This Is Us on NBC has become a huge hit with its unpredictable and dramatic storylines, and Episode 9 of the crowd-pleasing drama appears to be heading down the same path. Fans of This Is Us have already gotten some serious shocks in the show’s freshman series, from revelation that Pearson family patriarch Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) is deceased, to the fact that mom Rebecca (Mandy Moore) has been communicating with adopted son Randall’s (Sterling K. Brown) biological father since he was an infant.
You don’t want to look back and wish you did things differently. #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/eWh0dCatCv
— This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) November 27, 2016
It was Randall’s realization that his adopted mom had known his biological father, William (Ron Cephas Jones), since Randall’s infancy that brought down the Pearson family Thanksgiving festivities in This Is Us episode 8, “Pilgrim Rock.” The pilot episode of This Is Us featured Randall finally tracking down his biological father for himself on his 36th birthday. When the pair meet, Randall immediately tells his biological father, who abandoned him at a fire station as an infant, that he is successful and happy and better off for being raised by his adoptive parents.
By the end of the This Is Us pilot, William (dying of stomach cancer, financially destitute and a recovering drug addict) takes up residency with Randall and his family. It doesn’t take long for him to “meet” Randall’s adoptive mother ( This Is Us Episode 3); and it was at that moment that it was revealed to the audience that Randall’s adoptive mother and biological father had known one another since mere days after the Pearson family adopted baby Randall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qXmbUr3Xno
Randall, however, didn’t discover his mother’s treachery until Thanksgiving, which took place on This Is Us Episode 8 . The end of that episode shows Randall reacting as though he’s been dealt an insurmountable betrayal by his beloved adoptive mom. After all, as Gossip and Gab reports, Randall Pearson has always felt like the odd one out. An adopted African- American child raised by a middle-class caucasian family, he had spent much of his youth trying to trace some link back to his biological heritage, but his mom had always shot him down, denying any knowledge of the whereabouts of his birth parents.
In This Is Us Episode 9, “The Trip,” Randall and his twin siblings, Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Kate (Chrissy Metz), who are collectively known as “The Big Three,” thus dubbed by their long-dead dad, escape the Pearson family drama (and perceived betrayal) by taking a trip to the family’s cabin. Just the three of them.
Pick the neverending game so this moment never has to end. #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/Xy4VxJFW8t
— This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) November 27, 2016
According to the official synopsis for This Is Us Episode 9, fans can expect Randall to do some serious soul searching while vacationing with his brother and sister.
“Kate, Kevin and Randall head to their family’s cabin to get away after their chaotic family Thanksgiving. A very angry Randall finds comfort and explanation from his father, Jack. Olivia speaks a harsh truth to Kate, which drives a wedge between Kate and Kevin. Rebecca and Jack struggle with what to do when 9-year-old Randall tells them that he’s been looking for his birth parents.”
Just saw the first episode of ‘This is Us’ and I’m hooked. Cryin’ and hooked.
— John Mayer (@JohnMayer) November 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/Mariman31/status/802592132343144448
I just can’t get enough of this show!!! I cry every episode, yet I love every minute #ThisIsUs #bestshowontv
— Jill Wright (@jillwright25) November 26, 2016
just don’t let Randall stay mad at his mom. As a mom she was trying to protect him and afraid to lose him. ? #bestshow
— Albeda Murphy (@amurphy1908) November 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/JaiWonders/status/802593223386333185
Reportedly, Randall’s heart-t0-heart with his dad, Jack, during This Is Us Episode 9 comes in the form of a vision. As BreathCast reports, Randall is expected to work through some of his issues and get answers to some of his most burning questions. But not without dealing with a lot of anger, most of it directed at his adopted mom and the lies she told him, according to the show’s creator Dan Fogelman.
“And as we get into next week, the anger level will really be ratcheted up. 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. 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 divide between Randall and his mom in This Is Us Episode 9 could spell a pivotal turning point in the popular show’s story arc. Throughout the series, Randall and adoptive mother Rebecca have been tightly bonded virtually since he was an infant, adopted to “replace” Rebecca and Jack’s stillborn third triplet, who would have been named Kyle and the third “K,” along with Kevin and Kate.
#ThisIsUs – Episode 1.08 – Pilgrim Rick – Promo, Sneak Peeks, Interview, Promotional Photos & Press Release https://t.co/8GVX6z8fOq pic.twitter.com/G2htNf9Wnv
— SpoilerTV.com (@SpoilerTV) November 19, 2016
Randall was abandoned the same day that the Pearson parents tragically lost their baby, and he was raised as the third triplet from the day the baby’s were brought home. In the earliest days of her motherhood, however, This Is Us revealed that Rebecca couldn’t form a bond with little Randall, then still named Kyle after the stillborn triplet. It was during that time that she sought out the infant’s biological father and secured a promise that he would never try to come take the baby away, that this baby would be her baby.
Rebecca ultimately changed Kyle’s name to Randall based on a book of poetry the baby’s biological father gave her, and she never told Randall that she was personally linked with his biological past.
Gr8ful 4 #ThisIsUs poignant & humorous show about #family starring #MandyMoore #Travel #AuthenticTravel #Backpacking pic.twitter.com/1q0ig3y4wd
— AuthenticTravelerVic (@thewanker) November 19, 2016
In fact, as many episodes of This Is Us revealed, she actively denied knowing anything about it.
Rebecca and Randall’s tattered relationship won’t be the only focus of Episode 9. Reportedly, the This Is Us team is also going to be addressing the aftermath of Kate’s awkward gastric bypass surgery announcement, and even reveal a potential rift between uber-close twins Kate and Kevin.
This Is Us Episode 9 airs on NBC on November 29.
[Featured Image by Helga Esteb/Shutterstock]