THIS IS US: Season Two

Season Two continues to treat family as a gift that shapes people over time. Its strongest material is its portrayal of supportive marriages, loving family relationships, honesty, openness, and learning to love imperfect people.

Rebecca’s decision to face Jack’s alcoholism with him, rather than leave him to struggle alone, gives the season an encouraging picture of marital unity. Randall and Beth’s foster-parenting journey, and Kate and Toby’s growing relationship, also bring emotional weight and opportunities for personal growth.

The show is not markedly Christian. Sex outside marriage is treated casually, adultery is introduced, foul language remains a concern, and substance abuse is part of the story. The practical answer: watch it with teenagers and adults who can exercise discernment about its mature themes.

Season Two follows the Pearson family as its members face marriage problems, addiction, anxiety, body image, career struggles, foster parenting, grief, and the challenges of growing older.

The triplets prepare for college and move into adulthood while Randall and Beth take in a 12-year-old foster child named Deja. Across the season, the family members learn more about honesty, openness, perseverance, and loving one another through weakness.

Four stars means this season succeeds exceptionally well at what it sets out to do. The show depicts both the joys and challenges of life with emotional depth, while its portrayal of strong, supportive marriages and loving family relationships remains its greatest strength.

The relationships between Rebecca and Jack, Randall and Beth, and Kate and Toby encourage open communication and the hard work of loving imperfect people. The season also develops its characters’ personal journeys through alcoholism, substance abuse, anxiety, grief, foster parenting, and other serious struggles.

This season exalts family, marriage, honesty, openness, perseverance, and unconditional love. Rebecca and Jack’s unified effort to face alcoholism together presents marriage as a commitment worth protecting. Randall and Beth’s relationship grows as they learn to accept unpredictability, while Kate and Toby mature through grief and emotional openness.

The show also presents distinctly non-Christian ideas. Sex outside marriage is viewed as casual and acceptable, and adultery is introduced without the season becoming markedly Christian in its treatment of mature subjects. Foul language and references to substance abuse further complicate its otherwise meaningful emphasis on family.

The season’s central longing is for people to be known, loved, and held together through weakness. Scripture calls believers to this kind of patient love: “bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2–3).

This season offers a deeply moving portrait of marriage, family, and growth, while asking viewers to weigh its language, mature subjects, casual sexual ethics, and substance-abuse themes. For teenagers and adults prepared to exercise discernment, the answer is WORTH WATCHING — TEENS AND ADULTS.