One Year Older | "A Father's Advice" (S2E1) with special guest Logan Shroyer
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On today's episode of That Was Us, we will be discussing season two, episode one of Father's Advice. Randall and Beth debate a big life change. Kate takes the first step in pursuing a new passion. Kevin balances the demands of his career and relationship. And Jack and Rebecca deal with the fallout of their big fight.

- Season two. - What up, gang? - Here we go. - Welcome back. - We made it through 18 episodes. - Somehow. - We had a few special episodes with guests and now we're on to season two. - We are here. - It's exciting. - It is exciting. - I feel good. We left in a very sort of discordant note at the end of season one with Jack and Rebecca. Jack leaving the house.

wondering what's gonna be the future of everything, America being very upset with Rebecca for letting Jack leave the house. - Sterling specifically being very upset too. - Me? - Yeah. - What was I upset about? - Well, you just said you took issue with Dan. - Oh yeah, this is true. - You called Dan. - You can't leave the pilot, or you can't leave the last episode of this. - I did. I think, listen, more than even speaking as Sterling, I think I was speaking as Randall. I was like, I want my mama and daddy in the same house, happy and loving each other the way good white people are supposed to do. - I can't do this.

I can't live like that for a whole hiatus, but I did. But I had a little bit more time because America had to wait longer. I got a chance to see scripts to know what was going to come next. So the episode opens. We hear, which is always reassuring, with William. Yes. Who is gone but not forgotten. Oh.

And he's reading some of the poems that he writes for the poems for my son. Yes. And what's he saying? Things not said, advice not given, envelopes unstamped, regrets enveloping me. This is poems for my son. He wonders, is it easier there? I guess yes. Do you think of me like I think of you?

And once again, we begin our season on the Big Three birthday, right? Not dad's birthday, by the way, which is the same thing as the Big Three's birthday. So that's the first time, like normally everybody's birthday is at the same time. This is just now the Big Three's birthday, which continues to be the case throughout the seasons. We always open on our birthday. Always. But we don't always open on Jack's birthday. No. No. No. As is the case in this particular instance. Sure. His birthday's just forgotten. His birthday's forgotten. Not celebrated. Well, he died. Yeah. Yeah.

There you go. There's that. I mean, there is that. There is that. We see Kev. He's down on one knee. It looks like he's proposing. Is he proposing to Sophie? Turns out he's proposing to a tennis ball. Working with Ron Howard. On set with Ron freaking Howard. Yep. Look, the guy is like Teflon. You think like his career is over. No. Kev just keeps bouncing back. That's right. Again and again and again. It's true. It's true.

We see Randall, who looks like he may have adopted a sweet Asian baby. Yes. Loving on that baby. Turns out that he took it from his neighbors. He's harassing his neighbors. Who need to get going. Probably. Like, Randall. Randall, we got to get going, buddy. Like, how long has he been doing that? 10 minutes? Or every morning? Yeah. Like, yeah. Like, oh, God, I thought we left a little early. We were going to miss him today. But here he is. They push their Strycium Cum and he's running. Hey! Hey! They turn around, go back in there.

- It is a thing still to this day when people bring babies to Sterling and Ryan's house, both Sterling and Ryan love babies. And the other day somebody brought a newborn to the house, Ryan won't give up the baby. Like she just holds the baby. And then I say, no, no, I'm gonna take the baby too. I took the baby and I'm very good with the baby. And the baby goes to sleep. And Ryan's like, what do you think you're special? I said, yes.

I am special. But I knew that before I was holding this baby. Babies love me and I love babies. And anytime you bring a baby on set, it's actually joyous. I know sometimes you'd have to deal with three at the same time. So it wasn't always as joyous.

I was just thinking, I'm like, when this baby comes, I know who to bring it to. Come bring it to your boy. Yeah, I'm going to bring her over to your house. Please and thank you. She is annoying the crap out of me. I need a little girl love in my life. Everybody tells me, as a dad of boys, you need little girl. Do I need a little girl love in my life? Yeah. It's pretty awesome? Yeah. Okay. It's pretty awesome. Bring her over. Yeah, we'll bring her over. I'll bring her over, and then I'll give them back. Exactly. None of the responsibility. All the fun. Daddy. Daddy.

Where do we find Kate? Where's Kate? Oh, she's preparing. Kate is prepping for her audition. She's getting ready for her audition for her first big singing thing. It's all very exciting, right? We jump into the diner with mom picks up the kids from the night before. They've stayed at a friend's house. Yep. She picks them up. There's tension. Kate remarks like, where's dad? They're getting the State of the Union. They are going to get the State of the Union, but at first they're sort of confused. Like, mom's supposed to be on tour. Why is she the one picking us up? Yeah.

They get in the car and mom's like, we got to talk to you guys. They go to a diner. They meet Jack. Yeah.

Side note, I remember, you know, as we start filming these seasons in the middle of the boiling summer here in Los Angeles, it was like, you know, early mid-July and we're all in like winter clothes and jeans and heavy jackets and stuff like in the middle of the valley to this un-air-conditioned diner. Yeah, just like when I was re-watching it, I immediately was brought back to just sweating. Yeah.

- In a wig and-- - Welcome to the first three seasons of my life on this show. - Correct. - 'Cause we get to see you for the first time. You've got the beard. You've gotten rid of the tufts here and just like, I'm gonna take it down a little bit lower. - I'm gonna take it down as far as I can. I talk to hair and makeup and I'm like, now listen, as we transition into season two, we can just do anything. It's a big time job, right? We can do whatever we want.

I don't know if you noticed. I don't know if you noticed. Here's how quickly the switch happens. If you go back and watch 18, season one, episode 18, the final scene of her going, I think I want to sing. I already have like three weeks of growth. Do you really? Because I'm like, we're setting this up. I'm headed towards beer.

I am on the road to beard. Yeah. We're setting this up right now. So they go, they have this family meeting. Jack says, your mom and I want to talk to you. And they sort of use these phrases. Every once in a while, there's a phrase that I have to use in the show.

that's sort of like, I know it's going to be a hiccup for the audience because it's a hiccup for me. So it's something like, catch your breath. We're going to catch our breath. Like, you know, take a little space. What does that mean, catch your breath? Are you guys getting a divorce? That's Kevin sort of approaching it. And they're like, no, not getting a divorce. But the instantaneous annoyance of the children with receiving that news felt real and powerful. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Stability is something that kids –

long for. Yeah. Right. And so when that's removed,

And Kate says immediately, 'cause she's standing at Miguel's, she's like, "Well, I'll go with dad." "No, Kate, you're not gonna go with dad." And she's like, "What? You're not gonna keep me here with this wonderful human being?" - Nope, she wants nothing to do with mom. Immediately. - So she has to bounce, she goes out. And then as soon as that happens, Kevin's like, "Oh, I gotta go be with my sister." And then Randall is, who we don't realize at this point in time. - Has witnessed the fight.

We'll see later on in the episode that Randall wound up coming home in the midst of the fight that took place at the end of last year. Yeah. So sides have been drawn. Sides have been drawn. Kate is with dad. Randall's with mom. Kevin is going to go wherever Kate goes. Wherever Kate is going to go. But that gets illuminated later on. There's a line that they have. Rebecca's feeling the tension. They're all sitting at home together. We're going to go to the movies.

We're going to go see Tom Hanks do whatever Tom Hanks is. And we're going to take our minds off of all this crap. We're not. And they go to the movie. Philadelphia. The pick me up of the year. First date movie that I took my high school girlfriend. I was like, this might not have been the best date flick. But you see Kate and Kevin together and you see Randall with his mom. And that's when we flashback to no. Like he walked in right when Jack was saying like,

a career, like you sing covers in a pub, you know, this is, you're ridiculous. Right? And so Randall's sort of like, mom, you want some popcorn? And it's sort of like, they've already been close, but you start to see how they become even closer to which Kev says to Kate, I think Randall's about to make his move. Real, real rough comment. Yeah. And the look on Kate's face.

He says that so many times. Like he makes allusions to that over the years of Randall and Rebecca having some like inappropriate relationship. I'm like, what? It's such, I laugh because it is such a brother thing to say. It's just so dude. It's so dark and terrible. So dark. And also so seeded with jealousy. Yeah. It's a little bit of that too. It's a little bit of that too. This is a fun little note, sidebar.

Randall's at home. I think Annie asked, like, hey, Dad, how come you're at home? Mommy's at work now, and you're at home being the girl? And he's like, what are you talking about, being the girl? Women can do anything they want to. Look at Hillary Clinton. And, like, she lost. She lost. I was like, eat your food. And then there was a line where I was supposed to refer to them as somebody, like Ann Coulter and something. And I said, can I say Stacey Dash and Omarosa? And it made it! It made it!

It made it into the episode, which doesn't always happen, but I was very happy with that particular take. And you see Beth is at work and Randall's at home. So clearly things are readjusting within the Black Pearson household, right? What's next? You guys, I feel like- - You're getting on a roll. You're getting on a roll. - This after lunch roll. - We can do a timeline or we can go in order, but- - I have adoption center.

Yes. I'm not sure if that's what comes next, actually, in sequential order. He says to her something like, you know, you looking forward to this afternoon? And she's like, yeah, this afternoon is going to be great. I mean, the last thing we see at the end of season one, as you say, I think we should adopt a baby. And so we pick up with a clearly resistant Beth. Yeah.

to this idea and we're not sure why right it's a little unclear as to why she's resistant yeah but she essentially at the adoption center

lets all of her frustration out in front of this person. - We have a flashback to a scene of Herd and William in his favorite spot, which is this park that has some folks of color, black kids, brown kids hanging out, basketball, et cetera, et cetera. And like, they even make reference to it. So like, this is my favorite spot, reminds me a little bit of home. And she's like, you know, a little less white. And he's like, yeah, that too. And they have a hearty chuckle over the whole thing.

And as they're in the adoption center and Randall's just so excited and so geeked for this whole thing to go down, right? Like, can we get a little boy? A little boy would be great. I already got two girls in the house, got a lot of strong black women. Wouldn't mind having something a little bit different.

And then Beth's sort of like, he just kind of wants to recreate what happened to him. So if you have a kid that was left at a fire station, that would really scratch his head. That would really do it. And you can see that like, oh, things, we're not on the same page. No. Right? So Beth leaves the adoption center and Randall rolls up on her and he goes, you fake smoking again?

- I love the fake smoking. What a strange- - The fake smoking, was that scripted? - Yes. - It was scripted. - Yes. - It was scripted. And to Ken Olen's credit, because both Sue and I were like, "We should be smoking weed, right?" And she's like, "Of course, SK. Like I thought that was what we were doing." So we started it off, like holding it like this or what have you. And Ken was like, "Just smoke a cigarette." - I could see him saying that. Just smoke a cigarette. - What are you doing? Just smoke a cigarette.

And we were like, okay. And it turned out it was perfect and it was fine and it worked exactly. But here's one of those- Beth does it so well in that first shot. I'm like, is she smoking? Her mind work is so casual. It's solid. And he says, Randall says something like, listen-

this is something that like, you know, I'm really committed to and I'm very excited about. So you're going to have to get your head around it. And I say that to say that that's one of those phrases, like get your head around it. That like, as an actor, I'm like, all right, how do I say this shit? Not harsh. You know what I'm saying? There is no way. Not like an abusive husband. I wrote down gauntlet thrown because there is no nice way to say that. You're just going to have to get your head around it. Yeah.

You're just going to have to deal with it. It's essentially like that's all it means. Get your pretty little head around it. Every once in a while, Fogelman will drop one in there. And I'll fast forward real quick. Season three, when Beth is talking about her dreams of becoming a dancer and whatnot, and he's like, you know, why don't we just put a pin in that? And I was like, but I read it. I'm like, I don't know how America can love me when I say this. Let's put a pin in it.

But this is the other thing about Randall and Beth that is an interesting...

partnership, right? Because Rachel and I have some of this. Rachel is the, whoa, whoa, whoa, let's slow down and think about this and research this and figure out all our options and really mold this. And I am the impulsive, like, you know what the best idea is? This idea. And I've already ordered it and it's on its way. You know, like that type of personality. And there is some of what we know of Randall being

Compulsive. And anxious. Like, is this a good idea? Is it an actual good idea? Or is this just someone trying to fill a gap? Sure. Or to, you know what I mean? Yep. It can seem impulsive. Yeah. Agreed. Agreed. And she tries to slow it all down. And she does a wonderful job of doing exactly that. Because he goes to see mom.

And it's like, you know, I think Beth's having, you know, doubts about- - Second thoughts. - Second thoughts about doing this adoption thing. And he asked like, did you have any doubts about it? And like the moment I saw you, you know, I knew that you were, yeah, we've heard the story. It's all good. But like, for real, for real, what was that like? And you said like in marriage, sometimes someone has to sort of be the person that leads whatnot. And your father was so gung ho as soon as he saw you whatnot. And he sort of just got me on board.

Right. And they introduced me to a perfect stranger. And in that perfect stranger became my heart. One of the loves of my life. That line. Yeah. It was like I wrote down, pushed a stranger on me and that stranger became a child and that child became my life. It was just like, yeah.

Well, if that just doesn't encapsulate it all right there. I felt pretty good. As you said it to me, I was like, oh, mom. And I think that applies to not just adopting children, but having children. Yes. Yeah. There's this side of having children that no one talks about where you're supposed to feel the magic and you're supposed to feel the love and the gratitude and you're supposed to feel all these things. Yeah. And they exist.

But there's this other side of being a new parent, for me anyways, I'll put it to you too. There's this distress, there's this grief, there's this fear over losing yourself, over your old life, over the things you used to be able to do, go, see, whatever the thing was. And there's a bright sadness there.

around the period, the nesting period that Rachel and I both experienced in very different ways. That is a bit of grief that mixes with this overwhelming joy. But nobody wants to talk about the grief side of it. I hear you.

There is, oh gosh, I'm trying to explain it. I feel it most acutely in the beginning when there's crying at night, especially if you have them in another room. If they're in the room, like in the bassinet or something next to you, then it's all right. Okay, somebody just has to reach over and grab the baby. And if you're breastfeeding, you can do the side latch or what have you. But when they move to the crib or whatnot, they're like, oh, somebody's got to go and change this child, feed this child. And it's like,

Should probably be you.

'Cause I'm sleepy. And you're not as sleepy as I am, of course, so why don't you? And it's like, no, no, no, why don't you? And in those particular moments, you're like, oh man, like there's a disturbance to the groove of what was my life. - Sure. - Right? A necessary disturbance to the groove of what most, but you still have to grieve, oh, I used to be able to sleep. - It's the active process of an ego dying. - Yeah.

Trying to like, like the old whatever has to die so that you can, you are no longer the most important thing. Right. And then you figure out how to mature enough to like partner with someone. And so you expand your,

maybe enough to consider two whole human beings. You're like, well, that's a lot. That's very hard to consider two whole human beings. Come on, keep going. And then they keep coming. Yeah, and then they multiply. And then you realize, oh...

there's very little room for consideration and that's not true it's not i haven't even quite figured it out yet obviously because the children are so new but like the the consideration for self is very important because the children need to see that and they need to feel that and you need that as a person but to to truly honestly put these beings before yourself

is a painful process to arrive at. How has it been for you? You're about to do it again. - I'm about to do it again. I mean, I definitely think everyone's experience is so vastly different. And I think men and women are different 'cause like I'm sitting here and I'm literally feeling my child like move around in my body. Like there is a different sense of mourning, of fear, of apprehension, of just this idea of like, can my heart expand?

I know it will in theory, but like...

It's such a foreign concept, even though I've done it twice before. And you just don't know what it's going to look like or how it's going to feel until you're there. And that's it. And so you just have to sort of relinquish that control and recognize like it's all going to unfold the way it's supposed to. You still feel like, I'm curious because, and I don't want to take too much time away from the episode, but I remember feeling that when I had my second one, I was like, I love this first one so much. Oh yeah. Will I be able to love like that again? Yeah.

And it happened. You know what I'm saying? But I was really scared that I wouldn't. I was like, oh, I love this one so much. He's great. And then he came and I was like, okay, I love him too. And you have that feeling still with the third one too. I had a friend who had a son and was like, listen, Chris, I don't love him yet. The baby has arrived. And I'm like, who is this intruder in my home who...

who is on my wife all the time. Yeah. He's just like, and I know I'm not supposed to feel that way. Yeah. But I do. Yeah. And of course, he evolves out of all of that and it turns into this beautiful love affair between the two of them. But it's such an interesting time and it makes it such a...

scary and brave thing to do to say, we should adopt a baby. Yeah. And a brave thing to tell her child, like it really was your father. Your father like was insistent that you were our family. Yeah. And sometimes in marriage, you just have to take that leap. Someone's going to push a little harder and someone's going to just follow. And then that was the case with

with Jack and Rebecca and Randall. And then it's, you know, she's like, I cannot even begin to imagine my life without this choice. - Right. - Yeah. - We'll be right back with more "That Was Us."

Ryan and I have lots of plans for this holiday. We want to take the boys home to St. Louis to visit our families. We want to go down to Disney World and have a good time. We may even hop down to the Caribbean. So there's going to be a lot going on. It's going to be a little crazy. It's going to be a little hectic. It's going to be a lot awesome. Amazing.

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Tile trackers. I've got these tile trackers on everything. I've got them on my car keys. I've got them in my cars. I've got one of them stuck in a wallet. Different traveling bags, my kids' backpacks, they're everywhere. Everything that I care about, I am tracking with tile trackers. I like to think that anything that helps me reduce stress is priceless. Tile stands out because unlike other trackers, it won't tip off thieves with notifications. So whether you're tracking your keys, wallet, or something else important, just ring your tile

And use your Life360 map to find it in no time. And keep tabs on your loved ones, too. Family-proof your family with Life360's Tile trackers. Visit Tile.com today and use code TWU to get 15% off. That's Tile.com, code TWU. So that dovetails into Randall coming back home to talk to Beth.

And because you say there's no such thing as a perfect marriage or whatever, but your dad was pretty great. He's about as great as they come. And I go home to talk to my wife and I say, hey, I just went to go talk to my mom. And, you know, she said there's no such thing as a perfect marriage. But on that, I have to disagree with her. I think Beth said something like, I didn't know that was allowed. You get these little snippets from her, from Toby, from Miguel about like,

The view from outside the Pearsons. Yes. What it really looks like. Yes, yes, yes. And he winds up telling her, like, look, I love my parents. They're great. But I don't want that relationship. I want a partnership where nobody's following each other, but we reach places together. And if I can't...

get you to that place on, you know, through talking to you or whatnot, then maybe we have to readjust together, you know, because we are perfect and we are perfectly imperfect, right? The way in which we fit together. And Beth just says, can I show you something? And he's like, sure. And as they're walking out, she says, you know, perfectly imperfect, huh? I like that. She's, I love, I love Sue. Sue is wonderful.

So sexy. Yeah. Especially when she's frustrated with you. There's something about the way she looks at you and the way she handles you. Yeah. It's pretty great. And so then she winds up bringing me to William's spot. She wound up getting poems for my son bound in leather, wishing me a happy birthday. It's a beautiful gift.

And she says, "If we're gonna do this, why don't we take a chance on someone that sort of society, the system is sort of left behind and cast aside. Let's get an older child and we can leave an imprint on someone who maybe no one else is giving a chance to." And Randall's looking around and he's sort of left in contemplation of that idea.

Let's go to... Kate and Toby? Let's go to Kate and Toby. Go. So Kate is preparing to audition for, what was it, like the 13th largest cover band? 17th? On Yelp or something. Yes. And so she's really excited. She puts on an outfit. Toby is, in typical Toby fashion, hilarious in his compliments of... Swing. Swing. There was a lot of swinging going on.

And then Kevin- I knew the writers wanted me to give it like the proper- Swing. And I just couldn't. Right. It was just a- They wanted a Wayne's World and you sort of went under. I gave it a nice swing. A respectable- A respectable swing. Pardon me, ma'am, but swing. I bought it. I loved it. As Boots are being prepared to be knocked-

Kev has a spare key and comes into the house like, hey, what's up guys? Happy birthday! Because Sophie's not going to be able to fly out. She couldn't make it for some reason or another. Her mom. Her mom has MS and had an episode and she had to be there with her. That's right. Sophie's not going to make it out for the birthday. Yeah. But...

you know, Kevin and Kate and Toby had plans. They had plans. And Toby's like, well, will we still be able to go out on the double date with each other? Because Toby thinks, oh, maybe this can just be a solo date. Yeah. And the twins look at each other like, are you kidding me, man? It's still our birthday. What are you talking about?

And this is like the first, I mean, there's been some of it through season one. Yeah. But like a real, all right, Toby's sticking around. Yeah. And this is the third wheel situation. This is a good, this is one worthy of exploration because I think there are a lot of couples that

that have been guilty of introducing or allowing a third party into their relationship without the permission necessarily of their partner. A friend. It can be a friend, whomever that person is, and sort of like being cognizant of that. Because for them, they're like, this is just who we are. For both of them, it feels as natural as anything else. And then here's this other person, here you are being like,

I'm supposed to be this person now. Yeah, yeah. To you. Which you articulate a little later on. Because now we go, he gets this sushi restaurant. We're at the best sushi restaurant in town. We arrive, it's empty because he's bought out the entire restaurant. Fuck the whole restaurant. And he is- The three people. And he is being inappropriate all the time.

With the chef. With the chef. He said he's on Iron Shepherd. Top Shepherd. The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race. Something like that. Oh, Kevin. Just the kind of dismissiveness of the rich and famous. By the way, Justin has part ownership, I think, in a sushi restaurant. Yeah, you're right. And it only seats 12 people. And I just wonder, I feel like Dan just listens to everything that people say, so that he just sort of puts it in the show. Dan knows. He's like, that's too good to go.

Yeah, yeah. There is a part of Justin that is Kevin. There is a total part of it. Justin will tell you, when he bought his house, he's like, I just want everything to come to me. If I don't have to leave this complex, it would be perfect. Very Kevin. Very Kevin. And so they're just talking. What is it that sort of sets Tobes off in this particular moment? Because they're vibing with each other in a way that's sort of like you're almost relegated to the sideline.

And you wind up speaking up. And I'm just trying to remember what the inciting- It's because she had told- Thank you. She finally admits to Toby that she did not, in fact, go to this audition. Right. Because Kate goes to the audition and she sees that there are a bunch of size two, beautiful whatever singers there. And she loses her nerve. They have a flashback to the swimming pool too. Yes. Right. She's like, I'm not getting this gig. Why am I going to waste my time? I'll go meet you guys at dinner. So she-

tells toby and then toby finds out that she has already told correct kevin that's what and that's the the kind of you know what you two yeah i'm out of here yeah and then the two of you you and kev wind up having this conversation kev follows me outside yeah and we essentially have what you were just talking about which is like listen man i know that she is your person right but

I am now her person. Yeah. And obviously I will never be her brother. Yeah. But there are certain, you know, relation, relational responsibilities that a romantic partner. Sure. Is, is required. Yeah. For. And, and Kev sort of in, in, in his sort of like to articulate his point is like, look, man,

I'm not a very good actor, he says. I'm not very good at many things. Like, I have to work and struggle to make it to wherever it is. But when it comes to being her brother, I never had to really work at that. Like, we are each other's person. And to which you say, like, cool, but I'm here now. Yeah. Right? And you have to do something there. And so then Kate overhears this. Oh, no, because there's this, like, look, maybe she just needs a break from that. And she's like, no, she doesn't need a break. She needs to be pushed. Like, she needs to, like...

be encouraged. You say push, but to be pushed to go out and sort of like, she has talent. She should be sharing with people. So she overhears this and she's like, I don't need to be coddled. I don't need to be pushed. I'm a grown woman. I know how to do this thing for myself. And so she winds up going back to the audition. Like screw both of you guys. Yeah. You know what?

I'm going to go back and I'm just going to at least try. Don't follow me. And then I think, I'm confused. Were you going to follow or are you just going to go home? No, we follow her. You do follow her. Because she takes the car. Right. And he's got his car. And I'm like, don't. I don't know how to open the door. Don't follow her.

essentially saying to him, and he runs to get in his car to follow her. I'm like, she was my ride. So I'm now trying to get into his, I don't even remember what it was, some Audi sports supercar. We cut to her at the audition, and she's like, look, I'm sorry. I lost my nerve before, but I want to come in and I want to sing. She's like, great. What do you want to sing? The guy's, what do you want to sing? She's like,

She names the song. You guys know the song. Nothing compares to you. Nothing compares to you. So great. Come on. Two, three, four. And she's like, can I warm up? So she starts singing. She sounds great. You know what I'm saying? It was like she didn't get a chance to warm up or anything like that. And he goes...

Here's like a couple of bars. Great, thank you. And she's like, no, I'm not gonna let you dismiss me like that. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm not gonna just let you look at me because I don't look like one of these skinny broads over here or whatnot. Like I know my worth. I know my value. I'm gonna stay here. And she goes, whatever her name is, I can't remember. It's like, come sing, nothing compares to you. And this chick just blows. Like,

blows not in a bad way like her voice comes out and it's just like oh yeah she can sing she can sing and she's like look you haven't been doing anything these girls have been doing open mics for so long you can't just come in you have something but you need to go ahead and get yourself into practice right and she's like huh so she comes out and finds the fellas who are waiting outside for her and she's like nah it's not gonna go any farther

But she's like, you know, it wasn't because of my size. And it's something I need to be better. And they're like, no, no, no. She's like, no. It's good that I need to be better because that's something that I can do. I can work on that. I can get better. And so they leave it at that. Is that the end of that? I believe it is. Okay. Let's delve into Jack and Rebecca. Real quick, before we get into another storyline. Go, please. I can't remember if I've told my versions of these on this podcast, but do you two have...

Any regrets in your life? Anything you've backed out of, missed out on because of fear or doubt? Like, do you think back and you're like, I can't believe I didn't take that opportunity. I can't believe I didn't. Gosh, there's nothing that comes top of mind. I'm sure there absolutely has been. Most of them have to do with like being a young person.

afraid to talk to women. Okay. Being like very, very scared. And so like, honestly, when I talked to Andrew, who I recognize has like a similar sort of reticence, I was like, just say hi. Yeah. You don't have to put a lot on it. You don't have to make it mean like this may not be your wife or anything like that, but like don't rob yourself of an experience because you're afraid to say hi. Right. That's true.

Sure. For me. Sure, sure, sure. Yeah, yeah. What about you? I mean, I just, I related to her experience so much because I've, I've, a big pattern in my life looking back would be low self-worth or self-pity getting in the way and of me thinking clearly. And I mean, up until recently, like, and there are maybe like, there's too many, first of all, like three or four examples in my life where I'm like, I can't believe I'm

that because of that line of thinking that you passed upon that opportunity. And one of them was, I think I've told you the story about going to see John Prine. Yes.

So John Prine, who was a big fan of this show, who we have several songs on his show. I was a huge fan of his. My dad raised me on his music. We met John Prine. We became friendly with John Prine. John Prine and his wife Fiona said, why don't you come to Nashville for New Year's Eve? He's playing the Grand Ole Opry. Come see him. Rachel's pregnant. Babymoon. So we go.

we are sitting backstage on the side of the stage at the grand ole opry watching john prine sing and there's a bunch of people there and at the end of his show someone came over and said all right whoever wants to go sing go on out there and i really

realized maybe they meant me, maybe they meant all of us. Do they mean all of us? But for a second I hesitated and Rach said, "They mean everyone, go ahead, go, go, go." And I said, "No, no, I don't wanna leave you here by yourself. I'll stay here with you." And so I stayed with Rachael inside of the stage because in my head, I thought if I go out on stage, someone is gonna look back and be like, "Not you.

you know what i mean well because i i was kind of i wasn't you know i was on the outside and i now realize and he and the man passed away two months later from covet my i mean it's the musician i've seen the most in my life on stage and we had the opportunity to sing the finale at the at the new year's eve show at the grand ole opry and i missed it because uh because of doubt

and low self-worth. And it's the same type of moment. Just say hi. - Yeah. - Just take that risk.

Yeah. Because I would rather now have been embarrassed and someone been like, no, no, not you. Sure. Which no one ever would have done. Right. Because looking back now, they meant all of us. Yes. Yeah. And I missed out on that opportunity. And there's like three or four of those in my life where I'm like, okay. So it's something I'm working on. I hear you, man. Yeah, it's something I'm working on. Man, you more don't miss stuff, do you? That doesn't happen to you. I don't have regrets about it, but I definitely like, yeah. Yeah.

- Many more times mountains. - I say no. - She's a beast. - No, that's not. - She could probably climb one while she was pregnant. She's just like out of your cup. - No way. - Should we go to the knock, knock, knock scene? - We can go to the knock, knock, but first. - But the stuff before the jump. - But first, remember when Jack tries to get her a gig? It's so cringy. - It's too cringy to even talk about. - I was going to bring this up. - Him walking in, be like, "I'll pay you. "When he says, I'll pay you." I was just like, "I wish this scene wasn't even in the show."

And the guy's like, you're embarrassing yourself and your wife. And your wife. Get out of here. Please leave. I was good. Okay. I think we brought it up. As I'm watching, I wish I'd never had to see Jack Pearson do that. Yeah. Grovel for. But we find out. Can we jump to that scene now? Yeah. At the door? Are we missing anything? I know. We can go to it. We find out that part of the. Wait before you jump to it. Okay. Wait. And then you can jump to it.

because as the kids leave the diner, as they're trying to break the news to him or what have you, Jack reaches for Rebecca's hand. And she's like, "Not ready for that right now." You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't think you can just charm your way back into this thing. Like there's still stuff to be repaired. Right? So I just wanted to say that. - No, of course, of course. - Okay, go ahead. - But one of the things we come to find

Out is part of the reason Jack probably stumbles into a bar midday to offer to pay somebody. Yeah. Because Rebecca shows up at Miguel's. Yep. And says, okay, come home, essentially. Yeah. And he reveals...

that the drinking is more of a problem than he has ever admitted to you or to anyone else. There is, I have a quote back, you don't know everything about me. I'm drunk right now. I have a problem, Rebecca, and I've hidden it from you for a very long time, and I need to get a handle on it before I can walk back into that house. I need to fix this on my own. And he gently, not rudely,

closes the door and we go to black and we go to commercial is that what happens yeah it goes to commercial like we're watching it streaming yes so it like picks right back up that went to commercial yeah and the audience it's like left with like a target ad do you ever have a hard time getting totally

Totally. You're so right. But like the balls on the editing of that. Yeah. Black. Because the next. Because straight back from, that's 25% off from our friends at Quince. You hear knock, knock, knock. And the door opens again. And it's the same Rebecca with a new look on her face. Get in the car. Yeah. Get in the car, Jack.

Like she says it a few different times, right? And she says like, you know, this is, if you're going through something, then we're going through it together. So you're going to get back in this house and we're going to do it together. And she says it a few times, get in the car. This scene, I was like, the warmth and timbre

of Mandy Moore's voice would end conflict in a foreign war. It is. I was just like, such good acting. Yes, such an amazing delivery on the whole thing. But yeah, it's the, oddly enough, nothing is repaired.

But it is the triumphant coming, you know, reunion of these two that we're waiting, I don't know, four or three episodes? Four episodes? No, this is the first. First episode. No, but like the first episode since like... Things have been really off between them. Yeah. And what a way to do that without making it unbelievable or like... Well, because it was still like...

It doesn't erase anything. Nothing's fixed. There is work to be done, but like, we just have to get you home. We have to get you in the car. We have to like do this together. Realistically romantic.

Yes, I agree. Very realistically romantic. It sort of reemphasizes for me love as an action word, not as an idea or a feeling. That's right. You know what I'm saying? It's like we're going to go through some stuff, but if you're going through it, then I guess we're going through it together. That's right. You have not done anything necessarily so irreparable that it means that we...

The thing that we have created with each other and with these beautiful children needs to be thrown away. Yeah. Right? No chasm too deep. Yeah. Yeah. And so then we fast forward. We go, we have kind of a cut from them in the car together.

To Rebecca in the car by herself wearing a Steelers jersey. There you go. There you go. Easter egg. Easter egg. And then they sort of, the camera pans over. Jack's no longer sitting beside her, but there is a plastic bag of his effects. Wallet. Someone's effects. Ring, wallet, like.

And we cut to the kids at Miguel's. Cut to the kids at Miguel's. Yeah, we see Randall and Kate. Incredibly emotional. In tears of wood. And Kate says, we have to find Kevin. He needs to hear it from me. We cut to Kevin who's with Sophie in the woods. He's got a broken leg. And he's on crutches and they're sort of making out there. And Rebecca pulls up and stops the car. And in the blurry background, we see something.

It's a burned out house. And then she just convulses with tears. And a primal scream that the audience will never forget. I screamed so hard and I banged my hand. You see my wedding ring fly off. Are you serious? Yeah. My prop wedding ring. Dan was like, that was so amazing. I was like, what? Metaphoric. I didn't even know what was going on. Yeah, it was just like, I remember we filmed that scene.

The day after I got engaged, not that that matters. Are you serious? Yes. It was just like, it was such a weird confluence of emotions because like personally, I was like just floating on cloud nine. And I'm like, forget that, forget that, forget that, Andy. You're grieving your husband who died. And we had- I mean, you're happy, but imagine if he died. What would that be like? In a fire. At your house.

Or did he die in a fire? We don't know. I know. That was the thing is like we left all these clues for people. Were you guys aware at 201? Like, I think we were all sort of aware. We knew in season one. Yes. What the end game was. We just had to be quiet. We had to be quiet and we had to get there because that's episode 14, I think, of this. Super Bowl episode. Yeah. It's like there's such a. Very quick. Yeah.

I mean, very quick, but also it feels like such a stretch. I mean, very quick into season two where we get to like the big answers. The breadcrumbs, yeah. Right, right, right, right, right, right. It was to hold that secret for such a long time was sort of like,

I won't say fun is the word because people were just so curious. Like they always wanted to know how did it happen? How did it happen? We even do Paley Center events and people were like kind of come in with like their own theories of what happened. And somebody actually got it. And I was like, oh, that's a good one. I remember somebody saying like house fire, something else. And I was like, that could be good. That could be good. But it's sort of like just...

Sort of contextualizes again what these kids have gone through. And then you start still sort of wondering because Kate sees herself as being responsible. So it wasn't him behind the wheel of the car following her advice. So like, what is it about this fire? That has anything to do with her. That has anything to do with Kate. So you're still trying to put things together like that. Yeah. A really interesting way to start off another season. Yeah. You know? Yeah.

I don't know. It's just like, to me, the show just kept growing and evolving and the rules kept being broken or the perception of what the rules should be. Yeah. Like, I loved that. I loved that, like, Dan was always so ambitious. And I feel like most ambitious when seasons started and seasons finished. Agreed. You know? Agreed. Keeps people coming back. Keeps them coming back. Do we have a guest for this episode, gang? We do. Who's joining us? We're going to talk to Mr. Logan Schroyer. Hey!

Yes. We will be back with a chat with young Kevin. That's right. Mr. Logan Troyer. See you in a second. More That Was Us after this short break.

I could talk about my experience with Airbnb because I've been using it since the very beginning. Same. I've used it across three or four different countries. Really? Because when I go somewhere, I want to be comfortable. Yes. I want to have my own space and I want my space to be in the middle of the action. I don't want it to be where all of the hotels are located. Sure, you don't want to be removed from the action. No, I want to be in the city. I want to be amongst the people. Yes. Feel local.

I want to feel like a local. And the best way to do that is to stay in someone's home. I love that. I love that.

While you're away from home and traveling, your home could be an Airbnb. What better way to earn a little extra money or offset some of your other travel expenses? This year, I'm going away for work. I might be gone for six to eight months at a time. And so not only do I need to find the perfect place to stay where I am going, but while I'm gone, I could list my home or our brand new guest house on Airbnb for whoever may be looking for that perfect place to stay. Well said, sir. Listen, when you're on the go a lot,

Or are road tripping with your estranged family members exploring the complicated secrets of your past? Airbnb is a smart choice to make to ensure those trips, no matter how simple or complicated they may be, are as smooth as possible. And your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host. Ladies and gentlemen, a big round of applause for our special guest, Logan Shroyd.

What's up, buddy? How you doing? Good. How you guys doing? Good to be here. We're doing great. We're even better now that we get to look into that handsome mug. Look at the hair. I know. That's without product, ladies and gentlemen. That's just how he wakes up. Just natural. Rolled right out of bed. He's not even awake. This is him sleeping. Can you believe it? This is charming. You've got full stubble now? Does this grow out full? Are you keeping it low on purpose or what? I can.

I can grow it a bit more. It's like, it comes in in different... The mustache isn't as strong, though. I want to get some more mustache. Why don't you just... Give yourself some time. You keep the hair, I'll do the beard, all right? Let me have the beard, okay? Fair enough. I got to have something. You are our first guest for season two of That Was Us. We were just recapping the first episode of season two, in fact, and...

So it's nice to have you join us for a little discussion. It is great. I mean, we can sort of talk broad strokes and then we can talk more specifically about this episode. But I had the pleasure of being your mother for six seasons. And I'm just curious. We had alluded to this in a previous episode, but we shot...

your timeline with other actors who were sort of in between your age and the age of our youngest big three. Yeah. Big little three. And then those parts were recast with you and Niles and Hannah. And I'm just curious, like what that process was.

What you were told, how much you knew about the show, like because the majority of the episode had already been shot and then you guys were brought in and we sort of rejiggered certain pieces. But then moving forward, you were such a pivotal part of the series. So I'm just curious how it all sort of unfolded for you. I pretty much knew nothing, honestly. I got, it was Untitled Dan Fogelman Project. Yep.

episode guest star i believe the story was that they had 24 hours or 48 hours to cast it it was like a really quick turnaround i read i had like four auditions that week too so it wasn't like i this wasn't like my oh my gosh this you know this is it yeah i remember being in the room with josh and thinking like all right that was like that was okay as long as that's good like kind of my bar and he was like what is that wasn't that wasn't good enough like you want to do it again and i was like

No, no, I think that was good. That sounds like Kevin, baby. Yeah, no, that was it. You got it. Yeah, I mean, I got a call the next afternoon, and then it was like fitting that night, fitting that morning. We were on set. I didn't, I didn't, I just assumed we were doing the audition sides. I didn't get the script till that morning on the way to set. Whoa!

I just assumed we were doing the audition sides, which thank God we were. Yeah, I mean, in hindsight, I really could tell there was an extra eye on set because I don't know if you remember, Mandy, but I think it was like all of the execs, a lot of the writers, like everybody was there at Village and it felt kind of like tense or maybe that was just my experience of it. But if I recall, Dan...

Dan wasn't there, but John and Glenn and a lot of other people were there. And it was very like, I think it was very, I was like, this feels like a lot of pressure. I don't know. I recall that. I recall Niles and I doing it and it just like, wasn't really working. And then I think we rehearsed it sideways. Like there was just a lot. What was the first scene? Yeah. What was it?

The first scene was in the bedroom where I'm like throwing the football at him because he's doing his homework late at night and I'm trying to sleep before the big game. And it's the whole thing where I moved to the basement where we change rooms. And yeah, I mean, it was a lot. I had, you know, the brown eyes to match Justin and I have like a rare contact prescription. So I couldn't see because they can't get him in time. So they just put as much in there as they could.

I'm just kind of like... Blind on top of everything. At least you already wore contacts. That's true. Yeah, so that was good. That was good, actually. Yeah. No, that actually helped me a lot because they didn't get... Fun fact, it didn't get the prescriptions in before the football stuff even. So I was throwing all the football. Jeez Louise. I didn't know that. This is baptism by fire, dude. Glamorous. Okay, so in addendum, if I was piggybacking off of that,

Had you, Niles, Hannah, had you guys ever come across each other through work before? Are you all meeting for the first time on the show? And what kind of camaraderie were you able to develop? Was it like a big three for you guys or were you sort of lone wolves? Like how did it develop over time? I can't remember exactly. Niles and Hannah might have crossed paths really briefly. I hadn't crossed paths with them. I remember, I mean, it was such a cool experience.

because it was a one-episode guest star as far as we knew. Milo cued us in. He was like, you guys are going to be here a while. We're like, okay, we don't want to get our hopes up. I don't know what that means. Very mysterious. And it slowly really did build into a camaraderie. And it's such an interesting thing to just... It's a very specific experience to have with people that it's hard to explain to everybody else. Sure, sure. So you kind of have...

that experience. No, we grew immensely close and I mean, yeah, it's what it is on set. And like the material is so bonding. It's like all the stuff that you go through with everybody. It's really nice. But yeah, no, we ate lunch in each other's trailers. Yeah, you guys were especially close. I mean, it was different with the younger version of your characters just because they were children and they had parents and stuff and you guys for the most part were

We're, you know, save for Niles in the beginning. Niles was the only one that was under 18 in the beginning. When we started, yes. You guys just like from my recollection in the midst of sort of trying to

you know, soak in this crazy experience that we were all living kind of in real time of, you know, because I think you guys were introduced in episode seven and maybe the show had just started airing or it was about to start airing. So it's like we all rode this like crested wave together. But I remember you guys always being close and

and like thick as thieves and hanging out with each other on set, off set. Like it was very sweet. It's like you instantly became family or at least that's how it felt from the outside looking in. Do you still get the chance to see each other?

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we just caught up. Miles' birthday was recently. Oh, I love that. Oh, that's great. I caught that dude. I caught him on Instagram. His arms are bigger than mine. Wow, yeah, he's killing it. Was it a birthday party where invitations went out? And I was just got lost in

Yeah, no, no, not at all. It was a small thing. It was a surprise party. It was a very small thing, probably. Don't worry. All right, cool. I'm curious. Obviously, you established that you didn't really know what you were getting yourself into when you got cast on the show. But once you knew you were playing this younger version of Justin Hartley, did you have any...

you know, did you spend a lot of time with him? Did you, were you able to have conversations or did you simply just sort of observe episodes or observe him from afar? I know he caught you outside his house a couple of times, right? Looking in the windows and yeah. There was that restraining order. Yeah, the restraining order made it difficult to like do my research, but I got it done. No. I got it done. Yeah. It was really, it was really cool because, you know, there's a lot of,

You know, I mean, gosh, I'm, like, young on this show. Like, the nerves and, like, really just wanted to do so well. And I remember watching him in kind of... In person a little bit, but especially the episodes and having a conversation with him about it. And he said...

I think the first thing he said was, "This is your character too." - Oh. - Okay. - Wow. - So don't just try to do what I'm doing. Like the writing, I think he also talks about the writing is so good and they do so much of the heavy lifting really. And let it be yours. You know, it's gonna cut, like it's gonna work out. Like you can watch me or whatever, but I want you to know like this is your character. So don't just- - So stop watching me. What did you just stop? Just stop it.

Well, also, when you think about it, so much of what you do informs what he has to do. I mean, you can speak to that. Yeah. I mean, it's this weird sort of synchronicity because you share this character amongst three people, essentially, like young, medium and old or what have you. And it's a testimony to the writing, because when I watch the show, I watch Randall.

You know what I'm saying? Or I watched Kevin, I watched Kate. And like, it's just, you guys were so, I said this to Niles, like, I feel like I'm in such good hands that the character is in such good hands that I don't worry about anything. I just love watching you guys do your thing.

And you, you were so sweet. You still are, even though you're 25 and you're old. But you would be around and you would just sort of watch and you would ask questions and whatnot because you were just really sort of a sponge trying to soak it all up. The experience in total for you, did you feel like, what did you gain from it? I know you'd worked before and whatnot, but what was the process of being on this show for six years? What...

What were you left with? A lot, obviously. One of which I think maybe is the understanding of how to be a professional and really do this and what this means. Yeah.

One of the amazing things that, especially because we shot in LA, I was really blessed with was I was working on This Is Us and I was in my acting studio in my class at the same time. So I was trying stuff in class and then risking it on set. And I was going back and forth to try to just push myself, like do something really difficult in class. And it was so crazy.

cool the synchronicity of how those two things just continued to grow me and I mean I shadowed directors on the show I sat in the writing room I spoke to editors I didn't know what different sized lenses were

So you guys might not remember this, but for Kate's wedding, we had, I think, four cam operators. And when I'm shadowing, trying to understand lens sizes, every setup, I asked every cam op what the lens size was and went back to Village to see what that looked like. Good for you.

That's amazing. Yeah. So I learned it. I mean, it was like, I looked at it a little bit like my college film school experiences. That's kind of how I approached it. When I watched episode one of season two, every single person on screen is different.

Everybody has now come back to a hit TV show. Well, you came back with the beard. Yes. All of that. But what I mean is there's an ease in the characters. There's an at-home feeling, especially with the three of you. And I was just telling Mandy before we hopped on the phone with you that this was the first episode where I saw the link between you and Justin. Like...

like you had gotten close enough in the timeline where i was like oh there's the there's the connection right there's no more little boy and there's no more grown men like yeah like this is the this is the transition point and it was really it's really beautiful and it's and it shows across everybody like every i think everybody's the relationships are a little easier like the the the way we live in our clothing is a little more at ease but but i'm wondering for you

If you felt that, or if you felt that at any point in season one, or when you settled in. Did you feel that shift? Did you feel a shift? I never got there. Some people don't. Yeah. Took Sterling six seasons. You know, it's funny. I think there's something to it, but also...

you know, what's interesting is people will come up to me a lot, even in the later seasons. And they would say your mannerisms, you, you did all the manners. And I'm like, I kind of did. I, I, there's like a one big one. He kind of like moves with his nose a bit. He kind of does. But, um, other than that, like just embodying it, uh,

wholeheartedly you know um that i feel like there was a uh something there i think by that point i was a series regular so i think there was a little bit more of like oh that helps yeah here we're gonna do this job security that's different than like one episode you know so uh yeah i think i think so but i i remember i just remember like

all the feelings and even my season three and four, sometimes I'd be in the makeup trailer, just like, oh my gosh. And I'm just like, I need to settle. Like it's so exciting and I just love it all. But that's like, yeah, I have a question for you. So in this particular episode, we see, uh, blurry figures at Jack's funeral. And I think like through other context clues, we've come to understand, um,

actually through Justin, I believe, that Jack passed away when the big three were teens. Yeah. So we know that that leaves you and Hannah and Niles to sort of like carry the load of that storyline. And I'm curious because there was so much mystery around that.

Jack's death and his passing and so many questions and stuff. Were you privy to any of that or were you as in the dark as most of us were? I think Milo or you would maybe tell me some things here and there. Yeah, we would love you in. I learned from you guys to ask makeup trailer, Zoe and everybody, about the episodes to come because they get them first. So I learned that down the road, but...

Yeah, no, I don't think I knew much at all. I mean, at that point, obviously, we knew that I was at the funeral, so I started to think about what to build some. But we also see in this episode that you are making out with Sophie in the woods, so you're not in Miguel's house with Kate and Randall. Yeah. He's making the bed, and there's a mysterious redhead there with...

With Randall. Everybody's crying. So we've come to assume that like...

something is transpired but you're not there it's really interesting again how they sort of like shuffle the deck of cards and don't let everybody in on what's going on give them a little bit at a time exactly a little bit at a time but it must have been it must have been a clear indication that you'd just been given an emotional raise on the show like oh oh this is gonna be on us this is yeah this is gonna be on the three of us okay here comes season two yeah

I do remember. I also remember Milo showing up to the first funeral set because I think he likes the idea of being at his own funeral. He came and took pictures, remember? I was like, this is so dark. Of course he did. He was haunting us. That's right.

I do have a question because so much of the history of the relationship between Randall and Kevin rests on you and Niles. And we get a chance to play out the after effect of a childhood that was lived. But you guys sort of get a chance to really embody that tension. Like, was there... I'm sure, and I know you guys were buddies or whatnot, but just talk to me a little bit about...

like some of the douchier things that Kev has to do to his little brother and what it was like to sort of like live in it. You know what I'm saying? Like we just watched it at the end of season one where Randall's having a panic attack and you're like standing, you're about to go into the shower and you see him having a panic attack and you're like...

he'll be all right. And you keep going into the shower. You do a lot of those things. There's arguments and stuff when they're sort of vying for who's the alpha of the house. I'm just curious, was it fun to play? Was it difficult? Was it both? It's fun. It's difficult. It's interesting because I remember there's this scene about the watch. We're really going at it in the church for the reception, I believe, of the funeral. And

I mean, it's still tense in between takes. Yeah. Like he's my guy, but if there's an energy that's, but you just let that kind of ride out. Uh, and I guess trust that you really know somebody and that it's like, it's okay. Cause we know what we're doing. Um, but no, it's fun. I mean, for me, I'd like, I learned to embrace it a bit more, but I would read the scripts and I would just like, why, why, why am I the bad guy? Yeah.

I gotta freaking get behind this now. I gotta justify. Yeah. I mean, the first really big thing which didn't make the show, and I'm assuming that you guys are talking about all this kind of stuff. Sure, sure. The stuff around his blanket that he was left with the fire station. Yeah! I don't remember that. But originally, because of the...

arguing we had before the game i like cut it or something yes oh my god cut that out i forgot about that because it made me way too much of a villain they watched it they were like oh he's too much this guy's a prick yeah we can't we can't show that reel it in reel it in yeah there's also and because of that also there was a there's a really good moment that didn't make it where

Niles and Hannah are on the sideline of the game. And he says something like, I'm going to take it from him. She's like, stop. What are you doing? The scout is here to see him play. You don't care about football. And he says, I'm going to take it from him. And then he sacks me and the whole thing. That's when you hurt yourself. Do you hurt yourself on that tackle? That game, I don't think I get hurt. It happens later, which is why when Jack passes away, he has the...

Got it, got it, got it. It's interesting because there's a fine calibration of like, what can you come back from? You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And like what is going too far type of thing. So I get it. And it's also, you do such a great job. And I just saying this to all of our listeners, you are one of the nicest young men that I've had the pleasure of being in the presence of. So I always think it's really interesting when you see

Naturally kind people have to be sort of like unkind. It's not the easy thing to pull off. - It's not an easy sell. - It's not. - You killed that joint, man. You killed it. - Yeah. - For real. - Yeah, I don't know if you listen to the podcast in general, but we spend, and if you don't, please do rate and subscribe. We spend a lot of time praising you and your siblings. Your contribution to the show is just incredible, man. - Yeah.

that means a lot there's a lot coming from you guys really i mean we listen we try so hard i mean you nail it time after time after time yeah it really is a testament to you guys the three of you that you know we we love these characters we follow these characters as wholeheartedly as we do yeah you you guys just like you never showed up to set unprepared

You just like you were so professional. You guys were always the best to work with and you made it so easy to love you and to root for you. You know? Yeah, we had a lot of good times. We really did. Beautiful work, man. A lot of dinner scenes. A lot of dinner scenes. I would come watch some dinner scenes from time to time. It was fun to see what was going on in the past. It was fun to sort of like get to play with you guys of like, okay, who's going to eat what?

Like, are we just going to eat like a couple bites of salad? Are we going to eat the bread? You know, we all trained ourselves very well to like...

just stick with the things that you weren't going to get sick of because you were going to be there all day. To the public at large, eating on screen, there's an art to it. There is an art. Oh, yeah. You remember the turkey leg thing, Mandy, with Niles? Never forget it. What happened with the turkey leg? Share. Thanksgiving, right? Yeah, well, he, you know, he ate raw turkey. He wanted to go for it one of the nights and he just took a huge chunk off one and it was raw under there. Yeah. And we just couldn't get over it, honestly. Because it's disgusting. Yeah.

And he kept frying. I don't know. I don't eat those. And Milo made the mistake many a time, too, like just like overeating something and then he had to commit to it. Remember that? It was like some sort of vegan dish again on some dinner scene. And he had to eat like the whole plate of it every single take. I was like, you know better than that, Milo. Come on.

Real quick before we ask you what else you're up to and where people can find you and support you today. What is on your arm? A tattoo? Yeah. You know, it really looks like a This Is Us tattoo. You can give it a little nod. I know. I'm sorry. It's not. It's like one of my friends got a one. One got a two. I got a three. And we all kind of...

meetings like three holy spirit trinity you can sure but also big three i don't know exactly many many meetings i just wanted to for people who are watching us on youtube i'm sure i've seen your arm a couple times just wanted you to uh to call it out there yeah

Okay, so now that you've done that, have you been up to anything lately? Can people check you out anywhere? If so, please let us know where. There actually might be, but I don't know if I'm allowed to say it yet. Well, then tell people where they can find you on social media and they can watch that. So we can follow along. There you go.

yeah on instagram at logan underscore schroyer just just my name and yeah got some some stuff going nice i don't know talked about it much the industry isn't such a strange crazy it is that is correct yes it's been a really interesting navigating time but it gives a lot of time for life too which is some of us got into podcasting yeah

When times are weird, you know, just lean into a new medium. Lemons, lemonade. That's what we do. Brothers, it was so great to see you. So good to see you, Logan. Look forward to seeing you in person. Hopefully you can come back later when we get into more Kevin specific episodes. Yeah, we'd love to have you back. Pick your brain.

I'd love to. And you guys said some really nice stuff about me. I mean, I couldn't say more things about you guys. You could, though. We have time. We have time if you want to. Start with Sterling. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. We love you, man. We love you. It really is true, though. I mean, you guys, like, I almost...

What I wanted to say when you asked me what I learned is I learned from example from you guys. From this show and how you embraced us and the community that's talked about so much, the family. I really was walking up to you guys and just like, hey, can I ask you a question? Not trying to bug everybody, but you guys are all so warm. I'm just trying to soak up as much as I could. You guys really, really...

I don't know, just great people and great work. And I just had my eyes wide open for six years, it feels like. Well, right back at you. You're the best, Logan. Thanks for coming to talk to us, man. Of course, thank you for having me. It's really, really good to see you guys. Talk to you later, buddy. We are back, ladies and gentlemen, with our fan segment, spotlighting a fan and her adoption story. It's about that time.

Now, there's a lot that went down in today's episode of A Father's Advice, but at the heart of the episode is the message William has for his son. It's better to have loved and lost. And while Randall and William only had a little bit of time together before William passed, they were both so happy to have reconnected all those years later.

Which obviously made a big impact on Randall and Beth, because in this episode, we see them explore adoption and fostering. That's right. So for today's fan segment, we are going to read a letter from Keely, who shared her own adoption story. I'm going to start this letter, but somebody's going to pick up for me. And you can popcorn me in for any Gen Xers. So here we go.

Hello, That Was Us crew. That's us. That is us. I've been meaning to write this letter since episode one of the podcast.

I love the show and I'm enjoying rewatching along with you. Thank you for bringing the show back in this way and for giving us your insightful and sometimes hilarious perspectives week after week. - Sometimes. - Whether anyone sees this or this message ever sees the light of day remains to be seen, but it has been cathartic for me to write it for you. - Yeah, no longer remains to be seen. - We see you. - It's been seen. - I identify with so many characters on the show.

While some were a slower burn, like Rebecca and her journey through motherhood and Kate's self-image struggles, I identified with Randall's story right out of the gate. I was adopted at birth, and while I remember knowing that all my life, I didn't know my biological parents until much later in life.

The scene with Randall going up to the supermarket asking total strangers if they can roll their tongues was so funny, but it was also very real. I can remember as a young girl walking through a Target with my mom and asking out loud, I wonder if my birth mom is in here right now.

The curiosity of my origins persisted, but old school adoption records are sealed and it can be challenging for adoptees of that time to find anything out. I tried here and there over the years, but never very seriously. Finally, when I was pregnant with my first son, I turned to a website that helps adoptees and bio parents reconnect. Very long story short, I was connected with my biological mother.

Turns out she very well could have been in that target when I was a child. She lived mere miles away from me and knew precisely what I was talking about when I told her the neighborhood where I grew up. How crazy. Wow. What's more is I always knew that there were some ethnic differences between my siblings and I. One who was also adopted and one was quote unquote homemade. Uh,

I would get real, real tan in the summers while one of my brothers would just burn up and peel endlessly. I was also eventually reconnected with my bio father and found out that my paternal grandmother is from Mexico. That fact unfortunately played a role in my adoption. I discovered that my bio mother's family didn't approve of her being involved with my bio father because his family was Hispanic. Wow.

While I myself have not knowingly been the target of racism, racism played a large role in my life, being one of the big factors resulting in my adoption. A few years after being reconnected, my biomother suddenly passed away. I was driving to work one morning and received a call from a number I didn't recognize, but something told me to answer it. It was her husband calling to inform me that she had very suddenly collapsed and never recovered.

I was absolutely heartbroken, but I couldn't articulate why I still can't. We spoke every few months and sent emails here and there. I always thought we'd have more time to build on our relationship. Was I mourning a relationship?

That wasn't to be? Was I mourning something I had built up in my head and didn't exist? I don't know. But I do know I'm very blessed to have gotten to know her and to have many, many questions answered.

This is why the episode Memphis with William's story and eventual death really sticks with me. As I rewatched it, old feelings from my bio mother resurfaced and it ended with me blubbering like a baby on our couch. For real guys, straight up ugly crying.

So much so that I went into my now 15-year-old son's room and told him, I just watched a really sad episode of This Is Us and needed a giant hug. The relationship between William's mom and him was also breathtaking, but this message is already long enough, so I'll have to save that for another time. This Is Us gave voice to the normalcy of adoption. Families come together in various ways, and it's not always the traditional way.

I would tell my friends when growing up that I was adopted in a matter of fact way, just like I was telling them my favorite color. They would get wide eyed and either be apologetic or say, oh, that sucks. But to me, it was normal and no big deal at all. My parents and family are wonderful and I'm so blessed to have them and wouldn't change anything about my life.

It was really great to see something play out on TV that resembled all of the curiosities of not knowing as a child, elation upon finding answers to many questions, and eventual heartbreak of mourning a relationship that could have been. Thank you for making the show and now bringing it back through the podcast. Love the show. Love you guys. All my best.

Oh, Keely. Keely. Thank you for that message. Thank you for your vulnerability and sharing your story. Again, guys, like we've said it before, you think you're making a show for people's entertainment and sort of give them a departure from life for a second, you know, but like, I think we were all blessed to do something that was more than just entertainment. Yeah. Helping people.

put a mirror up. Yeah. Letting people see themselves. Absolutely. And what a gorgeous story because, you know, I have a little brother and little sister who are adopted or whatnot. And I don't, I hope nobody feels it's, it's, it's what their, their life is and whatnot. And they have relationships with their, their biological parents, their biological mother, what have you, but they have a good life.

Keely had a good life. Yeah. Yeah, she has a great life. She has a great life, you know, and it's, like you said, Mandy, when people get a chance to see themselves because sometimes that story isn't always told and isn't told in a way that you can relate to or what have you, but,

God, how affirming to know that like, you're not alone. - You're not an anomaly. - You know, other people have gone through what I'm going through and there's like, sort of like normalcy and like, oh, I'm regular in my own way. I may be unique, but I'm not like abnormal. I'm regular. - That's right. Thank you so much for your letter, Keely. We love getting them.

We received that through our email. That was uspod at gmail.com. That's right. And send us anything you want to send us. Yeah. I mean, not any. Hold on now. Hold on. Wait, wait, wait. Let me back up. You know what I meant. There you go. First of all. Yeah. Second, yeah, we want to hear about how you relate to the show, what you'd like to hear more of from us.

specific questions if you have them um you can also leave us a voicemail yep if you want yep you can on the um on the emotional support hotline they're looking at me because i'm supposed to have the phone number i can't find it hold on

Hold on, Chris might have it. Hold on. It's probably right there at the end of the letter. I know it's 401. No, is it 412? No, it's 401. Wait, we'll see. We'll see. When Chris finds it. You might be right. I think I am. But I can't remember the other seven digits. Listen, you guys, all you got to do is call 412. That was a total Aries thing that just happened right there. 501.

3028. That's the emotional support hotline. We are here to support you. You definitely support us. You can support us by spreading the word. Rate, review the podcast. Five stars. Leave a nice review. It really, really helps us in the rankings and to be able to continue to do this. We love doing it and we hope you love hearing it. We love doing it. I love sitting with you guys. It's an absolute joy. It's always the best. Thank you. Thank you for agreeing to say yes. Thank you all for watching and listening. We'll see you next time.

That was us. Hi, friends. We are back with another installation of the Retread segment. Retread is brought to you by Peloton. Find your push. Find your power with Peloton. On this episode...

It was the opening of season two. I was just about to give birth to my daughter, Lou, and I was nervous and just talking about all of the anxiety and excitement around the birth of baby number three. The flip of that is also, too, during the episode, you had just got engaged. Is that right? Yes. That's right. Yeah. So the very end of this episode, we saw...

the house. It was sort of like right after Jack passes away and we look and see the house for the first time and that it had burned down. And so that was like a big clue. And in real life, I had just gotten engaged the day before. So I had to like,

sort of justify all of these different emotions that were sort of pouring through me. The grief of being an actor on stage and on screen and losing my husband, you know, modulating that. Losing a husband. Gaining a husband. Gaining a new husband. We talked about that. Not telling Chris about any of that because he and John Huertas will ruin it on a red carpet somewhere. Yeah.

Yes, you guys, we talked about the fact that you went and spilled the beans that Taylor and I had gotten engaged. We got tricked. Had you not said it already? We hadn't said it publicly. We had said it to you guys. Oh, look, you told us. And there was like a paparazzi picture. Yeah. Crazy. And they tricked me and John into being like, yeah.

In this episode and on the podcast, we talked to Logan for the first time. We talk about his audition process. Yeah. And the fact that Milo was present during the funeral scenes. We sort of flashed to Jack's funeral in this episode. And it was off-putting to all of us that Milo was there taking pictures on the day. The ghost of Jack Pearson photographing his own wedding. Yeah, it was good times. Yeah. 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.