5 burning questions after This Is Us season 2, episode 2

Have Kate and Rebecca buried the hatchet? Can Kevin and Sophie survive long distance? Here’s five burning questions from the latest episode of This Is Us.

After the highly anticipated season premiere of This Is Us, there was nary a dry eye in the audience. That episode-ending reveal (you know the one) simultaneously answered every question we ever had about the Pearson family and asked about one-hundred thousand more. Of course, we couldn’t delve into the minutiae of each of these new unanswered questions, but we did pose five burning questions, and this week we do the same.

In the second episode of Season 2, This Is Us blazes past the shocking reveal about the mystery of Jack’s death. What house fire? Instead, the series continues to build toward the moments and relationships that fractured in the wake of and leading up to his passing. “A Manny-Splendored Thing” digs into Kate’s friction with Rebecca in the present day by way of juxtaposing it to her closeness to Jack as a child. If you’re listening, This Is Us is trying to tell us something.

Meanwhile, Beth and Randall continue to bicker over the future of their family, and Kevin and Sophie make their play at a long distance relationship. But how long will both of these romantic roadblocks last? And when will we more deeply explore the subtleties of Jack Pearson’s myriad demons? It’s time to wipe away your tears and dive into the five burning questions that remain following the latest heartbreaking and heartwarming episode of This Is Us.

1. Have Kate and Rebecca buried the hatchet?

Last season, This Is Us merely tapped the issues between Kate and Rebecca on the nose. We understood why Kate would hold some level of contempt for her mother (as she told her former employer’s daughter), and we caught this friction in action on Christmas, but the series hadn’t yet devoted a story to the supposed beef between them. Until now. All of their cards are on the table when Kate’s frustrations with Rebecca hit the ceiling, and she’s not holding back.

When Rebecca tags along with Toby to Kate’s first singing gig and proceeds to unknowingly undercut Kate’s post-show glow, Kate unloads the truth on her mom. In all honesty, you can’t fault Rebecca for her accidentally demeaning praise. Her heart’s always in the right place, and she never intends to make her children feel anything other than loved. But she does finally listen to Kate’s feelings, and that seemingly ushers in a new era for their mother-daughter bond. Can these two learn from their mistakes and be nice to each other once and for all?

2. Will we see more of Jack in Vietnam?

Again, the first season of This Is Us, which dealt more with world building and getting to know the Pearsons, didn’t delve into Jack’s time in the Vietnam War. But the second episode of Season 2 and its exploration of Jack’s demons flashed back to Jack in war for the first time. It’s not that we necessarily want to see more of Jack’s time as a soldier (do we really need more opportunities to wring our tear ducts dry?), but the episode presented the Vietnam War and its effects as the root of Jack’s problems with alcoholism.

While it might feel like a scapegoat excuse for Jack’s issues, and one that could preserve his likability, it’s an important story to tell for his generation and what he went through. Beyond his everyday stressors and his bad home life, Jack faced trauma. Surely, as the series digs further into Kevin’s war movie with Sylvester Stallone, more information about Jack the veteran will emerge and form parallels between Kevin’s on-screen role and his father’s real-life experiences. But we have to wonder what Jack saw and how it affected his mental well-being.

3. Can Kevin and Sophie survive the distance?

As of right now, it appears as though it’s smooth sailing for Kevin and Sophie. Even though they are currently living on opposite coasts, as Kevin films a movie in Los Angeles and Sophie hangs back in New York as a nurse, these two crazy kids have found a way to make it work. Sophie surprised Kevin for his birthday in the season premiere, and she extended her stay for Kevin’s taping of The Man-ny, which she was integral in helping Kevin endure. While he’s counting his abs, she’s bringing him back down to earth.

But can the childhood sweethearts survive this seemingly temporary bicoastal relationship? Cynics might say that it is wildly unsustainable to rebuild a lifelong romance that included a failed marriage while living in different time zones. However, optimists might say that Kevin and Sophie have climbed greater heights and, having chosen each other for the long haul, nothing can stop them. Because when you boil it all down, they’re the same supportive Sophie and Kevin from their grade school days. Still, you can’t help but wonder.

4. Is this the end of Beth and Randall’s disagreements?

Finally, Beth and Randall have come to an agreement about the future of their family. After their dust up about Randall’s insistence to adopt a baby in an effort to honor his father’s legacies, Beth’s proposal to foster an older child presented the new beginning they needed. Although Randall hesitated to sign the paperwork and referred to Beth’s readiness to parent a possibly troubled youth as reckless, Beth and Randall individually realize that this is the next step for their family. But is it the end of their arguments?

It would be actually reckless to believe that all of Beth and Randall’s problems are solved forever in light their joint decision. Sure, that’s the dreamland we’d all love to live in, but it’s unrealistic. For Beth and Randall, choosing to leap out of their comfort zone and take on this challenge could be just the tip of the iceberg. As unbreakable as they might be as a team, they are still prone to disagreeing about the fundamentals. Tess and Annie were a breeze to raise, but welcoming a child who wasn’t afforded the same privileges might present their first big parental spat.

5. What role did Kate play in Jack’s death?

Prior to “A Manny-Splendored Thing,” This Is Us hadn’t provided concrete evidence as to how Kate could have realistically played a role in her father’s passing, as she alludes to in Season 1. With the twist of the Pearson house fire, it’s unfathomable to reason how Kate could factor into this tragedy. But the latest episode nudges closer to why Kate could have wound up feeling responsible for Jack’s death. As he unpacks his demons to kick his addiction, Jack confesses his alcoholism to Kate before Kevin and Randall, and her response is interesting.

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She puts her hands on his face as to comfort him, much like she did as a child when Jack dropped by her school to see her so he didn’t pick up the bottle. Kate seems to have accepted a role reversal, and this dynamic could arguably contribute to the tragic event that’s to arise in the near future. Could Jack be leaning on his daughter too much during his recovery? It’s a conversation worth having considering Kate carries around guilt about her father’s demise. No one could believe Kate was really at fault, but the second episode hints at an upcoming gray area.

What do you think, This Is Us fans? Let us know your thoughts on these questions and hit us with your own burning questions in the comments and on Twitter at @thisisuscrying!

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.