a guy who does, has such a selfless job who just, it has such disdain. For everybody and everything.

Apparently these orphans, they're orphans, aren't they? They're not? They're not orphans. Oh, I thought they were orphans. Anyways, they want to sing you a song. I was thinking about it. By the way, by the way, I is nothing in my life makes me happier than making you two laugh. But if you are just listening and not watching, when Sterling goes quiet,

that's because I made him laugh too hard. I need you the listener to know because it sounds like I'm bombing. Because Sterling goes quiet and he falls over. We need to get a microphone down there on the couch to get the wheezing. It's like, no, no, we don't need listeners. We need the viewers. I need you to see it because it ceases to be audible. But I am killing in here, all right?

And I need you to know. Even Todd. Todd is really losing it back there too. You are killing. You always kill. So, yeah, so he gets her in there and they sing. Time after time. Time after time.

And then the next thing is her at home. Toby surprises her for her birthday. Well, she's at home. She's at home. And he's sitting to text me like, hey, is it too late to give you like the last birthday version? He's like, no, I'm still up. And then you hear happy birthday.

Happy birthday. Right around the corner. You're like, oh, you old smooth fox. Sometimes, like Christopher Joseph Sullivan, I'm going to call him Christopher DeJavion or something like that because it was like, he's like, hey, what's up, girl? You know what I'm saying? I'm here for you right now.

To Javier. The Javier. The Javier. I love it. But it was. If you call me DeJBion for the rest of my life, I'll be okay. Christopher DeJavion, you better get over here. Listen, there's something, because we know what's happening.

And this is like, and we're like seeing it happen in degrees. Small little things. Little increments. At this moment, you're like, it's still good. It's still good. Like there's this part of me watching it's like, how's that going to happen? They're still good. Yeah.

You know? He's still big gesturing for her birthday. Yeah. He made it back. He made it back. So, okay, that's that. We want to do Kev before, because I think moms is actually like mom, Miguel and et cetera. Nikki.

Kev, the book in for him is we see him dancing with the two models on his birthday, talking about the challenger, et cetera. And then we see him with his two babies. Yeah, he goes from, like, those women to, like, holding two babies. A couple of babies. There's a couple of babies. There you go. The garage door opens.

And we're like, is Kevin Pearson, America's favorite man, he living in the garage? Yeah. And he is. He's in the garage. He comes inside. Exposition. He has decided to still live with Madison to help raise the children. Yeah.

And he's living in the garage. Yeah. And it seems like it's a harmonious co-parenting situation. Yeah, they're kind of like finishing each other's sentences. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's like coming in with a ripe baby and she smells the butt and it's, yeah. I mean, it's like there's just this cute little patter between them. There's something about the smell.

I will say that. Like, did you guys experience? It's more recent for you. When your children start eating solid food. Yep. The switch. Jiminy Christmas. Oh, yeah, where it's like real poop.

It was like before you're like, oh, goodness gracious, look at you. Doodoo do, do, do, do. Yeah. And then you give them that food? Yeah. Yeah. And it's mostly cheese. Yeah.

It's just cheese casadillas. That's all we got. Cheese casadias. That'll do it. Just cheese casadias. Yeah. And then it becomes real human excrement. There you go.

And then I told her, I told Roger, I think we have a problem. problem because our bathroom smells like an old folks home. There's something different happening. Someone died. Yeah. Yeah. It's bad. I have one kid.

I'm not going to put, I have two kids. They're both him, so that doesn't do it. Yeah. Whose flatulent is so powerful. Yeah. Do we think it's dairy? It's got to be something. We don't do a ton of dairy in the house.

Is it gluten? Oh, no, bro. But you know how it's supposed to dissipate? Yeah. It doesn't. You think you're sneaking pop-tarts? It's like a bomb. He's got secret pop-tarts.

It's just like that. It's a cloud. You know how Pigpin walks around? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It just like follows. Yeah. He's like, bro. And like, it always will happen when we're like on the corner turning towards the house.

And we're about 30 seconds from getting to the crib. Yeah, yeah. You could have held that. Yeah. Because I heard it come out and I know what an escape is. Yep. And I know what a push is. Yeah.

And it was a push. You pushed that one. It was intentional. You put that one, you son of a escape is. You put it. You know what I'm saying? We're in a confined space. Get out.

We're close enough you can walk. That's what I should have done. Because they're both old enough to do it. So next time. Next time. Next time you're going well. I heard they start to stink as they get to the puberty. They start to just smell.

A friend of mine told me because she had a boy and a girl who were like two years apart. But they shared a room for a lot of time. And she was like, when? She kind of asked her doctor or somebody. I don't remember who, but she was like, when do we know when it's time for them to stop sharing a room? And she goes, you'll know. You'll know. He'll start to stink. And I was like, what do you mean?

And then I went to visit them and I gave him a hug. And I was like, whoa. Wow. And I gave him that hug. He had just gotten out of the shower. Whoa. I mean, he had gotten dressed. But he was freshly bathed.

Really? And I was like, wow. Wait a minute. Wow. Hold on. Have we gotten into this before? What? This is a tangent.

All right. Is it a white people thing? Yeah, it is. Fair enough. Fair enough. Do you use a washcloth? Me? In the shower or something?

Alufa. A lufa. Thank you, Christopher. Because a lot of white folks don't be scrubbing. Gedebion. Jadavion. That's right. You need to scrub.

I've also heard this weird thing about folks not washing the bottom half of their body, believing that the soap trickles down. And it's supposed to do the job for you. You better scrub, white people. This is Sterling Brown. You just do the hand? I just do my hands. Scrubs?

You don't use a lufa or a washcloth or nothing. No. Are you serious? I guess it is a white person thing. I don't. I soap my body. Mandy also only baths in the morning rain. I shave, so there's some exfoliation from my body there.

I mean, but I will use like a salt scrub, but not every night. Yeah. Not every night. I use a washcloth every time. Do we have to exfoliate every day? Maybe not. I don't know. Subscribe.

Subscribe and comments. I want to hear everybody's take on this. Yeah. I do it every other podcast has talked about this, so it's our turn. It's our turn. I do it every day. I mean, I only wash with the watchcloth. Because I think it feels, feels good.

I feel cleaner. It does feel good. Yeah. And I'm sure you probably feel cleaner. I'm not sure. Like, I wonder what a dermatologist would say. Is this, is it the best? Dermatologist weigh in.

Our next chat was us. We just sit with a dermatologist. So here's the thing. I don't do my face. I don't do my, I just use the hands for the face because I think it's too rough for the face. Got it. I do it for the rest of the body. I'm telling you, this young man that you went and hug, he wasn't scrubbing.

Well, yeah. But it's funny. I do do it for my kids. You do for your kids? Yeah, yeah, yeah, with the washcloth. Yeah. Yeah, on the body. Okay, interesting.

I just don't have to ask that question. Because, yeah, they do. And like, I'm already using deodorant now. He'll be 11th in September. Yeah. But like- When is the change? It's like 10, 9-10 or whatnot, because he still, in his youthful mind,

wants to shower intermittently. I'm like, bro, it has to happen every day now. Yeah. He's like, but I didn't do anything. I was like, you were alive. Yeah. And these hormones are. kicking.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got to do it every day. Oh my God, you guys. I can't believe that that's going to happen. It's totally coming. Your house can be super stinky. So stinky. Super.

Yeah. Okay. So, Kev's about, he's going to take the kids to the birthday party. Yeah. Ask Madison if she wants to come. She's like, this is a family thing. I got my book club coming over. They do like sci-fi, like nerd book stuff.

He's like, that sounds kind of geek. And she's like, whatever, you can kiss my butt. So it takes the kids. to the party, she has her book club thing. Well, first, he goes to visit the guy who created the manny. Right. About rebooting the manny. Let's talk about Santino.

Yeah. Santino's a beast. He's so great. You guys watch Santino stand-up? Yeah, oh yeah. I haven't watched it now. Oh, you're in for a treat. Yeah, his last special is great.

He's fucking fantastic. Okay. Hysterical. Did you watch him on Dave? Yeah, of course. Oh, yeah. Okay, okay, okay. He's so brilliant on Dave.

He's so damn good. And he's so, the conversation is about. about like, I saw your last movie. Yeah, I know what's out there for you. You should take this. Yeah. You should take this. You should make a million dollars.

You should make a trillion dollars. Live in L.A. Be here for your family. And be here for your family. Or you have to go to Vancouver to treat Williams movies or something else. Yeah, Indies. RIP. RIP.

RIP. and Kevin says over my dead body and he immediately goes oh thank God yeah because they're rebooting the mani they're rebooting the man they're both are like we don't want you to do this and he's like you should yeah but he was relieved when Kevin was like absolutely not going to play the manning you're going to play the dad you're too old to play the that's right that's right yeah so by the way it was like five years ago yeah and yeah tv time too old now baby too old uh go to the party.

I want to say, like, do I say this now? Because it'll come back over. We'll say this because then we'll go back into Rebecca at the end, though. There's a whole thing with Rebecca in memory. Well, should we just, should we do the- Finish the thing, Majore? Let's just do the Madison, like, getting home to the book club, Madison, and Elijah, who's, like, in the book club.

Come back. Elijah, I feel like, represents Dan. Yeah. Yeah. Of all the characters. Of any character, like, in terms of casting. Yeah. Yeah.

And Dan realized he had backed himself into a corner by partnering his wife with Justin Hartley. And he was like, hmm, how can I get out of this? How do I extricate her from him? TV me. Yeah. And the guy, what's his name? He's so charming. He is so fantastic.

Elijah is played by Adam Corson. Yeah. He's wonderful. And you feel it. The chemistry, like the comedy chemistry and also just the attraction. that exists between him and Madison is palpable from the beginning and very discomforting for Kevin.

Yes. He's like, he calls her Maddie. He's the first person that's ever, like, you know, use that as a moniker. There's all kinds of intimacies going on. Yeah, there's very much of familiarity between them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he's like, well, you know,

maybe we should get out of here so she can give her some space or whatnot. And he's like, unless, you know, you want some more help clean up. Help with the dishes. Unless you need help doing them dishes. TV, Dan. He stays and he helps.

with the dishes or whatnot. And then when Kev comes back again, he's still there watching like something on TV together. Although he does sort of charm, Kev, he says like, look, man, I just had to tell you Hill 400 is the shit. Like, I think you were absolutely fantastic in this. And after Kev had to hear the bad news earlier in the day,

he's like, okay. This guy's not so bad. He's not so bad. You know what I'm saying? I like this guy. Yeah, but he just doesn't seem to leave, right? He's not a girl. And even at the very end, he's like,

oh, I guess it's getting late. Yeah. It's time for me to go, you know what I'm saying? Do you guys like it when someone pulls a project that's kind of offbeat when they meet you? And they pull an offbeat project that you're real proud of. Every time. And you're like, look, that. You want to get it.

Who, I like you. You know what I like you? Give me off the beaten path. That's KV resume. I'm like, all right, give me a hug. All right, come here. Come here. What do you want a photo?

I'll give you a hug. Here's 10 bucks. All right, cool. And at the end of the day, like, he even says to Madison. He's like, I don't know if I like it when he calls you Maddie. And he says, you know, people said that I was crazy for moving in the garage to be close to you to be with the kids. And maybe now I'm starting to see their point, right? Because it's becoming clear, like, she's going to move on with their life.

And she has every right. And, you know, like, he said something about, you jilting me at the altar. And she's like, I didn't jilt you at the altar. I guess you could read that one of two ways. You know, maybe she did. Maybe she didn't. But, like, I think the right decision was made. period.

Period. For both of them. Yes. Right? Yeah. And the way that the whole thing ends is we see my man going to his sister's house with his bags in his hand. Which is what happened in the pilot too, right?

Yeah. After he walked out of his job. Yeah. So it's like, yeah, all these bookend echoey moments and he sees Kate and basically talks about how he's worried about not raising his kids in the same house. And he tells her that, you know what, he is going to take this Manny reboot. He's going to give the kids some stability. And, you know, he's worried about his mom.

He's like, mom is sick. And, like, I wish I could stop it, essentially. Like, it feels crazy that the world keeps on spinning when this is happening to us. That part. Right? That one got me. Yeah, me too. I was just like, oh.

That one got. Like, there are these moments in life. I was like, isn't everything else supposed to pause? Like, I need a moment to deal with this thing that's happening right now. Can everybody pause? I felt that during the pandemic. I was like, oh, it was a global pandemic. I think racism will take a pause.

Yeah. And then I was like, no? Not even that. Come on, man. That should be a pause button. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then Kate sort of points out, like, you know, there's the good things still need to come to you as well.

Yeah. Like, we feel like we need it, but actually what you need to do is to keep moving. Moving. Right. keep going forward. She said earlier, like, you know, your kids may not have what we have, but they'll have something different and they'll be okay. Yeah. That's right. And she helps him reflect back like, do you remember where we were five years ago? Yeah. Remember what our life was like? And now look at where we are. We have, we both have two beautiful, amazing children.

And like our lives are unimaginably better. We have jobs that we both, that we both love and we're thriving in. And, you know, it's like we found the light before and we will find it again. As human beings, we have this negativity bias, right? We can get stuck on the negative things and not. I mean, our show talks about it. I mean, Beth, Beth put it really well about these tragedies are the fence posts on which we hang our lives, you know, all those things. I think in here somebody says, but the world keeps going so we could find that crack of light on the other side of the door, you know. Yeah.

We found that light before, Big Brother. and we'll find it again. There you go. You know, it's that Leonard Cohen quote, the cracks are where the light gets in. You know, and we need all of these painful things to put everything in perspective.

Yeah. Yeah, the balance. I mean, they sort of help to frame the appreciation for what is in front of you. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like if everything was one thing, Yeah.

There would be no appreciation. I say that, like, when I think about, like, my kids sometimes, I was like, how come they don't appreciate that I have to, like, drive here or do this or change this? Because everything has been a certain way. I was like, what a blessing. Why do they keep filling my car with farts? What a blessing for them. And then one day there will be perspective.

And I'll be around when that thing happens for them. And they'll come around. I know they'll come around and be like, hey, you know when I used to. to do this or something. I used to fill your car with farts? With just like farticles. Farticles. It's not possible to really have that reflection back.

You need time. You need time. You need experience. You can't explain it to someone. No, no. It's like it will eventually hit them the way that it has hit all of us. Totally. You know?

And new and profound ways. It's like becoming a parent is a whole new wave of appreciation and gratitude washes over you. Sure. And each milestone that you reach, it's like more and more, it's, yeah, it's pretty crazy. But you can't rush that.

It just happens in its own time. Rebecca Miguel and Nikki. Yeah. They're at the Griffith Park trains. Yeah. Nikki gets a little bit of exposition out that he's been living on Facebook, right? He's found Sally and he keeps losing the nerve

to reach out and contact her. I guess I guess I'll just live in this forever. And then we have to find, We have the greatest moment, in my opinion, of acting in the entirety of the show, which is the delivery from Mandy Moore as 65-year-old. Yeah, 70-year-old Rebecca, when she says, oh, Nikki Shush. Which was full transformation into old lady. It's very funny. Oh, Nikki, shush.

You delivered it so, like, I was like, is that a 70-year-old lady? Oh, no, that's Mandy. No, no way. It is such an old person word. And I was like, I can, my mother has said that to me, my grandmother, oh, Christopher, shush. Yes. Oh, you should, you just shush, because old ladies of their jury can't say, would you shut them up? That's what the abbreviation is.

A word that's reserved for a certain age. Yeah. I would never tell someone to shush. Right, right, right. We haven't reached that age yet. I also need to make a note, because this is the first time I think we've seen this version of Young Jack. This is the cutest little boy I think that exists on the planet. As he's just listening to your story and he's like, uh-huh, yeah.

I'm like, oh, my, I love this. I want to eat him. He is precious. He's special. Precious. But I just, like, I remember seeing his face for the first time and just being like, I want to take care of this little boy. Johnny.

Johnny. Johnny. Johnny, this is the first time we're meeting Johnny. It's the first time we're meeting Johnny. Yeah, as young Jack. Yeah. Baby Jack. He kind of, like, owns this role at that point because it's so precocious and just like,

the act of listening. Yeah? Because it's what he has at his disposal. Like, as an audience member watching him, he's like, oh, this kid is in it. Yeah. Like, he is like, and I don't know what kind of camarader are you guys. I remember, like, seeing you, like, hang out and play with him, like, off camera or whatnot.

Yeah. He was such a joyful little guy. Gorgeous, I'm sure. It was the same thing I would do with the dog. I just put a little tuna in my mouth. And he loved it. Because is this the year? Is this the year where he walks to the park?

Yes. Goodness gracious. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, Johnny's with us for the entirety of this season. Yeah. He's such a special little force. he was an incredible listener. An incredible, like, took direction.

Yeah. Which is the superpower of this kid, right? Because if I could get one of my children to listen the way this child listens, it would just be a miracle. Rebecca tells him about her story about her connection to trains, right? They're on trains and her dad took her every Sunday when he was going into the office in the city. He would take her on the train.

And he would be reading his book, which was, she remembers him reading Catcher in the Rye on the train. And they would sit across from each other. And when they got close to their stop, he would take her to the very front of the train. And they would walk through each car until they got to the back of the train, which was the, and you just see her, like, telling this story and not being able to remember the name, which we all happens to me all the time, right? just can't remember what the name of whatever the word is or the name of the person or and in this case it's it's just it's the last car of the train and you see her trying to get there and she's like no no no no no no don't tell me don't tell me like this is something that's happening more frequently and you can tell that she has this rapport with Miguel I'm going to

get there on my own this is going to bother me until I get there right and throughout the course of this part of the story we see her trying to to retrace, like, okay, if I'm not going to get it from remembering this story with my dad, I used to read the book to my kids. And it was called The Little Red, so it's like you see her trying to piece together and like going through these, like, there's this great shot of, right, of like, it's sort of like speeds up and you see them, like, her reading on the couch to the kids and you see her on the train with her dad. It's like the synapses of her brain trying to figure out what this is.

word is she can't, she can't get to, right? Juxtaposed with Rebecca present day at the birthday party for the kids, trying to remember this word in her own head, kind of like calling out, you know, she basically is like, in a moment of like utter frustration. The red one, damn it. Yeah. And everybody kind of like stops and is like, what, what now? Yeah.

Sorry, what? And she has to admit, like, sorry, I've been in my head all day. And, you know, I finally got the results of my PET scan. And I have these plaques forming in my brain. And so anyway, the disease is advancing. And, you know. She essentially is letting us and the audience know that we're not coming back from this. We're not coming back.

We're not slowing the progression down. The train is moving. This metaphor is like steeped into this episode. Yeah. Yeah. You know, she gets back from the party and Nikki is still complaining about, you know, is like, well, the day is over and Nikki again is like, doesn't have the like fortitude to, you know, find Sally. Also, this is my hot take.

Like, the fact that they gave Griffin done this dialogue of him talking to himself of just like, well, I guess it's just never going to, happened for me. Like, it was just like, we get it. We get it. Yeah. And Rebecca says as much. Yeah. Rebecca's like, would you stop it? Yeah. Would you stop it with this writing? Yeah. We have to do something about this. Okay. All right. Writers, next episode, we're going on a road trip. We're going to go find this lady. Because I'm sick of hearing this guy complain. Yeah. Life is too short. Life is too short to have one of the greatest living actors, this line like this. Yeah, muttering to himself.

Let's go. Let's go see Sally. She's like, pack a bag. Yeah. We're going to see Sally. Yeah. But when does she finally figure out the word? Is it the end of the episode?

Yeah, very, very end. Nicky's now off in his room, doing whatever he does in his room on Facebook. By himself. Yeah. Yeah. Spreading conspiracy theories. You're right about these crap circles?

You know, just like whatever it is on Facebook that he's sharing and liking. But it's that you and Miguel together. And they're sitting there on the couch. I don't remember. Oh, perfect. Fitting. That's very funny. I don't remember.

It's caboose. No, I do remember the word. But I don't remember how it just hits her. Yeah, I think it's you and young Tim Matheson look-a-like good casting, by the way. And you're just in the back of the. train or whatnot. And I don't know if he says it or, but it just sort of comes to you. Yeah, it comes back to her. Yeah. I think you see him like a mouth of the word in your Oh, and then it. And then she says it. Yeah. Yeah. And then I was promptly like,

I mean, like, it's, it's funny. As an audience, I was like, I was like, I would look at the TV and I'm watching. I'm just like, it's caboose. Just say it. Just say it. Just say. Caboose. Go ahead. Just prompting her. Just so painful. And also, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. The world's funniest, it's right there. The world's funniest word, not to remember.

Caboose. I know. It was interesting. It was a great episode. It was a great comeback into season six. Yeah. After that, 516. Welcome to season six.

That was us. We are. Yeah. This is what we're doing right now. It's having. I guess we should have done it to be in, but no. Yeah, we do it when we did it. You get the good stuff at the end.

You know, sometimes I love it. I love it when they show like titles. sequences like at the end of a movie. You know what I'm saying? You don't get it all of the beginning. Then all of a sudden you're like, oh, that was the name of the movie. Yeah. I like that.

It's like the end of a Pixar movie. Yes. Exactly. Yeah. When we come back, we're going to have our favorite segment, our fan segment. I think we're going to be reading an email from a fan of the show. Beautiful. So stick around for more, that was us.

Welcome back to our fan segment. It is our favorite segment of the podcast. Even though we've officially started season six, there's still a lot of lingering shock from that season five finale, especially Madison and Kevin, calling off their wedding. Yeah, our producers pulled an email from a listener who said that she related to that moment in more ways than one. We're going to read it and react together, so let's get into it, shall I? This is an email.

You start, should we popcorn read it? Popcorn? Yeah, did you guys not do that in school? What's this? You start reading, and then when you want to hand it off, you go, popcorn, Mandy. And then Mandy, and then Mandy takes it. Gotcha.

Okay. I did it and it's going to be a terribly horrifying email. Dear, dear, that was us podcast. Last month, I called off my wedding after an almost 10-year relationship. Okay. Sorry. Oh, boy. I'm sorry.

And your podcast has really been helping me get through this time and have something to look forward to each week. I suddenly had to call off my wedding after my fiancé. who I felt was the love of my life, revealed he had been hiding almost $80,000 of debt and had been dishonest to me and my family for years, popcorn. I tried to make it, you know, playful. This Is Us is one of my favorite shows. Calling off my wedding has been the hardest thing I have ever done,

and I'm a PhD student. But the show is giving me new outlooks on life. I'm only 24, so I hope there's something. still a bright future ahead of me, but it feels so hard to call off a wedding with someone you pictured a future with and still love deeply. I find great solace in Madison's story. Having the courage to call off a wedding when you are in love and excited, your friends and family are excited, and the venue has been paid for is a lot to face. But she did what was right for her, and so am I. Popcorn.

Chris. Good for you. I'm also taking solace in Kotobi's story. They showed me it's possible to have a wonderful relationship that is just not meant to last a lifetime. I think it's okay that even though after giving someone your whole heart for years, you can recognize it's okay to let go and find new happiness. Thank you all so much for your talents, this show, and your heartfelt storytelling in both fictional and non-fictional worlds. Peace and love. Sophia. P.S. I love that Sterling. Talks too much. I'll happily listen to every word.

She didn't say it like that. She did because at the end, there is a winky face. She did. That's why I read it that way. Sophia. Sophia. Sophia. I appreciate you.

Sophia. What a tremendous thing to have to go through. We talked about this before, too, with regards to Madison and Kevin. I'm glad it happened before the wedding. Yeah. Yes. Can we also run some stats here? Go ahead.

24 years old. Yeah. Ten-year relationship, she said. She did, didn't she? They were like high school. Since sophomore year of high school. Or freshman year of high school. Yeah.

For guys who got held back like me. This was her person. This was her person. I mean, but also, little baby children. Yeah. Little baby children. Yeah. I'm sure it doesn't feel this way to her now.

No. But 24, she is at the start of her life. She says, I hopefully have a bright future in front of me. You're a PhD student. Yeah. And you're 24. Yeah. You have the world.

The world is your oyster ahead of you, Sophia. Yeah. Listen to me. It is only just beginning. Teller. You did the bravest, most challenging thing ever. But it sounds like the absolute right move for both of you. Yeah.

Sounds like your partner needs to figure out his or her, their life. You need to declare bankruptcy. Yeah. Yeah. Also, a little baby boy. Yeah, I think, right? If they're the same way. I mean, I'm just, it's like, that is a wild thing.

And it sounds like you made the right choice. But like, if we zoom out, like we were talking about in this episode, about like, what's going on there? It's like he's got a lot to work on too. And he'll get it and he will get it figured out. Yes. Knock on wood. And he will head down the path he's supposed to head down.

But you have so. much time to find your person and your place. You are just at the very beginning and I know this is a painful chapter, but there will be a silver lining. There will be a way to use this pain and this grief. It will help you in the next chapter with the next person go, this is what I want, this is what I don't want. These are my non-negotiables. Like, I think it's all... Speaking from experience. Yeah. It's all fuel for getting what you want, what you deserve, you know? It's grist for the mill. It's grist for them. I had a very wise, Judith Light. I went to her for counsel one time and there's some really tough stuff going on in my life. And she said, Chris, I don't know. This cannot be explained to a person. It has to be experienced. But this is just content. This is all just content. Grist for the mill. Yeah. And I don't know.

why it made so much sense in the moment when she said it to me. I don't know if it makes sense now, but it's like it's just a thing that happens. And now you are evolving in a different way. And like we talked about in this episode, these are hard things. Yeah. But they give you a chance to define yourself.

Yeah. And it gives you, you have to get through them in order to get to the other side and be able to reflect back and have that experience. Like it's just an inevitability. And part of the human condition. Yeah. And Sophia will persevere through this moment.

And I'm so grateful that our little corner of the podcast world could bring her any bit of solace. And the show could bring her any bit of solace. But it is, it's going to be the best thing. It will. Sterling, say something to Sophia that she can rewind over and over again. I'm going to say this real quick. Because she likes how much you talk. Grist refers to grain that is brought to a mill to be ground in the flop.

Historically, whenever a farmer brought grain to the mill, the miller could turn it into a useful product and make a profit. Consequently, every bit of grain delivered, regardless of its size or source, was added value to the business. I never knew what it meant. So it's a value ad for your life. Yes, right. Even though it feels like pain and grief and shock and trauma and all of that, you will be able to process it into something that you can use. The little acorn must die for the might. to grow.

Yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, that was another episode of That Was Us. Thank you for joining myself, Christopher DeJvian. DeJvian. Amanda Lee, I'm Sterling Kelby. We love you. We love you. We love you.

Thank you for sharing your letter. Godspeed to you, sister. I wish the young man all the best, like Chris said too. Everybody's got lessons that they need to learn. Man, hey, don't be hiding money from people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No deception. Be upfront.

I think sometimes there may be some pride at work there feeling like, oh, I should be taking care of this and I haven't taken care of it. You have to face it head on rather than running away from it. Yeah. Because I think that would have been easier for Sophia to possibly digest than having to find out on her own, right? 6.02 is another good one. Yeah, we got another good one coming to right. We're going to be coming to you in a second.

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Ladies and gentlemen, that was us. 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 da da da da da. That was a HeadGum podcast.