This Is Usjust unleashed the mother of all twists.
As previously previewed, the brothers celebrated birthday No.
40 separately as well.
Credit: NBC (2)
But a much bigger revelation was lying in wait and on the floor.
How would that even happen?
When might we meet his mother, if she’s even still alive?
“So yeah, I’m excited.”
Don’t take a rain check read on.
But viewers and Randall have always wondered about her.
It’s more about: Will Randall get to learn her story?
And if he does, what will that do for him?
So, how possible is that hedidfind out that she was alive?
I think it’s very possible.
Later episodes will speak to that.
This was a man who was lost during that period and relapsed and fell, and hard.
That becomes a big question for Randall that gets addressed pretty quickly head-on.
The audience knows more than Randall at this moment, that Laurel did at least survive that fateful day.
What can you hint about the manner in which she might re-enter the fold ?
I can’t hint a lot, other than to say there’s no way to guess it.
[Laughs] And not because it’s, like, crazy.
It’s just so specific that if somebody guessed, it would mean that they’re a psychic.
The most logical thing would be related to Randall’s elevated profile as a politician.
That does play a part in it.
I’m talking about the specifics of how stuff might get there or not get there.
But that does play a role.
or “Was she even capable of that?”
Or “Is she even alive today?”
The first half of the season will give all the answers and even before then.
And how does that effect change or not effect change in his life?
What could a revelation like this do to him?
You think about how powerfully he was affected by his discovery of William.
Do we need to find him that new therapist pretty fast?
What hesitations did you have about a similar bang out of revelation here?
On the flip side, what excited you about the possibility of this one?
It’s very different than the Nicky thing.
Obviously it’s a reveal that somebody that we’ve been told isn’t around [is].
I mean, Nicky wasn’t a prominent character in Jack’s narrative for those first seasons.
This is more of a direct [situation].
Nobody has the information that the audience is being given right now.
This is actually a much bigger reveal…
I think when the Laurel story is told to completion, people will see that it’s very different.
I can’t speak too much about it, but there are reflections of the past in that.
So that’s on the table here.
The episode addresses both the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement [which Fogelman talks about here].
There are so many layers to this conversation, and obviously there’s love and history between these siblings.
How did this scene come to life in the writers' room?
Did it reflect some of the actual conversations that the writers were having?
I think our country is having complicated conversations right now.
A lot of it was born out of that.
This is a family.
So that makes for a very, very specific dynamic, right?
So when I came back to work pretty quickly, there was a lot in the air.
I’m really proud of what it turned into.
Our family dynamic, Randall’s adoption story, his family, and these characters are really interesting.
But these are uncomfortable conversations, and frankly they’re uncomfortable conversations for white people.
And they should be.
So no, we’re not backing away from that.
And as we move forward, these things don’t just get resolved in one episode of television.
The show is off next week for the election, but it’s back on Nov. 10.
What is your cryptic one-sentence tease for the third episode?
We get back to our little ones, our 13-year-olds.
[Laughs] That’sverycryptic.
Looking for more season 5 intel?Fogelman dropped more hints.
Chrissy Metzdid the same, asdid Chris Sullivan.
And you might want to hear whatMilo Ventimiglia had to say.Susan Kelechi Watson, too.
Oh, andJustin Hartley.
And don’t forgetMandy Moore.
