After a couple of weeks away from the Pearson family, This Is Us is back with another classic family episode to pull at your heartstrings.
Last time on This Is Us, we watched as Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) worked on their relationship, Deja (Lyric Ross) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) worked on their relationship and Kevin (Justin Hartley) worked on himself.
This week, we get to see a spotlight on Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) and some good relationship moments between Beth and Randall. We also get more backstory on Sophie (Amanda Leighton) and Kevin (Logan Shroyer)’s downfall, and Miguel (Jon Huertas) and Rebecca’s relationship beginning.
Beth’s backstory is really powerful, seeing her relationship with her dad who passed away and the parallel of Beth getting to finally realize what her dream is– helping others achieve their goals and being the great mentor she never had– is incredibly moving. With one of her dancers, Beth gets the opportunity to be for her what her mentor failed to be: a support system through thick and thin. Though she chickened out of confronting him before, she finally gets to as an adult.
“I’m the little island girl, who danced before she walked, and you took that from me,” Beth said to her instructor. “But now I’m taking it back. I know who I am. And I know what I was meant to do, now.”
Meanwhile, we get to see the blossoming of Miguel and Rebecca’s relationship, as Miguel is visibly jealous about Rebecca’s new boyfriend. At the same time, Sophie and Kevin are experiencing the end of their relationship because of Kevin cheating on her, and Kate (Hannah Zeile) is torn over whether or not she should tell Sophie what Kevin did or if she should just let her brother handle it and have his back.
Just like in the backstory, Kevin is struggling with whether or not Madison (Caitlin Thompson) should be able to keep the kids in Los Angeles for Thanksgiving instead of taking them to his family’s cabin. Kevin does make some valid points here, as Thanksgiving is the Pearson family’s holy holiday, but Madison also has rights in the situation too – leaving Kate torn on who to side with.
Of course because Kevin and Kate are siblings, Kate feels she needs to have his back. However, she wants to put her friendships as a priority as well, which makes her realize that the best way of having Kevin’s back is to be honest that Madison deserves to have Thanksgiving with the kids and Kevin needs to be more understanding.
With the backstory, it’s an interesting connection to see how Kate has always had Kevin’s back. From Sophie walking out after Kevin cheats, to finally being able to be honest with him about his ridiculous behavior toward Madison.
But by far the best part of the episode is Beth’s success in her performance. We see Beth’s self-confidence blossom in a way we haven’t seen in a while, and it’s so beautiful. Her commitment to her students is beautiful, and the way she stands up for herself is so powerful that the audience can’t help but choke up.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.
