Facing Life Challenges: This Is Us "Honestly" Fall Finale

 

The fall finale of This Is Us gave us laughs, a kickass dance move, not to mention being tough, and a past secret revealed. Here's a recap!

I thought this episode was really good. From seeing Kevin learning both young and in real-time learning to toughen up and find a way his way to learn and be the person that he wants to be from the quarterback for the school to give his new director what he wants out of him. 

Then we have Randall and Malik. Malik was overshadowing Randall at his work to learn what a city councilman does for his district. While Malik was a bit late, tired, and even forgot to end Randall's live stream (more on that later). 

We learn the reason why because he was trying to get things to plan not only for him but for his kid. While Randall completely understood where Malik is coming from, he learns of Malik's dream to be the first chef in Philly to get three Michelin stars. 

As for the failure to end the live steam of Randall's daily video; that was pretty much the funniest moment in the episode. I think that we should name that dance move (if it even is a dance move) after Randall. I think I'll be doing that while making Thanksgiving (except for not having clothes on because I don't do that). 

But the video could be the best thing for Randall to say; because this could be the thing to reunite with his birth mother as we see her husband watching the viral video. 

I thought that Rebecca and Jack's story of dealing with Kevin and getting him to sleep was a good story. And we see the difference of styles of Jack and Rebecca's parenting style but knowing that each other does have the same quality as we see Jack about to go into Kevin's room until he stopped crying. 

Pretty much the shocking moment of the episode was Kate and after seeing baby Chloe (which will probably be renamed due to the mother has hated that name for a long time). Kate learned that she almost had an abortion but stopped and decided to give her child up. 

Well, that brought something painful to Kate and after talking to Kevin, she tells Toby the one thing that no one knew about. After her break up (or escape) from her abusive boyfriend, as Rebecca and family were to see Kevin in New York, Kate stayed home and learned that she was pregnant.  And from the promo for the next episode (Jan. 5th) this story is not done yet. 

Could this be the start of Kevin going for his Oscar? I think so. It's been mention in the episode that he wants to take Rebecca to see the biggest award show of all. After this episode, I just want to see where Kate's backstory goes and I don't think it will go well. 

This was a very good episode to close out the fall season (in a way). I know four episodes aren't enough to start but at least we got four episodes. The writing was as good once again with another good performance was the cast. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

What did you think of the episode? Leave a comment below!

Follow me @abaker20 on Twitter

This Is Us returns Tuesday, January 5th on NBC.

NBC 2021 Mid-season Schedule: Zoey's Playlist Returns, Mr. Mayor Premieres

On Friday NBC has released their midseason schedule game plan that features the return of last summer's favorite new show and Tina Fey. 

There's still no word on when New Amsterdam, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Good Grils, Manifest, and the launch of Chris Meloni-fronted Law & Order: Organized Crime. 

Zoey's Playlist will be moving after their freshman season on Sunday nights will shift to Tuesdays at 8pm beginning January 5. The newly-acquired Canadian import series Nurses will launch Mondays beginning December 7 at 10pm also beginning January 5.

Meanwhile, the new Tina Fey-produced comedy Mr. Mayor starring Ted Danson and Holly Hunter will lead off Thursday's comedy block beginning Thursday, Jan. 7. With Superstore returning Jan 14 at 8:30 following Mr. Mayor. 

And there will be new seasons o Ellen's Game of Games and The Wall.

Here's the NBC Winter lineup:

Monday, Jan. 4

8/7c Ellen's Game of Games (Season Premiere

9/8c Ellen's Game o Games

10/9c The Wall (Season Premiere)

Tuesday, Jan. 5

8/7c Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (Season Premiere)

9/8c This Is Us

10/9c Nurses (new timeslot)

Wednesday, Jan. 6

8/7c Chicago Med

9/8c Chicago Fire

10/9c Chicago PD

Thursday, Jan. 7

8/7c Mr. Mayor (Series Premiere)

8:30/7:30c Mr. Mayor

9/8c Law & Order SVU

10/9c Dateline NBC

Monday, Jan. 11

8/7c Ellen's Game of Games

9/8c The Wall (regular timeslot)

10/9c Weakest Link

Thursday, Jan. 14

8/7c Mr. Mayor

8:30/7:30 Superstore (new timeslot)

9/8c Law & Order: SVU

10/9c Dateline NBC

Friday, Jan. 22

8/7c The Blacklist

9/8c Dateline NBC

Looks like a solid good lineup for the new year. I can't wait to see what season two of Zoey's Playlist will bring after such an amazing season. I highly recommend watching season one. I literally can't wait for Mr. Mayor and what that series will be with Tina Fey producing and Ted Danson (coming off from The Good Place) and Holly Hunter just screams out "Must See!!" 

While we haven't gotten word about New Amsterdam, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and other new and other returning shows, I think that we'll get a premiere somewhere around Mid-February or March. 

 Are you excited for the winter lineup? Leave a comment blow!

Superstore "Prize Wheel" Episode Preview

Here's a preview of tonight's episode of Superstore titled, "Prize Wheel."

"Prize Wheel"

On the day of Cloud 9's "in-store-vaganza," Dina finally gets the chance to step up to the plate and run the store. Garrett and Cheyenne search for a mysterious smell. And Jonah finds himself excited about a new opportunity.

Photos:

Promo:

So Dina is in charge? That's a must-see episode!! I can hardly imagine how she will be taking over the store as the possibles are endless. 

Excited about the new episode? Leave a comment!

You can catch Superstore tonight at 8/7c on NBC!

 

Batwoman Season 2 "powerful" Teaser

 

On Thursday, the first teaser for the new season of The CW's Batwoman has been released. 

The ten-second teaser shows Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder suiting up and as she puts on the Batwoman's cowl tells herself "time to be powerful." 

While it's only a teaser it's already raised the hype for the new season for me. I can't wait to see what Leslie will bring to the table as the new Batwoman. 

Here's the teaser:

What did you think of the teaser? Leave a comment below!

You can catch the season premiere of Batwoman premiering Sunday, Jan. 17th on The CW.

Feelings: Chicago Fire "That Kind Of Heat" Fall Finale

To start, I’d like to share my thoughts on the exciting ending of this "fall finale" episode! 

Family Styles: Chicago Med "Those Things Hidden in Plain Sight" Fall Finale

 

The fall finale of Chicago Med (if you want to call it that) dealt with changes and even family drama. Here's a recap! 

After last week's episode, Dr. Laink had left Med, and Goodwin announced who would be the Chief of the ED...that would be...Dr.Ethan Choi. Of course, Will wasn't too pleased because he thought he would get it with his seniority at Med. 

It didn't go well when Will's patient was suffering from an air bubble, and trying to locate it took too long due to Ethan's decision on the course of treatment. Will talked with Goodwin, and she told him that she didn't consider him for the Cheif position due to his past actions and recently in a relationship with an addict. Looks like Will might be looking for a new job with Dr. Viriani.

Natalie deals with a young pregnant mother brought in from jail but with no records of her condition. The patient demanded a professional OB and got one, but the mother took a turn for the worst as she needed an emergency c-section. But soon, things started to become with the patrol officers as they would take her back to jail on a misdemeanor.

Natalie goes full Wonder Woman, pushing the parol officer away from the mother and baby. But she wasn't charged for anything because they don't want bad press. Go, Natalie! 

 Dr. Charles tries to bond or talk with Crockett since he hasn't shown up to a session. But just as Crockett starts his sessions, Charles gets a call from his daughter about her mother not well. They brought her into Med, where Crockett performed emergency surgery for an ulcer. But Charles learns that his ex-wife is planning to move to Arizona. But looks like Crockett might need that session with Charles soon. 

April treats a teen suffering from COVID-19, and her mother video calls her to check in on her. But soon, the daughter's health was not in good shape, and after April chewed a resident and got Ethan to give her patient a ventilator, it still wasn't good. Trying to reach the mother until April saw that the mother had arrived and tested positive for COVID-19. 

"Those Things Hidden in Plain Sight" was a good episode. I thought with Choi as the new ED chief was a good choice. While the dynamic between April and Ethan didn't change a lot as Ethan gave April what she wanted but then stood his ground by not having the mother come to see her daughter before she passed. 

While it did work with Ethan and Will. Not too pleased with the decision, Will tries to help his patient, but Ethan buts in and makes a good story that makes Will look good. But proves to Will that he can be reckless at times with orders, as Goodwin pointed out. 

Natalie's story started off weird, but it got better and well, her pushing that cop away from her patient was super badass. Probably my most improved story in the episode. While Charles and Crockett's story was good, maybe after watching Charles' family, he could talk about his soon.  

Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

What did you think of the episode? Leave a comment below!

Follow me on Twitter @abaker20

You can catch Chicago Med return Wednesday, Jan. 6th, on NBC.

Good Cop Rise: Chicago PD "White Knuckle" Fall Finale

 

As things get intense with Atwater and The Blue Wall, Voight and the team fight the clock to find a murderer. Here's a recap! 

After getting a beat down at the end of last week's episode, Atwater tries to secure his home, but his work card wouldn't work when going to work. But that was just the beginning as Atwater later no would get a call from his brother about the security alarm going off, but he knew that the police had bugged his home. 

Next thing later on, when Atwater, Ruzek, and Burgress were chasing a suspect, no patrol cars ever responded to their request for backup, which would also lead to Ruzek getting shot. Later that night, Atwater told Kenny he could come to get him instead of having others do his job. 

That would lead to Atwater talking with Voight about the situation. Would Atwater turn in his badge or take the punishment? After the talk, Atwater came up with the third option, which he told Kenny in his own home that he would turn in his badge and come after him with lawsuits. Kenny backed off.

The week's case was of Voight and team trying to beat the clock of an alderman's son found with a dead victim. The suspect is out of his mind from drugs, and Miller tries to get Voight to make it a quick open-and-shut case, but Voight doesn't want to do that and gets her to give them 48 hours. 

With the evidence they got, they finally cracked the case with the suspect who killed the victim and knocked out the alderman's son. Miller congratulated Voight and told him she was different from the rest, but Voight didn't see it. 

"White Knuckle" was an excellent episode. While the week's case wasn't substantial, it did hold up along with Atwater's storyline with Kenny.  Hawkins was impressive once again in this episode, and there were three scenes that I loved: 1. where he came home to look for the bug that the police placed after "fixing the security alarm. 2. The scene when he talks to Voight about his options against Kenny and how Voight tells him that Atwater's a good cop and should do what a good cop would do. 3. In that scene, Atwater talks to Kenny about his third option of suing him.  

Also, does anything feel how weird it is that this was a fall finale after last week's season premiere? 

Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

What did you think of the episode? Leave a comment below!

Follow me on Twitter @abaker20 or Instagram @abaker72

You can catch Chicago PD returns with new episodes on Wednesday, Jan. 6, on NBC.