‘This Is Us’ Season 5 Episode 5 Recap: ‘A Long Road Home’

“And that, my friend, is what they call the fence. Alright, alright, that’s Rachel Green when she drunk calls Ross to tell him she’s on top of him before throwing her date phone in an ice bucket (a friends moment, obviously). It’s also, I imagine, the vibe Kate Pearson carries with her as she walks back to her car after denouncing Marc, whom she reunited with 20 years after their horribly toxic relationship. While Kate’s shutdown feels like a real shutdown, while Rachel’s was, well – listen, that’s a discussion for another day. But wow! Kate Pearson really does make moves, doesn’t she?

We’re here because all Pearsons are badly damaged people, and at first it seemed like Kate might be the one in pain the most. But when you look at her background, she might also be the one doing the most to rectify her situation. She screamed during this drum aerobics class; it was a while. She eventually scattered her father’s ashes before her wedding, and that was huge for her. And now she’s dealing with the emotional trauma that she’s hid from everyone in her life.

Does it seem a bit tedious for Kate and Toby to travel to San Diego after finding out where Marc works via a mutual Facebook friend and Marc’s MySpace page (MySpace still exists, in fact I checked for you ) so she can tell him? Sure, but which Pearson doesn’t require a lot of maintenance? I mean, even Annie tries to incorporate Little woman dialogue in everyday life. High maintenance is their way! But that’s what Kate feels compelled to do to finally free herself from the pain she is carrying. The woman names her demons and drives them out, and we must let her!

It’s cathartic to see Kate find this backpack, who still works in a record store and talks about how the band he’s leading is about to break big and unload on him. He of course admits that their six-month relationship has gotten intense at times but doesn’t really think much about it. That’s when Kate leaves: she was 18, he was 24; she was vulnerable and distressed, and he took advantage of it. “You held my self-esteem in your hands and decided to crush it,” she told him. She’s given him the power over her for too long, but now she has the love she deserves and lets Marc go. You almost wish Kate would put on a white skirt suit and sing a verse or two from “You Don’t Own Me”, but alas, It’s us is not that kind of show.

The confrontation is additional cathartic because while this is happening, we also watch Kate, 18, who visits Marc before she has an abortion. You know, just so he could be a dick for her one last time. At least this time she realizes he’s a dick. She leaves without telling him that she is pregnant. After her abortion, there’s a point when Kate could open up to Rebecca and tell her what’s going on, but we watch her bottle it all – the start of what will be decades of Kate burying her emotions. So yeah, it’s nice to see how good Kate feels after seeing Marc again in the present and letting him go. It’s also nice to see her so moved by the fact that instead of trying to solve her problems for her or treat her like a victim, Toby just supported her. They’re in a really good place, which means that’s the point of my recap when I remind all of you that we still have no idea where Kate is in our flash-forward, but we know that she and Toby are no longer together. Divorced? Dead? Who has to say, but something has to be prepared, right?

Kate Pearson isn’t the only Big Three member making strides in emotional well-being. Were you about to guess Kevin? Because it’s hilarious. Kevin is a disaster. No, we’re talking about Randall! Randall finding a therapist and finally opening up to how lonely he felt growing up as a black man in a white family were important steps in his healing process. (Although let’s never forget that he still hasn’t apologized for emotionally manipulating his mother into getting into an Alzheimer’s lawsuit that she didn’t want to participate in. Randall always goes Randall. !) In this episode, however, we see some of that therapy pays off in a positive way.

Randall is still in the ‘coworkers mocking you in padded pectoral costumes’ scene after his accidental striptease video – which, let’s be honest, would be a lot more important than what we’re seeing here, especially after the people discovered the stripper city councilor was related to the real Manny. There would be a shirtless magazine on the brothers or something, and we would all eat it because it’s the kind of content we deserve during a pandemic and you know it. Either way, Jae-won takes off his fake pecs – he’s a professional – in order to deliver a curious letter that came on their website from a man named Hai who lives in New Orleans and claims to know Randall’s biological mother, Laurel. Hai was with Laurel when she passed away … in May 2015.

This is the date that really throws Randall. If Hai’s story is true, it means William’s story about Randall’s mother dying from an overdose right after he was born was a lie. It’s a scenario Randall can’t handle. His first instinct is to ignore it, go for a run and live in denial. Old Randall (different from Old Randall) certainly would have lived like this, leaving the specter of his mother and the thought that William could have been lying to haunt him until he had another slip failure on the wall crying. But it’s not Old Randall (and neither is Old Randall). It’s kind of new, in Randall therapy. He finally calls his therapist. The good doctor (not The good doctor) reminds Randall why he spent so much of his life searching for his birth parents: Randall wanted to know where he was from, but also he wanted to feel connected to something bigger. Getting to know William helped Randall feel that way, so wouldn’t it be knowing his mother would do the same? Dr. Vance tells Randall he’s already on a trip; he may as well engage fully.

And that’s what Randall does. With Beth by his side, he calls Hai. Fortunately, Hai immediately puts Randall out of his misery by assuring him that the story William told Randall about Laurel was what William believed to be the truth; he didn’t know Laurel was alive. It’s an incredibly huge relief for Randall, and you know Sterling K. Brown Single Tear is coming out. It’s effective every time. Now Randall can focus on learning more about his birth mother. Hai says he wishes he could show Randall “the places [Laurel] lived ”and“ the things she loved ”. Randall and Beth exchange a look and, well, it looks like we’re heading to New Orleans.

• Kevin and Madison are having problems. Apparently, they haven’t really given a thought to how Kevin’s work has led him for long stretches of time. He figured Madison and their babies would come with him all the time, but that’s not the life Madison envisioned for them. She tells him to think about his role in their family while he’s in Vancouver for his shoot. It seems very quick to be heading for an ultimatum with this situation. Either Kevin has a career or a family? Is there no room for compromise?

• Hey, do you remember when Madison was weird and awkward and awkward? What happened to this character? There is no trace of her.

• Madison’s situation reminds Kevin of what ultimately ended his relationship with Sophie, and we learn that after a young, newly married Kevin – fresh out of his acting showcase, if you need a reminder of timeline – catches the eye of a talent manager who wants him to travel to Los Angeles for the pilot season, it’s Randall who warns him not to. Randall can’t imagine anything between him and Beth, and he doesn’t know how Kevin could leave Sophie. Kevin doesn’t take his advice and, well, we all know how it worked.

• These days Kevin doesn’t want to make the same mistakes again – he wants Randall’s advice this time around. He tells his brother that he constantly thinks, What would Randall do? And honestly, Randall’s response to that sentiment moved me. “It’s a good thing to say. It’s a good thing to know, ”Randall said, crying. These two ding-dongs start to make amends: Kevin acknowledges the horrible things they yelled at each other not so long ago and says he’s sorry that Randall felt so lonely growing up. But they have a long way to go. I can’t wait for them to hug this. Is it just the social distancing talk or is it a real emotion? Time will tell us!

• Are Rebecca Pearson’s two favorite comedies Plane! and Borat? Discuss!