'This Is Us' Takes Jack to Vietnam—And Finally Introduces His Brother
It’s taken three seasons, but This Is Us has slowly begun to unravel the mystery behind the series’ most elusive character: Jack Pearson. Throughout the series, we’ve only spent time with him through the eyes of his children, which has provided a very limited perspective on who exactly he was. All we really know is that he was great man-a superhero to them, as they’ve continued to say-and then he died. But tonight, the writers dig further into his story than ever before in his first one-off episode, which focuses primarily on his time in the Vietnam War.
As a result, we have more answers about who Jack really was as we peel off the layers past his superhero persona and confront a cycle of toxic masculinity. We also face a brand new question: how did Jack's brother Nicky die? Below, a few revelations from tonight’s episode, simply titled, “Vietnam.”
Jack’s been pretending to be a superhero his whole life.
When we first meet Jack in episode, it's 1971 and he’s in the midst of Vietnam War-six years after it started and four years before it ended. He’s responsible for a battalion of men who put their lives on the line daily to protect and serve in a war that was largely condemned by Americans (even though this is never really mentioned throughout the episode). As a sergeant, we see Jack jump in the line of fire as bullets fly toward him and his troops. In the midst of chaos, he must call for a medic when one of his soldiers, a man he considers a friend, is struck. None of what happens in this opening sequence is particularly surprising, as it aligns with who we’ve always known Jack to be-a genuinely good man with a seemingly natural can-do attitude about everything. Because of what we know about his time growing up, this comes from living in a home with a militant, abusive dad who scowled-and even became violent-at any hint of weakness.
As a result, Jack learned to mask any sense of fragility, which he finally admits as his friend struggles to hold on o his life. Just before the medics take him away, he asks Jack whether he gets tired of pretending he’s not scared. Jack simply says he’s been doing it his whole life, so he doesn’t really know how do anything else. The soldier cups Jack’s face in his hands and reminds him to just “breathe,” which, as we know, is advice Jack passes on to Randall when he began having anxiety attacks.
Jack went to Vietnam to look after his little brother.
The episode continues backward in time to 14 months before Jack even got to Vietnam. He’s at home with his parents in what looks like the most rigid house ever, where everyone is on pins and needles waiting for Jack's dad to erupt at any minute. Jack’s mom-whose face is badly bruised, presumably because her husband hits her-receives a letter from Nicky at war.
Feeling pressure to be a better man from his overbearing father who clearly prescribes to toxic masculinity, Jack decides to enlist in the war. We soon learn, though, that Jack has arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat), which is why he was deemed unfit for war while his younger brother was enlisted by the government. Still, he begged his doctor to approve his medical record to make him eligible for war solely on the fact that he felt it was his duty to protect his brother. This is very admirable and a very Jack thing to do, but it also comes from a darker, more noxious place since we know that his medical defect was yet another thing his dad to look down upon because it made him weak. Plus, an earlier flashback highlights Jack’s dad telling him when he was just 7 years old, when Nick was first born, that his one job was to protect his little brother (which coincidentally entailed shielding him from his brute of a father). This façade of purposeful manhood obviously follows Jack from his childhood, through his time at war and even later when he became a dad.
Nick was trying to be the superhero for once, until Jack follows him to war.
The episode is bookended by a very cryptic and brief moment between Jack and Nick, in which the latter doesn’t yet speak. They’re both at war and Jack goes to find Nick who’s been mysteriously “Article 15’ed,” meaning he’s received a non-judicial punishment for a minor offense. At first, we only see Jack’s face beaming at the sight of his brother. But his smile quickly fades as the focus shifts to Nick who is clearly surprised (and maybe a little disappointed or annoyed?) that his brother has finagled his way to Vietnam with him even when he knew he didn’t even want to be there. Since nothing is really said between these moments, there are many unanswered questions: What did Nick do to receive an Article 15? Does it have anything to do with how he winds up dead? My theory-and I admit this is a long shot-is that Nick died trying to save Jack from something. Would that be too on the nose, though, since we know Jack dies later because he stuck around too long trying to save Kate’s dog from the house fire? It definitely would show how deeply this flawed sense of superheroism has affected the men in this family. Randall, as we’ve seen, is no exception.
Jack’s dad wasn’t always a drunk bastard.
I’m still deciding whether this is a way to try to redeem Jack’s dad (I hope not). An even earlier flashback shows Jack at 7 years old when he and his dad are in the hospital while his mom is in labor with Nick. Jack’s grandfather, who is very much a drunk, grumbles into the waiting room and offers Jack’s dad a swig of his flask. Jack’s dad simply declines, too excited about his impending new fatherhood (he hopes for another boy, of course). Instead, he reminds his dad that he doesn’t drink. I assume the season may then dig farther back in Jack’s dad’s story as well since we’re seeing this scene, to show the cycle of alcoholism that has permeated throughout their bloodline-first with Jack’s grandfather, then his dad, then Jack, and also Kevin. But in this rare moment, after Jack’s granddad leaves him alone with his dad once again, it’s just the two of them. Jack’s dad introduces him to his little brother just minutes after he’s born and bestows his duty to protect and serve.
A final though: As we pull back the layers of each of the male characters in the show, it highlights a glaring flaw in the narrative: its women. While I think that Rebecca has had a nice arc that’s continuing to be built upon, it’s time for Kate’s story to move beyond her weight and for Jack’s mom to be more than a battered housewife. While the writers are at it, can get one flashback scene highlighting when and how Beth and Randall met? Please and thank you.
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