History Headscratchers / ThisIsUs

** Sophie's parents. Early on, older Kevin mentions staying with Sophie's "parents." However, in a later episode, young Kevin says Sophie's parents are getting divorced, and when we finally meet her mother, Claire, in Season 4, she appears to be single when they're in high school, and Sophie's eulogy and the funeral make is seem as though she remained single until she died. However, her character having MS was consistent from the start.
** Toby's brother is mentioned, then is not seen onscreen but his absence is at least commented on at Toby's bachelor party, and it's something that makes Toby upset. By the time Toby and Kate get married, Toby's brother doesn't appear to be there, and Toby is seemingly not bothered by it anymore. We do see his brother during Toby's childhood, and he does appear to be about 10 years younger than Toby, but the fact that Toby's brother is not there for Jack's birth or birthday and Toby seemingly no longer feels bad about it feels off, considering what a big deal it was for his bachelor party.
** More in the vein of CharacterizationMarchesOn, but in the third season, Jae-Won is more savvy and cynical in his political views, and encourages Randall to be a bit underhanded when he needs. In the fourth season, he stands by Randall amidst his more idealistic decisions.
** Speaking of Randall, he tells William he used to sport a bit of an afro, prior to being made partner at his firm, but that he shaved it off when he got more serious about his career, shortly after Tess was born. He says that when he shaved it off, little Tess started crying, implying that she was still a baby or toddler. When we see Randall the day Tess was born, his hair is as short as it was in the present day.
** Tess's age jumps around slightly; she's supposed to be 10 around the second season, but Beth later refers to her as nine.
* What happens to William's old building? Randall and Beth mention it a few times during Randall's council run, but there's no mention of it during the fourth season whatsoever, and after putting out so much work to get it fixed up in the second season, it's seemingly never an issue again.

* The first year of owning a business is typically the most stressful year of anyone's life, and dance studios typically take two to four years to reach profitability. So why is it, once Clarke School of Dance opens, that Beth is always home during the evenings and not teaching at her dance studio? Of all the things in Beth Pearson's life, owning a dance studio is somehow one of the least stressful elements. And she is ''always'' home at typical teaching hours.

* In early seasons, Rebecca was mentioned to have a sister, but said sister does not appear aside from a childhood flashback. It is unknown what happened with this character.

* Was the show initially planning on Kate gravitating toward Gregory after her marriage to Toby fell apart? It feels so strange that they were laying the seeds for Gregory becoming a valued confidante to Kate – feeding baby Jack his first solid food, being the one she calls from the retreat and not Toby. The show had clearly been laying the foundations for Kate and Toby to split for several seasons, but considering Philip has been criticized for being a SatelliteLoveInterest and a FlatCharacter (he doesn't even have a last name!) and their romance lacking development, it prompts the question: was Gregory the original target for Kate's second love? Did COVID filming restrictions and rewrites force them to not have as much Gregory-Kate screen-time and thus they threw in this new teacher character?

* Rebecca had a complicated relationship with her parents, but she still loved them very much. So why did she not see them on her "train ride?" Especially because her love of passenger trains connected her to her father.

* In early seasons, Rebecca was mentioned to have a sister, but said sister does not appear aside from a childhood flashback. It is unknown what happened with this character.

* Either Clarke School of Dance miraculously had enough people sign up that Beth was able to hire a second teacher so she could be home ''several'' nights per week and never be concerned about the studio making money, or the studio just operates on ''very'' limited hours and Beth's... somehow still not concerned about money. The first year of a new business is usually the most stressful period of any person's life, and a dance studio usually takes two to four years of profitability, meaning the owner usually ends up teaching most of the classes themselves. Beth has already struck gold in terms of luck with her dance career – she was basically ''given'' a teaching job with lots of hours despite not having trained for 20 years (and presumably never having taught before at all) and was ambitious enough to open a dance studio in a city where she's never worked and has no established reputation. But in Season 4, it's as though opening the studio – not maintaining it, not keeping the lights on, not ''being there 24/7'' – was the only real stressful thing. Of all the things in Beth Pearson's life, owning a dance studio is somehow one of the least stressful elements. And she is ''always'' home at typical teaching hours.
** The COVID pandemic-driven fifth season plot saw Beth's studio (realistically) close down after too many of her students quit for her to maintain operations. Interestingly though, the montage at the beginning of "The Music and the Mirror" shows that Beth seemingly attracted a very large group of advanced students off the bat (something most first-year studios struggle with, especially when the owner has no history in the market). Plus, she's still only ever seen teaching during the pandemic in that montage. So basically, the closure of Clarke School of Dance and Beth eventually taking more of a day job at an elite academy felt more like a convenient plot device so the writers wouldn't have to explain why Beth and Randall are always home at the same hours.

* In early seasons, Rebecca was mentioned to have a sister, but said sister does not appear aside from a childhood flashback. It is unknown was happened with this character.

* It is never made entirely clear what Nicky’s relationship or status was with his parents after he returned home from Vietnam. Jack told Rebecca that Nicky was dead, though it’s unlikely he did so with his parents as a postcard from Stanley is seen in a box that Nicky sifts through later. Regardless, Nicky does not show up at Marilyn’s funeral, nor does he ever seem to appear around his parents post-Vietnam. It is possible he chose to estrange himself from them due to his childhood trauma and shame from the war.

* It is never made entirely clear what Nicky’s relationship or status was with his parents after he returned home from Vietnam. Jack told Rebecca that Nicky was dead, though it’s unlikely he did so with his parents as a postcard from Stanley is seen in a box that Nicky sifts through later.

* In the first season finale, Stanley says that Jack is still jobless (even if he has sometimes part job). By season 5 episode One Small Step, Jack seems to have moved out his parents house. At this time, he does not know Miguel yet, so, what does he do for living and where does he live ?

* Either Clarke School of Dance miraculously had enough people sign up that Beth was able to hire a second teacher so she could be home ''several'' nights per week and never be concerned about the studio making money, or the studio just operates on ''very'' limited hours and Beth's... somehow still not concerned about money. The first year of a new business is usually the most stressful period of any person's life, and a dance studio usually takes two to four years of profitability, meaning the owner usually ends up teaching most of the classes themselves. Beth has already struck gold in terms of luck with her dance career – she was basically ''given'' a teaching job with lots of hours despite not having trained for 20 years (and presumably never having taught before at all) and was ambitious enough to open a dance studio in a city where she's never worked and has no established reputation. But in Season 4, it's as though opening the studio – not maintaining it, not keeping the lights on, not ''being there 24/7'' – was the only real stressful thing. Of all the things in Beth Pearson's life, owning a dance studio is somehow one of the least stressful elements. And she is ''always'' home at typical teaching hours.

* [[spoiler:William says in a previous episode that his father taught him how to play piano, yet we find out in a later episode that his father died before he was born. May be too early to call it a PlotHole though...anything is possible in this show.]]
* [[spoiler:Why the hell didn't they use "What Now?" as the Season 1 finale? It would have been a perfect note to end on. They honored William's life. The underused Beth finally had ADayInTheLimelight. Randall finally forgave Rebecca. Then it ended with the cliffhangers of Kevin's L.A. opportunity, Kate's secret, Randall quitting his job, and Jack going to Cleveland. "Moonshadow" was universally panned as a horrible finale, but it probably would have made for a decent Season 2 premiere by introducing four new story arcs (The Jabecca separation, Kevin going to L.A., Kate's decision to pursue a singing career, and Randall and Beth considering adoption). That, and there would be another episode in a week. The entire season was magnificently written and produced, but the way they chose to end it is puzzling to say the least.]]
* [[spoiler:Why did Toby's parents wait until a half hour before Toby and Kate's wedding to express their misgivings about the marriage? While they may have actually raised valid points, wouldn't it have made a heck of a lot more sense to have that conversation BEFORE the wedding was planned, paid for, and about to take place? And what would the endgame have been if Toby did leave Kate at the altar? Did his parents expect him to abandon his dog, residence, and possessions at the drop of a hat? Given that they were worried about Toby's depression resurfacing, it seems that a life-altering move like that would have been a FAR riskier decision than going through with the marriage. The speech was obviously written under RuleOfDrama, but it was pretty ridiculous once you break it down.]]

* So, putting aside the suspension of disbelief that Beth is able to get a job teaching dance five days per week just by ''asking'' for it after 20 years of not training and having (seemingly) never taught before (as though dance jobs grow on trees). Put aside the suspension of disbelief that Clarke School of Dance gets a fairly healthy enrolment from the get-go despite the fact that Beth has never taught in Philadelphia before and has no established reputation there. Even if all those things somehow work out great for Beth, how is she able to be home in the evenings and weekends so much? Most dance studios aren't profitable for two to four years, and that's even when the owner teaches as many of the classes themselves as possible. Year one of a business is usually the most stress a person will ever see in their life, and of all the things in Beth's life in Season 4, the studio seems to be the least of her worries, if not non-existent. At the very least, why is she ''always'' home?

* Kevin and Zoe act like they have never met before at Kate's wedding, and a few months later after months of hookups they pretend, in front of Beth, that they first met at Kate's wedding. But the flashback scenes of "R & B" show that Zoe was a bridesmaid at Beth and Randall's wedding – and Kevin was the best man. Unless the wedding party somehow didn't interact at all, they've definitely met before.

* The show sometimes addresses this, but many, including critics, have wondered: exactly how famous is Kevin supposed to be? In the first season, we learn that he's been on ''The Manny'' for at least three years, making $3 million a year. But it seems increasingly like ''The Manny'' was his first/only big break after years of failure, mostly modelling gigs, student films and non-speaking parts in soap operas. Not only does it feel slightly unrealistic for someone to get a leading role on a sitcom after not so much as a high-profile supporting role, but Kevin also seemingly is one of the biggest Hollywood insiders – being on a first-name basis with Seth Myers and being able to call in a favour from John Legend – after only three years on a middling sitcom. Ironically, after his role in the Ron Howard and especially M. Night Shyamalan movies, he could believably be at the level of "Seth Myers recognizes me from half a block away on a New York City street," but at this point in the series he's almost never seen doing press tours, working with an agent or manager (does he even have an agent anymore?) or spending much time with anyone besides his family. It seems Kevin's level of fame is occasionally up- and down-graded depending on how convenient it is to get him out of a tight spot.

* The show sometimes addresses this, but many, including critics, have wondered: exactly how famous is Kevin supposed to be? In the first season, we learn that he's been on ''The Manny'' for at least three years, making $3 million a year, which is a pretty decent starting TV salary. But it seems increasingly like The Manny was his first/only big break after years of failure, mostly modelling gigs, student films and non-speaking parts in soap operas. Not only does it feel slightly unrealistic for someone to get a leading role on a sitcom after not so much as a high-profile supporting role, but Kevin also seemingly is one of the biggest Hollywood insiders – being on a first-name basis with Seth Myers and being able to call in a favour from John Legend – after only three years on a middling sitcom. Ironically, after his role in the Ron Howard and especially M. Night Shyamalan movies, he could believably be at the level of "Seth Myers recognizes me from half a block away on a New York City street," but at this point in the series he's almost never seen doing press tours, working with an agent or manager (does he even have an agent anymore?) or spending much time with anyone besides his family.

** Inconsistency on whether or not Beth had siblings – she's said both that she had no siblings and that she was an only child. She also mentions growing up in a home with more than a dozen people living in her home, from transient friends to extended family members, but when we see her past in "Our Little Island Girl," this doesn't appear to be the case with her.

* The show sometimes addresses this, but many, including critics, have wondered: exactly how famous is Kevin supposed to be? In the first season, we learn that he's been on The Manny for at least three years, making $3 million a year. But it seems increasingly like The Manny was his first/only big break after years of failure and a few modelling gigs here and there. Not only does it feel slightly unrealistic for someone to get a leading role on a sitcom after not so much as a high-profile supporting role, but Kevin also seemingly is one of the biggest Hollywood insiders – being on a first-name basis with Seth Myers and being able to call in a favour from John Legend – after only three years on a middling sitcom. Some degree of fame is believable, but at times, his fame is used for convenience to make certain plot points possible.

* [[spoiler:Why did Toby's parents wait until a half hour before Toby and Kate's wedding to express their misgivings about the marriage? While they may have actually raised valid points, wouldn't it have made a heck of a lot more sense to have that conversation BEFORE the wedding was planned, paid for, and about to take place? And what would the endgame have been if Toby did leave Kate at the altar? Did his parents expect him to abandon his dog, residence, and possessions at the drop of a hat? Given that they were worried about Toby's depression resurfacing, it seems that a life-altering move like that would have been a FAR riskier decision than going through with the marriage. The speech was obviously written under RuleOfDrama, but it was pretty ridiculous once you break it down.]]

* [[spoiler:Why the hell didn't they use "What Now?" as the Season 1 finale? It would have been a perfect note to end on. They honored William's life. The underused Beth finally had ADayInTheLimelight. Randall finally forgave Rebecca. Then it ended with the cliffhangers of Kevin's L.A. opportunity, Kate's secret, Randall quitting his job, and Jack going to Cleveland. "Moonshadow" was universally panned as a horrible finale, but it probably would have made for a decent Season 2 premiere by introducing four new story arcs (The Jabecca separation, Kevin going to L.A., Kate's decision to pursue a singing career, and Randall and Beth considering adoption). That, and there would be another episode in a week. The entire season was magnificently written and produced, but the way they chose to end it is puzzling to say the least.]]

* [[spoiler:William says in a previous episode that his father taught him how to play piano, yet we find out in a later episode that his father died before he was born. May be too early to call it a PlotHole though...anything is possible in this show.]]

* [[spoiler:William says in a previous episode that his father taught him how to play piano, yet we find out in a later episode that his fsther died before he was born. May be too early to call it a PlotHole though...anything is possible in this show.]]

[[spoiler:William says in a previous episode that his father taught him how to play piano, yet we find out in a later episode that his fsther died before he was born. May be too early to call it a PlotHole though...anything is possible in this show]]