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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Friday 16 November 2018
'This Is Us' season will answer war mysteries, creator says

By LYNN ELBER that's a big part of our sea-
Associated Press son and that we'll get all
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "This the answers for by the end
Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia of the season," he said.
was between scenes on Does that include learning
the set in Vietnam, the set- the identity of the woman
ting for a critical flashback shown alongside Jack in an
story about his character intriguing wartime photo?
Jack's wartime tragedy. "Yes, exactly," Fogelman
Then modern-day real- said, a reply at once com-
ity merged with TV fiction forting and opaque. He'd
about a decades-old con- already made the point
flict. that providing answers on
"I'm there in full battle dress, "This Is Us" often means rais-
my rifle slung, my hat on, ing more questions.
looking very much the 1970 There will pain along the
U.S. soldier, and an older way, said Ventimiglia,
gentleman going past us who plays the patriarch
said something in Vietnam- of the Pearson family that
ese, did a double-take on includes wife Rebecca
me and then just kept go- (Mandy Moore) and off-
ing," Ventimiglia said of last spring Randall (Sterling K.
month's encounter outside This image provided by NBC shows Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson in a scene from “This Is Us.” Brown), Kate (Chrissy Metz)
Ho Chi Minh City. Associated Press and Kevin (Justin Hartley).
The Vietnamese actors he Even he was more deeply
was working with suddenly the scenes to be scattered war to defeat communist He is well aware of the affected than usual by
burst out laughing, then throughout "This Is Us" epi- North Vietnam: The death audience's investment in what Jack is facing, the ac-
filled him in. sodes as the series gradu- of his brother, Nicky, played Nicky, he said, with his own tor said.
"What the hell? What the ally unravels — in its trade- by Michael Angarano. anxious friends and fam- "When I watch the show,
hell is a U.S. soldier doing mark style — a key chapter That's no spoiler, as "This Is ily serving as a barometer. I've cried for Rebecca, I've
back here?" the man ex- of Jack's life. Us" viewers know. But un- Fogelman credits the ac- cried for the kids. I never cry
claimed as he zipped by The NBC drama, which tog- like the prolonged, angst- tors playing Nicky as a child for Jack," Ventimiglia said,
on a motor scooter, Ven- gles back and forth in time building revelation of how and adult (Donnie Masihi, but that changed after he
timiglia was told. between moments big and family man Jack died, se- Angarano) and the bond previewed the episode air-
It was an isolated blip in an small for its characters, is ries creator Dan Fogelman between Jack and the ing Tuesday. "It was really
otherwise smooth week of zeroing in on what Jack en- said the circumstances of younger brother he is driv- heartbreaking to see him
shooting in Vietnam, with dured during the failed U.S. Nicky's fate will be known en to protect. go through what he went
by this season's end. "It's definitely something through."q
Music Review: Imagine Dragons

deliver again but differently

By MARK KENNEDY
Associated Press
Imagine Dragons, "Ori-
gins" (Interscope/KIDina-
KORNER)
Do Imagine Dragons ever
sleep? Not apparently.
Less than a year and a half
after releasing the double-
platinum album "Evolve"
and crisscrossing the globe
on a 100-date tour, the
band is back with a dozen
new songs. Whew.
"Origins" is supposed to be
a sister companion to last
year's monster "Evolve"
and it's an intriguing follow-
up, offering more textures
and sonic experiments. This cover image released by Interscope shows "Origins," a
release by Imagine Dragons.
If "Evolve" was the band Associated Press
stalking around as an are-
na powerhouse, "Origins" is slice of bombastic, fist- jam "Cool Out" that could
their quirky little sister, mak- pumping bravado seems be on a DNCE album, and
ing cool stuff in her bed- to indicate more of the the gloriously anarchic,
room. same on "Origins," but they disruptive "Digital," which
Don't let the first single, drift into other areas, like plays with dub step and
"Natural," fool you. That the blissed-out summer chops itself into pieces.q