The 4 Biggest Bombshells From This Is Us' Thanksgiving Episode

Randall finally knows his mother's secret

By Jean Bentley Nov 23, 2016 3:00 AMTags
Watch: "This Is Us" Stars Talk Holiday Secrets

The Thanksgiving episode of This Is Us served up major life lessons for pretty much all of the Pearsons—and they all had something to do with the simple adage of "life's too short." (No, really, a lady on a plane pointed that fact out to Kate after a particularly rough bout of turbulence.) There's also the "be thankful for what you have" thing, but that's really a lesson we should always revisit on Thanksgiving.

 

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The flashback half of the episode featured a Thanksgiving with the elementary-aged kids that turns out to be the year the Pearson family established its true Thanksgiving traditions—all forged out of a tire blowout on the way to grandma's house and continued to this day.

Below, a list of the biggest life-changing bombshells from Thanksgiving—and none of them had anything to do with a politically charged conversation with a drunk uncle over turkey and dry stuffing!

NBC

Kate and Toby Are Dunzo

Okay, so Kate (Chrissy Metz) technically told Toby (Chris Sullivan) that she thought they should be "on a break," but things aren't looking good for the now-former couple—especially since the main reason for Kate ending the relationship is because of their differing attitudes toward weight loss, something Kate really wants to focus on at this point in her life.

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Kevin and Olivia Are a Thing Now

While one Pearson twin's romance fizzled out, another's heated up. Kevin's (Justin Hartley) actress costar Olivia (Janet Montgomery) denied the chemistry between them for a while, but after a lovely heart to heart with William (Ron Cephas Jones) about the fleeting nature of life—" Soon, where there used to be my granddaughter breathing and my son laughing, there will be nothing," he told her while we fought back tears—she decided to give in to her feelings.

 

NBC

Kate's Getting Weight Loss Surgery

After hours of plane delays, Kate finally made her way to New York to reunite with the rest of her family, but a severe bout of turbulence caused an epiphany—she shouldn't be afraid to make drastic changes in her life and be as proactive as possible about the weight loss she so desperately wants, so she's going to get weight loss surgery. Her family looked shell-shocked after she burst in and told them her news, but it's really because they were still reeling from the night's biggest bombshell…

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NBC

Randall Learns Rebecca's Secret

Come on, this is television. Did you really think Randall (Sterling K. Brown) would never find out about William and Rebecca's (Mandy Moore) previous contact with each other? Randall's wife, Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson), learned the news last week, but thankfully wasn't forced to spill the beans to her husband. Unfortunately, Randall learned of his mother's secret on his own in a slightly more tragic manner. He went back to retrieve some tapes William wanted to listen to, and in doing so found an old letter Rebecca had written him with an update on young Randall's life. When he returned to his home, he confronted his mother about her deception in a truly heartbreaking scene, the fallout of which we'll have to wait until next week to watch.

It's all the more painful considering Thanksgiving is Randall's favorite holiday (after that fateful childhood road trip) and he was especially adorable while listening to "You Can Call Me Al" and cooking Thanksgiving dinner for his family. Peak Dad Randall is the cutest Randall.

Petition to give Sterling K. Brown another Emmy starts in the comments, yo.

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)