That might have been the coziest episode of This Is Us yet.
"Changes" certainly wasn't without its conflict, but there was something about it that was just so nice and pleasant. Creator Dan Fogelman described it on Twitter as "warm and fuzzy" and yes, that's exactly what it was. Randall has found himself a new therapist who's already got him working on some of his troublesome childhood memories. Kevin and Madison are getting to know each other. Kate and Toby are on their way to adopting another baby, and the little versions of the Big Three aren't so little anymore.
The biggest surprise of the episode was a subtle one. Throughout the hour, we got to know a Vietnamese man and his granddaughter. He was teaching her how to fish and how to cook, and he told her he liked to cook for a specific woman. That woman turned out to be Randall's birth mother, who was only seen in photos in the man's home.
That's all we know so far about the woman who secretly survived childbirth and for some reason never sought out William or Randall after her near-death, but the Vietnam aspect does make us wonder if she'll be somehow related to Jack's time in Vietnam, which was heavily covered in season three.
Beyond that, "Changes" mostly just kept the train rolling towards the future we've already gotten glimpses of. Kevin has twins, though we don't know if he and Madison ever actually make it to marriage. Baby Jack gets an adopted sister named Hailey while Kate and Toby are still dealing with their own ups and downs. Tess eventually becomes a social worker, though her dance/rap video about how much her teacher sucks doesn't quite have us headed in that direction just yet.
Season four was the first season of this show that was focused more on the future than on the past, and it also happened to be the show's best season. So far, season five is back in the past and we haven't gotten any flash-forwards just yet, though Fogelman said in an interview with THR that the show is "not backing off of" flash-forwards and a big one is on its way.
As we wait for more hints of the future, scroll down for everything we know so far.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.
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