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‘This Is Us’ Episode 9: Randall’s Anger Hits A New High In ‘The Trip’

By Victoria Miller
Published on: 00:58 PST, Nov 29, 2016

This Is Us has been an emotional roller coaster for fans, and it’s only going to get worse in Episode 9, “The Trip.” One week after Randall Pearson’s (Sterling K. Brown) world was rocked by the revelation that his mother, Rebecca (Mandy Moore), has known his biological father, William (Ron Cephas Jones), for his entire life, the fractured family will go through an even more intense tailspin. This Is Us star Mandy Moore posted a teaser for fans, warning them that Episode 9 will be “a mammoth” one.

In addition, Moore’s This Is Us co-star, Milo Ventimiglia, told viewers that there will be plenty of tears on the NBC drama.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman revealed that Randall’s resentment towards his mother will intensify in “The Trip.”

“The anger level will really be ratcheted up,” Fogelman told EW.

“Sterling played it so beautifully — more than anger he’s stunned, and you feel his entire world spinning on its axis. I think anger comes with processing. Right now is disbelief and emotion in all the visceral, weird, ugly ways. By the time we get to [Episode 9], whatever the scale of anger is, he’s ratcheted it up high.”

Fogelman also revealed that the very first scene of “The Trip” will provide answers as to how Randall will handle his biological dad’s part in the betrayal.

“The first scene of [“The Trip”] gives the answer to exactly that,” Fogleman said.

“If you’re rating on an anger scale — ‘Where is Randall toward varying characters that have maybe misled him or not been completely truthful to him?’ — he basically breaks down his scale of anger… It’s fair to say that the carnal, original sin he views as being Rebecca’s. Everybody else is complicit, and it’s not that he’s letting everybody off the hook, but where he’s focusing is on his mother.”

The This Is Us showrunner explained that Randall will take his anger out on his adoptive mother much more than his birth father because they have always had such a close relationship. He views her secret as the ultimate betrayal.

“So not that she’s been most in the wrong, it’s also that their relationship is so close that it’s such a betrayal,” he said.

So how much backstory will This Is Us fans get this week? “The Trip” will delve into when and why Rebecca sent the letter to William with the picture of Randall in it. Fans know that Rebecca tracked William down shortly after Randall’s birth, but last week’s episode, “Pilgrim Rick,” showed that she also sent him a photo of an 8-year-old Randall years later.

According to TV Guide, not only did Rebecca and William meet a second time, but their second meeting “will be even more devastating than their first.” In addition, Mama Pearson’s real motives for keeping William a secret for the past 36 years will become a little bit clearer.

In a Twitter Q&A with fans, the This Is Us creator also revealed that viewers will see a lot more of “young William” in “The Trip,” which points to the possibility that viewers will see the second meeting that occurred back when Randall was a young boy.

And viewers will find out even more about young William in the coming weeks. According to Entertainment Weekly, This Is Us Episode 10, titled “Last Christmas,” will introduce an old friend from William’s past. The pal, whom Randall’s biological father first met in Narcotics Anonymous, is named Jessie and will be played by Denis O’Hare (American Horror Story).

“He’s a guy who allows us to learn more about William’s old life before Randall had come knocking on his door,” the This Is Us creator told EW. “He’s a friend from back before. And William on Christmas Eve returns home to take care of some stuff back at home, and through his old buddy, we get to learn more about William.”

In addition, William’s longtime friend will answer another burning question that This Is Us fans have been wondering about.

“It’s not what the episode is about, but because people have been asking, he holds the answer to what has happened to William’s cat,” Fogelman revealed.

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

[Featured Image by Mike Coppola/Getty Images]

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