TV and Movies

[pateacher]

I am wondering if either Deja or Tess will feel responsible for friction between Randall and Beth.  Both of them voiced potentially troublesome statements.  Often, children mistakenly feel they are responsible for discord between their parents. 

[loveschocolate]

Could it be that Jack was in on planning Nicky’s fake suicide? He said he would always look out for him. What puzzles me though, is the mail addressed to him. Surely, that can’t be right. The military could find out about him still being alive and go after him. 

[MyShadowLove]

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@loveschocolate wrote:

Could it be that Jack was in on planning Nicky’s fake suicide? He said he would always look out for him. What puzzles me though, is the mail addressed to him. Surely, that can’t be right. The military could find out about him still being alive and go after him. 

@loveschocolate...No, I don't see Jack doing something like that....Remember the scene where Jack went running to where Nicky was after the sound of an explosion and one of the soldiers said something to Jack about a boat exploding...then the alarmed look on Jack's face as he looked out at the water and he dropped his gun  and ran into the water and started swimming towards where the boat was.

I'm thinking that Nicky caused the explosion as part of his plan to make it look like he was killed?

The scene ended right after Jack ran into the water and started swimming...The writers left a big question mark with that scene, as they always do...so this is just my personal assumption which actually sounds rather crazy, but this is what this show does to me at times..lol

It also leaves the question of how he managed to get out of Viet Nam and back home?

But, what the heck, we have about six weeks to theorize all kinds of assumptions!

[beach-mom]

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@MyShadowLove wrote:

Wow, that was one heck of a Fall Finale!!!!

So, Nicky actually faked his own death and even Jack wasn't aware that he was still alive all of this time!

That's what I'm taking from all of this....Jack heard the sound of an explosion and went running towards where Nicky was and jumped in the water, so he thought that Nicky ended up in the water and was trying to get to him...I couldn't make out what the soldier said to Jack before he jumped in the water?....So Nicky planned all this out and went AWOL?

At first, when I saw Nicky at the end, I thought that he had stayed in Viet Nam...until I saw the mail addressed to him in PA....So, he has been living in PA all along!...I wonder who that mail was from?

What an amazing twist!!

Kevin has quite a personal  journey ahead of him and I'm happy to see that his storyline has made such a more interesting turn for him...a more dramatic role in which we will see a more mature and centered Kevin.

I'm happy to see that everything is going quite well for Kate & Toby and their storyline has taken a positive and uplifting turn...for now.

I'm sad to see Beth & Randall's marriage in such a crisis....They have always been such a powerful couple together....always able to communicate and compromise with each other...It will be interesting to see how their storyline unfolds.

I'm also assuming that Rebecca may be mentally impaired somehow and that would explain the game that Beth is taking when her, Randall and Tess go to visit Rebecca....I'm hoping that this isn't the case and that her storyline isn't going in that direction.

I have mixed feelings about the writers taking this series into the future....I would have preferred that they had stayed with the past up to the present....There is plenty to work with within this time period...I'm not liking the futuristic take on it.

Excellent episode....quite a Season so far!....Darn those Fall Finale breaks!

Everyone enjoy and keep us updated @beach-mom with any tidbits you may discover!  

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@MyShadowLove - I'm not sure Nicky faked his own death. I think he wandered off in a drug induced stupor. Who knows where he went, but I think we'll find out eventually. 

What the soldier said to Jack before he jumped in the water was, "A boat exploded. I think one of our guys was on it." I think they probably never found anyone in the explosion. Nicky was missing. So Jack surmised Nicky was on the boat.

Here's another way out guess of mine! Jack knew Nicky survived the war and was in touch with him at one time. But Nicky refused to get sober and Jack didn't want him around his family, so he never talked about him. I know this is a stretch, but we know the way the writers work!

You're right - it WAS an amazing twist! And I agree it will open up a huge story line for Kevin. Remember Zoe is in the picture too.

I also agree with you about Kate and Toby - "for now" LOL!

I like the future story line. Remember Dan Fogelman said that is as far as they will go. So what we saw with Rebecca being "her" and Beth and Randall's marriage seeming to be in trouble or over isn't the ONLY thing we'll see in that time period. We will see a lot of parallel stories.

And I just can't believe the writers and Fogelman would end the complete series without having Beth and Randall together. They would have a mutiny on their hands! 

[MyShadowLove]

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@beach-mom wrote@MyShadowLove - I'm not sure Nicky faked his own death. I think he wandered off in a drug induced stupor. Who knows where he went, but I think we'll find out eventually. 

What the soldier said to Jack before he jumped in the water was, "A boat exploded. I think one of our guys was on it." I think they probably never found anyone in the explosion. Nicky was missing. So Jack surmised Nicky was on the boat.

Here's another way out guess of mine! Jack knew Nicky survived the war and was in touch with him at one time. But Nicky refused to get sober and Jack didn't want him around his family, so he never talked about him. I know this is a stretch, but we know the way the writers work!

You're right - it WAS an amazing twist!

And I agree it will open up a huge story line for Kevin. Remember Zoe is in the picture too.

I also agree with you about Kate and Toby - "for now" LOL!

I like the future story line. Remember Dan Fogelman said that is as far as they will go. So what we saw with Rebecca being "her" and Beth and Randall's marriage seeming to be in trouble or over isn't the ONLY thing we'll see in that time period. We will see a lot of parallel stories.

And I just can't believe the writers and Fogelman would end the complete series without having Beth and Randall together. They would have a mutiny on their hands! 

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@beach-mom....Yes!!....I think you've got it!...Your theory about Nicky is so much more rational than mine!...When Jack found Nicky high on drugs again, he said to him that he could get clean again...and Nicky replied...."No, I don't want to get clean, Jack...I see it all again when I'm clean...I'm not going to complete the mission...Don't follow me."...(Remember in a prior scene when Jack told Nicky that their mission was to get home, so that was what Nicky was referring to.)

That was their last exchange with each other before the explosion occurred....Also, Jack only had 48 hours more to be in the same location where Nicky was stationed before he had to head back to his own base where he was stationed, so I don't think that they saw each other again in Viet Nam.

I couldn't make out clearly what the soldier had said to Jack before Jack jumped in the water, so thanks for clarifying that for me....That one statement makes all the difference in the world, as I can see where it would lead Jack to assume that it was Nicky who was on that boat and he died in the explosion.

You did it @beach-mom....Excellent theory and so much more sensible and rational than what I initially felt right after watching the show....It just goes to prove that missing one little statement or any part of an episode can make all the difference in the world with a show of this type.

It can lead someone, like me, to such irrational thinking!...Thank goodness that there is a Fall break!...LOL

And, yes, I agree about Beth & Randall....The writers had better be careful what they do with their storyline...They will have some frantic fans on their hands!

[LogoFan]

Thanks everyone for input regarding Jack's brother.  I got totally lost on that; mostly because I was devastated about the issues between Randall and Beth.  Hated that the preview for next episode in new year implies an ending to their relationship.  Nothing else has bothered me as much as this.

That is a real disappointment. 

[MyShadowLove]

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@LogoFan wrote:

Thanks everyone for input regarding Jack's brother.  I got totally lost on that; mostly because I was devastated about the issues between Randall and Beth.  Hated that the preview for next episode in new year implies an ending to their relationship.  Nothing else has bothered me as much as this.

That is a real disappointment. 

@LogoFan...Everything moves quite fast on this show so it is easy to get lost at times....I tend to watch each episode at least two times throughout the week just to make sure that I haven't missed anything....I find the storyline between Jack & Nicky fascinating and very well done...The actor who plays Nicky is very good in his role.

As for Beth & Randall, the writers definitely do a good job of stirring up our emotions and I'm sure they are very attentive to how the viewers respond to each storyline, so they are probably just playing with our reactions of which they love to do!

Also, I think that Beth & Randall's marriage was looking too perfect so they had to throw in some discord, but my instincts are telling me that they aren't divorced...probably just separated...and all may work out well between them.

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[loveschocolate]

But what about the envelope with Nick’s name on it? If he faked his death to get out of Vietnam, I would be surprised if he was using his real name.

[aubnwa01]

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@loveschocolate wrote:

But what about the envelope with Nick’s name on it? If he faked his death to get out of Vietnam, I would be surprised if he was using his real name.

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And, it was addressed to an address in PA, I think it was in Bradford on Songbird Rd., IIRC.  If he had gone AWOL or whatever, he might've fled to Canada, but it didn't appear that was the case

[MyShadowLove]

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@loveschocolate wrote:

But what about the envelope with Nick’s name on it? If he faked his death to get out of Vietnam, I would be surprised if he was using his real name.

@loveschocolate@aubnwa01....That was just an instant thought of mine after watching the show...It doesn't make any sense to me now...sounds somewhat irrational...lol...especially after @beach-mom shared her thoughts and clarified for me what the soldier said to Jack before he jumped into the water.

Go down about 3 or 4 posts below yours and read her post and then my reply to her...Her explanation makes so much more sense and it all ties together very well if you read the scenarios in both of our posts.

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