WARNING: The following contains spoilers for This Is Us Season 5, Episode 16, “Adirondacks,” which aired Tuesday on NBC.
Randall has spent most of This Is Us Season 5 confronting his lifetime of struggles with being adopted. His journey comes to a peak in the season finale Episode 16, “Adirondacks,” when Rebecca and Randall finally have an honest and open discussion about his journey to learn about his birth mother, Laurel, and his journey overall. The conversation leads to Rebecca being more honest about the truth of Randall’s birth parents than she has ever been before.
In the previous episode, Beth encourages Rebecca to initiate a conversation with Randall about Laurel and his trip to New Orleans. Rebecca follows through with this advice early in the finale when she asks Randall for the chance to sit down for coffee and conversation. Randall is reluctant to have this conversation and tries to get out of talking to his mom about his birth mother all day.
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Rebecca, however, finds Randall wandering with nothing to do and no way out, so they sit down together to talk. Randall shares photos of Hai and Laurel he had from his trip and Rebecca starts to cry. Randall takes the opportunity to change the subject to his children and distract from the heavier conversation. Before Rebecca can turn things back around to Randall’s trip, Kevin calls Randall away for help with wedding things giving him an excuse to abandon the conversation.
Randall isn’t free for long. Rebecca finds him again and she finally dives into the truth about his birth parents. Randall tries to be dismissive but Rebecca argues with him, insisting that he has let her off the hook for too long and she can no longer abide that. She admits that while Randall was growing up she often wondered if he was thinking about his birth parents, but she never gave him the space to talk about those questions or thoughts. She says she was selfish for never providing him the room to explore his identity outside of her family.
Fans may remember that Rebecca admitted that she knew about William while Randall was growing up and she denied William and Randall the chance to get to know each other. It was a painful truth that she held onto for a very long time, a secret she even kept from Jack. When Randall went to therapy he explored how her decision impacted him and how upset he was with her for that. It’s an example of how he has let her off the hook in the past as he never divulged to her the true level of hurt he felt by her actions.
Rebecca continues her explanation by the alter by explaining why she cries when Randall talks about his birth parents. She says it is not because she is jealous, or hurt, or angry — it is because of her overwhelming guilt. Randall’s journey is a clear indication of all she robbed from him as a child and the fact that her actions caused her favorite person so much pain and suffering triggers a strong emotional response. Her crying is not a result of Randall’s actions as he previous thought, but of an admittance of her own misdoings.
Rebecca then asks to hear more about Laurel and the New Orleans trip. Randall is able to explain to her that learning about Laurel unlocked something about himself he didn’t even know he had within him. It’s a good example of what Rebecca meant by having robbed him of something as a child, but also in how they are now able to be more honest and open with each other after Rebecca reveals the truth behind her choices. While the episode mostly talks about Laurel, their history with William is equally part of the overall journey. Randall does make the point that Laurel was his birth mother, implying that Rebecca will always be his mother.
Rebecca and Randall have always had a special bond, but in the season 5 finale of This Is Us, she finally admits to him that she made mistakes with him growing up. In revealing this truth, she is able to strengthen the bond with her son through learning about his birth parents and joining him on his journey of self-discovery.
Created by Dan Fogelman, This Is Us stars Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown, Chris Sullivan and Susan Kelechi Watson. New episodes air Tuesdays at 9pm ET/PT on NBC.
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