Previously onThis Is Us...
You want to be a dad, and I want...
I want you to have that. I...
I want you to have everything you want.
But I don't want that.
I'm sorry, Foster. Tell him I said
I am very sorry, but I got to go.
I think I'm having a...
Think I'm having a harder time
with this whole stay-at-home dad thing.
Much harder than I'm letting on to Kate.
I know I'm not built like the perfect ballerina.
Come talk to me after class.
I'm sorry. I-I really am. But I just
don't see dance as a path for you.
I'm gonna open my own dance studio.
Thanks for letting me take a look around.
- Sure. - I'll admit,
I was skeptical when I heard
a councilman's wife from New Jersey
wanted to rent my space to open a dance studio.
Listen, you and me both, okay?
Well, I've got to hand it to you. The place looks great.
- When do you open? - Next week.
We're gonna have a big grand opening.
You know, food, dancing.
You know what?
You should come by.
Maybe we'll check it out.
- Good luck. - Thank you.
Two.
Yes.
Five, six, seven, and eight.
Keep those lines straight, your backs tall.
Including universities are closed
through the middle of the month.
One of 13 countries shutting down schools entirely.
- Assemblé, we go piqué, piqué,
piqué, front,
bourrée prep,
double turn and finish.
Very good, Erika.
I see your double turns.
Up, and a-down we piqué,
piqué, sauté, sauté.
Can you all see me clearly?
Oh, your box froze. Okay.
One, two, three,
four, five.
Relevé. And fourth and double turn
and land.
That was excellent.
Really good work.
So, as you know, this-this is our last class.
I just can't keep the studio going anymore.
But remember,
keep those lines straight and your backs tall.
Yeah. Bye.
Can you cuff me? Can never get the right one.
Mmm. Breaking out the cuff links for this one.
- Yeah. - My husband, meeting with a senator.
He's a state senator, but don't tell him I said that.
You sure you're ready for... this? It's only been
a week since you closed the studio.
There's no harm in taking some time off
before rejoining corporate America.
Randall, I'm not reenlisting in the Army, okay?
It's just an informational
with a small urban planning firm.
You know, just dipping my toe back in
since I been gone for so long.
Because there's still the possibility of securing
- an arts grant. - Baby, I appreciate you.
Appreciate whatever this is
you're trying to do here, however clumsily,
but I promise you, I am fine.
A lot of people's businesses closed this year.
Mine is just one of them.
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay, then.
Good luck with your purely informational Zoom meeting.
I don't need luck 'cause it's purely informational.
Mom, the Internet's out!
- I'll take care of it. - Mm-mm.
No, I got it. You go take care of the city, Councilman.
Will you do me a favor, Dej?
I haven't seen her eat dry Lucky Charms like that
since finals week in grad school.
- Will you keep an eye on her? - Uh,
Randall, I've got some stuff on my plate
with this whole Malik situation.
With Jennifer and the baby?
What's going on? Give me the deets. You need me
- to talk to him? - Oh, my God, no.
Okay? Please don't try to fix it. I'm good,
- I promise. Okay? - Okay.
And fine. I'll...
- I'll keep an eye on Beth. - Word.
Later.
That one clover was hiding, but I got it.
Cool.
I'm second-guessing
inviting your mom wedding dress shopping today.
Yeah, how exactly did that happen again?
Uh, we were on a group FaceTime with the babies,
and Kate started talking about it,
and your mom just had this... look on her face.
- I mean, what was I supposed to do? - Oh, come on.
You know my mom. She loves you.
Uh, no. No, no, no. I know Kate'smom.
I-I'm great with Kate's mom.
- But Kevin's mom? No idea how that's gonna go. - Ah.
- I-I'm gonna say something weird. I just will. - Okay.
Uh, my old improv coach,
he used to have us play this game called.
- "Good, Bad, Worse." - Huh.
Helped loosen us up. Do you know how to play?
- Mm-mm. - Okay.
So, basically, it's like this.
Um, I'm dreading seeing my director
for the screening of my movie this afternoon, okay?
So, what do I say when I see him? All right, good.
"Nice to see you, Foster.
"Thank you for being so understanding
"when I stormed off your movie set
and left you and De Niro completely stranded."
Bad. Um...
"Hey, Three-Names. Let's screen this sucker."
Right? And then worse. Uh...
"What's up, you pretentious jagweed?!
Let's screen your stupid movie."
- Right? Okay, so now-now you go. - Okay.
- You see my mom for the first...
- Oh, we're performing. Okay. - Yeah.
- What do you... What do you say?
- Good, bad, worse. Go. - Okay. Uh... Good.
"Rebecca! Hi. You look radiant."
Good. - Bad. Um...
"Hey, girl. I have hella mommy issues,
so thanks for being a Band-Aid."
- Wow. - Okay, worse.
- Uh... This is hard. - No, no, no.
Don't hold back. Let her rip.
- You sure? - Fire away.
Okay. Um, worse.
"Sup, Rebecca? How's the Alzheimer's?"
- Wow. - Oh, my God. Oh, my God. No, no.
- I know. I'm so sorry. - Wow. No. No.
- It's fine. No, no, no. - I'm so sorry.
- Listen, definitely don't say that. - I know.
- You're gonna be fine. - Okay.
And that's my dad. Again.
The man sees me engaged on a magazine cover,
and suddenly, he's calling me for the first time
- in a year and a half. - Mm.
Yeah, he wants to know
how early should he come in for the wedding,
which movies of yours should he be watching ahead of time.
I mean, the man is out of his mind.
Well, come on. I mean, you're not even
just a little bit happy that he's coming?
Please. You'll see.
- Okay.
Hey, Uncle Nicky.
You, uh
ready to go?
I don't look ready?
Well...
Hey, Tobe? The shower thing happened again.
I regret to inform you that it is no longer
just a shower thing.
- Okay, well, time to call the plumber, I guess. - Uh,
excuse me. I can migrate a Windows server
to Ubuntu in a weekend. I think I can fix a leaky pipe.
Okay, I-I don't know what you just said,
but I do know that you're not a plumber.
Just call someone.
Look, I'm telling you I can do this.
Okay? And plumbers are expensive.
We're not exactly swimming in it at the moment.
- Dad joke intended. - Okay, well,
it's gonna be more expensive if there's water damage or mold
- or... - Kate, I'll fix it.
Promise.
Okay.
Um, don't forget
I'm going dress shopping with Madison and my mom,
- and then I... - And then you're teaching choir later.
- Have fun. - Yeah.
Oh, I taught the class a new song this week.
It's a total throwback, but I think they like it.
They're crushing it.
And today, we're learning how to fix a leaky pipe.
Be sure to like and subscribe.
Okay, Randall. Well, good luck tonight.
Beth is gonna love it.
Wish I could see her face. Will you tell her I say hi?
All right, love you.
Okay. Bye.
Don't "Oh, Bug" me.
Oh, Bug.
- I look like strawberry jam. No!
You're just not used to a color that isn't black.
Or off-black.
Strawberry jam.
You look amazing.
I know you're worried about the interview,
but I think it's gonna be great.
And a job will do you good.
It'll get you out of the house
and put some money in your pocket.
It's a... step forward.
Yeah, it's time to move on, right?
Olivia is the nicest person in my office.
She'll make a great boss.
We could take our lunches together...
Oh, God.
Just go break a leg, Bug.
I love you.
Proud of you.
Oh, I'm late. Okay, I got to go.
- Good luck. - Bye.
What? What's wrong with it?
There's nothing wrong with it.
Thank you, Rebecca.
- Mm-hmm. - Huh? Hmm?
- It's a little feathery.
It's a little feathery.
Ah. Okay. Yeah.
No, I look like Bjork.
Okay.
Next dress.
- This place is so cute. - Yeah.
Thank you for inviting me.
Isn't it great?
I brought Kate here to shop for her wedding gown.
Oh.
- I loved that dress. - Yeah.
I wish I could have been here with the two of you, but...
You're here now. You're here now.
Oh, how's work?
Are you settling in?
Mom, it has been incredible.
It's so rewarding working with these kids.
And then I get so excited just imagining
that that's gonna be Jack one day, and...
- Mm. - Oh, there was this girl who... she was having trouble
with a song and I...
I'm word vomiting.
- No. - Yeah, I am. I'm sorry.
I just realized I haven't been able to share this with anyone.
You know? With Toby being out of work, he's hurting. And
gushing about my job, it just... I don't know,
just doesn't feel right.
Yeah. Well, this is new for both of you.
And it's hard.
But I see the way that Toby lights up when you're happy.
And I know that look.
'Cause I remember feeling such
relief
seeing your joy when you were younger.
Okay.
What do we think about
this one?
Huh?
Oh.
Um...
So, is the plan
just to destroy the house so the leak feels
like less of a problem?
Uh, the plan,
my frequently grumpy, sometimes funny neighbor,
is to get this all taken care of by the time Kate gets home.
Which is not looking likely, so...
I'd offer to help, but I've still only got limited control
of my left hand, so I'm about as useful as this guy.
Yeah.
Thanks for
keeping an eye on him while I work on this.
- Hey, buddy. - It's no problem.
But I don't know anything about plumbing.
Is there anybody else you can call?
I mean, I could call my father-in-law, Miguel.
He made his bones in construction.
But, in my experience, that would send up the...
Pearson Bat-Signal,
and I don't really have the bandwidth today
to sit around talking about my feelings,
then crying about my feelings,
then talking about crying about my feelings.
Okay.
Desperate times call for...
Desperation.
Okay.
Toby. What's up?
Hey, Dad.
Um, I've got a bit of a plumbing issue,
and I was hoping you could impart some fatherly wisdom.
I have a massive leak, and, uh...
Did you call a plumber?
No, I don't want to call a plumber.
I want to fix this leak.
Plumbers cost money.
Money we don't have since I... lost my job.
Why did you lose your job?
Did you go off your meds?
No.
N...
Never mind.
Thank you for reminding me
why I never list you as my emergency contact.
I'll be there in an hour.
Oh. Okay.
Well, he sounds lovely.
Whew.
Uh, Foster, uh...
No, no, no. Kevin, me first.
I want to say
thank you.
Against all odds,
you have given me
the performance of a lifetime.
I just...
I don't know what to say.
Um...
Thank you for
fitting in the reshoots around my schedule.
Uh, this... the film is...
The best thing that I've ever created.
And that's thanks to you.
You know, it just might be.
It's...
Foster, it's a work of art.
It's a piece of crap.
Oh, we know.
I mean, is-is he crazy?
Maybe I'm too close to it. Maybe I'm wrong.
Uh, no, it's actually one of the worst things we've ever seen.
We all agree. And we never agree on anything.
It's unwatchable. I'm gonna get some serious stink on me
- for this one. - Like you got sprayed by a skunk, yes.
We need to book your next project
before word really gets out there. What is your week like?
- Can you come in, sit down, we'll make a plan? - No, no, no, no.
No, no, no. I'm calling an emergency meeting today.
I-I've... I got a family to support.
We are at DEFCON... whatever the bad one is.
- Look at this. - Huh?
Did you know they make Godfatheronesies?
I got one for Nick and Godfather Ilfor Fran.
We got to go.
Uh, no.
Uh, the studio tour starts in, like, ten minutes.
We don't have time for that. We got to go.
- Well, where are we going? - To save my career.
I don't know what that means.
- Mm, this is killing me.
Where are we going?
Come on. It's an anniversary surprise.
Six months is not an anniversary.
I got leftovers in my fridge older than our relationship.
You should probably throw those out.
Mm. Is it a masquerade
- like Leo and Claire Danes.
- in Romeo + Juliet? - Weird adaptation.
They have helicopters but they still call their guns swords?
That's not a no...
We're going to the ballet.
I'm so excited. I even learned some French.
- Jeté. Pas de bourrée. Crème brûlée. - Uh, no.
- -No, Randall. - Randall, take me home.
- Are you serious? - Yeah.
Excuse me, can you take us home, please?
Carnegie Mellon.
Annie, can you just go ahead
and disable that mirror screen for me?
Hate looking at myself with these things.
Here you go. When they join, just click here.
Yep. I got it. Thanks.
- Hey, Mom? - Mm-hmm.
Keep those lines straight and your back tall.
Hey! Markie!
Thanks so much for meeting with me.
Of course. Thank you, Beth.
I have to say, your résumé is very impressive.
The work you did in Newark was top-notch.
Well, thank you.
And I know it's been a while, but I...
Everything okay?
Uh, well, it seems my assistant has double-booked me.
Beth, I'm so sorry, but is there any way we can reschedule?
I can do tomorrow...
Um...
Everything okay?
I didn't mean to offend.
No. No. It's okay.
Uh, I-I will cancel.
I mean, you don't have to reschedule.
Um, no offense, Markie. Truly.
But thank you for your time.
Uh...
Everything okay?
I dusted off the old corporate attire for this one, Dej.
Mm. Literally dusted it off.
I-I steamed this.
All to get canceled on for a meeting
that I didn't want in the first place.
Ah.
Mm, I'm good.
I am so good.
Ah...
Oh, the lace I really like.
Yeah, it's really pretty.
I'm just not so sure about the bottom half.
- But the top is really beauti...
- Wow!
- What's wrong? - Madison, what's wrong, sweetheart?
- You okay? What?
Well, my dad learned how to text.
Unfortunately, he will not be coming to the wedding after all.
- Work emergency. - Oh.
I don't know why I even care. I was dreading him coming.
You know? I mean, he would have never even known
if it wasn't for that damn magazine.
But I think I let myself get
a little excited that the... jackass was coming.
Yeah.
Oh, my God. I am so screwed up.
- No, you're not. - No, you're not.
Oh, sweetheart.
I'm sorry.
I don't want to cry in front of you, Rebecca.
Oh, crap. I think I snotted on Meghan.
I already named the dress Meghan Markle,
'cause I felt like a princess.
Let's be honest,
I'm a Pippa at best.
Hey, sweetheart. Stop it.
- Stop it.
Do you know how incredibly special my son is to me?
Do you think I would let him marry you if you weren't
also incredibly special?
- You're kind, Rebecca. - No.
Not when it comes to my son.
Youare kind.
And you're beautiful
and funny
and remarkably graceful,
even in ridiculous feather dresses.
And we're all crazy about you.
- And your dad sounds like a bit of a jackass.
All right, uh, this is.
Paging Mr. Dad.
You play a single father...
No, I can't do it. No babies.
No shirtless bottle feeding. I can't do that anymore.
Okay, now this one...
- No. Yeah, no. - Oh, my God,
does the town already know that the movie sucks?
Uh, well, not the whole town.
But also it's...
Your reputation.
You did walk off the set of your last film.
To be there for the birth of my twins.
And you also walked off a Broadway play.
My brother was having a nervous breakdown at the time,
and-and it was an off-Broadway play.
And there was a very public walk-off of a hit sitcom.
Wait.
What do I got to do? I have to go back to television?
Is that what you're saying?
Why don't they make shows like Bonanzaanymore?
Excuse me?
Bonanza. You know, Lorne Greene?
That was a man's man.
Listen, I'm sorry
that we didn't get to go on that studio tour.
I know you were looking forward to it.
Oh, that's all right. I got my work cut out for me.
- You gonna read all this crap? - Yeah.
One of them is based on a Clancy novel.
Yeah, well, I think they already made that one twice.
- Well, I'll see it again. Tim's finishing up
another call, and should be ready soon.
- Sorry, Ms. Baker. - I can wait.
Uh...
Uncle Nicky, hold-hold on one second.
I'll-I'll... I'll meet you in the lobby, okay?
Okay.
Kevin?
Zoe!
What the hell are you doing here?
Uh, well, I just had a meeting with my agents.
Mine just got delayed.
Par for the course for being a documentarian.
- Mm. - So, how are you?
Engaged, I hear.
Engaged.
Okay, she's just fixing her makeup.
Mm.
You know, you're a really good mom.
Oh.
Well, I've had a lot of practice.
Yeah, but, um...
I was not an easy daughter.
And I know I pushed you away a lot.
Thanks for loving me anyway.
I remember taking the three of you home like it was yesterday.
And then I blinked and you were toddlers,
running me and your dad ragged.
And then...
I blinked again and you were teenagers
who wanted nothing to do with us.
And then I blinked again and, mm...
When I look at you, I see all of you.
I see every Kate you've ever been,
Every Kate you
you might still be.
Yeah, you might not have been an easy daughter all the time,
but you've always, always been easy to love.
Oh, okay.
Oosh, um
now who's crying?
Okay.
You know what, Mom, there's, um
there's a place I want to take you to after this.
- Okay. - Okay.
So, this is definitely the dress, right?
- Definitely. - Oh. I love it.
Yeah.
My, um
mom walked out on us when I was eight,
and she left me with him,
which was like leaving me with, well
no one.
Thank you for making me finally feel like part of a family.
Oh, my God. It has pockets.
Look at that. - Ha!
Dej, where's Beth?
She stopped texting me back.
She specifically told me not to tell you.
Oh, boy.
- Dej, I need y... - Do you know Malik showed me
a video of Janelle...
Calling Jennifer "Mama"?
She's driving from Boston
every weekend, five hours each way.
It's not sustainable.
And Malik knows it's stressing me out.
He knows it.
But he also knows not to push me to talk about it
till I'm ready.
That's a wise man.
Wiser than me. Where's my wife?
- You promise not to try and fix things? - Nope, can't promise that.
Now roll your eyes and tell me where she is.
She's at the studio cleaning up to turn over the keys.
Thank you.
Beth doesn't need a hero, Randall.
Just be there for her.
You know? It's kind of your best quality.
I can't even pick your best quality, Dej.
There's too many.
Go.
Going.
Hey, Dad. You didn't have to come.
We could've just done this over FaceTime.
I hate that crap.
I'm vaccinated. You're vaccinated.
- I'm here to help. - : Okay.
Well
- it's in the kitchen. - Kitchen.
This is
the issue.
I see that.
Madison, huh?
So, how'd it happen?
- What'd you do, knock her up? - Uh
yeah, actually, I did.
We, um, we had twins, and now we're getting married.
Oh, wow.
Oh
You seem really happy.
Thank you. Yeah, no, I am.
I'm-I'm thrilled, you know? She's, uh
she balances me out, you know?
And she's an excellent mother. She's wonderful.
Well, that's what I like about you.
You completely commit.
As an actor, as a person.
No matter what happens, you always find a way
of making it what you wanted all along.
What's that supposed to mean?
Sorry, that... that came out weird.
It's a compliment.
- Oh. - You have this really positive way
of seeing the world.
Like when we dated.
I mean, you could be craving pizza all day,
but if I said I wanted sushi,
boom... suddenly you were craving sushi.
It's a really lovely quality.
Okay.
Yeah, no, I will, uh...
I'll take your word for it.
Um, well, what about you? How are you doing?
You-you, uh, you seeing anyone?
I am.
And he's great. You know?
I really like him.
And luckily...
Come on.
All right.
Oh, thank God.
I needed this win.
Hey, you okay?
I was at that company for ten years, Pop,
and they cut me, just like that.
Being a stay-at-home dad
was never part of the plan, a-and I want Kate to be happy,
but this is just...
You know, I-I'm fine.
We're good. We're good.
Uh, I lost my job when you were eight.
Messed me up good.
Spent half a year pretending it hadn't happened.
Hid in the basement reading classifieds
until I landed a new job.
It's nice your in-laws talk about stuff
that's bothering them.
I wish I'd done more of that.
You, uh, keep your eye on this.
People only look for leaks where the water's coming out,
but, uh
it's the pressure that'll get you.
Hey. I'm home.
And...
For you.
Ta-da.
Kate, I just got off the phone with Olivia,
and she said you never made it to the interview. What happened?
Nothing. I just...
I couldn't really see myself being happy
in an office, you know?
Kate... you need a job.
I got one... at the diner.
- The diner? - Mm-hmm.
I... I didn't even know
that was something you were interested in.
Yeah, I mean, I wasn't, but it's a job, right?
Try the fries.
They're da bomb.
Jesus, I'm sorry to disappoint you.
No. No, you didn't disappoint me.
Mom, I can see the look on your face.
Can I give you some advice?
Get your wins from Randall. He'll make you proud.
Hell, maybe Kevin will become a big star.
So you can be proud of him, too.
I'm proud of all of you.
Well, you shouldn't be.
Every time you get your hopes up for me, I...
I just disappoint you,
so you probably should stop putting yourself through that.
Want to try the fries?
Mom,
this is my advanced choir.
Class, this is my mom, Rebecca.
Hi! - Hi.
Very nice to meet all of you.
Okay, so let's do the one that we've been practicing.
Everybody stand.
Here we go.
This is for you.
What's on your mind, Katie girl?
You've barely touched any of these fries.
- I'm just nervous about college. - Oh, come on.
You're a shoo-in for Berklee. Voice of an angel.
Not in my lower register.
In every register.
You don't even know what that means.
Yeah, maybe.
But I do know that I've never met anyone
who lights up the way you do when you talk about music.
They're gonna see you for who you are.
- You think so? - I know so.
As much as I know
the Packers are gonna win the Super Bowl this weekend.
Oh, great. You're trusting my fate to Brett Favre?
- Nice. - They're gonna win.
Kate, this job... this job suits you
like nothing I have ever seen before.
- It is perfect.
Well, thank you.
- You always believed in me. - Mm.
Even when I gave up on myself.
You know, I spent nine years
working at that crappy diner after Dad died.
You always believed that I would find myself again.
How?
Because real joy is... never gone forever.
I knew you just needed some time to find it again.
I mean, I'm sorry that it took 40 years
for me to find it.
And I'm sorry that it
took me 40 years to give that to you.
Well, thank you for sharing it with me.
My Bug.
Hey.
Hi.
Oh, we just got home.
- Hell of a day. - Oh, no.
They just went down, and they were real fussy.
Oh, no.
So, um, after all that stuff with my dad,
he called and said he's not coming to the wedding.
- Work emergency.
Typical.
I'm sorry. You okay? How you feeling?
Hmm, okay, I think.
You know, honestly, I couldn't have gotten through it
without your mom.
Oh, how was the, uh, screening?
Oh, yeah. No, it was... it was a complete disaster.
I'm officially in the worst film in the history of cinema.
- Eek. - Yeah.
All my movie prospects suck and, uh, I'll probably end up doing
informercials for the rest of my life,
- so I have that to look forward to. - Yikes.
Yeah, I'll figure it out.
You know, honestly, all I want to do right now is just veg out
and watch the next episode of Bridgerton.
- I hear it's super steamy. - Oh.
I was kind of hoping
we could watch The Great British Baking Show.
It's bread week. Don't you want to see Paul Hollywood get
weirdly erotic as he digs his fingers into some focaccia?
- Bread week.
That sounds perfect.
Okay, see you out there.
My only issue with both loaves
is your temperature choice. You should have baked it higher
and it would have been spot-on for both of them. Thank you.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
I think they look good,
but I hope that's baked all the way through,
'cause I get a bit worried when they're that pale.
Just needed a little bit longer in the oven.
- Such a pity because the flavor's lovely.
That's a bit soggy, too.
Does have that spicy bara brith flavor to it.
When you try and push a load of fruit into a loaf,
if you shape it too tight, all the fruit goes to the outside.
If you look inside, there's nothing in there.
Let's try the za'atar one first.
What temperature did you put them in the oven? 160...
Hey.
They're both down for the night.
- Thanks. - How was your class?
It was good. Yeah.
No big deal.
Hey, the shower... So nice with hot water again.
Yeah, well, the leak was super easy to fix, so...
I should have never doubted you.
Mm.
It's still early.
We can still catch a movie if you want.
I'm sorry about tonight.
I used to love going to the ballet.
I'd picture myself up there,
just counting down the days till it was me.
You want to know why there are so many mirrors
in dance studios?
So you can see yourself dance?
Sure.
But it's more than that.
It's to correct mistakes.
Mistakes measured in fractions of degrees.
Flaws no one else would even notice.
But the mirror is impartial.
Ruthless.
I used it to zero in on those flaws my entire life.
Then I was told I still wasn't good enough.
So where does that leave me?
I'm a dancer who doesn't dance.
No. Baby, please.
I don't want to talk about grants or loans
or how we can save this place that can't be saved.
May I have this dance?
Oh, my God, you're too much.
What are you doing?
You're still too much.
Captioning sponsored by 20th CENTURY FOX TELEVISION
and TOYOTA.
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org