strays always end up with someone who needs them.
Clooney is an amazing and character rich episode. To set the arcs, lets start with the Pearson children as adults.
Adult Randall who has yet to return to a traditional 9-5 job, although urged by his wife Beth to do so, attempts to works his way down from the clouds that Beth says he’s floating on while she adjusts to losing a property bid to a commercial giant: Costco.
Adult Kate has fallen off the food wagon due to her miscarriage and has been rolling in the deep with Taco Bell.
Adult Kevin is out of rehab and with a goal of finding a new routine returns home to his mom and Miguel, her now husband who becomes a tag along to to protect Rebecca from Kevin.
Now the scenes and the unfolding of story inbetween.
Kevin at the Kitchen Table.
As Kevin returns home and works out a new routine for himself with his mom its beyond the daily paper and the watchful eye of, who Kevin observes has a significance space in his mom’s life – one that he’s still not ready to accept.
Randall imagines William and a Lady
Adult Randall receives a box of his father’s things from his neighbor Lloyd. Upon opening the box he discovers some of his writings and with it a poem to a lady love which sends Randall inquiring, looking to see who this lady is that his dad might have love. Randall imagines his father William and the ‘lady’ having coffee window side.
William + the Lady by the Window
Lets Get a Cappuccino
Willaim asks Beth for a cappuccino
When Randall has some free time on his hands before his interview he pays an office visit to Beth’s job “I had a little time to kill before my interview, I figure I could take you out for a cappuccino.”
Adult Kate goes dress shopping with Madison and discovers her weakness is bingeing.
Lloyd Tips Randall
Lloyd calls
Meanwhile, while on an interview Randall gets a call from Lloyd with a tip on who his father’s lover might be. As he does a coffee mug, porcelain ceramic look sits on his coffee table as he reveals who she is and his love for gossiping. It’s interesting the details that are shared when coffee is around.
As Randall works to find the thing that gets him excited, a project beyond a desk job and being a foster parent, he discovers a love of his father’s – the building which he was the heart of – which leads him to a new passion with Beth – becoming co-owners of the property.
Teenage Kate goes dress shopping at the mall, and requests her mother’s presence. This leads to a mother-daughter bonding moment and not, as Kate eventually leaves the mall without a dress for her winter formal. She also leaves with major attitude about how her mom and eventually her dad see her as: beautiful, which she doesn’t.
Clooney the namesake of this episode is a cat Randall’s father use to feed and care after. He leads Randall to discover his biological father’s lady love, Billy Holiday and also his other love(s) the building and the tenants in it. This is a beautiful segueway into honoring Randall’s father legacy, opening up a wide net of interesting characters for the Beth and Randall to interact with while also giving Kevin and Randall a chance to expend their energy on something purposeful while reshaping their lives.
Rebecca and Kevin at the kitchen table.
Adult Kevin converses with his mom over her morning cup of coffee sans Miguel but about Miguel. He addresses his mother’s relationship which is hard for him to see and Kevin realizes his feelings shouldn’t be a concern of his mom. It’s a pivotal moment in all the moments the Pearson family has scene in and around coffee in a kitchen. But Rebecca has found happiness.