Recaps
THIS IS US: Goodbyes and Connections; Rebecca Passes Away in Penultimate Episode

Tuesday night’s penultimate episode of This Is Us, brought the long-anticipated moment in the lives of the Pearson family, when their mother, Rebecca (Mandy Moore, the matriarch, the heart and soul of the family, dies due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. And, if come Emmy time, after all of the performances she gave this season, Mandy Moore, does not take home the Lead Actress in a Drama Series prize, something is amiss in the awards system.
That said, here we go. I hope those who followed the Pearsons journey over six seasons had the hankies nearby for this. In story, the focus was Rebecca’s passing, while meeting a new family, and then as viewers trying to figure out how this interconnects throughout the episode; something the show has stayed true to throughout its run; with a payoff of how they tell a themed-story when the sum of its parts is revealed.

Courtesy/NBC
As Rebecca takes her final turn on this earth, everyone is notified the end is near and to say their goodbyes. While Randall (Sterling K. Brown) and Kevin (Justin Hartley) were present, Kate (Chrissy Metz) was in London trying to get back to her mom. She then receives a devastating call from her brothers that Rebecca is running out of time.
When Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) goes to say her goodbye to Rebecca, in tears, she tells Rebecca that she does not have to worry. She will take good care of her son, Randall. While the family is gathered and trying to just hang and be with each other through tragedy, when all the noise stops and everyone leaves for the night, it’s just brothers Kevin and Randall who go sit with their mother in heartbreaking and realistic scenes for anyone who has gone through the death of a loved one due to this horrific disease.

Courtesy/NBC
To illustrate what is going on in the mind of Rebecca in her final hours, a younger version of herself is on a train, which brings into play how she loved train rides with her own father years ago. Taking her to the afterlife, Rebecca is guided through the cars by none other than William (Ron Cephas Jones). She also spends time having a drink with the bartender, who turns out to be the doctor (Gerald McRaney) who saved her life and delivered her children. He recounted that fateful night, when Rebecca lost one of her triplets. As Rebecca and William get to the caboose, back in the present, it’s morning.
Now, Rebecca is still alive but waiting for someone, which, of course, is her daughter, Kate. As Randall and Kevin look on, an emotional Kate arrives and runs to her mother’s bedside, and holding Rebecca’s hand, tells her how much she loves her. Cutting back to Rebecca’s journey on the train, she says to William, “This is quite sad, isn’t it, the end?” Willam replies: “That’s not the way I see it, if something makes you sad when it ends, it must have been pretty wonderful when it was happening. You will see that the end is not sad, Rebecca, it’s just the start of the next incredibly wonderful thing.”

Courtesy/NBC
It’s then, that Rebecca lets go and passes away with the Big Three all at her bedside. Back to the train, Rebecca goes to the caboose lays down on a bed, and is met, in bed, by her beloved Jack (Milo Ventimiglia). In the present, Randall had whispered to his mom shortly before his death, “You tell him, hey”, and so when Rebecca lays down next to Jack, she says “hey”.
The other element to the episode was the new family we had never met before. After a car accident, one of the sons, Marcus. is taken to the hospital in critical condition. In the present, we think Marcus is the grown-up boyfriend of Deja, especially after she reveals to Randall that she is pregnant.
In the flashback, Marcus’ father, Kenny played by Dulé Hill, bumps into Jack at a vending machine at the hospital and we realize we are back in time when Jack went to the hospital following the Pearson family home fire. Turns out, that Jack and Marcus were being treated by the same doctor, Dr. Spencer (Bill Irwin). While Marcus survived after flatlining, that is when Jack suddenly didn’t, and died. We later learn Malik turns out to be Deja’s baby daddy and boyfriend, and Marcus grows up to become a top researcher in Alzheimer’s disease and wins an award for his accomplishments. The person who handed him the award was none other than This Is Us director and executive producer, Ken Olin.
So, what did you think of the penultimate episode of This Is Us? Did you reach for the hankies? Comment below.
It was such a beautiful and emotional episode. The train journey was absolutely brilliant. It was wonderful to see William again and the children throughout their lives. I was in tears most of the time. Seeing Rebecca finally reunited with Jack was wonderful. They’ve taken every drop of emotion from us already. I can’t imagine what the finale will be. As always, bravo to everyone who brought us this wonderful series.
Brilliant! Mandy Moore deserves every accolade and award for her poignant performances this season.
The absolute best Acting and Writing, just an amazing show – ever.
Recaps
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Aunt Jordan Escapes Through a Vent

Wednesday’s November 29th episode of The Young and the Restless, served to set-up story for months to come and revealed its ultimate purpose for fans of the long-running daytime drama series.
In the end, the takeaway was: Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) lives to see another day and will come back to terrorize the Newmans (Giving viewers Sheila Carter-vibes, who gets away with everything), Claire (Hayley Erin) is left unraveled and misguided, which upon investigation could lead her to be forgiven by Victoria (Amelia Heinle), Cole (J. Eddie Peck) and the rest of the family and eventually welcomed into the family as “Eve”, and puts Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), the way many viewers like to see her … battling the bottle.
To get to those points, here’s what went down: After Jordan slashed Nick (Joshua Morrow) with a knife, and he tumbles down the stairs, he is bleeding out and Cole and Victoria try to help him through being poisoned along with Victor (Eric Braeden) and Nick.

Courtesy/CBS
Upstairs, Victor who had found Nikki, sees Jordan with a bloody knife. He shouts at her to put the knife down. Jordan fires back, “Put the knife down? You’re giving me orders, Victor Newman, after what you did to my sister?!” Victor argues that her sister tried to kill Nikki!
Going on about Claire and raising her, Jordan seethes “I loved her. I gave her guidance. I gave her purpose.” Victor says, “You turned that girl into a monster.” Jordan gloats as the poison is taking effect and Victor will die shortly.
Downstairs, Claire is shocked and panicked. Victoria pleads with her to help them. Claire laments how this, “wasn’t supposed to be this way,” and how her goal was to hurt them emotionally as she waited 20 years for Victoria to admit how she left her as a child and never looked backed. Claire did all this with Aunt Jordan to hear Victoria say that she’s sorry.

Courtesy/CBS
Victoria says that she is sorry. She is sorry for the lies Jordan told her and the ways she was raised with so much hate. A gut-wrenched Victoria says, that she and Cole loved their baby, and when she died they were devastated.
Victor makes his move on Jordan as he and Nikki escape the upstairs bedroom and lock Jordan in it. Victoria cries when Victor brings Nikki downstairs. Claire asks where her Aunt Jordan is. And in the line of the episode, Victor says, “Who cares about that bitch!” Victoria pleads with Claire to turn this situation around for herself, and to save everyone, and she will help her. Cole promises that as well.
Claire walks to the drawer containing their phone, and pulls out vials containing the antidotes to the poison they drank. Nick struggles to get to his phone and calls 911.

Courtesy/CBS
A confused Cole ask Victoria if their baby Eve is dead. She confirms, “Our baby, Eve, is dead.” Claire just sits and cries. Eventually, the paramedics arrive where they handcuff Claire. When the Newmans ask if the cops located Aunt Jordan, they tell them they searched the house and she is nowhere to be found.
As Claire’s is being led out by the cops, she says she doesn’t really know who she is anymore and, “I’m sorry.” Victor says she’s nuts likes her aunt. As everyone is being led out of the house, the camera pans up to an air vent revealing Aunt Jordan’s eye glaring and watching. We fade to black.
So, what did you think of this episode? Will Claire be confirmed to be Eve? Will Jordan devise another plot to destroy the Newmans given we know Colleen Zenk is still taping at Y&R? Will Nikki drink herself into a stupor very shortly? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
Dancing with the Stars
DANCING WITH THE STARS: Semi-Finals Conclude with A Shocking Twist

Talk about giving people a near heart attack! After a night of high level competition from the remaining celebrity contestants and their pro partners, the ‘semi-finals’ edition of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars featured a jaw-dropping ending.
This week saw each couple tackling two all-new dances; one ballroom-style routine and one Latin-style routine. Marvel star Xochitl Gomez topped the leaderboard after two rounds of competition with pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy. Xochitl and Val scored a perfect 60 points from the judges performing a samba to Gloria Estefan’s “Samba’ and then a stunning waltz to Lady Gaga’s “La Vie en Rose”.
Following the waltz, judge Derek Hough became emotional and was moved to tears telling Xochitl and Val that the late head judge, Len Goodman, would have loved their performance, adding, “That was absolutely perfect.”

Photo: ABC
Going into the semi-finals, the couples were told of the five couples remaining only four would survive and move on the finals. With everything on the line, and through her back pain, Ariana Madix and Pasha Pashkov finally received their first perfect score from the judges performing a foxtrot.
Jason Mraz and Daniella Karagach also received a perfect score in their second round waltz. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba said that Jason showed “emotional freedom” in this precise routine.
Charity Lawson and Artem Chigvintsev received 59 out of 60 and a perfect score for their second round performance to the quickstep. The judges commended the former star of The Bachelorette for finally showing some emotion in her performances, instead of just always showing them precision in her dance routines.

Photo: ABC
When it was time to reveal which couple was going home and which couples made it to the finals … in a heart-stopping moment, Alyson Hannigan and Sasha Farber, who believed they would be the couple going home, were first named as “safe!” As each couple learned their fate, the final two couples left and supposedly in the bottom two were … Ariana and Pasha and Xochitl and Val. How could this be? Did America vote off the wrong couple?
Then, in a stunning twist, co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough announced that no one was going home meaning all five couples from the semi-finals were moving on to the finals, and their scores for the night would carry over into the final round.

Photo: ABC
Ariana Madix was moved to tears, thinking her time on the show was over. She later told Page Six (after the episode came to an end), “That pretend elimination was the most terrifying thing. It was sick and twisted. I was like, ‘I love you guys, but also, I hate you guys for that!’”

Photo: ABC
Alyson Hannigan weighed-in on the shocking conclusion as well: “When (Alfonso) called my name, I thought he made a mistake. I was in total disbelief and I was waiting for him to correct himself .. and then he didn’t correct himself and I was like, ‘What universe are we in?’”
The three-hour Season 32 finale kicks off Tuesday, December 5th at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.
So, with all five couples moving on to next week’s season 32 finale, who do you think deserves to win the newly-named Len Goodman Mirror Ball Trophy? Share your picks via the comment section below. But first check out the dance of the night from Xochitl and Val.
Recaps
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: The Newmans Are Blindsided By Who Aunt Jordan and Claire Really Are

On Monday’s November 27th episode of The Young and the Restless, true identifies began to be revealed as Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) and Claire’s (Hayley Erin) plot took hold.
The story picked-up with poor Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) awake and in a drunken stupor and seeing things very blurry. Realizing the nightmare she finds herself in, she grabs the pillow and tries to sleep, but finds a photo of Eve Howard (the late Margaret Mason) behind it. Nikki recognizes the photo of Eve and is left bewildered.
Cole (J. Eddie Peck), who has arrived to the house, is downstairs leaving a message for Victoria on his cellphone. He says he followed Nikki’s instructions but is perplexed at just who’s house he is in. Next, Aunt Jordan appears from behind with a hammer, no less, and clobbers Cole on the head.

Courtesy/CBS
Later, Jordan is now hovering over Nikki’s bedside. Jordan tells Nikki to stay calm and well-hydrated and how she shouldn’t have pulled the IV out. (Oh no! Nikki will now drink the IV, or did she do that already?) Next, Jordan tells her that her family will be arriving soon. Nikki is distraught and under the influence and tells Jordan, “You did this to me!” Jordan replies, “No, Nikki. You did this to yourself. Your whole family did this to you.” After Nikki has fallen asleep she has a dream – and we get a flashback to a crazed Eve in a showdown scene with Nikki.
With the Newmans all downstairs, Claire offers them all some water, while they wait for her Aunt Jordan. Finally, Jordan shows up with a faux cast in her arm with a flimsy story about what happened to Nikki, hinting she was drunk, and what happened when the paramedics came and took her to the hospital.

Courtesy/CBS
However, that was a ruse and Jordan lets the Newmans have it. She tells them to shut up if they ever want to see Nikki again. Jordan asks Victor (Eric Braeden) if she looks familiar to him. He says I never seen you before in my life. Jordan then tells Victor, you knew my sister Eve Howard, intimately. Jordan tells Victor he broke her sister’s heart and dumped her like she wasn’t human. Now they must all make amends.

Courtesy/CBS
Jordan says she and Eve were estranged when Eve died, and if she would have never come to Genoa City they would have reconciled. At that point, Jordan admits that Nikki is not in the hospital nor did she have seizure. She said all that to get them to the house. Throughout the conversation, Victor, Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Victoria (Amelia Heinle) have all been sipping on their water bottles. That is when Jordan admits they all just drank poison and soon they will have heart attacks, and she will take great pleasure in watching them die.
Just then, Claire drags Cole in to the living room. Victoria is shocked to see Cole, but even more shocked when Claire says,“He had to be here for the family reunion… didn’t he mother?” We fade to black.

Courtesy/CBS
So, what do you think (if it holds true) that Aunt Jordan is Eve’s sister and that Claire is Cole and Victoria’s daughter? Comment below.
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