Will Rebecca turn out to be a liar on This Is Us? When we last left the present day Pearsons, everyone was having an amazing Christmas Eve until Toby had a health crisis that landed him on the operating table. So does nothing bad really happen on Christmas Eve? Or was this the year that everything changed?
The winter premiere, titled “The Right Thing to Do,” picks up right after Christmas. Kate learns Toby’s fate, Sloane questions her relationship with Kevin, and Randall adjusts to his father’s relationship with Jesse. Meanwhile, a young Rebecca and Jack struggle with the news of having triplets.
6 New Year’s Resolutions These Characters Need to Make >>>
Don’t End Up Like Him
In the winter premiere, a teenage Jack tries to save his mother from his abusive father. However, when he tries to stand up to his father, he backs down, and his father taunts him. As Jack comforts his mother, she makes him promise never to end up like his father.
You’re Not Having Twins … You’re Having Triplets
A young Rebecca and Jack search for apartments as Rebecca starts nesting. Everything is great as they find the perfect one — until the doctor tells them they are having triplets. Soon, that beautiful two-bedroom, six-floor walk-up isn’t the best option for the soon-to-be family of five.
Jack assures Rebecca that he will support his family and figure it out, as he asks his boss for a raise. And while his boss does give him a 10% raise, Jack feels like it’s still not enough.
A lunch date with her mother stresses Rebecca out, as her mother is quick to point out that Jack isn’t really fit to support a family of five on his salary. However, she suggests that Rebecca and Jack move in with her after the babies are born. And while Rebecca always seems to butt heads with her mother, she seriously contemplates the offer, while Jack laughs it off.
When he hears Rebecca crying, Jack heads to his father’s house, which is difficult for him, and asks to borrow some money. He doesn’t admit that it’s for his family and just sits and listen to his father berate him about careless money habits. In the end, though, his father lends him the money. Jack then sells his car and uses all of the money to buy the “money pit” he is building at work. Rebecca relaxes a little as she envisions her family in the house.
You Have a Condition
We learn pretty quickly that Toby is alive but maybe not so well. Kate is by his side in the hospital as his doctor explains that his arrhythmia is a little more serious that he thought, as he has a hole in his heart. The doctor tells Toby that while medication may work, his best option is surgery. Of course, Toby says he doesn’t want the surgery, which causes Kate to freak out and call him a child. After she leaves, he texts her to come back, and when she arrives, he’s being prepped for surgery. As he gets wheeled out of his room, he tells Kate he loves her.
In the waiting room with her brothers, Kate freaks out because she didn’t say “I love you” back. So when the surgery is over, she confesses to an unconscious Toby that she loves him too and wants to spend the rest of her life with him. Of course, Toby, being Toby, is awake the whole time and hears her. He then tells her that he’d marry her if that’s what she wants, making Kate very happy.
Do the Right Thing
Things seem to be going well for Kevin. After funding the play himself with Sloane, the director, while hesitant at first, is pleased with the performance. During rehearsals one day, Sloane asks Kevin what’s going on with the two of them, and he says he likes her. Just as she relaxes, a blonde Olivia returns, ready to pick up where she left off in the play and with Kevin.
Later, Kevin sits Olivia down and explains that he is keeping Sloane in the play. He also informs Olivia that he’s staying with Sloane because “sometimes you have to do the right thing, even if it’s what you don’t want.” Yes, he actually says those words, and Sloane overhears him. So, yet again, Kevin messes up a relationship.
Quiz: Who is Your TV Boss? >>>
Getting to Know You
Randall seems to be having a hard time with learning about William and Jesse. Well, ‘hard’ isn’t the right word. It seems Randall is having mixed emotions about it, and it’s not because William is bisexual, but we later learn that it seems he’s slightly jealous of the time William is spending with Jesse instead of him.
Randall does try to get to know Jesse briefly, but it’s just an awkward encounter. And after an overnight stay at Jesse’s house, Randall confronts William when he gets home. He wants to know why William seems to be “forgetting” his family now that Jesse is back in the picture. William quickly explains that his cancer is getting worse, and Jesse has been through it all. He doesn’t want to be a burden on Randall and his family, so Jesse is helping William find a nursing home to be comfortable in. Randall balks at the idea of William dying in a nursing home and insists he stay in his home with his family. William then tells Randall he doesn’t want to do chemo anymore, as it’s making him sick, so Randall agrees that William can stop treatments.
In the End
So in the end, nothing bad happened to Toby. While I’m sure his health will play a huge factor in his relationship with Kate moving forward, for now he seems fine. And it seems a health scare is what the pair needed to get back together, confess their love for each other and possibly get married soon. While I’m happy that they are back together, because Toby is pretty awesome, I hope they take things slow since, as I said, his health will probably keep coming up, as will Kate’s continuing weight issues.
I’m curious to see what the fallout from Jack’s father’s loan will be. It’s clear he has a strained relationship with his father, and he didn’t tell Rebecca where the money came from, so I’m sure that will come up in the near future.
I did like Randall’s vulnerability toward his father. And I’m glad he aired out his issues quickly about Jesse and didn’t keep them bottled up. It’s clear he realizes that he only has a short time left with William, and I hope he uses that time wisely.
And Kevin needs to grow up and stop being so superficial. But, then again, nothing has really seemed to go Kevin’s way on This Is Us yet, so hopefully something good will happen soon.
What did you think of “The Right Thing to Do”? Are you happy that Toby and Kate are in love? Do you think Randall is being too weird about William and Jesse? Do you think it is a good thing that Jack borrowed money from his father? What do you think the fallout from that will be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
This Is Us season 1 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC. Want more news? Like our This Is Us Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
