'This Is Us' producers break down the flash-forward cooker scene — and four struggling dads - Entertainment Weekly News

The episode hints that Jack Jr.'s first memory is steeped in some sort of trauma, but when he's asked about why he still uses the cooker, he says, "I keep it because it's delicious." Does this speak to the idea we shouldn't be defined by any sort of tragedy, that we can find the good surrounding a painful memory, and that even painful memories can be worth keeping if they're put in proper perspective.

Maybe that's the reason why he's got this amazing life and this beautiful house and this huge career?

WINDSOR: Both Casey and I are parents, and for me so much of this was a personal thing, because I'm going through this now as a single dad and raising my kids and realizing how difficult it is to balance life and work.

One thing we talked about was the expectation of what it's all going to be like.

It's similar in that way to Rebecca and Jack right now: She's the one who has to take the crying kids to the park and deal with all of that all the time, and Jack's the one that's missing out on that?

We loved playing with that idea of what you expect parenting to be like and what you think your role is going to be, put up against the reality of your life and how it's never what you think it's going to be.

WINDSOR: It's amazing what children will do to you and how they'll help you grow and mature.

But like David was saying, it's still not the way he envisioned it.

It's not the four of them sitting around the table, like he thought it would.

And that's what we want to play with this season — this grown-up version of Kevin who, like you said, isn't as reactive, but is still searching for his footing a little bit.

And as hard as it is, he's really realizing like, "Oh, you know, maybe it is this triangle." That scene between him and Toby, and him realizing like, "Oh, it's not the four of us" — there was a very specific moment in my life that I realized that it was me and my kids, and it was the three of us tackling life together.

It's in a different city and he's really going back and forth, and that's wearing him down a little bit.

But as hard as it is, I think he's also finding some satisfaction in this new job, and he's finally at a company that he really enjoys.

That's going to continue to be a story line for him — that struggle between not being in the same city with his kids and his wife but then also being very satisfied at work.

And his words really landed on her, like, "We are still talking about it, it's okay.

WINDSOR: That's all of season 6, right there.

As Casey said, in that one scene where he finally shares something real about himself, I think that's surprising for her along with helping her heal a little bit with Toby?

I think it's also a realization like, "Oh, he was married.

And that fell apart?" It's like, "Oh, this guy isn't necessarily exactly what we think he is." That's such a big part of this show — just when you think you have a bead on somebody, hopefully we take a different direction that makes you realize, "Oh, you don't have the full story." You never have the full story of anyone that you ever meet.

JOHNSON: On the other side, we really want to take our time with Kate and Toby's relationship, because we know it's a relationship that the audience really cares about, and it's complicated and it's delicate?

And if he's going to have open, honest conversations, he'll need to restrain himself from judging, try to react more like Beth did, and realize that he can't ground the situation out of her.

JOHNSON: It's so funny, I have two teenagers and I feel like that's my daily experience: "Tell me everything, tell me everything.

I was like, "Okay, we have a 45-minute drive across town, we're in a locked car together, he's going to at least be able to hear what I have to say, even if he doesn't want to engage with me." We just thought that was a wonderful way for them to do that?

JOHNSON: I'd say… it's in between a skirmish and a war, whatever that is.

WINDSOR: That's what I loved about that Randall-Deja scene at the end, with him admitting to her, "Listen, I'm doing the best that I can.

On the other hand, he's worried he isn't measuring up as a dad, but that's not how the Big Three remember him at all.

And here we all know that they have this, this other truly, truly difficult memory that's really going to shape all of their lives.

JOHNSON: It's a really beautiful, complicated episode that deals with all of that, written by Elan Mastai, who just did a fantastic job.

A lot of it came from his own experience, but Jack's really going to have to face all of that — the good and the bad of his past with his mom