This Is Us
Episode 1.9 “The Trip”
Directed by Uta Briesewitz
Written by Vera Herbert, Kay Oyegun
Created by Dan Fogelman
Starring Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Ron Cephas Jones, Susan Kelechi Watson, Janet Montgomery, Chris Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, Lonnie Chavis, Mackenzie Hancsicsak, Parker Bates
NBC
Air date: Tuesday, November 29th, 2016, 9:00pm ET

Last week on This Is Us, the family had a rocky Thanksgiving as Randall (Sterling K. Brown) accidentally found out that his mom (Mandy Moore) knew his birth father all along. William (Ron Cephas Jones) is very close to the end and he wanted to make him happy, so he ran to his place to get some cassette tapes and found a letter and a picture… of him as a child. Kate (Chrissy Metz) decided to get gastric bypass surgery after breaking up with Toby (Chris Sullivan) and a harrowing plane ride. Kevin (Justin Hartley) brought Olivia (Janet Montgomery) to Thanksgiving and she had her own lessons to learn.

Do not proceed any further if you have not watched the episode yet!

This Is Us 1.9 “The Trip” review: William confesses about that day – how he wanted to make sure that his baby was going to be okay. Randall made a “List of reasons I’m mad at my mother.” There’s 22 of them. He is so funny with his ways. He doesn’t blame his wife or birth father that much.

The past: They are shopping. Randall is looking for his birth parents by making couples roll their tongues.

Jack: “It kills me that he’ll aways have this hole not knowing who his parents are.”

He wants to look for his real parents, but Rebecca is against it for obvious reasons. You get to really see why at the end. Jack takes him to join karate to have black male role models. Just try to watch that scene without tears. I dare you. Rebecca visits William but gets scared and jets after he seems so excited. The story of the pic is explained.

The present: They all go to their family cabin one last time. Kate’s text to Toby: “Family cabin. You’d like it Nothing like Evil Dead.” They are the sweetest couple. Kate is making a huge mistake here. They look at old pictures, but then Kevin made the mistake of inviting Olivia and she brought hipster friends. Sometimes things happen for a reason and Randall needed the hipsters to come.Randall drank the mushroom-laced smoothie and sees Jack. They talk about Mom’s secret. Mirage Jack can’t believe that she would keep such a huge secret, but tells him that he was a choice. He was his baby. Even hallucination Jack is an awesome dad.

Kevin tells off Olivia and they leave – “Brexit.” This is not the end of that.

Grown Randall tries to talk to his past mother. He tries to read off the list.

Tears again… but the good kind… the cleansing kind.

I can’t say anymore without narrating the entire episode. These characters do self-reflection and discovery like nobody’s business, and the writers, directors, and crew are really skilled at using technique to emphasize this.

I wasn’t going to review this show. It’s not geeky or sci-fi or crazy, it’s just human. But it is the best show on television right now. And there’s no gore, no fight scenes, no monsters… it’s just a show about family, and it give you the feels every week. You sit there wishing it could go on.

I cried 3 times during this episode. How about you?

This Is Us airs Tuesday nights at 9:00pm ET on NBC.

NBC’s synopsis:

Kate (Chrissy Metz), Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) head to their family’s cabin to get away after their chaotic family Thanksgiving. A very angry Randall finds comfort and explanation from his father, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia). Olivia (Janet Montgomery) speaks a harsh truth to Kate, which drives a wedge between Kate and Kevin. Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Jack struggle with what to do when 9-year-old Randall tells them that he’s been looking for his birth parents.

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Videos

This Is Us 1×09 Promo “The Trip”

This Is Us 1×09 Promo #2 “The Trip”