This week may not be the most exciting of This Is Us episodes, but it is, unsurprisingly, a heartwarming one.
Last week’s episode showed the touching family pool scenes and Kate (Chrissy Metz) learning more about her son.
This week follows Nicky’s (Griffin Dunne) storyline while he goes to therapy, and leads to his eventual downfall where he throws a chair into the window of a veterans meeting.
Kevin (Justin Hartley) goes to help Nicky, and meets Cassie (Jennifer Morrison) while waiting for Nicky to get out of his appointment. There has been plenty of speculation as to whether the two will become love interests, so after watching Kevin bond so well with Cassie’s son, it’ll be intriguing to watch the story unfold.
Meanwhile, Kate is realizing how thin Toby (Chris Sullivan) is, and he confesses to going to the gym. This reignites Kate’s struggle into her weight and is paralleled by her childhood struggle.
In the past we see Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) struggling with his job because of a mistake he made, and when he faces getting fired, Miguel (Jon Huertas) lays his job on the line unless his boss agrees to keep Jack in the company. Both keep their jobs, and the two share a lovely moment comparable to brothers.
Meanwhile, the real brothers, young Kevin and Randall (Sterling K. Brown), share a touching moment when Randall gets in trouble at school. Kevin goes to Randall’s aid and helps Randall combat his panic attack.
Kevin suggests the family watch the Arsenio Hall show together because he’s influential to Randall. The entire family shares one of those chilling and beautiful moments This Is Us is famous for, and audiences are loving it.
In the present, Randall is struggling to manage his time. He decides to speak to anyone who wants to drop in with concerns, and everyone is calling him unhinged. With the help of Jae-won (Tim Jo), the two fire one of his employees after she is disrespectful, and they discuss the reality of their situations.
“We’re not career politicians Randall,” Jae-won says. “This isn’t some big career stepping stone for us, this is the gig.”
The two realize they’re naive, sure, but they’re going to do everything they can for the people.
The episode is one of the slower ones, but it has some deep and important heart to it that This Is Us is always equipped with.
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This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.
