Tonight’s episode of This Is Us marked the beginning of our favorite characters’ new journeys and really opened up the season for a plethora of possibilities.
Born together, journeys apart
Kevin and Kate’s relationship could potentially, if not already, be my favorite portrayal of a brother/sister relationship. In tonight’s episode we saw how each of them act on their own and how they both support each other, but we also saw them begin their own journeys on self-discovery.
Let’s start with Kate because, like Toby believes, I also think she’s the true star. Tonight we saw that she actually had a voice, which Toby helped her become more confident in by bringing her to her first “gig” at a retirement home. Aww!
It was inspiring to see someone be so kind to her and help her open up, although it was cheesy as hell. I think at this point, though, we don’t care about cheesy and we just sit here and ask, “Where’s MY Toby?!” It’s almost a little alarming how perfect Toby is coming off, and I hope we get to see his flaws relatively soon because I don’t want him to be a Mary-Sue.
After Kate’s successful gig Toby is getting some well-deserved lovin’ when she gets a call from Kevin asking for help, and she stops everything for him. At the moment I thought it was so awesome of her but when even Kevin was surprised that she stopped everything for him (again) I started realizing that she needs to not put him as his number one priority all the time.
Time to grow up
This brings up a perfect time to talk about Kevin, who also realized that he needs to not rely on his sister all the time. And to be honest it was kind of ridiculous that he expected her to drop everything and move to New York with him in the first place.
I’m extremely happy that they both had this same realization and that Kevin actually manned up and decided to go to New York on his own, letting his sister and him both explore their individual lives. Although can we just talk about how Kevin was on a plane and then there was a jerk that woke Kate up? I swear, if he’s in danger I’m already collecting tissues for next week.
Deals and secrets
This was the episode that showed us Randall and his introduction to the family way back when, and I’m so intrigued by how his relationship with his parents and his siblings is affected by everything we saw in this episode.
We learned that Rebecca actually searched for Randall’s father when he showed up at the hospital on the day she and Jack took him home, and we also learned that their original name for Randall was Kyle. Kevin, Kate, and Kyle. KKK.
I’m not gunna lie, I’m honestly surprised no one brought that up to them. Unlike Charmed and the three Ps matching names are only cute if they’re not three Ks.
I love the psychology behind this episode — the idea that Jack has moved forward from losing a child so quickly but Rebecca is still getting through it. She doesn’t have a connection to Randall because he’s the only one who isn’t biologically hers and I’m really hoping they explore their relationship more because it has the potential to be the deepest and most complicated.
After connecting with Randall’s real father Rebecca agreed to give Randall his own name and not name him Kyle. Thank God.
Flash forward to present day when Randall introduces his mother to William for what he thinks is the first time. We find out about their deal to keep everything a secret from Randall, and we also find out that William has a stomach cancer that is basically hopeless to cure.
I’m not sure how I feel about William still but this episode has brought me closer to liking him and hoping that he can find a way to connect with his family before his cancer takes its toll.