This Is Us recap: Kate's wedding day exposes struggles with Rebecca's health
Last week on This is Us, we saw the ultimate end of Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby (Chris Sullivan), with the story of their divorce and Kate's journey to new love with Phillip. And while Kate's arc feels well wrapped, the show isn't moving past her wedding yet, as it provides the setting for this week's episode and presumably, next week, too.
For this week, episode 13, dubbed "The Day of the Wedding," the focus turns to Rebecca (Mandy Moore), regarding how her Alzheimer's impacts wedding moods and events. Juxtaposed with that is a flashback to a different struggle one day as mother of the Big Three in their six/seven-year-old era. The themes of the stories: routine and music. Around Rebecca's journey, there's, naturally, secondary stories – Kate's newfound bliss, Miguel (Jon Huertas) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) drama, and a Kevin mystery that Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) and Madison work to solve. But first things first, the Pearson matriarch.
Rebecca
In the flashback, Rebecca's morning starts with robotically packing the kids' lunches. She then proceeds through a typical day — dropping the kids off, on time as always, going to the grocery store for a pound of ham, as predicted by the deli attendants. Then, she goes for a haircut. But when the stylist asks if she wants the "usual," Rebecca opts for something different – a Princess Diana cut.
However, Rebecca regrets the decision, and shamefully shows Jack when he returns home from work. Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) doesn't react optimally, as the kids share their dislike of her new look — Randall wants his "old mom back" and Kevin thinks she looks like Peter Pan. Jack eventually asks why she did it. She says she was upset about reeking of mom and feeling like she's on autopilot — she's tired of their routine and wants to feel spontaneous again. Jack says he never had a routine as a child so theirs is comforting, but Rebecca is afraid of forgetting herself. She wants to remember surprises can still happen.
At that, Jack gives himself his own new hairstyle — a mustache instead of his full beard goatee — and declares they're going to dinner without the kids. At dinner, feeling better, Rebecca says she loves their routine, but Jack notes they should shake things up sometimes. As an example, he challenges her to play the restaurant's piano. She accepts, and delivers a gorgeous ballad.
In the present, on Kate's wedding day, Rebecca's cognition has clearly deteriorated substantially. She keeps commenting about Jack coming, and intermittently referring to Kevin as Jack. Whereas on the flashback day, having too much of a routine was a problem for Rebecca, in the present, Kate surmises Rebecca's problem is that she's out of her routine — the break in her typical days has triggered a slide.
Ron Batzdorff/NBC
The slide is worrisome, as Rebecca is slated to perform a song during the reception — a melody she always sang for the family. Kate has practiced with her for a year and the wedding events were scheduled specifically to give her enough rest to be able to manage the performance.
When the time comes, she indeed suffers some glitches, but with help, ultimately performs piano and vocals as good as ever, moving everyone to tears. The best part: it's the song she played at the restaurant in the flashback … and the SHOW THEME SONG! Hearing lyrics with the show's iconic tune, sung by a beloved character is a legendary goosebumps-inducing television moment — a tour de force of writing. Here's the chorus to the song (by composer Siddhartha Khosla) of the hour.
"I get this moment with you
Forever now
It hits me at once
Forever now.
If there's a right way to say it,
I'm still learning how.
All that we have is a forever now."
—Siddhartha Khosla
And ... with that, time for the rest of the episode's excitement.
Kate and Philip
Fans were undoubtedly heartbroken to see the demise of Kate and Toby, but perhaps this episode makes it easier, as she and Phillip (Chris Geere) are truly great together. With this being the second wedding for both of them, they have an equal lightness from not being worried about superstitions and perfection. They break tradition by seeing one another before the ceremony, and Phillip appropriately reads that she's holding something in.
She admits she's nervous about Rebecca's performance. She fears Rebecca's devastation if she can't manage it. Phillip smoothly calms Kate's fears by assuring her, that as she herself says, once Rebecca finds her key, she'll lock in (they're right!). Phillip repeatedly provides this reassurance for Kate, despite not being prone to such hope and optimism himself – because that's what Kate needs. He steps up big time, and helps ensure his day with Kate is happy as can be. It's all we could want for our Bug.
Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Miguel and Randall
In the present, Randall just became senator. He's clearly excited but is shocked to learn how bad Rebecca has gotten in the time he's been preoccupied by his campaign. When he hears her ask about Jack that morning, he gravely checks her medicine. Later, when he hears Rebecca refer to Kevin as Jack, he's further crushed, and handles it poorly by correcting her (doctors advise rolling with episodes).
He tries to ask Miguel whether Rebecca should perform, but Miguel deflects by insisting on going to a wine tasting. Randall obliges, but throughout the tasting, he won't stop reflecting on his mother's condition. Miguel makes it clear he doesn't want to discuss it then, but Randall instead asks about another difficult topic: Miguel having blood pressure medicine and an apparent tremor. Miguel deflects again, but later things come to a head and he berates Randall for insisting on talking about such issues. He wanted one hour to drink wine, with Randall, and feel like a normal human. Miguel notes things are happening so fast, clearly overwhelmed by managing Rebecca's situation and his own.
Randall looks apologetic but still doesn't shake his grieving-Rebecca-mentality. His wedding toast later is depressing (and long). At first, he sweetly discusses Kate's smile and Phillip making her smile, but then drones on about the passage of time (perhaps it fits with Rebecca's song but it's irksome at the time). Randall finally ends with a self-deprecating joke, but returns to his somber mood, as everyone takes to the dance floor. Ever the magician, Beth drags him out of the funk and onto the dance floor.
Kevin (and the lady detectives)
Early in the day, while Beth and Madison (Caitlin Thompson) are in Kevin's room, Beth finds a love poem written on a napkin. The ladies then notice a bra and floral wrap, and excitedly conclude Kevin slept with someone. They decide to figure out who, noting they've stumbled upon, as Beth calls it, a "true crime whodunnit, but with sex." Here, we get the fantastic comedic duo we didn't know we needed — Madison/Beth spinoff please?
The three suspects are Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge), who's there as Kate's friend, Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison), who's there as Kevin's "platonic" plus-one, and the wedding singer. They soon learn the floral wrap belongs to Cassidy, so they think it's her. But they later witness a suspiciously awkward interaction between Kevin and Sophie that seems filled with stolen glances and secrets (despite that she's married). They wonder if Kevin slept with both Cassidy and Sophie, but the plot thickens when during the reception, they hear the wedding singer quietly say to Kevin: "about last night … " From various interactions, we the audience know Kevin was missing from festivities the previous night, yet Kevin himself, throughout the day, only reveals as much as that he's tired, and, as he confides in Rebecca, he got himself into a "pickle."
But when Randall asks him about his whereabouts the night before, it seems Kevin is ready to tell his story. He says it's long and he's not yet sure if it's good. We must wait until next week to hear it, but we see flashes: Kevin walking in the vineyard with Sophie, having a drink with the wedding singer at the hotel bar, walking into his room with Cassidy. Let's make like Beth and Madison and detect. Eliminating the wedding singer, because that's not poetic enough, is Kevin's happily ever after beginning anew with Cassidy or Sophie? Here's to a coming answer!
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