This Is Us 1.11: “The Right Thing to Do”

“This is scary. This is all just scary, honestly. But, I want to send the rest of my life with you.”
- Kate

“This Is Us” is finally back from its far-too-long 5-week hiatus (yes in the grand scheme of things, I know that’s not a long time in TV land … I’m looking at you Once Upon a Time and your three-month hiatus). We left the Pearson clan in quite the dire state of affairs at the end of the “Last Christmas”. Namely, Toby is seen in surgery and he’s coding. Is he alive? Is he dead? Let’s find out.

As we see a bunch of hospital staff racing around Kate in a crazy montage, we are led to believe that Toby is in distress. And then Kate asks a nurse for a particular room and we find that Toby had arrhythmia and in typical Toby fashion he’s making light of it. But things aren’t all rosy. He has a hole in his heart that the doctor really wants to repair with surgery. Kate is insisting that he do the surgery but he’s not interested. I’m wondering if maybe someone in his family had something similar. But ultimately, he decides to have the surgery and professes his love to her. While it’s going on, Kate and her brothers hang in the lobby, commiserating about their problems. It’s really nice to see the Big Three together. It’s adorable. The surgery goes well but it gives Kate a chance to tell him she loves him, too. And then he says that he’d marry her if that’s what she wants. It’s really sweet and totally a Toby thing to do.

Things pick up relatively right where we left everyone else in the family. Kevin and Sloane are kind of a thing (they stumble into the kitchen the next morning all lovey dovey to find William and Beth eating breakfast). We also get confirmation that William considers himself bisexual. Randall is clearly still flummoxed by his father’s sexuality and after William says he’s going out with Jesse, Randall wonders if he’s homophobic because he feels so strange about this new piece of information. But Beth confirms that it’s just because he is still getting to know William. She suggests (rightly so … I mean she is on top of her game) that Randall try and get to know Jesse. Unfortunately, his attempt to talk to Jesse is super awkward. First, he offers the guy a drink and then doesn’t actually believe they met at NA (he was also thrown off by Jesse saying they first met on Tinder). Randall is also not happy about William staying the night with Jesse. Randall confronts William when he comes back, only to find out that the chemo meds are no longer working. William was having Jesse help him looking for nursing homes. But Randall insists that his bio dad isn’t going anywhere because they are in this together. They are family. God, this show makes me cry every freaking week!

Things with the play at first look like they are looking up. Kevin and Sloane clearly have chemistry and the director really thinks they are going to work. And then Olivia shows up with a God-awful haircut, claiming she’s found herself and become a real person. She wants the play and Kevin back. I’m praying Kevin will be strong and not give in to her on the romance front. He doesn’t have much choice in the play since the director is pretty stoked about her return. Kevin tells Olivia she’s out on both fronts, and then in his attempt to stick up for himself kind of puts his foot in his mouth, so Sloane may be pissed at him for a while. The guy tries but he just never gets there.

Before we catch up with Jack and Rebecca in the past, we catch a glimpse of Jack as a teenager, trying to stand up to his abusive father. His mother makes him promise to not be like his old man. From what we’ve seen of Jack as a husband and father, he is nothing like his dad. He is the sweetest man in the world and definitely should win World’s Greatest Dad. We catch up with Jack and Rebecca in 1979. They’re excited to have found a cute two-bed 6th floor walkup for $200 a month (although Rebecca is worried about the price). Girl, if my two-bedroom cost $200 a month, I’d be doing back flips. But then again, 2017 versus 1979. Anyway, after Jack has already put money down on the place, they go in for a doctor’s appointment where they get the baby bomb shell that they’re having triplets. I loved that we got a little cameo from Dr. K in which he’s grateful they aren’t his patients. Oh just you wait! Rebecca is understandably freaking out but Jack promises he’ll figure something out. He’s working on a home renovation and asks his boss for a raise (I’m pretty sure he’ s going to buy the house he’s working on). But before we can get there, Rebecca has lunch with her mother (the woman is horrible in every way possible). When Rebecca gets home she says that her mother suggested they move in with her parents for a while after the babies are born. Jack is not having that idea (I don’t blame him) and as he heads out to get her ice cream, he overhears her crying. God, the two of them are just so great together. It’s all so real. On his way to getting the ice cream, Jack takes a huge risk by going to ask his dad for money. He plays his dad to get the money and then sells his car and buys the house (like I predicted early in the episode). He takes Rebecca and breaks the news and it’s so sweet to see her envisioning them raising their children in this house. It will need a lot of work but Jack is obviously up to the task.