The Thanksgiving Episode of Season 1. The unusual traditions Randall had for the dinner. I personally thought 'Huh?' Then as the episode progressed it made sense and I thought it was sweet.
The title of the show at first thought comes off as a cheesy meta-description. But it takes on a deeper meaning when you realize that it is meant to be the viewer’s reaction to the show and their own family.
William had a very different voice in the present day compared to his 1970s-1980s voice. He was a soft-spoken tenor as a young man, but he speaks with a hardened baritone in 2016-17. This could have been the result of years of drug abuse and hard living.
The 1997 scenes of Season 1 are totally depressing to rewatch with the knowledge that Jack will be killed in a tragic House Fire within a matter of months.
Rewatching any scene taking place in the Pearson household becomes a bit unsettling when realizing that the defective Crockpot that burned the house down is innocently sitting in the kitchen.
A combination of Fridge Brilliance, Fridge Horror and Fridge Sadness, but among the deeper things that "After the Fire" reveals about Randall's subconscious, one of them is that he still has some deep-seated issues with his identity as a Black man. One of the main things that furthers the wedge between him and his family is his choice to attend Howard – where he became much more engaged with Black culture. But this reality also ends with Randall becoming a womanizer who sleeps with his T As, has no emotional attachment to family (including William) and has a tense-if-best relationship with his siblings. It prompts a question – since this is supposed to be Randall's "worst fear," does he believe there's a link between Blackness and an unsavoury lifestyle? Randall is clearly very proud of being Black, but doesn't often forget that he was raised by white people (and, as Beth points out, he constantly reminds everyone around him as well). Could there be a part of Randall's subconscious that has internalized anti-Black stereotypes?
Randall and Beth are decidedly affluent from their respective high-earning careers, so much so that they're both able to go nearly a combined year without both of them working while still maintaining a very pricey suburban house. Selling that house and "downsizing" to a still-very-large home in Philadelphia allows them some flexibility in their new careers, with Beth as a dance teacher and Randall as a city councillor (big city councillors tend to make good money, but not partner-at-an-investment-firm good money). Except that Beth... owns a business, and pays big city rent on that business, and yet the family never struggles or mentions stress regarding money in Season 4. We see a lot of the Pearson's house during weeknights and weekends and Beth seems to be always home. So... who's running Beth's business and helping keep the lights on?
Not to mention, what happened to William's old building? It's mentioned a few times in Season 3 during Randall's campaign, but it's never brought up in Season 4. Have the problems been fixed? Are the tenants back in? Is it making Beth and Randall any passive income?
The studio issue is addressed in Season 5 – Randall points out that it's (very realistically) haemorrhaging money. The building, however, remains a mystery, which is especially stark given that COVID evictions were a major problem during the initial onset.
