"This Is Us" focused solely on family matters in the show's Thanksgiving episode which offered viewers equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking.
As always, the show was able to seamlessly move between time periods by featuring two very different Thanksgivings for the family. It also marked the first time viewers saw everyone gathered together at present time. The connected past told the tale of how an ongoing family tradition started courtesy of Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) after he successfully turned their rather disastrous holiday into a great one.
The family was supposed to hike up to Rebecca's (Mandy Moore) parents' place when, unfortunately, the car broke down, forcing them to share a room at a lodging place. But the patriarch, as loved as he was, started what would be an annual activity involving a Pilgrim hat, "Police Academy 3," a sweater and some hotdogs.
This resonates in the present day as the rest of the clan as well as Olivia (Janet Montgomery), whom Kevin (Justin Hartley) invited, Miguel (Jon Huertas) and William (Ron Cephas Jones) all gathered at Randall's (Sterling K. Brown) place. Even Kate (Chrissy Metz) flew to the East Coast sans Toby (Chris Sullivan) to join the festivities.
While everyone was happily spending time together, Randall's trip to his biological father's old apartment sent him into a frenzy when he found Rebecca's old letter to William about the truth with regard to keeping him from knowing his real parents over the years.
Obviously, this particular bombshell affected the whole celebration with Randall eventually confronting his mother at the dining table, which was kind of heartbreaking as Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday. And while right now, it is obvious that the adopted Pearson kid's relationship with his mom is fractured, it is interesting how he will tackle William who is fairly a new person in his life. Show creator Dan Fogelman teased what lies ahead for the two in a postmortem session with Entertainment Weekly.
"The first scene of next week's episode gives the answer to exactly that. If you're rating on an anger scale — 'Where is Randall toward varying characters that have maybe misled him or not been completely truthful to him?' — he basically breaks down his scale of anger, to answer your question very clearly [Laughs]," he said. "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."
In light of this, next week's episode titled "The Trip" will see a very angry Randall finding some comfort in Jack. How this will pan out remains to be seen given that the fan-favorite character has already died. But if the formula for the past episodes is any indication, it is safe to assume that ties from the past will have some relevance to what Randall is going through right now.
"This Is Us" airs every Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET on NBC
