Just finished a 'This Is Us' marathon and the portrayal of parental favoritism has me concerned...

I just powered through the latest season and I need to sound the alarm... The show often depicts Rebecca's subtle favoritism towards Randall, but it rarely addresses the long-term impact on Kevin and Kate. Binging episodes back-to-back makes this pattern painfully obvious, yet the narrative sometimes excuses it as maternal instinct. As a parent myself, I fear viewers might internalize this as acceptable behavior. We should be critical of how media normalizes uneven emotional investment in children. Let's talk about shows that handle this dynamic more responsibly.

3 comments

3 Comments

paigewright1mo ago

Funny how the show frames Randall's anxiety as her fault too.

flores.simon1mo ago

Typical, blaming her for everything, @paigewright.

the_betty1mo ago

Yeah, and that framing totally tracks with how my mom's favoritism messed with my sister's confidence for years.