It's Okay to Not Be Okay | "Déjà Vu" (S2E3) with special guest Lyric Ross
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On today's episode of That Was Us, we will be discussing season two, episode three, Deja Vu. Randall and Beth's foster child arrives, and a film shoot with his father's favorite movie star brings up long-buried emotions for Kevin. The time to start getting your holiday cards prepped and ready is now. This year, I am partnering with Shutterfly for my holiday photo cards, and I could not be more excited. For those of you who are new to the show,

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- What up, y'all? - Hello, friends. - How you doing, Mandy Moore? - I'm well, how are you? - I'm doing quite well. Christopher Sullivan, how's it going, sir? - I'm doing very well. - I'm glad to hear it. - Thank you for asking. - Glad to hear it.

We got a new character. We're introducing a new character into the This Is Us world. One of my favorites, played brilliantly by lyric Nicole Ross, who will be joining us later in the show, Deja. Deja. Who seems like she's been there from the beginning, and it pretty much is the beginning. So from the beginning of season two, she's a part of it. And I will reiterate the fact that I did not know that

Deja's character was introduced this early in the show. It just was surprising rewatching, you know. - Absolutely. - There are always revelations for us and this was one for me like, wow, there she is. - Let's just jump right to that storyline because you sort of see Randall trying to dot every I and cross every T in preparation for her

coming to the house. It's been three weeks, I believe, since they've been approved to foster and he's just sort of patiently been waiting. - Patiently? - Not patiently. Thank you very much. Absolutely not. - He doesn't know how to be patient. - He doesn't know how to do that. I also like that in this episode, we have a landline, which I don't know how many people actually quick,

landline there anybody no no what do you mean grow up with one no no not growing up with one but still have one do you have a landline right now i have one just in case of like earthquakes emergency and stuff but i use it no especially if somebody calls on a landline it means you don't know who i am i'm not i was like do you know the number to your life exactly it says home in my cell phone yeah do me a favor just because i'm curious go home and see if you can get an operator

call if i get an operator yeah go home and get on your landline can you still get hello operator zero can you i don't know are there operators i think so all right i haven't tried it we're going to need to know that's a good you're the only one who can tell us anyway

You see Beth trying to calm him down. The phone starts ringing, right? While they're in the middle, he's cooking his feelings. She loves it when he cooks his feelings. Phone starts ringing. She said, look, the last time this happened, it wasn't anything, no big deal. And she's like, woman, will you please answer the dadgum phone? Turns out that it is the foster child. She's going to be coming soon.

And he's very excited, nervous, et cetera. You know, he's read all these things about, you know, best ways to make people feel at home. Make sure you say your name, repeat it several times so they can hear it. And then Deborah Jo Rupp, right? - Yes. - Yes. - Is our social worker who is from That 70s Show. - That's right. - Also sort of populating the world of familiar faces that we've grown up with in our lives.

And she drops Deja off. And now there's a shot before we get to this of Deja from the back. I think just exiting, I don't know if it's the courthouse or whether it's the foster care facility, what have you. And then they show another back shot of her as she enters into the house and they sort of swivel in around her face. And she's my little baby.

With her little cheeks. Yeah. And so cute. And her hair is just long and you know what I'm saying? And I'm like, hi, I'm Randall. And you hear Beth, I'm Beth. And everybody's sort of introducing it. And then she says like, well, I'm sleepy. I want to go to bed. Yeah. And they're like, yeah. Okay. Yeah, we can do that. No problem. Later on, I think that we have her in the kitchen and we're trying to show her like where she can get food and all these sort of things. I think that maybe that's when she says she wants to go to bed. Yeah, that's right.

And great, Deborah Jo is about to leave social worker and he's like, "Can I follow you out real quick?" And he says like, "You know, everything that I've read about this, nothing seems to be working right now. Do you have any suggestions? Like, this seems like a lot harder than what I thought it was going to be." She's like, "Yeah, yeah, it's going to be harder than what you thought it was going to be." That's okay. Just take your time. Like you're doing fine. Like, and just be patient. And she says to him, she's like, "That's not really your thing." He's like, "No, but I'm working on it."

So Deja's upstairs. She's going through her bag. Oh, Beth brings her a toothbrush. So she goes to brush her teeth. And Beth sees in this bag she's got like a pack of cigarettes. Yeah. Randall's talking to Tess and Annie. He's like, hey, guys, what are you thinking? They want to give her back. Annie's like, can we give her back? And I'm like, no. You're like, okay.

She can hear you. Hey, hey, hey, why would you wanna do that? She didn't laugh at any of our jokes. She didn't do this and that. I said, listen, this is brand new for her too. She's meeting all new people. It's a new family. Give it some time. The same advice that the social worker gave him, he's trying to give to his daughters. He hears a kerfuffle of sorts.

and there's a bit of a row, I said, I guess that's redundant, but between Beth and Deja. And we hear, I think for the first and only time on the show, like someone called bitch. - Yeah. - I don't know if anybody gets called. - I used to do it all the time in my head. - Never voiced it. - But never voiced it.

She said like, "Give me back my stuff, you bitch." And like, Randall perks up, you know, goes into the room to settle. Like, "Hey guys, calm down." What's happening as he moves towards Deja? - She flinches. - She flinches. She like covers her face. - Protectively, yeah. - Like she's about to get hit. Now Randall was raised by white people.

He has no idea what, like hitting, it's not like, there's no corporal punishment with his kids. Like later on she asked like- - To be clear, they didn't not beat you because they were white. - This is true. This is true. I bet if Jack didn't have Rebecca, he may have broke out the belt. - Hot take! - That is a hot take. - Hot take. - Sterling thinks Jack is a hot take.

would have hit his children had Rebecca not... My mama used to... My mama loved me. I have nothing but love for my mama. It's just how she disciplined. But the modern day Black Pearsons do things in a different way. And I think Randall is just like, oh, he's saying to Beth later, did you see how she just sort of backed away when she saw me approach?

And he winds up telling her, you know, everybody always tells me that things are gonna be difficult. And when they say that, they really aren't that difficult. You know, whether it's tests in college, whether it's training for a marathon, what have you, like I just do it and it happens. And I feel like this is the first thing that's actually going to be as difficult as people say that it's gonna be.

'Cause it's another person outside of his control. And so you see what she kind of represents for him in his life is like, he is necessarily going to have to relinquish what he thinks is control in order to allow this woman to move at her own groove, at her own pace, in her own time. With a child who is trying to grasp at whatever little control she has in her.

in this world. Right. Which at, at this point is a plastic bag, a plastic shopping bag of what, what appears to be all the belongings she has. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and so later in the episodes, uh,

Really sweet because Beth leaves a baby monitor in the girls' room, in Tess and Annie's room, just to make sure that they feel good. And she's like, you didn't even do a baby monitor when William came in. She's like, I didn't? She's like, bro, please, please believe. I'm covering all your bases. You're just making moves, bringing people into my house. I'm going to know what's happening. And she overhears a conversation when Deja walks into the girls. And she's like, okay, who's in charge here?

Right? And she's like, well, you know, they make decisions together and everything. And then they look at each other and they're like, mom, right? Which is, my kids would probably say the exact same thing. That was pretty hilarious. You know what I'm saying? And they go like, so, you know, if you do something to get in trouble, what's going to happen? That's what Deja says. And she's like, well, you know, they're really going to talk to you. You're going to get a really long talking to. And you're probably going to lose iPad privileges. So she's like, y'all have iPads?

And they're like, "Yeah." And she's like, "This house is crazy." And then- - We cut to- - Man. - One of the best scenes I forgot about in this show. - There's a scene between Annie and William that we flash back to. - I completely forgot about this scene. - I did too. - And it's Faith and Ron Cephas Jones. And you catch William.

Trying to sneak out. It's his first night. It's his first night. And he's sort of feeling uncomfortable and like, you know, I'm kind of a fish out of water, what have you. And she says, if you open that door, the alarm's going to go off.

And he's like, well, I've slept in my own bed for such a long time. It's too quiet here. Yeah, it's quiet here and I just need something else. And she's like, you know, I went to a sleepover one time and I got a little scared. And my mom and dad had to come pick me up. I like to think that if I had stayed, I might have actually had fun. And she says, you should stay. You might have fun. You might have fun. Right? And she reckoned...

She's so good in this scene. So good. She's a little baby. She's eight, nine. Yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? But acting her adorable little face off Faith Herman. Yeah. And you see her settle him and recognize fear. Yeah. And then she says to Deja when we cut back, she said, you can sleep in here if you're scared. Yeah. And Deja's like, I'm not scared. Yeah.

But yeah, I could stay in here. You know what I'm saying? I'll go ahead and stay in here. And then you cut to Beth and Randall hearing it over the baby monitor and sort of like allowing themselves to rest. Yeah, some relief. Can I also say I loved how Ron was like, your dad sure seems like the best kind of work person.

friend ever which was just like a little tiny detail that like taylor my husband and i were watching and we both giggled at like because it hadn't been revealed hadn't been revealed yet like who he really was and i was like they were really supposed to believe that this man was someone you worked with like it was just it was so silly anyway it tickled it tickled me that's a big swing for the for the writers to hand a scene like that to an eight-year-old

I talked to Dan about it. I remember. And he's like, no, I want to give her something. And I think it's the right message to have someone comfort who seems like they should be the one to be comforted. But it could have been.

Faith. It could. Well, it was Faith. It could have been Eris. It could have been Eris. Yeah, absolutely. But I think there's something about the innocence of her. Yeah. Because most of the time, Faith is strategically deployed as like the button of something. Sure. Right? Like she has like these great one-liners like throughout the course of the show that are just hysterical. And she's got great timing and everything. She just killed it.

Killed it. A gorgeous, simple, sweet scene. Yeah, and really turned the tide for William. He could have gone. He could have left. He could have left. Had that alarm not been set. Yeah, who knows what could have happened, but she helped put a stop to it. She helped put a stop to it. What's the next storyline? Let's jump into Kevin. Okay. On the set of his film. Yes. Oh, yeah. Another new character in the This Is Us world. Cannon. What's his name? Sylvester Stallone. Oh!

Oh, you know him. A young upstart. Sly Stallone as himself. He was solid. I thought he was good. He was really good. He's going places. He's going places. He might have a career ahead of him. We come to find out that Kevin...

This Ron Howard movie that he is doing is he is starring alongside Sylvester Stallone in some kind of war. Hill 400. Hill 400. Hill 400. Right. But behind the scenes, we called it War Llama. Yes. Remember that? Yeah, where'd that come from? It was some joke about like- We did? Yeah, there were t-shirts made that said War Llama. Yes, yes.

It was a joke. But yeah, Hill 400 was the name of the movie. Yeah. And we come to find out that Kevin is shooting this movie with Sly and Ron Howard and that Sylvester Stallone was Jack's favorite actor. Yeah. Now that's also a little nod to the fact that Milo Ventimiglia played...

Rocky's son. Yes. You know what I'm saying? So they're, you know, close in that kind of way. And Sylvester Stallone is obviously a legend. Yeah. But he is also incredible. Like, as I think we hear with most, like, not actors, not famous people, but movie stars. Sure. They know how to move through the world and make people comfortable. Yeah. And he... The good ones. The good ones. Yeah. And because they know people are...

taken with them. Like, because we have so much history invested in their stories. And I remember being in the makeup trailer with, because I came just to visit. Did you really? You're like, I want to see Sly. Just as a fan. I was like, I got to see this. First of all, there's going to be explosions and this, that, and the other thing. And I was like, and also, I want to watch Chrissy and Sly do these scenes. Yeah.

And I'm in the makeup trailer with Chrissy. She's getting her makeup on. And Justin's there. And we're all chatting. And he walks in. And he is the most jovial. He knows all of our names without us having to introduce ourselves. And he goes, Chris, taser face. Did he really? Because he was in that movie with me. That's right. But he had never met me out of makeup. We had only ever talked when I was in that makeup. No.

No way. And he had done, or he had done, he knew who we were. What a guy. And showed up and put everybody in like a...

jovial mood and I got to watch them work and you can see it in the scenes with him and Chrissy. They're just like bosom buddies. Yeah, there is like an electricity. I mean, there's something that he brings out in Chrissy, in Kate. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That like is so delightful to watch. Her first sort of interaction of just being starstruck and then like she can't like move and then Kevin lifts her arm up so she can shake his hand. It's crazy.

Yeah. So they have this wonderful interaction. She tells him that, you know, she has all of Rocky memorized and then like proceeds to like start at the beginning of the movie. And he's like, wow, like, I can't believe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then she also lets him know that like, you know, you're, you were my dad's father.

favorite, you were his hero. No matter how sick he was or sick we were, we would put on one of your films and just be transported and we would feel better immediately. Even before Sly is introduced, Kate is in the trailer with Kevin and she's talking about how proud dad would be that this has happened. So there's a lot of

Yes. And you get that sense right from the beginning, like Kev diverts that conversation almost immediately. Right? So then Kate winds up telling all this stuff to Sly and Kev is working on his lines. He's got a big monologue that he's working on. You see him working on it by himself. It feels like he nailed it. Like he's in the groove. He's in the zone. He's ready to go out, shoot this damn thing. Right? Right.

And Sly and Kate are talking, tells Kevin, you got a great sister there and she really cares about you and whatnot. And your old man sounds like he was a great guy. I know it must be tough him not being here or whatnot. Let's go ahead and shoot this thing and we'll do this one for your dad, right? Yeah.

It's like, you could just see Kevin is like not in it. It's such a beautiful monologue from Sylvester Stallone. Yeah, he says something along the lines of memories, memories that mean something and those that don't. Oh, I wrote it down. Oh, okay. I was like, I wrote down like a truncated version of it. There's no big ones. In my experience, Kevin, there's no such thing as a long time ago. There's only memories that mean something and memories that don't. There we go. Yeah. Yeah.

That's a bar. It's a bar. He just like, and it was so beautiful. And it's like the poor guy really didn't know what he was stepping into with Kevin when he was like, let's do one for your old man. Came up with that on his own. Improvised that. That's what I heard.

So in the middle of Kev trying to deliver this monologue, there's a bit of a montage that transpires from the past and we see a flash to Pilgrim Rick. So you see Kev's thinking about his dad. You see the dog pile from 102 where everybody sort of piles in on each other or whatnot. And he can't get this damn thing together. And it's also one of the actor's nightmares of just like,

I don't know if you guys have this one ever. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like just freaking out. They're like, I don't remember a single word of what I'm supposed to be saying and people are standing around. You want to know how mine goes? Tell me. I am sitting in a theater with a crowd of people watching a show that's about to start. And the show starts and they're waiting for an actor to come on. And I realize it's supposed to be me. Oh, God.

Oh, shoot. Do you wake up in a cold sweat? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Well, what about this actually ever happening in person? Has this happened to you guys? It's happened to me before. You've been thrown like this? Yes. Do tell. I mean, I can't, it's hard to remember. It's definitely happened more than once. Yeah.

And maybe you find a way to get it back together, but there's definitely like a time where you're just walking confidently into something. Like I know how it's going to go and you have a certain expectation. And then for whatever reason, some element throws you off and you just can't recalibrate and find your way back to like the beginning of the thread. You don't know your words. And it's just like everything starts to unravel. Like I definitely could relate to Kevin in this moment. Like I've...

I've been, I mean, I can't, I'm sure that for sure happened over the course of six seasons on this show. It's like, there's so much expectation we have of ourselves and it's, and, you know, as actors were asked to like, to bring so much of our own lives to characters, to experiences in imbuing, you know, our own colors to whatever work that we're supposed to be doing. And,

For someone like Kevin, we're starting to understand he is just... He is so locked up about his dad. This is something that he...

And we find out later in the episode, Kate's like, you just don't ever talk about it. You have to talk about it in some way because otherwise it's going to manifest itself like this. A lot of these stories that you hear about actors and people, they get taken out of context and it makes actors look crazy. It makes actors look...

We've all seen, heard audio of actors flipping out on set, losing their minds. It's distracting. But what you're not seeing is like someone is trying to cry over the dead body of their wife and somebody is eating potato chips or whatever the thing is. Obviously there's no excuse to mistreat people, but in context, there are these things that certain actors do

that they do to protect themselves when they're trying to get to a place. And I know there's a very famous Broadway, I won't say who, very famous Broadway dame who has a taped out square on the floor in the wings that if she is standing in it, you do not speak to her. Because...

If you're not, there's costumes is fixing thing. Makeup is fixing things. But if I'm standing in this square. I love that. I am. That's brilliant. Just know that this is it. I'm getting ready to do something. Yes. And I need a minute. That's great. I think. Oh, but if you take it out of context, people look at it as some. That's so difficult. Ego. Right. Right. Right. Right. It's like, no, no, no. This is my spot. And it's just clear communication and a literal boundary. Yeah. Literal boundaries.

Yeah, the emotional focus that is required from time to time on set can be immense.

And sort of like, you know, like people come in and they want to, so many people, like you guys know what this is. Like in between takes, you got to refresh the makeup. You got to make sure the wardrobe's together. Did the microphone move? Yeah, reset everything back to what it was. And they're all doing their job. Yep. Correct. But they're touching your face. And your job is to maintain this moment that you have to go right back to after it, right? And so those things don't always like fade

fit like hand. Yeah. It might seem eccentric, but those actors who stay in character the entirety of a shoot, it's just for emotional preservation. Sure. Because it would take so much energy to bounce in and out of this character. I'm just going to stay here. This is so much easier. Totally. And so Kevin, of course, after being thrown by all of this talk, finds out that Kate has

has told Sylvester Stallone about their dad and they go back to his trailer. Why would he do that? She did that right before. And kind of lays into her. Yeah, he lays into her. He winds up saying something to the fact like, there's nothing for me to let out because she says like, you never talk about him. You never like let it out. And he says, I'm not like you. I don't need to walk around being sad and damaged just because you are. I wrote that down too. Yeah.

Yeah, I was like, "Oof, man, we hurt the ones we love the most." - Yeah, right? - HD is out. - Yeah. - Yeah. And it's like, "Okay, that's enough of that. I tried to be here for you." - Yep. - You know what I'm saying? It's not like I ain't trying to pursue my own singing career. - Bye-bye. - I'm here for you. - Yep. - And then I believe this part of the story ends with him

Coming back to set, doing a take of a scene where he then proceeds to really hurt himself. Yeah. He hurts his knee. Which we learn. There's the big war scene, what have you, and he's running through ditches trying to get somebody. Lands on his knee wrong. Lands on his knee. And also there is the montage. We see football Kev. Yep. Back in the day. We see...

Jack taking off a necklace. I believe getting it on him, putting it on him or whatever. Is there anything else in that part? Because the first time we've ever seen that, which we'll come back later. Yeah. Yeah. When I see the little steps and things that we do to set things up for later. Yeah. I'm like you, Mickey Finkies are really orchestrating this shit. Mickey Finkies. I like that. Mickey Finkies. That's what I was trying to say. Yeah. I like it. And,

And so, yeah, they're setting some things up with regards to that. Kevin injures himself. The windup of the storyline in this episode is we not only see them fight, we not only see them say extremely injurious things, injurious things. Yeah. But the makeup between the two of them we see as well, right?

The makeup phone call? Or is that in the next episode? I believe that's the next episode. It may be. No, no. Kev calls Kate and apologizes. And all he says is, twin fight. And she says, yeah. Yeah. He says, twin makeup? Something like that. Yeah. And she says, okay. Okay. And they move on. Yeah. Like, it's just a little glimpse into their- Their dynamic. She also says, she looks at the urn and she goes, he's just like you. Just like you.

And that's, you see him take a pill for the pain at the end of the episode. Oh. Yeah, oh, it's a pretty slope, but like, I'm getting 203 and 204 crossing wires there because I watched them at the same time, but. Well, let's talk about the past. Let's talk about. Let's talk about the past. What's going on with Rebecca and Jack back in the day. He goes to the AA meeting. Yep. And he's talking about, um.

recognizing that he's kept too much to himself, right? But it's not easy sharing. And so that's kind of like the step from after having talked to his daughter, now he's talking here. I think he says something, he's like, "I think you get extra points for crying or what have you." But it's not. - And it's interesting. It's something I think that when we chatted with Milo recently, we alluded to the fact that like, Jack is just from a different time. He's from a different generation where bearing his soul

Being vulnerable, talking about his emotions, not keeping things close to the vest is just not an option. And that different time can also be today. It's a different...

When you show vulnerability, if you come from a certain place or you live in a certain environment, we'll get you killed. Yes. Yeah. It's dangerous. Absolutely. It will get you beaten. It will get you ostracized. Preached. Whatever the thing is. Yes, sir. You're right. You're right. It's not just a different time. It's happening today. But no, you're right. It's like the time when...

That was the way it was for all men. - Correct. - It's like-- But you're right, it is still the same for many, many, many people. Your peers will ostracize you, your father will abuse you. - Disown you, yeah. - Your-- - Yeah. - If you're in a foreign war, if you take a second to stop and feel you're dead, you know? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - It's like-- - No time for it. - No time. - Yeah, yeah. So we see him--

Working the steps. I think we actually, like after that, Beck is wondering where he's not in bed. He's downstairs at the kitchen table still going through his steps. And just trying to figure out like,

how to do it. Yeah. You know, like he has a great just look of concentration of just like, all right, this is foreign, this is unfamiliar, and I know it's necessary. So I'm going to stay at it. And he's really doing things a different way than the cold turkey guy

hanging on for dear life of, you know, when the kids were eight or nine and Rebecca told him he needed to get it together and he did quit drinking for a good period of time. This is different. This is like, okay, I'm really going...

-to do something about this. - Yeah. And so you're right, it's like there is a-- there's a discomfort in the, like, total foreign world that he's sort of been plopped in the middle of. And in the same way that we talk about our therapeutic processes, right, whether it's therapy or whatever the thing is, I think it's talk space, the idea that things that have gone unaddressed

you don't just start addressing them. That there are like tools and there's a process and there are steps available and there's things that you can do to structure the processing of those things because it's a difficult thing to do. And if you've been stuffing it for so long, you have no idea where to start. Yeah, man. There's...

There's a scene later just like in the kitchen and everything just feels like nobody's talking to each other. Yeah. Right? I think Jack walks in and whatnot. And Kate sort of clocks there. Everything just looks tense. It's off. Right? And it's not sequential. You guys help me out. But you go and you have a conversation with Miguel's ex. With Shelly. With Shelly. With Shelly. How are things since the fight?

And then she sort of like really puts it out there. When's the last time you had sex? And she's like, ah, you know, I can't remember exactly. No one's really in the mood for that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It would work for any man other than Jack Pearson. Listen, because she said it was the beginning of the end for me and Miguel. And I remember I wrote down, I said, I don't remember this at all.

Because, like, I've had this conversation with many a married couple. Let's speak in a heteronormative sort of way or whatnot. Like, for most, like you just said, besides Jack Pearson...

- We need to have sex. - Yeah. - Real talk. - Yeah. - Straight up. Like when it goes for an elongated period of time, what have you, and like one person is acting like, oh, everything's fine, right? And it's like, no. - No. - It's been, I know how long it's been. - I remember. - One week since you looked at me. - A therapist telling me years ago, she said when the sex goes,

It's like when the bees go, the relationship is like on. There goes the honey. Yeah, exactly. It's on its outs, like on its way out. Like it is a very, that level of intimacy is a very important part of. Yeah, because it's not just a physical thing. It is the most.

It is the most intimate that we can be with each other in terms of sharing ourselves and our lives with one another. And there's a neurochemical connection that happens that bonds people together and helps wash the brain of...

negativity of resentment of you know it's literally getting high man tell him Toby Lama on that oxytocin Toby Lama come on tell him Toby Lama it is okay so then she picks up the mantle because she says you know it's normally my husband that sort of goes with the grand romantic gestures and Shelly's like come on you gotta do something so she's

You decide to take him on a date. To Jack Pearson him. You go to Jack Pearson him, sort of hijack him. And you can tell he's sort of in his head, but, "Yeah, he's my favorite person. We can go hang out." You go to a place where you went on an earlier date. On an earlier date. Was it the Rose Bowl? It was a green screen. Was it really? Yeah, it was a green screen. It can't be the Rose Bowl. It's on the West Coast. It was supposed to be Three Rivers Stadium. Oh, sure, sure, sure. I believe that's the name of it. That is the name of it in Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, yes.

And it was, you know, a location of a previous date early in their courtship that they didn't end up making because things got a little hot and heavy. There you go. So she gets burgers. Yeah. She starts to put the moves on him. Yeah. And he stops her in her tracks. He's like, can we just take it to her? And it's like, I've only been in that situation a couple of times in my life. And I always wonder...

like with kid gloves for the woman, like sort of being kept at arm's length. Like I always feel like, oh gosh, I know I'm not supposed to be doing this right now. And I'm not trying to hurt your ego in any kind of way, but like, I just not in that space.

And I'm so curious what that was like for you to live through, if you have any recollection. Of that particular- On the show. Yeah. On the show. On the show. It never happened to me anymore in life. Let me tell you that. Yeah, right. When Taylor's just not into it, how does that feel? That rejection is soul crushing. Yeah, it was really defeating, I think, for Rebecca because-

This is a big move to put herself out there in this way. Go ahead. Tell all the ladies listening right now how defeating it was. Just so everybody's aware of just how much it hurts. So defeating. When you put yourself out there like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But again, I think like their connection is so, it's so immediate. It's so intrinsic. Like it's,

I feel like the sort of, for lack of a better word, their physicality with one another is probably something that's never been an issue for them. Sure. Right. Yeah. And they've obviously kept their distance these last couple weeks because of everything that's gone on and no one's necessarily been in the mood to think about that level of intimacy with one another and sharing themselves like that. Yeah.

I imagine this kind of rejection, for lack of a better word, from her husband is the first time she's experienced it. And it's confusing and confounding. It leads to them having a larger conversation that she's like, got it. They leave. They go back home. They go home. They have a conversation outside of their house, which leads to...

- Genuine connection. - Genuine connection. They get out of the car and then he's like, you know what? I'm getting back in the car 'cause like the night's not over. I'm not ready. - I was talking to one of my favorite people and I don't want it to end. - I don't want it to end. I'm not ready to be done talking with you yet. - He tells you, he says, this is harder than I thought it was gonna be. - Yeah. - Right? It's harder than I thought. AA/talking to you. - Yeah. - Right? Like what a, that's vulnerability. - That's vulnerability. - Father and son.

-Yeah, we're both going through-- - Showing-- going through something that is harder than they thought. And speaking of vulnerability, he ends up admitting to her when they were pregnant, he went to his own father and asked his father for help to help buy their house.

So he's starting to open up and share a side of him. I'm sure things that would never have crossed Rebecca's mind. There is something really funny. I wrote Pixie Cut season six. He alludes to the fact that I cut my hair into a pixie, like Peter Pan. And I'm like, these writers, this is season two, episode three. Like the fact that that- The cut, it happened. Yes. In an episode later in season six. Oh, dude, it's

I get a silly haircut and I was like, I hadn't even thought about that. I was like, wow, someone really kept track of that one little tiny detail and infused it in an episode that like, it wasn't a big plot line. It was part of this one episode. It was this silly sort of storyline episode.

But I just, I clocked that and was like, "Whoa, that came to fruition. That's really wild that someone acknowledged that." - Wow, that's pretty awesome. - Yeah, yeah, that little Easter egg. - You see you guys laughing in the car after he invites you back and you guys are cracking up and he talks about borrowing the money from dad.

And he says, like, there's a lot of other stuff, too. Yeah. I'll tell you eventually. I'm working on it. Right? And I think that allows, like, okay, boots. Boots can now be knocked. Knocked. Proceed. You know what I'm saying? Get back in the car. Wait, can we also...

Is this when the dog gets introduced? The next episode. Is the next episode? Or no? Because I believe the food- Because they're eating the burgers. Yeah, they're eating the burgers and the dog- It's this episode. Because Rebecca throws the bag of food kind of behind her and they go to saunter back to the car. And they come back and they're like, who's this cute little dog that's eating our leftover burgers? Yeah. And that dog becomes a family dog. Dog becomes a- He becomes a part of the fire. That's right.

It's a whole other can of worms that we... Are we blending stuff? No, no. I believe that's two or three. They find a dog. Yeah, yeah. That's two or three. Also, we fail to mention Randall. Yes. Reaching out to look for his birth mother. Randall's looking for his birth mother in the past. That scene is crazy. Yeah. And he gets a letter back early saying that like, you know, you found me. I can't believe you found me and you're looking for me. Can we meet at this park at a certain time?

And he's talking to his brother and sister. I think Kev asked him who's hotter, Brandi or Mariah Carey. I love when my white brother asked me about two black chicks, who he thinks is the hottest. I was like, why are you asking me, dog? I'm thinking about who's my mama. Yeah, my brain's not there. And so they actually wind up going with him, which I think was really sweet that they recognized the gravity of what he was actually attempting to do. And they go with him. And my man sits on this bench.

And this white lady who is clearly strung out on something says, like, I see you looking at me as your father was really dark and you told me that you didn't need money. So I thought my son must be doing really well. And you get immediate desperation that, you know, she needs money. And this poor dude is just sitting there like, I cannot believe this.

that this is what came of me trying to find a part of myself and just gets up and walks away and he goes, "It's not her, let's just go." Just how scary and impossible something like that must have been.

In the pre-internet days, you know what I mean? Like now it might be a little easier. It's still obviously a daunting task and a vulnerable thing to do. But like, that's like the wild west, man. Sure, and to be a young person not telling your parents about it, obviously wanting to keep all of that close to the vest is... Yeah, yeah. It's a lot. It's a lot for a young person. And it's interesting because it allows him to connect with Deja in a way because...

while their situations aren't the same, he's like, I know what it's like to feel sort of disconnected. He talks about when I was younger, I felt sort of split into the family that I loved and that I knew that there was this other family, this other part of me that I was constantly trying to find.

But, you know, in bringing me into this family, I now have this big, beautiful life. Yeah. Right? And if I see, when I see you, I see the potential for that sort of big, beautiful life as well. If you can open yourself up to that possibility and you see her sort of like lean in a little bit more than what she had when she first came into the house. Message received. Yeah. Should we talk to Lyric?

Let's do that. I would love to do that. Let's talk to Lyric. We'll be back right after these words from our sponsors. More That Was Us after this short break.

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Hey! Hi, Lyric! Oh, look at her. She got her face done, hair done, nails done, everything did. Go on, show 'em, girl. Stunt. Stunt. Let 'em know. Lyric, you have the world's greatest smile.

She does. You always have. That's true. Yeah, we could say that right here on the podcast right now. One of my favorite people in the world is joining us to talk a little bit of deja vu. It is Deja herself, the one, the only Lyric Nicole Rawls. Yay! Yay!

Hello, hello. How you doing, ma'am? I'm doing really good. How are you? I'm great. You're looking real grown over here in these streets. When we met, I saw Lyric the other day, and she reminded me, I believe she was 13 years old when we met. And on September 30th of 2024, how old will you be, ma'am? 21. Oh, wow! She grown, y'all! She grown up in these streets!

- That is wild. - We were just talking not too long ago. Mandy was saying like, she's like, "I didn't realize that Deja was in so soon." She's like, "I thought it was like season three maybe or something like that." But by episode 203, you are a part of the Pearson family on through to the end of the show.

And what we want to know right now is how did this come to you? I know a little bit because I came to like one of your auditions, but tell us about how you first got the audition, how it came across and first steps. That's all. If you can remember that far back. Yeah, I know. You've grown now. It's a long time ago. I think it came to me through...

my agent at the time. And I think they had a different name for Deja. It was like Lisa or something. And it was this monologue that they gave to me for the first self-tape. I auditioned for it twice. So I did the first self-tape and sent it in

And about a week later, the agent wanted me to try it again for some reason. So I did another self-tape. A couple of days after that, I think she was the one to tell me that the producers saw the first self-tape and they loved me and they wanted to fly me out to LA. Right. Where were you coming from? Chicago. That's right. From the Chi. Okay. Okay.

And that was my first time in L.A. So everything was new. The whole Hollywood sign, the Paramount Studios, all of that. What a way to arrive. Was it exciting? Intimidating? Like, what was the vibe that was going on in your soul? I was trying not to get too deep into it because I had an audition to take care of. I didn't want to get too distracted.

So, you know, my parents, of course they wanted to sightsee and all of that. But I was a little nervous to... - You're like, "I gotta work." - You're like, "What do you remember about that audition in LA?" - I remember there being two other girls there in that building.

I believe this was a countrywide search. So I didn't know that they narrowed it down to three of us already. It was super quiet. I remember seeing you and Susan walk past me and my parents. And my dad was going crazy. He was like, oh my God, that's Susan, that's Susan. - That's Susan, not Sterling. - No, no, everybody goes crazy for Susan, I get it. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So now I'm shaking in my boots and all of that. I'm the last one to go in.

I think the other two girls went in before me and I walk in. Everybody's there, right? It's you, Susan, Faith, Aries. Wow. No pressure. Geez. The whole family. Yeah, it was a lot. But you you were super nice, Sterling. You were very nice to me. You kind of you looked at me like you

I don't want to say this in a cocky way, but you looked at me almost like we were already going to be doing this for a long time. So that kind of made me feel a little more comfortable. Yeah, the nerves were...

would definitely kick me in sterling has still never looked at me like that no still still reserved just for you lyric hey hey hey look hey oh there it is oh there it is there you go right cool there you go i i'll say this um and this is all respect to all people who are at the audition but sue and i after you read we were like

This is her. - We done? - This is Deja, right? And it's interesting too, because like we went and told Dan and we're like, "Dan, there's no question. Like this young lady is special, right? I stand by that. I know you grown now. Can I still call you a young lady? You grown, but you're a young lady." - Yeah. - She's special. And as I was rewatching "Deja Vu,"

and remembering just meeting you for the first time because everything, like you said, was brand new for her. Like we would be on set and we'd be having like, you know, prop breakfast and she'd say, "Ooh, these real strawberries. Ooh, I like these strawberries." And you know, she's very quiet. You know what I'm saying? And she's, you know, she's getting her adult on right now, but even at 13, she's like, "Oh, they got real syrup for these pancakes."

Let me ask you this lyric. What was going on in Chicago? Because I, I'm not from Chicago, but essentially I kicked my career off in Chicago. Were you, were you acting a lot there? Theater, film and television commercials, anything like that? It wasn't a lot happening other than like Chicago fire PD, all those things. I didn't,

Did a couple of years before I was supposed to be on this show called The Chi. Uh huh. Yes. Right now. And they kind of scrapped the entire first cast and I had to re audition a couple of years later. And then that point I had developed. So they dropped me from that. And from then on, it was it was really hard for me to

to get anything else until TIU came. - And are you in Chicago now or are you still in LA? - I am, I just moved back. - Oh, you just moved back. Awesome. She moved back, she comes out to LA to take meetings, you know what I'm saying? From time to time. - Sure, I love Chicago. - She's very fancy. - I love Chicago. - I mean, what was your experience on the show like? Like you got the job, you're on the set. I remember, well, I'm gonna ask you about one thing in particular.

I want to ask you about the cutting of your hair. Okay. Now look at the face that she makes. Because I remember this young lady. She's very attached to her hair. As we are. And they told her that she had to cut it off. And boy, was there... I mean, there were some tears. That was a tough time. Talk to me a little bit about that scene and them talking to you about it. I was thinking about that the other day. Yeah. When I...

found out that I was going to be flying to LA to start working on this show, my mom set me up an appointment to get my hair done. So I'm in the salon chair and I'm happy, I'm excited. My flight is the next day. And as soon as my hairstylist was done, my mom comes up to me saying that she got an email saying that they, you know,

you need to be willing to cut your hair. They don't know how short, but just be willing.

And so that was at that point, I just wanted to work so bad. I did not care. Like if they wanted to do a little Bob, okay, cool. Yeah. No idea. Yeah. What was coming? Yeah. So we got there. I didn't know that they were going to shave a little plug in my head. So that was a little like, okay, fine. If they can hide it.

Sure. Cool. I thought that was an insert. I didn't realize that was real. Was that? Yeah, that was her. Oh, man. Lyrics. Yeah. Yeah. And once that scene came up,

before we got into it, I remember you Sterling, you came into the room. I mean, a lot of people were in there. So you kind of, I don't know, snuck your way in and you just kept looking at me and I look back at you and you were like, you really want to do this, don't you? And I say, yes, sir. Yes, I do. And

you had this knot of a boo-boo and you just left. And then we started. You can see that on your face the first time you appear on this show. Like you...

Your character drops with so much gravitas before you even open your mouth. Yeah. Just when it's on the back of your head. I was like, oh, this is someone to pay attention to. That's right. That's right. You demanded it. There's a rhythm that you have, El Boogie, that's like...

you don't let anybody else sort of dictate your rhythm. Like you're like, I know my rhythm and I'm going to move at that pace. And then people have to sort of get in where you are, which I think is like incredibly strong. Like, and I know you probably don't view it in that same sort of way, but like, it's like, you are this magnet that's sort of like, okay, if you want to get to where I am, then just do that in that way. And yeah,

You changed like the dynamic of our family in such an incredible way. And the writer saw it and just started writing more and more things. Like you got to fall in love and have like this beautiful relationship that played out over time. And then in the future, even though you didn't get to do the future, you gave me a grandson, which I'm really, really thankful for. But I'm curious, like what is the big takeaway there?

from your whole experience on the show? Man, I'm realizing how spoiled I was just because of that experience. Like, I've gotten a chance to do a couple more things after TIU ended. And there are things that I'm experiencing that I'm

witnessing that I had no idea was in this industry. You know what I mean? So I had a lot of good and genuine things to take from the people I've worked with. I think this is the only the only project so far that I've been on and I actually had a second family. So this was

that level of love and support that I didn't even ask for. You know, I came in and you embraced me without even knowing how long I was going to be here. I had two, three episodes guaranteed. Right. It was just just the

the fact that there is that out there. I mean, I don't know if I'll be able to have it again, 'cause it seems very rare. But yeah, to have something real like what I did on the show. - Man, we all cross our fingers and hope that it's possible. They're looking at me right now, Elbo, 'cause I'm crying, because I love you. - Aw.

love you too such a beautiful human being i remember we are we won the sag award one year for best ensemble and i think you're up on stage and and you were just looking at and you were like because elbow keeps things close to the vest right she doesn't like to like get too emotional in front of people but like she was feeling it yeah which made me feel

and we just hugged each other and I kissed her on the forehead and we got to share that moment together. And hopefully we get a chance to share a few more things like that. We should put the photo of that, that cast photo from that. We have a great photo of all of us from the Sag Awards. We should put that in here. Can I ask you too, Lyric? Do you keep up with Faith and Eris? Because like,

Like my kids on the show all sort of bonded in such a really deep way. And I know the three of you did as well. You were truly sisters. And it was so being around you, being around that energy, like you guys championed each other and supported each other and loved each other. And it was just so palpable, like...

on camera and off camera. And I'm just curious if you guys are still in touch. Yeah, I reach out to Faith from time to time. She's very low key. Yeah, she's very low key. With Aries, I really don't have to reach out to her because she calls me all the time. That's great. I love that. She will not leave me alone. Like a real sister. That's great. Yeah, yeah. That's amazing.

Well, thank you for joining us. Obviously, we're going to have a lot more episodes of your story to watch, and hopefully you'll come back and talk to us some more. And maybe next time you're in Los Angeles, if it works out, we can all do this together in person. In person, come through. Can you tell our listeners where they can find you online, follow you, keep up to date with what's going on? You can follow me on Instagram at Lyric Nicole Ross, even though it's been like

three years since I've posted. Good for you. Listen, when stuff comes up, I'm sure you'll post and people can, you know, keep trying. People just want to support and follow, yeah. Do they have an air date for your Ironheart?

For your project. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. We're hearing different things right now. So it's up in the air. Okay. Fall, next year, spring. Post about it when you know. Yeah. So we know. We love you. We love you Lyric. Thank you so much for taking the time. More That Was Us after these words from our sponsors.

So the holidays are officially right around the corner. The best time of year, the most exciting time of year. I'm sure all of you guys have travel plans. People be traveling at the holidays. I'm going to go see my family. I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited. Yeah, I've been traveling a lot, actually, back and forth to Toronto for this new gig, and I'm checking out the entire city with Airbnb. I get a different apartment every time I go in a different part of the city. Nice.

What a great way to get to know a city. I love that. Mandy, nobody knows Toronto better than I do. You'll have to be our tour guide next time. Listen, like many of you, we're getting into the swing of holiday planning. Whether you want to or not, it's the season for figuring out who is traveling where, who is arriving when, and is the dog coming? And for all these reasons...

We rely on Airbnb. I have been using Airbnb for years, and it's become my go-to for finding places that feel like home, no matter where I am in the world. It's also a wonderful way to share my own space with travelers, offering them the comfort of a home away from home.

We've done so many renovations on our house, I've been thinking, these renovations are too good, I have to share them with the world. Hosting just makes sense. Come on. And it might be for you as well. Yes. Hosting on Airbnb is a smart way to utilize your unused space. And getting started with hosting has never been easier. It's a great way to earn a little extra and can help subsidize the busy holiday travel season. You know I can always use a little extra money in my pocket. Your home might be worth more than you think.

Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back. And we are back with another installment of the Emotional Support Hotline. Gang, we've said it before, we'll say it again. This is probably our favorite segment of the show when we get to talk to you, our listeners. Pretty much. So let's go ahead and call it.

somebody back yeah we're going to listen to the voicemail first man you don't just don't jump the gun because the script tells you to jump the gun it is from someone who was so nervous when she called that she forgot to leave her name and number oh and luckily our producer uh sarah was able to find her so we could call her back her name is jennifer and here is her message wow hello you three i'm so happy that this podcast is back around i'm listening to it religiously and i can't get enough um

I started watching This Is Us once I saw the trailer. I'm like, this is going to be a great show. I can't wait to watch it. And then as things started to unravel and I understand, you know, how Milo's character was going to be, it threw me and I almost couldn't watch. I lost my father when I was 20. I'm a little bit older than the kids in the show, but it was so life-shaping for me, my siblings, my mom, and family.

those dynamics were so hard stuff. I probably hasn't even really read him completely. So, so watching this show was so hard, but I stuck with it. And I think in some ways, um,

Like even seeing them get through it helped me get through it years later. So wow, how powerful that is and how powerful every actor and storyline is in the show. It's just, it's such an amazing show. So thank you all for everything you put into it. And I can't wait to listen to more. And I might even have to call back this hotline because the beginning intro just made me feel so good this morning. So thank you all.

Oh, what a lovely message. Let's call her back. Jennifer, get ready. Get ready. To be called. To be. Never mind. Emotional support for us. You try. Don't worry about it. It doesn't always work. It's a dissuade. Don't do that.

Hello. Hey, Jennifer. I was wondering if you've been thinking about re-upping your... No. Jennifer, it's Chris Sullivan. I can recognize it. How are you? Right now, I'm trying not to shake in my body. Don't shake. You take a deep breath and just... We're thanking you for leaving such a beautiful message for us. How are you doing today?

i'm doing all right it's been a day but i'm doing all right this is you know a highlight of it definitely so okay we're happy to bring that to you absolutely absolutely uh as someone who lost their pops when he was young as well i was 10 my condolences on the passing of your father and i know it was a while ago but how how are you moving through and dealing and living with grief at present

Um, you know, it's, it's crazy. It's just like an ongoing thing. I don't think it's something you ever really deal with or not, like, you know, get to a point where you are every, there's moments that just trigger it. Yeah. Um, I mean, my mom actually also passed away about five years ago. So it's just, you know, Oh, thank you. But like the father one, I don't know why, maybe because I was so young, just hit me so hard and, you know, watching this is us.

just, you know, brought it back. I don't know if you ever saw the movie Meet Joe Black. I couldn't even watch that because no, no, not happening. I hear you. But, you know, I started watching This Is Us and you get into it and every story and every episode is so compelling and you can't stop watching. And then you find out that there's this monumental death and

And I was like, no, I'm done. I can't do it. I can't, I can't do it. But did you have to step away? Did you have to step away? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I think it was a good couple of episodes where I'm like, I don't know if I can do this, but the show is just so good. I'm like, I gotta watch it. And so I did turn it back on and you know, I'm, I'm so glad that I did. Like,

You feel the stories that the kids are going through, even at a younger age and how they're all trying to cope. Even when they're adults, you see that they're all still so struggling. And I'm like, I feel validated. It's okay to struggle on that too and not know where I'm at with it. Yes, ma'am. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. It is okay to not be okay. Yeah. You can be okay with not being okay. Yes. And that's okay.

There is actually a very good song by an artist named Nako. It's a song that's, I'm okay with not being okay. Absolutely. It's a great song. Absolutely. It's a good mantra. Did you watch the show solo? Was it anybody in the family or friends that you watched it with? Or was this just you in front of the TV with your Kleenex and wine and popcorn or whatever? It was just me. And then like...

I was part of like a little mom group online and every now and then like, who watched this episode? What are your thoughts? You know? So I would talk with them, but it was mostly just a, it was my, my time, my little me time to watch it. Yeah. Yeah. Some self care. Yes. Yeah.

- And I'm mad at that. Is it a situation for you, like you were saying that the show kind of helped you just normalize the fact that you weren't alone in sort of dealing with that grief or what have you. Was it at any point in time, did it feel lighter in watching the episodes? Like a lot of people would talk about how they would step away from the show because it made them cry too hard.

And sometimes we've had the conversation that through the tears though, there was a lightening that could transpire. - Yeah. - And I'm curious for you, was that your experience or was it just sort of overwhelmingly intense or like how did the tears, if and when you did have them- - Or the emotions, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, leave you at the end? - I just felt like it was, but I think in time, you know, 'cause there's so many tears in the show, but it definitely helped 'cause I think,

you know, being so young when your father passes, you're looking for someone to kind of fill that hole. Yeah. So you go, you know, your friend's parents that you kind of latch on to their dad a little bit. And I could see that where I would. And then even watching the show, I could kind of latch on Jack and be like,

he feels like a little bit of a father figure to me. So, you know, so like when I got to grieve again and with it, it felt like it helped me grieve that a little better because I'm a little older. There's other people going through it, helping me. Yeah. That's beautiful. You said that today's been a day.

Do you want to talk about it with three of your closest friends? Yeah. We're here. We're here. We're anonymous. This is an emotional support hotline. Nobody's listening. We're not licensed therapists. What's going on? No, I just, I have three children, seven, 12, and 19. So every day is a day. And then my husband just came home from the hospital today from back surgery. Oh, my God.

So he's laid up for a minute. He's laid up in bed. I'm like, honey, I got to go. I'll be back in like 15 minutes. I'm like, I got to make this

Oh, no. That's a lot. Sorry to take you away from that, but I mean, also just happy to give you a second to catch your breath. That's a lot on your plate, ma'am. That is a lot. No, it's all right. I've also had cancer in the past, so he's taking care of me, so we're switching roles, you know, and all that. So he just had to go get a back surgery just to get you back? Yeah, exactly. You know, he had to be in the hospital a little longer to try to compete with me. It's been a little game.

But no, he was excited for me. So he's like, go, go, do what you have to do. We love that. Wait, I have a quick question before we let you go, because you said 7, 12, and 19. So you waited seven years and then you waited five years. Talk to me. Talk to me. My 19-year-old is my stepson. So I've taken him in. And then...

I have had cancer once, you know, I had cancer and didn't know if I could have children. Luckily I was. So I had, I had my one and then we were like, let's wait a little bit. And then we're like, let's do it. And then we did it. And then I had cancer again. So it's just been like, boom, boom, boom. But it's, it's been kind of great. You just keep doing it, Jennifer. You just are like. A powerhouse. Man. Persevering through life, pushing through.

Well, I have to say it's because of people like you guys. Like, I know you're real people. You know, it's just a show. But you guys, just even in your real lives, you have so much positivity out there when I follow you on social. It's just in the crazy world that it is today, it's so heartwarming to see that. And we need that because...

We just need to be good to each other. And so I love when you guys just spread it. And even these talkbacks that you're doing, it's just, it's so nice that you're giving back in this way. So we really thank you for that. Thank you. You just made our day. Like truly, I have tears in my eyes. Like everything that you're going through and you're able to emanate such positivity and love

Yeah, you just brought this nice little slice of joy to our day as well. It's so appreciated. Jennifer, you're a survivor. You're a fighter. Like, God bless you. God bless your children, your husband as he makes his way out of back surgery. Yes, we're sending all the well wishes for his quick recovery. All that good stuff. Absolutely. No, thank you. No, thank you so much for this. And I know I'll be listening every week and catching up. And I have an hour drive to work. So I listen to you guys. And it's the perfect. Oh.

we love that thank you thanks for supporting we're happy to accompany you on your way to work have a good rest of your day exactly yes take care jennifer bye rock stars that's like so our fans are rock stars yeah it's basically what we're learning through this process that's right my goodness yeah

Baby, cancer, baby. Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah. Stepchild. Yeah. Grieving both parents that are gone. Yeah. You never know what is going on in people's lives. Never do. That's right. I feel like Jennifer is sort of the embodiment of the philosophy that I think undergirds the show. Difficult things will transpire. Yes. For all of us.

life continues to move forward, you try to make the most of what you have while you have it and to enjoy, to thoroughly experience each moment as it comes. Like this woman is living that. Thank you, Jennifer. Yeah, thanks for that reminder, Jennifer. We want to talk to you. So please, if you want to write us an email at thatwassuspod at gmail.com. You can send us a letter. Let us know how you relate to the show. Or you can call us at... Come on, 412...

501-3028. Anytime. Leave messages like this, we will call you back and we will just powwow because we love you. We love to hear from you. We think that it's emotional support for you. No, really. It's really for us. Selfishly. Totally.

It truly is our favorite segment of the show for a reason. Yeah. I'm always blown away. I'm like, what are we going to get this week? Blown away. That was amazing. Golly. That concludes this episode of That Was Us. That's true. We'll see you next week. Thanks for joining us, friends. Bye, gang. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Welcome back to another installment of the retread brought to you by Peloton. Find your push, find your power with Peloton. Today we spoke to Lyric Ross and were reminded of what an incredible person

and what an incredible actor she is playing the role of Deja. We also gushed over Faith Herman, our little itty-bitty on the show, in her incredible scene with Ron Cephas Jones. We were reminded that it is okay to not be okay by connecting with some fans in the emotional support hotline.

And we reminded ourselves and our listeners of the power of good boundaries to maintain our energy on and offset. And of course, we were left with an incredible line by the one and only Sylvester Stallone. There is no such thing as a long time ago. There are only memories that mean something and memories that don't. Thanks for tuning in. This has been The Retread, brought to you by Peloton. ♪

That Was Us is filmed at The Crow and produced by Rabbit Grin Productions and Sarah Warehunt. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. That was us.