It Was A "Hell Of A Week" For Randall On This Is Us (S4, Ep11)

The councilman is struggling, y'all. As if we didn't already know that Randall had chronic anxiety (untreated, I might add), this episode really cements that. It's a little redundant, in my personal opinion, but it also goes to show that not all heroes wear capes, and not everyone is as strong (whether it be mentally or physically) as they want to be.

SPOILER ALERT: IT'S BEEN A MINUTE SINCE THE EPISODE AIRED BUT AS ALWAYS, IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED SEASON 4, EPISODE 11 "A HELL OF A WEEK: PART ONE" (I'M REALIZING NOW THAT THE PART ONE IMPLIES THAT THERE WILL INDEED BE A PART TWO TO THIS STRESSFUL SAGA) PLEASE DON'T READ ON OR YOU'LL BE AN ANXIOUS MESS FOR NO REASON AT ALL. THANKS!

Last week's episode ended on a horrifying note when Randall found an armed man in his home. He says, "I won't let you get past me," which is a pretty ballsy move because I would've for sure either 1) screamed bloody murder OR 2) started crying hysterically begging for this man to take my shit and leave. Randall throws some money at the man (he has a money clip @ John Mulaney!) 

The man ends up leaving and Randall calls the police and it's all very hard to watch knowing Beth along with their three daughters were all sleeping in the house. I'm sitting here like; how did this man get in? Why doesn't Randall, a city councilman leaving in a nice house in Philly, not have a security system installed? I truly believe he takes on too much, and the flashbacks of this episode prove he's been that way his entire life.

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Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Randall (Brown) watch as Kate fights on the phone with her boyfriend. Image Credit: Yahoo

Randall calls Kevin to process what just happened, and Kevin informs him that he's back in Pittsburgh for Sophie's mom's funeral (that's why she called, y'all!). Kevin asks Randall where he was coming home from since he said he was at the airport, and Randall has to lie to his brother about their mother's derailing health. It's a nice scene between two brothers, so I'll give the episode that.

Before I forget, I should mention that when Randall calls Kevin later in the episode to talk, we see Kevin in bed with a blonde haired woman. If it's Sophie, God help us all. I'm sure we'll find out next episode though.

In flashbacks to the college years, or the beginning of the post-Jack era, Randall and Rebecca chat as she does her son's laundry. He tells her he's been having nightmares, but of course he doesn't go into much detail about them because he's Randall and he's the man of the house and he's the new Jack Pearson. Back at school, Randall uses Beth as his safe haven, often having her stay the night so he can fall asleep. Randall and Beth are goals at ALL ages.

Kevin and Sophie come home early for Becca's birthday dinner, and Randall and Bec witness Kate throwing flowers into the garbage and fighting with her mysterious older boyfriend, Marc. The way they argue is so true to older Kate's character; it sounds like she's pleading with him and apologizing for nothing, something present-day Kate would do.

Teen Beth suggests to Teen Randall that he address his grief about his father in a group setting. After all, both Beth and Randall lost their fathers around the same time, but while Beth seems to have made peace with her father's death, Randall is still obviously reeling from it. They plan on going to a support group, but just then Randall gets a call from Kevin saying that they (being him and Rebecca) are on their way to pick Randall up because something is wrong with Kate. Dun dun dun.

So, once again, Randall doesn't get the help he needs and he pushes everything down in an effort to make everybody else's lives easier and better.

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Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) sleeps beside a scared Randall. Image Credit: Kei and Clyde

In the present-day, Randall is distracted at work because he is terrified that that man is going to break into his home again. The police informed that they usually strike two nights in a row because families usually don't stay in their homes. His phone keeps going off due to the security system being installed, and he can't seem to pay attention or listen to anyone. He comes home to have a panic attack in his bathroom, and I'm like, bro, I would've had one in the bathroom at work.

Beth tells Randall that they need to take the day after the Town Hall to talk about all of this and he agrees. While getting ready for the Town Hall Meeting, Beth's earrings seem to have been stolen as well as Randall's cuff links. Randall figures that the man came into his room, which sends him spiraling even more. At the meeting he can't even articulate answers properly.

The next morning he goes running and runs (ha!) into Malik's dad who is like "bro, do you do anything to help with your shit BESIDES running?" and Randall is like "no". Malik's dad tells him to go to therapy and Randall is like "ok but first I gotta save this woman from being robbed" AND HE DOES IN THE BROAD DAYLIGHT. That's literally all I have to say about that because it's too much for one episode.

Anywho, to wrap up, there's a scene in this episode where Jack, pre-sobriety, gives a three or four year old Randall a pep talk before bed. Randall can't fall asleep in his big boy bed and seeks Jack's help. Jack tells him that Kevin and Kate are high maintenance, and so Randall is going to have to do everyone a favor and not be high maintenance. He's going to have to be the tough one, the strong one, the dependable one. It's not Jack's finest parenting moment, because look at the mess it has created. But it's a good reminder that these characters are humans, and humans are allowed to make mistakes.

So that's it on this episode! It makes me sad to see such an able man like Randall not get the help he needs, and I hope he does soon. What did y'all think? Comment!

XOXO,
Em

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