The story of Randall’s mother is all kinds of devastating on ‘This Is Us’

Since the first episode of the season, This Is Us (Tuesdays, 9 pET on CTV) has been teasing the big, sweeping story of Randall’s mother Laurel, who actually didn’t die of an overdose all those years ago as William (and viewers!) believed. In this week’s special standalone episode “Birth Mother,” fans finally got all of the answers they were looking for. 

This isn't The Notebook

The episode picked up with Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) road-tripping to New Orleans, where they met Hai (Vien Hong). There, at a farm house that once belonged to Laurel (Jennifer C. Holmes) and now belongs to her son, the man told the story of the “love of his life.” And while it all started with a meet-cute, stolen glances and professions of love, as Hai quickly corrected an angry Randall, this wasn’t The Notebook.

Laurel grew up rich, but never with the approval of her overbearing father (played by Chi McBride). She adored her brother, but he died in the war. And when her pops told her she had to marry the boy of his choosing, she fled town, met William, and the rest of that story is… well it’s This Is Us canon at this point.

But Laurel’s story didn’t end there. After her overdose, she recovered in the hospital only to be arrested, convinced to plead guilty, and given a five-year sentence for a first-offense drug possession. Since William had no phone she couldn’t tell him she was alive, and the one person she thought to call—her father—she couldn’t bear to speak to. That much was pretty clear in the heartbreaking moment when her dad whispered, “Laurel” on the other end of the line and she hung up instead of asking for his help. Later, she was transferred to California where she served out her time. 

Get ready to serve up some absinthe

When Laurel got out in 1985, the one person she could face was her beloved Aunt Mae (LisaGay Hamilton), and so she returned to her house and worked with her at the market, where she reconnected with Hai from afar (by then he had his own wife and family). It wasn’t until years and years later, after Hai’s wife had died and Laurel failed to show up at the market that he went looking for her, and they spent the final two years of her life together. Her one regret? Never telling Randall the truth or seeking him out. But Hai promised her she would get her chance, and thanks to one viral video, it turns out he was right. 

Cue the tears everywhere, despite Beth’s comments about a podcast that were clearly meant to lighten the mood. If Randall had needed to drink an entire bottle of absinthe (another running Beth joke of the night) after that story no one would have blamed him. 

“We own a farmhouse… on a lake… in New Orleans…” he told Beth. “That’s how I’m holding up.” Instead of drowning his sorrows though, Randall did the healthy thing by journaling (his therapist would be proud), and then he returned to the lake where so much of his own mother’s story took place. 

Ghosts of waters past

This Is Us always has a way of bringing things full circle, so the fact that a very naked Randall took a dip in the water in the middle of the night was predictable yet important. It was there that he finally had a heavy conversation with his mom's ghost about decisions past and letting go. 

The “chat” was so heavy that some fans were probably concerned Randall’s way of easing the pain would have been to let go in that water, but thankfully he went for a big old scream instead. It was a small but important moment for the character, maybe the most important moment for him of the season. He’s been carrying around so much hurt and anger over the things that have happened to him in his life, but in that moment he let it all go and decided to finally move on. 

RELATED: ‘This Is Us’ star Susan Kelechi Watson is single again

[video_embed id='2073115']RELATED: Sterling K. Brown talks about power of representation on TV [/video_embed]

“I know my birth story Beth,” he explained on the drive home. “And it’s not just getting left at a fire station. It’s two people. Two imperfect people that loved me.” And with that, if you weren’t already bawling, you were probably reaching for the tissues. Cause if this show does anything consistently it’s doling out those feels, right? Anyhow, Randall felt so good that he finally decided to reach out to Kevin (Justin Hartley) and patch things up with his adoptive bro. 

Unfortunately for those who were about to do a Big Three happy dance though, the band isn’t getting back together just yet. As we predicted last week, Madison (Caitlin Thompson) went into early labour, and now Kev is racing home from Vancouver to meet her in the hospital. Stay tuned next week to how all of that drama, which involves a pretty damned scary car accident, goes down…

Watch This Is Us Tuesdays at 9 pET on CTV. 

BEFORE YOU GO: Pandas munching on fruits and vegetables is the best thing on the internet right now

[video_embed id='2116891']BEFORE YOU GO: Pandas munching on fruits and vegetables is the best thing on the internet right now [/video_embed]