Source: NBC // This Is Us
The last time we were hanging out with the Pearson’s, Toby had just shown up to the family Christmas party and collapsed on the floor. The last shot of the cliffhanger showed him in surgery. It was a real twist; if anyone were to end up in the hospital, you’d think it might be William. Which brings us to the present…
Toby & Kate
Toby made it through his surgery, thankfully. I’m not gonna lie and say I really like Toby–he’s a little overbearing–but he’s good for Kate. And Kate is awesome. She deserves to be treated like a queen, and Toby worships the ground she walks on. So of course, we were all a little worried that Toby might not make it through, and Kate would be alone. Again. It turns out Toby does have a heart condition; more specifically, an arrhythmia, caused by a little hole in his heart that his doctor suggested he have surgery to fix. The problem is, Toby’s scared of surgery and doesn’t really want to go through it. This, of course, makes Kate livid. How could you not want to have this surgery that will save your life? she asks. This makes Toby reconsider, because he loves her; and he tells her that before he goes in. But she doesn’t return it until after he’s back, to which he responds “I would marry the hell out of you, Kate Pearson.” Tears ensued. It looks like a wedding is in our future!
Randall & William
Randall’s not homophobic–he continues to insist (we believe you!)–but he still feels pretty shaken by the news that his biological father, William, is bisexual AND has a boyfriend. This likely has a lot to do with the fact that he feels like he’s really gotten to know William over the past few months, and this character trait is a bit of a curve ball. It doesn’t really change anything, but it’s still a little weird for Randall to wrap his head around. He, of course, wants to be supportive of William and Jessie, but he’s also a little worried now that he’s losing valuable time with his dad. I wonder, too, why William is choosing now to go sleepover at his boyfriend’s house when he has so much time to make up with Randall. When Randall confronts him with the same question, we get a pretty heartbreaking answer. William knows he doesn’t have much time left, and he feels it’s better to get Jessie to help him with some end of life arrangements than Randall. The chemo’s not working anymore. It’s making him feel worse. He wants to stop. This makes you wonder how far of a jump forward it was when we saw Randall crying and packing up William’s things. I’m guessing not very far.
Source: Mercury News
Kevin & Sloane (…& Olivia)
Kevin really had his hands full this week! We catch back up with him and Sloane and they seem pretty happy–they’re all giggly and doing really well with the play. Sloane is really amazing and MUCH better for Kevin than Olivia…we all see this…I hope. Basically, things are going great…which means you know something bad is about to happen. Something bad=Olivia. She strides back in to the theater with a new “authentic” haircut (I’m guessing the writers put her in the most inauthentic haircut possible on purpose) to match her new “authentic” vibe. She went fishing in Alaska! She hiked some mountain! She hung out with a swami (maybe it wasn’t a swami)! Blah blah blah. Anyway, she’s back and ready to be in the play again…and ready to be with Kevin again. This should be a no brainer for him. Really. Pitch her, Kev! She sucks! But Kevin is not very bright. He makes stupid decisions more often that not. So while he does reject Olivia on both accounts, he says it’s because “it’s the right thing to do; even if it isn’t what [he] really wants.” Of course, Sloane heard all of this. Ouch.
Jack & Rebecca
Can I just say how perfect Jack is? Seriously. What an amazing husband (we all know where Randall gets it from)! We’ve flashed back to the pregnancy era, and Jack & Rebecca still think she’s only having one baby. They’re feeling pretty excited and even rented a two bedroom walk-up. Then, the couple finds out they’re really expecting triplets. This, with the help of a great lunch with her supportive mother, sends Rebecca into a tailspin: We don’t have enough money! We don’t have enough space! How are we going to take care of triplets? Should we move in with my parents? Jack remains pretty calm and positive throughout Rebecca’s breakdown…until he hears her crying in private. This motivates him to see his abusive jerk of a dad for a loan. But before he goes in, he takes off his wedding ring and he tells his dads it’s to cover some gambling debts. He doesn’t want his dad to know he’s married or expecting babies. This man has no respect for women (or Jack, for that matter); I would keep my family a secret from him, too. Jack also sells his nice car and uses that and the loan to buy the house he’s currently head foreman on. “A Money Pit” as his boss calls it, but Jack sees it as their future home…and Rebecca does too.
We’ve seen all of these sacrifices that Jack has made for his family…it is going to hurt SO bad when/if we see him die.
