How fitting it is, then, that the show returned tonight with its third episode dubbed Changes.
Woven around the adult Pearsons dealing with big changes in their lives in the present-day are two parallel plots.
More on the second side plot later.
First, lets dive into the many threads and how they all intertwine, starting with Kate.
However, shes disappointed to learn he just liked the project they were assigned.
Shes proud of Kate for believing in love.
In the present, Kate and Toby meet a potential birth mom for their adoption.
The woman, Ellie, is a 30-something who already has an 8-year-old daughter, Willow.
She thinks the baby would be better off with two parents who really want her.
The couple comes away from the meeting hopeful.
Kevin
Eighth-grade Kevin wants to become a football quarterback.
But hes small for his age and needs to bulk up.
So, Jack excitedly begins showing him how to lift weights, despite Rebeccas concerns.
Both boys push themselves to impress their fathers.
Kevins incredible fitness isnt helping.
He and Madison both have issues theyre afraid of passing on to their kids.
Kevin implies they need to be open and honest with one another if they want to be good parents.
As the day progresses, Randall and Beth deal with their daughters teenage attitudes echoing the flashback pubescent Pearsons.
This segues into what happens to eighth-grade Randall.
Kates friend Tonya flirts with him when shes at the Pearsons for the group project.
When Randall realizes shes flirting, he tries to flee.
But then… Tonya says, I always wondered what it would be like to kiss someone like you.
Thats the story Randall writes for therapy.
But I guess thats the point, isnt it?
To realize no one is perfect, to reflect on real-world issues.
Randalls journey isnt easy, but its real, raw, poignant, and necessary quintessentiallyThis Is Us.
The seasons big mystery continued…
Also quintessentiallyThis Is Us: a season-long BIG MYSTERY.
In the premiere, we learn this seasons big reveal is about Randalls mom.
We learned she lived, seemingly unbeknownst to William, and thus, any of the Pearsons.
In this episode, we learn more, and its perhaps even more unexpected.
The episode opens with a Vietnamese grandfather fishing with his granddaughter.
We dont know when in time it is, or even where.
He says he learned to cook to impress someone special.
She asks if hes referring to the woman in all the pictures in their house.
At the end of the episode, he admits it is.
The camera zooms in, and we see that woman is none other than Laurel, Randalls mother.
