(Ginny Bakers father cheering from the bleachers?
Its a narrative equipment I particularly dislike when used in an otherwise grounded drama.
Why am I being forced to suspend my disbelief to this degree?!
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Hes writing a list 22 reasons long so far!
about why hes mad at Rebecca.
You experienced mild turbulence, Kevin condescends about her near-death experience.
You spilled your peanuts.
But Kate isnt relenting.
Randall declares hes just clearing out his stuff and then hes out.
(Im not talking portobellos here.)
Through flashbacks, we see just how difficult the subterfuge was.
As it turns out, 9-year-old Randalls tally marks werent the only genetic sleuthing he was conducting.
We are your community, the sensei says.
When things get hard, we will be the ones to hold you up.
He doesnt recognize her when she shows up on his doorstep, and hes a changed man himself.
Hes been clean for five years and works at a store selling musical instruments.
I spent the last nine years wondering if I did the right thing, William tells Rebecca.
It seems like it was right, though.
Rebecca finally admits why shes there: Randall has been wondering about his fathers identity.
William lights up knowing his boy has been asking after him.
Maybe it’s possible for you to bring him by the store some time!
At home, Rebecca finally voices her concerns to Jack: What if theyre great?
What if they regret abandoning him?
What if they want him back?
Rebecca will not lose her son.
(Hence, the letter and photograph she sends William, which Randall finds nearly 30 years later.)
Grown-up Randall is now struggling to understand both what his mother did and his place in the family.
The moment I saw you I knew you were my boy, Jack tells him.
You werent a choice, Randall, you are a fact.
You were never a replacement.
As that cant be changed, Jack asks what Randall wants to do now.
I want her to hurt as much as I do, he says of Rebecca.
While Randall continues his trip (and I just now got the double-meaning of this episodes title!
), Kate and Kevin face their own dramas at the cabin.
Im not sure youve experienced anything real your entire life, he tells Olivia.
I feel sorry for you.
But she cant hear him.
When his mushroom fog finally clears the next day, Randall pays his (present-day) mom a visit.
You kept a secret for 36 years, he says.
It must have been incredibly lonely.
As she tears up and reaches for him, he evades her touch.
Not yet, he cautions.
See you at Christmas.
