Last time on This Is Us, we actually didn’t hear too much from the Pearsons. Instead, the episode focused on Beth and her trip home to care for her injured mother. While there, her and Zoe butt heads with Beth’s mother before she finally decided to stand up for herself. Growing up, Beth was a gifted dancer but her mother made her abandon that dream in favor of law school. Well, now at a crossroads in her life, Beth decided to go back to dancing and the episode ended as she began pursuing her passion again.
Stay caught up with This Is Us by checking out last week’s full review here.
This week, we see Beth start her new career teaching at a dance studio. While she is working, Randall takes it upon himself to deal with an issue at Deja’s school. She wrote a very personal essay about her past that shared details about living in her mother’s car. Then, without asking a teacher published the essay online, upsetting Deja and infuriating Randall. After he angrily makes her take it down, Deja’s teacher tells him that she had more than caught up to her classmates and could skip the next grade. Randall sees this as overwhelmingly great but Deja disagrees.
Later, after Beth gets home, Deja confesses to them that the routine with them was really helping her. She continues that skipping a grade would break that routine she’d come to love. Then, Randall and Beth talk about the struggles of both them working and begin to fight when Randall suggests Beth put her dancing on hold to watch the kids. Before they can settle the matter though, Rebecca calls with worrying information.
Back in the past, we see Rebecca deal with the Big Three’s graduations alone, shortly after Jack’s death. Unluckily for her, both schools graduations happen at the same time, however, she is lucky to have Miguel. During Randall’s graduation, Rebecca loses it and has a panic attack, rushing out of the building. Miguel follows her and reassures her while suggesting she go to grief counseling. Rebecca denies his offer but calms down and returns inside with him. Later that night, Rebecca watches an old home video of Jack and breaks down. She calls Miguel and asks him to drive her to a grief counseling meeting.
Back in the present, Kevin has fallen well off the wagon as he’s been on a bender since we last saw him. Neither Zoe or Kate know though, that is until Kate’s community college graduation. It’s obvious to both women that something is wrong but Kevin excuses himself before they can question him. That isn’t good enough for Kate though and she follows him to his hotel where she finds his empty bottles. After reading him the riot act, Kate is driving Kevin to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when something goes very wrong. Her water breaks at 28 weeks pregnant.
An ambulance rushes them to the hospital because Kevin is too drunk to drive and the doctors are able to stop her labor with a shot. Later that night, Kevin is reassuring Kate as she still worries. The Big Three is completed shortly thereafter when Randall arrives. Together, he and Kevin do their best to reassure Kate as the episode ends.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays on NBC.
