Do we know the age the kids were? I couldn't remember if it was explicitly stated. Kate is the type of person, though, who would blame herself for something she did that could be tangentially related. Even if Jack had died from that episode due to drunk driving, it certainly wouldn't have been her fault at all. But I do hope you're right that that theory has to be incorrect!

When they showed all the kids at his funeral it was the high school aged actors. They could play the early college 9/11 versions too.

The kids were born in 1980, and the scene where Jack drove drunk to see Rebecca perform was in the mid-90s.

96 is what the car tags said

Rev03 said:

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ugh, not me. Actually drinking several beers while you are driving is just horrible and selfish. He could have killed someone. The thing that bothered me about the fight was that he tried to make her feel bad for not feeling fulfilled from being a housewife and stay at home mother. She shouldn't feel bad if she wants some sort of career outside the home and shouldn't be made to feel like a lesser mother for wanting that.

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You're looking at drunk driving through today's glasses and not the time it was based in. Judging by the music when he was being hit on at the bar and the ER comments in the last episode, it's in the mid-90's. Things that are seen as horrible now were more accepted or not as harshly punished back then (drunk driving, guns on school grounds, etc).

As far as him trying to make her feel bad for not feeling fulfilled, I can see both of their arguments in that.

Drunk driving in the mid-90s wasn't really any more okay then than it is today. The organized movement to really vilify it began in 1980 with MADD.

I drank underage and drove drunk plenty of times in the early 80s, and there was a decent chance back then for you to catch a break if a cop caught you in the act. But in the 90s? No.

Trident 88 said:

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Drunk driving in the mid-90s wasn't really any more okay then than it is today. The organized movement to really vilify it began in 1980 with MADD.

I drank underage and drove drunk plenty of times in the early 80s, and there was a decent chance back then for you to catch a break if a cop caught you in the act. But in the 90s? No.

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Being a HS student from 96-00, I can say with 100% certainty that you could get a break. I also grew up in a small town, so it could have been different in the cities. I do remember seeing trucks all of the time in the 90's with beer cans ratteling around in the bed of a truck, and we all had a dad or uncle who had perfected the technique of flicking a can out the window at 65 mph and having it land in the bed of the truck. BWI was also not a thing then. We had a lake house on Livingston growing up and the game wardens never arrested people for operating a boat while drinking. If they had, pretty much everybody at Pine Island would have had multiple arrests per year, my parents included.

It must have been different in your small town. I left the Marines in '96 and moved to Frisco when it was still small, and drunk driving was clearly verboten by then, at least in these parts and the rest of D/FW.

OK, back to the show itself,...

Glad he didn't die (yet) but the show was pretty underwhelming based on promos and expectations.

Yeah, that seems to be the general opinion.

Ahh Frisco...the only city I've ever seen where a permit is required to replace a hot water heater.

I started at A&M in '92. Trust me when I say that your experience with DWI is very much the exception.

I think a lot more people drove drunk in the 90s than today. Was it accepted? No. But a DWI was something to be feared.

Great show! Just finished the season. My guess for the death is that jack commits suicide. I think rebecca doesn't forgive him for what happened with the band. She keeps the break going and chests on him and then gets drunk and kills himself. Reason is that kate was curious about tobys background with suicide and the emotional triggers from the conversation and tie in to toby wanting to know about her dads death and her thinking its her fault. She thinks its her fault because of what happened at the show that jack ruined. Since they clearly survive the drunk driving then the lingering of that night has to be in the form of resentment between jack and rebecca.

Just started watching this show a few days ago and I'm already almost done. So many onions. But the show is amazing.

Bump for season 2 (I'm only through episode 1) and 'cause this show is awesome.

Well last night's episode was heavy and depressing. Looks like next week's will be the same

Man Kevin is ****ed up by Jack's death.

Ugh... I'm not going to keep watching if they don't perk up a little. I'm all for keeping it real and all that, but it's depressing as hell lately. I'd probably be done already if it weren't for the wife and the fact that it's not easy to find shows we both like.

I finished 3 episodes into season 2 and just have NO desire to watch anymore. It's just slow,boring, and like the other poster said a bunch of whining kids.

After watching last night's episode ("Number 3"), I think this show has jumped the shark.

I think the Randall/William angle was key to its poignancy and now that seems all but lost. Don't get me wrong, it's still a damn fine show but now it just seems average.

Just my humble opinion. Flame on.

To me it feels like they got kinda lost with the writing and had to make up some **** in a hurry.

So the real father was in recovery, and more than eager to raise his son, and Kate declines to transition him there? Really? No wonder Randall is so disassociated and upset. I would be too. Kate's desire for total control is also a contributing factor to her daughter's weight struggles and the casting aside of the only man who could ever see and truly understand the real her.

Sad.

The character you think is Kate is not Kate.

Redstone said:

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So the real father was in recovery, and more than eager to raise his son, and Kate declines to transition him there? Really? No wonder Randall is so disassociated and upset. I would be too. Kate's desire for total control is also a contributing factor to her daughter's weight struggles and the casting aside of the only man who could ever see and truly understand the real her.

Sad.

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Do you mean Rebecca? Kate is the daughter. And if you're saying that you think Rebecca should have given Randall back to his bio dad once he was doing better, I could not disagree more. If my son's bio mom comes back into the picture when he is 9-10 years old and says hey let me hang out with him or let me raise him, that's a big no from me. As for the show, we have the benefit of knowing that William wasn't a complete ****up in life, and just went through a rough patch around the time Randall was born. But in most situations, there's a reason why the child was adopted. I don't want my kid getting to know a likely unstable person who will just let them down or introduce them to things (drugs, poor life choices, etc) that they have no business knowing about, especially when they're too young to really understand it.

I'm exhausted so I have no idea if that made any sense, but my point is I completely see Rebecca's side on that particular issue.

I refused to watch this show for the longest time bc I saw the previews and didnt feel like watching a show about kids/parenting.

I relented out of boredom. This show has made me cry so many times.



It is the peril of all shows. The thing they keep from you, be it two people getting together or some secret/puzzle/information...once achieved, will kill the show. So part of me is like, "Just tell us how he died, dammit!" while the other part is like, "Keep the feely magic going."

Agree with Cherry above, though. Kate is awful and ruins much of what are pretty touching episodes.

Made perfect sense to me, and I couldn't agree more.

Last night was incredible.

The therapy scenes were so uncomfortable and heartbreaking.

Torbush, agree this show just keeps delivering.

Best show ever from TV.

I didn't realize this show was still on. We bailed early on in season 2.