The life of an ordinary family that struggles against having a good and comfortable life, so they pass through the hard life and do their best, in order to save their children. As Kate, Kevin, and Randall, three brothers of the same age, who seek to have a good life and struggle against passing their 38th birthday.
That said, the flashbacks are both thematically appropriate and artfully weaved into the present, which is not something the writers achieve every week.
Toby is clearly leading towards a big reveal, but in being so concerned about the future of the show it feels like This Is Us has completely forgotten about the importance of the present in this episode.
This Is Us returned to its usual storytelling technique, to solid results. I was nervous the show couldn't follow up such a terrific and subtle episode, but it pulled it off nicely.
I find it interesting that This is Us followed up last week's "Vietnam" narrative, which centered the elusive Jack Pearson, with this week's equally crushing unveiling of Toby's story.
I tend to prefer This Is Us when it's less freeform and more focused. To its credit, "Toby" kept me interested throughout, but it also felt like the show was continually cutting away from storylines just as they were starting to get good.
"Toby" is an unusually scattered installment of This Is Us, advancing nearly every major storyline that the show has going right now but without a cohesive, unifying idea.
