Since I don’t have too many shows airing at once right now, I’ve bit the bullet and decided to stay current with the back half of This is Us. I watched last week’s episode over the weekend and wasn’t sure if I was going to follow suit this week…but I did, so keep reading for a brief recap!
We come off the break with Rebecca giving in to Randall’s concern about her spotty memory. They decide to get her into a doctor to run a slew of tests. Spoiler (I guess)! She has signs of memory loss, but they aren’t sure without additional testing if it’s dementia. Rebecca tells Randall to keep all of this to himself, and based on that last flash forward, we know how that turns out for him.
Kevin is trying to find his next love, and goes on a series of really awkward dates, then meets someone (Sophia Bush) who seems totally normal! So what does Kevin do? Calls up John Legend to put on a private show for them. Turns out though that she’s married and Kevin is her “hall pass.” On the other end of the love spectrum, Kate is having equally bad luck in that Toby keeps lying to her! He quit his gym because “Lady Kryptonite” but the moves on Toby. He then tells Kate that he only sees sadness when he looks at their blind son, Jack. Trouble in paradise for sure.
In the flashbacks we see Jack break up with Rebecca because her dad sucks and tells him he’ll never be good enough for his daughter. Rebecca’s mom has an actual human moment, and tells Rebecca this, so she goes and reclaims her man!
This past week’s episode picks up where the winter premiere left off. With Randall face to face with an intruder in his kitchen. Eventually, he leaves with a wad of cash and a threat that a silent alarm was tripped. He seems cool and collected, but it’s Randall, so he’s actually freaking the hell out. He manages to hold it together (sort of) for a little bit, but he ends up not sleeping, bombing a public forum, and just swallowing a ton of anxiety. The flashbacks in this episode show Randall dealing with all sorts of anxiety as a small kid and as a teen after Jack passes. Beth has been his rock for most of that, and Jack, but now it’s Kevin’s turn to help. At the end of the episode we see Randall call Kevin in a serious breakdown.
There’ll be more to come next week, but I think the focus will be on Kevin. I believe this week’s episode was the first in a trio all focused on one of the “Big Three.” So far so good, and most importantly – no tears!