This Is Us recap: Could nachos help Randall and Beth's marriage survive?
Will Beth and Randall's marriage survive? I think that is the question we are all left asking after last night's episode of "This Is Us." I have to believe it will, but those words, fights and tears felt real.
Posted — UpdatedWill Beth and Randall's marriage survive? I think that is the question we are all left asking after last night's episode of "This Is Us." I have to believe it will, but those words, fights and tears felt real.
Beth and Randall's marriage has been simmering for quite some time, and it finally boiled over after Randall left a fairly hateful message on Beth's answering machine.
"R&B" picks up where we left off last week with a full-on blow out in Beth and Randall's bedroom. Beth suggests they have been having the same fight for years, and the episode takes us back to when they first met - all while hitting on some key points in their marriage.
After Randall bumps into Beth that first night at college, Randall turns to Kevin for help. The two come up with a plan and call Beth on her dorm room landline (lol). Beth accepts Randall's request to take her to dinner, but the date is a disaster.
Randall takes Beth to a fancy restaurant while wearing his nice suit. Beth, who is in a sweatshirt and clearly uncomfortable, ends up walking out when the server suggests the two pay for their meal in advance.
After the date, Beth asks Randall not to call her again, but Randall heads back to his dorm where he seemingly is unfazed, telling his roommate he will marry Beth.
Cutting to a scene of 20-something Beth and Randall, we see one of his many marriage proposals. Beth, once again, tells him she is not ready for marriage.
Trying to get out of another Sunday dinner with Randall's mother, she suggests they go mini golfing, but Rebecca ends up tagging along. Beth finds out Randall has been telling his mom about popping the question multiple times, but after a conversation with Rebecca - and some nachos and ginger beer (a recreation of the first date Beth wishes she had) - she is ready to say, 'yes.'
On their wedding day, Beth is stressing at the last minute to finish her vows. After checking in on Randall, Kevin finds that his vows are more of a dissertation on marriage than a loving promise, and the two decided to write them together. Back-to-back in the bathroom, Beth and Randall go back and forth promising each other a loving partnership.
The mood seems to grow more tense when the episode cuts to a scene of a late-night diaper change. They are bickering and exhausted, nothing out of the ordinary. Randall decides some super cheesy nachos could help. While eating, Beth gives a long, semi-delusional speech about nachos, suggesting that Randall takes what he wants in the marriage, leaving her with the crumbs.
The last flashback is when both William and Kevin are living at their home. Beth needs a day (I get it) and lies to the guys about heading to a conference. William and Randall end up catching Beth at a grocery store with a basket full of wine and Swedish Fish, but instead of taking the day, she heads back home.
Back in their bedroom, Beth goes on about she is always the one that bends. She is the one who has had to change everything for Randall's dreams. She has given up things because she loves him.
The fight reminds Randall of the one he witnessed between Jack and Rebecca where - in the heat of the moment - Jack said awful things to Rebecca. Randall doesn't want to go there and stops himself from saying things he may regret.
Randall gets angry. He is not willing to accepts Beth's "revisionist history" and the fact she is claiming to be a wallflower he has bulldozed over for the last 20 years.
Randall (with a tone) apologizes for Beth finding her dream 20 years too late, and Beth asks when she was supposed to find it between all of his anxiety attacks.
Ouch. Randall is clearly hurt, and Beth immediately regrets those words.
Randall ultimately ends up sleeping in Philadelphia, and we all have broken hearts.
Related Topics
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
