History Awesome / ThisIsUs

* On a meta level, the show bringing in Vietnam veteran and highly acclaimed writer about the war Tim O'Brien to co-write Jack's experience in the war. Little details like a soldier asking to hold his foot that was just blown off are clearly drawn from his own experience and make the story far more involving.

* In Season 4, Randall and Jae-Won have blossomed into a full-on Bromance and it's predictably adorable and subverts a lot of toxic expectations on male friendships. Extra points for Jae-Won thinking Randall's "I love you" to his kids was directed at him, and, without missing a beat, responding to him with "I love you too."

** We see her in a few more episodes, but Debra Jo Rupp gets a real chance to shine in the Deja-focused episode as Linda, her case worker, who tries to be gentle and pragmatic with Deja while expertly – but heartbreakingly – not getting too attached. Her character is a good demonstration of the emotional weight of social work, and the type of strong personality needed to do the work.

* In flashbacks, Rebecca, Kevin and Randall all find how Kate's boyfriend, Mark, locked her out of the cabin in freezing weather and she had to punch a window to get inside. Kevin and Randall are ready to beat the hell out of Mark but Rebecca tells them to calm down, seemingly ready to find a peaceful solution. She then turns to Mark.
-->'''Rebecca''': Get the hell out of my house. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Get. The Hell. Out. Of my house.]] Today is the last day you're ever going to see my daughter, Mark. You have two minutes. Get your stuff and get out of here.
** Mark just stares at her...then goes to pack. Meanwhile, Kevin and Randall exchange looks showing they realize their mom handled this much better than either of them could have.

** Mark just stares at her...then goes to pack. Meanwhile, Kevin and Randall exchange looks showing they realize their mom handled this much better than either of them could have.

-->'''Rebecca: Get the hell out of my house. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Get. The Hell. Out. Of my house.]] Today is the last day you're ever going to see my daughter, Mark. You have two minutes. Get your stuff and get out of here.

* Just like the portrayal of Vietnam, the crew really went the extra mile to make sure they gave a respectful, meaningful portrayal of a blind character with Jack Damon. After deciding to make Kate and Toby's son blind, they did a lot of research into how it could realistically happen, hired genuinely blind actor Blake Stadnik to play him, and even within a single episode made him a fully fleshed-out character who has far more to his life than just his disability, often the bane of writing disabled characters. This also includes him being fully adjusted to the condition after having it all his life rather than the {{Wangst}} you'd probably expect from the show at this point.

* After most of Season 3 was quite unfairly weighted on Randall's side, it's tremendously satisfying to see Beth finally just let him have it when he stoops to a horribly condescending message about missing the meeting he pressured her into in the first place at the expense of her job, and then he has to squirm through hours in front of their hosts not even knowing if she heard it.

* Both in-universe and out, Jack's DyingMomentOfAwesome as he expertly gets Rebecca, Randall and Kate safely out of the house using several real survival techniques for when you're caught in one, and even the one major mistake he makes in repeatedly grabbing doorknobs with his bare hands is shown to have exactly the consequences it actually would. And then he goes back in to rescue both their dog and several family mementos and against all expectations actually makes it out to spend a precious last few moments with Rebecca before dying of the effects of smoke inhalation.

* On a meta level, the show bringing in Vietnam veteran and highly acclaimed writer about the war Tim O'Brien to co-write Jack's experience in the war. Little details like a soldier asking to hold his foot that was just blown off are clearly drawn from his own experience and make the story far more involving.

* Jack having had enough of his fathers misogynistic and abusive treatment to his mother tells his mother she has two options.

* Both in-universe and out, Jack's DyingMomentOfAwesome as [[spoiler:he expertly gets Rebecca, Randall and Kate safely out of the house using several real survival techniques for when you're caught in one, and even the one major mistake he makes in repeatedly grabbing doorknobs with his bare hands is shown to have exactly the consequences it actually would. And then he goes back in to rescue both their dog and several family mementos and against all expectations actually makes it out to spend a precious last few moments with Rebecca before dying of the effects of smoke inhalation.]]
* The final moments of “The Wedding” subvert the hell out of this trope. [[spoiler:As Kevin and Randall propose beautiful toasts at Kate’s wedding that indicate things are finally looking up for the Pearsons, the audience is treated to a bleak look at the future: Deja smashes up Randall’s prized car, Toby falls into depression, and 2030s Randall and Tess are making an uncomfortable visit to a mysterious woman.]]