Get ready, This Is Us fans: This week's Randall-centric episode will definitely make you cry.
The sophomore season of This Is Us shows Randall (Sterling K. Brown) and Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) expanding their family by bringing foster child Déjà (Lyric Ross) into their home. Randall, who was adopted as a baby, has long wanted to do something to honor both of his fathers — but as it turns out, we didn't know the extent that Randall's dad Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) went to make sure Randall stayed with his adoptive family.
That will all change on Tuesday's episode "The Most Disappointed Man," when we get some backstory into how Randall came to be a legal Pearson.
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Fans may already think they know this tale — after all, how many times have we seen flashbacks to that day at the hospital, when Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Jack decided to take home baby Randall and unite him with the rest of The Big Three?
Despite the love the parents had for their fated son, the legal system didn't always think Randall should become a Pearson — which, according to Moore's interview with Entertainment Weekly, will be explored in Tuesday's episode.
The actress told the outlet:
"It was explained to [Jack and Rebecca] that [the adoption process] was going to be very cut and dry and we’ve had [Randall] in our home for just about a year. Our social worker is like, 'You have the thumbs up from me. Basically, it’s just going to be a rubber stamp and a signature, and he’s officially yours.' It’s very distressing to Jack and Rebecca because it puts in [play] the biggest nightmare that they haven’t either bothered to even factor in. They never really thought they would find themselves in that position of not being able to adopt him officially."
One thing that's unclear? If Randall knows much about what his parents went through to keep him with their family. Considering this is the first time that the audience has heard of Jack and Rebecca having to deal with any legal hurdles in adopting Randall, I'm thinking probably not. In fact, it might explain why Randall, who over-thinks most things in his life, was so eager to adopt a baby right away. It's possible his parents never wanted to reveal just how emotionally taxing the process was.
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One thing's for certain: This episode, like all episodes of This Is Us, will require plenty of Kleenex. They don't put those tissue box emojis next to the show's Twitter hashtag for nothing.