‘This Is Us’: Deja’s Story Detailed In ‘This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life’ Episode: See The Photos

This Is Us is going back to the past, but not with one of the Pearsons. In a special episode, the flashback-filled NBC drama will give viewers an inside look at the story of Randall and Beth Pearson’s (Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson) teen foster daughter played by Lyric Ross. Deja will be the focus of the upcoming episode titled “This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life.”

The episode synopsis for “This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life” reads: “Randall and Beth welcome visitors to their home.” Based on the promo for the episode (you can see it below), those visitors are likely Deja and her troubled mom, Shauna (Joy Brunson).

While she’s no longer living in the Pearson’s home, last week, Deja told Randall her mom was unable to pay an $89.34 gas bill and that they had been without water for weeks. A heartbroken Randall and Beth later discovered Deja and her mom sleeping in their car. Now, This Is Us viewers will get Deja’s entire backstory along the lines of previous standalone episodes that focused on minor characters like Dr. K (Gerald McRaney) and the fireman Joe (Brian Oblak), the man who found baby Randall on the fire station’s doorstep in 1980.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, This Is Us executive producer Isaac Aptaker said the episode about Deja’s backstory before moving into the Pearson house is “unexpected and special.”

“We’re going to do a deep dive and explore Deja because we’ve gotten to know her through the context of Beth and Randall, but if you think about it we really know very little about what her situation was before she wound up in their house or once she was removed from it,” the This Is Us producer told THR.

“We’re looking at the flip side of our story as in what things have been like for Deja and what led to her winding up in the Pearsons’ lives.”

Aptaker told Variety that Randall and Beth are in a tricky situation with Deja. The Pearson’s no longer have custody of the teen, but as viewers saw last week, they still feel a moral obligation to the now-homeless young girl. The This Is Us executive producer also praised Lyric Ross and her performance on the show.

“I will just say whenever that girl is on screen, she is so fantastic and giving such an incredible performance,” Aptaker said. “I’m not saying whose house she’s living in, but we do have a lot more of her coming up. Are we going into her world? Are we revisiting her in Randall’s world? With our show jumping through time, the possibilities are endless.”

Lyric Ross has said she is grateful to play Deja on This Is Us. The actress previously appeared in minor roles on Chicago Fire and Sirens before she landed the part of the foster child taken in by Randall and Beth on the hit NBC drama.

The Deja character first appeared at Beth and Randall’s house with a caseworker (played by That ’70s Show mom, Debra Jo Rupp) last season, and she started things off on the wrong foot when Beth found her hidden cigarettes. Deja later flinched when Randall walked into the room as if she was expecting her male guardian to hit her.

Lyric Ross said she thinks Deja’s past experiences moving between foster homes have taken their toll on her.

“She’s pushing people (away),” the This Is Us actress told USA Today. “She doesn’t think she can trust anybody.”

But Deja may have met her match with Randall Pearson, who has taken her in with open arms despite the fact that he has two daughters of his own. Randall has empowered Deja by telling her he can envision a “big, beautiful life” for her—just like his.

You can see the promo for the This Is Us episode “This Big, Amazing Beautiful Life” below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OwK_QaVANE

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