These are U.S
A Long Road Home
5th season
Episode 6
Editor Rating
Photo: NBC
“And that, my friend, is what they call closure.” Okay, okay, this is Rachel Green when she drunk calls Ross to say she forgot him before throwing the phone of her date into an ice bucket (an icon Friends moment, obviously). It is also, I imagine, the vibe that Kate Pearson carries with her as she walks back to her car after scolding Marc, whom she tracked down 20 years after her horribly toxic relationship. Although Kate’s closure seems like a real closure, while Rachel’s was, well – listen, this is a discussion for another day. But wow! Kate Pearson is really making some moves, isn’t she?
We are here because all Pearsons are very bad people and, at first, it seemed that Kate was the person who suffered the most. But when you look at her history, she may also be the person who is doing the most to correct her situation. She screamed during that aerobics class; that was a moment. She finally spread her father’s ashes before the wedding, and that was great for her. And now, here she is dealing with the emotional trauma she has been hiding from literally everyone in her life.
It seems a little difficult for Kate and Toby to drive to San Diego after she finds out where Marc works through a mutual friend on Facebook and Marc’s MySpace page (MySpace actually still exists; I checked it out for you) so she can scold him? Sure, but which Pearson doesn’t require a lot of maintenance? I mean, even Annie is trying to incorporate Little Women dialogue in everyday life. High maintenance is your way! But that is what Kate feels compelled to do to finally get rid of the pain she is carrying. The woman is naming her demons and casting them out, and we must leave her!
It is cathartic to see Kate find that idiot, who is still working in a record store and talking about how the band he runs is about to burst, and gets rid of him. He, of course, admits that his six-month relationship has gotten intense at times, but he doesn’t really think about it much. That’s when Kate explodes: she was 18, he was 24; she was vulnerable and in pain, and he took advantage of it. “You held my self-esteem in your hands and decided to crush it,” she tells him. She let him have power over her for a long time, but now she has the love she deserves and is letting Marc go. You’d almost like Kate to wear a white suit and sing a verse or two from “You Don’t Own Me”, but unfortunately, These are U.S it’s not that kind of show.
The confrontation is extra cathartic because, while it is happening, we also watch 18-year-old Kate as she visits Marc before having an abortion. You know, just so that he can be an idiot with her for the last time. At least this time, she realizes that he’s being an idiot. She leaves without telling him that she is pregnant. After her abortion, there is a time when Kate could open up to Rebecca and tell her what’s going on, but we watch as she bottles it all – the beginning of what will be decades of Kate burying her emotions. So yes, it’s good to see how good Kate feels after seeing Marc again these days and letting him go. It is also good to see her so moved by the fact that, instead of trying to solve her problems for her or treat her like a victim, Toby simply supported. They’re in a really good place, which means this is the point in my recap when I remind you all that we still have no idea where Kate is in our flash-forward, but we know that she and Toby are no longer together. . Divorced? Dead? Who can say, but something must be brewing, right?
Kate Pearson is not the only member of the Big Three to make some progress with emotional well-being. Were you about to guess Kevin? Because this is hilarious. Kevin is a disaster. No, we’re talking about Randall! Randall getting a therapist and finally opening up about how he felt alone growing up as a black man in a white family were some important steps in his healing process. (Although we will never forget that he has not yet apologized for emotionally manipulating his mother to go to an Alzheimer’s study in which she did not want to participate. Randall will always do Randall!) in a positive way.
Randall is still on the “colleagues making fun of you in padded pecs” stage after his accidental striptease video – which, let’s be honest, would be a lot bigger than what we’re seeing here, especially after people found out the stripper councilor was related to the real Manny. There would be a magazine about shirtless brothers or something, and we would all eat because that is the kind of content we deserve during a pandemic and you know it. Either way, Jae-won removes his fake pecs – he’s a professional – to deliver a curious letter sent on their website from a man named Hai who lives in New Orleans and claims to know Randall’s biological mother, Laurel. Hai was with Laurel when she died … in May 2015.
It is the date that Randall really plays. If Hai’s story is true, it means that William’s story about how Randall’s mother died of an overdose shortly after he was born was a lie. It is a scenario that Randall cannot deal with. Your first instinct is to ignore it, run and live in denial. Old Randall (unlike old Randall) would definitely have lived this way, leaving his mother’s specter and the thought that William could be lying haunting him until he had another slide-by-the-wall-while-crying breakdown. But this is not old Randall (neither is Old Randall). This is kind of new, in Randall therapy. He finally calls his therapist. The good doctor (not The good doctor) reminds Randall why he spent so much of his life looking for his birth parents: Randall wanted to know where he came from, but he also wanted to feel connected to something bigger. Did meeting William help Randall feel this way, so knowing that his mother wouldn’t do the same? Dr. Vance tells Randall that he is already on the journey; he can also fully commit.
And that’s what Randall does. With Beth by his side, he calls Hai. Fortunately, Hai immediately takes Randall out of his misery, assuring him that the story that William told Randall about Laurel was what William believed to be true; he didn’t know that Laurel was alive. This is an incredibly huge relief for Randall, and you know that Sterling K. Brown Single Tear was released. It is always effective. Now Randall can focus on learning more about his birth mother. Hai says he would like to show Randall “the places [Laurel] lived ”and“ the things he loved ”. Randall and Beth exchange a look and, well, it looks like we’re going to New Orleans.
• Kevin and Madison are having some problems. Apparently, they didn’t really think about how Kevin’s work hurt him for long periods. He assumed that Madison and her babies would come with him all the time, but this is not the life Madison envisioned for them. She tells him to think about his role in the family while he’s in Vancouver for filming. It seems very quick to reach an ultimatum with this situation. Does Kevin have a career or a family? Is there no room for compromises?
• Hey, remember when Madison was weird, silly and clumsy? What happened to that character? There are no traces of it.
• Madison’s situation reminds Kevin of what ended his and Sophie’s relationship, and we find that after a young newlywed Kevin – newly married with his acting showcase, if you need a chronological reminder – draws attention from a talent manager who wants him to go to Los Angeles for the driver’s season, it’s Randall who warns him not to do that. Randall can’t understand anything that stands between him and Beth, and he doesn’t know how Kevin could leave Sophie. Kevin doesn’t follow his advice and, well, we all know how it worked.
• These days, Kevin doesn’t want to make the same mistakes again – he wants Randall’s advice this time. He tells his brother that he thinks constantly, What would Randall do? And honestly, Randall’s response to that sentiment touched me. “It is a good thing to say. It’s a good thing to know, ”Randall says, crying. These two ding-dongs start to make amends: Kevin acknowledges the horrible things they shouted at each other not long ago and apologizes for Randall having felt so alone while growing up. But they have a long way to go. I can’t wait until they can embrace this. Is this just social detachment speaking or is it a real emotion? Time will tell!
• Rebecca Pearson’s two favorite comedies Airplane! and Borat? To discuss!