THIS IS US: The First Season: Last Christmas

Content:

(BB, CC, Pa, FR, Ho, LL, S, A, DD, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

  Strong moral worldview with some overt Christian references, references to generosity, gratefulness, joy, kindness, an emphasis on forgiveness and the value of family, marriage, and children, references to God, God’s grace, going to church, Jesus as the meaning of Christmas, the Nativity story, a man refers to “the great beyond” after death, Jewish traditions are also referenced with a family shown celebrating Hanukkah, the story of the Maccabees is told, several menorahs are shown, some light pagan elements with a syncretistic conversation regarding religion when a boy sees a statue of Mary, a nativity scene, and a menorah and asks, “If I want to pray, which one works best?,” to which woman replies, “In the end, they all get the job done,” plus a character is homosexual or bisexual;

Foul Language:

Nine obscenities and three profanities;

Violence:

No violence;

Sex:

  A man mentions he had an affair, several couples kiss, it’s implied a couple has fornicated, and a man is depicted as being homosexual or bisexual;

Nudity:

  No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

  Several people drink wine and people have alcoholic drinks at a Christmas party;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

  No smoking, but a man mentions he’s on morphine, a woman mentions taking Prozac for depression, and a man mentions quitting drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

  Anger, materialism, bitterness, depression, a man is shown preparing to commit suicide, but he’s talked out of doing it.

Episodes: Season Overview

Number Date Title Production Content
1.1 9/20/2016 Pilot -2
1.2 9/27/2016 The Big Three -2
1.3 10/11/2016 Kyle -2
1.4 10/18/2016 The Pool -1
1.5 10/25/2016 The Game Plan -2
1.6 11/1/2016 Career Days -2
1.7 11/15/2016 The Best Washing Machine in the Whole World -2
1.8 11/22/2016 Pilgrim Rick -1
1.9 11/29/2016 The Trip -2
1.10 12/6/2016 Last Christmas -3
1.11 1/10/2017 The Right Thing to Do -3
1.12 1/17/2016 The Big Day -2
1.13 1/24/2016 Three Sentences -1
1.14 2/7/2017 I Call Marriage -2
1.15 2/14/2017 Jack Pearson’s Son -1
1.16 2/21/2017 Memphis -2
1.17 3/17/2017 What Now -2
1.18 3/14/2017 Moon Shadow -1

More Detail:

In “Last Christmas,” the Pearsons celebrate Christmas Eve with the triplets by rushing Kate to the ER for appendicitis. Grown up Kate goes with her mother to a consultation regarding the possibility of gastric bypass surgery. Kevin goes with Sloane to her family’s Hanukkah celebration before bringing her to Randall’s house for the Pearson family’s Christmas Eve party. Toby surprises Kate on Christmas Eve by coming to Randall’s house, and the two of them get back together. During the celebration, Toby suddenly collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Randall’s biological father, William, is revealed to be bisexual.

“Last Christmas” primarily addresses the issue of forgiveness. Randall has been struggling to forgive his mother’s betrayal. However, when he encounters a co-worker on the brink of committing suicide because of an affair, Randall talks him out of it by stressing that, given time, families can learn to forgive. Toby and Kate forgive the hurts they caused each other, and the family is reunited. This episode is emotionally heavy, and overtly mentions Jesus and the Nativity story. However, it addresses issues of depression, suicide and bisexuality. “Last Christmas” also contains a false, heretical statement by a woman, who says all religions are equally effective