3 biggest revelations from the This Is Us Season 5 premiere
By Noah Mussay
Here are the 3 biggest revelations from the This Is Us Season 5 premiere
Spoilers ahead for the This Is Us Season 5 premiere.
This Is Us kicked off Season 5 on Oct. 27, picking up just five months later. But boy, does it feel like a lifetime ago!
As you may remember, at the end of last season, Randall and Kevin were at odds over how to handle Rebecca’s medical care, a dispute that would rehash a decades-old silent feud between the two. Things would get even more complicated for Kevin when he learned that Kate’s friend Madison, with whom he had a one-night stand, was pregnant with his children.
Meanwhile, Kate and Toby were adjusting to parenthood and considering making yet another life-changing decision. Fast-forward five months later, and the Pearson family is living in a world that is vastly different from the one they were living in not too long ago.
What’s in store for the Pearson family this year?
Here are the three biggest revelations from the This Is Us Season 5 premiere.
Rebecca’s clinical trial has been postponed
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In the opening moments of the This Is Us Season 5 premiere, Randall learns that the clinical trial Rebecca had agreed to attend in St. Louis has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As you’ll likely remember, the clinical trial became a point of contention between Randall and Kevin, with Kevin being against the idea to remove Rebecca from her home and family for nine months. Randall considered Kevin’s motives to be selfish and was adamant that he knew what was best for Rebecca, and so when she initially refused to attend the trial, Randall blamed Kevin.
After learning that Rebecca had changed her mind, Kevin would confront Randall, suspecting that he had something to do with it, leading to a massive blow-up between the brothers at baby Jack’s first birthday party. While, weeks later, the brothers both regretted the things they said, neither was willing to bury the hatchet even though none of it mattered anymore due to the trial’s postponement.
Speaking of which, with the clinical trial put on hold, Rebecca would be forced to make do, and in the first hour of the Season 5 premiere would head off to the family cabin with Miguel. Although Rebecca’s health would seem to improve, by the time Kevin, Madison, and Kate visited for The Big Three’s 40th birthday, Rebecca’s health would again be on the decline.
As a result, a quick trip to buy a birthday cake would end with Rebecca being escorted home by the police. Upon hearing about the commotion, Randall would travel to the cabin and figure out that an antihistamine that Rebecca had taken to combat poison ivy had counteracted the effects of her dementia drug, causing the incident. Randall would see firsthand the effects of her worsening condition and would apologize for forcing her hand.
Later on, Rebecca would voice her fear about forgetting the small things to Miguel. To that, he would tell her that they need to take it one day at a time, echoing the advice that Toby had given him earlier.
Randall wasn’t born on Jack’s birthday
Among the many revelations that would come to light regarding Randall’s past and his self-identity was the audience’s realization that Randall wasn’t born on the same day as Jack, Kate, and Kevin.
In both hours of the season premiere, we’d flashback to the day of Randall’s birth and gain some insight into the events that lead William to leave baby Randall at the fire station on that fateful day 40 years ago. In the flashback, we’d see the early romance between William and Laurel.
After getting pregnant with Randall, Laurel, who was battling a heroin addiction, would aim to give Randall a better life and would apply for a sales position at work. After getting passed over for the position, Laurel would fall back into her addiction, and on the day of Randall’s birth, would beg William to get her something for the pain, a request which he’d fulfill.
Unfortunately, the next day, William would wake up to find that Laurel had overdosed. As a result, he would end up calling 9-1-1, and when the medics arrived and were seemingly unable to revive her, he would flee the scene upon mention of Child Protective Services.
Not wanting his son to be placed into the foster care system, William would take him and run, ultimately leaving him at the fire station. Mourning the death of Laurel, William would make his way around town, ending up at the hospital where Randall would be taken. Little did he or the audience know that moments after he left the apartment, the medics would begin feeling a pulse, and within seconds Laurel’s eyes would shoot open, meaning that as of Aug. 31, 1980, she was still alive.
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There are more Pearson babies on the horizon
By far, the biggest revelation of the Season 4 finale was the reveal that Madison is pregnant with twins and that Kevin is the father.
Following his argument with Randall, Kevin would let Madison know that he was all in on raising their kids together and being there through her pregnancy, a task which would be made a bit harder due to the stay-at-home issue ordered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, Kevin and Madison would find themselves moving in together. Their faith in each other would be put to the test when, after taking a fall in the Pearson family cabin, Madison would need to be taken to the local urgent care facility, fearing that something had happened to the babies.
In this moment of uncertainty, however, Kevin would step up, much like his father before him, and reassure Madison that their children would be fine and would go so far as to propose. Although upon learning that their children were indeed fine, Madison would permit Kevin to take the proposal back, he wouldn’t. Unfortunately, Madison would neither accept nor deny the proposal, leaving their future together open-ended.
What would come as no surprise to the audience was the sex of their babies, a boy and a girl, which Kevin would reveal to Randall later that day, and which had been revealed to the audience in the Season 4 finale. Meanwhile, Kate and Toby, who had entertained the idea of adopting a child last season, would find out that their application had been reviewed, and they had a match.
What did you think of the Season 5 premiere of This Is Us? Let us know in the comments.
The next episode of This Is Us will air on Tuesday, November 10th at 9/8c on NBC.