'This Is Us' returns with an explosive therapy session
It’s about time. This Is Us finally returned Tuesday night, bringing us all up to speed as the Pearson family visited Kevin in rehab. Unfortunately, the family reunion turned therapy session didn’t go so well.
Kevin began by apologizing to Kate for not being there when she lost her baby, followed by an apology to Randall, for driving under the influence with his daughter in the backseat, and his mother, for putting her through everything. However, it was when Kevin finally revealed his deep-seated issue, dating back to his childhood, that the Pearsons began to get uncomfortable. “I guess, my entire childhood, I always felt like I came in second to you two,” Kevin told Kate and Randall. “With Mom and Dad. You know, like I was a fifth wheel of the family.” Kate, Randall and Rebecca all denied the truth behind Kevin’s statement, and it wasn’t long before things got even more real. “Hey, man, you want to talk about your tortured childhood, you want to compare baggage?” Randall asked Kevin, to which he responded, “Yeah, let’s do that. No, I would never compare my tortured childhood with yours, Randall, because I wasn’t abandoned or adopted or I didn’t have anxiety or I’m not a genius.” Randall then told Kevin that he agreed he wasn’t a genius, and also that he’s not an addict. “The only thing you’re addicted to is attention,” he told Kevin. Yikes. It was only a matter of time until Kevin and Randall’s tension-filled relationship finally exploded, and until Kevin finally confronted his mother.
At the climax of the argument, Kevin asked his mother, “Just tell everyone the truth, which is that you love Randall the most. He’s your favorite, right?” While Rebecca insisted that his revelation was ridiculous and not true, eventually she broke, screaming, “No, he was just easier! He was easier and he didn’t recoil when I touched him.” Through tears, Rebecca continued, explaining, “He wasn’t some sullen teenager who was angry at me for no reason and he didn’t abandon me and move away after his father died.”
Turns out, parents really can have a favorite child. Too soon?
As heart-wrenching as the episode was, it was equally heartwarming, when the Big Three came together in the end, apologizing for not being the best siblings to one another. In fact, the writers even made us laugh to make up for all those tears we shed, when Randall stated, “So, just to clarify, it’s official that I’m Mom’s favorite, right?”
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC. Watch clips and full episodes of This Is Us for free on Yahoo View.
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