Warning: This post contains spoilers for Tuesday These are U.S.
Randall ends on Tuesday These are U.S with some hard-won peace: finally, he – and we – know exactly why his birth mother, Laurel, never tried to find him.
In short: her overdose after his birth led her to go to jail for five years, after which an overwhelming feeling of shame prevented her from looking for her son. (For a more detailed explanation, read our recap of the episode.)
In an interview on Tuesday, series star Sterling K. Brown told TVLine that Randall had spent years revolving around the same questions: was he loved? And if so, why did he give up? “People who love you don’t do that kind of thing,” said the Emmy winner. As such, Laurel’s story only mattered to Randall as to how it affected him on a personal level.
But at the time of this week, after having a cathartic vision of his mother in the lake behind his house, “It hits his head,” added Brown. “’I was, to some extent, selfish in terms of how I thought about this woman. And now I just need to recognize and appreciate everything that she went through to be where she is. ‘”
Read more about Brown’s thoughts on the episode, including what it could mean for Randall and Kevin’s ongoing discussion, as well as the decision-making process behind Randall to bare his soul and … other things.
TVLINE | You hear that Randall is going to find out everything about his mother and then he will have that catharsis moment. What was your first shot?
When Dan [Fogelman, series creator] When I say that your mother is still alive, my first thought is: “Okay, are we jumping on the shark? Are we still maintaining the integrity of it all? “He said,” She is not alive, but what happened was that we thought she overdosed, but she didn’t. ” I was like, “OK. So why didn’t she come to see me? If she was alive and had this child, then why didn’t she make her presence known in my life? ”And then they answered that question. There were a number of things that I thought, “Okay, does that make sense? Does it track? ”And everything checked. I should never doubt Dan. And yell at Kay [Oyegun] and Eboni [Freeman] for writing a great episode and Kay for directing it too.
There was something interesting for me, and I don’t think that is clearly stated in the episode. But that moment of release for Randall, and the idea that he had this meeting with his mother at the lake – we are not an openly religious show, but it does have spiritual implications. And Randall is mainly a man of science, right? And not so much a man of faith. But in this case, because he lives with anxiety and other things, and I believe that to some extent beyond just the chemical level, it is difficult for anxiety and faith to exist in the same space. So, for him to have this recognition that this woman really loved me, that I was the product of two people who loved me, but did the circumstances conspire in such a way that they were unable to share their love with me directly? I’m fine with that.
TVLINE | Beth comments that there is a lightness in him at the end of the episode. Moving forward, how will we see this epiphany manifest in the rest of your life?
Good question. So the first catalyst is really a step towards reconciliation with your brother, and seeing how not being able to make peace with your past and being ashamed or frustrated can prevent people who we must be connected to each other. Laurel saw this in Hai and his inability to make peace with his parents before he died. [Randall] loves Kevin desperately. And he knows, and his brother knows, too, that they just said a few things sh-y, sh-y to each other. But fortunately, it doesn’t have to define your relationship forever. The recognition that forgiveness is essential for any relationship to persevere is firmly imprinted on him by virtue of that experience …
My hope is that he learns to let go. To borrow a phrase from the black community and spirituality – Christianity, specifically – for “Let go and let God.” To recognize that the fallacy of control is something that you have to willingly give up to really be able to enjoy the moment, to live free. There are moments I watch in the episode, there are echoes of Bible verses from your maternal grandfather to your mother and then conversations between your great aunt and your mother about how to let go. In the end, that moment of being at the lake and just – it’s a scream, but it’s a big exhalation. It’s like “I don’t need to have the answer to be okay”. I feel that, for Randall, much of his well being is involved in “What do I do? How do I respond? How do I fix it? ”I don’t need to have the answer to be okay. I would like to see this incorporated into it as we move on to the next stage of the show.
TVLINE | I will accompany your very well thought-out answer with a very silly question: for a TV program at 9 am, when Randall wears out to get into the water, we see a little more than usual. You were like, “Yes! That’s what he would do! ”Or was there a thought of” Um, I’m not sure about that? “
That was an interesting conversation. Kay called me at the beginning of the season and said, “So, we are planning episode 6, and we have this kind of baptism that we are trying to perform, and I was thinking that we are going to get you down in your boxers and in the water. But Dan was thinking that maybe, if you were comfortable with that, you could just get in your birthday suit. I thought about it more of a spiritual aspect, of a rebirth or cleansing and having nothing between me and that. And I said, “It makes sense.”
Now, let me say that too, right? When I saw it, I thought, “This is a bit of cake. ” [Laughs] More than I expected to see in prime time, 9 am on TV. I think it’s the shadow of the cake, when you really check. And I will be happy to thank Peloton for helping and raising.