Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from the This Is Us episode “Birth Mother.”
This Is Us will delve even deeper into the backstory of Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown), who was adopted as an infant and has longed to find out more about his family history. People Magazine reported that the newest episode of the series — titled “Birth Mother” and which will air on January 12 — will explore Randall’s history in great detail and answer some lingering questions for viewers regarding his mom, Laurel (Jennifer C. Holmes).
Randall and his wife, Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson), will travel to New Orleans to meet a man named Hai (Vien Hong), who had a long relationship with Laurel from her 20s until her death from breast cancer in 2015.
The couple will reminisce about their trip to the area in celebration of their fifth anniversary. While Beth will recall all the good times they shared, Randall feels a sense of longing, not knowing if while they were visiting the Louisiana town, they could have passed Laurel on the street and not known it.
People reported that in the episode, the couple will meet Hai for the first time, and he will explain as much as he can to Randall about Laurel’s background.
The first bombshell will come shortly after Beth comments on how lovely Hai’s home is. In turn, Hai tells Randall that the property was owned by his mom. That, in turn, means the home now belongs to him.
In the above promo, Randall is seen speaking with Hai — with support from Beth — and learns about his mother’s life. The video also features Laurel as a little girl walking by a river. Randall visits the area that she passed as a child, as he tries to picture her during that time period. Flashback scenes show the love between Laurel and Hai, and also her longing for her missing son.
In the above promo, Laura was seen in a hospital where she confided in someone off-camera that she had a child and she didn’t know where he was. In an earlier episode, believing Laurel was dead due to a drug overdose, William left their home and brought Randall to a firehouse where he knew he would be safe. The baby was later adopted by Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore), and became a brother to twins Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Kevin (Justin Hartley).
The teaser reveals that Laurel never stopped loving her son. How Randall deals with this news will open up a whole new set of emotions for the character, who has expressed a feeling of never belonging in his own family despite their deep love for him and his for them.